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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2014 16:29:38 GMT -5
 edited as original image source was deleted and no longer working -M |
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Post by Action Ace on Nov 24, 2014 22:49:02 GMT -5
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Post by DubipR on Nov 25, 2014 9:37:10 GMT -5
Some Lee Meriwether love....  |
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Post by Hoosier X on Dec 12, 2015 20:00:28 GMT -5
I was hoping to resurrect this thread with a feature called "Batman from #299 and down (reviews by Hoosier X)" and I wrote a review of Batman #297 (the first issue I have if you're counting down from Batman #299) and I had almost finished it when I noticed my computer was almost out of power and the charger wasn't working. I saved my work (I only had a few paragraphs to go) and went out and bought a universal charger but that's not as easy as it sounds as I had to order a "tip" that fits into my laptop and makes the whole thing work. It was free, but I have to wait for it before I can use my computer and get to the review. So I have limited computer time for a few days. Or longer if the mails are much slowed by holiday shipping.
I'm hoping to have enough time to say a few words about the Penguin.
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Post by Action Ace on Dec 12, 2015 20:20:32 GMT -5
If Time Warner wants me to spend money on the next Batman movie, the main villain better be Signalman.
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Post by Hoosier X on Dec 12, 2015 20:37:12 GMT -5
So what are the best Penguin stories? If I were to start naming the best storylines for Batman's main villains, I would have a favorite for most of them, something that really sticks out no matter how many great stories that character has been in. For example: The Joker: "The Laughing Fish" and "Sign of the Joker" in Detective Comics #475 and #476 Catwoman: "The Secret Life of the Catwoman" in Batman #62 Two-Face: "Dead Reckoning" in Detective Comics #777, #778, #779, #780, #781 and #782 The Riddler: "Badd Girls," "Lethal Pursuits" and "Riddled" in Detective Comics #705, #706 and #707 I love the Penguin just as much as any of these other lovable misfits, and I've read flocks of really good Penguin stories. But there isn't one single Penguin story that really sticks out as my favorite. I decided to throw a few of my favorite Penguin stories out there for discussion, and I hope the Batman fans will join in with cheers and jeers about why the Penguin is so great, or why he is the worst one among the Batman villains and should be plucked and roasted and fed to one of the newfangled modern Batman villains that subsists on human flesh after using the skin to make wallets. I'm going to start with "The Blackbird of Banditry" from Batman #43. I've been thinking of this one lately because somebody used the cover in a recent Classic Covers Contest. Here it is:  "The Blackbird of Banditry" was reprinted in one of those oversized Limited Collector's Editions of the 1970s. #C-37, to be exact.  I was thinking of the Penguin's best stories and I looked up "The Blackbird of Banditry" in The Batman Encyclopedia and discovered it was from Batman #43 and I realized this was the issue that had the cover that had run in the cover contest just a week or so previously! A fortuitous coincidence! Those oversized reprints seldom included the covers and frequently didn't include the information as to where the story was from. In the story, the Penguin gets his knickers in a twist because the newspapers are running a bunch of stories about the exploits of the other villains and treating the Penguin like an also-ran. So he vows to commit a series of crimes based on Famous Birds of Fiction. Because the Gotham newspapers eat that stuff up! So he robs the guests at a pirate-themed restaurant that's on a ship. The place is called "Captain Flint's" and that's the name of Long John Silver's parrot. (That's the scene on the cover.) In a way, it's a typical "theme crime" story, but it's a really really good "theme crime" story! If you think "theme crime" stories are too stupid for words then you probably won't like "The Blackbird of Banditry." Yes, they are silly, but a good writer can craft a really solid "theme crime" story and work within the limits of the genre and come up with some great material. What sets this one apart from other "crime theme" stories is the penguin-shaped blimp at the end! OMG, Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot! You really knew how to go over the top in the line of duty! Bill Finger was really good at these kinds of stories. The Comic Book Database says the artist is Jim Mooney! Up next, another story from the Golden Age, but this time, the artist is Dick Sprang! |
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Post by Hoosier X on Dec 12, 2015 20:41:21 GMT -5
If Time Warner wants me to spend money on the next Batman movie, the main villain better be Signalman. I'm crossing my fingers for The Spinner or the Getaway Genius! |
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Post by Action Ace on Dec 12, 2015 23:25:00 GMT -5
My first Penguin story would have been Justice League of America #135 where "Waddles" and IBAC took on Green Arrow and Spy Smasher. I next encountered him in the first two issues of Super Friends. Then I finally saw him in a Batman comic in Batman #287. However, I would credit Burgess Meredith's performance in the Batman tv series for making Penguin one of my favorite Batman villains.
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Post by foxley on Dec 13, 2015 4:43:46 GMT -5
If I was going to go for a single Penguin story as a favourite, I think I'd go for "The Malay Penguin" from Detective Comics #473. My other favourite would be "Knights of Knavery" from Batman #25, but that's as much a Joker story as a Penguin one.
Some other villain 'favourites':
The Joker: "The Laughing Fish" and "Sign of the Joker" (as already mentioned by Hoosier X)
Catwoman: "The Shadow of the Cat!" and "The Cat Who Would Be King!" in Batman #323 & #324
Riddler: "Dark Knight, Dark City" in Batman #452, #453 & #454
Two-Face: "Two of a Kind" in Batman: Black and White #1
Mister Freeze: Batman: Mister Freeze (1997 one-shot)
Poison Ivy: "A Sweet Kiss of Poison..." and "Monster, My Sweet!" in Batman #339 & 344 (the story continues as a subplot in the issues between these two, but 339 and 344 contain the 'meat' of the story)
Scarecrow: "Fear for Sale" in Detective Comics #571
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Post by Hoosier X on Dec 13, 2015 15:41:52 GMT -5
If I was going to go for a single Penguin story as a favourite, I think I'd go for "The Malay Penguin" from Detective Comics #473. My other favourite would be "Knights of Knavery" from Batman #25, but that's as much a Joker story as a Penguin one. Some other villain 'favourites': The Joker: "The Laughing Fish" and "Sign of the Joker" (as already mentioned by Hoosier X) Catwoman: "The Shadow of the Cat!" and "The Cat Who Would Be King!" in Batman #323 & #324 Riddler: "Dark Knight, Dark City" in Batman #452, #453 & #454 Two-Face: "Two of a Kind" in Batman: Black and White #1 Mister Freeze: Batman: Mister Freeze (1997 one-shot) Poison Ivy: "A Sweet Kiss of Poison..." and "Monster, My Sweet!" in Batman #339 & 344 (the story continues as a subplot in the issues between these two, but 339 and 344 contain the 'meat' of the story) Scarecrow: "Fear for Sale" in Detective Comics #571 Those are both pretty good choices for the Penguin. I was thinking about Detective #473 as one of my candidates.
I read those Catwoman issues fairly recently. I got the digital versions from Comixology. I remember them being pretty good but I haven't read them again. That's a bad habit I have with digital comics. I read them once or twice the first week I have them and then forget all about them. (Except for Wonder Woman #6 with three Cheetah stories! I've read that one several times.) I should take another look at Batman #323 and #324.
As for your choice for the Riddler, I've never read Dark Knight, Dark City. It seems like something a big Batman fan like myself should read. I'll have to see if the library has it. I have Batman: Black and White #1 but I only vaguely recall the Two-Face story. I'll have to dig it out.
I don't have a favorite Mr. Freeze story. He's never done a whole lot for me as a character.
I have those two Poison Ivy issues you've mentioned and I have most of the issues in between. (I'm missing #341 and #343.) Yes, it's a very good story. When we've talked about the Penguin for a while, I might do the same thing for Poison Ivy because I don't really have a favorite Poison Ivy story. I love her first appearance in Batman #181! It's so wacky! The one you mentioned is really good. And I also like the storyline in Detective Comics where she turned green and poisonous and took over an abandoned park and gave refuge to Gotham's earthquake orphans.
I don't think the Scarecrow was ever better than in his first appearance way back in World's Finest #3. He appeared one more time in the Golden Age and that story was also a lot of fun. Then he disappeared for almost 25 years.
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Post by foxley on Dec 13, 2015 15:53:08 GMT -5
After I made my previous post, another really good Penguin story occurred to me: "Love Bird" by Max Allan Collins and Norm Breyfogle in Batman Annual #11. In this sweet tale, the Penguin falls in love and attempts to go straight, but Batman refuses to believe it.
Personally I love a good 'theme crime' story, and I really miss the fact that crooks in comics nowadays no longer pull strings of 'theme crimes'.
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Post by Action Ace on Dec 13, 2015 18:44:55 GMT -5
and I really miss the fact that crooks in comics nowadays no longer pull strings of 'theme crimes'. We call them "variant covers" now.  |
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Post by chadwilliam on Dec 13, 2015 21:33:08 GMT -5
Really glad you revived this thread Hoosier X and did so with a focus on The Penguin.
You get the impression that out of all of Batman's foes, he's the one with the most interesting personal life. Though he could never be accepted in polite society due to his appearance and criminal nature, The Penguin nevertheless carries himself as someone who is always keeping some King or Queen waiting as he carries out his schemes. He also seems quite adept at juggling his sordid criminal life with his other commitments and even on occasion can combine the two - in the same newspaper story in which his Oswald Cobblepot identity was revealed, he's able to spend an afternoon under Batman's guard while convincing his Aunt that the two are close friends. Regarding himself as more than a mere member of Batman's Rogue's Gallery, he'll occasionally hatch a plan that will put another of the crimefighter's enemies at risk simply because it suits his purposes. In Brave and the Bold 191 he frames the Joker for his own faked murder. At the same time, he holds enough clout within the crime community that when an outside crime syndicate plans to get a foothold in Gotham in Batman 201, his word is enough that a meeting which he'll oversee should be convened.
From the start, his comical appearance has been put to great effect in preventing others from recognizing the threatening figure he can be. In his debut, he spends much of his time being laughed at for his looks even when complimented on his brains - this ends when the former leader of the gang he's taken over decides to shortchange him on the proceeds from a recent criminal venture. "Oh well, I suppose I was going to have to do this sooner or later" the Penguin remarks before immediately shooting the man in the chest with an umbrella that until then, had only been regarded as an eccentric prop for the villain.
So too however, can he be seen in a sympathetic light. In the excellent Max Allan Collin's tale in Batman Annual 11 already cited by foxley, Cobblepot's plan to go straight is just that - a plan to go straight. There's no ulterior motive, no hidden desire to commit one last great crime, he has fallen in love and wants to settle down. It's only through Batman's blundering - his breaking into The Penguin's warehouse leads the police to discover that the ex-criminal has been employing other ex-cons so as to give them a chance to go straight which in turn puts Oswald in violation of his parole (no hanging around with other ex-cons) - that he lands back in jail.
There's a reason that The Penguin's longevity is second only to The Joker's (sure, other criminals pre-date him, but with only a short six year absence beginning in 1956 and ending in 1963 against him, he's been around fairly consistently since 1941) and that out of all the villains on the Adam West series it was Burgess Meredtih who was told that he could film an episode anytime he wanted since they'd always have a script ready for The Penguin. |
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Post by batlaw on Dec 13, 2015 23:25:07 GMT -5
Personally never a penguin fan. Always seen him as a secondary kindve background villain. Regaress, I strangely can't even think of any truly memorable stories I've read of him?
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Post by Rob Allen on Dec 15, 2015 12:47:50 GMT -5
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