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Post by Prince Hal on Jan 22, 2018 18:27:49 GMT -5
I'm back to reading Detective Comics most every night. I'm up to #438, the first 100-Page Super-Spectacular issue of Detective Comics. It might take me a few days to read the whole thing. And one of the reprinted stories is "Gotham Gang Line-Up!" from Detective Comics #328, which I just read very recently because I got that issue in the mail. The Dickens novels of comicdom. * sigh* |
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 29, 2018 1:45:24 GMT -5
Here's a quick update on my Batman reading for the last week or so! I got Detective Comics #330 for $5 at an L.A. comic-book shop! I read it as soon as I got it, but I'm having trouble remembering much of what happened. It's got that lovely awkward Sheldon Moldoff art that I love so much! There's been several cases of Gotham citizens being attacked by passersby for no reason. So Batman and Robin investigate. In their civilian identities, they eat at the restaurant that is the only link connecting the people that were randomly attacked by normal Gothamites. And then ... Batman is attacked by everyday citizens while on a case! Even Robin joins in! (I think it had something to do with the coffee. Like, there was something in the coffee that makes everyone hate you.) I finally finished Detective Comics #438 last night and I'm ready to move on to #439. And this afternoon, I remembered that I've been meaning to read the first Zsasz storyline for quite a while, so I read Shadow of the Bat #1 online. I've never read it before. I was reading comics at the time, and I sort of remember when it came out, but I think we're still close to a year away from Knightfall, when I started reading Batman regularly again after a hiatus of several years. I'm not sure what to make of this first issue of the four-part arc. I'll wait until I've read a little more before I comment. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Feb 6, 2018 14:56:15 GMT -5
I'm most of the way through Detective Comics #441. Some really cool reprints in this one! The Ibis story is totally nuts with great art by Kurt Schaffenberger. Also Plastic Man and Eclipso! (I love Eclipso. I think I've read maybe three Eclipso stories over the years.) I haven't yet got up to the Alias the Spider story or the Manhunter story. I've gotten pretty good at reading two maybe three stories before I go to sleep every night. And this project will go a lot quicker once I get past #445, the last Super Spectacular. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Feb 6, 2018 15:08:07 GMT -5
I'm most of the way through Detective Comics #441. Some really cool reprints in this one! The Ibis story is totally nuts with great art by Kurt Schaffenberger. Also Plastic Man and Eclipso! (I love Eclipso. I think I've read maybe three Eclipso stories over the years.) I haven't yet got up to the Alias the Spider story or the Manhunter story. I've gotten pretty good at reading two maybe three stories before I go to sleep every night. And this project will go a lot quicker once I get past #445, the last Super Spectacular. The 100-pagers were so much fun because the reprints were so eclectic. You really never knew what you were going to get, which was great! |
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Post by Hoosier X on Feb 6, 2018 15:16:32 GMT -5
I just realized that I never came back and commented on "The Last Arkham" in Shadow of the Bat #1 to #4. It was OK. But not a particularly auspicious beginning for Victor Zsasz. It was terribly contrived at times. And there's a scene that really made me roll my eyes. All the bad guys in Arkham and they all attack Batman at the same time and he beats them in like two panels. Sheesh! You expect stuff like this from time to time in super-hero comics but this one was especially egregious. When Alan Grant is on, he can write the occasional really good story. He created the Ventriloquist and Scarface, and those early stories of these two are great. I was also pleasantly surprised that he did two really good Penguin stories, "The Penguin Affair" and "Snow and Ice." But I find most of his run to be a low point for Detective Comics. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Feb 6, 2018 15:19:11 GMT -5
I'm most of the way through Detective Comics #441. Some really cool reprints in this one! The Ibis story is totally nuts with great art by Kurt Schaffenberger. Also Plastic Man and Eclipso! (I love Eclipso. I think I've read maybe three Eclipso stories over the years.) I haven't yet got up to the Alias the Spider story or the Manhunter story. I've gotten pretty good at reading two maybe three stories before I go to sleep every night. And this project will go a lot quicker once I get past #445, the last Super Spectacular. The 100-pagers were so much fun because the reprints were so eclectic. You really never knew what you were going to get, which was great! Last night, I was thinking about the many characters I saw for the first time in one of the Super-Spectaculars - Eclipso, Robotman, the Ray, the Black Condor, Deadman, Alias the Spider, Rip Hunter Time-Master, the Sea Devils, Metamorpho, probably a bunch more. |
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Post by fz2017 on Feb 6, 2018 20:21:35 GMT -5
Where Were You the Night Jason Todd Was Killed?: Your thoughts on the life and death (and second life) of Jason Todd, especially the hype surrounding the hotline and the decision of the fans to kill the second Robin.
The Best of Renee Montoya.
Grant Morrison: What is the best trade to get started on for people who are iffy about Grant Morrison? 1. My mom wouldn't let me make the phone call to cast my vote. I didn't care for Jason Todd, but seeing Robin die did make me sad. 2. Best of Renee Montoya: Detective Comics #747 and Gotham Central: Half a Life (6-10) 2. Grant Morrison on Batman: I'm a big fan of Morrison (almost a Whorrison) and I loved his Batman run. Best trade to start off to see if people are iffy about his Batman? I'm going to select two. First is Batman and Son; this reprints the beginning of his run. Second is JLA: New World Order. Morrison sealed the deal with just how brilliant and badass Batman in the modern age with this one. How about A Serious House On Serious Earth? |
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Post by batusi on Feb 7, 2018 2:09:17 GMT -5
I got Detective Comics #389 in the mail today. For $6! It's a little beat up. The worst thing about it is the spine split on the top down to the staple. But it's otherwise all there with no water damage, no weird mold spots, nothing like that, and it's pretty solid. So a pretty good price for a comic graded CGC 1.8. Let me list the things I like about it: 1. A pretty good Scarecrow story from Frank Robbins and Bob Brown. I think this is the last appearance in Detective Comics of any of the major Batman villains for a very long time (with the exception of Talia (whose first appearance is coming up n #411) and R'as Ghul (who is in the background and makes a few sporadic appearances here and there)). The Scarecrow infects Batman with the fear gas, so the criminals are deathly freaked out when Batman appears. Then Scarecrow traps Batman with a bunch of mirrors in every direction! So Batman will be so scared of himself that he will die of fright from his own image! That's so stupid it just might work! 2.In the letters pages, the hot topic this month is "Die Small! -- Die Big!" from Detective #385, one of my favorites. Apparently, a lot of the regular letter writer loved it at the time too! 3. Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson on the Batgirl story. So nice! There's a costume party so they have some nice drawing of the bad guys dressed up as Flash, Superman, Green Lantern and so on. Started reading random Batman issues and just finished Detective Comics #388 and #389. I liked the Scarecrow story but was confused as to why Batman was frightened by his own reflection when it was supposed to be the criminals with evil in their hearts that were in fear at gazing upon Batman? Robin and Commissioner Gordon had no fear issues when in contact with Batman. I read this story fast so perhaps I missed a crucial point. The 2 part Batgirl story was fun although slightly absurd, but that is how I like my old stories! So funny that Barbara Gordon just happens to answer an ad for a FREE roommate and has to wear a Batgirl costume for an airline awards party as a condition...what are the odds? |
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Post by batusi on Feb 14, 2018 2:11:28 GMT -5
 Just read one of my favorite Batman compilation books, "The Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digest: Batman's Villains" from 1981. All of the stories are from the 1970's. Reprinted are... Batman #260 (1975) "This One'll Kill You, Batman" by Denny O'Neil and Irv Novick... Batman #234 (1971) "Half an Evil" by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams... Detective Comics #473 (1977) "The Malay Penguin" by Steve Engelhart and Marshall Rogers... Batman #263 (1975) "Riddler on the Move" by Denny O'Neil and Ernie Chan... Batman #266 (1975) "The Curious Case of the Catwoman Coincidences" by Denny O'Neil and Irv Novick. This collection also contains new material which consists of 1 page origin stories for all 5 villains. There is also a 2 page centerspread of Bat villains but not sure if this is new material or reprinted from elsewhere? Does anyone know who the writer/artist is for the 1 page origin stories? I could not find any information on this.  |
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Post by Cheswick on Feb 14, 2018 3:29:49 GMT -5
Just read one of my favorite Batman compilation books, "The Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digest: Batman's Villains" from 1981. All of the stories are from the 1970's. Reprinted are... Batman #260 (1975) "This One'll Kill You, Batman" by Denny O'Neil and Irv Novick... Batman #234 (1971) "Half an Evil" by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams... Detective Comics #473 (1977) "The Malay Penguin" by Steve Engelhart and Marshall Rogers... Batman #263 (1975) "Riddler on the Move" by Denny O'Neil and Ernie Chan... Batman #266 (1975) "The Curious Case of the Catwoman Coincidences" by Denny O'Neil and Irv Novick. This collection also contains new material which consists of 1 page origin stories for all 5 villains. There is also a 2 page centerspread of Bat villains but not sure if this is new material or reprinted from elsewhere? Does anyone know who the writer/artist is for the 1 page origin stories? I could not find any information on this. I was just thinking about this book yesterday. I had it as a kid and I was trying to remember all the villains in the pin-up, so this is a happy coincidence. |
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Post by batusi on Feb 14, 2018 6:29:21 GMT -5
Here are a couple of the 1 page origins...   |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Feb 14, 2018 11:26:37 GMT -5
Oh yeah, I loved that digest. It's a great collection of stories, and I loved the added bonus of those 1-page origins. And yeah, it's hard to find any information on the credits for them at the usual sources, like the GCD. The art, esp. in the Catwoman origin, looks like it could have been done by Dick Giordano, though.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Feb 14, 2018 11:59:09 GMT -5
I bought that digest off the newsstand when it was new. Along with a few others. I know that I let my younger boys read a few of them. I pulled one out a couple years back and found that I needed high magnification reading glasses to be able to read the damn things.
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Post by batusi on Feb 14, 2018 12:04:20 GMT -5
Oh yeah, I loved that digest. It's a great collection of stories, and I loved the added bonus of those 1-page origins. And yeah, it's hard to find any information on the credits for them at the usual sources, like the GCD. The art, esp. in the Catwoman origin, looks like it could have been done by Dick Giordano, though. Yep, Dick Giordano is what I have read as a possibility. Although the 2 page spread was done by Denys Cowan and Giordano, so...perhaps the 1 page origins were both as well?? |
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Post by batusi on Feb 14, 2018 12:12:44 GMT -5
I bought that digest off the newsstand when it was new. Along with a few others. I know that I let my younger boys read a few of them. I pulled one out a couple years back and found that I needed high magnification reading glasses to be able to read the damn things. Yeah, Getting older wreaks havoc on OLD eyes trying to read those old DC digests! Thankfully I have a good pair of reading glasses. |
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