Batman Chronicles (2nd Series)

(DC, 2005-2012)
™ and © 2005 DC Comics, Inc.

In one of the best ideas ever to come out of DC Comics, this title reprints every Batman comic ever printed, in order, in a series of inexpensive trade paperbacks. It’s all here—stories from Detective Comics, Batman, and hopefully others as the series progresses. See how it all started, and see Batman evolve from a gun–toting maniac to the dark creature of the night we all know and love today. Watch him gather a colorful boy sidekick named Robin and a gallery of deranged villains, including Joker, Two-Face and Professor Hugo Strange. See the past of one of the most famous heroes in the history of comics unfold before our eyes, as it happened. As promised, Volume One starts with the first Batman story, “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate” from Detective Comics #27, May 1939, and advances from there.

These volumes are guaranteed to supply fans many years of Bat–pleasure.

— Jerry Smith

From the Comics Buyer’s Guide:

DC is reprinting the original Batman stories by creator Bob Kane and unsung-at-the-time co-creator Bill Finger. This serves as the blueprint of the many interpretations of this iconic character (campy, gritty, etc.) in the decades to follow. In his initial stories, Batman was a brutal vigilante, who wasn’t above killing his enemies or using a gun. This was done away with in the later stories of this collection.

It’s interesting to note that readers didn’t see much of the Batcave (it wasn’t named)—just brief glimpses—or manservant Alfred (who didn’t show up until Batman #16). Bruce Wayne was a pipe-smoking socialite who was a reporter, at first. The stories had a pulpy, noir feel like many movies of that era. However, the dark tone was lightened when Robin was introduced. Old Bats even started smiling, which seems odd. This story also reprints the first appearance of The Joker.

Some of the dialogue is stilted—Batman refers to Joker as “Mr. Joker” and has a cheesy line, “Quiet or Papa spank,” when up against a pretty female adversary. If readers limit their reading to a 21st century point of view, they won’t fully appreciate Kane and Finger’s work, which planted the seeds of one of pop culture’s most enduring characters. It would have been nice to find commentary in this TPB to put these stories into perspective.

— Kurt Anthony Krug

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