Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes - Posts Tagged "batman-and-robin"

Here are reviews of three different Golden Age Batman Books I read:

The Batman Chronicles, Vol. 1 by Bill Finger

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Batman Chronicles Volume 1 marks the Batman's first appearances in Detective Comics in Issues 27-38 and the first big 64-page Batman Issue 1.

The character in the first eleven stories is barely recognizable as Batman with those huge ears on the costume. The original Batman is a character right out of the same pulp fiction tradition as characters like The Shadow and Doc Savage. He's a vigilante who often carries a gun. In these early issues, Bruce Wayne lives in Manhattan and has a fiancée.

The first two stories have very little of that Superhero feel to them However when Gardener Fox takes over in Detective Comics #29, the villains get more interesting. Batman battles Dr. Hugo Strange, Dr. Death, saboteurs, and even vampires. On the vampire plot, they got a little confused as Batman killed the vampires by shooting them with a silver bullet.

The amount of killings and the darkness of the early stories has been exaggerated somewhat by people who defend the dark turn of later issues of the comic book. The killings that happened were all in self-defense and bloodless portrayals. Anyone claiming they're taking Batman back to his root s by including a lot of bloody violence is full of it.

Of course, this comic also marks the first appearance of the Joker as Batman's prime villain in Batman #1. This Joke is pretty much the homicidal maniac we've all come to know. The Joker dies at the end of the issue, but of course there was no way he was going to stay dead.

The biggest change in this book as far as I'm concerned was the appearance of Robin in Detective Comics #38. Really, this changed the tone of the comic book and maybe . The original Robin, Dick Grayson, was trained by Batman after his parents were murdered at the order of a local mob boss named Boss Zucco. Robin was a real swashbuckling, wise-cracking hero that really brought fun to the comics and it did seem to make a positive change for Batman.

Robin was intended as a bit of model for youth living in tenements were crime dominated. In Batman #1, In one scene, Batman takes the guns from four criminals and Batman allows the four of them to take Robin on. Once Robin cleans the four with them, Batman speaks directly to readers, and delivers a special message. Kids were encouraged to be one of Robin's regulars by practicing Readiness, Obedience, Brotherhood, Industriousness, and Nationalism. It may have sounded cheesy today, but modern kids could do worse.

It's really hard to imagine that Batman would have endured as long as he had if Robin hadn't come along. While some of the stories are problematic and too short. The introduction of Robin, the Joker, and Catwoman make this a great read for Batfans everywhere.




Batman: The Sunday Classics 1943-1946 by Bob Kane

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Batman Sunday strips is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, they avoided the low points that the daily strips suffered where Batman and Robin would not be seen for months in costume. On the other hand, the stories were not nearly as complex and a few stories were disappointing particularly the first storyline and the last two.

However, this book does have some worthwhile features. It features early appearances by the Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, and an early version of Two Face. In addition, Batman has all kind of adventures away from Gotham City including at oil wells, at New Orleands during Mardi Gras as well as several other rural adventures.

In addition, this collection includes snippets of rare Batman comic strips from 1953, 1966, 1978, and 1989 which are sadly unavailable collected form, so this is a treat for Batman fans that's definitely worth reading.



Batman in the Forties by Bill Finger

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book takes 192 pages to give readers view of the best Batman stories of eleven years of Batman stories from 1939-50. We get a pretty solid sampling. There's the first Batman story, Robin's first story and solo stories with Robin and Alfred.

Included are the introduction of Vicky Vale in Batman #49. There's a great Joker Story, "The Joker Follows Suit" in which the Clown Prince of Crime carries off an imitation of Batman intorducing the Jokermobile and the Joker signal for criminals in trouble. There's also a somewhat odd Catwoman story where she falls in love with Bruce Wayne and tries to reform only to reverse intentions when she finds out Bruce is leading her on (for some reason.)

The Bat Cave is invaded in a "1,000 Secrets of the Batcave" in which a fleeing criminal finds his way into Wayne Manor and eventually the Batcave and the Dynamic duo and the tough battle it out in the midst of all Batman's props and trophies.

My favorite story in the book had to be "Bruce Wayne Loses Guardianship of Dicky Grayson." Bruce Wayne/Batman is clearly emotional about the loss of the person he "loves most." Batman also is more quietly emotional in Batman #47 when he comes face to face with his parents' killers.

This early Batman is far more emotive, and the stories are even open to the occasional happy ending as happened to the original Two Face story in Detective Comics #80.

There are a few weaker entries in this book such as the "Clayface" story and Batman was not nearly as fun a character as Superman in the same era, but it's still a worthwhile read for any superhero fan.



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Review: Justice League Unlimited #8:

Is the Question crazy? Maybe, the best way to address that is to write a comic where most of it is him narrating to himself about himself, while wandering about the Justice League Watch Tower. Then he goes to investigate and has three suspects as to who planted a bomb on the Watch Tower and he ends up talking to only one of them.

The problem with this issue is that so much of it is spent with nothing interesting going on. There are no grand vistas, no alien landscapes, no evocative visuals, no witty dialogue, just page after page of internal monologue with the story really not moving until the last few pages. This isn't as bad as some stories in this series, but it's not great either.

Review: 1.75 out of 5.0

Batman and Robin Adventures #5:

This All Ages book actually is a pretty entertaining Joker story. The Joker beaks out of Arkham to kill a guy who owes him $20 by slapping him to death with a banana but that all changes when he hears a psychiatrist declare the Riddler the most brilliant criminal in Arkham. This sets Joker determined for revenge and sets Batman as having to protect the riddler.

This is just a good solid Joker story that portrays a joke that can be a true clown prince of crime but who also is deadly dangerous. The plot works beautifully and the result is a well-written and well-thought out comic.

Star Trek #33 (Gold Key):

In this Issue of Star Trek, we're given exposition, way more exposition than belongs in a comic book. It's right near the front, so the whole thing becomes boring before we get to the plot. It all centers around the Big Bang theory and Spock, Kirk, and the Enterprise reaching the spot where they think it all happen. The Enterprise is caught in an anomaly where there's a barrel and inside the barrel is James T Kirk in a blue shirt. But this isn't a parallel universe. This is the James T. Kirk from the previous Universe that's been waiting around in suspended animation for several billion years. We're told that the entire universe plays out exactly the same way each time and that only one person actually has free will and that our Kirk needs to let Blue Shirt Kirk replace while our Kirk gets into the suspended animation barrel and is jettisoned into the void.

Our Kirk refuses and Blue shirt Kirk challenges him to a duel to the death which we're told is done in accordance with Star Fleet regulations. Yes, Star Fleet has approved rules for duels to the death.

This is just a stupid story but with two Kirks, it's not all bad.

Rating: 1.75 out of 5.0

Silver Surfer #5:

I really was somewhat nervous when Issue 4 of Silver Surfer ended with our hero somewhat earthbound. But I shouldn't have been. It's not a matter of Galactus' barrier being put in place, it's just that every life on the planet is in danger and only one person can actually save them.

I appreciated the call back of Hulk and Doctor Strange, the Surfer's former colleagues on the Defenders as was appropriate for such a big threat.

More importantly, Slott made Dawn's continuing roll in the series plausible as we see how the same type of love that makes it hard for Dawn to leave, makes it hard for them to hold her there. Overall, this was a great issue in a wonderful book. Forward to greater adventures ahead.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5.0

She-Hulk #3:

Every Marvel hero worth their salt has to battle Doctor Doom every once in a while. It's safe to say that this particular battle is certainly unusual one. Doom's heir Kristoff wants asylum because he fears becoming Doom's heir and puppet. However, Kristoff has been in the country more than a year and for him to have any prayer of getting asylum, Jennifer Walters has to get him to court, but she has to go through Doom's efficient robots to do it.

Overall, I'd rate this comic 3.5 stars. The first flash page was a bit unsettling though somewhat justified by later parts of the story. The story was humorous but not near as funny as the prior issues.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.0

Indestructible Hulk #20

This issue wrapped up the Inhumanity saga and the 20-issue Indestructible Hulk series with a change of character for Banner. It was similar in some way that experienced by Matt Murdoch in the final issue of Daredevil Volume 3, though not quite as well-realized. The Inhumanity storyline showed the ugliness in Bruce Banner who's frustration with his life as the Hulk wasn't that his having to focus on running away as the Hulk or on curing the Hulk cost the world the advances he could discover but rather that fate had left him second rate. This issue sees him confront the issue, but his realization is short-lived as our attention demanded by the close which sets up the next series.

Rating: 3.0 out of 5.0

Green Hornet #4:

The theme of Waid's Green Hornet in the first three issues has been the ability of power to corrupt. Issue 3 showed how corrupt the Hornet could get and how blind power made Britt Reid. In this issue, the fall begins and it is a stunning occurrence. We don't see who the man who pulls the strings is but we see that he is diabolically clever and Reid isn't prepared for what he's about to go through. I should say the book does it earns 15+ rating with violence that's a bit more extreme than your typical comic book. The book left me very curious what Issue 5 would hold.

Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0

Justice League Unlimited #34:

General Zod from the Phantom Zone by Mr. Mxyzptlik and it's up to the Justice League to save Superman. This issue illustrates what every bad issue of JLU did in the most extreme.

The story had lazy continuity with Superman having claimed never having met Zod, despite the fact this occurred in Superman: The Animated Series. It might be too much to expect the writers for JLU to know every comic story published for the DC Animated Universe, but someone editing this should've known the TV shows. They don't and it shows here.

The story is very slow getting going which leads to a very rushed conclusion. This horrific pacing is added to by the fact that Mr. Mxyzptlik is acting totally out of character by spring Zod. In fact, he's only in the story as a plot device.

This is a lazy and boring story that fails to entertain.

Rating: 1.25 out of 5.0

Batman and Robin Adventures #18:

This story finds Joker depressed as all of his criminal efforts seem in vain. However, Harley is determined to cheer him up the only way she knows how: killing Batman.

In many ways, this story seems like a lighter version of Paul Dini's classic, Mad Love. However, this particular story takes a couple different turns. The relationship between Joker and Harley remains center stage and Templeton's writing really captures its disturbing yet hilarious nature. The end is a nice touch too.

Rating: 3.75 out of 4.0

Batman '66 #43:

This issue wasn't quite as good as what came before. Batman and Robin have to talk their way out of the death trap and really there's far too much standing around talking in this issue. Also, I'm very share of writing "whack whack whack" into the Penguin's dialogue as it doesn't quite seem right for a comic book, particularly when he does it so much. The book has some good moments and while the Penguin's actions were predictable, it was still fun to read. Overall, the Widow saves this story though it's not quite as fun as the one that came before it.

Rating 3.0 out of 5.0