There's a reason why comic books feature colorful, gimmicky characters. In the very early days of The Golden-Age, super-heroes fought gangsters, saved people sentenced to death-row, and were involved in actual war. The only downside to that is it raises the question: If a super-hero can easily and simply solve real-world problems, such as crime, poverty, hunger and war, why can't those issues be solved in the actual real-world? If criminals are indeed a "superstitious, cowardly lot", why not scare them and put an end to crime? The answer is that no matter how a real-world issue is addressed, it will never truly be solved. There will always be crime. There will always be poverty. Probably because there will always be human nature.
Maybe that's why characters like The Joker, Catwoman, The Penguin, Two-Face and The Riddler were introduced. A way to personify a specific trait of human nature and provide a solution. The Joker is chaos and arrogance. Batman provides order.
It's quite possible that Batman faces the deadly virtues of human nature and solves them.
Here, Batgirl and Robin solve a mystery. All across Gotham City, men of a certain age are being attacked. The attacks are quite vicious and severe. They are left nearly crippled, needing surgery and rehabilitation. The reason behind it is quite tragic. The thread-line is that Batman and his companions meet people on their worst day. It turns out that all the attacks are the result of desperation.
Cover artists Bob Smith and Terry Beatty breathe genuine mystery into Peterson's story. Loughridge once again is enjoyable. Legendary Albert T. De Guzman steps in as letterer.
"Sticking" is an off-beat story. It's atypical. Quite possibly an "After School Special" story. Peterson's story earns three stars.
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