By: Bill Finger, Bob Kane Publisher: DC Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: DC Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 192 Publication Date: April 01, 2005 Reading Level: Young Adult Release Date: April 01, 2005
Essential Reading! The seeds of great things to come. I give this book 4 stars, but not because of the quality of the stories themselves. The artwork is crude and the writting is some times a little off, but the sheer imagination and strength of the characters intorduced here merit an audience's attention after more than sixty years. So be warned that this is not the Batman of today, and some of the work is not easy on the eye and may require patience from the reader. That being stated, Bill Finger, Bob Kane and friends introduce cultural icons Batman, Robin, the Joker, and Catwoman all in the span of one year. Not only that, but obscure Batman villains Clayface, Hugo Strange, Dr. Death and the mad Monk also appear. It says something about the strength of Batman's rogues gallery that the latter characters are considered throwaway, but they count among my favorites, and after you read these stories, I am sure they will be among your favorites too. DC has done a great thing with this series. Not only is this volume affordable, it also has a beautifully designed cover, far better than the expensive hardcover archive volumes published by DC. The other improvement from those hardcovers is that this series collect the stories in chronological order, reprinting work from Batman, Detective Comics and World's Finest Comics in the order they were published, allowing readers to see the development of the characters. The hardcover volumes are divided into collections of Detective Comics only, Batman Comics only, etc. Readers will also notice the very dark tone of the series. This changes in subsequent volumes, particularly with the introduction of Robin, but Batman never fully shakes of his intiall rawness. An essential piece of any Batman Library.
The Dark, Pre-Robin Batman Collection! All that good-timey old comic feel mixed with pulp noir!
This book collects the first dozen or so Batman stories EVER PUBLISHED. The stories are printed in FULL COLOR and were originally published from 1939 to 1940. This is pure, unadulterated Batman, straight from the original creators!
Reading these stories is like going back in time to the 1930s. The stories are very much rooted in the noir style of the time. Gangsters in long coats, wielding tommy guns. Bruce Wayne in an over coat and a fedora.
This book is great as a sort of historical source material. Whether you're a big comic book fan or not, this book is worthwhile just to educate yourself on the history of the popular character. I'm not an avid comic book reader, but I grew up with the Batman cartoon series. It's interesting to see the humble beginnings of the character and to watch how his costume evolves over the first year of his publication. This book is great even as a reference book for the days of Batman's infancy.
Batman was darker then. A mysterious vigilante, using stealth and strategy as well as fear in his quest to rid the city of crime. He's a brawler, but he's half-detective. And he sometimes holds his cape in front of him like a vampire or something, creeping in the shadows. This is my favorite Batman.
Robin is introduced late in this book and changes the whole feel of Batman. Robin was added to lighten the comic up or to appeal to a younger audience or something, but I prefer the dark Batman who worked alone.
DC Comics has done a nice job with this series, using full color and showing the cover art of the various comic books from which these stories were taken. The book is a nice paperback, about the size of a comic book.
Hardcore comic historians or Batman fans will want to continue on with this Chronicles series, but in my opinion this volume is the most important one of all, showing the earliest incarnation of the Dark Knight.
A darker, scarier Batman and a nice format When I ordered this book I expected it to be black and white along the lines of Marvel's Essential's collection. I was pleasantly surprised to get a nice, full color, well formated graphic novel. Thumbs up to DC for the format.
The first several Batman stories portray a dark Batman who actually kills and uses a gun (albeit against a Vampire). It didn't take long before things started getting a little campy. As soon as Robin was introduced it began being aimed straight at kids instead of crime drama readers.
The early look of the Batman costume remains my favorite, I hated to see it was changed rather quickly. Also, it should be noted there is a coloring flaw in this book. In his first appearance the Batman's gloves should be purple, but they have been recolored blue here. It's a minor thing, and my only complaint about an otherwise excellent publication.
HOW COULD THIS BE PRICED SO LOW?? NO COMPLAINTS!! It has become a trademark of DC Comics to hesitate from reprinting back issues of Detective Comics and Batman, especially at an affordable price. So in consequence, I had yet to find a more recent, bound collection of the formerly golden and silver age stories than Batman from the Thirties to the Seventies, which has not been reprinted in thirty years.
Though it is an excellent, chronological, historical classic of the heroic Batman, perhaps the best collection of Batman reprints in one volume for a very long time, Batman from the Thirties to the Seventies left me wanting for more Batman reprints from the 1939 and early 1940s Detective and Batman issues. Unfortunately, this great source had only a handful of these issues that also happened to be far between.
So when I went to a Borders bookstore and ran across The Batman Chronicles, Volume I, it was like a dream finally come true, which it was. The very first of the Batman classics reprinted at an affordable price. I also liked the layout and the format, both of which convinced me to make this purchase.
So for those, like me, who loved reading the earliest Batman stories that were available, I am most glad to say that DC has published The Batman Chronicles, EVERY BATMAN ISSUE IN EXACT CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, and EVERY PAGE IS IN COLOR! Heck, I would have settled for B&W, just as they are in my Marvel Essentials collections!!
The Dark Knight in his original style! First off, I must say I purchased this book when my friend Anthony Tollin mentioned that the first ever Batman story was a retooled story from "The Shadow." So, I had to see how much the original Batman mirrored the Shadow. Well, after reading "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate" (Batman) and then reading "The Partners of Peril" (The Shadow), I have to agree with him. Bill Finger (the original writer for Batman, Kane was the artist) used the Shadow's story as the script for his first Batman adventure. Check out the new reprint of The Shadow #9 for more details on The Shadow's original story.Lingo And Partners of Peril: Two Classic Adventures Of The Shadow
Ever since, I have been able to spot the Shadow story elements and influences in many other stories. Instead of taking away from Batman, it adds to the fun by allowing me to enjoy one of the first superheroes as well as imaghine how the story would have been if the hero were the Shadow instead. Sort of a "Two-for-one" special. Almost every story in this first archive could have been Grade-A pulp novel and been just as great as it was a comic.
Overall, a great chance to see the first year of Batman stories in the correct chronalogical order and see his evolution from a gun-toting fighter into the superb detective.
Anything Goes Trivia
Last Kiss
Megaton Man
Trevor
