Batman 85th Anniversaries Collages

[Jczernich]

Hello all!

Enjoy these Batman collages that I have releasing on social media over the last several weeks. So far I have posted 85th anniversary collages for Batman, Robin, Joker, Catwoman, Commissioner Gordon, The Batmobile, The Clayfaces, Hugo Strange, The Loves of Batman, and the Batman monthly comic!

Enjoy what I have come up with so far and Happy Friday!

[Jczernich]

And here are the rest!

[BiffPow]

Great work! Is it me, or does anyone else see a pattern of decreasing fun and enjoyment factor over time?

[Yellow Oval]

I was just gonna say the same thing, BiffPow. It started out good, reached a high point , and then it's all been downhill ever since.

[BiffPow]

I was just gonna say the same thing, BiffPow. It started out good, reached a high point , and then it's all been downhill ever since.

[Jczernich]

Great work! Is it me, or does anyone else see a pattern of decreasing fun and enjoyment factor over time?

I didn't notice thst, but I can certainly see that. I would make an exception for the Batman-Superman/World's Finest one. The latest pic in that one is from Mark Waid's current World's Finest series with art in the collage example by Dan Mora. World's Finest, like most of Waid's current DC output, is more fun than most current mainstream comics.

[Jczernich]

Happy Belated 85th Birthday to...Batman appearing in Detective Comics!

I tried to pick what I thought were some of my favorite Detective Comics covers featuring Batman through the decades.

Enjoy the collage, and Happy Friday!

[BiffPow]

Fun. I actually like some of the early non-Batman Detective comics covers. They had a pulp-like feel to them. Never owned one, but always found the simple, vivid, colorful graphics interesting.

[Jczernich]

Fun. I actually like some of the early non-Batman Detective comics covers. They had a pulp-like feel to them. Never owned one, but always found the simple, vivid, colorful graphics interesting.

I think that what shows the most for change over the years is the color. When computer coloring started coming on the scene in the late 80's/early 90's it wowed me! The effects by Steve Oliff and other pioneers dazzled me as a young reader. Nowadays I am used to it. I think it can still be innovative, but the colors just don't have that same pop that they used to.

[Jczernich]

For this collage, I tried to pick what I thought were some of the most influential Batman artists through the decades.

I selected whichever artist I thought set the tone or who I think of when I think of Batman artists for each decade:

30's Bob Kane/Jerry Robinson
40's & 50's Dick Sprang
60's Carmine Infantino
70's Neal Adams
80's Norm Breyfogle
90's Graham Nolan
2000's Jim Lee (for better or worse...)
2010's Greg Capullo
2020's Dan Mora

Enjoy the collage, and Happy Friday!

[Jczernich]

This week's collage? What I think are the most overrated Batman stories ever told!
#1 Hush
The ultimate style over substance Batman tale. Every chapter appeared to be an exercise in, "What Batman villain can Jim Lee draw next?" This resulted in the regular Gotham rogues interacting with Ra's Al Ghul, something that never really mixes well. Before Hush, stories with more than two Bat-foes in it were really special. This story killed it. Thanks Jeph Loeb!
#2 Batman RIP/Return of Bruce Wayne/Batman Inc.
There were some great one-off issues in Morrison's Batman run, but all-in-all it was just a convoluted mess. Also, when the real conclusion to Batman RIP played out in the craptastic Final Crisis, the reader sort of felt cheated. Lastly, mixing Batman and cosmic concepts rarely works. By the time Morrison finished his run, nobody cared anymore as more eyes were on Scott Snyder's superior Batman run and what was going to happen there.
#3 Joker War
A zombified Alfred?! Bad enough the character was killed off...Plus, this being published at the same time as the much better Three Jokers didn't help this contrived story work any better.
#4 Bat-Murderer Storyline
An international criminal such as Ra's Al Ghul in a simple Gotham City Jail?! Naaaaaah! The whole concept of the story was hokey, at best. The saving graces of this storyline were Jim Aparo in his Batman prime, Ernie Chua's art, and Detective Comics #446's done-in-one detour with "Slaughter in Silver". I have included an image of Ra's in his 70's prom tuxedo to represent this story.
#5 The Lazarus Affair
Worst. Ra's Al Ghul. Story. Ever. This story is so bad that it isn't really referenced in any other Ra's Al Ghul stories. Sooooo cheesy. Irv Novick was at a low point in his career here. Marv Wolfman does not usually write as well when George Pérez isn't there to co-plot with him. It's no coincidence he also wrote the next story on this list...
#6 Batman #450-451
This was Batman and Joker's 1st rematch after the game-changing "A Death in the Family". This should have been an epic confrontation and even a no-brainer to write! Instead, Marv Wolfman creates one of the lamest Joker stories ever created. In this story, we get a meek, crying Joker, and the addition of an unnecessary Joker imposter. In fact, Marv Wolfman's 1989-1990 run on the Batman monthly was mostly lackluster. It's no coincidence that he was taken off this book after this arc and put on Detective Comics. Wolfman and Aparo were replaced on the Batman monthly with Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle, who gave us a MUCH better run of Batman stories...whereas Wolfman just gave us even more lame stories over in Detective. Not even Jim Aparo could elevate Wolfman's tales...
#7 Under The Hood
Ironically, the animated adaptation of this story works much better. Maybe because it doesn't have a dimension punching Superboy Prime resurrecting Jason Todd! Also, in the animated movie, it is implied Jason was killed off again---as he should have been! This story is VERY problematic as it undoes one of the most dramatic turning points of Batman's life. It has also led to the current status quo where Batman not only allows this murderous character to run around free, but sometimes even fully accepts him as a member of the currently overstuffed Bat Family. Ugh!
Hope people like the collage I made! I tried to pick what I thought were images to either represent each story or just to show it's plain goofiness/crappiness.
Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment, but be respectful to all!
Enjoy the collage, and Happy Friday!

[Jczernich]

This week's collage theme is...

Some of the Greatest Batman Stories You May Never Have Heard Of!

This edition focuses on done-in-one Batman tales!

I tried to pick what I thought were some of the hidden gems of Batman's 86-year publishing history.

We hear all the time about how great Dark Knight Returns, Year One, Long Halloween, Killing Joke, and A Death In The Family are, but there are some good one-shot tales in Batman's 86 year publishing history that often get overshadowed by these aforementioned tales--particularly ones that happen within the confines of Batman's regular ongoing titles. Here are a few of my favorite such stories:

-Batman #153, "Prisoners of Three Worlds" from February, 1963
It's sci-fi Batman at it's best...and Batman and sci-fi do not usually mix well! Throw in Batwoman and the original Bat-Girl and you have one of the best pre-"New Look Batman" Silver Age tales ever published.

-Detective Comics #450, "The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy", from August, 1975
This is a nice done-in-one with great early art by Walt Simonson. This fondly remembered tale was even adapted into an episode of the classic Batman: The Animated Series.

-Detective Comics #574, "My Beginning...and My Probable End" from May, 1987
While this tale follows up on the action of Detective Comics #573, you do not have to read it to enjoy this early post-Crisis retelling of Batman's origin. In addition to great scripting by Mike W. Barr and wonderful art by Alan Davis and Paul Neary, this tale updates Leslie Thompkins for the post-Crisis DC, making her a doctor running a free clinic in Crime Alley who is well aware that Bruce is Batman. This tale was also the first comic to acknowledge the post-Crisis origin of Jason Todd and post-Crisis explanation of why Dick Grayson stopped being Robin, pre-dating Batman #408's complete reveal by a month!

-Batman Annual #11, "Mortal Clay", Spring 1987
When I read this annual in 1987, it was my first real exposure to my favorite writer, Alan Moore and it blew me away. This Clayface III story with moody art by George Freeman and matching coloring by Lovern Kindzierski, picks up right where Clayface III's debut story arc left off in Detective Comics #479 (over 10 years prior). This comic changed how I look at characters on the printed page, with Moore crafting a tale that got me to empathize with Preston Payne--the first time I can ever remember reacting that way to a comic book character. The compassionate way by which Batman resolved the conflict made me, if possible, admire the Dark Knight even more. A year or so later, I got my hands on a copy of The Killing Joke. Even though I adored it upon my first read, the emotional final few pages did not initially hit as hard as the climax of Mortal Clay.

-Batman #416, "White, Gold, and Truth", October 1987
From 1987's chilling Batman #414 through 1988's somber Batman #430, Jim Starlin, mostly with Jim Aparo and Mike DeCarlo on art duties, gave us a memorable run on the Batman monthly that was packed with action, mystery, tragedy, horror, and drama. It helped set the tone for Batman's post-Crisis world for years to come. Batman #416's "White, Gold, and Truth" encapsulated this historic run like no other issue. It marked Dick Grayson's present-day return to the Batman books after a three year hiatus (with Batman #408's flashback story being an exception) and his first official appearance in the Batman books as Nightwing. This issue does a superb job of updating readers on the post-Crisis histories of Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. At the same time, it gave a new context to the first half of Batman #408 and changed the Bruce/Dick dynamic in the comics for many years to come. The Aparo-DeCarlo art team are in top form here, drawing a wide array of characters in the flashback sequences alone and expertly utilizing silent panels to pack this story with tension, sadness, and other raw emotions. It deserves a space on one's shelf as not just one of the greatest Batman stories ever told, but one of the best Robin and Nightwing tales as well.

-Batman: Shadow of the Bat #13, "The Nobody", June, 1993
This tale marked the official end of the Alan Grant/Norm Breyfogle run on the Batman books. From 1988 through 1993 and across many issues of Detective Comics, Batman, and Shadow of the Bat, they would give us memorable takes on Batman, Robin, their friends and their foes, while helping transition the Caped Crusader into the 1990's. Sure, they had a few more collaborations together after their run ended in 1993's Shadow of the Bat #13, but this tale would be a fitting end to their original run of working with each other. This done-in-one also could have been made into an episode of Batman: The Animated Series as it makes great use of pathos, has a great story hook, and even features a surprise cameo! This story gives you insight on why Batman does what he does in what may be Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle's finest hour.

-Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Vol 1 #125, "Falling Back", January, 2000
Batman had been crusading against criminals for 10 years, at least according to the canon at the time this story was published. At this point in time, all looked hopeless for him and his supporting cast as Gotham City was shut off from the rest of the world by the U.S. Government after enduring a mass villain breakout, two plagues, and an earthquake all leading to 1999's epic No Man's Land storyline. As the issue begins, Batman and Commisioner Gordon had been alienated from each other for many months. This story is where they start to repair their tarnished friendship and look back on ten years of working together that began in Batman: Year One. This story primarily features Batman and Gordon, and not even a single punch is thrown during the course of the entire tale. The Dark Knight's greatest ally confronts him with some hard questions and previously unsaid greviences driving Batman to prove his dedication to Jim Gordon in the only way he knows how...with an unexpected outcome. The pencils by Rick Burchett are a perfect example of when to let the silent moments convey emotion. Greg Rucka's dialogue captures the initial awkwardness, everpresent sadness, and ultimately the resilient strength of one of comics' greatest alliances. It was a fitting tribute to the tone and continuity that Dennis O'Neil had been carefully cultivating as editor of the Batman titles since he took over in 1986 while helping No Man's Land be the culmination of it all.

What are some of your favorite done-in-one Batman tales that you think are great? Please let everyone know in the comments!

Enjoy the collage, and Happy Friday! See less

[Jczernich]

This week's collage is...

Some of Greatest Joker Stories You May Never Have Heard Of!

We all know of the BIG Joker tales such as The Laughing Fish, The Killing Joke, A Death in the Family, and etc., but there are a lot of great Joker yarns that have gotten overlooked over the years whether it be because they are out of print/not on digital yet, or just plain not written about often.

I tried to pick what I thought were some of the hidden gems of The Joker's 85-year publishing history:

-Detective Comics #85 (March 1944), "The Joker's Double"
An early Dick Sprang drawn tale and the first Joker tale to introduce an impostor Joker, a theme that has been revisited a few times over the years. This issue does it first and best.

-Detective Comics #341 (July 1965), "The Joker's Comedy Capers!"
A Carmine Infantino drawn Joker story that was adapted about a year later into a two-part Riddler episode of the 1966 Batman TV series. I personally think it works better with the Clown Prince of Crime.

-Superman Vol. 2 #9 (September 1987), "To Laugh and Die in Metropolis"
One of the first times I can remember The Joker guest starring outside of a book that wasn't a Bat-book. I also believe that this was the first time he guest starred in a solo Superman book. This done-in-one story paved the way for Joker guest starring elsewhere in the DCU.

-Justice League International Annual Vol. 1, #2, (July 1988), "Hit or Miss!"
Speaking of Joker guest starring in other DCU books, this hilarious tale from JLI Annual 2 is a fantastic read that is all wrapped up in a stunning Kerry Gamill cover! This tale often gets overlooked as it came out the same month as "The Killing Joke" and also the same year as "A Death in the Family".

-Detective Comics #617 (July 1990), "Clash of Symbols"
Technically Norm Breyfogle's only Joker tale where the Clown Prince of Crime was the main antagonist, this story was a flashback tie-in to a two part Joker story that was running in the Batman monthly at the same time. Quite frankly, this story is much, MUCH better than that two parter as it focuses on a Joker in his prime, and not an ill-conceived double. In retrospect, this tale feels like it could have easily have been made into an episode of Batman: The Animated Series!

-Joker: Devil's Advocate (1995)
Not just an excellent Joker story, but a great snapshot of Batman and his supporting cast of the 1990's and how the Joker had impacted many of them. This story is dramatic, as well as comedic. It is a crime that this story isn't in print or on digital!

-Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #65-68 (1994), "Going Sane"
What would happen if the Joker were to finally kill Batman? This story answers that question and even gives Joker his first true love story in the comics. Add to that that this story idea was originally the basis for Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt and you have a really good read!

-Detective Comics #726 (October 1998), "Fool's Errand"
Joker challenges Batman's beliefs quite effectively and shows how well he knows his advisary at the same time, and all without leaving his Arkham cell!

-Batman: Black and White Vol 2 (September 2002), "Case Study"
Is The Joker truly insane or is he faking it to avoid harsher punishment? This 8-page story by Paul Dini and Alex Ross speculates on that very concept.

-Detective Comics #879-880 (2011), "Skeleton Key"/"My Dark Architect"
Scott Snyder's first outing with the Joker and it is creepy good! Francesco Francavilla and Jock each handle a chapter in this Joker encounter and contribute to a terrifying atmosphere that permeates every page of these two issues. How good of a Joker story is this? It's so good that Joker doesn't even have to show his face in the first part, but you still feel his powerfully evil presence.

Enjoy the collage, and Happy Friday!

[Jczernich]

This week's collage celebrates some of my favorite anniversary issues of the original Batman monthly!

Enjoy the collage, and Happy Friday!

[Jczernich]

This week's collage celebrates some of my favorite anniversary issues of the Detective Comics!

Enjoy the collage, and Happy Friday!