The Further Adventures of Batman

[The Batman]

http://www.majipoor.com/images/furtheradventuresofbatman_1989.jpg


Does anyone remember this anthology? I think it came out around the time of the first Tim Burton movie, I read through a copy of it that the library had back in 1990 and thought that it wasn't bad. I was also 12 and it was 16 years ago so I might be wrong about that.

So does anyone remamber this? If so, what did you think?

[Rylon]

I remember it. They put-out two other volumes. My only problem with the anthology was that not all of the stories were regular Batman stories (which is what I was expecting.) Some of them are obviously a re-imagining of Batman. Today, it wouldn't bother me. But as a kid only 2 years older than you, it seemed like false-advertising.

I remember some real gem where Bruce had a fake civilian identity that helped go places without putting suspicion on Wayne.

That collection should also contain a story by Isaac Asimov where Batman is a guest at a Black Widowers.

[Apathy Boy]

The Further Adventures of Batman and its sequel The Further Adventures of the Joker were both great reads, though the quality of the stories varied as you'd expect from an anthology. The first collection was a bit better, I thought. It had two of my favourite Joker stories ever, the one about the Joker and his psychiatrist and the one where Batman goes undercover as a stand-up comic.

[dancj]

Yeah - I read that yonks ago. Some of the stories were okay, but as a rule I prefer comics to prose so I'm not the best judge.

Isaac Asimov's story annoyed me though. IIRC it didn't actually have Batman in it at all - just someone who wore a Batman costume to a fancy dress party, and the plot itself made no sense to me - I can't remember exactly why. It either had the character make an enormouse leap of logic or failed to have the character make a really obvious leap.

I also remember that I read it shortly before I read Joe R Lansdale's Blood and Shadows Vertigo miniseries, and Lansdale's story in this book had exactly the same villain - some guy who used skulls as shoes.

[shaxper]

Funny. I just pulled that book off my shelf about a month ago for the first time in seventeen years. There's some genuinely good stuff in here from a variety of authors that I didn't know then, but strongly respect now.

[The Batman]

I can't remember if it was this one, or the Joker one that followed on it that had a story where the Joker had Batman trapped in some sort of mill or something and forced him to watch him butcher people with a grindstone and another which looked at some of the grislier experiences of someone implied to be the Joker's childhood.

I really remember those two stories going a long way towards changing my 12year old mind about the Joker; taking him from being a clown theme gangster to something much more homicidal and monstrous.

[Mia]

I only like the Catwoman one.

[Sean Whitmore]

The Further Adventures of Batman and its sequel The Further Adventures of the Joker were both great reads

Seconded. I think it was the first time I've ever seen Batman's villains as being completely insane and murderous.

In some of the stories, that is. A few of them evoked the feel of the Infantino years, and one story was straight out of the Adam West show. :)

The stories from the Joker's POV are all very interesting in their own right, including a chilling possible origin.


SEAN

[Kara Zor El]

I picked it up and very quickly put it down. So the first story obviouslyy didn't hook me in. Funny enough I just gave it to charity recently. But have had it years.

[joe bloke]

Yeah, I remember it. Wasn't there a pretty cool - if throwaway - story in it about the guy who does all the costumes for the super-types, good guys and bad guys?

[Sean Whitmore]

Yeah, I remember it. Wasn't there a pretty cool - if throwaway - story in it about the guy who does all the costumes for the super-types, good guys and bad guys?


Yeah, that one was pretty neat. Nobody's mentioned by name, but one of the customers complains that there aren't enough question marks on his costume. :)


SEAN

[joe bloke]

That's the one. Yeah, from what I can remember, it wasn't a bad book. Just not very Batman.

[reddkryten]

Yeah, I remember it. Wasn't there a pretty cool - if throwaway - story in it about the guy who does all the costumes for the super-types, good guys and bad guys?

Wasn't that in an issue of Harley Quinn (after it stopped being funny and became an awful gangster book). The costume guy mentioned that the Riddler kept ripping his costumes just to see him (the tailor).

[Sean Whitmore]

Wasn't that in an issue of Harley Quinn (after it stopped being funny and became an awful gangster book). The costume guy mentioned that the Riddler kept ripping his costumes just to see him (the tailor).

Well, it's become an often-used idea.


SEAN

[DonC]

If I recall correctly, there was an entire line of "Further Adventures of..." novels. I know they did Batman, the Joker, Catwoman, Wonder Woman and Superman. Don't know how Supes and Wondy got in there, but Batman, the Joker and Catwoman all came out when their movies did. Meaning, Batman and the Joker came out when Burton's Batman did and Catwoman hit when Batman Returns did. (I guess Penguin wasn't interesting enough.)

Like every anthology, there are good stories and bad stories. Unfortunately it's been so long since I read any of these stories that I can't comment on them. However the authors they managed to get was impressive. I remember Max Allan Collins being in a couple of the books. Like has been said, Isaac Asimov wrote a story. Some comic writers were in there, too. I remember Andy Helfer and Denny O'Neil.

[Lester C.]

I have both antholigies. The publisher went all out as they were many heavy hitters telling awsome Batman tales that belong nowhere in continuity unless you think that Leslie Tompkins is Joker's mother which given events of War Crimes it might not be as farfetched as a concet as it was during the ninties.

[steeler80]

I think I still have this around somewhere. I remember one Joker story (seems like it concerned Robin and the Joker's daughter) scarred me for a little while.

[phantom1592]

I think I still have this around somewhere. I remember one Joker story (seems like it concerned Robin and the Joker's daughter) scarred me for a little while.


ohh yeahh... Something about Batman coming across Dick Graysons body with his throat cut giving him a smile from Ear to Ear. Turns out it was a robot, but Man, that image stuck with me for a LONG time.

[Deitz]

I hadn't thought about these books in years and I just realized I have two collecting dust on my bookshelf, the Batman and Penguin editions.

The Further Adventures of Batman and TFAO the Joker came out around the time of the first movie as mentioned before. They both sported cool Kyle Baker covers. TFAOB vol. 2 featuring the Penguin and vol. 3 featuring Catwoman came out around Batman Returns, of course. They have Joe DiVito covers. All really cool. I wish they did something similar to coincide with Batman Begins with Ra's al Ghul and the Scarecrow.

[Deitz]

And to add to my previous post, when Batman Forever came out they reprinted all of the books with a few new Two-Face and Riddler stories in hardback as Tales of the Batman and Adventures of the Batman.