Opinions on Chuck Dixon's time as a Batman writer

[Godlike13]

Dixon was consistent. Might not have reinvented any wheels, but the dude could regularly churn out consistently good books 2-3 at a time. His highlights to me is his Year Ones, Robin/Batgirl, and his Nightwing and BoP are two of the main books that got me started collecting comics. So those always hold a special place with me.

[allstarmatches]

I was always a fan. Chuck's probably never going to write the next Watchmen, but he reliably turned out 3-4 good issues per month for quite a long time. His stuff rarely rose above the level of "good genre material" but he could always be counted on for solid reads, and occasionally a really good one.

Moreover, I always liked his prose. He had a sparse narrative style that showed an ability to cut to the heart of a scene with a minimum of words. He'd reveal more about a character in a single sentence than some writers do in an entire overwrought issue. His Bat-characters all had distinct voices and they stayed consistent from one appearance to the next.

I do think his last year or so on his various titles was not up to his usual standards. The editorial regime had turned over by that time and clearly he did not work as well with that group as he did with O'Neil & Co. His first 8-9 years of material is really strong, though, and I find it holds up well on re-read.

[Hierocles]

He was the weakest link -- among the Dixon/Grant/Moench trio -- for me in the main Batman comics of the mid-1990s (which was when I became a fan of American comics).

[RubberLotus]

He was the weakest link -- among the Dixon/Grant/Moench trio -- for me in the main Batman comics of the mid-1990s (which was when I became a fan of American comics).

Huh. I'd always held the exact opposite opinion.

While Moench - and to an extent, Grant - did seem more willing to experiment with Bat-stories and try exploring all sorts of new ideas (as well as their personal fascinations), they more often than not stumbled and fell flat on their faces. The Moench/Jones run in particular was cracky fun at its peak, but nigh-impossible to take seriously nine times out of ten (though, if that was Moench's/Jones' intent all along, then all the more power to them!).

Dixon, though... there was a certain workman-like appeal to his stories that, appropriately enough, emulated BTAS at its finest. He never forgot the plot, never forgot the humor, and never forgot the violence.

And hell, I'd say that he's one of the greatest Joker writers in all that is D or C - right up there with the likes of O'Neil, Dini, and Englehart (for the record, while I do like TKJ, I don't consider Moore a Joker writer; more like a Joker re-inventor). Funny, violent, and just oozing with charisma - I have no problems believing that THIS Joker could charm his way into Harley's heart, or sway a jury into not giving him the death penalty.

His take on the Riddler also made me completely evaluate what my "ideal" take on Riddler should be. Not an arrogant, all-knowing genius mastermind - I tend to hate characters in that mold (Ra's, Hush, Dr. Hurt, even Bane and Hugo Strange, to an extent) - but a sort of ultra-cunning man whose main talent was cheating. There was an air of approachability to him, in that his plans looked so very plausible, as if you could yank them right out of the page and use them as blueprints for a real crime. And yet, he was very clearly having fun with his crimes, with props straight out of the Silver Age (in fact, I think that Dixon was one of the last writers to write a story with Riddler in spandex).

(He also made Riddler's henchgirl duo a regular part of Eddie's mythos. Props for that.)

Then there's Killer Croc - yes, Dixon's one of those few writers who bothers writing Croc as something other than a rabid animal or dumb muscle. Every single Croc appearance he wrote - and there were quite a few - feature ol' Waylon as a man with criminal know-how, a personality, and perhaps even a sense of humor to his name.

That said, I never understood his fascination with Man-Bat. I also never cared for his insistence that Freeze and Two-Face had to remain total, one-dimensional assholes (though, pretty much EVERY mainstream DC writer, Paul Dini included, is in that boat where Freeze is concerned).

Yes, I'm one of those "just write the villains well; the Bat-family can go hang!"-type fans. Why do you ask?

[Haytil]

I don't think there are a whole lot of excellent Riddler stories. But I really enjoyed both Dixon's "Year One" re-telling of Riddler's origin, as well as his 3-part story in "Detective Comics" featuring him and the Cluemaster.

[jgiannantoni05]

Well said Rubber.

And hell, I'd say that he's one of the greatest Joker writers in all that is D or C - right up there with the likes of O'Neil, Dini, and Englehart

Very true, one of the best things to bring up about Dixon. He's arguably (not saying he is) the best Joker writer.


Dixon...great Batman family writer, and great Batman writer I'd say. Strong characterization. Consistent. Economical storytelling. Action (some of the best martial arts themed and actioned Batman stories). Good continuity adherent.

Loved Batgirl Year One, his post-Knightfall Detective run, his earlier Tec 651 "A Bullet for Bullock", loved his Knightfall and Prodigal chapters, loved Devils Advocate, his other misc Joker stories (like Tec 726), great Nightwing run, great Robin run. Contributed cool characters like Bane, King Snake, Wiley Dalbert, etc, and made many existing characters and rogues more interesting.

[Captain Jim]

He was there for the bulk of the 90s, joining shortly before Knightfall and leaving after No Man's Land.

He essentially stopped writing Batman right before NML, at least as regular scribe. I believe he did have two arcs during NML though. And, of course, he continued on Nightwing, Robin & BOP for quite a while after that.

He was upset by a number of characters he created being killed off during War Games mostly because it meant he couldn't count on getting royalties for their future appearances. That seemed a little penny-pinching given how much work DC had given him while he was there.

The thing is, the deaths weren't story-driven. It was a vendetta, pure and simple.

Looking back his Batman was good while his Robin series was great... while he was writing it his Robin was the best Gotham ongoing to be published during my lifetime.

Totally agree. There was a time during Chuck's tenure on Robin in which it was my favorite comic being published bar none.

Dixon was consistent. Might not have reinvented any wheels, but the dude could regularly churn out consistently good books 2-3 at a time.

Chuck's probably never going to write the next Watchmen, but he reliably turned out 3-4 good issues per month for quite a long time. His stuff rarely rose above the level of "good genre material" but he could always be counted on for solid reads, and occasionally a really good one.

Again, very much agree. I always used to say that Chuck's best quality was his consistency. You always knew you were going to get a solid, good story. I realize that a lot of fans today have no use for anyone whose work is anything less than consistently spectacular. But given all of the consistently mediocre or "sometimes good, sometimes mediocre" writers doing work in the field, I'll take a Chuck Dixon any day.

He was the weakest link -- among the Dixon/Grant/Moench trio -- for me in the main Batman comics of the mid-1990s (which was when I became a fan of American comics).

Very much disagree with this. I always enjoyed both Dixon and Grant, but dropped the Batman title when Moench was writing it the second time around.

[DonC]

Con:
Not really memorable,apart from a few things here and there.

One of the things people sometimes forget is writers today have a lot more freedom to tell stories than when Dixon was writing the characters. Dixon still introduced Bane and Spoiler, having the mildly controversial teen pregnancy story with Steph.

[Godlike13]

Not too mention BoP.

[RubberLotus]

One of the things people sometimes forget is writers today have a lot more freedom to tell stories than when Dixon was writing the characters. Dixon still introduced Bane and Spoiler, having the mildly controversial teen pregnancy story with Steph.

He also penned Riddler's post-Crisis origin, initiated the first Cass/Steph teamup (thus launching a thousand squees across the Interwebs), and actually tried to change Joker's whole Arkham-revolving-door schtick by packing him off to The Slab. Granted, Jeph Loeb stomped all over that in "Hush", but he tried.

[godisawesome]

Chuck Dixon defined the Post-Crisis Batman Family.

His average was good, but I'll still hold his first Robin miniseries as being the best story to ever feature the character and King Snake as an underused badguy from the nineties.

And I have to agree that many of the characters he created who died got really pointless and ultimately useless deaths.

My ideal Batman writer would mix his writing style and interpretation of characters with the big idea thinking of Mark Waid or Morrison.

[RubberLotus]

Chuck Dixon defined the Post-Crisis Batman Family.

His average was good, but I'll still hold his first Robin miniseries as being the best story to ever feature the character and King Snake as an underused badguy from the nineties.

And I have to agree that many of the characters he created who died got really pointless and ultimately useless deaths.

My ideal Batman writer would mix his writing style and interpretation of characters with the big idea thinking of Mark Waid or Morrison.

While that would sound nice, I'm not too sure those two things are ever meant to mix.

I can count on one hand the number of "Big-Idea" stories that have actually managed to make me care about what's at stake. The one time that Dixon tried his hand at a DCU-spanning crisis storyline, we got Last Laugh. For that matter, the last time Paul Dini tried, we got Countdown.

[darkseidpwns]

@Captain jim

What vendetta? DC actually wrote a story with the sole intent of killing Dixon's characters?

[Filip]

Opinion: I got the chills after reading Detective Comics #726, so he's alright in my book.

[Captain Jim]

@Captain jim

What vendetta? DC actually wrote a story with the sole intent of killing Dixon's characters?

Not a single story, but rather, in a feat almost unparalleled in comics, DC, one by one, proceeded to kill off almost every villain and supporting character Dixon ever created, culminating in Spoiler and finally the destruction of Bludhaven itself. Few people believed this was all mere coincidence.