Batman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Bob Kane (Author), Bill Finger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2005

Just in time for the release of 2005s most anticipated blockbuster, Batman Begins, comes a collection of the Dark Knights finest adventures in one volume! Batmans career is chronicled in BATMAN: THE GREATEST STORIES EVER TOLD, a unique collection that spans over six decades. Collected within is Batmans origin, some of his classic battles with rogues such as the Joker and Catwoman and other stories that define why Batman is the hero he is today. Featuring an introduction by author Les Daniels.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (May 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401204449
• ISBN-13: 978-1401204440
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 0.5 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #225,026 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for Batman and comics fans, June 25, 2006

By 

C.J. Leber "I love to read!" (Lafayette, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Batman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

This collection of Batman stories is great! Each of the stories showcased in this collection is from a different era in Batman's history... and they are all fun to read and admire. My personal favorite in this collection is O'Neil/Adams' "The Joker's Five Way Revenge," perhaps because it is from the '70's, when I began reading comics and Adams' intepretation of Batman is so life-like. Also notable is "..My Beginning...and My Probable End," by Bar/Davis/Neary, since it fills it provides another round of character development for Bruce Wayne. For a semi-campy Batman and Robin story, "Robin Dies at Dawn," delivers. Even "24/7," a tale in the post-"Bruce Wayne -Murder?" era is an interesting story of Bruce Wayne rebuilding his reputation.

This collection provides a good representation of the development of Batman through the 20th century. A must have for Batman and comics fans.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful selection, July 11, 2011

By 

Elvin Ortiz "CurlyAl34" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Batman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

This volume includes 13 selected Batman stories designated as "best." Although Les Daniels admits that "best" may be in the eye of the beholder, theses stories were carefully selected to depict different aspects about The Batman character. They include stories from each decade starting with the forties. The origin of the Batman is taken from its original source, Detective Comics, November 1939, and it is retold in DC, March 1974: The Night of the Stalker.

In The Case of the Honest Crook (Batman 5, Spring 1941), Wanted: Santa Claus -- Dead or Alive! (Spring 1980), and Favorite Things (Legends of the Dark Knight, January 1996), Batman forgives crooks who repent. These stories along with 24/7 (Batman: Gothic Nights, October 2002) Batman also shows a humanitarian angle as he combines philanthropy with crime-fighting. Now 24/7 is very different because it shows a utopia of order and control. This last story has no plot, but a series of vignettes connected by the chronology of time. Each vignette shows the effect that Batman and Bruce Wayne have had on Gotham. Reading this story one wonders why would criminals bother at all to commit crimes in Gotham? In spite of its idealistic Utopianism, it reminds us that the major motive for Batman's existence is his parents' death.

The 1970s shows us a revival of a ruthless, mysterious, and noirish Batman: The Batman Nobody Knows (Batman, July 1973), The Joker's Five-Way Revenge (Batman, September 1973), and Night of the Stalker, cited above. My favorite of these is the last one because his pursuit of three common criminals embodies the fear that he should instill in his opponents. Giordano's stress on shadows, and Englehart's refusal to give speech to Batman makes this the most gothic and noirish of all the stories here.

The paternal relationship between Batman and Robin are shown in The Case of the Honest Crook, cited above, Robin Dies at Dawn (Batman, June 1963), and My Beginning... and My Probable End (Detective Comics, May 1987). Robin Dies... may seem silly, but it shows that when Batman believes that Robin has died to save his life, he suffers from guilt and despair, and wishes his own death. In My Beginning readers also find out about Bruce Wayne's lonely childhood and his education. Leslie, his adopted mother also appears in this story. It is probably one of the most introspective of the collections, where Batman undergoes an existential crisis as he sees Robin struggling with death: is his path the correct one?, Can he give Jason a better life? Leslie plays the role of the conscience, blaming herself for not preventing Bruce from becoming the Batman. Barr's story here is quite original and shows a side of Bruce's life that we may not have seen before, and making him a complex character.

There is also one story about the Catwoman's origin in The Secret Life of the Catwoman. Readers will also notice that the Batman stories from the seventies, eighties, and nineties are more realistic when they depict urban decadence, pollution, and increasing crime rates showing that writers and artists were very susceptible to the audience's mood toward the decaying urban landscape characteristic of American cities during this period.

Reading these stories was a great experience.