I thoroughly enjoyed reading Les Daniel's history of the Batman concept as expressed in comic books and strips, television shows (animated and live action) and movies. As a young child I took great delight in the Adam West TV show--blissfully unaware of how really campy it was--the comic books, of course, and all of the Batman paraphernalia that was available in the 1960s. I picked up this book for nostalgia's sake, and did not expect it to be a very sophisticated treatment of the subject. It just looked visually like a lot of fun.

So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Daniels takes his subject very seriously indeed. He plumbs the cultural antecedents of the Batman concept, and describes its realization in the comic book. He meticulously details the process in which the comic book stories and art for Batman were accomplished over the decades, paying particularly close attention to the key artists and writers involved in the process. He carefully explains the changes--subtle or not--made to the Batman concept over time, and reveals the business and artistic philosophies behind these changes.

It's fascinating to see how this cultural icon evolved over time, like a pendulum moving back and forth from the dark and creepy to the silly and campy. Daniels reveals Batman's role in the 1950s debate over the morality of comic books, and he explains how Batman's creative team sought to deflect criticism that Batman and Robin's relationship was suspect by introducing a "family" for Batman, including a Batgirl and a Batwoman.

Daniels deftly addresses both the art and writing of Batman and the hugely popular cultural phenomenon Batman has been over the decades. It might have been tempting, from a commercial standpoint, to have given a lot more attention to the live action television show and the recent movies, but Daniels treats all manifestations of the Dark Knight rather evenly.

I can understand the concern, expressed by others here, that the busy layout of the book distracts the reader. Admittedly, as I mentioned above, it was that eye candy that attracted me to the book in the first place. And, for me, I did not find all the illustrations and sidebars unpleasant distractions in a book devoted to such a primarily visual topic.

I highly recommend this delightful, and well researched and written book, to all readers who have an undying fondness for the Batman cultural icon.

This book chronicles in great detail the history of the Dark Knight, from his comic book debut in 1939 to the various media incarnations of today. While this book does not include Batman Begins or the Justice League animated series, everything that came before is laid out in vivid detail, with some excellent photographs by collector Chip Kidd, who previously collaborated with author Daniels on Batman: Collected, a book about the various Batman products that have been marketed and sold over the years. This is an excellent item to own for fans of Batman of any age (reading skills desirable). Final grade - A

This is a real tough book to describe. It's packed with great comics art, paintings, photos, animation art, rare interviews and information. There's a ton of Bat-material from every media, and a comprehensive chronology of the Caped Crusader's comic chronicles. BUT--the layout is strictly a frenzy of "look what I can do with Quark!" Copy jumps several pages at a time to accomodate ridiculously enlarged Bat-heads and sidebars, completely derailing the reading experience. I know some may consider this chaos trendy and artistically modern, but its just the same old "pop art" condescension towards "kiddie books." Obviously readers cannot cope with page after page of words and relevant illustrations, so the "Award Winning Designer" has pumped up the volume with lots of big cropped images and 7-inch wide columns of copy in reverse-type sidebars (the nuns should whack his knuckles with a ruler for that alone--"BAD, BAD, designer.") Content is definitely A+. Presentation is strictly art school C-. This book is worth it for the rare and exciting artwork, but it really could have been so much better. When will the comic companies stop being so ashamed of their product? Books like this just contribute to the presumption that comics are hyperactive adolescent trash and the readers are unsophisticated cattle with the attention-span of gophers who will buy any incomprehensible crap that insults them. Wait a minute...

DC also released a calendar book using the same design aesthetic. Guess what? Same cluttered, crappy, childish look. My advice? Don't buy either product and let them choke on a couple thousand copies. Problem is, they won't blame the design, and will just assume that the Batcraze is over. You really can't win, because the "designer" probably has an MA, and we're all just stupid comic fans. Guess who can't be wrong?