Classics from the Quarter Bin: Batman

[Andy S.]

Usually when I see dollar and quarter bins, I have a pretty good idea of what I'll find within. Lots and lots of overprinted Image comics, long hair Superman, and clone- saga Spiderman books. And most of the time upon looking through such boxes I find exactly that. But not last weekend. No, last weekend was a real treat.

The post-Death in the Family, pre-Knightfall era Batman stories were in my opnion, a fairly good time for reading comics. There were few story arcs longer than 4 parts, and we saw some of the best work of Jim Aparo and Norm Breyfogle. For me, this era was very memorable in showcasing great art and stories, and showing how much cooler Comic Batman was than Movie-Batman. I guess I was about 12-14 years old, just beginning to regularly buy comics. Suffice it to say that reading these has sentimental value for me. So you can imagine how pleased I was to find whole boxes of these books for 25-35 cents each at a flea market vendor last weekend!

I must've picked up about twenty-five or thirty books in all. (plus some vintage Tales from the Crypt reprints, but that's another story! :) ) Comics that I remembered reading for the first time over ten years ago. Comics that helped me through a very difficult childhood. A bunch of them I remembered seeing on the racks, but i couldn't afford to buy them.

Well, now I could.

One of them was a two part story arc in Detective Comics #597-598, where Batman uncovers a ring of directors who sell live videotapes of innocent people getting brutally assaulted. After being the star in his own video beating, Batman tracks down the criminals (and the wealthy, elite viewers who fund them) and brings the operation to a halt. Afterwards, he takes the viewers to see one of the victims, to witness the real-life consequences of their actions. Anybody remember that one? It was one of the first Batman comics I ever read. As with several of the stories of that time, it worked on multiple levels (examining Batman's own use of violence to fight crime) and had a reasonance that I never forget. Thankfully, reading it through adult eyes didn't lessen the story's effect at all.

I just wanted to share and also see if other people have sentimental comic-reading experiences. Or just talk about favorite issues that are obscure or that nobody has heard of in a while.

[Andy S.]

And while it's fresh on my mind, here's another one.

Detective Comics #608-609- First appearance of Anarchy. (did he ever re-appear?) It's a well-crafted two parter featuring another vigilante in Gotham calling himself "Anarchy", representing "the common man." Anarchy goes aroung punishing the rich and the criminal.

What is so good about this story is that it doesn't just paint Anarchy as "the villian", but gives him real depth by giving us some of his inner monologue, just as we hear Batman's in every issue. The reader learns about Anarchy's motivation, the "why" he does what he does. You can easily empathize with him, and question whether or not Batman is all that different, in the context of vigilantism.

Here's another case where you have a solid story that works on different levels. On one level, you have a simple story about Batman doing his job and keeping order in Gotham City, and on another level you have the subtext of vigilantism, Anarchy essentially pointing a finger at Bats (metaphorically speaking) and saying "What makes your crime-fighting more righteous than mine?"
Plus, there's everything a good Batman story ought to have: detective work, a good villian, a tight, cohesive script, and action.

[The Shadow]

My fond comic memories are in the same era (and pre-Death in the Family) Batman stuff as well. Those Aparo and Breyfogle books were simply awesome! I wish they (comic companies) would go back to a more simple time and focus on the stories and not the mega-events!

[Smell]

this is where I came on board too!

Altough I feel awfull that that shelf-full of comics behind my shoulder should be in a quarter bin!

Dom

smells of farthings

[Andy S.]

this is where I came on board too!

Altough I feel awfull that that shelf-full of comics behind my shoulder should be in a quarter bin!

Dom

smells of farthings

I know the feeling. I usually don't find these issues that cheap, but i think this guy just wanted to get rid of all the extras he had. Still, alot of books from those years were just way over-printed.

[Andy S.]

My fond comic memories are in the same era (and pre-Death in the Family) Batman stuff as well. Those Aparo and Breyfogle books were simply awesome! I wish they (comic companies) would go back to a more simple time and focus on the stories and not the mega-events!

Sometimes I wish that too. I mean, every period has its share of bad stories and great stories. And right now, it does seem like every DC title is focused around Infinite Crisis. I'm not trying to complain, but I'm just don't see solid stories that work on multiple levels (like the ones i mentioned in the previous posts) anymore. And the most recent issue of Batman is an example of this. $2.50 for a book, almost half of which was advertisements (i counted), which did very little except extend the story arc for another month-featuring no more than a conversation with Superman and and yet another action scene demonstrating Red Hood's skills.

eh, but enough complaining. I still read and enjoy comics with (mostly) unconditional love. You really have to have at least some small measure of that to stay with comics for an extended period of time.

[karaokefanboy]

Thank God somebody finally acknowledges this legendary time in Batman continuity! For some reason, the era between "A Lonely Place of Dying" and "Knightfall" is often disregarded as unimportant or "filler," killing time between Tim Drake's emergence as a hero and the downfall of the Batman. But writer Alan Grant made some sweeping -- and in my opinion, favorable -- changes in Gotham, including a ret-con of Bat-hound, the return of Sarah Essen, and the introduction of Renee Montoya and a slew of villains. Batman was still the dark, brooding vigilante that had been introduced in Tim Burton's recent films, but he was also a family man that genuinely appreciated the aid of his surrounding "family." This is the Batman I long for (and that we see a glimpse of in "Batman Begins," as Bruce openly accepts Alfred's, Lucius's, and Gordon's help).

Anarky not only reappeared in several issues after his first appearance, but starred in his own mini- and short-lived on-going series! I don't know the issue numbers off-hand, but they're worth finding. I love the character and it's a shame he's been thrown to the wayside. He would make a great Vertigo character, with political stories "ripped from the headlines" Law & Order style. Always thought that.

Russ

[davidboring]

The first Batman comic I ever read was in this period,,,I seem to remember it was set in Russia, and had Bats fighting at a hockey match,,,,ah the memories!

[LooksBetterDrawn]

And while it's fresh on my mind, here's another one.

Detective Comics #608-609- First appearance of Anarchy. (did he ever re-appear?)

this weeks Green Arrow oddly enough.

[Andy S.]

Thank God somebody finally acknowledges this legendary time in Batman continuity! For some reason, the era between "A Lonely Place of Dying" and "Knightfall" is often disregarded as unimportant or "filler," killing time between Tim Drake's emergence as a hero and the downfall of the Batman.


One of the things that makes this period of stories classic for me is their accessibility. I mean, let's say that I was a 13 year old wanting to get in to comics today. Trying to pick up Batman (any of the titles) right now would be a bit difficult and intimidating, IMO, to the point where a newbie might just say "screw this, I've got better things to do with my time."

A good number of the stories from this era are accessible to readers who haven't followed the comics for a long time, while also showcasing the best of what Batman is.

Another one of my favorite eras began with the "Prodigal Son" story arc, which ran through all the Bat-books of the time. This is when Dick Grayson takes over the mantle of Batman for awhile (post-KnightsEnd). It's actually a good run, as Dick fights several of Batman's rouges, including Killer-Croc, Ventriliquist, and Two-Face. It is against Two-Face that Dick Grayson's skill is truly tested, as the villian was responsible for him almost getting Batman and several innocent people killed back when he was Robin.-(in a zero hour continuity-thing) One of the ways this story stood out to me was in how much better Dick Grayson Batman got along with Tim Drake than Bruce Wayne-Batman got along with Tim Drake. Dick actually appreciates Tim's help and we see Batman and Robin working as a team for the first time in a long time (at that point in the Bat-books).

[Andy S.]

The first Batman comic I ever read was in this period,,,I seem to remember it was set in Russia, and had Bats fighting at a hockey match,,,,ah the memories!

I remember this one too. I'm pretty sure it was someone similar to the KG Beast. I'll have to pick that up and read it again. Plus, I never even read the first appearance - "Ten Nights of The Beast". I may have to look for that at HeroesCon... :)

[karaokefanboy]

Accessibility is an often over-looked necessicity in the comics medium. With characters that have stood the test of time, I'm sure the comic book is the one form of entertainment that still has "new recruits" so to speak every day. The Bat-books are turning into DC's Claremont X-Men -- to get this "Red Hood" arc, you'd have to know about "The Killing Joke," all of the post-crisis Jason Todd tales, and maybe even "Hush" and "As the Crow Flies," if some theories hold true. Not to mention the supplemental plots involving Batman's mindwipe from "Identity Crisis." Man, you pick up "Batman" #470, it's single issue story featuring Batman, Robin, Bat-hound, and Killer Croc, totally self-contained but poignant nevertheless. And this is characteristic of the Grant/Breyfogle/Aparo era. These guys worked with Batman during the most difficult time to tackle the character -- following the first movie, which was very well received. But they faced the challenege and trumped it, making the character and his world their own while still keeping true to his core and mythos.

I met Breyfogle and went ga-ga over him at the Con two years ago. The guy was just a few rows away from my Small Press table, proverbial miles away from the DC booth, trying to sell his wares. This guy is one of the best! Why is he one step away from comics self-publishing now? Why ARE his books in the quarter bins?

Russ
www.geocities.com/geeklyweekly

[Andy S.]

Man, you pick up "Batman" #470, it's single issue story featuring Batman, Robin, Bat-hound, and Killer Croc, totally self-contained but poignant nevertheless.

This guy is one of the best! Why is he one step away from comics self-publishing now? Why ARE his books in the quarter bins?

Russ
www.geocities.com/geeklyweekly

Remind me what happens in #470?

And yeah, I totally agree on the the talent that came out in that era. While I'm not sure exactly what factors make a comic valuable (aside from the obvious: golden age and silver age), I know the quality of a book isn't always reflected by what bin you find it in. I think it has much more to do with the overprinting of comics that occurred in the "collecting frenzy" of the early 90s.

For example, you can usually find an abundance of "Reign of the Supermen" books in cheap bins. At the vendor that i bought those bat-books from, he must've had about 40 copies of that Adventures of Superman where Pa Kent helps Clark return from the nether-world. The "collector's item" with the special white wrappingthat some of us thought would be worth $50-100 someday. :D That's not a particularly bad run of stories, IMO, but they have absolutley no value simply because the market was flooded with those books. I bet you'll find an abundance of those books in any quarter bin you look through.

[karaokefanboy]

If memory serves, in #470 Batman and Robin use Ace to track Killer Croc to an underground camp, where some of Gotham's outcasts live. Croc has become one of them, almost a hero among them, yet his mind regresses to the electro-threrapy treatments he received at Arkham, and when Batman shows up to bring him in, he loses it. At the end, though, they fight together to save the outcasts from a sewer flood, and Croc is lost, supposedly killed, in the current. A simple but poignant issue that features dynamics in a villain without destroying his essence (like some say the recent GK issues did for Poison Ivy), and the closeness of the Bat-family. What happened to those days?

Yeah, the mass production factor must be it. It's a shame, that the scramble to collect comics as an investment ended up making them next to worthless. At least I can continue to find copies of the comics I read to shreads!

Russ

[SpaceBooger]

on the same topic, one of my favorite runs from that era came either right before or right after the anarchy ones where the penguine faked his death. it was a couple of detective issues and then the return of the clayfaces within the same year hooked me on batman, plus brefogyles art defined batman for me!

[Andy S.]

on the same topic, one of my favorite runs from that era came either right before or right after the anarchy ones where the penguine faked his death. it was a couple of detective issues and then the return of the clayfaces within the same year hooked me on batman, plus brefogyles art defined batman for me!


I just read those the other night! All those books were in the stack i got last weekend. Penguin was never my favorite villian, personally, but he was much more cool in the comic books as a calculating crimelord, as opposed to the "Batman Returns" disgruntled freak version.

I really enjoyed those clayface issues too. I think the story arc you're referring to was called "The Mud Pack". Great story. I'm not sure who the current version of Clayface is. Is it the suped-up version of Clayface that Basil Karlo (clayface I) became at the end of "Mud Pack"? Hmm...