Batman Archives, Vol. 5 (DC Archive Editions) [Hardcover]

Bob Kane (Author)

Book Description

Series: Batman Archives | Publication Date: April 1, 2001

The fifth volume in the BATMAN ARCHIVES series, this fabulous book reprints the early adventures of Batman and Robin from the 1940s as they encounter blackmailing mobsters, haunting apparitions, and historical heroes. In this beautiful tome, the Dynamic Duo must defeat an embezzler who has stolen Bruce Wayne's fortune, travel to London to help Scotland Yard solve a mystery, overcome the lethal insanity of the Joker, uncover the secret of the ghost that is haunting the Gotham Library, and work with Robin Hood in a tale of time travel and hypnosis.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 228 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563897253
• ISBN-13: 978-1563897252
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.7 x 10.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #523,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, Old-Fashioned, Two-fisted Adventuring, April 1, 2006

By 

Ian Fowler (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Batman Archives, Vol. 5 (DC Archive Editions) (Hardcover)

As World War II came to an end, the creators of Batman continued to tell entertaining stories. Actually, those two events weren't really related. Batman and Robin were not a place to find too much in New Deal social relevance, like Superman, nor was it a place for super-heroes to smack around Axis types. It was simply good, old-fashioned, two-fisted adventuring over the course of "Detective Comics" nos. 103-119.

Which isn't to say that Batman didn't have a conscience. In "Coaltown, U.S.A.", Batman and Robin help a coal mining town deal with the mine's cruel and greedy owner. It's a bit heavy handed, but makes its point fairly well. But it also makes one realize that perhaps Batman wasn't so well-suited to such stories.

On the other hand, the three Joker stories are just about pitch perfect, as the Joker at this point was far more interested in building an audacious reputation than in actual mayhem. He usually patterned his crimes around games, puzzles, and clues. Naturally, after being a few steps behind for most of the story, Batman and Robin triumph in the final reel, and send the Joker off to jail.

It also fascinating to see how much science fiction was grafted onto Batman this early on. To the modern reader, used to Batman as a relatively down-to-earth character, the notion of Batman and Robin time-traveling via hypnosis to pal around with Robin Hood will seem incredibly strange. On the other hand, Batman battling it out with a ghost in a library will perfectly consistant.

Given that the archives are quickly approaching 1948, the generally accepted end date of the golden age of super-hero comics, I wonder if DC will be calling it a day, or will they keep going into the fifties, when the sci-fi elements took over completely, and the remaining darkness vanished until the late sixties. I'll probably still get them regardless.