Story: "Joe Public" (56 Pages)

Credits:

Alan Grant (plot, script)
Trevor Von Eeden (pencils)
Dick Giordano (inks)
Tim Harkins (letters)
Adrienne Roy (colors)
Dennis O'Neil (edits)

Feature Character:

Batman (last in ...; next in ...)

Guest Stars:

Joe Public (first appearance; next in Bloodbath #1)
Pagan (last in Batman #??)

Villains:

Gemir (last in ...; next in ...)
Shades
Darlene Tibbs (his girlfriend)
Happy Jack (dies)
Sal Jordan (dies)
Max Farnham (dies)

Note: This is a 'Bloodlines' crossover annual

Synopsis:

A mystery killer is making its presence felt in Gotham City, but Batman has his hands full with a drugs operation. Unfortunately, his move against them is interrupted by "Joe Public", a physical education teacher whose students have been badly affected by the drugs. Later, now on the killer's trail, Batman runs across the vigilante Pagan and agrees to work with her on this case. Their paths cross with Joe Public when the killer, a parasitic alien monster, claims some of the drug runners as victims. The three fight the monster, with Joe being attacked, his spinal fluid harvested. He is then able to turn the tide on the monster, as, surviving the attack, he gains the ability to draw power from those around him and add it to his own strength. The alien frees Gotham, and the people he had been storing are freed. The drug runners being now dead at the hands of the monster, Joe Public thinks he'll probably give up crimefighting and leave it to those with more experience.