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Man, Batman was originally super thuggish!

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bjork

Member
I picked up the first volume of "The Batman Chronicles"... it's just a reprint of the first few Detective Appearances, then Batman #1.

Batman didn't take any shit!

Seems like every issue, he kills someone, and even if they are the bad guy, it just seemed really strange to me (note: I haven't read a *lot* of batman stuff, so perhaps it's common for him?). Like, in this one issue he's fighting vampires. He waits for them to go to sleep, makes silver bullets, and then shoots them as they sleep. That's cold blooded, man.

Or like, there's these big monster people in the town, and he hangs one of them with a lasso and his bat plane. He also makes these two other monsters fight to the death, and when they both die he's like, "Ah, good, so my plan worked, they're dead!"

Anyway, my question is: how long did it stay like that? Some of the stuff I read from the late 60s was pretty fruity/silly, but Batman that is punking people out without any sort of remorse is pretty interesting to read...
 

Matlock

Banned
as an addendum:

I most like the part where the goon looks out the window and Batman breaks his neck.

Then sets the mad doctor on fire right afterwards!
 

ShadowRed

Banned
triste said:
I picked up the first volume of "The Batman Chronicles"... it's just a reprint of the first few Detective Appearances, then Batman #1.

Batman didn't take any shit!

Seems like every issue, he kills someone, and even if they are the bad guy, it just seemed really strange to me (note: I haven't read a *lot* of batman stuff, so perhaps it's common for him?). Like, in this one issue he's fighting vampires. He waits for them to go to sleep, makes silver bullets, and then shoots them as they sleep. That's cold blooded, man.

Or like, there's these big monster people in the town, and he hangs one of them with a lasso and his bat plane. He also makes these two other monsters fight to the death, and when they both die he's like, "Ah, good, so my plan worked, they're dead!"

Anyway, my question is: how long did it stay like that? Some of the stuff I read from the late 60s was pretty fruity/silly, but Batman that is punking people out without any sort of remorse is pretty interesting to read...




*Sigh* This again.


Both Superman and Batman were different back then. Both killed and did a lot of anti hero type things. They both routinely killed and tortured people to get information.
 

belgurdo

Banned
I thought it was common knowledge that Batman killed frequently early on. That was a holdover from the dime-novel mystery approach to story telling, when they didn't have established recurring villains. Then some of the writers started experimenting with the concept of nemeses, and guys like the Joker were born
 

Laurent

Member
Batman is suposed to be a fucking psychopat... Come on, he dresses like a bat! Fortunately, it seems we'll see this side of him in the next Batman movie...
 

Shinobi

Member
Since we're on the subject of old school Batman stuff...

B0007G89FU.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...1/102-7452934-6221733?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846


...anyone ever see this? Seems to be cheesey as fuck based on the reviews at Amazon.
 
i've seen that before. It is pretty bad, but most action/scifi serials from that time are. I may pick it up if i ever see it cheap, just for the novelty.
 

karasu

Member
I like when Superman squeezed that secretaries arm until she told him what he wante dto know, and then he beats up the mayors security detail and kicks down his door to tel him that his life was in danger or something to that effect.
 

nitewulf

Member
may be a good topic to ask, how is kia asamya's graphic novel? is it worth buying?
and i want to buy some of the batman graphic novel's, which ones should i start with? i'm assuming dark knight returns would be the starting point?
 

Willco

Hollywood Square
If you want good Batman graphic novels, the easy buys are:

The Long Halloween
The Dark Knight Returns
The Killing Joke

I absolutely loathe Asamiya's take on Batman, but I don't think it was made for me anyway.
 
Willco said:
If you want good Batman graphic novels, the easy buys are:

The Long Halloween
The Dark Knight Returns
The Killing Joke

I absolutely loathe Asamiya's take on Batman, but I don't think it was made for me anyway.

i would add the following:

The Cult and any of the 'Year' series (Year One, Year Two, Year Three), although i'm not sure if they've made compilations of those....

Year One would be a great place to start considering it is a retelling of batman's first year.
 
Littleberu said:
Why is Batman Hush so hated around here? It was pretty good.
It's an okay read. I think Hush is just a case of an overly-hyped story promising big things month after month, and then falling short of expectations.

nitewulf said:
may be a good topic to ask, how is kia asamya's graphic novel? is it worth buying?
and i want to buy some of the batman graphic novel's, which ones should i start with? i'm assuming dark knight returns would be the starting point?
Child of Dreams is... an odd bird. It's worth reading, but it's not required reading if you get my drift. The plot is very straightforward, offering few surprises along the way, and it stretches on a bit too long for its own good. And Asamiya's take on Batman/Bruce Wayne is a strange mixture of the Burton movie version, the 80s comic version, and the 90s cartoon version; it can be a little off-putting for anyone used to and expecting to see the overly dark, brooding, paranoid Dark Knight of today. But the artwork is quite good; Asamiya offers up one of the most unique and interesting visions of Gotham recently put to paper IMO, and he captures the essence of Batman and his rogues gallery nicely while drawing great inspiration from the Burton films.

Plus, it's just a refreshing change of pace. :)
 

DarienA

The black man everyone at Activision can agree on
Spike Spiegel said:
It's an okay read. I think Hush is just a case of an overly-hyped story promising big things month after month, and then falling short of expectations.

Seems like good reasoning.. I think the reason I enjoyed it more is because I had stopped collecting, and had gotten back in to it near the end of the Hush storyline so I was able to buy the entire storyline and read most of it in one pop....
 

nomoment

Member
White Man said:
Would you recommend this book? I'm kind of curious myself.
Not really. It's a good purchase for a hardcore Batman fan, but if you're just a casual reader, I'd just pick up one of the books Willco recommended. The fruitiness of these old issues don't really warrant spending $15 on the book.
 

acidviper

Banned
triste said:
Seems like every issue, he kills someone, and even if they are the bad guy, it just seemed really strange to me (note: I haven't read a *lot* of batman stuff, so perhaps it's common for him?). Like, in this one issue he's fighting vampires. He waits for them to go to sleep, makes silver bullets, and then shoots them as they sleep. That's cold blooded, man.

I liked Batman when he had a gun. He used the same gun that killed his parents to kill criminals (note: he didn't kill his parents, but he was pretty hardcore). He was the personification of vengeance.
 

nitewulf

Member
ok, ill go for year 1, dark knight returns, long halloween and killing joke for now. are there any differences between the hardcover and paperback versions besides the cover itself (pretty new to graphic novels)? i mean the artwork itself is full color, and the paper quality is the same as hardcover on the paperbacks, right?
B&N doesnt always carry everything, so works out better if i order from amazon. so i cant really check em out on person.
thanx for the help.
 

Simo

Member
nitewulf said:
ok, ill go for year 1, dark knight returns, long halloween and killing joke for now. are there any differences between the hardcover and paperback versions besides the cover itself (pretty new to graphic novels)? i mean the artwork itself is full color, and the paper quality is the same as hardcover on the paperbacks, right?
B&N doesnt always carry everything, so works out better if i order from amazon. so i cant really check em out on person.
thanx for the help.

Sometimes there are, sometimes there aren't. For example, the new Hardcover edition of Batman: Year One features a new introduction from the writer, Frank Miller, along with some of the original sketches and storyboards by David Mazzucchelli, the script and more:
1401206905.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg


Also some of the HC editions tend to be printed on this softer and higher quality paper compared to the softcover TPBs. If you're getting on the Batman hype train because of the new film then Year One and The Long Halloween are a must.
 

Matlock

Banned
If you want DKR and Year One, I'd recommend you track down The Complete Frank Miller Batman on eBay. Very nice volume.
 

nitewulf

Member
Simo said:
Also some of the HC editions tend to be printed on this softer and higher quality paper compared to the softcover TPBs.
basically this is what i was asking. if the paper is of a higher quality, then i'd rather buy the hardcovers.
matlock, thanx, may be if i could find a good copy ata reasonable price.
 

White Man

Member
nomoment said:
Not really. It's a good purchase for a hardcore Batman fan, but if you're just a casual reader, I'd just pick up one of the books Willco recommended. The fruitiness of these old issues don't really warrant spending $15 on the book.

I have all (or most of) the "required reading" tpbs, and I'm looking to move onto something else. Recs?
 

kgHavok23

Member
Matlock said:
One time, Superman forced a guy to drink acid! ACID.

:lol Just the visual of Batman holding someones head back and forcing acid down his throat is hilarious....and uh...cruel :lol
 
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