CREDITS: Written by Ty Templeton; art by Rick Burchett and Terry Beatty.
REVIEW: Great cover! And because I remember a recent spat of alternate covers that featured action figures, I half thought this issue was like that and that the image might not be relevant to the interior story. So glad I was wrong! Told through the eyes of a kid who idolizes Batman, watches his show and the Grey Ghost's too (so Batman's OWN fandom figures in), and gets bullied for it until he helps Batman on a case and gains his classmates' respect, the story really does make use of those action figures. We often fall into the boy's fantasy, and then realize it's all been action figure. Fun stuff.
And then the Scarecrow attacks the bank where the boy and his mother are, and it's NOT a fantasy. There are a couple cheats you have to accept however. One is that the kid isn't affected by Crane's fear staff, which is making everyone, Batman included, terrified of Batman. He could never be afraid of Batman because of his fandom, so is immune. Okay, let's buy that. The other is that the kid carries a Grey Ghost costume in his knapsack that fits Batman (which is how the Bat stops fearing himself long enough to defeat the villain). Because when he wears it, it's only slightly oversized. Certainly the pants shouldn't fit Bruce Wayne.
But then this whole story has a dream-like quality. The fact that Batman, Robin, Batgirl and oooh, Red Claw, are on a television show as well as real means it straddles the fence between the DCAU and our own world. It's the story of a fan who gets access to his fantasies, and so what if it doesn't all make sense? Keep calm and have fun.
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