#5: The Dark Knight Returns (Frank
Miller, both writing and drawing)
The only Elseworlds title on my list,
and a landmark for good reason: it brought Batman back into the
public eye, showing how dark and serious the character was. Like
Watchmen, it pushed a new trend of “dark and gritty” comics,
though many of those comics failed to understand what made Watchmen
and The Dark Knight Returns work. It's not about mass killing, grey
and brown worlds or acting like an arsehole, it's about bleakness, an
uncertainty about the world around them, and approaching things from
the perspective that the world may just be broken.
The Dark Knight Returns may be an
attack on the politics of its time, but it serves as a backdrop to
the story, which is about a much older Bruce Wayne coming out of
retirement to reclaim his city from the clutches of Hell.
Frank Miller these days is... well, a
bit nuts, to put it lightly. But back in the day, he could tell one
Hell of a story. Even though he would later go on to trash Superman
in this book's sequel and his All-Star Batman And Robin book, in this
story, Superman is written with the utmost respect and the
confrontation between him and Bruce is the stuff of legend.
The new Robin, Carrie Kelly, was a
great addition, and she wears the mantle proudly. I wish she'd appear
in the “main” DC Universe.
If there's one problem I have, it's
that Selina Kyle gets portrayed as a prostitute (which Frank would do
again in Year One). Seriously, dude, what's your problem with her?
#4: Whatever Happened To The Caped
Crusader? (Neil Gaiman, Andy Kubert/Scott Williams)
First off, the art: gorgeous,
especially in the second part, with the depiction of the
supervillains. My fave page involves Alfred looking into the mirror,
and the rest of that page... yeah, I'm not spoiling.
Set after Batman R.I.P, it involves
Batman watching his own funeral (not a spoiler, though) and various
explanations provided for his death. The first issue of the
two-parter is good, with a nice romantic angle but that second
issue... amazing!
And the final pages, a triumph. If this
WAS the true last Batman story, it's a Hell of a send-off.
#3: The Killing Joke (Alan Moore, Brian
Bolland)
I've already brought this up in a post
relating to the DC universe, but it's simply a fantastic story that I
need to bring it up again. Despite trying to peg an origin on The
Joker, it's up to you (and him) to determine fact from fiction.
What makes it work is that it's such a
simple concept, given a grand treatment. Joker decides to shoot
Barbara Gordon, kidnap her father and it's up to Batman to find The
Joker and stop him.
It's such an intelligent read, too,
with contrasting opinions on sanity and the human condition, with The
Joker offering his own interpretation on the misery that is mankind.
The Joker is even kind of sympathetic, and that's an amazing feat in
and of itself. Part of that is the way he's drawn, as he's not always
smiling or scowling. Sometimes, he's showing what looks like sincere
sadness. Like for one moment, he's actually regretting what he's
done, or that he's at the end of his rope.
The final pages are brilliant, with
Batman offering genuine help to his archnemesis. The Joker declines,
but not in an “Bah! I wouldn't let you help me!” kind of way, but
more of an “I'm afraid we've gone far beyond that” way and,
again, the way he's drawn, he's almost human in his expression. The
joke he shares with Batman is actually hilarious, too, and Batman
laughs right alongside him! Plus, the joke has so many interpretations relating to the story.
Simple put, an absolute treasure.
#2: A Lonely Place Of Dying (Marv
Wolfman/George Perez, Jim Aparo/Tom Grummett)
The introduction of Tim Drake. I could
stop right there, but I won't. I love the character of Tim Drake, who
I name as my fave Robin of all (I've read more of Dick Grayson as
Nightwing that to me, while he was a great Robin, I'll always see him
more as Nightwing) and this arc serves to introduce him in a way that
let everyone know he wasn't Jason Todd, and he wasn't going to be a
Mary Sue who would be some super-awesome-new-Dick-Grayson clone. He
was a humble and clever boy (still is) who had no dream of being
Robin, but was granted the role after acquitting himself in a tense
situation.
Also, there's a great scene with
Two-Face (the villian of the arc) in which he and Batman make a plan
to capture the other, with their thought processes being nearly
identical, and the scene is drawn as a mirror to those thoughts. I
wish I saw more of this, it's just a great concept, especially for a
villian like Two-Face.
Until the #1 entry came along, there
was no finer a Batman story I could ever hope for, and it's still as
great today as when I first read it.
But as for that # 1 entry? Well, it's
none other than...
#1: Hush (Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee/Scott
Williams/Alex Sinclair)
The grandest of the grand, and not just
one of my fave Batman stories, but one of my fave comics all up.
Introducing a wonderful new villain, the title character, the status
quo was shaken in more than one way (this is the story in which
Harvey Dent gets the plastic surgery that “cures” him of being
Two-Face, until Face The Face) and it allows one of Batman's old foes
to claw his way back to the A-list and prove why he's awesome.
Multiple villains, a compelling
mystery, long term effects and set-ups for future stories, simply a
masterpiece.
Also, Jim Lee's pencils, plus Alex
Sinclair's colouring, just beautiful. Jim is one of the best artists
in the industry, and his art is also one of the two redeeming factors
of the excrement that is All-Star Batman And Robin.
Well, I hope you enjoyed these two
blogs. If you are a Batman fan and you haven't read at least four of
these, get out there and find them! If you're looking to get started
with Batman comics, I've found that while prior knowledge of the
comics history helps, most if not all of these are fully accessible
without that much information. Really, with Batman, you could start
nearly anywhere and enjoy the book on its own, which is another
reason why he's my fave comic book character (Grant Morrison's stuff
may be the exception, though. That guy LOVES his continuity...)
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