Batman #516 was the second issue of what would become a long-running collaboration between writer Doug Moench, artist Kelley Jones and inker John Beatty on the series.
Already in this issue, Moench and Jones—who by then had solid careers and respectable achievements on their résumés—set the tone for the series over the next three years: a visually darker, scarier, more animalistic, even monstrous Batman, wearing a uniform that was entirely black except for the emblem, with stories that flirted with horror, a genre in which Jones navigated with mastery. The cover would become a classic. An interesting note in this period was the Batmobile, reviving the design created by artist Jerry Robson for issue Batman #20 (1943) and which was predominant throughout the 1940s and 1950s.
In the story, Batman investigates mysterious deaths in which the corpses are found with no signs of violence but also without their hearts! All in all an interesting mix of detective plot with supernatural touches. I never got around to reading issue #517 where the story concluded, but I guess that Batman solved the case.
Note: The information about the Batmobile was obtained from this site. Check it out for yourselves—it’s a good read!
