Legends of the Dark Knight: Norm Breyfogle Vol. 1 (Detective Comics (1937-2011))

I am a Batman reader of the 70s and early 80s, so I never read these tales when they first came out. I was too busy learning to be an adult during this period. Now that I read them for the first time, I do so with relish, and I am not disappointed by it. This volume is among the best in this Legends series. Norman Broyfogle certainly deserves to be among the great Batman artists (Neal Adams, Jim Aparo, and Marshall Rogers). His style is very close to Rogers'. Batman on the rooftops, swinging between buildings, his shadow - all drawn in an impressionistic style. In addition, his panels are action-packed. I appreciate the various layouts he uses to energize the story. Adrianne Roy does the coloring for Broyfogle, and I think he matches well his artwork. I know this is an art-oriented tome, but I can't help mentioning the writing contributions of John Wagner and Allan Grant. If Broyfogle is a proper successor to Marshall Rogers, Wagner and Grant follow the tradition of Denny O'Neil and Steve Englehart. Their stories are as moody as those from the seventies, and even grittier and darker. They also create villains that rival the traditional villain lineup that readers often associate with the Batman: the Ventriloquist, the Ratcatcher, and Cornelius Stirk. In fact, these villains are bloodier than the League of Assassins, the Joker, etc. The stories are characterized by being action-packed, darker, and full of pulp. Batman's persona follows the footsteps of Englehart in the seventies and adds to it: "You!" I like it every time Batman says that in these stories. The writing is also high quality. The writers often use different techniques or points of view, switching from third person to first person, and also telling the story from the villain's point of view. My favorite story - I think it was outstanding - was the Night People where there are various stories taking place at the same time in different places, but at the end they are all connected. The voice of a disc jockey serves as a thread that keeps all the stories together. Clever technique. In addition to this, readers can see some social problems pervasive during the late eighties: the influence of cocaine and ecstasy in drug culture, and the growth of homelessness. There is even a cameo of Ronald Reagan in "Sole Survivor" (not a good story, in my opinion). In sum, this is another great volume for this series and a must-buy for a Batman fan.

Norm Breyfogle has got to be one of the all time great Batman artists. Bruce Timm has even said that he was directly inspired by Breyfogle when he was creating Batman The Animated Series and you can really see the similarities in these pages. Storywise, Alan Grant's scripts aren't quite as strong as the art but still pretty damn good. They're definitely more offbeat and gritty and stripped down. Almost no Robin, Gordon, Alfred, or Bruce Wayne to speak of, although they all have memorable appearances. No classic villains except one appearance of Penguin and a Clayface 4-parter at the end. Etrigan also makes an appearance. They did however introduce the villains Scarface/Ventriloquist, Ratcatcher, and Cornelius Stirk in this volume. But mostly it's just Batman solving grisly murders and weird cases, several having some sort of supernatural or "psi-power" angle, or a fantastical element of some kind which isn't really my thing but they make it work. Some stories are more realistic and pulpy. It's almost as if Alan Grant was writing Detective Comics as a noir/horror series with action and superheroes thrown in. Grant and Breyfogle later transitioned over to the main Batman book and took a decidedly more straight-forward "classic Batman" approach, although still kinda fiixated on grisly murder. They also famously reintroduced the third Robin, Tim Drake, to great fanfare. He even got his own series for several years afterwards. As far as the presentation goes, it leaves a lot to be desired, much like almost all of DC's collected editions. There's no bonus material whatsoever, glued binding, non-oversize format, and worst of all- NOT ALL THE COVERS ARE REPRINTED! Only the ones Breyfogle did. I absolutely hate that practice, and it's one DC has been doing for decades. They only reprint the covers for certain books like Archives and Omnibus books but for some reason they will do it for the Tales/Legends books that focus only on the writer. The Len Wein book and Alan Brennert book both reprint all the covers. I see no reason why they can't show us the covers to every chapter like Marvel does with their collected editions, regardless of who drew it. That's extremely annoying and just really terrible production value. So aside from some frustrating production flaws and some occasionally weird stories, this is still a must own for die hard Batman fans.

It was great to re-read these issues again, one of the great uncollected Batman runs. Things start off shaky with a Millennium tie-in issue (an 80’s DC event and the less said about it the better), but by the time the villains Scarface / Ventriloquist get introduced, we’re full swing into the Wagner / Grant / Breyfogle run. Bizarre, fearsome rogues abound, such as the Corrosive Man, Kadaver, Ratcatcher, Cornelius Stirk and a trio of Clayfaces that go by the team name the Mud Pack. There are also terrorists, tulpas, street thugs, and a memorable appearance by Etrigan the Demon. The violence level here is high, and Batman also faces drug smugglers, as well as teens and citizens hopped up on drugs. All of it is tied together with Breyfogle’s impressive, angular artwork. His character work is top notch, his depiction of action clear and fluid, and it is around the middle of this collection (with the great inks of Steve Mitchell) where his rendition of Batman becomes one of all-time greats. One can see the influence on the 90’s Animated Series design of Batman that came soon after—he is frequently draped in shadow here, the cape swirling, and Breyfogle draws him with very expressive eyes and facial expressions. This was the Batman I grew up with, and is for me one of the definitive takes on the character. This is a worthy addition to any fan’s collection. As there is much Breyfogle Batman material left, I’m looking forward to the next few volumes.

If you grew up reading Batman comics during the late 80's or early 90's chances are you're familiar with Norm Breyfogle's work, and if you're a fan of his work then you should definitely buy this. I almost purchased this digitally on Comixology and I'm happy I didnt. First of all its cheaper on Amazon and second it's a beautiful hardcover book with a really nice sleeve and cover art. Definitely purchase the book edition of this. It features 23 stories from 2 Batman Annuals and Detective Comics featuring the art work of Norm Breyfogle ranging from 1987 to 1989. It also features some classic villains along with the debut of The Ventriloquist and Scarface. Since this is listed as volume 1 I really hope there is a volume 2. Reading this brought back some great memories and reminded me of when I first fell in love with Batman and Batman comics in general. If you know anyone who is a fan of Batman or specifically Norm Breyfogle's art, or you're looking to introduce a young reader or anyone into Batman comics then you cant go wrong with this. A great collection of classic stories with stellar art work from one of the greatest artists to ever draw The Dark Knight.

The very first Batman comic that I ever purchased with my own money was illustrated by Norm Breyfogle and written by Allen Grant, who wrote most of these stories. Having destroyed most of those old comics with silly putty ( as God intended : )) I've long hoped that a book like this would come out so that I could share these stories with my own kids. Though the nostalgia factor keeps this book on my shelf, overall I must say that I was disappointed. The book is mostly early Breyfogle Batman before he had really become the master page designer that he was by the middle of his run. In fact, the book ends just as Breyfogle and Grant are really hitting their stride as a team. Also, the rogues featured in these early stories aren't exactly A listers. I would have MUCH preferred a "Best of Norm Breyfogle's Batman" than an early works volume. It should be noted that the book title says "Volume 1". I truly hope Volume 2 is published. That book should really be something special.

Coming at a hefty five hundred pages, this is Norm Breyfogle's first foray into the DC comics and his art is now synonymous with the late 80s Batman. You can see how the art in the first issues is not yet polished but the talent already shows. There's no overarching metaplot that we are now used to, but the stories are all simple good fun and the last one is excellent. In this story arc contained in four issues different Clayfaces all work together to take Batman down and Looker from the Outsiders makes a cameo appearance. Basil Karlo is excellent as a Hollywood cinema villain. You can see how the artist starts to experiment with the panels in some pages, where the framing lines are not drawn but the individual pictures all merge together instead and it looks truly amazing. All action is great and dynamic, with a single picture often containing multiple hits, punches, dodges and maybe a line of dialogue here and there, all fitting into a neat progression when your brain unpacks it. The only thing that is missing for me is the coloring. It's still the simplistic coloring of the 80s, where the night sky is often light purple and walls are commonly yellow.

I loved the Grant/Norm Breyfogle batman of the early 90's, but missed his run on Detective--so, this was a real treat. The art and color looks splendid on nice paper. This is a hefty book and a good read. This is a fairly consecutive run of stories, so it's easy to read through / cohesive. Some of these artist spotlights run through partial stories and multiple artists, but this one was pretty much Alan Grant/Norm Breyfogle. Because this is such a consecutive/consistent read, I would have liked for them to include even the non-Breyfogle covers (with "Cover By" clearly labled). I also thought it was interesting that this book came out the same month as the _Second Chances_ trade featuring the Jason Todd Robin. The two books overlap their time period somewhat, and there's one story that travels between the two books, so if you like this one, Second Chances is worth picking up. (It's on the newsprint-like paper and much cheaper). I would also recommend this book to anyone who cherished the original monthlies and still has them. My Batman comics from the time have some cross-bleed (even though I've kept them bagged, boarded, and protected). The art and readability shine with high production quality.

Over a decade ago, Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle were putting together some very good Batman stories. Batman fans like myself have heralded their work for some time, however, there was never a collection like this on the market. You would have to search through back issue bins to get their run on the caped crusader. Now, however, it's available in omnibus form in all it's glory! On the plus side to this omnibus as well, you don't have to worry about ink running like in the older back issues - the art is crisp and clear! Why DC waited so long to put this omnibus out, I have no idea. Breyfogle and Grant also came up with some iconic villains during their time: Ratcatcher, Ventriloquist, Stirk, among others. Another plus is that this team makes the Batman feel human! Breyfogle is a master of putting emotion to Batman's face. He smiles, he looks terrified, he looks angry (in compared to other artists who draw the same scowl on Batman's face on every page). Since this is volume 1, I really, really hope they put out at least another another volume or two in the future, because this is only the first 1/3 of their Batman run. If you haven't read any of Grant or Breyfogle's Batman run, or if you just want a nice collection of their stories in a single book, then I highly recommend you pick this up!

Por años había querido este tomo y ahora que lo tengo, puedo decir que valió la pena la espera. Una gran colección. De 10.

Norm Breyfogle is one of my favorite Batman artists. He is easily in my top five Batman artist list, and I wish he would draw Batman again. This volume contains some of my favorite Batman stories from when I was a young, and reading Batman in the late 80's to early 90's. It contains the story of the Corrosive man, The Rat Trap, and others. I hope they do a second volume with Norm Breyfogle. Also this book is just beautiful to own as it is a hardcover, and the jacket is awesome. This was really enjoyable to read, and I recommend this to anyone who is both a fan of Batman, and Breyfogle.

Arguably the best Batman artist ever, this massive hardback volume is a fantastic. The art is printed on shiny high quality paper and is superbly reproduced with clear vibrant colours. The run of stories in this book are just fantastic, some of ther best Batman tales ever written. If I have one complaint is that the packaging pretty much ignores the input of the writers to the contents. None qualify for a mention on the sleeve notes. Strange given that the vast majority of them are written by one writer - Alan Grant. Other writers include Mike Barr, Jo Duffy, Max Allan Collins, Robert Greenberger and of course Grant's co-writer at the start of the run: John Wagner. At £24 its a bit expensive, but If you like Batman - this is a great buy.

El envío llegó un día antes de lo que marcaba la fecha. El estado del libro es perfecto, venía muy bien sellado en caja dura. El producto tiene las historias clásicas que buscaba; desde la serie "Ratcatcher", pasando por "Aborigen" hasta "Tulpa" y "The mud Pack". El empastado del libro y el acabado es estético y bien cuidado, además de que la calidad del papel es muy bueno. Vale peso por peso la inversión. Totalmente satisfecho.

Love Norm's work, beautiful book but would have been neat to have some 'special features', pencils and stuff like that