Batman

Television, Movies Games and Books Comics
#1

Now, as I’ve written in the Watchmen thread, I never read comic books as a kid, except for the one Spiderman I had and a couple of Turtles and only now, at the age of 24, did I start to look at comic books again, thanks to the Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns.

Now, I was asked to recommend some books for those who want to start out in the sinister world of Gotham City and here’s what I would suggest:

My Batman addiction started with The Dark Knight Returns, that was the first one I read and in hindsight, this seems to be somewhat of a mistake. If I were to do it all over again, I would start with YEAR ONE, because that’s a really great re-boot of the character, it’s very true to it’s actual roots in the 1930s while at the same fresh enough to be appealing to newer generations as well.

The next one your list should definitely be THE LONG HALLOWEEN, as this is where we get to see the “Detective Batman” - and that, I think, is the core of the character, he’s not primarily a fighter or a “superhero-in-the-superstrong-can-lift-cars-up-in-the-air” sort of way, no, he’s a great analytical mind, he’s deducing things like Sherlock Holmes, he solves puzzles, mysteries, he broods over things he can’t figure out yet, that’s who he is.

And once you’ve read these two, I think, it’s up to you to explore the character more fully. [COLOR=yellow]ARKHAM ASYLUM and JLA: TOWER OF BABEL should be next. “Arkham” is a totally different graphic novel, both in the way it’s drawn and in the aim of the story, “Arkham” has little actual plot, it ventures deep into the abyss of Batman’s mind … is he fundamentally mad? Is he any different than the Joker or Two-Face?[/COLOR]
“Babel,” on the other hand, did a hell of a lot for me. It explained to me why I feel drawn to the Batman character and not to any of the other superheroes. He’s different, he’s not like the others, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern - no, the Batman is unlike any of the others. “Babel” showed me his loneliness, his inability to overcome his fears of betrayal, his incapability of trusting others.

So, these four should be a pretty good start. If you can, try to get hold of a copy of [COLOR=yellow]The Killing Joke. It’s somewhat obscure now, I found it was included in a collection of Alan Moore’s work for the DC universe, for me, it was totally worth buying it only for the “Joke,” since the most interesting thing in the Batman 'verse for me is his relationship with the Joker and the way they’re representing two faces of the same coin. Plus, the only time I’ve seen Batman actually LAUGHING (Batman, not Bruce Wayne, mind!) was in “The Killing Joke.”[/COLOR]

Well, of course there are a lot more great Batman stories out there, but this would seem to be a solid foundation. And then, once you’ve read a dozen or so good Batman novels and have really gotten to understand a great many facets of the character, only then should you go check out [COLOR=yellow]THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. You’ll get a lot more bang for your buck if you do it in this order. I did it the other way 'round, I started off with “Dark Knight” and now I can say that that wasn’t wise. You really wanna know, understand and care about the character before you read Miller’s milestone.[/COLOR]

Right, that’s it for now, let me know if this was helpful, have fun in Gotham and please, if anyone would like more suggestions or has to offer any themselves, jump in on the discussion.

#2

Coolness! I will be sure to start with year one, I was originally going to go with the dark knight returns after hearing all the good things about it, but I will be sure to go in the order you mentioned.

#3

GalaxyRanger, thanks much for the recap. I’m an old-school fan and bought Dark Knight as the issues came out, but I ran out of time and money to stay current with comic books years ago, so I never followed the next generation/s of serious Batman stories. I think Arhkam Asylum and Son of the Demon were the last two I bought, and they left me kind of cold; felt like everyone was trying to jump on Miller & Moore’s bandwagon. But you make some of the subsequent graphic novels sound really good. I’m gonna go get Tower of Babel right now.

Killing Joke does get swept under the rug for whatever reasons. Dark Knight and Kililng Joke really put the Joker back on the map in a big way, and are probably directly responsible for him being the bad guy in the first movie (which I think suxxx, but I’ll not hate on it here).

#4

As far as Son of the Demon is concerned, I can’t say anything about it, I haven’t read it, but about Arkham:

For me, Arkham was a very disturbing read. At first, I approached it like I had every other Batman comic before, but I soon realized that that wouldn’t work with Arkham. So I tried to see it as a picture, or rather an oil painting of Batman’s mind or the Mind Of The Insane in general. And that really worked, for me, at least. Because, the way I see it, one never thinks in clear-cut terms or thoughts, every single thought is always tainted with the remnants of the thought you had before and at the same time stained with foreshadows of the next thought, it’s all so blurred and swirling wildly, like, maybe, the hissing inside a tornado - and then, in between, there are a few moments of total, mind-boggling clarity, like a brief trip to the eye of the mental storm… so yeah, don’t look at the plot in “Arkham” - try to regard the whole book as a kind of background or stage design on which the drama of Batman’s struggling unfolds itself. I found this approach to be quite insightful.

That’s really one of my all-time favorites. In this book, you learn more about the Batman from what the other characters say and think and imply about him than from when he is actually to be seen on the page. Oh, all the gossip and mistrust and hostile undertones … and then this great ending! Tell me what you think about ToB after you’ve read it, I’d really like to know.

well, as I said, one reason could be that it had apparently been out of print for some time. It’s included in this http://www.amazon.com/DC-Universe-Stories-Alan-Moore/dp/1401209270/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201872606&sr=8-1 collection of Alan Moore’s work at DC, but that’s pretty obscure. But there’s good news, though. The Killing Joke is going to be re-released in March:
http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Killing-Joke-Alan-Moore/dp/1401216676/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201872713&sr=1-1

Unfortunately, however, the hardcover edition is going to cost almost as much as the paperback edition of the Alan Moore collection, which at least has a second Batman story in it, a good Green Arrow story and some neat little Green Latern Corps stories.

#5

Yes! The Dark Knight Returns is fabulous, but have not yet any of the others. But I will take your recomendations about the other ones. Love the Batman/Superman contrast in the story…

#6

In a documentary on the Discovery Channel, Miller once said that “Superman believes that order is the natural state of the world, whereas Batman believes that entropy and chaos are the natural order - these two people would not like each other.”

#7

If you missed this post on the Other Sci Fi section, check it out. EXHAUSTIVELY sourced analysis of superheroes’ known religious affiliations:

http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/comic_book_religion.html

And Batman’s here, featuring a few quotes from Miller, whose words are gospel to me when it comes to Batman. And other landmark Batman writers/artists:

http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/Batman.html

Even if you’re not interested in the religious angle, it’s still some really interesting psychoanalyis and points about Batman art and iconography.

#8

well thank you, I had only enough time to glimpse through it and read some it, it seems like a very concise analysis.

I have to say, though, that I, for one, am quite indifferent towards Batman being Catholic or Protestant, I don’t really see a big difference between the Christian denominations - which may be because I myself am pretty much an Atheist or just because my look on the world is of course shaped by my sorroundings - and Central Europe is a pretty secular place these days.

What I’m fascinated by is relating his personality to themes like “revenge” and if he’s maybe similar to characters from early modern English revenge plays, like “The Spanish Tragedy” or “Titus Andronicus.”

#9

Check out the other Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale Batman graphic novels. The Haunted Knight was good and Dark Victory is almost as good as the Long Halloween except I feel some of the art is a little rushed but it doesn’t really effect the reading experience.

#10

I already read both those books. My two cents: Dark Victory [COLOR=silver]truly is a worthy successor to Long Halloween, a really well-crafted sequel with a very surprising twist.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=yellow]The Haunted Knight, on the other hand, was a precursor to the other Halloween stories by L/S and it shows, it’s an “early work,” a collection of three stories that range from quite okay to nearly bad. I would recommend it only for die-hard Batman fans.[/COLOR]

#11

I think in order for a comic book to be bad. It has to be both visually and storywise bad. The artwork of The Haunted Knight (although a stepping stone to the Long Halloween) was pretty good. I never felt the writing quality dropped although the last issue felt rushed.

#12

I would rather say that for a comic book to be good, both the story and the artwork have to be good. I’ll give you another example with Tim Sale. I read his new collection “Tales of the Batman” a couple of weeks ago and although the artwork was above average (not breathtaking, but definitely quality work), the stories I found to be somewhat … not actually dull, but they didn’t live up to what my expectations had been, so that as a whole, the collection didn’t do it for me. It’s like it is with movies, if it’s “only” a pretty movie with outstanding visual/special effects, it can still be boring (I’m thinking Episode I here, for instance …)

#13

I think the Episode I analogy is a good one here. Although I am willing to sit threw it again if I’m in the mood for good special fxs and an awesome lightsaber battle. It’s less of an overall expereience and more a specific thing.

#14

I might be an overall experience when you’re like 8 or 10 years old, which at the seemed to me to be the age group the movie was tailored to.

#15

Oh definately That was the greatest movie when I was seven. I watched it the theaters and it was awesome.

#16

yeah, I was 15 and pretty bored most of the time. wooden dialogues, not-so-great-acting in front of the ever-present green screen and an abundance of totally unnecessary and unwittingly delivered comic relief from JarJar etc.

#17

Well, I was in the bookstore and saw Year One, so picked it up. Good stuff; I really enjoyed it. Gordon was my favorite character in this one. Now that I am sure I will be into the Batman series I am going to pick up some more of the ones recommended here. Question though: what comes directly after year one finishes? That is the one I would like to read next.

#18

Lucky, I’m really glad you liked it.

To answer your question: there were two more or less direct sequels, called Year Two and Year Three, but they’re actually completely irrelevant (which is just a nicer way of saying they suck). Year Two was erased from continuity and for Year Three, they didn’t even bother to release it as a trade paperback. To cut a long story short, they were both done by different writers/artists than Year One and didn’t benefit the universe at all.

If you wanna see more of Batman in the early stages of his career, then what I would strongly suggest is that you pick up The Long Halloween - continuity-wise, it shows Batman only shortly (about a few months) after the events of Year One. Plus, if you like it - and I’m pretty certain that you will, because it’s one hell of a tale - it’s got a sequel that is just as good called Dark Victory[COLOR=white].[/COLOR]

So, if you’re looking for more quality stuff, that’s the direction I would steer you in in good conscience.

p.s.: there is another supposedly very good story out there that shows Batman right after Year One, called The Man Who Laughs, it’s about Batman’s first encounter with the Joker (in the new Year One continuity). It came out originally in 2005, but as comic stores are nowhere to be found in my corner of the world, I had to wait for the hardcover, which came out on January 30th 2008 in the US and a little later over here. As a matter of fact, I got my copy this afternoon and I can’t wait to check it out, but I’ll force myself to finish Titus Andronicus first (I don’t know why they call it Shakespeare’s worst play, so far there’s been one execution, two murders and a virgin raped and maimed). Anyway, I’m gonna read The Man Who Laughs over the weekend and I’ll post my thoughts here afterwards. But heed my advice and go with The Long Halloween, it’s one of the absolutely best Batman novels. Plus, and I had almost forgotten about this, here’s another reason to pick up The Long Halloween:

[spoiler]It shows the origin of Two-Face in the Year One continuity - about as important as the origin of the Joker and Batman himself![/spoiler]

#19

Cool, thanks for the recommendations! Yeah, I have been out of comics for a long time now, but the year one really reminded me how cool it is that comics can do what movies and books can’t. I mean, you can get just so much story and detail from a single comic frame. I will be sure to try the long Halloween next.

#20

Oh, you’re gonna DIG the murder pages in The Long Halloween!

btw, I’ve finished The Man Who Laughs and it’s okay. it’s very similar to the original origin of the Joker, which I have here somewhere, too, but it’s inferior to the original. The original had more about the Red Hood and the actual acid incident. TMWL is definitely not worth buying as a hardcover.