Bill FingerAnmeldelser

The first time in my life that I've been reading such a good comic book! :)
Very good stories from the '40s and so useful to learn a bunch of new English vocabulary!
Totally loving this "mighty" character! :D

pleasingly goofy and enjoyable. like reading comfort food. a few really silly ones here, my fav being Jimmy Olson wishing for superman to "mate" his parents

What a chore.

Perhaps I'm being too mean, when I read these issues, it's clear that they were made with a lot of heart. It's just the problem is that they're not very good. The issues feel clunky, with the writing and art feeling stilted and forced (Just saying, the most dynamic pose that Batman does is leaping over a fence).

The first issues truly shine this amateurism, all terrible detective stories with a very non-impressive Batman. But, as the issues went on, they improved. I saw the first issue of "Batman" being their magnum opus, introducing Catwoman and Joker, two staple characters in the series, and marking the start of recognizable villains (before it was mobs and mad scientists, now it's supervillains!) But there's a problem with stating this: while they do make their first appearance in the comic world in-name, they look and act nothing like their modern counterparts. That goes for all the characters; a common joke is to see how many people Batman kills in these early comics. I came to about 24 people although there were probably more. Point is, this comic series is a long way from being what it is today.

While I did enjoy these earlier issues, with the incorporation of Robin since "Detective Comics 38", the comics were clearly veering to a children's demographic. Batman became friendly, the art became bright and inoffensive, the antagonists turned gimmicky, and there were more stories where Dick Grayson was the focal point. After finishing this book, I felt completely disinterested in any more of the Golden-Age of the Batman comics.

That isn't to say I'm ungrateful; I'm amazed with how the series evolved from this and has become the conglomerate it is today. I have to thank its creators, but the golden age doesn't represent what it would become in the slightest.

A rich man wears a costume to protect the wealthy from criminals.

2/4 (Indifferent)

Most of this is only interesting as a historical curiosity, but there are scattered redeeming moments. The first Joker story is pretty good.

(Nov. 2021)½

A little campy and corny, but it's still Batman

Reasons to buy this...

1. The artwork is glorious.
2. The stories are quite simplistic, from a less sophisticated time, perhaps.
3. The sheer nostalgia in almost every frame.

This book is fabulous, as is most of the rest of the DC Archives series. Such invention is worth preserving and this series does that very well.

This reprint of Detective Comics #27 contains the very humble debut of Batman--a poorly drawn (sorry, Bob Kane) six-page story--and that will be its chief attraction to the average reader. What I found more entertaining were the backup features, particularly Fred Guardineer's suave "Speed Saunders: Ace Investigator" and "The Crimson Avenger" (the only other costumed hero in the book) by Jim Chambers. There are two stories by Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster: "Spy," featuring Secret Service agent Bart Regan, and tough private eye "Slam Bradley." Naturally, both Regan and Bradley are dead ringers for Supes; that's the only way Shuster could draw 'em. For those of us who weren't around in 1939, these tales paint a fascinating picture of a vanished world populated by no-nonsense, square-jawed protagonists and sinister assassins from exotic lands. (Most of the artwork is quite primitive, of course, but note the finely detailed renderings in "The Crimson Avenger" and Tom Hickey's "Bruce Nelson.")

Like the Batman and Joker volumes before it, this another great hardcover reproduction of classic Batman stories. Robin is a character with an interesting history, because he's had so many different secret identities. Each of them reflect the times in which they were created.

In this volume, you get a bunch of classic tales, including "Robin Dies at Dawn" (he doesn't really) and the "Death in the Family" issue where the Joker kills Jason Todd, the second Robin (he really does). The collection kind of loses steam as soon as Tim Drake comes onto the scene, which was a bit surprising because I always liked the character in the '90s. Maybe it's because his issues tend to deal with teenager life stuff and I'm no longer a teen.

It's defnitely worth reading if you like the character, and there's plenty of Dick Grayson here, but I would recommend some supplemental reading to get a better feel for the other Robins. For example, there's only single issues here from the larger story arcs [b:Batman: A Death in the Family|107032|Batman A Death in the Family|Jim Starlin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327940363s/107032.jpg|103163], [b:Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying|591355|Batman A Lonely Place of Dying|Marv Wolfman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327962006s/591355.jpg|578103], and [b:Batman and Son|440960|Batman and Son|Grant Morrison|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328217465s/440960.jpg|2189612]. It's worth checking out these other books to get a better feel for Jason Todd, Tim Drake and Damian Wayne.

You should also check out the excellent [b:Batman and Robin: Batman Reborn|6672183|Batman and Robin Batman Reborn|Grant Morrison|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391572618s/6672183.jpg|6867146], in which Dick Grayson is Batman and Damian Wayne is Robin.

The 1950s were the decade when Fredric Wertham's attack on the social evils of the comic book reached its highpoint with the publication of Seduction of the Innocent and his testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency. It was also a decade of UFO sightings and the beginning of the Space Race. As a result Batman and other superheroes needed to fight crime while modeling wholesome behavior for young boys. Wholesome was especially important in Batman comics because Wertham had explicitly accused Batman and Robin of being—gasp!—homosexuals, much too far outside the conservative social norm of the 1950s.

The stories, described in the introduction to this collection as, “wild, wacky, weird [and] wonderful” could also be characterized as short and silly, especially when compared to the portrayals of Batman and his supporting cast that began in the 1970s and has continued into the early twenty-first century. Nevertheless, they are a lot of fun. Bill Finger, France Herron and others wrote these stories filled with memorable supervillains, giant props—a favorite device of Finger’s—scientific crime-fighting gadgets, and extraterrestrials. The square jawed Batman drawn by Bob Kane’s ghost artist Sheldon Moldoff and Dick Spring and the snub nosed sidekick Robin added to the visual wholesomeness of the daring duo.

"Showcase Presents: Superman (Volume 1)" is a chronologically-ordered collection of Superman stories from the late 1950's. There's no editorial explanation or prologue to explain why this particular period of Superman's history was collected into a series of graphic novels, nor is there any explanation as to how any of the comics fit into the larger Superman canon, or how the stories affected the development of the character of Superman. The collection itself doesn't tell a larger, single story, either. I'll take the reason for the anthology at face value - an introduction to Superman, as depicted in the late fifties. I don't think it is the best way to introduce people to the character of Superman, which I will elaborate upon.

In "Showcase Presents: Superman", the titular hero, Superman, deals with a variety of problems that all superheroes must face - keeping their secret identity a secret (because Clark Kent looks nothing like Superman; he's wearing glasses), dealing with an assortment of disasters that beset the world, all of which only a superhero can fix, and dealing with the idiotic and gullible villians and foes that try to tangle with Superman. If the world isn't on the verge of self-destruction, we get to see what might life might be like if the canon of Superman is changed in some fashion, either in the context of someone's dream, or in a storyline that is forgotten by the time the next adventure rolls around. It's all in a day's work for the Man of Steel.

As to the problems with this collection... it might be more adequate to ask what is actually done well. Or even competently. Many, if not most of the stories here are rather silly, and badly written, and the few stories that have an interesting idea are poorly delivered. There's nothing as sophisticated as character development.

From the opposite perspective, there's no suspense generated in seeing Superman best his problems, because there is no question that Superman will not manage to save the day. Indeed, Superman rarely experiences much that taxes his abilities at all. And, since there are only really a few different story-types, the book itself becomes quite repetitive quite quickly. Oh, and each story has a myriad of plot inconsistencies that must be accepted to make the story work.

While a short reading of this collection gives the impression of a a light and entertaining amusement, five hundred pages worth of the stuff is far, far too much - the same stories are repeated without doing anything interesting or innovative. And, even then, the stories stories are told rather badly, too. A book only for serious fans of Superman.½

Of all the old books I'd like to add to my collection, one of the most desired would be Batman From the 30s to the 70s, a book I checked out time and time again from the library when I was a kid. Cheapskate that I am, I don't have much hope of actually obtaining that tome, but I was delighted to find at least some of the reprints I remember in Batman in the Fifties. Best of all, it was only a buck at the Seattle Friends of the Library sale. The stories reprinted are grouped into four sections: Classic Tales (I would title it "Gimmick Tales" myself), The Batman Family, The Villains, and Tales from Beyond. Each represents a different thread that made up the tapestry of the era's Batman tales.
--J.

Seventeen stories and cover art from the Batman's early years, including the first two versions of the origin of the Batman stories. Appropriately there are also two early versions of the villain Two-Face, in one he’s Harvey Kent, disfigured D.A., in the other he’s Harvey Apollo, vain and disfigured actor. There are also early versions of Catwoman, Clayface, and the Joker. Also included are biographical information on the writers and artists.

I find those old comics really fascinating. The fact that Batman has been around for seventy years now is part of what makes it so interesting for me, and reading those old stories is sort of like stepping into a time machine? Even though it's still Batman, the stories have a *very* different feel to those of today, and often are unintentionally funny (or funny for different reasons). But it really is fascinating to see where those characters came from. I'm going backwards - I'm still waiting for my '40s issue.

Interesting as part of the full collection of Batman stories from the DC and Batman comic books. This volume stories from the golden age of comics before these stories descended into the never-ending battles between superheros and supervillains. Some of the stories are real gems, some are real clunkers. Given the way comics were written and produced, that's to be expected.½

Collects the very first Batman comics. Most of them are not that great, but Batman's first encounter with the Joker is actually a really good story.½

I think my first realization of comic book continuity came from reading Batman: From the 30s to the 70s from the Roselle Public Library. I loved that book, reading it a number of times until it vanished from the shelves. In all my years of buying and collecting comics, I never managed to snag a copy of that book. Now, however, I have the next best thing. The Batman Archives reprints all of the Batman stories from Detective Comics, starting from his first appearance. In perusing this book, I read a number of tales I had fondly remembered from my youth. The stories are simplistic, and the dynamic duo spends time fighting gangsters rather than costumed villains, but it's still a great read. The best part about it is that since it's on my shelf, I don't have to worry about losing it to a dishonest library patron.
--J.

This was a Christman gift from my son Ben, and I am actually quite touched by it. It shows a certain attentiveness to what I like to read, and it is quite likely that he checked my library to make sure I didn't already have it. That said, this is a collection of "Superman" comic book reprints from 1959 to 1963. This was probably the worst period of Superman's long history. The stories were outlandishly contrived, the writers had a rigidly defined concept of Superman's capabilities, but often had not a clue to using them in a believable way. The art was frequently stiff and boring, with different artists subscribing to a rigid concept also of Superman's appearance. And Superman has never been more of an old fogeyish type than portrayed here. It's as if Superman were channelling Ward Cleaver. However, I read these comics during a formative stage in my life, and they still have a strong tug on my psyche. I'm glad as heck that comics have grown up so much, but these older stories had a certain charm and naivity that I quite enjoy.½

A reproduction of the comic book that introduced Batman to the world. The concept and artwork were superior to the more popular Superman books. There are a couple of non-Superman stories in this book by Siegel and Shuster.½

A reproduction of the first "Batman" comic book, which introduced Robin, the Joker, Dr. Strange and the Cat (later Catwoman). Stylistically and artistically superior to the mediocre "Superman" stories being put out at the time.½

I have always found Batman a more compelling figure than Superman. After all, he relies only on the skills he has developed through long years of practice and dedication. He is a "normal" man, driven by the vision of his parents' murders when he was a boy. And in these archives, as through much of his history, the artwork and writing is superior to that of "Superman" comics, although still pretty dated.½

This beautiful hardcover includes the Batman stories and covers from Detective Comics #27-50. Under the dust cover is a blue leatherish cover with a silver Bat logo imprinted into it. Required reading for batfans.

Graphic Novel, Comics, Comic Books, Superhero