The Best of the Golden Age.

[Lew Moxon]

I'm sorry if this seems like a repeat thread in some respects, considering it's about favorite stories ect. Basically for those who have read reprints of the Golden Age Batman stories, which one's did you enjoy the most.

For me the choice is unequivically the Joker's original appearance. But I'm sure everyone will have interesting choices.

[md62]

Wow. Favorite Golden Age stories about any character are hard to decide. The GA had so many first appearances & the creators were coming out with new ideas so quickly.

For Batman I would pick the entire issue of Batman #1.

[Vidocq]

To many come to mind but For Batman my favorites are
Tec 27 not just for the history but I like the story,
The Monk in Tec 31 and 32, Hugo Strange in Tec 36.
Robin in Tec 38, Batman 1,2,3,
All of Harvey Kent's appearances that form a neat story arc with a good conclusion. (that wasn't undone by the way, the Story of E2 Harvey has a final ending)
Also all of the appeareances of the Scarecrow were good.
The first appeareance of the Joker in Detective Comics forgot the issue. Is one of my top 5 favorites. Definitly one of my all time favorite Joker stories.

[tomstoyz]

I agree, Batman #1 is an awesome story. The funny thing is that it's so violent, for it's time.

[Infernorhythm]

The Monk story was great, but my favorite is the Joker's first appearance from Batman #1. He's written so differently from how he is now, but it was so much more effective and creepy.

[Lew Moxon]

The Monk story was great, but my favorite is the Joker's first appearance from Batman #1. He's written so differently from how he is now, but it was so much more effective and creepy.

I too prefer that version of the Joker. Another point that bears mentioning is that he was originally a master of disguise. And if you think about it, it makes sense. For the Joker to go into hiding, he pretty much have to be able to disguise himself, considering how distinctive his looks are. I mean, the guy can't exactly go to the groceries to get food without setting off a whole lot of alarm bells otherwise.
Also, imagine the Joker with the ability to disguise himself with nigh "Clayface" abilities. How awesome/terrifying would that be? Anyone in the room can be the joker, and you never know when he'll strike.

Strangely, I didn't really like the remake quiet as much. I thought it took something away from the original to have a big "kill everyone in town" plot tacked on because of Year One. And otherwise, it didn't really live up to the original. Although, I'm biased. The Joker's first appearance and Case Study are the reasons I'm typing this in today. My only issue is with Batman's response. People are dying and he keeps telling Richard Grayson essentially. "Let's let the murdering insane man keep killing people, I'm not ready to deal with it yet." (Anyone with a good excuse for the "The time is not yet ripe" line?)
Which is strange, considering that modern day Batman (Meaning Bruce as he was up till and including RIP. It'd be unfair to gauge how Richard Grayson would react.) would react the moment Henry Claridge dropped dead.

Still the remake took away the sense that the Joker could not be stopped, could never be outwitted, and was nearly impossible to kill. The man survives a knife to the chest, and everyone involved, including the man himself, thinks he's a dead man. Yet he survives. While some of the writing is certainly dated, the sense of how unstoppable and lethal the Joker is, seems to be exactly how he should be portrayed.

[RubberLotus]

Batman #25. The original Joker-Penguin teamup.

Amongst other things, it showed off Joker & Penguin's sharpshooting skills.

[Infernorhythm]

I too prefer that version of the Joker. Another point that bears mentioning is that he was originally a master of disguise. And if you think about it, it makes sense. For the Joker to go into hiding, he pretty much have to be able to disguise himself, considering how distinctive his looks are. I mean, the guy can't exactly go to the groceries to get food without setting off a whole lot of alarm bells otherwise.
Also, imagine the Joker with the ability to disguise himself with nigh "Clayface" abilities. How awesome/terrifying would that be? Anyone in the room can be the joker, and you never know when he'll strike.

Strangely, I didn't really like the remake quiet as much. I thought it took something away from the original to have a big "kill everyone in town" plot tacked on because of Year One. And otherwise, it didn't really live up to the original. Although, I'm biased. The Joker's first appearance and Case Study are the reasons I'm typing this in today. My only issue is with Batman's response. People are dying and he keeps telling Richard Grayson essentially. "Let's let the murdering insane man keep killing people, I'm not ready to deal with it yet." (Anyone with a good excuse for the "The time is not yet ripe" line?)
Which is strange, considering that modern day Batman (Meaning Bruce as he was up till and including RIP. It'd be unfair to gauge how Richard Grayson would react.) would react the moment Henry Claridge dropped dead.

Still the remake took away the sense that the Joker could not be stopped, could never be outwitted, and was nearly impossible to kill. The man survives a knife to the chest, and everyone involved, including the man himself, thinks he's a dead man. Yet he survives. While some of the writing is certainly dated, the sense of how unstoppable and lethal the Joker is, seems to be exactly how he should be portrayed.
I'm assuming by the remake you mean Brubaker's The Man Who Laughed. Yeah, I wasn't really a fan of that either, which is a shame as I'm a huge Brubaker fan. I think the main problem with it was that it tried to transcribe the modern day "laughing madman with zany schemes" onto the story of Batman #1, which doesn't work.

I think the best part of Batman #1 was how creepy the Joker was. He only laughed once, and that was in a standard "haha, I got you Batman!" way. The smile was a permanent oddity; the Joker was always gloomy looking. Even the way Finger described his voice: droll, monotonous. It was very unsettling. And he was also a physical match for Batman. I feel like the modern Joker just lacks the impact the original had.

[Lew Moxon]

I'm assuming by the remake you mean Brubaker's The Man Who Laughed. Yeah, I wasn't really a fan of that either, which is a shame as I'm a huge Brubaker fan. I think the main problem with it was that it tried to transcribe the modern day "laughing madman with zany schemes" onto the story of Batman #1, which doesn't work.

I think the best part of Batman #1 was how creepy the Joker was. He only laughed once, and that was in a standard "haha, I got you Batman!" way. The smile was a permanent oddity; the Joker was always gloomy looking. Even the way Finger described his voice: droll, monotonous. It was very unsettling. And he was also a physical match for Batman. I feel like the modern Joker just lacks the impact the original had.

That and "Man Who Laughs" basically had Bruce Wayne figure out the Joker's whole history and motivation from the beginning. It takes something away from the mystery inherent in the dynamic if Bruce knows the Joker was the Red Hood from the beginning of their war against each other. Also, I wouldn't call Finger's Joker humorless. It's just a different kind of humor. Finger's Joker was all about sarcasm and irony. Remember the scene in which he walks up to a victim, who's face is plastered in a smile, and the Joker says something like "I'm so glad to see you're happy to see me." or something like that. or "Very neat, that ugly head of yours does have a brain." It's a very different sense of humor than the modern Joker has. It's much dryer, but it's there. In fact, a dry sarcastic and irony focused sense of humor seems to work better for a murdering lunatic than the modern Joker's typical style. Am I correct in assuming by "The Joker's First Appearance" you mean both the two stories?. It's a two parter and they work best together in my opinion. For the most part the second is a rehash of the first. Until the Joker stabs himself, and laughs like there's nothing funnier in the world. Someone before me has said that this Joker, finds other people's deaths amusing. To him, his own death is hilarious. And that's terrfying in its own right, since it means your dealing with a man with no sense of self preservation.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. There are three stories I've read that define who the Joker is for me. They are, his first appearance, TKJ and Case File. As it so happens, they remain my favorites.

I would agree that he has a greater impact in his first appearances than he's had in most other places. I think Alan Moore came closer than a lot of other people have.

[Nefarius]

That and "Man Who Laughs" basically had Bruce Wayne figure out the Joker's whole history and motivation from the beginning. It takes something away from the mystery inherent in the dynamic if Bruce knows the Joker was the Red Hood from the beginning of their war against each other. Also, I wouldn't call Finger's Joker humorless. It's just a different kind of humor. Finger's Joker was all about sarcasm and irony. Remember the scene in which he walks up to a victim, who's face is plastered in a smile, and the Joker says something like "I'm so glad to see you're happy to see me." or something like that. or "Very neat, that ugly head of yours does have a brain." It's a very different sense of humor than the modern Joker has. It's much dryer, but it's there. In fact, a dry sarcastic and irony focused sense of humor seems to work better for a murdering lunatic than the modern Joker's typical style. Am I correct in assuming by "The Joker's First Appearance" you mean both the two stories?. It's a two parter and they work best together in my opinion. For the most part the second is a rehash of the first. Until the Joker stabs himself, and laughs like there's nothing funnier in the world. Someone before me has said that this Joker, finds other people's deaths amusing. To him, his own death is hilarious. And that's terrfying in its own right, since it means your dealing with a man with no sense of self preservation.


I agree that Golden Age Joker wasn't humorless.His humor was sacrastic.Way different than current attempts of making Joker funny.I have read most of Joker's stories that were written by Finger(thanks to a friend of mine who has many golden age stuff-i've read Joker's first appearence through The great Joker stories ever told tradepack)and i found them great,especially his first confrontation with Catwoman.

As for Brubacker's remake,i love it but not as much as the original.It missed Joker as a master of disguise(something that Englehart used in his Laughing Fish story)and i didn't enjoy the motive behind Joker's killing spree.Other than that,i think that Bru's story was great.I loved how he connect Finger's first Joker story with Batman:Year One and The Killing Joke.That shows how nuch Brubaker respects classic stories and previous continuity.

[blueridgerider]

I am currently working my way through the entire Detective Comics, Action Comics and Batman Comics runs.

I am in the midst of the Detective Comics Golden Age Period.

I really liked issue 31 for several reasons.

1. It was the first really cool Batman oriented cover. IMO
2. The first appearance of the Baterang (spelling in the Golden Age), which eventually became THE signature weapon.
3. First elaborate death plan (slowly lowering the Batman into a pit of snakes).
4. First Bat Vehicle - he had a bat Gyro Plane.
5. Julie - First of many love interests. Bruce's Fiance

I thought the issue was a significant issue in the development of the Batman. You can really see Batman today in this issue.

[The Fifth Horseman]

i did like the first apperance of clayface i much prefer how he was when he originaly apperared - thats probably my favourite

[Chad]

With so many to choose from, I'll just start off with a classic from early on.

Detective Comics 29 "The Bat-Man Meets Dr Death" written by Gardner Fox.

Notable for two "Firsts"

-first time the Bat-Man gets shot.

-first time the Bat-Man uses his utility belt.

I love Bat-Man communicating with his enemies through the classifieds, his method of scaling a building through use of suction cups, the way he calmly intones "Death...to Dr Death" as he watches Dr Death perish in a fire he caused, and even how when wounded, he cuts his losses by filling a room with smoke and smashing through a window to escape.

Also:

Bat-Man: "And who, may I ask, sent you?"

Criminal: "We can't tell you, he'd kill us!"

Bat-Man: "Your choice gentlemen, tell me or I'll kill you!"

And:

Bruce's Doctor: "How did you shoot yourself when there are no powder marks on your flesh?"

Bruce: "I do funny things sometimes, Doc. I'll tell you all about it some day".

[Ninja Man-Bats]

Red Monk didn't reappear in the matt wagner graphic nove lfirst, he was also in a couple of issues in the 1980's drawn by i think Don Newton. they were creepy issues with excellent art.

best Golden age is the first appearance of Robin (a hero for 1940!) and the plane crash origin for Catwoman. i think that fits her for some reason