#30 - Calendar Man
First Appearance: Detective Comics #259 (Sep 1958)
"Thirty days have September, April, June and November." ~Calendar Man
Calendar Man. There's something I really can't pinpoint, but when I read a Calendar Man story, he gives off more of a dark, sinister vibe in his simple glances and asides than a big name villain Loki or Red Skull might in an entire master plan. How is that? Because I think artists really take to his design and find the blank palette to be a paradise for deconstruction on the human features, where every line can help to convey the evil that lurks beneath. And this couples perfectly with Calendar Man's dialogue - sparse, full of a tension built on not knowing what hides behind his eyes. It's truly, truly one of the most underappreciated aspects of villainy - the face.
A lot of people know Calendar Man from his brief appearance in Arkham City, but I know that a lot of my friends found him extremely disturbing and intriguing - that's a testament to having that magical quality that draws readers to a villain despite them being, well, a villain. It's a difficult balancing act to find and, despite what should be a goofy premise for a character (a man obsessed with the significance of dates and times, using them to orchestrate crimes and murders), it works perfectly. If you look at Calendar Man, in many ways he's a great riff on the Zodiac Killer's assumed personality; so many similarities between his intent, his dialogue compared with Zodiac's writings, it all goes well together. And lest we forget, he is one of the central characters in the beloved Jeph Loeb-Tim Sale Batman trilogy: Dark Victory most especially. His role in that titanic, landmark story truly reinforces how much of a force Calendar Man can be.
Greatest Calendar Man Story Ever Told:Batman: Shadow of the Bat #7-9 - What's one of the most amazing stories you've never heard of? "The Misfits" by beloved scribe Alan Grant, drawn by iconic artist Tim Sale. A new villain arrives on the scene and is recruited into long-existing but first-appearing organization of villains in Gotham - the Misfits. The group is such a unique amazing chemistry from a really unusual membership: Clock King, Catman and Killer Moth. But the real key to the success of the story is Calendar Man's inclusion. Really, really good stuff if you can get your hands on it.