Retro Review: Harvey tries his hand at international espionage in 1979's "Two for the Money!"

[about_faces]

One of the most distinctive aspects of The Bronze Age of Comics (early 70's to mid 80's) was how it mixed classic superheroics in a greater sense of realism.

Or at least, that was the attempt, more often than not. Even those results that were groundbreaking at the time now read as dated, ham-handed, and/or just plain silly. I mean, I know it's

Comments

[abqreviews]

Well, at least Batman still tries to reason with him. I don't mind such one-note depictions of Two-Face if Batman still feels compassion for him, unlike in DARK VICTORY and THE FACE SCHISM.

[thehefner]

And that's a very good point. Even if the Two-Face depiction itself is all-monster all the time, at least Batman should be shown believing that there's something in there worth saving. There's still a sense of tragedy, even if the tragedy is now more on Batman's shoulders.

[lego_joker]

Speaking of which, when are we going to see you rip apart The Face Schism? That one seemed like one big steaming piece of snark bait.

[thehefner]

Oh man, that one. Good question. I might first do Doug Moench's previous Harvey story, the Knightfall one with Klaus Janson art, but it isn't vital to read beforehand. I have no immediate plans for "The Face Schism" just yet, but you've definitely helped put it on the queue, so to speak.

It's certainly one of the worst Two-Face stories to date, although it seems it actually has its fans. I'd honestly like to know why.

[lego_joker]

The Kelley Jones art? That scene showing Batman snooping on the cops looked really... distinctive. He looks like Satan's shower curtain in that panel.

And the scene showing Harvey busting out of Arkham DID have Jones give him a pretty damn... pretty face for the unscarred side.

Besides, I find a lot of nostalgia value with the flashback scene with him standing at the top of the flooding pit with Batman tied up at the bottom. I don't know why.