Professor turned criminal Jonathan Crane specializes in fear. He knows how to take a simple phobia and turn it into a life-threatening syndrome. Since his introduction in 1941, the Scarecrow has been one of the Dark Knights most difficult foes to defeat. And soon, he will be one of the foes featured in the upcoming Batman Begins feature film! In this collection of eight stories spanning more than 60 years, some of the best known Batman writers and artists take their turn at creating chilling escapades.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Have Fear, The Scarecrow Is Spotlighted Here,
By
This review is from: Batman: Scarecrow Tales (Paperback)
In this collection, we get to know the master of fear a little better, The Scarecrow. Just like The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told was released in 1988 in anticipation of the '89 Batman movie featuring The Joker, Scarecrow Tales was released close to Batman Begins, which features The Scarecrow and helped introduce him to the general non-comic reading public. The good thing about that is the stories range from 1941 all the way to 2002.
This book is shorter than the Joker stories, featuring only 8 tales, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. We start off with his origin story in 1941 which introduces us to Jonathan Crane, a man who is tired of being laughed at, and decides to use what he knows from psychology to strike fear into those who would mock him. After that we skip way forward in time to the late 60's and so forth. Apparently the Scarecrow didn't become a very prominent villain until the 70's, probably because if the greatest Joker stories are any indication, writers were using him in abundance during the 50's and 60's. Pretty much all the 8 stories in here are above average. There is one Batman-less story from The Joker comic strip that features The Scarecrow as a guest villain, which didn't really make any sense by the end. However, there are a few real gems in there such as The Scarecrow's Trail of Fear, Fear For Sale, and one of my favorites, The 6 Days of the Scarecrow. Mistress of Fear also gives us a chance to feel sorry for Crane and reveals his soft side (although even his soft side is psychotic). The final story ends on an abrupt note, but overall we are still treated to some great Scarecrow comics.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"She isn't everything you hate. She's everything you Fear.",
By Mark Louis Baumgart (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Batman: Scarecrow Tales (Paperback)
Scarecrow is one of Batman's oldest villains. Batman first appeared in "Detective Comics" in 1939, got his own title in 1940, a comic that also saw the first appearance of Robin, The Joker and Catwoman. Then in the Fall 1941 issue of "World's Finest Comics" #3, the Scarecrow, created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, would see print before such villains as The Penguin (December 1941), Two-Face (1942), The Riddler (1948) and Poison Ivy (1966). Published to capitalize on the 2005 movie Batman Begins (Single-Disc Widescreen Edition) which featured Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow, this is more than just a cash grab as it gives quite an overview of the Scarecrow's evolution into a feared supervillain before the revisionists destroyed him. Starting off is the very first Scarecrow/Batman story 'Riddle of the Human Scarecrow', written by Bill Finger, and drawn by Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson & George Roussos. It's here we get the biography that would be used until it was reimagined in the Year One relaunch, and it's here where we see that Crane likes to scare birds, is a master psychologist, becomes a master villain (in extortion and murder) to get extra money to buy more books (!), and first uses his trademark of leaving straws behind to mark his work. However, there is little that would foreshadow the villain that he would later become as he is just another gaudily dressed bad guy, and would soon disappear until 1967. The next story is the Scarecrow's third appearance in 'Fright Of The Scarecrow' by Gardner F. Fox (who created the Sandman) and artists Bob Kane & Joe Giella (although Wikopedia says the art was by Sheldon Moldoff) from "Batman" #189 (1967). It retells Crane's origin, even lifting original dialogue directly from Bill Finger. It's from the camp sixties and shows the first use of Crane using pheromones to scare people. It's a solid comic story that shows why Fox was one of the best of DC's writing stable during the sixties. 'The Scarecrow's Trail Of Fear!' is from "Batman" #262 (1975) and by Denny O'Neil (creator of Ra's al Ghul) and artist by Conan/King Kull artist Ernie Chua and Dick Giordano (O'Neil's ex-editor). While the art is excellent, and the story is exciting, action packed, and moves at a brisk pace, it wastes the Scarecrow on what turns out to be a pedestrian crime with a totally anti-climatic ending. A good filler story, but not much more. 'The Scarecrow's Fearsome Face-Off!' from "The Joker" #8 (1976) by Elliot S! Maggin and artwork by Irv Novick and Tex Blaisdell is from Joker's short-lived solo title. It's a decent actioner in which The Joker is committing a series of crimes while impersonating The Scarecrow. The art is solid if unspectacular, the story fun even if the ending falls flat, although neither villain really let's loose with their true psychotic selves. One of Maggin's better stories, but that's not saying much. Filler stuff, and non-essential. With 'The 6 Days Of The Scarecrow' from "Detective Comics" #503 (1981) by Gerry Conway (who went to Hollywood to script "Law & Order") and artwork by Don Newton (who would die of a massive heart attack soon afterwards), and Marvel Silver-Age artist Dan Adkins. This is the first story in this anthology to begin to show us just what can be done with a sociopath like The Scarecrow. Here Crane seeks vengeance on The Batman by infecting him with a toxin that causes him to create extreme fear reactions in all those that Batman/Bruce Wayne meets. This story also has the original Robin, and Barbara Gordon as The Batgirl, both of whom get wasted by Crane. A solid actioner as The Scarecrow is also manufacturing illegal drugs by taking over a prescription drug corporation. Artwise, while unimaginative, the art is also extremely well laid out and well drafted with some good detail. Essential. 'Fear For Sale' is from "Detective Comics" #571 (1987) and by Mike W. Barr (who is also a novelist), and artwork by Alan Davis (various X-Men titles) & Paul Neary ("The Ultimates") and shows an extremely loose limbed Crane going back to his roots as an extortionist and murderer. Here he removes ALL fear from various athletes in dangerous sports, causing them to risk death needlessly. He infects the investigating Batman who then has to struggle against killing himself recklessly while trying to save the rather incompetent Jason Todd version of Robin. The artwork seems rather cartoonish at times, but at other times it's brilliant. See customer images to see an example. Essential. 'Mistress Of Fear' from "Scarecrow (Villains)" #1 by Peter Milligan ("Shade", "X-Force/X-Statix") and artwork by Duncan Fegredo ("Hellboy: The Wild Hunt"), and HOLY S**T!!! This is the story that we've all been waiting for. A totally mad Jonathan Crane escapes from Arkham with the sole intention to destroying a young handicapped woman because she stood up to, and testified against him, and sent him to Arkham. The trouble is that once he escapes and sets his eyesight on her, he finds out that she has been as horribly bullied as he had been. After stalking and terrorizing her, Crane realizes that she is a kindred spirit, and comes up with the idea to recreate her in his image as The Mistress Of Fear. This is a story that takes a hard look at bullies, fear, and the power of inner strength. Becky Albright is a resourceful, but quiet, young woman, who finds the inner courage to stand up against even somebody as fearsome as The Scarecrow. Milligan's script is hard edged, brutal, tough, and goes beyond being just a body-count fiction. Fegredo's art is ugly, dark, surreal, disturbing, and perfect for Milligan's script, see customer's images to see an example. Then there's the Scarecrow's outfit, which seems right out a nightmare. This is a perfect storm of the script and art working in conjunction with each other to create a minor dark suspense, character driven classic. Even the Scarecrow is well delineated; coming across as tragic, pathetic, and needy, along with psychotic and dangerous. What's more, this is Crane's story, with the Batman barely appearing at all. Absolutely essential. We wrap up with 'Fear Of Success' from "Batman: Gotham Knights" #23 (2002) and is by Devin Grayson (now a videogame designer) and artwork by Roger Robinson ("Aliens vs. Predators") and John Floyd (various Batman projects and a film director), and some brain trust lets Crane out to give a lecture on fear. Predictable mayhem ensues. The story is good solid stuff, which tells quite a bit of its story without dialogue or narration, see customer images for an example. A casual reader, I wasn't familiar with some of the characters and the story ends with continuation that I didn't understand. Still, the artwork is surreal, moody, has an art-deco feel to it, and is imaginatively laid-out. I liked it. Essential to Scarecrow fans. The book also has six full-page pinups by Art Adams, George Pratt, Mark Stutzman, Jim Balent & Bill Sinkiewicz (which is also the cover), Mike Mignola, and Dermot Power. See customer images for a couple of examples. The book also has a thumb-nail cover gallery, although not all the stories here have the covers reprinted. As an overview and history of the evolution of The Scarecrow character this is invaluable, and even if you aren't a fan, some of these stories are near classic. All-in-all, this is an attractive volume, and an easy five stars for me. For this site I have reviewed these other superhero books: Batman: Scarecrow, Doctor of Fear (Dc Super Heroes) by Matthew K. Manning, Erik Doescher, Mike DeCarlo & Lee Loughridge. Batman: The Sunday Classics 1943-1946 by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Jack Burnley, Charles Paris, et al. Batman: Two-Face/Scarecrow Year One Bruce Jones & Sean Murphy/Mark Sable & Jesus Saiz. DC/Marvel Crossover Classics II by Dennis O'Neil, Chuck Dixon, George Pérez & John Byrne. Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines. Psycho Busters: The Novel Book One by Yuya Aoki. Psycho Busters: The Novel Book Two by Yuya Aoki. Psycho Busters: The Novel Book Three by Yuya Aoki. Ragman Suit Of Souls #1 (One Shot) by Christos N. Gage & Stephen Segovia. The Secret of the Swamp Thing by Len Wein & Berni Wrightson Superman/Aliens by Dan Jurgens & Kevin Nowlan.
7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Crane before he started spouting gibberish,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Batman: Scarecrow Tales (Paperback)
If you've read the most recent representations of the Scarecrow, you may feel as though they have messed the character up. He just recites nursery rhymes and randomly sprays people with fear gas. He is not a calculating, sociopathic madman with grand ambition. I believe the latter should define the Scarecrow character. That is what he was for nearly forty years. This collection shows how well the Scarecrow character can be written if you make him a serious threat.
I only disliked two stories; "Joker vs. Scarecrow" and the story at the very end that was a short from a recent "Gotham Knights." The reason I disliked the second was because it was so short and felt like it was filler. Nonetheless, there is some redemptive dialogue between Bruce and his bodyguard at the end. Scarecrow has really been dealt a blow. Once he seemed capable of implementing impressive plans as he stood on his own as a villain. Lately he has spent too much time on someone else's puppet strings. This collection will remind you of what a resourceful, clever, and diabolical villain the Scarecrow really is.
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