Reading the original 1940 Batman...

[GigiFusc]

Not gonna lie, it's tough man!

The writing is incredibly dated - the narrative voice is exactly how the cliche is - that 'All American' dramatic voice from the 60's TV show. I find it very difficult to relate to (being an English Italian means my sensibilities are heavily British/European).

This is the first time I've actually tried to read such early Batman stories. There's a few things that shocked me:

Bruce smokes a pipe???

He's really poncy! I know he's pretending to be that way, but maybe they've done too good a job. He's actually quite unlikable to me.

Batman happily kills villains. In the very early books, he uses his plane to lift a mutated giant man by means of a rope around his neck - hanging and killing him.

In that same scene, he uses a machine gun attached to the plane - this shocked me quite a bit as I thought the 'no gun' philosophy was there from the beginning but it's not.

He's not that great a fighter. In fact, he often loses the first round of a fight in some pretty stupid ways (like tripping up) and then comes back to win on the second time of asking.

He's pompous! This has left the biggest scar on me I think. My whole life, Bruce and Batman have always been the coolest Mo-Fo's on the planet. But both sides to him are pompous and - as above - a bit... poncy.

There's something else that I wasn't sure about - they refer to Robin as the 'original' boy wonder. I'm not sure why though - was there another boy wonder at the time?

Please don't misunderstand me, I do realise you have to put this stuff in context of time, but if you look at books and movies, the truly great stuff still reads and watches great today. For me, the original Batman comic has not aged well at all.

#Don'tBitMyHeadOff
#IStillLoveBatmanAboveAllOtherSuperheroes

[JBatmanFan05]

I'm not surprised, especially the younger the reader you are. Golden Age material is an acquired taste, where you have to surrender certain expectations and really really remember the context at all times. Not written for adult audiences IN THE SLIGHTEST and done quick and cheap by poor struggling writers.

I myself suspect that history buffs, particularly US history buffs, kinda perhaps respond best to Golden Age Comics. I myself love them because they're so outdated and crude. And to notice the propaganda and old social and moral mores and such is very interesting and fun to me. I love black and white movies and pulp magazines and etc.

[GigiFusc]

I'm 46!! I grew up on reading Batman from the 80's and 90's.

[JBatmanFan05]

I'm 46!! I grew up on reading Batman from the 80's and 90's.

I assumed wrong! I'm far younger. I'm surprised it took a long time Batreader so long to happen upon some Golden Age Batman comics. But I'm sure you're not the only one.

[GigiFusc]

I assumed wrong! I'm far younger. I'm surprised it took a long time Batreader so long to happen upon some Golden Age Batman comics. But I'm sure you're not the only one.

I stopped reading comics late 90's so tpb's of the original Batman/Superman etc were only really available in expensive deluxe editions. The advent of the internet and digital comics has allowed me to get back into the medium. (I'm loving it tbh). But I have found it sometimes hard reading the New52 stuff and now this original 1940's.

[JBatmanFan05]

But I have found it sometimes hard reading the New52 stuff and now this original 1940's.

Understandable. Yea, I can only read Scott Snyder as far as New 52 Batman. And Morrison's Batman Inc of course (Morrison's whole run is great, it was both pre-New 52 and New 52).

But yea, nobody would blame you too much if you can't stomach Golden Age comics, I have to be in a certain mood myself. Very acquired taste, totally different from comics from the 70s-today, they're very comic strippy, and very for kids.

[GigiFusc]

Understandable. Yea, I can only read Scott Snyder as far as New 52 Batman. And Morrison's Batman Inc of course (Morrison's whole run is great, it was both pre-New 52 and New 52).

But yea, nobody would blame you too much if you can't stomach Golden Age comics, I have to be in a certain mood myself. Very acquired taste, totally different from comics from the 70s-today, they're very comic strippy, and very for kids.

It's funny you're saying that because they kind of straddle this line between real 'kiddy' yet with some seriously dark stuff going on. It's very interesting from a content POV - stuff that was perfectly acceptable in the 40's then became unnaceptable in the 60's and then acceptable again in the 80's.

I'm sure I'm too biased but I consider myself lucky as I was reading comics as a teenager during what I consider its best era. Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, Bill Sienkiewicz, Pat Mills and Kevin O Neil, Dave Gibbons. That was the real Golden age for me.

[JBatmanFan05]

I'm sure I'm too biased but I consider myself lucky as I was reading comics as a teenager during what I consider its best era. Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, Bill Sienkiewicz, Pat Mills and Kevin O Neil, Dave Gibbons. That was the real Golden age for me.

I'm a Post-COIE Batman and Bronze Age diehard myself, despite not reading comics back at that time (too young, but I read 90s comics). I have 1979 to Batman 400ish all custom bound in hardcovers, so I think that speaks for itself as far as my love of that period. And have almost every issue and trade from late 80s to 2000. I custom bound Knightfall and plan to custom bind 1986 to Knightfall.

[GigiFusc]

I'm a Post-COIE Batman and Bronze Age diehard myself, despite not reading comics back at that time (too young, but I read 90s comics). I have 1979 to Batman 400ish all custom bound in hardcovers, so I think that speaks for itself as far as my love of that period. And have almost every issue and trade from late 80s to 2000. I custom bound Knightfall and plan to custom bind 1986 to Knightfall.

Very nice.

[HellHere]

Eh, I'm English and I love the golden age stuff. The earlier the better. I love how hard-boiled it is in it's sensibilities. I love them threatning crims with the electric chair, I love it when one of them steps on the magical third rail and gets friend. (One of my favourite scenes has a gnagster holder a gun to Robin and threatening to turn him into a "woodpeckers masterpiece".) I love the fact that this stuff was being sold to kids.

It is very much of it's time but I think the stories hold up better than the art (and as for losing the first round of fights, well, yes, that's how you build drama.) I love seeing how Brucie Wayne changes with the times. The pipe smoking reads to me as a real old man thing to do, but back then it would absolutely be how someone relaxed.

There's something else that I wasn't sure about - they refer to Robin as the 'original' boy wonder. I'm not sure why though - was there another boy wonder at the time?

No. Which is why they call him the "original" boy wonder.

[DGraysonWorldsGreatestSpy]

I like the the Golden Age stories for analyzing the transition from that early era to now and how the stories and times have changed. They are great if you are a writer and want to pick or revision old one off stories like Snyder & Morrison have done in their runs.

[sunofdarkchild]

Yeah. Those early stories are a painful read for me too. I can look past certain things like the killing since Batman hadn't settled into his character yet, but I find the writing to be awful even for a kids story. It's not just Batman I have that problem with. The only stories I've read from that era that I can enjoy are the Superman stories. Others, like Captain America and Batman, feel like they were written by a fifth grader. A lot of imagination but no sense of good dialogue or storytelling.

It's ironic that the character so often cited as being the hardest to tell good stories about is the only one I can stand to read from that era. Of course this was before he became godlike and started to get bogged down by silver age silliness.

[JBatmanFan05]

Truth be told, I'm pretty partial to Golden Age Captain America, as they're super horror themed, which surprised me upon first reading. The writing is not much, but the sheer horror style and war propaganda is fun.

[JasonTodd428]

I've been working my way through the Golden Age stuff myself and I enjoy it, sometimes far more then more modern stories, mainly because it's more street level then Batman stories tend to be these days and I really would like to see more street level, detective-y Batman stories instead of the big bombastic event driven stories we so often get. It is an acquired taste though, I won't deny that, and I started early on with the Golden Age stuff so that's probably why I like it as much as I do.

[Aahz]

Bruce smokes a pipe???

Bruce smoking pipe was quite typical for a long time iirc, and nothing thats special for the early golden age.

Btw. the stories after the comics codes and before the redesign with the yellow oval (roughly 1955 till 1965) are imo much harder to stomach than the early golden age.