Best Place To Read Silver Age Comics

[Batfan Beyond]

Hey guys, first time commenter here. Just had a quick question of how to read/access the Silver Age comics since it doesn't sound like an omnibus is coming out anytime sooon. Is buying the vintage comics the only way?

[allforgeeks]

Hi Batfan, there are in fact hundreds of graphic novels available covering pretty much every silver Age title you can name, a trip to your local comic shop will put you on the right track

[Batfan Beyond]

Hi Batfan, there are in fact hundreds of graphic novels available covering pretty much every silver Age title you can name, a trip to your local comic shop will put you on the right track

Thanks for the tip man. For some reason I was thinking they'd be hard to come by.

[allforgeeks]

You are in for a pleasant surprise, although your credit card might not enjoy it so much..!

[Batfan Beyond]

You are in for a pleasant surprise, although your credit card might not enjoy it so much..!

If they cost as much as the Golden Age volumes you're probably right.

[oasis1313]

You could start slow. I'd suggest beginning with the first Neal Adams omnibus.

[jb681131]

Well you can wait for the Omnibus. It will come, but only after the Golden Age ones.
Also there are some Silver age comics that have been collected such as :
- Legends of the Dark Knight Jim Aparo vol.1-3
- Batman by Neal Adams Omnibus
- Tales of the Batman: Len Wein
- Tales of the Batman: Gerry Conway vol.1-2
- Tales of the Batman: Archie Goodwin
- Tales of the Batman: Alan Brennert
- Tales of the Batman: Carmine Infantino
- Tales of the Batman: Don Newton
- Tales of the Batman: J.H. Williams III <- i'm not sure there are Silver Age stuff in this one

Have fun

[Jim Kelly]

I usually read my comics in the 1960s on my bed, in my bedroom (and kept them in a box under my bed). In the summer, when the sun was shining, I would sometimes read them on the verandah of our house.

The one thing to keep in mind with the Neal Adams collections is that Adams has changed most of the stories--so the inks, lettering and colouring are all changed from how they originally appeared. This means you don't get a true sense of how Batman developed between 1967 and 1975 under Neal's infuence. I'd suggest doing some image searches on the internet to find scans of the original comics, so you at least understand what the comics actually looked like when they were published.

[oasis1313]

I usually read my comics in the 1960s on my bed, in my bedroom (and kept them in a box under my bed). In the summer, when the sun was shining, I would sometimes read them on the verandah of our house.

The one thing to keep in mind with the Neal Adams collections is that Adams has changed most of the stories--so the inks, lettering and colouring are all changed from how they originally appeared. This means you don't get a true sense of how Batman developed between 1967 and 1975 under Neal's infuence. I'd suggest doing some image searches on the internet to find scans of the original comics, so you at least understand what the comics actually looked like when they were published.

I did the same thing back in the 50's and 60's. Even better, we had an antique dresser with a secret drawer in it (how cool was THAT??!!!). I still have all those old comics but they're Mylar-ed up these days.

[Batfan Beyond]

You could start slow. I'd suggest beginning with the first Neal Adams omnibus.

I want to go in order just so I can see how the character evolved over time. I am looking forward to getting to the Neal Adams era since that seems to be the Batman that most fans love.

[Jim Kelly]

I want to go in order just so I can see how the character evolved over time. I am looking forward to getting to the Neal Adams era since that seems to be the Batman that most fans love.

To see the evolution in the 1960s, you have to get the comics from Jack Schiff's time as editor. Reprints from the 1950s and early 1960s are sporadic, but you could get THE BATMAN ANNUALS Vol. 1 (2009) and Vol.2 (2010). Those stories were all in the classic Bob Kane style which dominated for the first 25 years of Batman's existence.

The major shift is when Julius Schwartz takes over as editor of BATMAN and DETECTIVE COMICS and the "New Look" is introduced in 1964--a more realistic approach to Batman. Carmine Infantino is the main artist to update Batman's look and it's his style that other artists follow. Bob Kane's ghosts (mainly Sheldon Moldoff) also change their style to reflect the "New Look." Infantino leaves as the Batman artist in 1968 and most of the art is done by Irv Novick and Bob Brown who continue that "New Look" approach (more or less).

But in THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD, Neal Adams, who starts out doing Batman in the Infantino style, slowly introduces his own changes (inspired by the early Bob Kane Batman as well as artists like Joe Kubert). Once Adams becomes more prominent on BATMAN and DETECTIVE, Novick and Brown also change their style to reflect the Adams look (longer ears, leaner build, more shadows, more expressive cape action). With Dick Giordano inking most of the artists, that Adams/Giordano stye becomes established. And over in B&B, Jim Aparo takes over from Adams as the main artist on the team-ups.

[Phoenixx9]

My best places to read comics are:
1 on my bed
2 in the sunroom with lots of natural light and warmth
3 on the floor with a few furry friends snuggled up on my blanket

[Osiris-Rex]

I usually sit on the sofa while reading comic books.

[Batfan Beyond]

My best places to read comics are:
1 on my bed
2 in the sunroom with lots of natural light and warmth
3 on the floor with a few furry friends snuggled up on my blanket

We've got a regular Rodney Dangerfield here.

[Phoenixx9]

We've got a regular Rodney Dangerfield here.

What does that mean?