Holy 75 Years, Batman! Part 1

This year marks Batman's 75th anniversary which is something I would have missed had it not been for How It Should Have Ended's video from San Diego Comic Con. My love for the Bat started many years ago as I remember seeing Tim Burton's film when it was on VHS and I'd also saw Batman Returns at the cinema (my Mum had sneaked me in to see it).

In this post I'll talk about all the aspects of Batman that I know of, from comics through to video games.

The Comics

I've only started to collect them in the past year, since I actually had the money for it but the earliest I remember reading Batman comics was tie in comic of the film – I don't think I still have it, sadly. The next time the Bat graced my peepers was in the crossover between him and Judge Dredd in Judgement on Gotham, with artwork from Slaine's artists. During this time, the only comics I was occasionally getting were the 2000AD ones, so seeing those two together was just epic! It wasn't all roses when they met up, Dredd hated vigilante's, mainly since it was against the law - as were many things - but Anderson intervened and shit got sorted. When I finally got the rest of the series, of which there were 4 in total: Judgement on Gotham, Vendetta in Gotham, The Ultimate Riddle and Die Laughing, it wasn't until Die Laughing that they'd pretty much sorted their differences out. Although seeing the uber long fight in Vendetta in Gotham was just a treat, it was even better when you found out why it got started!

My main preference when it comes to Batman comics is the darker ones, like Venom, where Batman takes the same drug as Bane does all because he couldn't save a child in danger, mainly this seemed to have been born from him not getting enough sleep and pushing himself too hard. He winds up getting way too addicted and forces Alfred to lock him up in the Batcave, whilst bricking the entrance so Batman can't escape. The Venom drug that Batman took then gets referenced in Knightfall by Bane before he breaks Bruce Wayne's back causing Bruce to hand over the Mantle of the Bat to Jean-Paul Valley, until Bruce was well enough to return to duty.

I've read all of the first part of Knightfall and I'm finding the second part to be quite a struggle, since it's kinda starting to bore me as it's not Bruce Wayne. Although the suit that Jean-Paul makes looks pretty formidable, the stories are just not quite there.

Other darker versions of Batman stories I'd like to get is the Batman & Dracula series (Red Rain, Bloodstorm and Crimson Mist). These are actually part of the Elseworlds line, which are pretty much “What if” stories. Of these the interesting ones are The Doom that came to Gotham (Batman vs Cthulhu), Gotham By Gaslight (Batman vs Jack the Ripper) and Batman: Leatherwing (Batman is a pirate of the high seas).

In the next part, I'll be discussing the Batman films so stay tuned for that!

Next: Batman 75 Years - Part 2: The Films >>