Top 10: Batman Stories

The seed for this article was planted during a conversation I was having during which I made an off-hand comment about the best Batman stories. It began life as the “Top Ten Batman Stories of All Time”, but after Dark Knight Returns and “Year One” I had trouble ranking my other picks in any kind of order. It stuck in my head until I had to write it.

However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized my best of isn’t going to be someone else’s best (and some of my choices are a bit wonky and even wonkier is what DIDN’T make the list). So, I settled for the Batman stories (single issues or multi-issue storylines) that I personally find the most memorable.

With sixty plus years of Batman stories to choose from here is what I whittled it down to:

1. Batman: Dark Knight Returns
Writer: Frank Miller
Art: Frank Miller & Klaus Janson
Date of Publication: June 1986

Best. Batman. Story. Ever.

While I don’t like Frank Miller’s take on Bats in general, this story is my all time favourite. Inside you’ll find warped humour, iconic imagery, and apocalyptic battles. There has been forests of appreciation dedicated to Miller’s Dark Knight Returns, and I don’t think I can add anything to the mountains of words already written.

Recommended Picks for September 30, 2009

Hot Pick!

Umbrella Academy Volume 2: Dallas TP
Dark Horse Comics
(W) Gerard Way
(A) Gabriel Bá & Dave Stewart

The team is despondent following the near apocalypse created by one of their own, and the death of their beloved mentor Pogo. So it’s a great time for another catastrophic event to rouse the team into action. The trouble is each member of the team is distracted by problems of their own. The White Violin is bedridden due to an unfortunate blow to the head. Rumor has lost her voice, the source of her power. Spaceboy has eaten himself into a near-catatonic state, while Number Five dives into some shady dealings at the dog track, and The Kraken starts looking at his brother as the key to unraveling a mysterious series of massacres. All of this leads to a blood-drenched face-off with maniacal assassins, and a plot to kill JFK!

FC $17.95

Recommended Pick!

The Book Of Genesis Illustrated By Robert Crumb HC
W.W. Norton
(W/A) Robert Crumb

The eagerly awaited graphic work from R. Crumb retells the first book of the Bible in a profoundly honest way.

Peeling away the theological and scholarly interpretations, R. Crumb — using the actual text work for his work — has imagined the Bible as it really was.

First serialized in The New Yorker, this graphic work is now available in a collected edition.

b&w $24.95

Spider-Woman #1

Spider-Woman #1
Marvel Comics
(w) Brian Michael Bendis
(a) Alex Maleev
FC 32 pgs w/ ads $3.99 US / Higher in Canada

After a few false starts and a lot of talk, Bendis finally has his Spider-Woman comic book. I’ve been waiting for this title since Bendis and the Luna Brothers retold Spider-Woman’s origin in the appropriately named Spider-Woman: Origin mini-series. That was way back in 2005. The ongoing was suppose to follow shortly. Then Secret Invasion came around and everything changed. Spider-Woman was revealed to be the Skrull Queen in charge of the invasion of Earth. The war ended and the real Spider-Woman came back. That was in October of 2008. Here we are almost a full year later and now this fabled ongoing is before me.

Comics Shipping This Week: September 30, 2009

Shipping This Week: 9/30/2009

Every Monday, PREVIEWSworld.com provides a list of comics, graphic novels and other pop-culture merchandise arriving this week to your local comic shop.

Please check with your retailer for availability, as not all new releases may be on sale in all areas at the same time

PREVIEWS PUBLICATIONS

AUG091692	GAME TRADE MAGAZINE #116 	PI
AUG090004	MARVEL PREVIEWS OCTOBER 2009  	PI
AUG090003	PREVIEWS #253 OCTOBER 2009 	PI

DARK HORSE COMICS

JUL090066	ALIENS #3 (OF 4)	$3.50
JUN090041	APPLEGEEKS TP VOL 02 WEIRD SCIENCE	$14.95
MAY090078	BERSERK VOL 31 (MR)	$14.95
MAY090057	BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 05 PREDATOR & PREY	$15.95
JUN090031	HARLEQUIN VALENTINE HC (NEW PTG)	$12.95
JUN090054	HELLBOY LIBRARY ED HC VOL 03 CONQUEROR WORM & STRANGE PLACES	$49.95
MAY090046	HELLBOY NOVEL ICE WOLVES	$12.95
JUN090016	INDIANA JONES FURTHER ADV OMNIBUS TP VOL 02	$24.95
JUN090050	LOVECRAFT UNBOUND NOVEL	$19.95
JUL090076	RAPTURE #4 (OF 6) OEMING CVR	$2.99
JUL090092	STAR WARS LEGACY #40 TATOOINE PT 4 (OF 4)	$2.99
JUN090040	UMBRELLA ACADEMY TP VOL 02 DALLAS	$17.95
JUL090055	USAGI YOJIMBO #123	$3.50

DC COMICS

FEB090241	ABSOLUTE PROMETHEA HC VOL 01	$99.99
AUG090198	ASTRO CITY ASTRA SPECIAL #1 (OF 2)	$3.99
JUN090205	BATMAN THE BLACK GLOVE TP	$17.99
JUL090252	BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #9	$2.50
JUL090165	BATMAN WIDENING GYRE #2 (OF 6)	$2.99
JUL098232	BLACKEST NIGHT #2 (OF 8) 2ND PTG	$3.99
JUL090151	BLACKEST NIGHT TITANS #2 (OF 3)	$2.99
MAY090235	FABLES DELUXE EDITION HC VOL 01 (MR)	$29.99
JUL090162	FINAL CRISIS AFTERMATH INK #5 (OF 6)	$2.99
JUL098228	FLASH REBIRTH #2 (OF 6) 2ND PTG	$2.99
JUL090267	FREDDY JASON ASH NIGHTMARE WARRIORS #4 (OF 6) (MR)	$3.99
JUL090174	GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #4	$2.99
JUL098230	GREEN LANTERN #43 2ND PTG (BLACKEST NIGHT)	$2.99
JUL090153	GREEN LANTERN #46 (BLACKEST NIGHT)	$2.99
FEB090294	HEROES OF THE DCU SUPERMAN BUST	$70.00 

Beasts of Burden #1

Beasts of Burden #1
Dark Horse Comics
(w) Evan Dorkin
(a) Jill Thompson
FC 32 pgs w/ ads $2.99 US / Higher in Canada

These characters have appeared before in Dark Horse Book of Hauntings, Witchcraft, Dead and Monsters (for which that story received an Eisner award for best short story). The overall story focuses on a group of dogs and one cat who fight the supernatural – ghosts, witches, etc.

This issue just jumps right in, briefly introducing the characters and then bam! right into this issue’s adventure. The team goes up against a giant demon frog that’s eating its way through the neighbourhood. In this day and age of deconstructed storytelling where nothing really happens over several issues, I’ve gotten use to the first issue being intro and not much else. But here in Beasts of Burden, Dorkin and Thompson don’t waste any time and tell a fully contained story and the first part of a four issue miniseries. Some other writers out there should take notes.

Dorkin and Thompson have created something very cool here. If anyone wants to read something different than the standard superhero stuff that dominates the market this is a damn fine read. (Shane Hnetka)

Solomon Kane Movie Trailer

Robert E. Howard’s other creation, the 16th century Puritan, Solomon Kane is making it to the big screen. Maybe. Independently produced with a $40 million budget but no major studio releasing it in the US, it may just end up going direct to video.

Here’s the first trailer.

Top 10: Daredevil Stories

This time around, the Man Without Fear: Daredevil. DD has always been one of my favourite characters, and his stories have always been among my favourite reads. Having said that, I never got into the Ann Nocenti / John Romita Jr. run or that wacky Daredevil in armour period, where he tried to pretend that Matt Murdock was dead and he was someone else. I just didn’t care for Nocenti’s take on the character and dropped it quickly. I DID pick up quite a bit of the “armour” run but STILL found it unreadable. Those two eras spanned roughly #250 to #380– almost thirteen solid years where one of my favourite books was ransacked.

A note on the Frank Miller run. No doubt this was the best era for the character, and while it is represented here with a few issues, the strength of the Miller run is in the totality and not the individual parts. While to me, not a lot of individual issues were good enough to make the list, you put all those issues together and it comprises one of the greatest runs by a creator on a character ever.

And now, this Blind Man Shall Lead…

1. Fantastic Four #39-40 & Daredevil #37-38
This is what I call the “Doctor Doom Saga”. The story began in Fantastic Four #39-40, where Daredevil assists the Fantastic Four in defeating Doom, who had taken over the Baxter Building and turned Reed’s inventions against them.

For his part in the latest defeat, Daredevil was marked by Doom for special attention, and when the right moment came, Daredevil would be used as a weapon to destroy the Fantastic Four. The right moment came in Daredevil #37-38 when, following a taxing battle with the Trapster, DD is handily beaten by Doom and gets to trade bodies with him as a boobie prize. DD turns the tables, gets his body back and has the Fantastic Four on his tail as a reward. With the help of Spider-Man and Thor, the Fantastic Four is held to a standstill. One of my favourite story sequences of all-time.

Great work by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Gene Colan.

Recommended Picks for September 23, 2009

Hot Pick!

Wolverine: Giant-Size Old Man Logan #1

Marvel Comics

(W) Mark Millar
(A) Steve Mcniven

This is it! The moment you’ve been waiting for! Prepare yourselves for the most brutal battle in the history of comics as Wolverine returns, and unleashes a tidal wave of bloody revenge! It’s Wolverine versus the Hulk Gang to the death! Don’t miss the flesh-rending final chapter to the greatest Wolverine story ever told by the peerless Mark Millar and Steve McNiven! Plus-you won’t be able to tear yourself away from the gallery of covers, background material, behind-the-scenes extras, and all-new pinups that fill out this giant-size spectacular!

FC $4.99

Recommended Pick!

3 Story: The Secret History of the Giant Man HC
By Matt Kindt

What would it be like to stand head and shoulders above everyone else — and to keep growing? Unable to interact with a fragile world that isn’t built to withstand your size? To live in a house that doesn’t fit you anymore — with a wife who doesn’t either?

Craig Pressgang’s life is well documented in his official CIA biography, Giant Man: Pillar of America, but the heroic picture it paints is only half the story. The continuous growth caused by Craig’s strange medical condition brings a variety of problems as he becomes more isolated and unknowable. Told in three eras by three women with unique relationships with Craig, 3 Story follows his sad life from his birth to the present.

Kindt’s Super Spy was Wizard’s “Indie Book of the Year”!

FC, 192 pages, HC $19.95

This Week’s comics: September 23, 2009

Shipping This Week: 9/23/2009

Every Monday, PREVIEWSworld.com provides a list of comics, graphic novels and other pop-culture merchandise arriving this week to your local comic shop.

Please check with your retailer for availability, as not all new releases may be on sale in all areas at the same time.

DARK HORSE COMICS

MAY090080	BRIDE OF THE WATER GOD TP VOL 04	$9.95
JUN090011	CHRONICLES OF CONAN TP VOL 18	$17.95
JUL090071	CONAN THE CIMMERIAN #14	$2.99
APR090064	EDEN TP VOL 12 (MR)	$12.95
JUN090056	GOON TP VOL 09 CALAMITY OF CONSCIENCE	$15.95
MAY090083	GUNSMITH CATS BURST TP VOL 04 (MR)	$12.95
MAY090082	NGE SHINJI IKARI RAISING PROJECT TP VOL 02	$9.95
MAY090077	UMBRELLA ACADEMY DLX LTD HC VOL 02 DALLAS	$79.95
JUL090073	ZERO KILLER #5 (OF 6)	$2.99

DC COMICS

FEB090301	ARKHAM ASYLUM BOXED SET 	PI
JUL098215	BATMAN AND ROBIN #2 3RD PTG	$2.99
JUL090253	BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM #8	$2.50
JUL098090	BLACKEST NIGHT SUPERMAN #1 (OF 3) 2ND PTG	$2.99
JUL090147	BLACKEST NIGHT SUPERMAN #2 (OF 3)	$2.99
 

The Dead Boy Detectives

The Dead Boy Detectives

DC Comics / Vertigo Comics
Writer: Jill Thompson
Art: Jill Thompson

BW, 144 pgs w/ ads
$9.99 US / Higher in Canada

The two dead boy detectives that headline this graphic novel are Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine, two British school boys from different eras who are now ghosts and crime solvers to boot. They first appeared in The Sandman: The Seasons of Mist, in which they died but escaped Death’s grasp. Since then, they’ve been solving crimes, first in London and now in Chicago.

Edwin and Charles are contacted through traditional means by young Annika Abernathy, a student at the upper class International Academy in Chicago. She doesn’t know these two are in fact deceased. She believes she is contacting two young boys known for their sleuthing skills and their dedication to helping children when no one else will. Annika’s best friend has vanished, but none of the teachers at the school seem to care. They, in fact, outright refuse to acknowledge anything about the missing girl. In order for Edwin and Charles to investigate this case properly they will need access to the school. The catch is that the school is an all-girls school, meaning the boys have to disguise themselves as female students.