Batman's first adventures were chronicled when the "film noir" style of movies was big. Dark, urban corners and psychological suspense powered forward the new film genre. The earliest Batman stories were much like this type of film. The mood and environment were dark, the villains more ruthless and sinister, and the unexpected became expected.

This may be the only time in his career when Batman actually killed people. In one scene he is fighting jewel thieves and throws one over a ledge to his death. The earliest Batman was a dark and menacing figure more so than ever before or since.

The stories are very varied. Everything from killing giant monsters to fighting an army of killer blimps with death rays finds its ways into these pages. What these early writers lacked in materials and resources they had in ingenuity.

If you dislike the thought of Batman killing someone, or are a stickler for art, this may not be for you. It is the writing and storytelling that make this volume exceptional.

First thing I said to my wife when I finished the first story was, "Wow, Batman sure is a lame character and Bob Kane sure is a crappy artist."

But I really am enjoying reading this. The thing is I'm 32 years old. Batman's not going to surprise me, enlighten me or otherwise bowl me over no matter how sophisticated his world becomes, nor do I want him to. For me, it's about just going with it -- going with the story, the time period, etc. It's great. I enjoy thinking about how this material must have hit readers 65 years ago, and how this universe had to adapt between then and now. I believe this book is a great time capsule. That's all.

This is a realy great collection because it has the first 11 batman stories ever written and in chronialogical order. I will keeping buying this sereies as more volumes come out but I think dc should do what marvel did for spider-man and release a cd or dvd-rom collection of all comics batman has been in because it will take awhile to realese every comic in book format.

Batman Chronicles Volume 1 begins an ambitious task: the complete color reprinting of every Batman story in chronological order. I say bring it on, and please don't spare other long-standing Golden Age characters, such as Superman, Wonder Woman, Dr. Fate, Hawkman, etc. True, DC also gives us the Archives series, but they are far too expensive for me, and they really are too "clean" - seeing Detective Comics #27 reproduced on bright white archival paper just doesn't have the same appeal as the newsprint used for BC Volume 1. I can only hope that the publishing schedule is fairly quick; otherwise, I'll still be reading this series in the retirement home (or maybe having the nurse read it to me).

Prior to this, I had never read any Golden Age Batman beyond the brief, frequently reprinted origin story. Finishing this book, which collects DETECTIVE COMICS #27-37 and BATMAN #1, I realized a few things: first, the Batman of the Golden Age is a very different character from what we know today. Second, while many fans bemoan the campy Silver Age stories and TV show that turned the caped crusader into a joke, the first few Golden Age stories were just as crazy. Consider that, in the first half of this book, Batman:

- kills several criminals (even snapping one's neck with a kick)
- fights a giant gorilla
- travels to eastern Europe in the Bat-Gyro (Wow, that's > 10 hours, even in a jet! How does he relieve himself? Pitch it over the side?)
- fends off werewolves
- is strapped to a giant millstone that spins at crushing speeds
- is immobilized by the "irresistible power" of hypnosis
- encounters talking flowers (with human faces = disturbing!) that assist him in escaping a trap

Completely random. Totally ridiculous. But taken in context, immensely entertaining. The second half of the book shows Batman approaching what we know today, with more direction and the introductions of Hugo Strange, the Joker, and of course, Robin the Boy Wonder. For fifteen bucks retail, this is a steal. I must also give approval to the design of the book - nice eye-catching cover, the style of which I hope will remain for the duration of the series.

One last thing: there are two oddly interesting, and surely unintended, nods to future DC characters in this book. In one story, Bruce Wayne uses the alias of "John Jones" (Martian Manhunter). In another, Batman meets a character with no face who dresses in an overcoat and hat (the Question?).

While I am a huge fan of the Golden Age Batman comics I have put off buying the HC "Archive" series because each volume is way too expensive for my budget. The Chronicles series is not only more affordable, but improves on the Archive format by focusing on the character rather than the title. That is, instead of only collecting the complete run of Batman stories in Detective Comics or Batman it collects all of Batman's appearances in both titles and presents them in chronological order. Some sort of introductory material might have been nice, but I much prefer saving all the pages for the reprints.