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For over 50 years he has been a part of the American culture.
He was a sensation from the moment of his first appearance,
and today he has achieved an even more phenomenal level of
popularity. Now the Batman's tales are being reprinted in
exact chronological order from this appearance in the pages
of Detective Comics Nos. 27-38 and Batman No.1...
Volume
Two of
Batman Chronicles continues to reprint the original
tales of the Batman in chronological order. As
I mentioned in my review of Volume
One, this series won't be everyone's cup of
tea. To start off with Bob Kane is not the world's greatest
illustrator and the writing for these early tales has not
aged all that well - remember comic book characters were for
kids back then.
But
what this series does do is show the origins of one of today's
best loved superheroes. It's interesting to see that in the
early days Batman had no problems with killing the bad guys.
And, surprisingly, he also has a (rather poor) sense of humour.
There
are a few stories worthy of note:
Wolf,
The Crime Master is a rather sad tale. Based on the old
classic Jekyll and Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson,
this tale sees a rather timid fellow become a ruthless criminal
- simply because he bangs his head. The conclusion is rather
bleak too - which reflects the real world instead of offering
some happy. clappy Disney view.
If
you examine The Case of the Missing Link more closely,
you'll soon see that this is in reality a reworking of King
Kong - despite the fact that the writer is clearly trying
to hide the fact.
Beware
of Clayface introduces Clayface into the world of the
Batman. It's not a particularly exciting tale, and because
of this it's a wonder that he ever went on to become a fairly
influential villain in the series.
The
Crime School For Boys!!! sees Robin going undercover to
infiltrate a local crime school. Here he tries to get the
boys to turn over a new leaf by working out at the local gym
and playing sports - so that they get a taste of what fair
play is all about.
Anyone
who is a solid Batman fan really needs to be collecting
this series. However, casual Batman readers may find
the art and story lines a bit childish (but then they were
aimed at children). Personally I loved this collection and
can't wait to read Volume Three.
Nick
Smithson
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