- kcvidkid
Man-Bat Pt. 15: Batman Family #14
Man-Bat returns home after a long night’s work…

Kirk Langstrom’s downstairs neighbor and monster movie fanatic, Ambrose Robertson, sees him and thinks he’s a real-life creature like one on TV. (I love these transformation panels, as you know.)

Ambrose goes on the offensive using a variety of tactics:
Good ol’ reliable electricity! It fried the giant carrot in The Thing—
Gas bombs like Carl Denham used on Kong!
…flamethrower! I’ll burn the fiend like they did the Frankenstein monster and the mummy!
…freeze you with this liquid oxygen – the way Godzilla was defeated!

Man-Bat ultimately decides to play along and swallows one of his special pills to return to his human form.

Notes
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While Batgirl and Robin share “an all-new double-length story” in Batman Family #14, Man-Bat is back on his own in an “Extra! A New Man-Bat Thriller.” It’s called, Cinemattack, and has some fun with the theme. Instead of writers and artists for the story, we have screenplay, photography, processing, and developing.
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On the splash page, I didn’t like Howard Chaykin’s art. This doesn’t look like Man-Bat at all:

That’s because it isn’t. It’s the Man-Bat-like monster in a late-night movie. The boy watching it then sees the real Man-Bat and believes he’s a monster. I loved the references to monster movies as Ambrose tries all the tricks to defeat him.
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Of course, I didn’t love that he was trying to defeat Man-Bat, but it’s nevertheless a fun one-off story.
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Last issue, someone knocked on the door of the Langstrom’s apartment. This issue, Francine tells Kirk,
That man was here again! Bart or Bard – something like that! He insists on talking to you—
Could this be Jason Bard? Is the writer screenwriter setting up something here?
Title: Batman Family
Issue #: 14
Cover Date: Oct., 1977
On Sale Date: July 28, 1977
Writer(s): Bob Rozakis
Penciller: Howard Victor Chaykin
Inker: Josef Rubinstein
Editor: Julius Schwartz
