{"id":30861,"date":"2024-11-04T17:58:44","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T17:58:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=30861"},"modified":"2024-11-04T17:58:44","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T17:58:44","slug":"batman-the-golden-age-volume-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2024\/11\/04\/batman-the-golden-age-volume-2-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Batman: The Golden Age volume 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Bob Kane<\/strong>, Bill Finger<\/strong>, Jerry Robinson<\/strong>, George Roussos<\/strong> & various (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-4012-6808-4 (TPB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n

Batman: The Golden Age<\/strong> volume 2 is another paperback-format feast (there\u2019s also a weightier, pricier and more capacious hardback Omnibus <\/strong>available) re-presenting our anniversarial Dark Knight\u2019s earliest exploits. Set out in original publishing release order, it forgoes glossy, high-definition paper and reproduction techniques in favour of a newsprint-adjacent feel and the same flat, bright-yet-muted colour palette which graced the originals. Those necessary details dealt with, what you really need to know is that this is a collection of Batman<\/strong> tales depicting how the character grew into the major player who would inspire so many: developing a resilience to survive the stifling cultural vicissitudes coming decades would inflict upon him and his partner, Robin<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

With the majority of material crafted by Bill Finger and illustrated by Bob Kane, there\u2019s no fuss, fiddle or Foreword, and the book steams straight into mesmerising mysterious action, re-presenting astounding cape-&-cowl classics and iconic covers from Detective Comics<\/strong> #46-56, Batman <\/strong>#4-7 and the Dynamic Duo\u2019s stories from World\u2019s Best Comics <\/strong>#1 and World\u2019s Finest Comics <\/strong>#2-3: cumulatively covering all groundbreaking escapades from December 1940 to November 1941…<\/p>\n

Plunging right into perilous procedures, Detective <\/strong>#46 (Kane with regular embellishers Jerry Robinson & George Roussos) features the return of Batman\u2019s most formidable fringe scientific adversary as the heroes must counteract the awesome effects of \u2018Professor Strange\u2019s Fear Dust\u2019<\/em>, after which #47 delivers drama on a more human scale in \u2018Money Can\u2019t Buy Happiness\u2019<\/em>. This action-packed homily of parental expectation and the folly of greed leads into Batman<\/strong> #4 (Winter 1941) which opens with a spiffy catch-all visual resume prior to \u2018The Joker\u2019s Crime Circus\u2019<\/em>, plus the piratical plunderings of \u2018Blackbeard\u2019s Crew and the Yacht Society!\u2019<\/em>. \u2018Public Enemy No.1\u2019<\/em> tells a gangster fable in the manner of Jimmy Cagney\u2019s movie Angels With Dirty Faces<\/strong>, and \u2018Victory For the Dynamic Duo\u2019<\/em> involves the pair in the treacherous world of sports gambling.
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\nDetective Comics<\/strong> #48 finds the lads defending America\u2019s bullion reserves in \u2018The Secret Cavern\u2019<\/em>, and they face an old foe when \u2018Clayface Walks Again\u2019<\/em> (Detective Comics<\/strong> #49, March 1941), as the deranged horror actor resumes his passion for murder and re-attempts to kill Bruce Wayne\u2019s old girlfriend Julie<\/em>. DC <\/strong>#50 pits Batman & Robin against acrobatic burglars in \u2018The Case of the Three Devils\u2019<\/em>, leading neatly into Batman<\/strong> #5 (Spring 1941). Once again, Joker plays lead villain in \u2018The Riddle of the Missing Card\u2019<\/em>, before the heroes prove their versatility by solving a quixotic crime in Fairy Land via \u2018The Book of Enchantment\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Case of the Honest Crook\u2019<\/em> follows: one of the key stories of Batman\u2019s early canon. When a mugger steals only $6 from a victim, leaving much more behind, his trail leads to a vicious gang who almost beat Robin to death. The vengeance-crazed Dark Knight goes on a rampage of terrible violence that still resonates in the character to this day. The last story from Batman<\/strong> #5 –\u2018Crime does Not Pay\u2019<\/em> – once again deals with kids going bad and their potential for redemption, after which World\u2019s Best Comics<\/strong>#1 (Spring 1941 – destined to become World\u2019s Finest Comics <\/strong>with its second issue) offers an eerie murder mystery concerning \u2018The Witch and the Manuscript of Doom\u2019<\/em>. With most stories still coming from unsung genius Finger and art chores shared out between Kane, Robinson & Roussos, the team got a new top contributor as Fred Ray signed on to produce fantastic World\u2019s Finest<\/strong> covers that offered the only venue to see the Gotham Gangbusters operating beside the Metropolis Marvel.
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\nSordid human scaled wickedness informs \u2018The Case of the Mystery Carnival\u2019<\/em>, \u2018The Secret of the Jade Box\u2019<\/em> and \u2018Viola Vane\u2019<\/em> (Detective <\/strong>#51, 52 and 53 respectively): all mood-soaked crimebusting set-pieces featuring fairly run-of-the mill thugs, serving as perfect palate-cleansers for \u2018The Man Who Couldn\u2019t Remember!\u2019 <\/em>from WF <\/strong>#2: a powerful character play and a chilling conundrum that still packs a punch today.<\/p>\n

\u2018Hook Morgan and his Harbor Pirates\u2019<\/em> finds the Dynamic Duo cleaning up the docks whilst the quartet from Batman <\/strong>#6 (\u2018<\/em>Murder on Parole\u2019<\/em>, \u2018The Clock Maker\u2019, \u2018The Secret of the Iron Jungle<\/em>\u2019<\/em> and \u2018Suicide Beat\u2019<\/em>) offer a broad range of yarns encompassing a prison-set human interest fable to the hunt for a crazed maniac to racket busting and back to the human side of being a cop. Detective<\/strong> #54 heads back to basics with spectacular mad scientist thriller \u2018The Brain Burglar\u2019<\/em>, after which a visit to a ghost town results in eerie romp \u2018The Stone Idol\u2019<\/em> (Detective <\/strong>#55) before World\u2019s Finest <\/strong>#3 launches a classic villain with the first appearance of one of Batman\u2019s greatest foes in \u2018The Riddle of the Human Scarecrow\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The volume ends with a grand quartet of tales from Batman <\/strong>#7. \u2018Wanted: Practical Jokers\u2019<\/em> again stars the psychotic Clown Prince of Crime, whilst \u2018The Trouble Trap\u2019<\/em> sees our heroes crushing a spiritualist racket before heading for Lumberjack country to clear up \u2018The North Woods Mystery\u2019<\/em>.
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\nThe last story is something of a landmark case, as well as being a powerful and emotional melodrama. \u2018The People Vs. The Batman\u2019<\/em> finds Bruce Wayne<\/em> framed for murder and the Dynamic Duo finally sworn in as official police operatives. They would not be vigilantes again until the grim \u2018n\u2019 gritty 1980s…<\/p>\n

Kane, Robinson and their compatriots created an iconography which carried Batman well beyond his allotted life-span until later creators could re-invigorate it. They added a new dimension to children\u2019s reading… and their work is still captivatingly accessible.<\/p>\n

Moreover, these early stories set the standard for comic superheroes. Whatever you like now, you owe it to these stories. Superman<\/strong> gave us the idea, but inspired and inspirational writers like Bill Finger refined and defined the meta-structure of the costumed crime-fighter.<\/p>\n

Where the Man of Steel was as much Social Force and juvenile wish-fulfilment as hero, Batman and Robin did what we ordinary mortals wanted to do most: teach bad people the lessons they richly deserved…<\/p>\n

These are tales of elemental power and joyful exuberance, brimming with deep mood and addictive action. Comic book heroics simply don\u2019t come any better.
\n\u00a9 1940, 1941, 2017 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson, George Roussos & various (DC Comics) ISBN: 978-1-4012-6808-4 (TPB\/Digital edition) This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. Batman: The Golden Age volume 2 is another paperback-format feast (there\u2019s also a weightier, pricier and more capacious hardback Omnibus available) re-presenting our anniversarial Dark Knight\u2019s earliest exploits. … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Batman: The Golden Age volume 2”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,10,75,76,239,66,125,225,127,242,172,107,9,325],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-batman","category-crime-comics","category-dc-superhero","category-drama","category-horror-stories","category-humour","category-mystery","category-nostalgia","category-pirates","category-robin","category-science-fiction","category-superman","category-the-joker"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-81L","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30861"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30867,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30861\/revisions\/30867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}