Does Anyone Else Feel Like Batman Was Better A Long Time Ago?

[Comics N' Toons]

I have perused through the Batman titles in the last decade and a half and feel like very little of it is as important/good as what the 1970's/80's and early 90's gave us. Am I off base? Batman seems, to me at least, a completely different character, from who he used to be. Admittedly, I never cared for the Morrison era, or the New 52... though there were some bright spots in Dini's Detective book and I liked the One Year Later Two-Face story.

What say you? Am I totally wrong? Was Batman completely reinvented under Morrison?

Here are 2 links...

A Best of List I made for Batman's big birthday

https://comixntoonz.blogspot.com/201...of-batman.html



And... a critical look at modern comics done by a friend of mine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4n_XdQC4mM

[prepmaster]

Well a character that has a long history of publication is not gonna stay the same. Batman of the old is less depressing and more fun.

[DragonPiece]

I have perused through the Batman titles in the last decade and a half and feel like very little of it is as important/good as what the 1970's/80's and early 90's gave us. Am I off base? Batman seems, to me at least, a completely different character, from who he used to be. Admittedly, I never cared for the Morrison era, or the New 52... though there were some bright spots in Dini's Detective book and I liked the One Year Later Two-Face story.

What say you? Am I totally wrong? Was Batman completely reinvented under Morrison?

Here are 2 links...

A Best of List I made for Batman's big birthday

https://comixntoonz.blogspot.com/201...of-batman.html



And... a critical look at modern comics done by a friend of mine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4n_XdQC4mM

Feel like this thread was just a way for you to plug your blog posts :P

[Comics N' Toons]

Feel like this thread was just a way for you to plug your blog posts :P

No. Actually, I was hoping for like a million posts and opinions on Batman... a way to compare and contrasts how Batman has changed through the decades. A way to start some discourse. So far, I've gotten 2 replies. LoL.

[Zaresh]

I have perused through the Batman titles in the last decade and a half and feel like very little of it is as important/good as what the 1970's/80's and early 90's gave us. Am I off base? Batman seems, to me at least, a completely different character, from who he used to be. Admittedly, I never cared for the Morrison era, or the New 52... though there were some bright spots in Dini's Detective book and I liked the One Year Later Two-Face story.

What say you? Am I totally wrong? Was Batman completely reinvented under Morrison?

Here are 2 links...

A Best of List I made for Batman's big birthday

https://comixntoonz.blogspot.com/201...of-batman.html



And... a critical look at modern comics done by a friend of mine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4n_XdQC4mM

I used to like Batman a lot, and I don't like him much anymore, so there's that. I liked 80's and BTASs (arguably a 90's thing) take on Bruce and Batman. 90's and further Bruce, definitely not except for a few reads.

[TheBatman]

I'd dislike that Youtube video twice if I could.

Morrison was the last head writer to at least try to go back to a more Bronze Age style Batman. Attempting to attach him to the character's current downfall is off base.

[Avi]

I haven't read that many Batman comics from before the 90s and when I did I largely focused on the 40s and the 70s. Bruce in those stories definitely reads more lovable and well rounded to me. Early 80s Batman seems to largely have the same vibe until Jason dies, and even in some of the early 90s stories Bruce (Birth of the Demon, etc.) seems more "relaxed", I guess.

Morrison's Batman, at least after Bruce returned from death/his time travel gig, seemed more like those non-brooding Bruce versions too. BTAS kinda took the best of both worlds imo.

What exactly did Morrison do that makes him into the turning point? I've only ever read about Miller's work on TDK be seen as such.

[Mark Trail]

I'd dislike that Youtube video twice if I could.

Morrison was the last head writer to at least try to go back to a more Bronze Age style Batman. Attempting to attach him to the character's current downfall is off base.

Morrison is the architect of the "Uberbat" version of the character who "with enough prep time" can do anything. I think that alone did no small amount of damage to the character.

[Jackalope89]

Morrison is the architect of the "Uberbat" version of the character who "with enough prep time" can do anything. I think that alone did no small amount of damage to the character.

That, combined with making Bruce/Batman basically a sociopath (or at least way too many sociopath tendencies), has really killed the character for me.

[The Kid]

I'm rereading the Morrison run right now which is still my favorite so I don't really think he's gotten worse but I see where you are coming from in your blog. I respect your opinion but imo the restructure that Batman got in the 70s (and that overall archetype is what he still has) is what kept him fresh and modernized his original 39 take into something timeless. There are gonna be hit and miss runs now and then though so quality varies

[Aahz]

That, combined with making Bruce/Batman basically a sociopath (or at least way too many sociopath tendencies), has really killed the character for me.

He also started this "anything is continuity" BS.

To me I feel that Batman after No Man's Land (or after Denny O'Niel left) were not as good anymore as before (even if there were still some good storylines).

[Aahz]

Morrison was the last head writer to at least try to go back to a more Bronze Age style Batman.

Honrstly I never found Morrisons run of Batman particularly Bronze Age, I found it just really messy and hard to read.

And I don't think that any of the silver age stuff he brought back added really anything important.

[godisawesome]

I feel Batman has enjoyed many peaks and very few deep valleys as a franchise, and at its best managed to be different types of “peaks” at the same time.

Like, for me, the RIP/Inc. era was a renaissance of Batman, but not because Morrison was the main dude; it was great because you had Morrison for people who like his stuff, but that the same time that you had Paul a Dini on Detective Comics and Streets of Gotham in the early part of that era, and the you had Scott Snyder doing his thing in the latter half.

Understand, all three of those guys have very different version of Bruce and Batman... but all three were roughly active at the same time, and alongside DickBats, OG Damian, Red Robin Tim, BatSteph, and Black Bat Cass.

Do I think that era was “perfect?” No.

Was it still effectively an epoch of totally different types of Batman fiction? Oh, hell yeah!

If you wanted more Bronze Age type Batman, than Dini had that, and Yost did that with Tim. You want more goofy but still fun stuff? Bryan Q. Miller had Stephanie Brown fighting Dracula clones with Supergirl and teasing Damian on his first play-date. You wanted 90’s Bat-prep? You had Morrison’s Bruce and Nicieza’s Tim. You wanted solid, Batfamily hijinks? Gates of Gotham.

[SiegePerilous02]

Honrstly I never found Morrisons run of Batman particularly Bronze Age, I found it just really messy and hard to read.

And I don't think that any of the silver age stuff he brought back added really anything important.

In terms of characterization, Bruce was closer to his Bronze Age self than he had been in a while, and it was a breath of fresh air.

The Silver Age stuff added to the flavor of the run, celebrating how awesome Batman is in his various aspects and tones. It's very important to that run by itself. Whether or not it's important in the long run, that's more YMMV, since not everyone will use it. But honestly, a lot of what we've gotten since then (and before it) wasn't that great anyway, so it hardly makes a difference.

[Aahz]

In terms of characterization, Bruce was closer to his Bronze Age self than he had been in a while, and it was a breath of fresh air.

Maybe but his run gave me mostly headache from trying to understand what was going on, so I didn't pay much attention to Bruce characterisation.

And for writer who does a great Bronze Age style Batman I go with Dini (and the other DCAU Writers) over Morrison.