Tales of the Batman: Len Wein HC Hardcover – 6 Jan. 2015

This volume was quite the walk down memory lane for me. I started reading Batman with issue 307, the chilling ‘Dark Messenger of Mercy’ (included in this collection), a menacing psychological tale of a killer preying on the homeless; a theme that is very topical today. I collected the next two issues featuring Blockbuster and Mr. Freeze, but only seriously started collecting Batman with issue no. 319 that showcased the return of the Gentleman Ghost. My favourite storyline back then (and still is now) is the Catwoman two-parter which highlights the blossoming potential relationship between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. Alongside this, is ‘The Untold Legend of the Batman’ mini-series. Again, I still have the comics of this bought back in the day. The theme of Batman dealing with his personal demons has been reworked several times over the decades, but this mini-series from 1980 has to be one of the best. Len Wein pushed the envelope with his stories. He is credited as co-creator of Swamp Thing and during his run on Batman he introduced Lucius Fox who has become a mainstay of the Batman story since. (I mean, Wein has secured his name in comicdom history purely by creating Wolverine!). With artwork by a plethora of talent including Dick Dillan, Dick Giordano, Walt Simonson, Jim Aparo, Don Newton and Irv Novick this is a truly outstanding collection that shows the best of the Bronze Age of comics.

Brings me back to my youth - the stories I used to read when I was a kid stories that had substance and was going somewhere that you could follow which intent. Brillant.

I LOVE THIS BOOK. As a Batman fan this book is amazing to me, pure quality in bright and vivid colour on every page. Very good quality reprint of some old classics.

If you’re like me and find Batman is only properly Batman when he’s up against his classic rogues’ gallery of colourfully costumed, dementedly dotty and wildly ruthless super villains, then you’ll find this collection of Len Wein scripted Bat-tales a real treat. In order of appearance, you will meet (sometimes more than once) Dr Tzin-Tzin, Dr Light, Professor Milo (with attendant werewolf), Talia, Ras Al Ghul, Sterling Silversmith, Signalman, Clayface (well, the grotesque, chilling and tragic Clayface III, to be exact), Catwoman, Mr Freeze, Blockbuster, Gentleman Ghost, Calendarman, Two-Face, Kiteman, Crazy Quilt, Riddler, Firebug, The Joker (in one of his ultimate classic stories: Dreadful Birthday Dear Joker),Captain Boomerang, Catman, Maxie Zeus and the Terrible Trio.One thing I’ve noticed having all these stories in one bumper volume, is that Len Wein has a penchant for bringing back one-shot, one-trick villains, revamping them and making them less cartoony and just that bit more realistic and deadly. Also, he likes matching Batman with villains from other comics eg Captain Boomerang from The Flash, and showing that, in many ways, they have all the attributes of a bona fide Bat-villain. I would have loved it if Captain Boomerang had become a permanent foe in the Bat-comics.Reading these stories again after so many years, I realize, too, how perfectly structured, almost simply so, they are: clear beginnings, middles and ends, dramatic incidents in all the right places, moments of carefully balanced humour and pathos. Gosh! How I miss this! Batman comics in the last decade or so have become overly complicated, choked with too much continuity, and the villains, especially, either made too sick and serial killer vicious, or reduced to mere cameos. In some cases, Batman hardly ever seems to appear and it’s all Commissioner Gordon and his off-spring or Batwoman or Batgirl or one of the 3006 Robins that seem to abound these days. Back in Len Wein’s day, the stories are all Batman focussed, with the occasional, sparing appearance of Robin or small but welcome appearances by Alfred or the Commissioner.And the art! How I miss the clear, precise and beautifully rendered pencils of artists like Neal Adams, Jim Aparo, Marshall Rogers and Irv Novick, who all feature here: nowadays the art is all but smothered by computer-enhanced colouring and finishes, or is too post-modern cartoony and Manga.It’s Jim Aparo’s distinctive art that accompanies Len Wein’s classic 3-parter, The Untold Legend of the Batman, which, in a series of stylishly pencilled flashbacks and splash pages, we get – in my opinion - the definitive origin story of Batman, along with that of Robin, Alfred, the Joker and Two-Face. In fact, this series was one of the very first Bat-comics I ever read back in the early 80s, and it was Alfred saying ‘Have you uncovered any likely suspects yet, sir?’ and Batman replying ‘Yes, old friend – you might say that!’ and then, on the next full page, Batman adding: ‘You want suspects, Alfred? Here- take your pick!’ and casting down a scattering of mugshots of The Joker, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Gentleman Ghost, Penguin, etc It was this defining illustration that started me collecting Batman comics in earnest, especially those featuring the classic villains. That page still gives me a thrill even now.All in all, this is one of the best (and most exhaustive) collections of classic Batman comics currently in print. The only drawback (minor) is that one of running story-arcs is not entirely resolved as it’s concluded in other non-Len Wein scripted stories. It’s the one where the Wayne Foundation is being undermined and gradually taken over by rival reclusive billionaire Gregorian Falstaff – whom we later find out is in the employ of Ras Al Ghul. But that’s another classic story arc for perhaps another Tales of the Batman or DC Showcase Presents Batman collection…Highly recommended for any newcomers to Batman or jaded Bat-fans bored with the current crop of Bat-comics.