Miscellaneous Company Crossovers (part 3)

Even more leftover crossovers...

....eh, let's just get to it...


Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgement On Gotham

Oh, well, now this is more like it!
The Batman book I've been looking for!
I loved the period of artists doing jarring new things in style, and it still being Batman, y'know the times, "Dark Knight Returns", "Year One", "Arkham Asylum", "The Cult", "Son Of The Demon", I wanted more style diversions like that, but couldn't find them.
Batman's kinda been in a rut of rigid samey consistency through the 00's.

But this is what I've been looking for!
Batman meets Heavy Metal with a dash of Plymptoons!

Veeeery niiiice!
Dammit why didn't anyone recommend this shit to me?

So, Judge Death, this zombie ghost corpse thing from Judge Dredd's world dimensionally crosses over to Gotham with a hi-tech transporter belt, raises some hell, kills some people, becomes allies with Scarecrow, raises some more hell, kills some more people at a rock concert, all the while, Batman is stuck in the Dredd-verse, and Dredd is trying to lock him up.

Everything is eventually sorted out in the "who's a good/bad guy?", department, the bad guys are spanked, and everyone gets home.
But...with a "we'll meet again", vibe.

Story was average, a little bit decompressed, but I loved the look of this.
Luckily, there are sequels to counter-balance the decompression.

Shit, I shoulda done these in the first batch...

Shoulda had Batman/Spawn in these misc ones by rights since it's not Marvel/DC...but, I wasn't so sure I was gonna do these ones...ah, well...it's all out there now...


Batman/Judge Dredd: Vendetta In Gotham

Dredd comes to Gotham, so the art style is sorta the standard stuff we're used to.

Passable filler in-between-quel.
It even pimps the upcoming one at the end.

Dredd picks a fight with Bats that puts the "They Live", fistfight to shame, then reveals he was stalling him to change history so Batman doesn't die in the future, cuz he needs him later.

The main Gothamite bad guy?

The fucking Ventriloquist.
My least-liked Batman villain of all time.

Bah!


Batman/Judge Dredd: The Ultimate Riddle

Okay, the end of "Vendetta in Gotham", pimped "Die Laughing", as the threequel, but that didn't come out way until 1998, while this one jumped into 1995.

Well, it's got Riddler, so, I'm thinking it was to tie in to "Batman Forever".

I really liked it, especially as a followup to "Judgement..".

This time, not only is the art style back to Heavy Metal, so's the story.

An alien overlord kidnaps Bats, Dredd, Riddler, and some other monster guys to fight as gladiators in a maze world sorta jobbie.

I won't spoil the twist ending.
I liked it, your mileage may vary.


Batman/Judge Dredd: Die Laughing

Ah, NOW comes "die laughing", dunno what behind-the-scenes drama stopped this one up in the works, but, kinda glad I wasn't tapping my foot waiting for this as a fan back then.

So, this time, Joker steals a jumper belt, and goes to the Dredd-verse, but it malfunctions, and splits him into a comatose solid body left behind in Gotham, and a semi-ghost-y version of himself in the Dredd-verse.

So, Joker sets the Dark Judges (who are spooks trapped inside crystals) free just for the sick fun of it, and the Dark Judges teach him how to use his phased state to be like them, and posess a corpse, and become the fifth Dark Judge.

Mayhem and death ensues, corpses are piled, heroic tussles are had, and the 4 main Judges are sucked up in...well, essentially circular Ghostbuster traps, and Joker is beamed home into his body in Arkham.

So, after Batman/Hulk, and Joker/Mask, this is the third occasion where Joker gets powers.
In this case, a sonic laugh that bursts heads "Scanners", style.

And, I gotta say, Judge Death and his pals are hissing monsters, but...I liked 'em better than fuggin' Carnage (from Spidey/Batman).

I like my hissing monsters no-nonsense, not trash-talking douche-nozzles like the writer thinks he's Tarantino.
Tarantino thinking he's Tarantino is bad enough.


Aaanyhoo, like I said, these are a liiittle bit decompressed, but lump this quadrilogy into one big novel, you've really got something.

It's no "Dark Knight Returns", but what is?


Archie meets The Punisher

So....yeah...this happened.

The creators even admit in the prelude that it was a goofy joke they tossed around, and then, they worked up the nerve, and pitched it to the right people, and it came into actual being, much to their own baffled astonishment.

So...there's a story of inspiration in there, kiddies.
Take a fucking chance.
Whatever it is.
You never know.

So, yeah, a mobster who looks like Archie goes to Riverdale to hide out, Punisher goes looking for him, wacky confused identity hi-jinks ensue.

Punisher is drawn Marvel style, Archie...well, Archie style, and yet they seamlessly interact.
Good job, artists.

And y'know, this had more shit to read in its 48 pages than the fucking Bats/Dredd quadrilogy!
If you're into Archie, these folks give you bang for your buck!
Damn!
Who knew?

Oh, and get this, as Punisher is driving off at the end, Micro tells him their next stop is Gotham.
So, yeah, brace yourself folks, this was actually the prequel to Batman/Punisher!!

....hey, look, Josie and The Pussycats!


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meet Archie

Yep, they do.

Uuum, well, once the Archie gang acclimates to the existence of talking reptiles, there's not much more to say.

The goody-goody animated versions of the Turtles are essentially the Archie gang with karate kicks.
They blend right in.

Also, Josie and the Pussycats again!


*Eye rub* almost done, I promise....