Batman, S/D

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BLAZING OUT OF THE COSMIC EVENTS OF Dialogue in Comics and gotham central AND TYING INTO THE WIZARD HOT LIST EVENT how did batman's back get unbroken? AND THE HANEY AWARD WINNING Sgt. Rock: C/D , it's the ULTIMATE BATMAN THREAD! THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!!!

Obviously, the BIG Batman events are Year One, and DKR, with possibly Killing Joke and Arkham Asylum closing out "essential Batman reading", but what are the other highlights and lowlights of him what strikes terror into the heart of evil-doers?

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 24 October 2005 14:47 (twenty years ago)

I've always liked the Two-Face thing Matt Wagner did in Tales of the Dark Knight. I think it was just called "Faces."

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Monday, 24 October 2005 14:59 (twenty years ago)

Year One is quite good, DKR is well-made but fascist, the sequel is more fun, Arkham Asylum is more about the art than the script, Killing Joke I've never read, the best Batman film is Returns. I don't think I've ever read a truly classic Batman story, but then again, that applies to most other superheroes as well.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 24 October 2005 15:01 (twenty years ago)

Was that the one where he finally got DC to accept that scar tissue ain't green?

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 24 October 2005 15:01 (twenty years ago)

er, xpost

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 24 October 2005 15:02 (twenty years ago)

Oh yeah, I enjoyed the first Batman / Judge Dredd crossover quite a bit.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 24 October 2005 15:02 (twenty years ago)

I used to like Cult a lot, but haven't read it for ages.

― chap who would dare to spy on his best mate's ex (chap), Monday, 24 October 2005 15:03 (twenty years ago)

I'd have to double check, Huk, but I think it does feature a green hemiface.

Also the first Batman/Grendel crossover (the Hunter Rose one) is pretty good.

The forties version of Red Hood where they discover the Joker's origin is fun, and a good companion to "The Killing Joke."

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Monday, 24 October 2005 15:05 (twenty years ago)

I'm enjoying the current Judd Winick Batman run.

I have good memories of some of Pete Milligan's stories, though I think they were quite Milligan. I'm a bit surprised, with hindsight, that Milligan and Alan Grant came out of nowhere to be regular Bat-writers.

― Tom (Groke), Monday, 24 October 2005 15:12 (twenty years ago)

It seems like the Legends of the Dark Knight line must have a lot of good stuff buried in it. I've liked almost everything I've read, including the recent "Snow" arc, Grant Morrison's "Gothic" (okay, this was a bit silly but with some good character moments), Mignola's one-shot (i.e. Leee's white whale, mostly for the art), and a couple of the stories in this.

Destroy: Batman/Spawn (although I'm pretty sure I was into it in '94)! I'd like to say Hush, but it was one of the first things I followed after getting back into comics in college and I enjoyed it at the time.

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 24 October 2005 15:13 (twenty years ago)

Is it Legends and not Tales? Well, whatevers...

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Monday, 24 October 2005 15:15 (twenty years ago)

The Milligan story in that Scarecrow collection was pretty good.

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 24 October 2005 15:15 (twenty years ago)

What do people think of this?

ihttp://batman.manyfacesof.com/art/mig3.jpg

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 24 October 2005 15:17 (twenty years ago)

Ain't read it. Looks promising, though.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Monday, 24 October 2005 15:19 (twenty years ago)

Hush is good if you're not expecting much more than flashy widescreen guest-star-laden hootie-hoo. It's the "realistic" version of Loeb's Superman / Batman overkill. I haven't read this since it came out, though.

The one Milligan Batstory I remember (& really liked!) was some Riddler 3-parter (drawn by Kieron Dwyer) that involved The Spirit of Gotham & possession & ritual sacrifice & lots of cool spooky stuff!

I have fond nostalgic fuzzies for the Grant / Breyfogle years (THE VENTRILOQUIST) & the Starlin / Aparo run pre-JASON TODD OMG. And the too-brief Barr / Alan Davis run on Detective - fun & nice to look at!

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 24 October 2005 15:20 (twenty years ago)

I thought that Doug Moench did a great job on Batman (with great Gene Colan art) right before DKR came out. Very distinctive characters (Nocturna, the Black Mask) fine plotting and dialogue, atmosphere— was saddled with Jason Todd jive a bit, tho. And yet, that run was swept under the rug b/c THE GREAT FRANK MILLER IS HERE!

The thing is, everyone went "ooh-ah, Miller's taken Batman back to basics," whereas dudes like Steve Engelhart and Moench had been shepherding the character like that for years without all of Miller's "HEY LOOK AT ME, I'M AN AUTEUR!!!"

― veronica moser (veronica moser), Monday, 24 October 2005 15:28 (twenty years ago)

What story is it where Batman visits the Riddler and he's all sad and washed up, pining for the days when criminals had fun and didn't really hurt anyone?

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 24 October 2005 15:29 (twenty years ago)

That was in the Batman Villians Secret Origins Special, circa 1989. Written by Neil Gaiman. It's actually a British TV crew who visits the Riddler (as they are doing a doc on Batman, and providing a framing device for the origins), and illustrating by "BEM"? very playfully. Riddler haunts a junkyard full of giant typewriters and stuff like that.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 24 October 2005 15:51 (twenty years ago)

That's the one, thanks Huk. I wish I knew whose copy I could possibly have been reading, though!

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 24 October 2005 16:21 (twenty years ago)

I think the Riddler part of that issue has been reprinted in several collections.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 24 October 2005 16:33 (twenty years ago)

Must have been one of those.

Also, guilty pleasure: the three BATMAN/PREDATOR trades! Best experienced when they're free and you read them all at once. I love Batman's increasing resentment at being forced to deal with stupid space aliens rather than fighting real crime (at least that's how I remember it).

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 24 October 2005 16:45 (twenty years ago)

Full Circle by Barr & Davis is as good as their run on Detective and features perhaps Davis best ever work.

Theres a Ras Al Ghul story from the 70s with Michael Golden art (its in the Tales Of The Demon trade) which I love...can't remember who wrote it though..

Some of the Year One follow-ups were great before Jeph Lob muscled in and ruined it for everyone - Andy Helfer and Chris Sprouse did a Two-Face origin story for a Batman annual that was creepy and moving, and Moench/Gulacy's "Prey", which was the third arc in Legends Of The Dark Knight, is great too.

But some of the best Batman stories I read in recent years were in The Animated Series comics, especially when Ty Templeton was writing with Rick Burchett art...anybody else read that at the time? Small, perfectly formed little doses of Batman.

― David N (David N.), Monday, 24 October 2005 21:28 (twenty years ago)

Jordan: Gotham By Gaslight is ok. Very proto-Hellboy art by Mignola.

And LoDK #54 hasn't been my white whale for a year!

― Leeeeeeeeee (Leee), Monday, 24 October 2005 21:58 (twenty years ago)

For me it's all about the Grant/Breyfogle run. I love those issues and most of the villains, the Ventriloquist being a high point.

On a completely different subject: Why everyone says that DKR is fascist???. Could someone explain it to me?. Never understood that particular interpretation.

― Amadeo (Amadeo G.), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 01:48 (twenty years ago)

i don't know if "fascist" is the word necessarily but i'm reading dkr for the first time right now (after greatly enjoying year one) and there's a definite right-wing overtone which is more distracting than anything else

― artiste (artiste), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 03:49 (twenty years ago)

illustrating by "BEM"? very playfully.

Pencils by Bernie Mireault, inks by Matt Wagner, colours by Joe Matt.

― kit brash (kit brash), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 05:25 (twenty years ago)

god so many auteurs have been let loose on bats. chaykin anyone?

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 06:37 (twenty years ago)

Chaykin did Batman:Thrillkiller (which is actually supposed to be one of the better Batman Elseworlds books).

http://www.hillcity-comics.com/graphic_novels/bat/thrillkiller.jpg

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 07:25 (twenty years ago)

I've read "Gotham by Gaslight" years ago; from what I remember Mignola's art and the colouring fitted very well with the theme, but the actual plot (Batman meets Jack the Ripper) could've been handled better. I think the problem with almost all "alternative history" Batman stories is that premise is always better than what comes of it.

Well, in the comic Bruce Wayne end up leading a small army of uniformly-clad ex-gang members who've suddenly (and rather inexplicably) converted to the cult of Batman... But saying Dark Knight Returns is fascist perhaps too extreme, though it definitely has a right-wing tone that hinges on fascism. I've said this before, but I'll say it again... The character of Batman is inherently fascist (as are most superheroes, though Batman especially so): he thinks crime is a disease that can be fought and solved by vigilantism, violently apprehending the criminals and putting them behind bars (or as with Miller, even actually killing them). However, most Batman writers get around the issue by not involving the societal implications of Batman's crusade into the story, the easiest solution being to make him fight against ludicrous supervillains that don't easily stand as proxies for real crime. But in DKR, Miller takes the politics of Batman quite seriously, and it is rather clear where his personal sympathies lie. This is why, even though I can admire the craft put into the story, I can never bring myself to actually like it.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 07:58 (twenty years ago)

The character of Batman is inherently fascist (as are most superheroes, though Batman especially so):

superheroes that are not fascist:

the fantastic four
spider-man
captain america
captain marvel
the x-men
wonder woman
the sub-mariner
the black panther
the green lantern

moral: superheroes are not "inherently fascist."

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 10:14 (twenty years ago)

J.D. are you calling Plastic Man a fascist??

― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 10:18 (twenty years ago)

there should have been a joe mccarthy-style inquisition in DC/Marvel-world to decide this long ago!

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 10:30 (twenty years ago)

I think there is a good argument that Black Panther could well be fascist in Wakanda.

― Pete (Pete), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 11:14 (twenty years ago)

ditto for the sub-mariner. tho not in wakanda, granted.

― bucky wunderlick (bucky), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 11:29 (twenty years ago)

Is absolute monarchy fascist?

― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 11:31 (twenty years ago)

Dude, the Green Lanterns themselves might not be fascist, but the Guardians of the Universe most def. are. Who elected them? By what authority do they meddle? Oh sure, they don't kill, but certainly their actions and those of their agents interfere with democratically elected planet/states.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 13:37 (twenty years ago)

I know, they're bastards, I voted for The Celestials.

― chap who would dare to spy on his best mate's ex (chap), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 13:38 (twenty years ago)

http://eurobricks.hosting.ipsyn.com/spip/IMG/jpg/dscn0046.jpg

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 16:32 (twenty years ago)

I hate pre-designed and licensed Lego both, and the only super-hero toy I have is the Flaming Carrot action figure, but I think I want that...

― kit brash (kit brash), Thursday, 27 October 2005 00:04 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...

Matt (Nite)Wanger talks Monster Men: http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=6379

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 16:02 (twenty years ago)

ihttp://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d86/Grungehamster/5eb2907f.jpg

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 16:05 (twenty years ago)

BOOO! Bandwidth exceeded!

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 16:09 (twenty years ago)

It's the second picture here if you can get to it.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 16:18 (twenty years ago)

Name me some Batman dances!

BATUSI

― c(''c) (Leee), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 19:34 (twenty years ago)

Batwist

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 19:39 (twenty years ago)

Batango!

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 19:48 (twenty years ago)

Bat-Cha-Cha

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 19:48 (twenty years ago)

jitterbat

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 20:16 (twenty years ago)

ON TOPIC:
S: Batman & the Monster Men

OFF TOPIC:

The Bat-Trot

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 20:18 (twenty years ago)

Rockin' Robin

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 20:24 (twenty years ago)

http://img.yezzz.com/sm3119424.jpeg

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 20:27 (twenty years ago)

LamBATda!

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 20:28 (twenty years ago)

Word, word, word, Bat is the word!

Okay, maybe that one doesn't work so well...

― Matt Maxwell (Matt M.), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 23:19 (twenty years ago)

i am a fan of the stuff jeph loeb & tim sale did, but maybe more for sale's art than for loeb's writing (solid but unspectacular as it is.)

― Special Agent Gene Krupa (orion), Friday, 30 December 2005 07:03 (twenty years ago)

HUGE fan of the Pete Milligan stuff. Drunkenly suggested a couple of days ago that they were the best Bat Tales EVER EVER EVER and frankly I can't find a flaw in that argument even now.

Off-topic: BATMAN RETURNS ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

― Vic Fluro (Vic Fluro), Friday, 30 December 2005 23:46 (twenty years ago)

three weeks pass...

Oh for fucks' sake. Paul Dini and Rags Morales on Batman? (so says buddy Rich, er, not Buddy Rich, but our buddy, whose name is Rich)
And where is the Tom Fontana series?

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 18:24 (twenty years ago)

Dini shouldn't be bad (assuming he's not going to do the "I'm writing for Alex Ross" thing)! And if Rags can escape the SAD PIEFACE CRISIS, then boffo!

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 18:27 (twenty years ago)

Mahnke will be missed, tho. He better be getting some work, dammit.

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 18:27 (twenty years ago)

As much as I love Mahnke (particularly when inked by Nguyen), he's almost wasted on Batman, because he's so good at faces. Though he's a master of pursed lips. OH THOSE KISSABLE BATLIPS.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 18:33 (twenty years ago)

Well, yeah. If someone was to do a grizzled version of the Giffen / DeMatteis JL, he'd be perfect. Regardless, he shd be making Michael Turner buxxx.

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 18:50 (twenty years ago)

The FIRST Englehart/Rogers run is still my favourite Batman saga - it's brilliantly plotted, serious w/out being all grim'n'gritty (y'know, Batman actually does some tec work and isn't needlessly rude to all and sundry), panoramic, great fun.

Most underrated stories - the Detective issues by Gerry Conway, Don Newton and Dan Adkins

― Ward Fowler (Ward Fowler), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 18:50 (twenty years ago)

Are those the ones where Batman is dating a Vampire Lady?

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 18:54 (twenty years ago)

Those are from the 1st Doug Moench era, I think (circa the first appearance of OMG JASON TODD). DM had a thing for Bats & vampires - I think he's written at least 3 Elseworlds one-shots / graphic novels about Batsy being a vampire!

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 19:00 (twenty years ago)

Remember that awesome issue of Detective written by Harlan Ellison where Batman can't find any crime to bust? That was great. I loved that one when I was a kid. Also, there was one from that same era (I think it was Detective) where Batman fought a Yeti (this may have been Doug Moench), and on the cover, Batman was on skis and the Yeti was jumping out of a snowbank. Hee hee, great stuff.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 19:06 (twenty years ago)

ihttp://www.sequentialellison.com/images/gallery/Detective567/DETC567P9.jpg

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 19:09 (twenty years ago)

yeah that ellison issue is surprisingly great, and again, a departure from the grim'n'gritty that still stays true to the batman 'mythos' etc. tho' gene colan was a little past his prime by that point, it was still a treat to see him illustrating bats - DC never really found the right inker for Colan, imho

can't really remember much abt the conway/newton comics - twenty or so years since i read 'em - just that they were really solid fun bks w/ great pics

also enjoyed: the early 70s 100 page Detective Comics put together by Archie Goodwin, w/ amongst other treats a great silent Englehart/Amendola lead, the only Alex Toth Batman, Jim Aparo doing some of his most inspired post-Adams Bats, loadsa great reprints and all-new Manhunter strips by Goodwin and Simonson in the back, yumsa

― Ward Fowler (Ward Fowler), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 23:04 (twenty years ago)

I read that, Huk, in a UK Batman (hardback) annual from the early 80s. He beats the Yeti (which is in fact a werewolf style transforming man, if I remember correctly) by shining a flashlight in its eyes. Cos its an albino. And albinos are sensitive to bright light. Pink eyes and all. Lame. But kinda cool at the same time...

― David N (David N.), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 00:35 (twenty years ago)

Thanks for the spoiler!

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 14:31 (twenty years ago)

What's Dini like, then? Hack or hack with redeeming qualities?

― Chuck_Tatum (Chuck_Tatum), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 14:38 (twenty years ago)

PRO: He was one of the main dudes on the Animated Adventures of Batman.
CON: He wrote those giant-sized Alex Ross glossy crapfests.
CRON: He writes (wrote) for Lost.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 14:42 (twenty years ago)

Here's the "official" announcement:
http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=c4959841fa67e7f6922039d45f94d1e3&threadid=57023

― Sadfaced In Gotham-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 19:19 (twenty years ago)

YAY:

“Part of Paul’s own agenda on the series is to go in and tell single-issue mystery stories. Every issue is a standalone mystery. There may be an overarching story that runs underneath everything, but every issue has a beginning, middle, and end of a detective mystery. That’s something that we haven’t seen in a while, and it takes someone of real talent and ability to be able to pull that off on a monthly basis.”

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 19:20 (twenty years ago)

"NOT ACTUAL ART"

― Too Easy-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 19:25 (twenty years ago)

Dude, he's working on Detective, not Batman - those succulent lips might stick around!

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 19:53 (twenty years ago)

I read a blog that said War Games was a masterpiece. Is that my cue to stop reading tha blog?

― kenchen, Wednesday, 25 January 2006 20:58 (twenty years ago)

In a word, RUN.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 22:37 (twenty years ago)

(what do I know though, I only read two issues of it)

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 22:38 (twenty years ago)

Actually when I saw Dini's name on Lost, it got me to thinking that Lost is a perfect comic-book series, like Gotham Central or such, and if it could start showing up in a few "comics aren't for kids anymore" articles, that would be cool.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 26 January 2006 01:08 (twenty years ago)

I miss Jim Aparo. Shame he never got paired with a particularly good writer. (And *so many* craptastic villains.)

The Wagner/Grant/Breyfogle era was pretty good, wasn't it? Or do I remember wrong?

― Chuck_Tatum (Chuck_Tatum), Thursday, 26 January 2006 01:22 (twenty years ago)

I'm alergic to Jim Aparo. Everyone looks like they've got a broken nose.

― chap who would dare to no longer work for the man (chap), Thursday, 26 January 2006 17:29 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, but EVERYONE looks like they've got a broken nose. For like 40 years!

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Thursday, 26 January 2006 18:12 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...

recommend me a good batman GN or TP, wouldja folx?

(that's not DKR or DKSA or death in the family (the joker is the IRANIAN AMBASSADOR?!) or killing joke)

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 18:04 (nineteen years ago)

Tales of the Demon: O'Neil & Adams do Batman as hairy-chested 70s Love God. It's AWESOME.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 18:21 (nineteen years ago)

There'll probably be a Batman & the Monster Men trade soon.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 18:28 (nineteen years ago)

There's also the Batman Archives Vol. 1, cheap (around the same price as Showcase Presents stuff, but about a 1/4 the size) colour reprints of the first year's worth of Bat-stories, which will enhance yr enjoyment of the eventual Batman & the Monster Men trade.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 18:34 (nineteen years ago)

i was thinking about that tales of the demon bizness... there's a few of those right?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 18:56 (nineteen years ago)

There's the original Tales of the Demon, which collects the 70s stories by O'Neil & Adams in Detective Comics, and then there's the 80s follow-up Son of the Demon, which is kinda lame by Mike W. Barr and Jerry Bingham (or somebody). I don't think Ra's Al Ghul even appeared outside those stories until the early 90s.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 19:02 (nineteen years ago)

what else is there, bat-fans?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 19:06 (nineteen years ago)

Is City of Crime worth pickin' up?

80s-wise, I liked "Blind Justice" and "Gothic" as a kid. But they're probably rub, right?

The Milligan/Aparo and (much longer and quite undrerrated) Grant/Breyfogle runs on Detective are also amusing and probably going cheap in a bargain cardboard box near you. Anything post-Crisis by Marv, Jim S, Doug M or Max Allan Collins should probably be avoided.

― Chuck_Tatum (Chuck_Tatum), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 19:06 (nineteen years ago)

City of Crime (trade comes out in July, I think?) is definitely worth picking up. It's a monster. Sorta fits in thematically with Batman Begins. It's a MONSTER of an epic, and it gets kinda confusing, but it's a great ride.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 19:09 (nineteen years ago)

Andy Helfer and Chris Sprouse did a Two-Face origin story for a Batman annual that was creepy and moving

That was great! What's with LTDK, btw? The first 25-or-so were okay, but the rest have by and large been a waste of space.

― Chuck_Tatum (Chuck_Tatum), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 19:19 (nineteen years ago)

Go for Strange Apparitions, collecting the Steve Englehart/Marshall Rogers/Terry Austin dream-team run from the '70s, including the awesome Joker Fish story.

Batman in the Eighties is also a lot of fun: Alan Brennert's tearjerker from Detective #500, a terrific Len Wein/Walt Simonson Joker story, Mike W. Barr and Michael Golden doing a long Ellery Queen tribute, and a typically lovely Don Newton art job from '84.

― Douglas (Douglas), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 19:21 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.thebatsquad.net/_images/detective629.jpg

"The Hungry Grass!"

http://www.thebatsquad.net/_images/detective630.jpg

"And the Excecutioner Wore Stilleto Heels" (!)

― Chuck_Tatum (Chuck_Tatum), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 19:22 (nineteen years ago)

Just because of the sheer volume (usually 3x monthly for over 65 yrs), there are probably more good and great Batman stories than there are for any other character ever. There's also an equal amt. of terrible stuff, howev.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 19:30 (nineteen years ago)

Ha - I remember I promised to YSI a (from what I recall) fantastic issue of Batman written by Jim "Call Me Priest" Owsley (featuring broken noses, natch) that came between OMG JASON TODD and Marv Wolfman's asstastic run. My word is onion bond.

I kinda have fond memories of Detective Comics circa OMG BANE, too - not exactly classic, but definitely readable, w/ Chuck Dixon & Graham "Call Me Rex Morgan, MD" Nolan doing the thing. Their run, qualitatively, might be akin to the post-Doomsday competency of the Supertitles.

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 19:33 (nineteen years ago)

They should really collect the Grant/Breyfogle run. Or I should d/l it. RATCATCHER!!!

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 19:35 (nineteen years ago)

ihttp://www.comicdomain.co.uk/acatalog/detective_586.jpg

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 19:37 (nineteen years ago)

Oh, shit - I meant to recommend this on the SLOTT thread, but it works here as well. Arkham Asylum: Living Hell is a 6-issue mini from a year or two ago by DAN SLOTT and RYAN SOOK. For those wondering where AA:LH exists within the Slott Time Line, this mini predates his Shulkie work. There is very little Bat in it. However, it is pretty solid, if not fantastic. Maybe because of the lack of Bat. It drags a smidge in the beginning & end, but the character bits in the middle are great.

The fact that DS introduces 4 new possible additions to the Bat Gallery of Rogues (Jane Doe, Humpty Dumpty, Doodlebug, and a secret one whose identity would kinda spoil part of the story) w/ oodles of potential is enough for me to recommend y'all seek this out. Especially in light of the total lack of interesting new Bat villains of late. And by "of late," I mean in the past 10-15 years - Bane? Hush? Outside of the work by Grant & Wagner, writers be rolling out the same old skels time & again.

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 19:49 (nineteen years ago)

Mr. Zsasz is pretty cool. Don't know how long he's been around, though.
What I liked about the Grant/Wagner stuff was that they weren't CREATING NEW ADDITIONS TO THE ROGUES GALLERY, they were creating characters to suit stories. Like, I coulda given a fuck if Ratcatcher or Ventriloquist had ever appeared beyond their original stories.
Meanwhile, Hush & Bane are like, ACTION FIGURES looking for a story. Still.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 19:53 (nineteen years ago)

AN APPRECIATION: http://www.nyxxunderground.com/quarter/g_b_detective.htm

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 19:56 (nineteen years ago)

Like, I coulda given a fuck if Ratcatcher or Ventriloquist had ever appeared beyond their original stories.

At least those guys have potential to be more frequent pests. Well, the Ventriloquist does / did. A perfect example of a one-and-done villain: the KGBeast. (I know if I go back & read those Starlin / Aparo Batbooks, I will be disappointed. So I will not do that to myself.)

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 20:05 (nineteen years ago)

Chuck waves the TWO GREATEST BATMAN STORIES EVER in your faces and you dare to mention the KGBeast. You don't deserve nice things.

― Vic F (Vic Fluro), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 23:33 (nineteen years ago)

If you don't wanna wait for Monster Men, get Wagner's Faces trade (collecting a three-issue story from LOTDK).

― kit brash (kit brash), Thursday, 30 March 2006 00:03 (nineteen years ago)

Is there a thread somewhere where we talked about Year 100? Great fucking stuff.

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Thursday, 30 March 2006 08:41 (nineteen years ago)

Vic, you wound me! With an umbrella!

― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 30 March 2006 13:01 (nineteen years ago)

my blurb from last week's ship list on B:YC:
Batman: Year 100 #2: JEEPERS CREEPERS is this good. Aside from the fact that it's, y'know, just generally REALLY GOOD, what I really loved about BYC is that, y'know, sure, sometimes when artists want to make superheroes look "realistic" they'll put seams on their costumes. Like Lee Bermejo (the guy what did the Lex Luthor: MOS mini). Sure, that's okay. But Pope doesn't just put seams on costumes or rivets on the hardware. His crazy shit is MADE OUT OF STUFF. Pope goes the distance.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Thursday, 30 March 2006 13:38 (nineteen years ago)

BURNING QUESTION (in my pants): When're we gonna see the OYL Crazy Quilt?

― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 30 March 2006 13:49 (nineteen years ago)

In the next issue of Detective Comics, Crazy Quilt and Film Freak open Gotham's first open air movie theater in Central(ly Located) Park.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Thursday, 30 March 2006 13:54 (nineteen years ago)

Paul Pope article (not by DW): http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6317297.html

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Thursday, 30 March 2006 14:02 (nineteen years ago)

Dan, use the search function!

Batman: Year 100

― c(''c) (Leee), Thursday, 30 March 2006 17:59 (nineteen years ago)

d'oh

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Thursday, 30 March 2006 22:34 (nineteen years ago)

Let's guess what craptastic Marv Wolfman characters will be killed off next week!

― Chuck_Tatum (Chuck_Tatum), Thursday, 30 March 2006 23:05 (nineteen years ago)

Are Bane and Azrael dead yet?

― Chuck_Tatum (Chuck_Tatum), Thursday, 30 March 2006 23:05 (nineteen years ago)

Neither of those are Wolfman creations, but, Azrael is dead, I think.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 31 March 2006 13:29 (nineteen years ago)

SPOILERS

Ratcatcher and Ventriloquist are both dead now. Which is sorta weird, like some sort of, EFF EWE to that underrated era of Batmanifestation.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 7 April 2006 15:50 (nineteen years ago)

WHAT?!?!?!?

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 7 April 2006 15:56 (nineteen years ago)

You didn't get this week's comics yet, did you?

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 7 April 2006 15:57 (nineteen years ago)

NO!

Is this in IC or Batmang?

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 7 April 2006 16:30 (nineteen years ago)

In Detective...furthermore, Magpie (who was found d-e-d on the last page of the last Batmang) is from that era as well (i think she first turned up in either Batman #401--just three months before Miller's YO or in Legends, which was, essentially, DC's HERE'S WHO WE ARE AFTER COIE). So, there's definitely SOMETHING afoot.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 7 April 2006 16:34 (nineteen years ago)

Ventriloquist and Ratcatcher both killed off at the same time? Someone at DC must *really* hate Alan Grant.

― Philip Alderman (Phil A), Friday, 7 April 2006 18:02 (nineteen years ago)

Well, Ratcatcher was offed in Infinite Crisis #1, I think. But yeah, it's all part and parcel of some kind of REVAMP to pre-Miller Batman, I think.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 7 April 2006 18:12 (nineteen years ago)

The Light Knight?

― scamperingalpaca (Chris Hill), Friday, 7 April 2006 18:15 (nineteen years ago)

OH SHUCKS, KGBeast is also from that Immediately Post YO Bat-Era...

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 7 April 2006 18:21 (nineteen years ago)

Meanwhile, Hush and Bane LIVE ON FOREVER

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 7 April 2006 18:23 (nineteen years ago)

Compared to the others, Ventriloquist is quite a good character, no? Why bother?

― Chuck_Tatum (Chuck_Tatum), Saturday, 8 April 2006 11:00 (nineteen years ago)

Clearing out the late-80s Bat-Closet (hopefully to make room for the Sci-Fi Closet!), I guess. It struck me as pretty lame, because in David Lapham's story, there was a pretty similar incident with the Ventriloquist, only much cooler. But I guess that story (which was labeled "A pre-War Games Tale of the Batman") must have happened years ago in story-time, so whatev.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 10 April 2006 13:31 (nineteen years ago)

is the Ventriloquist that guy who has a puppet in a mobster outfit who leads a gang? he rocks.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Monday, 10 April 2006 13:51 (nineteen years ago)

I know!

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 10 April 2006 13:58 (nineteen years ago)

Now he's pushing them up. OY(L) VEY.

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 10 April 2006 14:01 (nineteen years ago)

you refer to this? Like, I coulda given a fuck if Ratcatcher or Ventriloquist had ever appeared beyond their original stories.???

What I meant by that was that in the original stories, it wasn't so much about CREATING NEW FOES FOR BATMAN TO GO UP AGAINST EVERY SIX MONTHS FOREVER. The stories were specifically about getting through that particular caper and nothing more. So my "I coulda given a fuck" was meant to be much more complimentary than it came across as.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 10 April 2006 14:05 (nineteen years ago)

er, you weren't talking about that at all.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 10 April 2006 14:08 (nineteen years ago)

i read hush last week... it was ok. i kinda like the whole all-star batman party thing but the mystery was quite obvious and poor.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 10 April 2006 14:54 (nineteen years ago)

search the animated series annual where batman teams up w/ the demon to fight ras al ghul

― ++++++, Monday, 10 April 2006 16:26 (nineteen years ago)

Can someone explain the general plot of No Man's Land/War Games/etc.?

Also: what's the deal w/ the end of rock of the ages, wher Lex Luthor tells Batman he made a big mistake? I'd always assumed this mean that Luthor had deduced Batman's identity from all the corporate takeover maneuvers. Did they ever do anything w/ this?

― kenchen, Saturday, 15 April 2006 22:37 (nineteen years ago)

NML = big quake hits Gotham (see, it's really San Francisco!), huge disaster, Gotham cut off from rest of the country, total anarchy (some cops become thuggish gang leaders), Batman kinda MIA.

As for ROA -- maybe it's a Scooby Doo/serial villain posture? "I'll get you next time, and your little dog, too!" type of deal.

― c(''c) (Leee), Sunday, 16 April 2006 17:12 (nineteen years ago)

Didn't the Vent just rock up in Birds Ov Prey (where I believe SHiva dealt with him the way he should be, less humouring of the bad guys dogy psyches please).

― Pete (Pete), Monday, 17 April 2006 10:35 (nineteen years ago)

I'd always assumed this mean that Luthor had deduced Batman's identity from all the corporate takeover maneuvers. Did they ever do anything w/ this?

This was alluded to in the first arc (collected as "Public Enemies") of Superman/Batman, when Luthor had planted evidence suggesting that John Corben, aka Metallo, was the triggerman on the Wayne Murder. And then, in the climax, when Luthor showed up in his Super Powers action figure green armor, Batman pretty much confirmed it when he talked about how Wayne Corp. had bought out Lex Corp. or something.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 17 April 2006 13:28 (nineteen years ago)

SAD-FACED NO MORE:
http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=19f165bb0218b2b82edc2de480810f02&threadid=67140

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 17 April 2006 15:24 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.penny-arcade.com/docs/gabe/dicf.jpg

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 24 April 2006 14:15 (nineteen years ago)

photo not loading

BUT further to the SADFACENOMORE post above, ATR reports that Detective will feature rotating artists in single-issue stories including Williams, Morales, DARWYN COOKE and Tim Sale!!!

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 24 April 2006 14:28 (nineteen years ago)

HOTTTTTT

TTTTTT

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 24 April 2006 14:33 (nineteen years ago)

Huk, just go to Penny Arcade.

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 24 April 2006 14:35 (nineteen years ago)

it's COMING up now! When I COME into this thread, the picture COMES up on my screen.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 24 April 2006 14:39 (nineteen years ago)

How come no-one mentioned the birthday schtick! Batman, Superman & Green Latern all have birthdays in February. Hwo'd have though (though Supes is obviously the Krypotian month of February).

JLA = Justice League of Aquarians

― Pete (Pete), Monday, 24 April 2006 15:22 (nineteen years ago)

I think during the Silver Age they said that Superman's birthday was Feb. 29 (was 1938 a leap year?), which explains why he doesn't seem to age.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 24 April 2006 15:27 (nineteen years ago)

OMG.
Search: Batman: Fortunate Son by Warlock-Approved Fan Favourites Gerard Jones and Gene Ha. Bizarre bizarre bizarre. Why doesn't Batman like Rock & Roll? That's what Robin wants to know! Find out as a slightly altered figures from rock's past find themselves linked to Batman's origins! Did a Sid Vicious analogue kill Batman's mojo???

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 1 May 2006 13:32 (nineteen years ago)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1563895781.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

(i can probably why-ess-aye it later today, if that's still a cool thing to do)

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 1 May 2006 14:07 (nineteen years ago)

(does why-ess-aye still exist?)
anyway, pdf preview action of Dini/WilliamsIII Detective: http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=5519

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 17:03 (nineteen years ago)

huk i special orded fortunate son, son!

― city of gyros (chaki), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 17:10 (nineteen years ago)

didja get it yet?

Anyone who was waiting for the trade on Monster Men just got LUCKY
http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=7357

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 19 May 2006 05:39 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.tillsonburgnews.com/story.php?id=231124

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 19 May 2006 14:48 (nineteen years ago)

WHO MUCH IS RETAIL ON MONSTER MENS
I am jonesing for a good batman story. so many of them are fucking garbage.

― electro-acoustic lycanthrope (orion), Friday, 19 May 2006 14:52 (nineteen years ago)

The Tilsonburg guy is awesome!

― Chuck_Tatum (Chuck_Tatum), Friday, 19 May 2006 14:55 (nineteen years ago)

Have you read Tales of the Demon?

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 19 May 2006 14:56 (nineteen years ago)

the deets on Monster Men:
BATMAN AND THE MONSTER MEN TP
Written by Matt Wagner
Art and cover by Wagner
Matt Wagner takes the Dark Knight through his
sophomore season in this new trade paperback collecting
the 6-issue miniseries! Batman has spent his first year fighting organized crime - but nothing thus far in his early career as the Caped Crusader has prepared him for the new menace facing Gotham: super-powered villains! Retailers, please see the order form for a special order incentive.
On sale August 23 • 144 pg, FC, $14.99 US

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 19 May 2006 22:46 (nineteen years ago)

one month passes...

didja get it yet?

yah i did its fuckin weird. between that, the new order/ pixies thing in scott pilgrim 3, and teenagers from mars, im kinda sick of punk indie refs in comix! sheesh!

who the fuck is great white shark??

thank you.

― ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ (chaki), Saturday, 1 July 2006 11:36 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.retrocrush.com/video/batmanhullabaloo.html

― chap who would dare to be a nerd, not a geek (chap), Saturday, 1 July 2006 11:56 (nineteen years ago)

That's awesome!

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Saturday, 1 July 2006 17:14 (nineteen years ago)

That's site's got a lot of good stuff on - there's a funny story somewhere there about how he read Fin Fang Foom's dialogue out at an open mike poetry night, but I can't find it right now.

― chap who would dare to be a nerd, not a geek (chap), Saturday, 1 July 2006 17:55 (nineteen years ago)

I second anything drawn by Marshall Rogers, Gene Colan, or Neal Adams. Bob Kane through the '50s, at least. The only Frank Miller Batman I liked was Year One, with David Mazzucelli drawing.

― Pete Scholtes (Pete Scholtes), Tuesday, 4 July 2006 15:19 (nineteen years ago)

"Bob Kane through the '50s, at least."

― kit brash (kit brash), Tuesday, 4 July 2006 20:57 (nineteen years ago)

I reread Killing Joke recently, and it's really a pretty slight work. Good ending, lovely art, but not much to it beyond that.

― chap who would dare to start Raaatpackin (chap), Tuesday, 4 July 2006 21:03 (nineteen years ago)

Relatively influential though, what with the shooting. A good example of how a pretty lousy story can actually be a good thing in the long run (maybe... Oracle vs Batgirl you decide).

― Pete (Pete), Tuesday, 4 July 2006 22:16 (nineteen years ago)

"Bob Kane through the '50s, at least."

Is this meant to register disagreement or agreement or what?

― Pete Scholtes (Pete Scholtes), Wednesday, 5 July 2006 19:16 (nineteen years ago)

presumably meant to register recognition of Bob Kane's signature being his most notable contribution to those Batman comics

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 5 July 2006 19:22 (nineteen years ago)

Ah, I see. And also register superior knowledge without actually imparting it.

So school me: Where does Kane-as-actual-artist end, and Dick Sprang begin?

― Pete Scholtes (Pete Scholtes), Wednesday, 5 July 2006 19:32 (nineteen years ago)

Beats me. I think he had assistants pretty much from the get-go.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 5 July 2006 19:34 (nineteen years ago)

Was Kane even plotting it or anything, or just sitting back and counting the Batcash?

― chap who would dare to start Raaatpackin (chap), Wednesday, 5 July 2006 19:59 (nineteen years ago)

thing about Killing Joke is: I don't think AMo gave a monkey's as to whether the story was to be canon or not. He just wanted to tell a memorable story—which it is, even tho' he no likey anymore and it is possibly more responsible for subsequent sadfacery than anything else at the time. And yet, we've had crippled Babs ever since.

as for transistion from Kane to Sprang, you have Jerry Robinson in there as well. I think Kane's surrogates took over pretty darn fast— he didn't do much from 1939 on, due to his father schooling him on biz-stuff—certainly moreso than Siegel and Shuster. and no, i don't think he plotted hardly anything.

― veronica moser (veronica moser), Wednesday, 5 July 2006 20:03 (nineteen years ago)

Search: Batman correctly or falsely credited to Bob Kane through the 1950s.

― Pete Scholtes (Pete Scholtes), Wednesday, 5 July 2006 20:38 (nineteen years ago)

Kane did ink Batman and Robin's faces for a few years, but that's pretty much it after the first few stories. Finger was writing from the start.

― kit brash (kit brash), Wednesday, 5 July 2006 21:19 (nineteen years ago)

finger got screwed huh?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 5 July 2006 21:25 (nineteen years ago)

What kind of people LIke City Of Crime but hate Hush and War Games. Wargames is what got me into comics (actually war drums (the prelude to war games) did) Judd winick's studd is really good. kudos to him for bringing back Jason Todd and making him a total badass. On the down side. I am really dreading Morrison's run on Batman. especially since the first ar is called Batman and The Son and Features Batman's son fighting with Tim Drake.

― Christopher Goodnight (saintsaucey), Wednesday, 5 July 2006 22:33 (nineteen years ago)

wow you are like the anti me.

― ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ (chaki), Wednesday, 5 July 2006 23:18 (nineteen years ago)

"finger got screwed huh?"

in the sense that he died a penniless, bitter alcoholic, yes.

― veronica moser (veronica moser), Thursday, 6 July 2006 00:09 (nineteen years ago)

that's kind of the main sense.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 6 July 2006 00:22 (nineteen years ago)

Hey, I'm three quarters of the way there!

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Thursday, 6 July 2006 00:24 (nineteen years ago)

so is this city of crime book good? will it disappoint me or please me? is there a loveable kid in it?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 6 July 2006 16:22 (nineteen years ago)

Morrison's Batman will be the first time I've ever followed a Bat book ever.

― barefoot manthing (Garrett Martin), Thursday, 6 July 2006 16:40 (nineteen years ago)

Robin gets to be the lovable kid for the first time in, what? 50 years.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Thursday, 6 July 2006 16:44 (nineteen years ago)

I love kids when they're lovable. And dive face-first into bad guys' backsides.

― barefoot manthing (Garrett Martin), Thursday, 6 July 2006 17:11 (nineteen years ago)

City of Crime is v. similar in themes to Batman Begins, only without all the Begins parts and the plot sort of, well, it's an epic (a real epic, not just a multipart story)(mind you, there's nothing continuity-altering or anything)(it's just, hey, this is something Batman did one time) and allows for side stories to sometimes overwhelm the main thrust.
I'm actually thinking about buying the trade.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Thursday, 6 July 2006 17:48 (nineteen years ago)

Anyone a fan of the Brian Azzarello/Eduardo Risso Batmans? I dig what I've read.

― Pete Scholtes (Pete Scholtes), Friday, 7 July 2006 02:06 (nineteen years ago)

Ha - that run's actually where I started to go off the BAzz. Him doing the same sub-Chandler schtick he does (w/ varying degrees of success) in 100 Bullets w/ Bats & Killer Croc & Generic Femme Fatale = feh. Also, Risso's art looked terrible (compared to his Bullets work, anyway).

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 7 July 2006 02:55 (nineteen years ago)

one month passes...

You guys seen Batfatty's LJ?

― Danny Aioli (Rock Hardy), Sunday, 20 August 2006 12:31 (nineteen years ago)

batman was on the cover of the montreal gazette yesterday! or at least, detective comics number something something. cuz some mtl-area dude sold his comix collection for 2.5 millies.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 20 August 2006 13:40 (nineteen years ago)

two years pass...

I've been reading through some late 80s Alan Grant (with John Wagner mostly in name only from what I understand) and Norm Breyfogle Detective this weekend. You have a Gotham DJ playing The New York Dolls and doing coke while a vampire like character has someone killing hobos and a guy gets turned into a chemical waste monster. You have Scarface selling dope to kids that causes them to go crazy and attack cops. You have Ratcatcher keeping judges, jury and jailors in a prison in the sewers and kills people by having his legion of rats attack them. You have a guy creating a Tulpa (years before Grant Morrison and Warren Ellis used one in a storyline) to steal to pay off gangsters and leads to creating a demon that can only be stopped by Etrigan/Jason Blood, who is always a good guest star in a Batman story.

I had read all of them 20 years ago or so and enjoyed them then and they hold up pretty well. Batman’s personal life and all is really in the background and the plots are pretty dense, as most of these stories are 2 or 3 issues.

I also read a Year One annual by Chuck Dixon dealing with The Riddler and an annual by Mark Waid & Brian Augustyn that was about Batman getting trained by a Matlock style southern detective going up against the klan, both were pretty decent reads. The Riddler holds up a bit better and could fit in with current stories just fine, I cannot remember the artist but it was nice and gritty.

― earlnash, Monday, 13 October 2008 05:25 (seventeen years ago)

I love the Grant/Breyfogle issues, though I haven't re-read them in years.

― James Morrison, Tuesday, 14 October 2008 06:55 (seventeen years ago)

The dense plotting is doubtless a result of Grant having learned his craft writing stories in four to six page installments for 2000 AD.

― chap, Tuesday, 14 October 2008 12:58 (seventeen years ago)

two years pass...

Desperately looking for a Batman comic that portrays Bruce Wayne as an overweight cop who dresses as a bat... written with a much more realist direction such that Batman is ridiculed no end. It's sort of a parallel universe interpretation (it's not "batman at 40") and I think might possibly contain sci-fi thematics.

Anyone familiar w/ what I'm talking about?

― kelpolaris, Tuesday, 9 August 2011 02:43 (fourteen years ago)

This maybe? http://whatmarkread.blogspot.com/2011/03/batman-mask-by-bryan-talbot.html

― Chuck_Tatum, Tuesday, 9 August 2011 17:40 (fourteen years ago)

Nah, this is done in a much more comical (literally) style. Thanks, tho!

― kelpolaris, Wednesday, 10 August 2011 00:00 (fourteen years ago)

Are you sure it's not a parody of Batman by MAD Magazine or something like that, instead of an official DC comic book?

― Tuomas, Wednesday, 10 August 2011 09:17 (fourteen years ago)

Didn't DC do a couple of things called something like 'Realworlds' instead of 'Elseworlds', about Batman and Superman in the real ("our") world? No idea what they were called, but maybe this was it?

― not bulimic, just a cat (James Morrison), Wednesday, 10 August 2011 23:13 (fourteen years ago)

RE: James Morrison

This?

Probably not the item desired, but worth a shot.

― OWLS 3D (R Baez), Wednesday, 10 August 2011 23:24 (fourteen years ago)

GOT IT.

I WIN.

― OWLS 3D (R Baez), Wednesday, 10 August 2011 23:34 (fourteen years ago)

Hey! You know what immediately comes up when you google search "bruce wayne fat cop"?

Batman/Robocop slash fiction.

"Bruce finds an unlikely ally in the form of Robocop. As the title suggests, the two end up finding more than answers in their quest for justice."

― OWLS 3D (R Baez), Wednesday, 10 August 2011 23:56 (fourteen years ago)

this setup with fat bruce wayne definitely sounds like a Tales of the Dark Knight arc

― Nhex, Thursday, 11 August 2011 02:14 (fourteen years ago)

i mean, Legends

― Nhex, Thursday, 11 August 2011 02:14 (fourteen years ago)

except kelpolaris specifically said it wasn't Talbot's Masks

― generous loller at dollies (sic), Thursday, 11 August 2011 03:33 (fourteen years ago)

Blah, yeah, I can't remember where I found it - save for that it was on some sort of *list*. I've picked through the first couple pages of "fat bruce wayne batman comic book" (etc) but obviously not to a lot of success.

My only memory of it is a picture - it's got Bruce Wayne as a cop dressed in a significantly less stylish Bat-suit, sitting in a car with the door open eating jelly donuts. The car I remember looking somewhat futuristic, or just Deloreon-like. That's really all I'm going off of. I definitely don't think it was just a MAD parody.. the image took too much care.

I'm kinda praying that what I'm looking for isn't just a Deviant Art mockup.

― kelpolaris, Thursday, 11 August 2011 05:54 (fourteen years ago)

sez N'rama: "Detective Comics #881 represents the culmination of the single greatest run of Detective Comics in decades. Perhaps of all time."

Oh shut the fuck up.
Meanwhile, has anyone read it? Read Snyder's first issue and it was okay, a little hamfisted (like a young Rucka working out his kinks) but wasn't that interested in following up.

― like working at a jewelry store and not knowing about bracelets (Dr. Superman), Thursday, 11 August 2011 21:16 (fourteen years ago)

one month passes...

Mordecai Richler reviews DKR, 1987 http://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/03/books/paperbacks-batman-at-midlife-or-the-funnies-grow-up.html I love the parallel he sets up between Tijuana Bibles and DKR.

― like working at a jewelry store and not knowing about bracelets (Dr. Superman), Monday, 19 September 2011 18:21 (fourteen years ago)

Ha, Mordechai sort of OTM about late Frank Miller, if not Dark Knight.

― Chuck_Tatum, Tuesday, 20 September 2011 12:59 (fourteen years ago)

I dunno... DKR, much more than Miller's other works of that era (Daredevil, Ronin, even Year One), pretty much predicts all of his later craziness. It already has the required elements: liberal-hating and crypto-fascism disguised as "satire", grim & gritty palette, ridiculous musclebound and testoterone-overdosed fight scenes, the first person narration that's half macho noir, half medical journal (the ridiculously detailed descriptions of various bodily harm), etc. It may have felt fresh in 1987 because no one was doing stuff like that then, but in retrospect all that it has going for it is Miller's & Varley's visual innovativeness; everything else is just stale, a precursor of what went wrong with Miller, Batman, and superhero comics in general by the 1990s.

― Tuomas, Tuesday, 4 October 2011 07:05 (fourteen years ago)

it still had a sense of humour, which vanished almost immediately from his work afterwards

― robocop last year was a 'shop (sic), Tuesday, 4 October 2011 08:19 (fourteen years ago)

actually, that's probably wrong. you can absolutely tell what his sense of humour is in the latter stuff, it just isn't funny and falls flat. Tuomas is right that his later attitudes are designed as satire in TDK, but I feel in the overblown, operatic context of that piece they do still work as comedy, even if I don't agree with all of them.

I'll admit that I found the Sin City movie frequently laugh-out-loud hilarious in a way that I presumed Rodriguez was intending, but had refused to give Miller credit for on the page. I'd not sit through it on TV though.

― robocop last year was a 'shop (sic), Tuesday, 4 October 2011 08:24 (fourteen years ago)

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