Batman: Shadow of the Bat #39
June 1995
Cover art by: Brian Stelfreeze
Story: Solomon Grundy: One Night In Slaughter Swamp
Writer: Alan Grant
Pencils: Kevin Walker
Inks: Curt Shoultz & Frank McLaughlin
This issue begins with a recap of the origin of Solomon Grundy (at least at this point in the DCU). It is 1895 and Cyrus Gold has been lured out to Slaughter Swamp by a prostitute he has been seeing. She tells him that she is pregnant and is trying to blackmail him. Cyrus doesn't believe her, and refuses to pay. Her boyfriend(?) runs up and smacks Cyrus in the skull with a sap. They take his money, and leave him to sink into the murky waters to die.
Flash forward 100 years, and a park ranger, Karin, is about to give some visitors a tour of Slaughter Swamp. A revived Solomon Grundy appears and attacks the group asking everyone what his name is. He was to believed to have been turned into petrified wood and died permanently. The only survivors of this attack are Karin, and little boy Billy whose parents are killed.
The pair run away and at night they light a campfire. Separately Batman and the GCPD mount a rescue in the swamp. Back at the camp Grundy appears and again asks what his name his. Karin seems to be able to pacify him, and they figure out his name. Yay! This is when the GCPD find them and attack. Boo! Their attack makes Grundy think that Karin was playing a trick on him. He punches and kills her, and that is when Batman arrives to, hopefully, save the day.
Batman know that everything in his utility belt is useless against Grundy. The Dark Knight also knows that Grundy is faster and stronger than him, Yet, this doesn't deter the Caped Crusader from swooping in and fighting the Gruesome Ghoul. We get a pretty good fight scene here.
During the fight swamp gas envelops the pair, and Batman uses a flare to ignite the gas. It blinds Grundy and he runs into the swamp and sinks to the bottom again....
Well that was kind of a letdown.
Anyway, this was a pretty neat little one-shot issue. I just wish the art was a little bit better. It wasn't bad, but it didn't really do much for me either. I am usually on board with a Solomon Grundy appearance, so I recommend this one.
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