Batman: The Dark Knight Detective, Vol. 1

Batman: The Dark Knight Detective #1

by Mike W. Barr, Alan Davis (Illustrator), Todd McFarlane (Illustrator)

In these stories that immediately followed BATMAN: YEAR ONE, the Caped Crusader learns what kind of compromises he must make to be the hero that Gotham City truly needs. As he battles against the deadly Reaper, the city's first vigilante hero, Batman must work with the man who murdered his parents and a cadre of mob bosses to protect Gotham City. These stories feature spectacular artwork by Todd McFarlane (Spawn) and Alan Davis (Marvel's Excalibur).

Collects DETECTIVE COMICS #568-574 and #579-582.

Genres: Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Comic Book, Crime

306 pages, Paperback

First published April 3, 2018

About the author

Mike W. Barr is an American writer of comic books, and mystery, and science fiction novels. Barr's debut as a comics professional came in DC Comics' Detective Comics #444 (Dec. 1974-Jan. 1975), for which he wrote an 8-page back-up mystery feature starring the Elongated Man. Another Elongated Man story followed in Detective Comics #453 (November 1975). He wrote text articles and editorial replies in letter columns for the next few years. By mid-1980 he was writing regularly for both DC and Marvel, including stories for Marvel Team-Up, Mystery in Space, Green Lantern, and various Batman titles.

Legion of Super-Heroes #277 (July 1981) saw him take on editorial duties at DC, while writing issues of DC's Star Trek comic, for whom he created the native American character Ensign Bearclaw and a pacifist Klingon named Konom. In December 1982, he and artist Brian Bolland began Camelot 3000, a 12 issue limited series that was one of DC Comics' first direct market projects. In August 1983, Barr created what may well be his most enduring work, the monthly title Batman and the Outsiders with art by Jim Aparo. Barr wrote every issue of the original series, and its Baxter paper spinoff, The Outsiders.

His other comics work includes Mantra and Maze Agency as well as the 1987 OGN hardcover book Batman: Son of the Demon (with art by Jerry Bingham), proceeds from which reputedly "restored DC Comics to first place in sales after fifteen years." This title, and Barr's work on Batman with artist Alan Davis have been cited by Grant Morrison as key inspirations for his recent (2006) run on the Batman title.

In 2007, he wrote a two-part story for the pages of DC's JLA: Classified (#47-48, Jan-Feb 2008), returned to the Outsiders with Outsiders: Five of a Kind—Katana/Shazam #1 (Oct 2007), contributed to Tokyopop's Star Trek: The Manga, and relaunched Maze Agency at IDW Publishing. He has also scripted many of Bongo Comics' Simpsons titles, including a Christmas story for 2010.

In May 2010, the Invisible College Press published Barr's science fiction/fantasy novel, Majician/51, about the discoveries of a scientist working at Area 51.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really surprised how different this Batman run was. It's right after Crisis and borrows heavily from Batman '66. The villains all have fetishes and gimmicks. Batman constantly calls Robin chum. It starts off very hokey. Luckily Alan Davis's art is sublime and makes it worth the read. The writing in the latter half of the book gets much better with the 50th anniversary issues. Except for the Millennium tie-in which is one of the worst pieces of garbage I've ever read.

[Sean Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alan Davis is a long-time comic art pro whose work is, generally speaking, solid. For reasons I can’t quite fathom, however, he seems to want to do nothing more in this volume of Batman than draw people, including the titular grim brooder himself, who are smiling inappropriately. It’s wildly uncomfortable, like when George W. Bush had that trademark goofy grin on his face while saying something like, “People are dying.”

Look, I get that some people deal with nervousness or other strongly negative feelings by smiling awkwardly—it’s just their body’s chosen physiological response, sort of like how I yell “Ouch!” every time I step on someone ELSE’S foot—but I don’t think Davis and writer Mike Barr are trying to do that deep of a character study; I just think Davis was drunk.

That said, this volume is…fine. It’s vastly different in tone than Batman: The Caped Crusader Vol. 1, which was published (roughly) concurrently and which DC has marketed alongside this book for nostalgia whores like myself. In that book, Jason Todd is (possibly) killing drug-abusing sons of crime lords whose brutal treatment of women leads to their suicide. In this book, Jason Todd fires off a never-ending stream of bad puns, and I don’t mean good-bad like when a chicken gets eggcited over easy access to corn, an anthropomorphic cartoon car says it’s “tired” after a long drive, or someone opens a bakery that sells everything in two-packs and calls it “Sugar and Spice and Everything Twice.” Robin’s jokes are abysmal; he’s constantly laying eggs every time he tries to crack one.

But, nostalgia plus generally solid art plus solidly paced action make for a reading experience that’s better than getting kicked in the throat by a sharp-toed karate mime, so it’s got that going for it.

We’ll round up from 2.5 stars.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very solid Batman stories from Detective Comics after Crisis on Infinite Earths. Some of these have been reprinted before, in the Alan Davis and Norm Breyfogle Batman books, but still nice to read these in sequential order.

Stories include Catwoman being brainwashed into going thief again, after a few years of staying on the good side of the law, battles with the Scarecrow and Dr Death, Two-Face, as well as a fantastic tale that dealt with Batman teaming up with the descendant of Sherlock Holmes as they fight off a diabolical plot by the descendant of Moriarty. Fun stuff.

Most of these are stories that complete in one issue, but there is still some continuity between them. Batman was still a few years away from being the dark and brooding character he is today. He's still wearing the classic light blue and gray costume, still refers to Robin as "chum", and allows himself to smile every so often. The Robin here is Jason Todd, before his revised origin, and he's too much like Dick Grayson, with the silly puns, that I'm glad he got a new treatment down the road.

The only story that bogged down was the Millennium cross over, but that's just one story at the end so no great loss. Mike W Barr writes most of these stories, and he relies on Batman's detective skills to get through the plots, which are sometimes skimpy but still entertaining.

Recommended. Looking forward to the companion volume that reprints the Batman run from the same time period.

[Kyle Berk · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know what I discovered recently?

I love Mike Barr on Detective Comics. This is the era when Crisis on Infinite Earths has happened, and Jason Todd is Robin. And Mike Barr was on the comic and this is some of the best Detective Comics I've ever read. When I was around 10 I actually had 2 of the issues collected here.

So it collects Detective Comics #568-574 and #579-582. And you get lots of different villians and all kinds of different cases. You get a Scarecrow story where Jason is the focus, you get a Joker and Catwoman story that is just super compelling and clever. You get a fun Mad Hatter tale and a Celebration of Detective Comics featuring Sherlock Holmes.

Mostly what you get are good comics. Stuff you want to read that's well written and drawn well for the most part excuse some funky stuff. It's Batman and Robin being Batman and Robin and I love it.

There is an exchange Batman has here with prostitutes in a bar looking for the Joker that's great stuff. Because Batman isn't always mean, he's funny. Just a very dry funny, and he protects the innocent.

5 stars.

[Tom Ewing · Rating 4 out of 5]

This stuff had me rolling my eyes at the time - DC had just published The Dark Knight Returns and Batman Year One and now we were expected to go back to the Mad Hatter and his hat related crimes?

Well, sure, but we’ve now had 35 years of moody bastard Batman - most of it considerably less inspired than Year One - and a bit of maleficent millinery is frankly a tonic. Especially when it’s drawn by Alan Davis, who applies the whimsical surrealism of his work with Alan Moore to Batman’s Rogue’s Gallery and turns his Detective Comics issues into a fairground ride, as smooth and strange as the best of his American work. Mike W Barr rises to the art with a set of delightfully fast-paced done in ones full of ‘66-vintage jokes and capers and with the emphasis rightly on detection over punching. The high point - gorgeously drawn, wittily told - is a bumper-size 50th birthday team up with other famous detectives, a reminder of how satisfyingly the Big Two used to mark their anniversaries.

Once Davis leaves the magic dissipates a little - though there’s some rare US work for Jim Baikie, whose two fisted style is a good fit for an endearingly stupid story of rival Two-Faces vying to commit duality-driven villainy. Worth it if only to see Bruce Wayne drawn like a 50-year old ex squaddie. By the final story the comic is being drawn into crossover hell and Jim Gordon’s monologuing bleakly to camera: the good times are over, but what good times they were.

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I'm reading this because I missed Robin Jason. And I will stand by the fact Jason was the best Robin for Bruce at this point of his life.

[Ronald · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good read, some of the story was good. But so much of the dialog and props / backgrounds was so bad. Like all the bad cheese from Batman 66' without the good parts or the good cheese from the TV show. It was basically trying to squeeze the cheese into a gritty 1980s world it was an imperfect fit.
People complain that Tom King forced the whole Batman / Catwoman romance, but the very first story reprinted here has the famous couple acting like they are dating and Catwoman is being a good guy. They know each others secret identities. So there it only took 40 years?
You really have to read this to get how goofy everything here looks and reads, Batman / Robin swinging from Wayne Manor to Gotham with grappling hooks like 2nd rate Spider-Man. When they could use the car. The Joker has a Joker mobile. The Penguin is obsessed with giant birds. The Mad Hatter uses hat themed items and weapons in his crime. Oh and the best bit, the Annual reprinted here is a Sherlock Holmes story - with hardly any Batman. The most crazy thing is one of the Cross-Over issues where it is learned that Nancy Reagan (the Presidents wife) was an evil duplicate Manhunter out to destroy the world. It was kind of amazing.
I could probably write a few pages on each issue collected here trying to convey the weird wonder of 1980s comic books. The art was mostly good.

Oh I almost forgot, someone wanted a grittier Batman so they write a story where Batman lets someone die because the badguy were bad. Batman is on first name basis with a number of professional women of the night which is just kind of weirdly handled like a guy who never talked to women stereotype. The Robin is Jason Todd whom Batman always calls Jay and if that is not a reason Todd went bad it would work as an argument in court. Not to mention Batman is mean to the kid constantly.

[Whitney (The Cover Collector) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Silver age style that should have stayed in the Silver age, chum. Episodic storylines that have no impact on the canon. Dumb, eye-rolling puns and dated frames. Superficial dialogues that induce the cringe recoil. Oh, the sighs I exhaled while glancing at the clock, reminding myself that time won’t end this torture; reading it will. The bone-chilling dread I feel remembering I have five more volumes left.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Batman: The Dark Knight Detective is the companion to Batman: Second Chances and then Batman: The Caped Crusader Vol. 1, but Detective Comic's Mike Barr is doing very different work from Batman's Jim Starlin. It's much campier, much more in the vein of the Silver Age with its silly villains with gimmicks (and sadly, not nearly as good).

This volume is set between two big DC crossovers, Legends and Millennium, a pretty iconic time in the '80s, post-Crisis. But it also starts out in a funny little cul-de-sac of Batman continuity that's post-Crisis, yet pre-Year One, meaning that Jason Todd is still a baby and Catwoman isn't the dark-and-gritty modern-day prostitute. Nonetheless, the fact that the first issue in this volume has a Legends crossover makes it a default post-Crisis book, even if there are continuity problems (which is probably why the book starts there, along with the fact that it was the start of Dennis O'Neil's run as editor).

As with DC's other collections of this sort, this volume is purposefully incomplete. It leaves out "Year Two", because DC is making money elsewhere on that book. Given that "Year Two" was a historical story and pretty bad beside, it's not a notable loss (though some setup in #574 never goes anywhere as a result). Following that storyline, in Detective Comics #579, is when the comic rebrands itself, and fully embraces Post-Crisis (post-Year-One) continuity.

Legends (#568). This is a Legends crossover only because some big man on campus is riling up students about the evils of superheroes. The main plotline concerns the Penguin breeding giant raptors. It's classic Silver Age silliness, and pretty bad for a comic in the '80s [2/5].

Catwoman (#569-570). This story is the one that's most problematic in post-Crisis continuity, and in fact DC has officially consigned it to Earth-85, home of all the mid '80s story which were theoretically post-Crisis, but didn't actually fit. The problem here is Catwoman, whose trying to be good but is reprogrammed for bad by the Joker and Dr. Moon. It's also notable for how gleefully insane, but not openly dangerous, the Joker is, continuing the Silver Age focus of this run. And, the plot of the Joker stealing Selina from Batman is kinda neat, even if it was about to be retconned away [3+/5].

Scarecrow (#571). Another very Silver Age story. This one is particularly bad because it's predicated on both Bruce and Todd falling to the Scarecrow due to ... incompetence(?) before they beat him. It was a pretty dull read as a result [2/5].

Detectives (#572). A clever super-size anniversary story that mixes together Batman, Robin, Slam Bradley, The Elongated Man, and Sherlock Holmes in big crossover. Its only problem is that it gets a bit long in the last 10 or 15 pages of this 50+ page story. [3+/5].

The Madd Hatter (#573). Another entirely shallow Silver Age-y comic. The Mat Hatter riddles, he flies a giant hat, he throws flying hat buzz saws. Yawn. [2/5].

The New Origin of Batman (#574). This is a story that serves many masters. Superficially it's about whether Jason Todd survives the wounds inflicted by the Matt Hatter. (Somewhat shudderingly, the cover of the issue is very similar to the scene from Todd's actual death a year later, showing how DC was already pushing the idea of killing Batman's teenage pal). However, Barr uses that as an excuse to retread Batman's history. Or retcon, one might say, because it brings in scenes from Year One and sets up (the atrocious) Year Two. In between all of that, there's a little bit of new material that makes the issue worthwhile. First, it pushes Leslie Thompkins to the forefront as Bruce's foster after his parents death, and second it presents a fun look at how Bruce learned some of his crime-fighting techniques in college. Which is all enough to make this issue an interesting read [3+/5].

The Crime Doctor (#579). With the new branding for Detective Comics, we're still getting the campier villains, but this is a more serious story about their interactions with a recently released ex-con. It's actually a good story and hopefully a sign of change from the entirely forgettable stories before the rebranding [3+/5].

Two-Face (#580-581). This one leans once more heavily into the campiness of the villain by focusing entirely on twos. Still, it's got a bit more depth, as the Crime Doctor story did, thanks to its introduction of a second Two-Face. Unfortunately, it all gets a bit stale by the end of the second issue [3/5].

Millennium (#582). The fact that this story by Jo Duffy crosses into four(!) different Millennium stories really says it all. It's actually a pretty delicate walk through the crossover's continuity, taking Batman from the reveal of Gordon as a Manhunter into his adventures in the Louisiana swamps. I love the fact that crossovers in this era could be so carefully managed, but it's not really that great of a story because there's so much setup of other titles [2+/5].

[Michael Emond · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are from a time when Batman was still a little more light and the influence of Frank Miller's Dark Knight hadn't totally changed the character. this is also before Jason Todd's death at the hands of the Joker and he is a likeable character, eager to please Batman and live up the the role of Robin. I believe later writers turned him not a jerk but in these stories he is more like Dick Grayson as he started out - a good foil for Batman and keeping Batman from being too dark.

What elevates many of the issues collected in this volume is the art of Alan Davis. I don't think I appreciated his art when I was growing up but seeing it here it is a joy. He helps animate the characters and excels at framing the art in interesting panels.

None of the stories are too memorable (and they cut out the Year Two storyline that would fit in the middle of this run of Detective comics - that one was memorable but got its own collection) but one little two parter that stands out is when Jason Todd is almost killed by the Mad Hatter and Batman carries him to the doctor that he uses - it is the same pose Jim Aparo would use years later when Jason Todd dies and Batman carries his corpse out of the building.

They aren't memorable but they are fun and harken back to a time when you could have stand alone issues and have drama with the fun. I enjoyed it.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many puns, even for me, and that’s saying something. I’d always heard Jason Todd was annoying as Robin, but that almost undersells how grating he is. The whole thing really blurs together after a bit - there’s definitely a lot of issues that feel like variations on the same theme.

Basically, this is an 80’s Batman collection with the style of a cornier, earlier, era. It does have a robust selection of classic rogues that at least makes it a fun, if sometimes underwhelming, read.

[Zack! Empire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty cool to finally get an index collection of Batman stories that isn't Knightfall, or from the post 2000's. I've always wanted to get into his 70's and 80's stories, but I've never been to big on how they collect it.
The stories are of the era, being mostly one and done. It's strange to read stories where it's not the Batgod of today. Batman is a pretty confident guy here, but not overly cocky. I definitely like this version more than the current version.
there will be a companion piece to this series, so it'll be cool to be reading these two Batman titles together. especially once it gets going. looking forward to Future volumes.

[cloverina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of people hate the corniness of these stories, but I enjoyed every single one. This proves to me Mike W. Barr isn't totally inept when it comes to writing Batman, because he can craft a really fun issue and integrates the classic campiness of older Batstuff very well.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t enjoyed a Batman comic like this in a while.

It was silly, a bit campy, definitely not as dark and serious as most Batman comics nowadays, and I absolutely loved it. Batman smiles A LOT and Jason is an adorable Robin that only speaks in puns and quips. The type of comics that remind me of the Adam West Batman.

I can see not everyone enjoying this, but if you’re looking for something fun and silly then I can’t recommend this enough.

[Nate]

A mixed bag, but pretty bad.

This book collects 11 Detective Comics issues just after Crisis, mostly written by Mike Barr and featuring art by Alan Davis and Norm Breyfogle. The six Davis issues (569-574) can also be found in his anthology; they're Silver Agey throwbacks featuring a smiling Batman and pun-wielding Robin. While it's refreshing to see Batman portrayed as unabashedly good-natured in the grim and gritty era, these stories just aren't that good.

Elsewhere, Norm Breyfogle pencils a throwaway Crime Doctor story, and a goofy Penguin-centric issue kicks off the collection. The pair of Two-Face issues were awful, and I have no idea why the Millenium tie-in was included.

[Chandler Buchanan · Rating 3 out of 5]

"From the Ashes of Crisis, A Detective:"

In my excitement for James Gunn's upcoming DCU, I've decided to become more involved in my reading of DC Comics. And what a better place to start than the original jumping on point, Post-Crisis?

This collection features the earliest issues of Detective Comics after Crisis on Infinite Earths. It is the companion piece to Batman: Second Chances (which I reviewed here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), and like that volume it feels pretty weird. This is Bronze Age Batman, a version of the character published around the same time as Year One but before he had shaken off the trappings of Adam West. What we get here is a blend of the two aesthetics. A Batman and Robin who can be violent and who can be hurt, but who for the most part are wacky, colorful guys.

This book collects Detective Comics #568-574 and #579-582, excluding the four issues that comprise the Year Two storyline. The first issue is a Legends tie-in, although the extent of its involvement to that event (which I review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) is Godfrey briefly appearing to talk about superheroes. Mostly its a Penguin book, and like most Penguin books it isn't very interesting. After that, 569 and 570 are a two-parter in which Joker kidnaps Catwoman to hypnotize her into turning on Batman. This arc feels odd in that it relies heavily on pre-Crisis continuity. Or I assume it does, not having read that continuity. Catwoman and Batman clearly have a complicated, preexisting relationship that gets challenged here, and evidently Catwoman had a former gang who she winds up fighting. As a new reader coming in to be introduced to new versions of these characters, I didn't find this very accessible. But there is some genuinely fun Batman humor that I did appreciate.

571 is a Scarecrow yarn where the "Pharaoh of Phobias" uses a new toxin to remove people's fear, and thus their sense of self-preservation. Its fine. At the very least it got adapted into a cool episode for the Animated Series. And it ends on a chilling portent for an infamous Jason Todd story. Kinda wonder if the writers had started thinking that up at this point.

572 is an extra long anniversary issue featuring Slam Bradley (a hero from the yesteryear of Detective Comics who predates the Dark Knight), Elongated Man, and Sherlock Holmes himself. I know its a fan favorite. I wish I liked it more. But personally I just thought it was okay.

In 573, the Mad Hatter is released from Arkahm and the predictable happens. Seeing his pre-TAS design was a little jarring for me. I didn't realize how much modern comics borrow from that show. This issue probably feels the most like a throwback out of any of these. You even get a fight on a giant pool table. Which makes it all the more shocking when the final showdown leads to real consequences for young Jason. This leads directly into 574, which is a surprisingly emotional tale featuring Dr. Leslie Thompkins, an oft omitted member of Batman's inner circle. Here we get a meditation on Bruce's past and the ethics of the teen sidekick, all framed by a debate between Leslie and Batman while Robin's life remains in jeopardy. This is probably the most satisfying read in the book, and maybe the hardest to return to after that event which is growing all too close on the horizon.

579 features a criminal clinic where a desperate man is preparing to sell his organs for money to feed his family. Pretty dark, but it's a solid story where we get to see Batman actually help someone and not just punch a bad guy. 580 and 581 are a Two-Face two-parter. I was rather fatigued to see the Duke of Duplicity return so soon after how present he was in Second Chances, but there is a quality twist in that (spoilers) he teams up with the Dynamic Duo to defeat a look-alike, copycat crook. It didn't set my world on fire, but I liked this one.

The last collected issue is a Millennium tie-in, and a sequel to the tie-in featured in Second Chances. It's a Commissioner Gordon heavy story, which crosses over with the Specter and Suicide Squad. It's fine.

Honestly most of this wasn't great. It felt largely like a continuation of the pre-Crisis Batman universe, not the reinvention that New Earth was in other titles (such as Superman, Wonder Woman, or Suicide Squad. While I liked seeing more of the Dynamic Duo in action, and the Bronze Age does have a charm all its own, I don't know that I would seek this volume out for its own sake.

[Max Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book mostly driven by the name of Alan Davis on the cover. His art became the model of what I consider the quintessential comic book art - expressive faces, animation-quality poses, the sense of movement, and a sense of good-natured humor. I was not disappointed. According to the foreword (or was it the afterword?), after the grim darkness of Frank Miller DC decided to lighten the mood in the ongoing series. And boy did they do it. Batman cracks jokes, smiles, laughs, and jumps into the windows with his trusty "chum" at his side. They've cut out four issues in the middle of Year Two, otherwise that would be a sizable non-interrupted Mike Barr chunk. Unfortunately, they did, and not only that, the second part does not feature Davis' art. We've got two issues by the amazing Norm Breyfogle instead, though, but I've read them in another volume already.



Story-wise it's the usual assortment of short ones. Apparently, Catwoman was trying to be a good girl at this point, so she does some good deeds before being hypnotized by the Joker. I liked the Scarecrow tale. Since dealing with the character usually involves nightmares rendition by the artist, it's always interesting to see how they tackle it. Alan Davis does not disappoint. Compared to Norm Breyfogle and Scott McDaniel this takes an honorary third place (for the record, McDaniel's Nightwing nightmare sequence takes the top spot).



Detective Comics #572 is the 50th-anniversary issue and has Batman helping Sherlock Holmes ancestors deal with Prof. Moriarty one. But it all gets way more serious in the later issue when Robin gets shot by the Mad Hatter, who looks nothing like the usual Tenniel-inspired portrayals we get now. Not to mention that he has a flying rocket-propelled hat-craft. The DC wiki says that apparently this is one of the continuity problems and Barr's run is considered non-canon by the geeks. Heh, that shot is the second hint of things to come in the next year of 1988.



I can't help but mention that I find DC's approach to collecting old Batman comics byzantine, to say the least. As far as I can tell, there are volumes collected by the writer, volumes collected by the artist, volumes collected by... name and spirit, I guess? All of these have repeating issues just to muddy the water more. Should I, for example, buy Legends of the Dark Knight: Alan Davis, which collects Detective Comics #569-575, Batman: Full Circle #1 and A Story From Batman: Gotham Knights #25? Or Batman: The Dark Knight Detective, Vol. 1 with Detective Comics #568-574, #579-582? If you want a somewhat complete collection, you can't really decide that without careful consulting or just buy it all and hope for the best. I like Marvel's Masterworks and Epic Collection strategy better, you just buy a numbered chunk and then buy the next one until you're done. Or out of money, which is way more plausible.

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want to read Batman comics from the 1980s? Last week I read a trade paperback and it was so good that I thought I read more 1980s Batman. So I picked up this book which collects Detective Comics #568-574 and #579-582. These issues are from 1986-1987. I read them aloud to my kids. It was great and my kids actually looked forward every night to me reading this book; the nights I didn’t read it, they were disappointed!
The first story involved falcons attacking a human during an anti-Batman protests; it is up to Batman and Robin to figure out who did the falcon belonged to. In the next two issues it is a story of Batman and Robin trying to stop the Joker and his gang with robbery and Catwoman is in the mix; at one point Batman, Robin and Catwoman is caught by the Joker and somehow Batman is able break out of the hold and help the others. The next story involves the Scarecrow; there’s a moment where Batman gets hit by Scarecrow’s arrows that is tipped with chemicals that causes fear and we see Batman conquered his fear with thinking about something else far worst of a fear he could conceive of which is hinted in the last panel. The next issue is rather long with five chapters and is about a Doomsday book about Sherlock Holmes and its up to Batman and others to make sure it does not fall into the wrong hands. I really enjoyed this story! Up next is a two issue story of the Mad Hatter being released from imprisonment only to go back to a life of crime and during the attempt by Batman and Robin to stop him Robin gets shot by the Riddler and that prompt a lot of past reflection of Batman’s origin story and the ethical dilemma of having Robin being his juvenile sidekick. After this is a touching one issue story of a man willing to raise money by agreeing to a medical procedure and it turns out criminals want to kill him in order to use him to save a crime boss’ life; Batman and Robin goes all out to find and rescue him but it turns out he also ends up saving Batman. This has a touching humanitarian story here where Batman is not just about beating up bad guys. The next two issues features a story about Two-Face which also involves an imposter of Two-Face that the real Two-Face tricks him to think he is Two-Face in order to cover up his track of criminal enterprise by throwing the scent off for Batman to go after the fake Two-Face. This story felt longer than most of the other stories and had twists and turn. The final story involves Gordon leaving Gotham to help rescue an old former soldier in his old secret covert unit and it turns out there’s alien robotic that looks like real human beings; while it does take place outside of Gotham nevertheless Batman gets involved to help his good friend Gordon. The story doesn’t finish unfortunately.
Overall these stories are fun and enjoyable to read. Generally speaking its clean too and parents would approve. I just wish contemporary comics would have better story telling. I recommend this work.

[Peter Derk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I...loved this.
Now, I know that I would've hated this when I was 15. I liked BatGod at that time, the dark, brooding superhero who could plan anything, beat anyone given the time to plan it out. THE ONLY LIVING MAN TO EVER DODGE AN OMEGA BEAM!?

And I do still hold love for BatGod. There are some really good stories in the BatGod realm, most of which can be found in Grant Morrison's JLA run from the 90's.

The Batman in this book is...different.

He's still smiley, still sort of friendly and naïve?

The bad guys still do goofy shit. The Joker has a giant Joker-face fireplace, so the fire is in his mouth and his eyes, it looks so great. It's totally impractical, it'd NEVER work in a Christopher Nolan movie, but it's just a blast to see him throw papers in a Joker fireplace, make an escape in a Joker Jetcar with his face on the front.

I don't know, it's complicated, like there's this mid-period. The comics in this book came out right around the same time Frank Miller's Dark Knight came out and changed the game for a long, long time. This is just a little before Death in the Family and Killing Joke and Knightfall, all darker Bat stories, and it's a little before Tim Burton's Batman took put the Dark in Dark Knight. It's like at this point, a bunch of different creators were taking Batman in a new direction, but just with little baby steps.

I think this book is probably awesome for people who are interested in comics and comics history. I don't know if I'd recommend reading it before the others listed above, and I DEFEINITELY wouldn't suggest reading it if you're coming off the Christopher Nolan movies and looking for more stuff like that. But let's say you're someone who watched the show in '66, and then haven't paid a lot of attention, but then you saw Batman Begins and thought, "What the fuck is this?"

These comics are the bridge, the connective tissue between the POW!BIFF!BAM!KARANG! Batman and the Batman who was like, "Yeah, I'll kill a motherfucker if I have to."

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This got to be my some favorite stuff (yes i know i say it every time these days) but my god what a collection this is, and I just love this era!

So it starts with Batman vs his classic foes like a story with Penguin which was alright, and then meeting Catwoman and Joker factors into it, plus I love the classic fight scenes between them and you can feel the tension and love there and its just awesome as its really well written and Jason being the comedic one haha!

And then seeing a story with the return of more classic enemies like Scarecrow was alright and testing Batman's resolve and then my fav story involving the revenge of Moriarty and I love how this story even includes Sherlock holmes and Slam bradley and Elongated man, like the best detectives in DCU and the wild tension there which is so awesome and you really get to see some classic detective-y type stories and Batman meeting Sherlock which was so cool omg, and the artwork here was freaking insane and again one of my fav Batman stories now!

The last few stories like a major one with Two-face was alright albeit a bit confusing and cartoony still managed to show how great Batman is in his observation skills and how he differentiated those two imposters and the real one and all a good commentary like I said on how evil begets evil and the plight of Harvey dent and how Bruce still hopes he can save his old friend, and that is just perfect writing.

And then some tie-ins to DC events which was alright not bad, but meh. Overall a good collection with some cool stories and amazing artwork which will ensure that you have a good time reading them!

[Drkshadow03 · Rating 3 out of 5]

In these collections of Detective Comics, we have an assortment of Batman going up against his rogue gallery. The Penguin kidnaps a scientist and his genetically modified giant falcons, Joker kidnaps catwoman after she has gone good and joined Batman only to brainwash her and restore her to evil, scarecrow develops a formula to take away daredevils and athlete’s sense of fear causing them to perform suicidal stunts and then injects Batman with it as he lays out a gauntlet of deadly traps for him, the Mad Hatter goes on a crime spree themed around hats after making parole and almost kills Robin, and two-face makes a second imposter two-face, and there is even a Sherlock Holmes story.

The assortment of villains was fun. Batman mentoring the impetuous Jason Todd Robin adds another dimension to the story. You can see this Robin making all kinds of dumb mistakes. Batman explains his philosophy is to fight crime, not save the world. One of the issues even rehashes the Batman origin story, while exploring bits of Batman’s college years. There are puns, lots and lots of puns, especially by Robin alongside a references to classical literature like a Carl Sandburg, Walt Whitman, Aesop’s fable of the belling of the car, and Hamlet’s to be or not to be soliloquy. There is even a reference to AC/DC lyrics. There is even an entire chapter within a story dedicated to telling a Sherlock Holmes story that ties into the modern Batman tale that involves Moriarty’s and Watson’s descendants.

[Brendan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4

Recently I made the decision to read the books after Crisis on Infinite Earths as this was the launching pad for continuity. I've been a huge Batman fan and noticed there was a one-two collection of The Dark Knight Detective and Caped Crusader that captured a large chunk of stories. I had been told to avoid the earlier books as this era was the most accessible. This volume is quite a mixture but at least it has a solid collection that hadn't been captured in print before.

Why the 4?

Product of its era. There's a fun style here and it's not serious. The storylines have the villains capturing the hero and tormenting him instead of taking off the mask. That's been a pet hate of mine. Sam Raimi did it in his Spider-man film and it's just ridiculous. I enjoyed the art and a lot of the stories were fun to read. As quality goes, this isn't the grand Dark Knight stories. If you're a fan it's essential for your reading but others won't find anything here. The series is now up to volume 5 next year so I'll be clearly busy catching up. Batman calls Robin "Chump" a lot for some reason and that was a little chuckle every now and again. I enjoyed the volume, only for its era and its setup for our modern hero.

[drown_like_its_1999 · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of episodic stories immediately after Crisis On Infinite Earths that focus on reframing characters like Catwoman, the Joker, and others at the start of this new era.

This was all pretty middling outside of a fun Sherlock Holmes story and an issue by Cavileri that felt decidedly more grim and tense than the rest. I've never been a fan of Mike Barr and this did little to change that, with a lot of hackneyed plots and shallow characterization that just feels very forgettable. Given this era is often seem as the start of a darker Batman, the silver age adjacent tone of many issues was kind of surprising, especially in the issue where Batman and Robin navigate a warehouse of oversized toys quipping puns while kicking goons. There's little to complain about Davis's art however as a big fan of the bronze & copper age DC aesthetic.

[Cybernex007 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume contains Detective Comics Issues 568-574 / 579-582, skipping the middle 4 issues for Batman year two. Overall I quite enjoyed this time for batman post crisis as it begins to bring back his villains. There is an underlying darkness to the levity that I feel doesn't get fully explored enough and I included the bulk of my notes on each of the issues, but I also find it funny how much death is alluded to Jason. Batman thinks about him dying, mad hatter shoots him and puts him in critical condition for an issue, IDK how much the writers for the batman series though about killing Jason before death in the family but it seems oddly prevalent, hahahaha.

[ISMOTU · Rating 4 out of 5]

Batman's post-crisis adventures in Detective Comics are here. Mike W. Barr and Alan Davis deliver some classic Batman and Robin adventures that haven't quite gone as grim n' gritty as they would after Batman: Year One. There are still giant death traps and Robin making puns but there's also mental anguish and gangsters firing real bullets. The stakes are higher but there's still time for fun.
I think the stories in this collection strike a nice balance between the serious and the silly aspects of Batman as he approached his 50th year.

[Jefferson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection features some nice artwork by Alan Davis, but the stories are very silly, and closer in tone to the '60s Batman television series. Very disappointing after the stellar writing that Mike W. Barr did on Batman and the Outsiders. It's also a little strange that this collection skips Barr and Davis' Batman Year Two story, but includes a somewhat bewildering, out-of-context Millennium crossover that ends on a "to be continued."

[I.D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batman battles Two Face, Scarecrow, a newly brainwashed Catwoman, the Mad Hatter and others in the late 80s run of Detective Comics.
This is pre Tim Burton movie stuff and still heavily into the corny aspect of the character with lots of “chum” , bad puns, and villains using gimmicks.
It’s not bad, just a bit more silly than people think of when the think of Batman now. Clean art makes up for Jason Todd being a dork.

[Andreas Sekeris · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a load of cheesy fun. This has all the old villains, Jay as Robin zinging and Batman figuring out where the hideouts are from random bits of dialogue. Very silly and very Batman. This has a fifty year anniversary issue with Sherlock Holmes. It slows the cheesiness a bit, still a fun story. Enjoyed it for what it was. Yes the last issue in this book is completely out of place as it’s part of a huge crossover story.

[Chris W · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars: Basically a slightly more serious take on 1960s/1950s Batman with Jason Todd as Dick Grayson 2.0. The villains stick to their gimmicks more than ever, Batman says "Chum", Robin delivers puns and some sets are out of the 1950s with giant pool tables and Bowling pins. It is ok but definitely more for fans of a lighter take on Batman with a more detective based element.

[Marc "The Marc Knight" Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it from start to finish.
A very good collection of Batman comics that were very enjoyable to read. I love the old school comic style of this era, the simple but brilliant storytelling.

Just fantastic to its core.

Amazing volume of Batman stories that I would highly recommend to any fan of Batman or the genre in general.

That was time we'll spent.

Onto the next.

The Marc Knight