Batman 300 and up (reviews by shaxper)

[shaxper]

Welcome. This is an ongoing attempt to review every Batman story published in (or critical to) his core titles since Batman #300. The earliest reviews were originally just informal posts in the "What have you read lately?" thread which I later reposted here. As the reviews continue, they become a lot more detailed. Also, I don't start including relevant stories from outside of the "Batman" title until page 4. Feel free to post your own thoughts/questions in response to any and all entries in this thread.

Enjoy!

_________________________________________________
Shortcuts to key articles, lists, and arguments contained in this thread:

All You Need to Know about Jason Todd (Pre-Death) Part 1
All You Need to Know about Jason Todd (Pre-Death) Part 2
The Post-Crisis Batman timeline/continuity (as of Detective Comics #614 [1990])
Characters' Ages and Continuity Errors: A Working Theory
My argument for what actually counts in continuity between Batman #392 and #426 (after the plot synopsis in a review of Batman #432)
Complete list of Batman's Post-Crisis mentors/trainers (as of Secret Origins tpb [1990])
The competing Post-Crisis characterizations of Batman prior to Jim Starlin's run and Jason Todd's death.
The major differences between Bronze and Modern age comic storytelling
Does Batman Need a Robin?
The Post-Movie Batman Industry
Why Bruce Wayne Can't Be Socially Conscious (an opinion)

_________________________________________________
The highlights of the run, thus far:

Batman #307 -- Dark Messenger of Mercy. In many ways, the beginnings of Batman continuity as a lot of key supporting cast members like Lucius Fox, Gregorian Falstaff, and Shamrock and his homeless friends are introduced and major story lines are begun (including Selina Kyle reforming). A great story in its own right, as well.

Batman #309 -- The Blockbuster Christmas story. Very moving.

Batman #316 -- The return of Crazy Quilt. Just a really solid Batman/Robin team-up.

Batman #321 -- The Joker's birthday party. Exceptionally well written, especially in the subtle relationship depicted between Batman and Joker.

Batman #323-324-- Wein's legendary Catwoman/Catman storyline. Absolutely amazing.

Untold Legend of the Batman #1-3 -- Absolutely the best Batman origin story ever told. Synthesizes all the given information about Batman's origin over the previous forty years and incorporates it into a meaningful narrative that is dark, moving, inspiring, and ridiculously informative, all while ending in the creation of a Batman who can be goody-goody and yet be taken seriously at the same time. Parts 2 and 3 provide more useful back story on Batman (again putting together all the pieces from 40 years worth of continuity), but the solution to the mystery of who is messing with Batman is both predictable and a bit ridiculous.

Batman #332-335-- The Lazarus Affair. A beloved classic.

Batman #347-- The Shadow of the Batman. A powerful one-shot story that shows Batman's impact upon two young men considering getting into a life of crime.

Batman #349-350, Detective #517, Batman #351: The Monk/vampires storyline. Awesome Colan art and a decent Conway script providing intense action, tone, and visuals, as Bruce and Dick become vampires. Pretty unforgettable.

Detective #520, Batman #354: The Haunting of Boss Thorne. Powerful, powerful art and writing as Thorne's criminal empire begins to collapse on top of him. One of the best Batman stories I've ever read.

Batman #357-359 and Detective #524-526: Conway's classic Killer Croc storyline which introduces both Croc and Jason Todd. Though the storyline comes and goes, the plotting is strong, and the events are significant.

Detective #532: Great insights into Joker's motivations and his relationship with Batman.

Batman #368: Jason Todd officially becomes Robin, gets savagely beaten by Crazy Quilt. POWERFUL.

Batman #372: An unexpectedly powerful/risky story about racism and boxing. Highly moving.

Detective #542-547 and Batman #376-381: The Jason Todd custody battle/Nocturna's return/the fall of Mayor Hill. Very uneven, and a lot of the secondary characters and plot lines are obnoxious, but there are many truly great moments. Certainly, this was the heart of everything Moench was trying to do in his run.

Batman #383: A surprisingly lighthearted stand-alone story in which Batman fights to take a nap. Some love the comedy, some hate the comedy.

Batman #386-387, and Detective Comics #553: The Black Mask storyline, featuring his first appearance and origin, as well as some grotesque, action-intensive story-telling.

Batman #389-391 and Detective Comics #556-557: The final Nocturna storyline. Powerful art, action, and tone, as the Red Skies from Crisis on Infinite Earths pervade a sense of the world ending in each character's soul, bringing hidden fear and desires to the surface throughout this intense storyline.

The Dark Knight Returns: A non-continuity vision of a rougher, tougher anti-hero Batman in a Reagan-inspired future. This storyline had a lot of influence upon what post-Crisis Batman became and also introduced many Batman fans to Frank Miller for the first time.

Batman #400 -- The final(?) pre-reboot Batman story in which he takes on most of his rogues gallery at one time. Pretty good story, and we get our first glimpses of an angrier, grittier Batman in official continuity. In many ways, I feel this story was the prototype for what Batman became after the reboot.

Detective #569 -- Barr and Davis begin their brief run together on Detective, mixing rich and intelligent humor with great action and just a touch of darkness. Joker's depiction in this issue is arguably his best ever. Catwoman is pretty fun too.

Batman #404-407 -- "Year One," Frank Miller's unique spin on the Batman origin story that aligns with DKR and sets the factual basis (if not necessarily the thematic nor character basis) of the Post-Crisis Batman and his universe.

Detective #574 -- introduction of the post-Crisis Leslie Thompkins. Also a companion to Year One, largely chronicling Bruce's boyhood (post-murder) and college years.

Batman Annual #11 -- "Mortal Clay," by Alan Moore, is absolutely one of the greatest rogues gallery stories ever written, in this case starring Clay Face III.

Batman #408-411 -- The post-Crisis retirement of Dick Grayson as Robin and the introduction of post-Crisis Jason Todd as Robin #2. Though the story is very weak, #410 actually does a really good job of explaining why a street punk (like the post-Crisis Jason) makes a far more logical Robin than an innocent kid (like the pre-Crisis Jason) would. All of the vital information in this storyline is covered again (and arguably better) in Batman #416.

Batman: Son of the Demon -- A non-continuity graphic novel that depicts what is arguably the definitive Ras Al Ghul/ Talia story. Very exciting and emotionally rich, even while a bit illogical and out of character for Batman. Though the events of this issue inspired Grant Morrison to create Damian Wayne, the baby at the end of this story cannot be him.

Batman #415: Our first glimpse of Starlin's "edgy" Jason Todd, though the characterization only continues through the next issue and largely isn't seen again until Batman #424.

Batman #416: Fleshes out much of the post-crisis origin of the Robins (Dick Grayson and Jason Todd). Also the genesis of the infamous post-crisis conflict between Bruce and Dick (told in flashback, but significantly altering the events of Batman #408), and possibly the template for the Dick Grayson/Damian Wayne relationship later depicted by Grant Morrison.

Detective Comics #583-584: First appearance of Scarface and the Ventriloquist, as well as the beginning of the first Grant/Breyfogle run.

Batman #417-420: Ten Nights of the Beast, an intriguing four part story in which Batman and the CIA and FBI must track down and stop The KGBeast, a KGB super assassin. Surprisingly and intelligently immersed in (then) contemporary Cold War politics. First appearance of the KGBeast.

Detective Comics #585-586: First appearance of The Ratcatcher, as well as another all-around exceptional story by Wagner, Grant, and Breyfogle.

Batman: The Killing Joke -- Redefines the post-Crisis Joker as significantly more perverse and sadistic than before, and features the crippling of Barbara Gordon (ending Batgirl's career and paving the way for Oracle). Not my favorite Moore story, but it is important to continuity.

Batman #424 -- The shock ending issue that really establishes what most people consider to be the definitive Post Crisis Jason Todd characterization for the first time.


(continued in next post...)

[shaxper]

(...continued from previous post)

Detective Comics #592-593 -- The unforgettably disturbing first appearance of Cornelius Stirk.

Batman #426-429 -- "A Death in the Family" featuring the death of Jason Todd and supposed death of the Joker. Once again redefines the post-Crisis back-story and characterization of Jason Todd, albeit in more subtle ways. An uneven story, though it hits some truly high points, especially at the end of #427 and in the epitaph Starlin has Dr. Haywood give Jason in #428.

Batman #431 -- Christopher Priest (then James Owsley)'s fill-in story is the first to establish that the post-crisis Batman traveled across the world to study under many masters before becoming Batman. It is also the inspiration for the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Day of the Samurai" and may have inspired aspects of Batman Begins.

Detective Comics #598-600 -- "Blind Justice," a particularly well written science fiction premise that ends quite surprisingly. Written by Sam Hamm, the writer of the 1989 Batman film, it also sheds some light on Batman's early training.

Batman #433 -- A powerful depiction of the (mistaken) death of Batman, in which only one line of dialogue is spoken across the entire issue. Bold and powerful, even though an unnecessary three part story piggy backs off of it.

Batman #436 -- Though the Year 3 storyline was not a particularly strong one, this first chapter features a solid retelling of Dick Grayson's origin, as well as provides the cameo first appearance of Tim Drake in flashback.

Detective Comics Annual #12 -- A very solid detective story set during the early years of Bruce's training to become a crime fighter.

Batman #440-442, New Titans #60-61 -- "A Lonely Place of Dying." Poor story overall, but it introduces Tim Drake and sets him up to become the third Robin.

[shaxper]

________________________________________
The Reviews:


Batman #300: I really thought this would be a good read. It's "The Last Batman Story" set in a possible future. I've always loved the DC "imaginary story" adventures and figured this one would really have to be something, but it wasn't. The plot was silly and incomprehensible, somehow involving rainbow men that broadcast communications off of the moon and held auctions for rare items. I still don't get it. At the very end, Bruce spontaneously decides to retire and run for public office. It's arbitrary, it isn't well done, and the final panel, in which Dick grins and recalls images of their past, is far more cheesy than it could ever be considered touching. I was really disappointed by this one.

Batman #301 and 302 really teased me. David V. Reed began with a fantastic premise -- an underworld mob boss who has wire-taps; sleeper agents moving about as normal citizens who, if the boss is killed, are suddenly activated into murderous drones bent on revenge. One is killed and discovered by accident, leaving Batman on a mission to uncover the others. They could be anyone. They could be anywhere. They could strike at any time.

Unfortunately, they were all circus performers who all struck at the same time. An amazing premise took a turn for the absurd and easy. Very disappointing. B-

#303 was just plain stupid, in my opinion. Batman suffers a concussion and suddenly mixes up his identities, swinging through Gorden's office in a leisure suit and walking to the park to buy a hot dog in Batman garb. This should have been (and probably was) a premise in the Atom age Batman stories of camp and severely suspended disbelief, but the story wasn't even fanciful and fun enough to have made sense there. D+

I'm really hoping these start to get better. I read up on David Reed, and he sounds like an impressive Batman writer. I'm just not seeing that yet.

[shaxper]

Batman #304 -- "To Hell with Batman -- And Back!"
B-

In this issue, Batman is randomly and inexplicably taken down by a common thug (seriously?? Couldn't they at least have shown how Batman made such a blunder?) and then taken by the Spook, who somehow expected that this would happen (this all needed a lot more explaining. Were these trained assassins disguised as thugs or something?) After that, the story get a bit better, though. Batman appears to be a ghost, but it's just The Spook using overly elaborate tricks (some of which made very little sense) to create these illusions, ultimately planning to gun Batman down at the end and sell the whole thing as the world's first reality TV video.

My favorite thoroughly illogical moment, while Batman is still unconscious:

"Let's take his mask off, Spook, and see who ---"

"Absolutely not! It may be booby trapped!"

Exactly how would that work?

The weirdest thing about this issue is how inconsistent the art is. John Calnan draws an incredibly awkward looking Batman, but he does an amazing job of dramatically half-showing Batman when he's eclipsed by shadow.

Incidentally, the second story in this feature, "The Amazing Secret of Dr. Dundee" is probably the best part of the issue. Dr. Douglas Dundee is introduced as Bruce's closest confidant outside of Alfred, as well as the doctor who takes care of him when he's injured as Batman. Of course, this thoroughly contradicts the role of Dr. Leslie Thompkins (introduced only two years earlier), but it still makes for a great story when two goons demand that the doctor operate on a bullet wound at gun point and then make off with his drugs, making the doctor humiliated and outraged that Batman didn't do anything to stop them. Bruce then uses simple detective work to take them down while disguised as Dr. Dundee. A fun detective story all around, and it didn't even require Bruce becoming Batman, thus being the first in the series "The Public Life of Bruce Wayne." Let's see how long that lasts. Just last issue, they started the "Unsolved Cases of the Batman" series. What happened to that?

[shaxper]

Batman #305 -- "Death-Gamble of a Darknight Detective"
B

Gerry Conway takes over as writer for this issue, and boy is there a difference. Whereas last issue, Batman had to have a thought bubble for every single action he took, Conway is comfortable having Batman work in silence for many panels which seems a lot more fitting for the grim darknight. In this issue, an anti-capitalist terrorist group known as the Death's-Head is killing thousands of innocent people in an attempt to stop capitalism, I suppose. Doesn't really make much sense. What makes even less sense is that they've been doing this all around the globe and have already led ten attacks against Gotham, yet Batman is perched on a roof top doing standard patrol and is actually surprised when a bomb goes off. Why wasn't he already looking into this terrorist group??

It's also upsetting how easily he's beaten again this issue, this time by a single grenade lobbed at him. How is the Batman not dead or exposed by Bruce Wayne by this point if every flunky he battles in Act 1 manages to take him down?

A lot of the rest of the issue is nonsensical and hokey, involving a hypnotic device that forces wealthy businessmen to take unnecessary risks, an obvious twist revelation about who the leader of the Death's-Head gang is, and an absurd climactic battle involving over-sized slot machines and roulette tables, but the art and writing are both strong, and the issue does provide two moments that I really enjoyed: one in which Gordon is genuinely worried about Batman and, in a bewildered desire to help, asks to take him out for coffee, and one in which Batman charges into combat, well aware that he's been hypnotized into taking unnecessary risks, but still jogging casually into a heavy rain of machine gun fire. Really, the good outweighed the bad in this issue.

The second story was, once again, arguably the better of the two. Bob Rozakis writes a story in which a woman is found dead with a wedding ring. The ring's inscription reads "To my darling wife. Love, The Batman." Gordan's reaction to this is quite touching. Between his careful interaction with Batman at the crime scene, unsure of whether or not this really was his wife, and the coffee offer in the previous story, this entire issue does a lot to build the relationship between Batman and Gordan. The rest of the issue doesn't do much other than follow a red herring and deliver obligatory action. It's a to-be-continued that will hopefully pay off in the end, but the premise and the haunting weight it gives to both Gordan and Batman in this story make it all worthwhile. Even though this clearly wasn't Bruce's wife, the art strongly suggest that he has taken this implication personally and is affected by the mystery before him. Incidentally, this is another "Unsolved Case of the Batman," so what's going on with these B features? are they rotating back and forth each issue, or was that Public Life of Bruce Wayne installment from last issue an anomaly?

[shaxper]

Batman 306 -- Night of Siege
B+

The Black Spider is one of those characters who I've noticed on the covers of some of my older Bat books and always wondered about. Having read one of his stories for the first time today, I was suitably impressed. He makes a very compelling character as the motivated vigilante who lacks Batman's values, and while the character type has been done many times before and since, I haven't seen it done better.

There were some glaring lapses in logic in this story but, overall, it held together better than any of the five Batman issues I read prior to this. I also feel that Conway did a better job in this issue of conveying the idea of a "powered down" Batman who is human and genuinely at risk every time he goes out on patrol without making him seem so fallible that the idea of his having done this for so long without getting captured or killed seems unrealistic. We see Gordan worry about him, watch him improvise on the fly, hoping Alfred will take his cue when attempting to deceive a drug lord in front of him, and watch Black Spider royally kick his ass without ever worrying whether or not Bruce will survive. Well done all around.

edit: I did a little more research and now realize both that Black Spider was Conway's creation and that this was the second of only two issues of Batman that he came back to write. Looks like Conway wanted an opportunity to resurrect and rebuild his character. He certainly accomplished that beautifully in this issue.

The second story, on the other hand, was truly infuriating. This was part two of the Unsolved Cases of the Batman in which Bruce is trying to figure out the mystery of why an unidentified dead woman wore a wedding ring with an inscription that said "To My Darling Wife, Love The Batman." At the very end of part one, an obnoxious antagonist showed up, threatening to expose Batman's identity and, worse yet, threatening to side-track an otherwise fascinating plot. Sure enough, this issue was entirely about Batman stopping him and then ends by leaving the mystery entirely unsolved.

NO FAIR!

The first Unsolved Case of the Batman (back in #303) was a completed story in which Batman chose not to reveal the solution to anyone outside of himself. It had been my logical assumption that each of these stories would either be cases that Bruce would choose not to reveal, that he would not be able to solve (but enough clues would be left for us to do so), or that he would solve them in the present while reflecting on how he could not solve them when they first happened. This, though, this was just damn dirty. The ONLY compelling thing about this story was the mystery of "Mrs. Batman." How dare they leave it like this?

[Aaron Kashtan]

Batman #304 -- "To Hell with Batman -- And Back!"
B-

I just read this issue, and uggg. I thought the first story was boring and illogical, but I liked the second story even less. If Dr. Douglas Dundee was such an important figure in Bruce's life, then why have we never heard of him before? And Bruce's detective work made little sense to me -- he buys a barber's uniform and a doll with yellow hair, apparently in order to use them as part of his Dr. Dundee disguise, but Reed neglects to explain what Bruce did with these objects.

[shaxper]

I just read this issue, and uggg. I thought the first story was boring and illogical, but I liked the second story even less. If Dr. Douglas Dundee was such an important figure in Bruce's life, then why have we never heard of him before?

The only defense I can offer to this is that the very groundwork of pre-crisis Batman continuity was first being laid down in these issues. Dick leaving for college and Bruce moving into the Wayne Foundation aside, very little seemed to have stuck at this point. I guess it was as good a time as any to insert a character who appeared to have promise and pretend he'd been there all along.

And Bruce's detective work made little sense to me -- he buys a barber's uniform and a doll with yellow hair, apparently in order to use them as part of his Dr. Dundee disguise, but Reed neglects to explain what Bruce did with these objects.

I thought I recalled this being answered by the visuals. The uniform became Dundee's medical attire, and didn't he use the doll's hair as a beard or something?

[LEADER DESSLOK]

Batman #301 and 302 really teased me. David V. Reed began with a fantastic premise -- an underworld mob boss who has wire-taps; sleeper agents moving about as normal citizens who, if the boss is killed, are suddenly activated into murderous drones bent on revenge. One is killed and discovered by accident, leaving Batman on a mission to uncover the others. They could be anyone. They could be anywhere. They could strike at any time.

Unfortunately, they were all circus performers who all struck at the same time. An amazing premise took a turn for the absurd and easy. Very disappointing. B-

#303 was just plain stupid, in my opinion. Batman suffers a concussion and suddenly mixes up his identities, swinging through Gorden's office in a leisure suit and walking to the park to buy a hot dog in Batman garb. This should have been (and probably was) a premise in the Atom age Batman stories of camp and severely suspended disbelief, but the story wasn't even fanciful and fun enough to have made sense there. D+

I'm really hoping these start to get better. I read up on David Reed, and he sounds like an impressive Batman writer. I'm just not seeing that yet.

So far, every single one of those stories by Vern Reed sound clever and imaginiative, sometning which was sadly lacking in the era which followed his departure; an era of more conventional super-heroics supporting a decent subplot involving Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. It seems to me you were disappointed that Vern Reed's stories didn't have a Marvel comics style POW ,ZOWIE finish! Or any of Denny O'Neil's "Hairy Bat" thug-a-nomics that impress SOME Batman fans.

I just happen to have that Crazy Quilt story and I think the only reason I kept the darn thing is either because of the Kyle subplot or because of Robin's appearance--BUT if you think it represents a "solid" Batman and Robin team-up, that speaks VOLUMES to me about your credibility in summing up David Vern Reed!

[JKCarrier]

Or any of Denny O'Neil's "Hairy Bat" thug-a-nomics that impress SOME Batman fans.

I have no idea what this sentence means, but I now want to start a band called "Hairy Bat Thug-a-Nomics".

[LEADER DESSLOK]

I have no idea what this sentence means, but I now want to start a band called "Hairy Bat Thug-a-Nomics".

I have ALWAYS had problems with both Denny O'Neil and Steve Englehart's Batman stories, but particularly with O'Neil's because I felt he tried to make Batman too "realistic".

Now, from a story perspective, I think O'Neil is one of those writers who when he is good, he's darn good; but when he's bad, he's pretty darn awful! I have HATED his SPIDER-MAN, JLA (which I wanted to like), GREEN LANTERN (in spite of the hype), DAREDEVIL, SHAZAM and I have mixed feelings about his BATMAN, oh, and don't even get me started on his little digs at Bob Kane's expense!

When I was a kid I owned (and still have) BATMAN FROM THE 30s to the 70s
and I thought some of the best stories from the 70s chapter were by him. I looked again years later and learned they were by FRANK ROBBINS! "The Squire of Gothos" which I hated, was by O'Neil!

1. In his beautiful "Silent Night, Deadly Night" he has Bats straining to free himself from a radiator he was tied to. I personally have seen maintenance men handling these things like paperweights; one guy even ripped one out of the floor! And The Batman is straining to do the very same thing?

2. Bats' hairy chest and tough talking is okay in small doses but a steady diet of them gets to be annoying! Batman doesn't have to threaten--his very appearance is scary! Just once in a while is fine-- O'Neil had him sounding like Officer Belzer from HILL ST. BLUES! "Where's the Joker, dogbreath!?"

3. Where are the Bat-Goodies? Oh, that would be "campy"! Ya know what? I'm sick of that particular "C-word" being levelled at The Batman! The series has ALWAYS been somewhat absurd--c'mon, he dresses up like a flying rat!
So, Denny, how does Bats get from place to place? He carries his costume under his clothes like Spidey? Where's his "Bat-Web-backpack?" David Vern Reed, gave Bats an urban Batcave under the Wayne Foundation! That makes more sense to me!

4. More Thug-a-nomics, O'Neil had Batman deck Talia with a closed fist so hard it knocked her unconcious! So, a "Bat-Nerve pinch" would have been too "campy", eh?

5. Every single time he brought back Robin, he would find an excuse to put him on the sidelines and let Bats take over! I later learned from an interview that he never liked Robin! Uh, Denny, Robin was a grown man by the time you started writing it so he wasn't a boy facing tough crooks anymore!

I like the Neal Adams artwork but aside from classics like "The Secret of the Waiting Graves" and that aforementioned Christmas story, Denny is on the low-end of my Top 10 favorite Bat-writers--but at least I kept him in that Top 10 so put down those tomatos!

[shaxper]

It seems to me you were disappointed that Vern Reed's stories didn't have a Marvel comics style POW ,ZOWIE finish!

Quite the opposite, actually. The Wire-Taps story's problem was precisely that it did go for that kind of ending, whereas I was hoping for something a little less artificial.

I just happen to have that Crazy Quilt story and I think the only reason I kept the darn thing is either because of the Kyle subplot or because of Robin's appearance--BUT if you think it represents a "solid" Batman and Robin team-up, that speaks VOLUMES to me about your credibility in summing up David Vern Reed!

Feel free to disagree with my opinion as much as you like, but I take offense to your calling my "credibility" into question because I enjoyed a story that you didn't. I've worked very hard to create these reviews for the enjoyment and benefit of this community. It's downright rude to walk in here and insult me for those efforts just because you disagree with what I clearly present as my own personal opinion.


And to everyone else, my apologies for the long delay in reviews. It takes me roughly an hour to read and review a single issue, and I haven't had that kind of free time lately. I hope to return to the project soon.

[LEADER DESSLOK]

Quite the opposite, actually. The Wire-Taps story's problem was precisely that it did go for that kind of ending, whereas I was hoping for something a little less artificial.



Feel free to disagree with my opinion as much as you like, but I take offense to your calling my "credibility" into question because I enjoyed a story that you didn't. I've worked very hard to create these reviews for the enjoyment and benefit of this community. It's downright rude to walk in here and insult me for those efforts just because you disagree with what I clearly present as my own personal opinion....

All right, buddy, it's super-soakers at dawn! Actually, nah. Since you acknowledge it's your opinion. I've gone up against fan and pro alike so I mean it sincerely when I say I look forward to your reviews. Vern Reed's not everyone's cup of tea, I happen to love them, He didn't always hit it out of the park but his stories were more interesting and challenging than most of the stuff that was being cranked out at the time!

Oh, and another thing about Denny O'Neil, he is sometimes credited for writing a "new" origin for Two-Face. FALSE! The flashback sequence that was shown in ("Half An Evil" ?) was an actual sequence that took place in the story, "TWO FACE STRIKES AGAIN"-- which featured the undoing of Harvey Dent's plastic surgery. Hmmm, who wrote that story? DAVID VERN REED!

[Aziz Abbasi]

The highlights of the run, thus far:

Batman #307 -- Dark Messenger of Mercy. In many ways, the beginnings of Batman continuity as a lot of key supporting cast members like Lucius Fox, Gregorian Falstaff, and Shamrock and his homeless friends are introduced and major story lines are begun. A great story in its own right, as well.

Batman #309 -- The Blockbuster Christmas story. Very moving.

Batman #316 -- The return of Crazy Quilt. Just a really solid Batman/Robin team-up.

Batman #321 -- The Joker's birthday party. Exceptionally well written, especially in the subtle relationship depicted between Batman and Joker.

Batman #323-324-- Wein's legendary Catwoman/Catman storyline. Absolutely amazing.

Batman #332-335-- The Lazarus Affair. A beloved classic.

Batman #347-- The Shadow of the Batman. A powerful one-shot story that shows Batman's impact upon two young men considering getting into a life of crime.

Batman #349-350, Detective #517, Batman #351: The Monk/vampires storyline. Awesome Colan art and a decent Conway script providing intense action, tone, and visuals, as Bruce and Dick become vampires. Pretty unforgettable.

Detective #520, Batman #354: The Haunting of Boss Thorne. Powerful, powerful art and writing as Thorne's criminal empire begins to collapse on top of him. One of the best Batman stories I've ever read.

Batman #357-359 and Detective #524-526: Conway's classic Killer Croc storyline which introduces both Croc and Jason Todd. Though the storyline comes and goes, the plotting is strong, and the events are significant.

Detective #532: Great insights into Joker's motivations and his relationship with Batman.

Batman #368: Jason Todd officially becomes Robin, gets savagely beaten by Crazy Quilt. POWERFUL.

Batman #372: An unexpectedly powerful/risky story about racism and boxing. Highly moving.

I only read the boxing story of those, and it demands another visit by me, I'll check it out with the rest of the highlights

Batman #300: I really thought this would be a good read. It's "The Last Batman Story" set in a possible future. I've always loved the DC "imaginary story" adventures and figured this one would really have to be something, but it wasn't. The plot was silly and incomprehensible, somehow involving rainbow men that broadcast communications off of the moon and held auctions for rare items. I still don't get it. At the very end, Bruce spontaneously decides to retire and run for public office. It's arbitrary, it isn't well done, and the final panel, in which Dick grins and recalls images of their past, is far more cheesy than it could ever be considered touching. I was really disappointed by this one.

I agree with you, it was nothing more than bland cheese

[zryson]

thanks shaxper; it was a cool run. i bought 300-400 off ebay for around $90 i think. most in very fine condition from memory. i love reading older batmans prior to the 2000's but the 70s and 80s run was very cool