Batman: The Ultimate Evil
| Batman: The Ultimate Evil | |
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 Cover of Batman: The Ultiumate Evil (1995). |
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| Author(s) | Andrew Vachss |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Superhero Crime fiction |
| Publisher | Warner Books |
| Publication date | November 1995 |
| Pages | 196 pg |
| ISBN | 978-0446519120 |
Batman: The Ultimate Evil (1995) is a novel by Andrew Vachss, a crime novelist known for focusing on child abuse in his novels.
Contents |
[edit] Plot Summary
After encountering a Child Protective Services worker, Debra Kane, Batman begins investigating sex crimes against children in Gotham City. He soon discovers that his mother, Martha Wayne, had been a social worker investigating a group of child molesters and producers of child pornography. Batman also discovers evidence that the man who killed his parents was not in fact random street thug Joe Chill, but an assassin hired by these same pedophiles in order to silence Martha. In the present, after beating some information out of Gotham City's criminal element, Batman finds the same gang his mother had been investigating running sex tourism charter trips to Udon Khai, a thinly-disguised Thailand. Using the alias "Big Jack Hollister," Batman signs on as a charter trip client. Once in Udon Khai, Batman recruits some local help and swings into action against the sinister head of the sex slave organization.
Eventually, Batman helps the locals bring the gangster to justice. After Wayne returns to Gotham City, Debra Kane becomes one of Batman's informants to alert him to child exploiters. As Batman tracks down and attacks one such criminal to rescue his victim, he dedicates this expanded aspect of his war on crime to his mother.
[edit] Background
Udon Khai is "a thinly-disguised reference to Thailand" and Vachss wrote the book to specifically address the issue of the Thai child sex trade.[1] The novel was released during the period of the Don't! Buy! Thai! boycott. This grassroots campaign encouraged people to boycott all products of Thailand until the Thai government effectively addressed the rampant prevalence of prostituted children that had been present in that country for years and catered to prosperous foreign tourists. One result of this trade is that many poor children became HIV-positive; eventually, most developed AIDS. An appendix to the novel, written by investigative journalist and child protection advocate David Hechler, discusses the sex trade, the foreign firms that profit from it, and the Don't! Buy! Thai! boycott.
[edit] Adaptation
The novel was also adapted into a two-volume graphic novel, released by DC Comics in 1995, scripted by Neal Barrett, Jr. and with art by Denys Cowan and Prentis Rollins.
[edit] References
- ^ Chris Gelken (1997-02-28). "Row over Call to Boycott 'Paedophile Playground'". http://pangaea.org/street_children/asia/asiasex2.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
[edit] External links
- Batman: The Ultimate Evil at Vachss.com
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