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Batman Post-Crisis #39
Legends of the Dark Knight: Alan Davis
After a run on BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS, artist Alan Davis moved on to the Dark Knight's solo adventures in DETECTIVE COMICS. Davis's slick, exciting style brought Batman's battles with The Joker, Catwoman, The Scarecrow and The Mad Hatter to vivid life.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2012
6 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
Alan Davis
1,028 books68 followersAlan Davis is an English writer and artist of comic books, known for his work on titles such as Captain Britain, The Uncanny X-Men, ClanDestine, Excalibur, JLA: The Nail and JLA: Another Nail and others.
Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
October 17, 2018
A solid volume collecting Barr and Davis' Silver Age cheesy stories.
Alan Davis' art is just over the top and I liked a lot the Detective Comics 50th adniversary issue team-up with Sherlock Holmes (!!!), but sometimes Mike W. Barr's version of Batman just goes totally out of rails... using a creep as human shield in front of young Jason Todd/Robin???
Oh, good grief...
December 16, 2015
Collecting Alan Davis' work on Detective Comics of 1986 and 1987 (#s 569-575), Batman: Full Circle (1991), and a short story created for Batman: Black & White (2002), and featuring such villains as Catwoman, Joker, Mad Hatter, Scarecrow, and the Reaper, this book is a look back at simpler times in comics - certainly more light-hearted... except maybe for Batman: Full Circle, which skirts the edge of 'dark & gritty'. This collection of stories includes Detective Comics #572 (celebrating 50 years!), a sleuth team-up of Batman (naturally), Elongated Man, Slam Bradley, and - I kid you not - the original Sherlock Holmes. How the latter is still alive in 1986 is explained, of course, but you will have to read the story yourself to find out Sherlock's explanation.
February 20, 2013
Top-notch tales of Batman from yesteryear when he was still a detective and a good man.
May 20, 2020
Una etapa simpática que envejeció muy mal, y se nota mucho la falta de recursos creativos de Barr, tendencia que lo acompañaría también en el siguiente arco argumental, "Año dos". El dibujo de Davis era bueno y cumplía, pero los guiones simplemente no estaban a la altura del personaje, y tampoco funcionaban a nivel humorístico. Son como una mala copia de la bizarra serie de Batman del 66. Una pena.
January 19, 2016
This could just as easily have been branded as a Mike Barr collection. Full Circle is really the only story here that I felt was somewhat weak. It feels like something just waiting to be retconned. Other than that, I found the stories very entertaining and a nice middle ground between the wacky Silver Age and modern morose versions of the character(s). Art-wise, the only "knock" I would give is Davis' Robin makes some really goofy faces. I'm not sure if it's intentional, but it stuck out. Luckily it seems to only be in the early stories. My favorite story is the Sherlock Holmes story.
March 11, 2020
Tomo lindo que quedó viejo luego de la Crisis y Dark Knight, pero las historias clásicas e inocentes son muy disfrutables. Y el dibujo de Davis es tremendo.
February 18, 2014
Hace muchos años, cuando editorial Zinco publicó estas historias, pasé de ellas. Tras haber leído Año Uno y The Dark Knight Returns, volver a cruzarse con un Batman camp y en dupla con un sonriente Robin parecía un despropósito. Además, escribía Mike W.Barr, ese guionista latero de la fallida Batman: Año Dos.
Bueno, todo eso fue un error.
¿Por que reutilizar plots como el Jokermóvil, El Sombrerero Loco robando en un estadio donde se produce un "hat-trick", o que un misterio se resuelva con juegos de palabras? ¿A que puede venir construir semejante ejercicio de nostalgia en un contexto donde la Crisis original, Watchmen y Frank Miller habían barrido con todo?
Barr y Davis aman la Edad de Plata, y bajo un tinglado de puerilidad, deslizan un perfil humanista de Batman como pocas veces se ha visto. Por una vez, Batman es un ser humano sensible, real, con miedos, preocupaciones y sentido común. Bajo toda la caricatura aparente, Davis y Barr entregan un contrapunto potentísimo,a veces en una viñeta, a veces en una página. Es sutil, pero tremendo. En apenas 6 números, los autores realizan una transición del Batman clásico al moderno, sin convertirlo en un sicópata, y utilizando las mismas temáticas que luego Jim Starlin llevaría al extremo.
Párrafo aparte para el número especial de homenaje a Detective Comics. Lleno de guiños y homenajes, su trama imposible y simplona se compensa con la puesta en escena, llena de amor por el personaje y recordando que, por sobre todo, Batman es un detective en la tradición del mejor.
Y si todo lo anterior no valiese, el cierre del tomo contiene una de las mejores reflexiones que se han puesto en la mente de Bats. ¿Por que hacer lo que se hace? Un corolario de lujo junto a la dra. Leslie Thompkins (personaje fundamental siempre tan desaprovechado) que justifica la revisión y sitúa a este tomo como un imperdible en la colección del murciélago. Lamento haber sido tan snob en su momento, pero tras casi treinta años, la enmienda es posible.
Bueno, todo eso fue un error.
¿Por que reutilizar plots como el Jokermóvil, El Sombrerero Loco robando en un estadio donde se produce un "hat-trick", o que un misterio se resuelva con juegos de palabras? ¿A que puede venir construir semejante ejercicio de nostalgia en un contexto donde la Crisis original, Watchmen y Frank Miller habían barrido con todo?
Barr y Davis aman la Edad de Plata, y bajo un tinglado de puerilidad, deslizan un perfil humanista de Batman como pocas veces se ha visto. Por una vez, Batman es un ser humano sensible, real, con miedos, preocupaciones y sentido común. Bajo toda la caricatura aparente, Davis y Barr entregan un contrapunto potentísimo,a veces en una viñeta, a veces en una página. Es sutil, pero tremendo. En apenas 6 números, los autores realizan una transición del Batman clásico al moderno, sin convertirlo en un sicópata, y utilizando las mismas temáticas que luego Jim Starlin llevaría al extremo.
Párrafo aparte para el número especial de homenaje a Detective Comics. Lleno de guiños y homenajes, su trama imposible y simplona se compensa con la puesta en escena, llena de amor por el personaje y recordando que, por sobre todo, Batman es un detective en la tradición del mejor.
Y si todo lo anterior no valiese, el cierre del tomo contiene una de las mejores reflexiones que se han puesto en la mente de Bats. ¿Por que hacer lo que se hace? Un corolario de lujo junto a la dra. Leslie Thompkins (personaje fundamental siempre tan desaprovechado) que justifica la revisión y sitúa a este tomo como un imperdible en la colección del murciélago. Lamento haber sido tan snob en su momento, pero tras casi treinta años, la enmienda es posible.
March 24, 2017
Un deleite este compendio.
Para quienes fuimos niños en los 80 éste es sin duda un libro obligado. Dinámico, divertido, con ese sabor post-crisis que tanto me gustaba.
Eso sí, aunque creo que debería dársele más reconocimiento a W. Barr por esta etapa, el trabajo de Davis es sencillamente maravilloso.
Puntos extra por la historia de Sherlock Holmes.
Me hizo muy feliz esta lectura.
Para quienes fuimos niños en los 80 éste es sin duda un libro obligado. Dinámico, divertido, con ese sabor post-crisis que tanto me gustaba.
Eso sí, aunque creo que debería dársele más reconocimiento a W. Barr por esta etapa, el trabajo de Davis es sencillamente maravilloso.
Puntos extra por la historia de Sherlock Holmes.
Me hizo muy feliz esta lectura.
Read
March 31, 2021Collecting Alan Davis’ brief Detective Comics run plus two later stories, this book is an interesting read. The Detective issues came directly after Crisis, so it’s surprising that they take on a campy, Batman '66 tone - Bruce smiles and says “chum”, while Robin dishes out puns. I guess Davis and writer Mike Barr (who pens every story in the volume) didn’t care about the dark direction Batman was headed at the time. These issues actually aren’t bad, but awkwardness arises when the light tone mixes with Davis’ realistic, noir-tinged style. Elsewhere, we have the first issue of the atrocious Year Two, plus its generic follow-up, "Full Circle." The book ends with a black and white Gotham Knights entry that pulls on a thread from the Davis/Barr run. Davis' art is the best thing about this book. He draws action scenes really well.
May 1, 2013
The last hoorah, really, of the pre-Crisis Batman, before Frank Miller convinced the comic-reading world that Batman was a psychopath. Yeah, the stories are a bit goofy, but they're huge fun and the art is gorgeous. I still have these original issues and I consider them one of the greatest of all Batman runs.
January 10, 2019
I picked this collection solely for the Batman Year Two sequel, so I didn’t know much of the other works of this collection. I got to say, it’s a nice way to spend some time.
The late 1980s was a nice way to get a handle of the DC Comics Post Crisis era. With most of the characters basically the same this collection didn’t need to change too much about the story other than getting a grasp of things before some of the more major changes that would follow in Batman’s stories over time.
To start off this begins with an adventure with Catwoman against the Joker that’s okay for the most part. Followed up by an adventure against the Scarecrow. Though it becomes more than that. Because what really makes these stories so good is that this one, as well as the previous, was set during the time of Jason Todd’s time as the second Robin. Very good stories that pretty much show how good of a person Jason was when he was Robin. I’ve always heard plenty of negative things about Jason that explain why he was to be killed in the epic “Death in the Family” story but here… this boy didn’t deserve to die. He was confident, not arrogant, fierce but not bloodthirsty. As far as I’m concerned, this character was killed by such a narrow margin of Dick Grayson lovers, not Jason Todd haters.
Afterward, a cool story involving Batman working with Slam Bradley and the descendants of Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty. Basically, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional characters are real in the DC Universe and their descendants walk among them in an adventure that puts Moriarty’s descendants to grips against each other. One is a good man ashamed of his great grandfather’s legacy as the Napoleon of Crime while the other wants revenge against the nation that condemned his great grandfather. But lo and behold, the game is afoot as Batman takes on the wicked Moriarty ancestor with the helpful assistance of the Great Consulting Detective himself. Really is cool seeing Batman in awe for once.
Afterward an adventure against the Mad Hatter that leads to Robin being badly injured as it segues into the next story. A story that sets up how Leslie Thompkins importance to the life of Batman. I first learned of Leslie after watching the Batman Animated Series but never in print until I read Batman Year Two. This story sets up how Leslie cared and still cares for Bruce Wayne though at the same time at odds with the alter ego that he’s grown up to be. Especially since a good portion of it is dedicated to Leslie upset with Bruce putting Jason in harm’s way. Still, it’s a wonderful story.
Next comes part one of the four-part Batman Year Two story, basically a small rehash of the events of the epic story for those who have read it but if you ask me it’s better to find a collection that has the full Year Two Storyline and the sequel to the story called Full Circle. Too much of a tease.
Not bad as I finally read the story I wanted to read. Basically, it’s a continuation of the events of Batman Year Two. In many respects, it’s a flashback story as to how the Reaper after his demise at the end of Batman Year Two is somehow still alive. But Batman knows better as Judson Caspian aka the man known as the Reaper – a man who had terrorized Gotham City decades before Batman became Gotham’s new defender, fell to his death at the realization that the man he knew as Batman had dedicated himself to fight criminals in the name of justice, not revenge, was also the man his daughter Rachel Caspian, was in love with.
But around the time of this epic fight, Batman had ended up stopping him with the involvement of Joe Chill, the same man that had killed his parents all those years ago. And as befitting the cycle of violence that revenge always brings, Joseph Chilton Jr the son of Joe Chill is out seeking revenge for the men responsible for the death of his father. So, he dons the same outfit of the man who killed his father but also seeks out Batman and Rachel Caspian.
I got to say that Batman Year Two felt very short, but this really does complete the story. A wonderful story that teaches its readers the folly that is in seeking revenge. But what I really do love is the fact that Bruce’s lost love Rachel who he hoped would marry and live a normal life in many ways became like him. Not a vigilante, that’s not that story, instead its devotion to her fellow man as a woman of the cloth. Whereas Bruce is in a suit of armor, Rachel’s is in a humble habit. Not happy but content.
Eventually, things turn out for the best, Bruce puts his hatred for the Chill family to rest and continues his vow to his parents in fighting crime as Batman.
Nice collection. It was great to read up on Jason Todd as well as that awesome Sherlock Holmes story. But I got what I came for when I read the Full Circle story. B+
The late 1980s was a nice way to get a handle of the DC Comics Post Crisis era. With most of the characters basically the same this collection didn’t need to change too much about the story other than getting a grasp of things before some of the more major changes that would follow in Batman’s stories over time.
To start off this begins with an adventure with Catwoman against the Joker that’s okay for the most part. Followed up by an adventure against the Scarecrow. Though it becomes more than that. Because what really makes these stories so good is that this one, as well as the previous, was set during the time of Jason Todd’s time as the second Robin. Very good stories that pretty much show how good of a person Jason was when he was Robin. I’ve always heard plenty of negative things about Jason that explain why he was to be killed in the epic “Death in the Family” story but here… this boy didn’t deserve to die. He was confident, not arrogant, fierce but not bloodthirsty. As far as I’m concerned, this character was killed by such a narrow margin of Dick Grayson lovers, not Jason Todd haters.
Afterward, a cool story involving Batman working with Slam Bradley and the descendants of Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty. Basically, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional characters are real in the DC Universe and their descendants walk among them in an adventure that puts Moriarty’s descendants to grips against each other. One is a good man ashamed of his great grandfather’s legacy as the Napoleon of Crime while the other wants revenge against the nation that condemned his great grandfather. But lo and behold, the game is afoot as Batman takes on the wicked Moriarty ancestor with the helpful assistance of the Great Consulting Detective himself. Really is cool seeing Batman in awe for once.
Afterward an adventure against the Mad Hatter that leads to Robin being badly injured as it segues into the next story. A story that sets up how Leslie Thompkins importance to the life of Batman. I first learned of Leslie after watching the Batman Animated Series but never in print until I read Batman Year Two. This story sets up how Leslie cared and still cares for Bruce Wayne though at the same time at odds with the alter ego that he’s grown up to be. Especially since a good portion of it is dedicated to Leslie upset with Bruce putting Jason in harm’s way. Still, it’s a wonderful story.
Next comes part one of the four-part Batman Year Two story, basically a small rehash of the events of the epic story for those who have read it but if you ask me it’s better to find a collection that has the full Year Two Storyline and the sequel to the story called Full Circle. Too much of a tease.
Not bad as I finally read the story I wanted to read. Basically, it’s a continuation of the events of Batman Year Two. In many respects, it’s a flashback story as to how the Reaper after his demise at the end of Batman Year Two is somehow still alive. But Batman knows better as Judson Caspian aka the man known as the Reaper – a man who had terrorized Gotham City decades before Batman became Gotham’s new defender, fell to his death at the realization that the man he knew as Batman had dedicated himself to fight criminals in the name of justice, not revenge, was also the man his daughter Rachel Caspian, was in love with.
But around the time of this epic fight, Batman had ended up stopping him with the involvement of Joe Chill, the same man that had killed his parents all those years ago. And as befitting the cycle of violence that revenge always brings, Joseph Chilton Jr the son of Joe Chill is out seeking revenge for the men responsible for the death of his father. So, he dons the same outfit of the man who killed his father but also seeks out Batman and Rachel Caspian.
I got to say that Batman Year Two felt very short, but this really does complete the story. A wonderful story that teaches its readers the folly that is in seeking revenge. But what I really do love is the fact that Bruce’s lost love Rachel who he hoped would marry and live a normal life in many ways became like him. Not a vigilante, that’s not that story, instead its devotion to her fellow man as a woman of the cloth. Whereas Bruce is in a suit of armor, Rachel’s is in a humble habit. Not happy but content.
Eventually, things turn out for the best, Bruce puts his hatred for the Chill family to rest and continues his vow to his parents in fighting crime as Batman.
Nice collection. It was great to read up on Jason Todd as well as that awesome Sherlock Holmes story. But I got what I came for when I read the Full Circle story. B+
September 22, 2024
Legends of the Dark Knight - Alan Davis Vol. 1 (TPB) (2012), Arte Alan Davis, escritor Mike W. Barr. Calificación 3.5/5 estrellas.
Lo principal de este libro es el gran arte de Alan Davis en lo anatomicanente, sobre todo en los sexys cuerpos femeninos como Catwoman.
Historias con Catwoman reformada, Joker, Scarecrow. El miedo de Batman era la muerte de Jay, que terminó sucediendo un tiempo después.
Acciones en la trama inspiradas o plagiadas en las películas de Harry "Dirty" Callahan.
Otras historias con Slam Bradley, Enlogated Man, Sherlock Holmes en Detective Comics en su 50 aniversario. Evitar atentados a los reyes de Inglaterra, ¿realmente es malo? , ¿porque defender el sistema monarquíco de parásitos obsoleto como propaganda?, ¿que hizo la reina para el beneficio de los hooligans o del mundo?
Algunas historias no fueron dibujadas por Davis y se siente, el propósito era que se disfrute del arte de Davis.
Detective Comics #573 (1987), escritor Mike W. Barr, Arte Alan Davis. Calificación 3/5 estrellas.
Lo mejor de este comic fue el gran arte de Alan Davis, este fue uno de los primeros comics de Batman que tuve. Lo había olvidado los drones sombreros con cierras y como Robin termina herido, eso me llamó la atención cuando tenía seis años.
Estas historias presagiaban o se planeaba por DC la eminente muerte de Jason Todd.
Casi al final una historia con The Reaper como Jack the Reaper y los descendientes de Joe Chill.
Al final un Batman Black and White. Bruce salva un bar.
Lo principal de este libro es el gran arte de Alan Davis en lo anatomicanente, sobre todo en los sexys cuerpos femeninos como Catwoman.
Historias con Catwoman reformada, Joker, Scarecrow. El miedo de Batman era la muerte de Jay, que terminó sucediendo un tiempo después.
Acciones en la trama inspiradas o plagiadas en las películas de Harry "Dirty" Callahan.
Otras historias con Slam Bradley, Enlogated Man, Sherlock Holmes en Detective Comics en su 50 aniversario. Evitar atentados a los reyes de Inglaterra, ¿realmente es malo? , ¿porque defender el sistema monarquíco de parásitos obsoleto como propaganda?, ¿que hizo la reina para el beneficio de los hooligans o del mundo?
Algunas historias no fueron dibujadas por Davis y se siente, el propósito era que se disfrute del arte de Davis.
Detective Comics #573 (1987), escritor Mike W. Barr, Arte Alan Davis. Calificación 3/5 estrellas.
Lo mejor de este comic fue el gran arte de Alan Davis, este fue uno de los primeros comics de Batman que tuve. Lo había olvidado los drones sombreros con cierras y como Robin termina herido, eso me llamó la atención cuando tenía seis años.
Estas historias presagiaban o se planeaba por DC la eminente muerte de Jason Todd.
Casi al final una historia con The Reaper como Jack the Reaper y los descendientes de Joe Chill.
Al final un Batman Black and White. Bruce salva un bar.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 3, 2025
Siento que la historia de Sherlock Holmes fue la más aburrida y por la que más demoré en leerlo, yo creo porque siento que he leído varias veces historias parecidas de Batman y Sherlock con otros misterios que tienen que resolver. Las otras fueron entretenidas aunque no todas tengan relación, ya sé que es un recopilatorio de historias pero después de leerlo por varios días y revisar de nuevo no tiene mucho sentido que estén todas en un mismo tomo, excepto quizás por las últimas dos.
Lo que más me gustó del recopilatorio fue que mostraban a Jason Todd siendo un niño risueño, burlesco y quizás demasiado inquieto que eran Robin, en vez de como lo suelen retratar usualmente o el imaginario colectivo que tienen de él de ser un niño violento, cruel, sin salvación que está sediento de sangre. Siento que no he leído mucho de Jason Todd como Robin y debería hacerlo, en especial por la relación que tienen él y Batman que está bastante presente en esta historia.
Había cosas que muestran en el recopilatorio que pensé que habían creado en las historias más actuales y en realidad llevan ahí desde los 80's o antes. Suele darte otra perspectiva de las historias en universos alternos que usan eso de base.
Lo que más me gustó del recopilatorio fue que mostraban a Jason Todd siendo un niño risueño, burlesco y quizás demasiado inquieto que eran Robin, en vez de como lo suelen retratar usualmente o el imaginario colectivo que tienen de él de ser un niño violento, cruel, sin salvación que está sediento de sangre. Siento que no he leído mucho de Jason Todd como Robin y debería hacerlo, en especial por la relación que tienen él y Batman que está bastante presente en esta historia.
Había cosas que muestran en el recopilatorio que pensé que habían creado en las historias más actuales y en realidad llevan ahí desde los 80's o antes. Suele darte otra perspectiva de las historias en universos alternos que usan eso de base.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2018
Alan Davis' art coupled with Mike Barr's writing were the Batman combo I didn't know I needed! Dynamic (hehhh) and expressive, Davis imbues Gotham with so much life you'll just breeze through this unfortunately fairly overpriced collection in a few hours.
I hadn't really been aware of Mike Barr, but his take on the Dark Knight -- essentially a slightly more serious Adam West in a 1980s Daredevilesque colorful crime world -- may have become my personal favorite all in the course of one collection.
Buyer beware! The run of Detective Comics that Davis did ends with #575, the first issue of the Year Two storyline. However, the book then immediately jumps into Batman: Full Circle - a one-shot sequel to Year Two featuring a new person taking up the identity of the Reaper. This is confusing as fuck and the book has no text intros or interstitials explaining this!
I hadn't really been aware of Mike Barr, but his take on the Dark Knight -- essentially a slightly more serious Adam West in a 1980s Daredevilesque colorful crime world -- may have become my personal favorite all in the course of one collection.
Buyer beware! The run of Detective Comics that Davis did ends with #575, the first issue of the Year Two storyline. However, the book then immediately jumps into Batman: Full Circle - a one-shot sequel to Year Two featuring a new person taking up the identity of the Reaper. This is confusing as fuck and the book has no text intros or interstitials explaining this!
September 5, 2020
I love Alan Davis, and his art here is his usual exercise in virtuosity. I might, however, argue that his bright, optimistic work was a poor fit for a Batman who was just entering his post-Dark Knight Returns grim-n-gritty era, except that (writer) Barr was quite clearly ignoring that trend. Rather, he gave us comics full of silver age goofiness, terrible puns, and a very young Robin. Somewhat incongruously, Barr also clearly wanted a Batman who killed, and managed to slip past editorial a scene where Batman uses a foe as a human shield. Not to mention the absurdity of Year Two; featuring a Batman who carries a gun which he uses to...shoot guns out of other peoples' hands. Bizarre. That bizareness, and the shoddy plotting of Full Circle keep this collection from being four stars. The rest, however, is harmless fun, and Davis' work is consistently incredible.
May 26, 2021
I've never read Batman comics from the 80's and didn't know what to expect.
This collection was surprisingly good.
We get a nice median of 60s Batman TV show camp and today's Batman, especially "...My Beginning...And My Probable End", my fav story. (Leslie Thompkins & Bruce's relationship)
Glad I read this just for the "history" lessons of older comics.
This collection was surprisingly good.
We get a nice median of 60s Batman TV show camp and today's Batman, especially "...My Beginning...And My Probable End", my fav story. (Leslie Thompkins & Bruce's relationship)
Glad I read this just for the "history" lessons of older comics.
February 16, 2024
Historietas clásicas precrisis de Batman contra una galería de villanos que incluye al Joker, Catwoman, El Sombrero Loco, el Joker, el Espantapájaros y otros. Incluye además cameo del detective más grande de todos los tiempos y Rhonda la del bar McSurley.
May 2, 2019
First graphic novel I have ever read and I wasn't sure where to start. I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. Any other great graphic novels?
October 10, 2021
An uneven but interesting book.
January 10, 2023
Sherlock Holmes.
February 16, 2024
Batman y Robin (Jason) haciendo Team-Up con Catwoman, Slam Bradley, Elongated Man, Rhonda la del bar ¡y Sherlock Holmes!
February 26, 2024
Tomo 44 de la edición para Argentina. Debo tener varios números repetidos con las revistas de Zinco.
August 24, 2024
Very 80s feel at times and it was good to see Jason Todd as more of a kid having fun than the later incarnation. Some of the facial expressions seemed a bit too cartoony but overall a fun read.
May 23, 2013
This book collects my personal favorite run of Batman stories. In these pages, writer Mike W. Barr and artist Alan Davis successfully meld the darker, more serious tone of the early 40s/70s/80s Batman stories with the lighter, more fun stories from the late 40s and 50s. There are serious, grim, dramatic moments side by side with colorful, larger than life plots and villains, wacky puns, and fights involving giant props. Barr's stories perfectly fuse these elements together, without the juxtaposition ever feeling awkward or jarring. He presents a Batman who genuinely cares about the young boy he has taken under his wing, not treating him--as in more contemporary versions of the character--as just another interchangeable soldier in his war against crime.
The art, by Alan Davis and inkers Paul Neary and Mark Farmer, is gorgeous. As with the writing, the art somehow combines the realistic work of Neal Adams and Jim Aparo with the more expressionistic style of Dick Spring, feeling bright and energetic at the same time it feels dramatic and moody. Davis is equally adept at acting and facial expression as he is dynamic action, making him the perfect Batman artist. It's a shame that editorial differences drove him off this series after such a short run.
It's an even bigger shame that he left after completing only one chapter of the Batman Year Two story. Because this book collects exclusively Alan Davis issues, only that first chapter is reprinted in this volume. While the complete story (finished by artist Todd MacFarlane before he became a superstar) is available elsewhere, fans should be aware that this artist-centric collection does not contain those other issues.
It does, however, contain the 50th anniversary issue of Detective Comics, which does feature other artists working alongside Davis, telling the tales of other comics detectives working with the Dark Knight to solve a mystery harkening back to one of the other greatest fictional detectives of all time. It's a great story, and left me wanting to read more comics by these creative teams about these particular characters.
Overall, despite the incomplete Year Two storyline--this book does contain the Barr/Davis sequel, Full Circle--this is a fantastic Batman collection. The stories hold up as well today, and this is a must-have volume for any Batman fan.
The art, by Alan Davis and inkers Paul Neary and Mark Farmer, is gorgeous. As with the writing, the art somehow combines the realistic work of Neal Adams and Jim Aparo with the more expressionistic style of Dick Spring, feeling bright and energetic at the same time it feels dramatic and moody. Davis is equally adept at acting and facial expression as he is dynamic action, making him the perfect Batman artist. It's a shame that editorial differences drove him off this series after such a short run.
It's an even bigger shame that he left after completing only one chapter of the Batman Year Two story. Because this book collects exclusively Alan Davis issues, only that first chapter is reprinted in this volume. While the complete story (finished by artist Todd MacFarlane before he became a superstar) is available elsewhere, fans should be aware that this artist-centric collection does not contain those other issues.
It does, however, contain the 50th anniversary issue of Detective Comics, which does feature other artists working alongside Davis, telling the tales of other comics detectives working with the Dark Knight to solve a mystery harkening back to one of the other greatest fictional detectives of all time. It's a great story, and left me wanting to read more comics by these creative teams about these particular characters.
Overall, despite the incomplete Year Two storyline--this book does contain the Barr/Davis sequel, Full Circle--this is a fantastic Batman collection. The stories hold up as well today, and this is a must-have volume for any Batman fan.
January 28, 2014
It's an odd duck of a Batman run, with writer Mike W. Barr combining bits of the grim Dark Knight and the lighthearted Caped Crusader (made all the more odd by being more or less contemporaneous with Miller & Mazzuchelli's Batman: Year One), but if you don't worry about how and where they fit they're a hell of a lot of fun. The real star, though (and the nominal reason for this collection's existence), is the amazing artwork of Alan Davis (with inker Mark Farmer), which is enhanced by the high quality presentation of this volume. Davis's work has never looked better. If you're a Davis fan you need this. If you're a Batman fan and you haven't read these stories before, you should probably check it out, too.
May 11, 2015
Per fi he pogut acabar algunes de les històries que van quedar penjades quan era un nen. En un temps en el qual els còmics/tebeos es compraven a la papereria de sota de casa, si et perdies un número passaves al següent i qui dia passa any empeny.
El meu Batman és aquest, el d'Alan Davis. És camp i naïf, lluimós i ple de coloraines, sí. Però els llapissos de Davis segueixen meravellant-me.
Llàstima que la història de Moriarty sigui tan fluixeta
El meu Batman és aquest, el d'Alan Davis. És camp i naïf, lluimós i ple de coloraines, sí. Però els llapissos de Davis segueixen meravellant-me.
Llàstima que la història de Moriarty sigui tan fluixeta
November 4, 2015
Yo no sé nada de cómics, ni de superhéroes ni de nada.
Pero el encuentro de Batman con Holmes me ha hecho soltar la lagrimica. Y el final con esa reinterpretación reflexiva del origen de Batman es de lo mejorcito que me han contado hasta ahora sobre el hombre murciélago. Puro Camus, oiga.
Lo demás, un festival de acrobacias y color la mar de entretenido.
Pero el encuentro de Batman con Holmes me ha hecho soltar la lagrimica. Y el final con esa reinterpretación reflexiva del origen de Batman es de lo mejorcito que me han contado hasta ahora sobre el hombre murciélago. Puro Camus, oiga.
Lo demás, un festival de acrobacias y color la mar de entretenido.
May 27, 2013
Very well written stories. I had forgotten how light hearted the early Jason Todd stories were. I would rather think of him this way and not the creature that he later was to become in more recent Batman comics.
November 17, 2012
These stories are implausible, misogynistic, and unintentionally humorous.
But the art is a pleasure to look at, which is the point.
But the art is a pleasure to look at, which is the point.
May 24, 2015
A solid collection of stories by Mike W. Barr and--the star of this collection--Alan Davis. Beautifully reprinted, this collection reminds you of the underrated genius talent of Alan Davis.
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