By Jeph Loeb, Carlos Pacheco & Jesus Merino (DC Comics)
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-84576-741-9
This cosmic saga is taken from the high profile but often disappointing comic series highlighting DC’s twin top guns, specifically issues #37-42, with the usually excellent Alan Burnett scripting and the very classy Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs providing the pictures.
A seemingly mundane robbery leads the World’s Finest Team to the ends of the universe as Superman is targeted by the worst monsters on Apokolips to provide the ultimate tyrant Darkseid with yet another ultimate weapon. Quite where all these shenanigans lead is pretty much a foregone conclusion even for the casual reader, and as all the character ramifications are negated by the events of Final Crisis, Death of the New Gods and the sundry other mega-crossovers DC seems permanently embroiled in, it’s very hard to summon enough energy to connect to the events here.
Full of contemporary Sturm und Drang, this is fast, flashy and furious, but not particularly challenging or memorable fare, good for a wet afternoon, but sadly, not a classic nor a keeper.
By Howard Chaykin & Dan Brereton (DC Comics)
ISBN12: 978-1-56389-424-4
Howard Chaykin returns to a favourite period in US history for this dark, decadent and brooding Elseworlds thriller. Forgive me if you’ve heard it all before, but Elseworlds tales are adventures using established characters and properties in non-standard continuities and milieus, such as JFK’s America here.
1961: At the dawn of an era of stunning political and social turmoil Gotham City is as buzzed as every other city in America. But no other city is as corrupt and morally bankrupt as this town, with a police force full of thugs and shake-down artists. So it’s a good thing that the busty masked psychopath Batgirl is there to keep them in line along with her Euro-trash boyfriend Robin. But that doesn’t make things any easier for the few decent cops such as Commissioner Jim Gordon or Detective Bruce “Hard Way†Wayne.
Wayne’s a pretty dedicated guy, who comes from old money – till they lost it all in the Great Depression – but even he’s out of his depth when the deadly Bianca Steeplechase, white-faced, green-haired, smiling maniac and her pet cop ‘Two-Face’ Duell go on a City-Hall sanctioned killing-spree and frame him for the murder of stripper-turned-stoolie Selina Kyle.
And just why has Gordon’s troubled daughter Barbara returned to the city and bought the abandoned old Wayne place..?
The original 3-issue miniseries was swiftly followed by a one-shot sequel ‘Thrillkiller ’62’ which I can’t say too much about without spoiling your enjoyment, but which compellingly continues the gritty, sordid drama with even more radically re-interpreted DC mainstays being adult and nasty during the Golden Years of the Kennedy Administration.
When this series debuted in 1997 I admit I wasn’t all that taken with it, but now, years later, seeing it all neatly packaged in one book has altered that opinion. This dark, heady brew, full of trademark Chaykin cynicism and indignation, with Brereton’s brooding, brutal paintings, depicting characters with little warmth or gentleness to them is a powerful, fully realised vision which would work as a story even if it wasn’t a fanciful conceit playing with long-established and cherished icons. This is a very Dark Knight in a very nasty place and thus a huge treat for all older fans.
By Bob Kane & various (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-84576-719-8
The history of the American comicbook industry in most ways stems from the raw, vital and still compelling tales of two iconic creations published by DC/National Comics: Superman and Batman. It’s only fair and fitting that both those characters are still going strong and that their earliest adventures can be relived in chronological order in relatively cheap, and gloriously cheerful, compilations.
The latest Batman edition sees the Dynamic Duo fully developed and storming ahead of all competition in these stories originally published in 1941and 1942. As the characters’ popularity grew, new talent joined the stable of creators. Jerry Robinson had already joined writer Bill Finger and penciller Bob Kane, and during this period two further scripters joined the team.
Detective Comics #57 featured ‘Twenty-Four Hours to Live’, a tale of poisonings and Crimes of Passion whilst the Perfidious Penguin returned in the next issue to make our heroes the victims of ‘One of the Most Perfect Frame-Ups’. A few weeks later Batman #8 (now Bi-Monthly!) came out, cover dated December 1941-January 1942. Such a meteoric rise and expansion during a time of extreme paper shortages gives heady evidence to the burgeoning popularity of the characters. Behind a superbly evocative “Infinity†cover by Fred Ray and Jerry Robinson lurked four striking tales of bravura adventure.
‘Stone Walls Do Not A Prison Make’ is a brooding prison drama, followed by a rare foray into science fiction as a scientist abused by money-grubbing financial backers turns himself into a deadly radioactive marauder in ‘The Strange Case of Professor Radium’ (this tale was radically revised and recycled by Finger and Kane as a sequence of the Batman daily newspaper strip from September 23rd to November 2nd 1946). ‘The Superstition Murders’ is a gripping example of the “ABC Murdersâ€-style plot and ‘The Cross Country Crimes’ sees the Joker rampage across America in a classic blend of larceny and lunacy.
The Batman tale from Detective Comics #59 was written by Joseph Greene and sees the Penguin turn his formidable talents to bounty-hunting his fellow criminals in ‘The King of the Jungle’, followed by the rip-roaring modern cowboy yarn ‘The Ghost Gang Goes West’ which first appeared in the winter issue of World’s Finest Comics (#4). Jack Schiff, who had a long and auspicious career as an editor at DC, scripted ‘The Case of the Costume-Clad Killers’ from Detective Comics #60, another excursion into mania starring the Joker, leaving Bill Finger free to concentrate on the four fabulous tales in Batman #9 (Feb-March 1942), one of the greatest single issues of the Golden Age and still a cracking parcel of joy today.
Behind possibly the most reproduced cover ever crafted by the brilliant Jack Burnley are ‘The Four Fates’: a dark and moving human interest drama featuring a quartet of fore-doomed mobsters, a maritime saga based on the classic Moby Dick, entitled ‘The White Whale’, another unforgettable Joker yarn ‘The Case of the Lucky Law-Breakers’, and the birth of a venerable tradition in an untitled story called here for expediency’s sake ‘Christmas’.
Over the decades many of the Dynamic Duo’s best and finest adventures have had a Christmas theme (and why there’s never been a Greatest Christmas Batman Stories is a mystery I’ve pondered for years!) and this touching – even heart-warming – story of petty skulduggery and little miracles is where it all really began. There’s not a comic fan alive who won’t dab away a tear…
This volume ends with another much-reprinted classic (aren’t they all?) from Detective Comics #61. ‘The Three Racketeers’ is the perfect example of a Batman short story where a trio of crime big-shots swap stories of the Gotham Guardians over a quiet game of cards, and has a sting-in-the-tail that still hits home more than fifty years later.
These are the stories that cemented the popularity of Batman and Robin and brought temporary relief to millions during a time of tremendous hardship and crisis. Even if these days aren’t nearly as perilous or desperate, the power of such work to rouse and charm is still potent and just as necessary. You owe it to yourself and your family and even your hamster to buy the Batman Chronicles (great fun, great value; why are you waiting…)
By Archie Goodwin & Scott Hampton (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-56389-066-6
One of the most important scripts in the incredible writing career of the late, great Archie Goodwin addressed a social issue that very much plagues us still, but is now so ubiquitous a plot maguffin, and often so poorly handled by contemporary creators in all narrative arts media that it threatens to become just another fashionable story device, and a weakened, trite one at that. That problem is child-abuse and Night Cries is one of the most effective stories dealing with it that comics have ever produced.
This is not a polemical or attention-seeking tale. The subject is key to the plot, affects the characters fundamentally, and is dealt with accordingly. There is no neat and tidy solution. This isn’t a soap-box subject and the victims and perpetrators aren’t paraded as single-faceted ciphers. This is a serious attempt to tell a story in which child-abuse is an integral factor and not cause nor excuse for violence and pain, but since the whole subject is a controversial one readers should be aware of the facts going in.
Gotham City is a pit of everyday horrors but when a serial killer is identified who seems to target entire families even Batman and Commissioner Gordon are troubled by the suppressed feelings the killings dredge up within themselves. Suspecting a link between the killings and a child-abuse clinic funded by Bruce Wayne, detectives interview a traumatised little girl who saw the killer. She identifies The Batman…
Moody, dark and chilling, this examination of family ties and group responsibilities reveals a complex web of betrayals and shirked duties that weaves throughout American society. When a connection to US servicemen, used, abused and betrayed by their own government is revealed, the metaphor for a system that prefers to ignore its problems rather than deal with them is powerfully completed.
Powerful and unsettling, yet blending startling action with horror and drama, this is a perfect vehicle for the talents of Scott Hampton, whose eerily haunting painted pages subtly disclose uncomfortable secrets that have been suppressed for far too long. This lost gem is out-of-print and long overdue for another release.
By Michael Green, Denys Cowan & John Floyd (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-84576-722-8
Apparently every writer wants a crack at the big guns and that seems to constitute rewriting the origin of a character every five minutes, so imagine my surprise that this re-re-re-working of the first meeting between Batman and the Joker reads so very well. Although I’ve complained about it often enough, a rethink on the relationship doesn’t have to be a desperate stunt or cheap trick.
Gotham City: Batman has prowled the night for only forty-two weeks but in that time has made a big impact. Crime is on the run and the obsessed hero allows himself the reward of falling in love with the vivacious and feisty Lorna Shore. In his hubris Batman imagines that he’s on top of his self-appointed mission and ready for anything. But Gotham has never before experienced a criminal like Jack…
Unlike previous origin tales such as the Red Hood (gentleman bandit of the 1950s) or the tragic victim of The Killing Joke, the man who will become the Joker is a cold, emotionless sociopath. This career criminal is already coldly crazy and the best Batman has ever faced. So when the outmatched and floundering hero makes a devil’s bargain with a gang-boss the events that lead to the birth of the Harlequin of Hate are his fault. And every death the Joker causes is forever Batman’s responsibility…
Screen Writer Michael Green has crafted a solid, compelling thriller that does much to delineate what the post-Infinite Crisis Batman will be. There are novel revelations and wonderfully intimate asides for long-time fans to appreciate. As ever the raw kinetic energy of Denys Cowan’s drawing adds penetrating edginess to the mix. If you have to reboot classic characters every so often, then this is the way to do it.
Top rate action and adventure, but continuity reactionaries and general nitpickers might want to wait for the eventual softcover release and leave themselves one less thing to bemoan.
By Doug Moench, Kelley Jones & John Beatty (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-56389-111-5 (hardback) ISBN: 978-1563891403 (trade paperback)
Released under the “Elseworlds†banner, where familiar properties are mixed with new or exotic genres outside regular continuities, this tale is a full-on traditional fantasy set in a feudal, mystic world of flying castles, wizards and monsters. Lilandra and Majister are sorcerers locked in a lifelong duel with an evil wizard. Sacrificing their lives and that of a baby they have mystically conjured, the pair create a fearsome beast that will eventually inflict their revenge on the terrifying Dark Joker and save the humans of the rural idyll known as The Wild.
But before the bat-winged monster can rescue innocent mankind from Dark Joker’s depredations, a beautiful, doomed woman named Saressa must tame the beast and teach it the humanity its tragic upbringing has deprived it of…
Although some of Jones and Beatty’s best artwork, this is not one of author Moench’s best scripts, managing somehow to be both heavy-handed and flimsy at the same time. The fantasy milieu is quite forced at times, his dialogue florid (even for Moench!) and the story seems unsure of its audience; injecting utterly unnecessary moments of gory excess into a solid plot that could with a little judicious pruning be quite recommendable for a younger readership.
Pretty but flawed, this is a book only really for the committed fan and collector.
By Brian K. Vaughan & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 987-1-84576-720-4
Like most “overnight successes†writer Brian K. Vaughan actually plugged away for those requisite few years before hitting it big with series such as Ex Machina and Y: The Last Man and original works such as the magnificent Pride of Baghdad (ISBN: 1-84576-242-8).
This collection purports to be a Batman compendium (better sales potential, I’d imagine) but is in fact a general gathering of DC universe material by Mister Vaughan in his formative days. First up is a three-part tale from Batman #588-590, illustrated by Scott McDaniel & Karl Story, starring the Dark Knight’s underworld alter-ego Matches Malone. ‘Close Before Striking’ is very readable psycho-drama revealing the true origin of the underworld alias whilst taking the reader on a traumatic excursion into the dark side of undercover work. This is followed by the delightfully dark and whimsical ‘Mimsy Were the Borogoves’. With art by Rich Burchett and John Lowe this stand-alone story features a deeply demented encounter with The Mad Hatter, and is undoubtedly the best thing in the book.
There’s only a tenuous Batman link in the next tale, which originally saw print as Wonder Woman #160-161. ‘A Piece of You’, drawn by Scott Kolins with inks from Dan Panosian and Drew Geraci, finds shape-changing Bat-villain Clayface attacking the Amazing Amazon when he discovers her origin. As she was formed from Magic Clay he reasons that he can absorb her – and her magical abilities – into his own mass. And stone me; he’s right! Action-packed and tongue in cheek, this daft but readable thriller also guest stars Donna Troy, Nightwing and Robin.
Somewhat messily the tome ends with a mere snippet from Batman: Gotham City Secret Files #1 which introduced new villain The Skeleton, and then promptly forgot all about him. ‘Skullduggery’ is illustrated by Marcos Martin and Mark Pennington, and although competent, rather lets down a very enjoyable trawl through the genre work of one of the best new writers in comics. If you enjoy superhero tales or are a Vaughan aficionado please don’t let this slight defect deter you from a great slice of comic book fun.
I’m assuming that all of us here love comics (otherwise why are you here? Did you think I was talking about stand-up comedians?) and that we’ve all had the same unpleasant experience of trying to justify that passion to somebody. Excluding your partner (who is actually right – the living room floor is not the place to leave your D*&$£! funny-books) most people have an entrenched and erroneous view of strip art, meaning that at some time you have tried to dissuade them from that opinion.
If so this collection might be the book you want to use the next time that confrontation occurs. Collected here in pristine black-and-white are tales that redesigned the Dynamic Duo and set them up for global Stardom – and fearful castigation from fans – as the template for the Batman TV show of the 1960s. It should be noted however that the producers and researchers did get their initial glimmerings from the comics stories of the era preceding the “New Look Batman†as well as the original movie serial of the 1940s.
So what have we here? At the end of 1963, Julius Schwartz had revived much of DC’s line -and the entire industry – with his modernization of the Superhero, and was asked to work his magic with the Caped Crusader. Bringing his usual team of creators with him, he stripped down the core-concept, bringing a modern take to the capture of criminals, downplaying all the Aliens, outlandish villains and daft transformation tales, even overseeing a streamlining/rationalisation of the art style itself.
The most apparent change to us kids was a yellow circle around the Bat-symbol, but more importantly the stories themselves changed. A subtle menace had re-entered the comfortable and abstract world of Gotham City. The revolution began with Detective Comics #327 (cover-dated May 1964) and was formalised in the first tale in Batman #164 (June 1964). ‘The Mystery of the Menacing Mask!’ was written by John Broome and pencilled by Carmine Infantino; a baffling “Howdunnit?†that was long on action and peril, which underlined the renewed intention to emphasise the “Detective†part of the title for the foreseeable future. To ram the point home a new back-up feature was introduced, “The Stretchable Sleuth†Elongated Man. This comic was to be a brain-teaser from now on.
In Batman, action and adventure were paramount. ‘Two-Way Gem Caper!’ pitted Batman and Robin against a slick criminal named Dabblo, but the villain wasn’t the star of this tale. Almost as an aside, a new Batcave and Wayne Manor were introduced plus a sleek, new compact Batmobile, more sports car than super-tank. This story was written by Ed “France†Herron and drawn by Bob Kane with Joe Giella inking the contents of both Batman and Detective in a bid to generate a recognisable uniformity to the stories. A new semi-regular feature also debuted that issue. The Mystery Analysts of Gotham City was a club of Detectives and Crime-writers who met to talk about their cases. Somehow it always resulted in an adventure such as ‘Batman’s Great Face-Saving Feat!’ (also the work of Herron, Kane and Giella).
‘Gotham Gang Line-Up!’ completed the transformation of Batman. Written by Bill Finger and pencilled by Bob Kane, the mediocre crime-caper from Detective #328 is remarkable for the plot-twist wherein faithful butler Alfred sacrifices his life to save the heroes, and Dick Grayson’s aunt Harriet moves into the mansion. From this point the adventures fall into a pattern of top-of-the-line comic tales punctuated by utterly exceptional tales of drama, mystery and action. These would continue until the TV show’s success became so great that it actually began to inform the kind of story in the comics themselves.
This cheap’n’cheerful Showcase Presents… compendium collects all the Batman and Robin yarns from Detective Comics #327-342 and Batman 164-174 (38 stories in all) written by Broome, Herron, Finger and Gardner Fox, with pencil art by Bob Kane, Infantino and Sheldon Moldoff. The inks are by Joe Giella, Sid Greene and Murphy Anderson.
Other story highpoints include ‘Castle with Wall-To-Wall Danger!’ (Detective #329), the eerie ‘Man Who Quit the Human Race!’ (Batman #165), ‘Museum of Mixed-Up Men’ (Detective #331 and guest-starring the Elongated Man), ‘Zero Hour for Earth!’ (Batman #167) and the captivating sci-fi chiller ‘Deep-Freeze Menace!’ (from Detective #337). If you’re a fan of costumed villains The Riddler, Penguin and Joker all make appearances, and it was during this time that the miniseries-within-a-series concept was pioneered as the mysterious Outsider struck at Batman again and again through a succession of subordinates.
No matter how much we might squeal and foam about it, to a huge portion of the world Batman is always going to be the “Zap! Pow!†caped buffoon of the 1960s television show. It really was that popular. But if you can make a potential convert sit-down, shut up and actually read these wonderful adventures for all (reasonable) ages, you might find that the old adage “Quality will out†still holds true. And if you’re actually a fan who hasn’t read this classic stuff, you have an absolute treat in store…
By Ed Brubaker & various (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-84576-724-2
Post Infinite Crisis, we’ve just been treated to yet another origin of The Joker in the more or less monthly pages of Batman Confidential, but not so very long ago (2005 in fact) writer Ed Brubaker and artist Doug Mahnke treated us to a rather gripping treatment based on the original 1940s tales, with a tip of the hat to the Steve Englehart/Marshall Rogers tales of the early seventies (see Batman Chronicles Vol. – 1 ISBN: 1-84576-036-0 and Batman: Strange Apparitions – ISBN: 1-84023-109-2 for those classics) in the form of an impressive prestige one-shot.
The title and apparently the original inspiration for the Clown Prince of Crime himself come from Paul Leni’s seminal 1928 film classic starring Conrad Veidt in the title role. The plot concerns the actions of innocent Gwynplaine who had a permanent smile carved into his face by the King as a punishment for his father’s crimes…
Set not long after the events of Batman: Year One (ISBN: 1-84576-158-8), The Man Who Laughs sees Captain Jim Gordon recognise that Gotham City has been changed forever when an outlandish and macabre serial killer goes on a very public, attention-seeking murder spree. Even his secret ally and vigilante outlaw The Batman is daunted by the sheer scale and audacity of the chalk-faced lunatic who seems utterly unstoppable…
The remainder of this book collects a three-part adventure from Detective Comics #784-786. Brubaker here scripts a generational serial-killer mystery guest-starring the Golden Age Green Lantern, who was the superhero-in-residence of Gotham City in the 1940s and 1950s.
‘Made of Wood’ illustrated by Patrick Zircher, Aaron Sowd and Steve Bird, finds Batman hunting a murderer who originally terrorised the populace in 1948 – even assassinating the then-Mayor – before simply disappearing. Matters are further complicated when a guilt-plagued Green Lantern returns determined to close the case he fumbled nearly 50 years previously…
Brubaker is an excellent writer at the peak of his abilities here and the art on both stories is effective and compelling. This is one of the better Batman collections of recent years and a great treat for any fan or casual browser.
By J. M. DeMatteis & Brian Ashmore (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-56389-984-5
This original graphic novel is a passable adventure with great aspirations that regrettably falls short of its intentions. Early in his career Batman survives a terrorist bombing of the Wayne Building which kills many of his employees. His helplessness amidst the tragedy resonates with the night a ten year Bruce Wayne couldn’t stop his parents from being murdered. When a video message from “The Children of Maya†claims credit for the atrocity he has a face and a name to hunt…
Over the next ten years he almost catches Jennifer Blake a number of times, but always she eludes him. Each time however he gets a little more of the puzzle and he knows that one day she will pay for her crimes. Eventually he tracks her to a mission in India, but once cornered she reveals a stunning secret. She has reformed, seen the light. In fact the locals believe her to be a true saint…
The attempt to bolt on a deeper meaning is painfully heavy-handed in places as DeMatteis’ usual subtlety seems to have deserted him in this tale which careens from obsessional parable to mystery-thriller, and Brian Ashmore’s painted art is painfully hit-and-miss, varying from moody brilliance to rushed and insubstantial daubing.
In a career that has seen some truly unforgettable comic stories this is one that perhaps should be.
