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  1. #1
    DC Enthusiast Tony's Avatar
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    Default Does anyone love (or have enven read) Atomic Age 1950's Batman?

    I have not. I have heard Grant Morrison talk about it but I'm wondering if it's a good thing to look into? The trade seems to be out of print but I'm sure I can find one online. Is it worth the effort?

  2. #2
    Mighty Member nepenthes's Avatar
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    There's a couple of Silver Age collections you can track down like The Black Casebook and Batman in the 50's etc, and sure it's all pretty mental and fun but honestly these books are more historical novelties rather than something you'd actually want to read at length.

    You can also find Silver Age issues in collections like Joker: A Celebration of 75 or Robin: A Celebration, which will contain a more balanced look back at history.

    The best portrayal of this time though is actually within the Morrison run itself; enjoy all the crack and hilarity but with actual modern storytelling.

  3. #3

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    I own "DC Comics Classic Library: The Batman Annuals" vols 1 and 2, which reprint the Batman Annuals 1-7 from the early 1960s. The annuals themselves were reprintings of several 1950s era stories. These two books are a great source for atomic age Batman, as dozens of stories are reprinted here. Recommended if you were interested in the era.

    I will also second the recommendation for the Black Casebook. It is a good read if you're interested in a shorter page count, and it is also good if you are specifically looking for stories that inspired Grant Morrison's Batman run.

    I don't own Batman in the 50s so I can't comment on that one.
    Last edited by kevink31593; 02-06-2016 at 06:55 AM.

  4. #4
    DC Enthusiast Tony's Avatar
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    Thanks guys, didn't know about the other options.

  5. #5
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    I don't particularly like this era of Batman due to its absurdity but Dick Sprang is a better artist than Bob Kane was.

  6. #6
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    I love 1950s batman

  7. #7

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    Yea I second dc classics annual books. I love the way they cleaned them up and the old school color really shines on these books. Personally my fav batman is 50s bats. I think absurdity and batman go quite well with each other. Plus they crack me up it's like each panel is more random then the next it reminds me of axe cop almost.
    Last edited by booleanspline; 02-09-2016 at 08:10 AM.

  8. #8
    Savior of the Universe Flash Gordon's Avatar
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    It's weird stuff for sure, but a lot of fun.

  9. #9
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    I've read so many Space Age Batman books. They're brilliant, colorful, consistent, and impossibly hard to read for a modern reader.
    Retro315 no more. Anonymity is so 2005.
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  10. #10
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    Dick Sprang is probably my favorite Batman artist. That said, I prefer era-specific stories like these in context. I just hate it when modern writers try to incorporate these stories into current continuity.

  11. #11
    Amazing Member Snidlefighter's Avatar
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    When I was attempting to tackle the Morrison run on Batman last month having just gotten into Batman comics I purchased the Black Casebook to help understand everything I was reading. I found the issues inside the trade to be quite comical and nostalgic. While I personally feel they were corny and can understand why many people ignore their existence I did greatly appreciate them for what they were. I also feel that the black casebook does greatly enhance the Morrison run when read before starting on Batman and Son.

  12. #12
    Astonishing Member signalman112's Avatar
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    It was a very WEAK era for Batman stories, but I like alot of the villains that were created during that time.
    Calanderman, Signalman, Dr. Double X, Cat-Man, Prof Milo.

  13. #13
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    I;ve tried reading some of these from "Black Casebook" - specifically the Zur-En-Arrh Batman story and found it really tough to get through, maybe im just too cynical but IMO Batman shouldnt be going to other planets and meeting aliens (hell I dont even like it when it happens in Batman/JLA stories!) its something Superman can do but Batman should really be fighting "human" villains

  14. #14
    Greetings, Chicken!!! Mantis Girl 94's Avatar
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    50's BM is so fun to read! Pick some up regardless of how you do it!
    Come join in the Love for He Whose Limbs Shatter Mountains and Whose Back Scrapes the Sun!http://community.comicbookresources....49#post1797949

  15. #15
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    Jeez Louise! I realize I'm an old fossil. But I don't believe people as a species change that much. Certainly not in the space of some sixty years. Heck, from studies of archaeologists and anthropologists, it appears we are not that different from our ancient ancestors tens of thousands of years ago. So really has the ability to read a story changed so much in a handful of decades that what was absolute splendid entertainment for me is now untranslatable toil for today's guttersnipes?

    I digested many of these stories when they were reprinted in the '60s and '70s--in Giants, Super-Spectaculars and tabloid-sized editions. And most every other Batman reader at that time had them, too, alongside the works of O'Neil, Adams, Robbins, Aparo.

    If anything, the mid-century comics were created to be accessible to everyone. It would be much harder for someone to get into today's comics--it can be done, but you need to really want to read the new comics in order to get through all those pages and accumulate enough knowledge of the universe to understand what is going on with the characters. Whereas, all you need to know to read a classic Batman and Robin story is given to you in the splash page.

    As the years go by, my love for these stories grows and grows. I feel like they are the real Batman stories. This is Bill Finger at the height of his skill as a writer (along with many other writers like David V. Reed, Edmond Hamilton, Alvin Schwartz and France Herron) and the work of some of the greatest Bob Kane ghost artists--Dick Sprang, Lew Schwartz, Jim Mooney and the immortal Sheldon Moldoff. With Charles Paris turning in the best ink work--the proof of Paris' skill is that his inks suit Sprang and Moldoff equally well, while yet maintaining their distinctive identities as artists. Not all ghosts were created equal. Sprang shows off his own artistic greatness, while employing Bob Kane devices--but Moldoff becomes Kane, that's his identity when he draws Batman.

    I think it's this duality in the work that makes it forever interesting. On the one level, perfectly straightforward, but on another level pregnant with elusive context.

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