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Batman: The Dailies #1-3
Batman: The Dailies 1943-1946
Thrill to the Early Adventures of the Caped Crusader!In 1943, Bob Kane’s Batman first entered the pages of newspapers across America and became one of the most famous creations in comic book history. But, because of wartime paper restrictions, these strips were sparsely circulated and too rarely seen. Now, this elusive and much-prized work is gathered in two complete, generously-sized collections that every fan will eagerly welcome.
Batman: The Dailies showcases the character’s earliest incarnation, before he became an internationally beloved TV and movie icon. Here, Batman is a newly minted hero in a world of hoods, heels, and two-bit crooks. The style of these atmospheric, shadowy black-and-white strips anticipates Hollywood’s films noir of the late 40’s and 50’s.
The colorful Sunday Classics will thrill devotees, as Batman and the Boy Wonder once again do battle with both common thugs and outrageous villains in order to save Gotham City from plot after evil plot. Making their nefarious way across these illustrated panels are some of the Caped Crusader’s most indelible adversaries, including the Joker, Catwoman, Penguin, and Two-Face.
In addition to behind-the-scenes information and rare promotional materials, these deluxe editions collect the first four years of the classic Batman and Robin comics exactly as written and illustrated by the strip’s most famous writers and artists.Batman and all related characters and elements are trademarks of DC Comics (C) 2006. All rights reserved.
Batman: The Dailies showcases the character’s earliest incarnation, before he became an internationally beloved TV and movie icon. Here, Batman is a newly minted hero in a world of hoods, heels, and two-bit crooks. The style of these atmospheric, shadowy black-and-white strips anticipates Hollywood’s films noir of the late 40’s and 50’s.
The colorful Sunday Classics will thrill devotees, as Batman and the Boy Wonder once again do battle with both common thugs and outrageous villains in order to save Gotham City from plot after evil plot. Making their nefarious way across these illustrated panels are some of the Caped Crusader’s most indelible adversaries, including the Joker, Catwoman, Penguin, and Two-Face.
In addition to behind-the-scenes information and rare promotional materials, these deluxe editions collect the first four years of the classic Batman and Robin comics exactly as written and illustrated by the strip’s most famous writers and artists.Batman and all related characters and elements are trademarks of DC Comics (C) 2006. All rights reserved.
544 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1991
7 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Bill Finger
644 books105 followersWilliam "Bill" Finger was an American comic strip and comic book writer best known as the uncredited co-creator, with Bob Kane, of the DC Comics character Batman, as well as the co-architect of the series' development. In later years, Kane acknowledged Finger as "a contributing force" in the character's creation. Comics historian Ron Goulart, in Comic Book Encyclopedia, refers to Batman as the "creation of artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger", and a DC Comics press release in 2007 about colleague Jerry Robinson states that in 1939, "Kane, along with writer Bill Finger, had just created Batman for [DC predecessor] National Comics".
Film and television credits include scripting The Green Slime (1969), Track of the Moon Beast (1976), and three episodes of 77 Sunset Strip.
-Wikipedia
Film and television credits include scripting The Green Slime (1969), Track of the Moon Beast (1976), and three episodes of 77 Sunset Strip.
-Wikipedia
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 13, 2012
While Batman has had a long career in comic books, he also had a much lesser known turn in the comic strips from 1943-46.
The Batman Comic Strip appeared for a small newspaper syndicate and was wrought with challenges. This book collects all the daily strips (with the Sunday strips being in another book.)
For my money, the first six strips are fantastic. They feature great stories that are packed with mystery, action, and poignant moments. In one strip, Batman is shot and lies near death's door in his battle against racketeers. In another, Batman and Robin are seemingly rescued by a private detective but there's more to this story than meets the eye. Then there's Batman and Robin travelling to take on a small town corrupt official who hires a Peter Lorre lookalike as a hitman. And of course, the Joker shows up (the only regular Batman rogue to appear in the Daily Strips) with a series of symbol crimes. There has to be nothing better than seeing the Batman and the Joker duke it out day after day, week after week.
The latter strips are much more of a mixed bag. The writing was still generally okay but we went days and sometimes weeks at a time without seeing Batman and Robin in costume. There was the "Karen Drew Mystery" which saw neither Batman nor Robin in costume for it's five week run. Another strip I counted and there were 50 daily strips run during one series with Batman or Robin only showing up in costume in three.
This isn't to say there weren't highlights. In the wake of a World War II housing shortage, Batman and Robin took on "their toughest assignment"...finding someone an apartment. Great comedy. And then there was "The Warning with the Lamp" with one of the most amusing characters with great lines such as, "Dash My Shoelaces." "Affair with Death" was also a fairly robust story. However, mostly middling storylines seemed to dominate the last sixty percent of the book.
However none of this should reflect on Joe Desris who lovingly compiled these strips from a thorough search of newspaper and interviews with Batman creators. Who truly made it happen. I also appreciated how he wrote a great commentary which provided plenty of historical context. If you're a fan of the Batman, you owe it to yourself to pick up this volume either used or through your local library.
The Batman Comic Strip appeared for a small newspaper syndicate and was wrought with challenges. This book collects all the daily strips (with the Sunday strips being in another book.)
For my money, the first six strips are fantastic. They feature great stories that are packed with mystery, action, and poignant moments. In one strip, Batman is shot and lies near death's door in his battle against racketeers. In another, Batman and Robin are seemingly rescued by a private detective but there's more to this story than meets the eye. Then there's Batman and Robin travelling to take on a small town corrupt official who hires a Peter Lorre lookalike as a hitman. And of course, the Joker shows up (the only regular Batman rogue to appear in the Daily Strips) with a series of symbol crimes. There has to be nothing better than seeing the Batman and the Joker duke it out day after day, week after week.
The latter strips are much more of a mixed bag. The writing was still generally okay but we went days and sometimes weeks at a time without seeing Batman and Robin in costume. There was the "Karen Drew Mystery" which saw neither Batman nor Robin in costume for it's five week run. Another strip I counted and there were 50 daily strips run during one series with Batman or Robin only showing up in costume in three.
This isn't to say there weren't highlights. In the wake of a World War II housing shortage, Batman and Robin took on "their toughest assignment"...finding someone an apartment. Great comedy. And then there was "The Warning with the Lamp" with one of the most amusing characters with great lines such as, "Dash My Shoelaces." "Affair with Death" was also a fairly robust story. However, mostly middling storylines seemed to dominate the last sixty percent of the book.
However none of this should reflect on Joe Desris who lovingly compiled these strips from a thorough search of newspaper and interviews with Batman creators. Who truly made it happen. I also appreciated how he wrote a great commentary which provided plenty of historical context. If you're a fan of the Batman, you owe it to yourself to pick up this volume either used or through your local library.
February 9, 2021
Je pense que j’avais déjà lu quelques unes de ces aventures dans d’autres anthologies.
Néanmoins, c’était plaisant de les relire sous forme de strips!
Il y a un essai de quelques pages au début de l’album qui donne une mise en contexte vraiment intéressante sur les débuts de Batman sous forme de strips. Juste cet essai vaut le livre à lui seul!
Néanmoins, c’était plaisant de les relire sous forme de strips!
Il y a un essai de quelques pages au début de l’album qui donne une mise en contexte vraiment intéressante sur les débuts de Batman sous forme de strips. Juste cet essai vaut le livre à lui seul!
March 28, 2018
Eight months previous, I picked up this volume and Batman Sundays 1943, from a 50% off table at Barnes & Noble, using a gift card I'd gotten for Christmas. It took that long to finish reading this one.
The stories are simple and largely forgettable, but few of them have any massive logic flaws (aside from the occasional death-trap, rather than a bullet to the head). Bob Kane draws the bulk of the strips, with Charles Paris inking, and they look good. It's a daily newspaper strip, so the art is occasionally cramped and doesn't have the room to be as creative as the comic books might've been. Almost no classic Batman villains appear - only Joker, and he only in one storyline - so you get a lot of Batman vs. mobsters and counterfeiters and such.
The most absurd strip has Batman trying to find a vacant apartment for the daughter of a city industrialist who provides considerable funding to the police; and apparently there are NO vacant apartments in all of Gotham, so Batman opts to capture a criminal, thus creating a vacancy! Why don't you catch the crooks because it's the right thing to do, Batman?!
Nothing essential, but most of the strips are entertaining, and there are some well-written essays about the history of the strip and its relation to the comics and the comic strip syndicate. I enjoyed it, and for $10 (after markdown), it's a pretty great value.
The stories are simple and largely forgettable, but few of them have any massive logic flaws (aside from the occasional death-trap, rather than a bullet to the head). Bob Kane draws the bulk of the strips, with Charles Paris inking, and they look good. It's a daily newspaper strip, so the art is occasionally cramped and doesn't have the room to be as creative as the comic books might've been. Almost no classic Batman villains appear - only Joker, and he only in one storyline - so you get a lot of Batman vs. mobsters and counterfeiters and such.
The most absurd strip has Batman trying to find a vacant apartment for the daughter of a city industrialist who provides considerable funding to the police; and apparently there are NO vacant apartments in all of Gotham, so Batman opts to capture a criminal, thus creating a vacancy! Why don't you catch the crooks because it's the right thing to do, Batman?!
Nothing essential, but most of the strips are entertaining, and there are some well-written essays about the history of the strip and its relation to the comics and the comic strip syndicate. I enjoyed it, and for $10 (after markdown), it's a pretty great value.
November 10, 2024
Honestly, most of these comic dailies are pretty repetitive and very similar to countless other similar news paper funnies. Reading them, you aren't likely to find any reason Batman ended up being one of the big ones. There are occasional sequences with some pretty good art. Most of the time, it looks like it was slapped together in an afternoon. Which is probably what happened.
Most of the villains he faces off against are just goons and ethnic stereotypes.
If you're really, REALLY into Batman and you're a completionism, check this out. If neither of those things apply to you, you can probably live happy without bothering.
Most of the villains he faces off against are just goons and ethnic stereotypes.
If you're really, REALLY into Batman and you're a completionism, check this out. If neither of those things apply to you, you can probably live happy without bothering.
June 8, 2012
Dieser Band ist für Comic-Liebhaber ein Fest. Alleine der riesige Aufwand, alle die alten Zeitunsstrips zu finden und aufzubereiten, ist den Kaufpreis mehr als Wert. Sehr spannend ist die Entwicklung des Comics, die sich hier gut beobachten läßt. Vor allem die Panels, die den Film-Noir-Techniken der 40iger Jahre anempfunden sind, sind ein Fest für die Augen. Licht und Schatten, verschiedene "Kameraperspektiven", alles ist da. Golden Age at it´s best. Dieses Buch ist uneingeschränkt empfehlenswert.
September 26, 2009
Good stuff but a bit corny
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews