World's Worst

"World's Worst" from World's Finest Comics #156 (DC, 1966) by Edmond Hamilton, Curt Swan and George Klein

My era of World's Finest Comics was the tail end, in the 80s, obviously, when Superman and Batman were good friends whose friendship had recently been tested. It felt natural, and it would take years in the post-Crisis era before they could be that friendly again (if they actually did, I'm not sure). But the stories weren't particularly memorable. I've since gone back to discover older, crazier stories from the Silver Age (above), and the Super-Sons stuff from the 70s, and obviously, the book dates back to the Golden Age where it presented other strips like Stat-Spangled Kid and Green Arrow (and would again, Clark and Bruce weren't always the world's finest team in the Bronze Age). I don't think these ever WERE the World's Finest Comics, but you could argue that at least, Superman and Batman were the World's Finest TEAM. For a while at least.

Supermen/Batmen

"Supermen/Batmen" from Superman/Batman #25 (DC, 2006) by Jeff Loeb, Ed McGuinness and Dexter Vines

I got in late on this series thanks to some cool arcs written by the likes of Chris Roberson and Josh Fialkov. The stuff by Loeb was mocked so much on the Internet, I just couldn't get myself to pick it up early on, though I do admit his run had a way with crazy kitchen sink fanwankery that could make it a classic the same way Bob Haney's Brave and the Bold or Weisinger's Silver Age Superman are.

Not the First Robin vs. Not the First Batman

"Not the First Robin vs. Not the First Batman" from Robin vol.2 #1 (DC, 1993) by Chuck Dixon, Tom Grummett and Scott Hanna

After a number of mini-series, Tom Drake was finally ready to take the plunge (or, looks like, get pushed) into monthly series-dom, and he had an incredible 185-issue run. That's almost 16 years! Looking through my long box, its flow keeps getting interrupted by Batman and DC events, but I remember getting enjoyment out of it at the time. Still, I quit a bit after Final Night, when I guess I'd had enough of crossovers and had deserted the other Bat-books as well.

Red Robin - Team Player

"Red Robin - Team Player" from Red Robin #13 (DC, 2010) by Fabian Nicieza, Marcus To and Ray McCarthy

Red Robin was, a lot like Batgirl, one of my favorite books that were made to end with the New52. As a Tim Drake fan from way back, it was great to see him become his own man, a master manipulator playing a long game with his villains, really differentiating himself from the other Robins despite the mm-ok Kingdom Come costume. Nice clean art, fun soap opera and a smart hero, that's usually enough for me.

AzBats Ain't No Outsider!

"AzBats Ain't No Outsider!" from Outsiders vol.2 #8 (DC, 1994) by Mike W. Barr, Paul Pelletier and Robert Campaniella

The new Batman didn't join the Outsiders, strangely. You'd think he'd have jumped at the opportunity. Cough. This is from the 90s volume of the Outsiders (sorry, of Outsiders, they dropped the "the"). Geo-Force gets branded a traitor to Markovia and new members join IN THAT COUNTRY, because that's all Markovia was ever good for - forcing people to join this sucky team. So Faust! Technocrat! Wylde! Yeah, I don't care. It lasted two years.

Batman vs. the Cavalier

"Batman vs. the Cavalier" from Legends of the Dark Knight #34 (DC, 1992) by James Robinson and Tim Sale

Currently the title of one of DC's digital comics AND the subtitle of one of their worst print comics, LotDK was, in its day, a brilliant idea. How do you capitalize on Batman Year One's success? How about a whole series dedicated to Batman's VERY BUSY first year? And further, how about a different creative team of big names and/or auteurs on each arc like Miller and Mazzucchelli had been? The result was a pretty great anthology, though it sort of lost its way after the 50th issue or so (and it ran to 160 issues!). At least, to my recollection. Some of my favorites include the Matt Wagner Two-Face/Freaks story "Faces", and the above "Blades", but I always thought Grant Morrison's "Gothic" was a little overrated.

Third Issue Mandated Batman Guest Appearance

"Third Issue Mandated Batman Guest Appearance" from Justice League of America's Vibe #1 (DC, 2013) by Sterling Gates, Manuel Garcia, Fabiano Neves, Sandra Hope Archer and Fabiano Neves

The more things change (Vibe gets his own book?!), the more they stay the same (nananananananana BATMAN!).

Batman Doesn't Fear the Fire

"Batman Doesn't Fear the Fire" from Justice League of America vol.1 #254 (DC, 1986) by Gerry Conway, Luke McDonnell and Bill Wray

I could have used a splash from the classic Silver Age JLofA. Or one from the Satellite Era. But nooooo. I had to pick something from Justice League Detroit. GET OVER IT! Anyway, it's Batman getting close to a flaming Despero and not even FLINCHING. JLDetroit was better than you remember, yo.

Batman vs. Vigilante: No Contest

"Batman vs. Vigilante: No Contest" from Gotham Underground #8 (DC, 2008) by Frank Tiere, J. Calafiore and Jack Purcell

It was a big gang war mini-series set in Gotham that had the Penguin snitching on other Batman villains for the Suicide Squad, and because Gotham City doesn't have ENOUGH gang warfare, threw in Tobias Whale and Intergang for good measure. Who comes out on top? The status quo, I guess. The 9-issue series also features a violent, splashed-filled fight between Batman and Vigilante, which might as well be a completely pictorial debate about gun control.

Dead Robin

"Dead Robin" from Gotham Central #33 (DC, 2005) by Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka, Kano and Stefano Gaudiano

There's a big hole in my comics collection in the early 2000s that I've begun to fill out, and Gotham Central, the Batman-Lite Noir police procedural by the considerable talents of Brubaker and Rucka (and excellent artists very appropriate to the genre) is definitely on my must-read list, if I can put enough issues/trades together. Gotham has such a deep police force compared to any other comic book city, it's perfect for this kind of book. With all those costumed vigilantes swinging around, you'd think the GCPD could take it easy, but no. Gotham City is a hell hole.

Slash Option: Batman and Poison Ivy

"Slash Option: Batman and Poison Ivy" from Detective Comics vol.2 #14 (DC, 2013) by John Layman and Jason Fabok

A natural pairing. Batman does love a bad girl. I wasn't reading New52 'Tec until Chew's John Layman started writing it. I must say, his opening story had some nice twists and turns. The book is back on the pull list. I do find the art a bit "technical" for my tastes - I like my Batman a bit more expressionistic - but it's still well done. A preference, not a complaint.

Trash

"Trash" from Detective Comics #613 vol.1 (DC, 1990) by Alan Grant, Norm Breyfogle and Steve Mitchell

Such a long history! This is, after all, the title DC Comics is named after. So where to grab the splash from? I only read it intermittently, and as I may have said before, I can't resist Norm Breyfogle's Batman. Around this time, he was doing a lot of metaphorical splashes like this one, in the style of Eisner's Spirit. I really love them. They are not, despite the title, "trash".

How Wildstorm Is Treating the DC Universe

"How Wildstorm Is Treating the DC Universe" from DC/Wildstorm: DreamWar #3 (DC/Wildstorm, 2008) by Keith Giffen, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott

Somehow a metaphor for Jim Lee introducing his Wildstorm properties into the proper DC Universe. This mini-series should have served as a warning for what might happen when NOT the WS characters, but the WS TONE, would become part of the DCU. The mini-series is basically needless punch-ups between heroes, right? Was it all a dream? Is the New52?

Slash Option (Obvious): Batman/Catwoman

"Slash Option (Obvious): Batman/Catwoman" from Catwoman vol.4 #2 (DC, 2011) by Judd Winnick and Guillem March

The sex scene heard 'round the world in the New52's version of Catwoman. I don't really want to talk about it again. I see Ann Nocenti is now writing the Cat. I didn't stick to her Green Arrow, but she still has some good will left over from her awesome Daredevil run, so I'm trying it. I also like to give a shot to women writing female characters. I realize I didn't like Jo Duffy's Catwoman, but I'm still very interested in women writing female protagonists and what is hopefully some kind of gender authenticity. Of course, some men can't write men, so it's not a foolproof formula, just one that you don't see enough in today's mainstream comics.

The Guest-Star Continuum

"The Guest-Star Continuum" from The Brave and the Bold vol.3 #6 (DC, 2007) by Mark Waid, George Perez and Scott Koblish

Skipping right over the forgettable 90s B&B mini-series, we get to a Waid/Perez revival in the late oughts. Instead of one-offs, the book's first year was dominated by a single arc through which various characters teamed up, often in a chain (A meets B, then in the next issue, B meets C, and so on). It was TOTALLY in the spirit of the original (and to some extent, the cartoon series of the same name), as discussed yesterday, with appearances by such varied characters as Supergirl, Lobo, the Legion, and the Boy Commandos. Great stuff. The series didn't do so well after Waid left, giving up the ghost at #35, by then limply written by boring old JMS.

A Cannon for Batman

"A Cannon for Batman" from The Brave and the Bold vol.1 #171  (DC, 1981) by Gerry Conway and José Luis Garcia Lopez

Running 200 issues between 1955 and 1983, The Brave and the Bold started out as an anthology series, briefly turned into a springboard for new superhero concepts (like the Justice League of America, Metamorpho and the Teen Titans), before resolving into Batman's team-up book. Over the years, the book had some seminal runs by Neal Adams and Jim Aparo, but my choice of splash (while by the superlative JLGL) is more based on the outrageousness of the chosen guest star. As I wrote in an article entitled Dynamic Duos: The Allure of the Team-Up Book, that is one of the elements that makes team-up books WORK. Scalphunter isn't just a hero from another time (the American Civil War), but a rather obscure one as well. That's what's so magical about a team-up book in a large and varied shared universe.

Santa Strange

 

"Santa Strange" from Batman: The Brave and the Bold #12 (DC, 2012) by Landry Q. Walker and Eric Jones

The comic based on the animated series based on the (older) comic is as good as the animated series based on the (older) comic. If you follow. Just as fun. Just as crazy. And with no holds barred on the choice of guest star (and villain). This is a cartoon show that gave plenty of play to both B'wana Beast and Crazy Quilt.

I don't yet miss the cartoon, because I missed nearly all of it when first aired (schedules, channels), and still have a few DVDs to get through. I'm jealously rationing them. But I do miss the comic, that monthly dose of extra Brave and the Bold, and an excellent example of a quality all-ages comic that I wish more limited-ages comics were like.

Send in the Inmates

"Send in the Inmates" from Batman: Shadow of the Bat #3 (DC, 1992) by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle

When Shadow of the Bat was added to the Batman release schedule, matching Superman's own one-book-a-week scheme (hard to believe today Superman was there first), I was overjoyed that Norm Breyfogle was the artist, and sad to see him go after only a handful of issues (he was still doing issues of Detective, thankfully). Alan Grant did write the majority of the series' almost 100 issues though. Today, I'm thinking Grant is an underrated Batman writer. Is it just me? His contribution in 90s Batman books is pretty substantial, and having cut his teeth on Judge Dredd, he certainly had a way with nutbar villains. Shadow of the Bat's first story, for example, introduced Mr. Zsasz who was deemed worthy of a cameo in Batman Begins.

Prediction: Hell

"Prediction: Hell" from Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #54 (DC, 1993) by Dan Raspler and Mike Mignola

A little Mignola Batman? Enjoy.

The original Legends of the Dark Knight was a high quality series that invited writers and artists to contribute stylish stories from Batman's "Year One" in arcs of 1 to 6 issues. They weren't all winners, but definitely above average. Off the top of my head, the ones I best remember include James Robinson and Tim Sale on a Cavalier story, Matt Wagner's "Faces", the first appearance of the drug Venom, Morrison's "Gothic", a crazy Grant/O'Neill Bat-Mite story, and a Viking Batman tale (I'm a sucker for Elseworlding). You?

Long Live Batman Japan

"Long Live Batman Japan" from Batman Incorporated vol.1 #2 (DC, 2011) by Grant Morrison, Yannick Paquette and Michel Lacombe

Grant Morrison has an excellent track record of reinventing Batman and making it seem a completely valid interpretation even within the canon. The psychological metaphor of Arkham Asylum. The super-prepared Batman JLA. Resolving the "every Batman story ever written happened" idea. And after Bruce Wayne returned from his trip into time, Batman Inc. Batman as franchise. Batman openly financed by Bruce Wayne. Batman as mentor to many more heroes, in Gotham and in other countries. Batman as team. Not for the first time, Morrison mines an old Silver Age idea, the "Club of Heroes" he brought back in his Batman run, but he makes it fresh and relevant for our era. When he leaves the book in 2013, we'll see how well the pure premise (i.e. absent Morrison's trademark strangeness) will help tell unique Batman stories.