Batman Chronicles: Vol. 2 
asked by papi on November 20, 2006 10:10 AM
The second volume in the series reprinting every Batman comics story ever published in chronological order features the Dark Knight in early stories originally appearing in DETECTIVE COMICS, BATMAN and NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR. This collection features Batman's early encounters with classic villains including the Joker, Catwoman, Clayface and many more.
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For those unfamiliar with the Batman Chronicles, they reprint Batman's earliest Golden Age adventures in chronological order. So in this book you'll get stories from Detective Comics, Batman, as well as the rare 1940 New York World's Fair comic, reprinted in order as they appeared beginning with Detective Comics 39, 40, & 41. These early Batman tales, written by Bill Finger with art by Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson show the dark roots of Batman. While not as grim as the modern day incarnation, they are still far different that the rather silly Silver Age stories.
For example in the opening tale from Detective #39 finds Batman taking on a Chinatown tong called the Green Dragon. Tongs were basically Chinese gangs, often associated with organized criminal activities such as smuggling and drugs. The Tong kills by cleaving their enemy's skulls with a hatchet...pretty strong stuff for 1940's comics. The 30's and 40's saw a lot of this "yellow menace" type of threats in popular culture such as pulp magazines, film, and comics.
In Detective #40, longtime villain Clayface makes his first appearance although he's very different than the walking pile of mud we know today. Back then he was just disgruntled horror film star Basil karlo (a veiled similarity to Boris karloff) who disguised his face with makeup.
Batman #2 sees the return of the Joker and I was immediately struck by the fact that over the course of 65 years, the Joker really hasn't changed at all, same white face, green hair, and purple suit. Batman has changed numerous times but his old foe has stayed relatively the same. Contrast this with Catwoman who also appears in this issue. In those days she was merely a pretty brunette who wore a dress and stole jewels. A far cry from the Catwoman we know today!
Back in these early days, Batman was still considered a Spiderman-like menace and he found himself battling the cops almost as much as the criminals. It was also pre-batmobile, and Batman tooled around town in a plain sedan.
I love the Chronicles volumes. I've always felt it was important to keep the Golden Age era alive as much as possible and this is a perfect, and really inexpensive way to do it as these soft cover newsprint volumes are far less expensive than the hard cover Archive series. Bob Kane doesn't get enough credit for his art which is among the finest of all the Golden Age greats.
Reviewed by Tim Janson
For example in the opening tale from Detective #39 finds Batman taking on a Chinatown tong called the Green Dragon. Tongs were basically Chinese gangs, often associated with organized criminal activities such as smuggling and drugs. The Tong kills by cleaving their enemy's skulls with a hatchet...pretty strong stuff for 1940's comics. The 30's and 40's saw a lot of this "yellow menace" type of threats in popular culture such as pulp magazines, film, and comics.
In Detective #40, longtime villain Clayface makes his first appearance although he's very different than the walking pile of mud we know today. Back then he was just disgruntled horror film star Basil karlo (a veiled similarity to Boris karloff) who disguised his face with makeup.
Batman #2 sees the return of the Joker and I was immediately struck by the fact that over the course of 65 years, the Joker really hasn't changed at all, same white face, green hair, and purple suit. Batman has changed numerous times but his old foe has stayed relatively the same. Contrast this with Catwoman who also appears in this issue. In those days she was merely a pretty brunette who wore a dress and stole jewels. A far cry from the Catwoman we know today!
Back in these early days, Batman was still considered a Spiderman-like menace and he found himself battling the cops almost as much as the criminals. It was also pre-batmobile, and Batman tooled around town in a plain sedan.
I love the Chronicles volumes. I've always felt it was important to keep the Golden Age era alive as much as possible and this is a perfect, and really inexpensive way to do it as these soft cover newsprint volumes are far less expensive than the hard cover Archive series. Bob Kane doesn't get enough credit for his art which is among the finest of all the Golden Age greats.
Reviewed by Tim Janson
reviewed by work on November 23, 2006 1:04 AM