Is 70's Batman the best Batman?

[The Nuke]

I'm really tempted to pick up all Neal Adams trades/omnibus, and anything really related to 70's Batman. I've read a few issues here and there, and really enjoy what I read. You'd think I'd be answering my own question, but I'm looking for a consensus I guess. Shit cost money, and the more YAY's leaning toward 70's Batman puts me on a better road to money well spent.

[t hedge coke]

Depends on what you're looking for (and what you're ignoring). There's gold in every decade. The highs of the 70s are very, very high, though, for sure.

[Tony]

I suggest Batman by Len Wein.

[mathew101281]

I think so. Not as campy as the silver age comics but not as overwhelmingly dark as some later versions. Balances street level crime stories and globe trotting adventure stories. Turned the Joker back into a clown themed killer instead of an actual clown.

[SiegePerilous02]

I'd recommend the Englehart/Rogers run. Probably the quintessential Batman for me, and it was one of the primary inspirations for B:TAS.

[Lairston]

I really like the 70s and 80s Batman books. IMO, his costume was perfect: blue, yellow oval, and trunks. And Neal Adams and Jim Aparo drawing him. It was great.

[Jim Kelly]

I think that '70s Batman is the best compromise between the various other versions. Not as dark as some and not as light as others. Includes all the basics needed.

Mind you the first half of the decade has the Darknight Detective Batman. The second half of the decade gets lighter and has more Batman Family and more costumed villains--but it has the Marshall Rogers Batman, too.

Also Batman moves out of Wayne Manor and leaves behind the traditional Batcave. And the Batmobile is no great shakes in this decade. I forget when Bruce finally moves back into the mansion and returns to the old familiar Batcave (he has another one at the Wayne Foundation where he lives in the penthouse--but that Batcave isn't really a cave just a sub-car-parkade). It might not be until Jason comes along in the early '80s that Bruce finally gets back to the old family home. So the '70s lacks those vital elements.

For those used to extended arcs--there aren't very many. But there are running subplots.

[bat39]

Gotta agree.

70's Batman is probably one of the best interpretations (if not THE best) of the character. Its the era which inspired BTAS the most after all (and to a lesser extent, the first Burton Batman film). Particular highlights are Englehart run (collected in 'Strange Apparitions') and 'The Saga of Ra's al Ghul'.

[Toreador]

70s Batman is probably the most mentally stable of the recent decades. Not only did he have good relations with Dick Grayson (sort of a older brother/younger brother relationship) he also had a good friendship with Superman and got along well with other superheroes and his Bat-family.

Which then got all thrown away when Miller entered the picture.

[Vinsanity]

70s Batman is probably the most mentally stable of the recent decades. Not only did he have good relations with Dick Grayson (sort of a older brother/younger brother relationship) he also had a good friendship with Superman and got along well with other superheroes and his Bat-family.

Which then got all thrown away when Miller entered the picture.

And that a really good relationship with Silver until that ended. Some of Joker's best stories are there as well.

[darkseidpwns]

Yes and if WB has any sense they'd abandon the Frank Miller inspired version and go with this one,either that or Morrison Batman.

[TheBatman]

I just finished rereading some Denny O Neil stuff from the 70's. It's easily my favorite era of Batman. Here's some story/trade paperback recommendations:

Tales of the Demon
Strange Apparitions
The Brave and the Bold by Haney/Aparo
Joker's Five Way Revenge
Bat Murderer
Death Strikes at Midnight & Three
Night of the Reaper
Half an Evil

[rpi]

It'd say the work of Morrison, Grant, Rucka, and Dini/Timm far outclass anything from the '70s. I like my Batman to be the best, but '70s Batman was just pretty darned good.

[Buried Alien]

My absolute favorite era of BATMAN comics spans the end of the 1960s to the end of PRODIGAL in the mid-1990s.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[sunofdarkchild]

I'd say so. BTAS seems to take most of its inspiration from that era.