Customer Reviews

Batman in the Seventies

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First of all, if you have the book "The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told," then you already have two of the ten stories told here. That may deter you from buying the book because they are two of the better stories in here. Also if you have "Tales of the Demon," there is one of those stories in here. However, this is an anthology that stands on its own in terms of interest. I believe that the 70's was a crucial turning point in Batman history that marked a bit of a Renaissance.

There Is No Hope in Crime Alley- Truly one of the "Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told," Batman revisits the moment of his greatest agony as he visits his parent's place of death. Also "Death Flies the Haunted Sky" is another story from the "Greatest...Told" Anthology.

Now for what I truly disliked in the book: "Invader From Hell" and "Marriage:Impossible." I have this theory that there are no bad Batman stories out there in the comic world; these come dangerously close to disproving that theory. "Marriage Impossible" is like one of those strange horror movies of the seventies that they make fun of on Mad TV. "Invader" is not much better, pitting Batgirl and Robin against Benedict Arnold.

However, the rest of the stories in this book summarize the 70's era pretty well. The comic is recovering from the camp that dominated in the 50's and 60's, as the Detective is revived, again trying to thwart the criminal mind. For instance, Vow From the Grave- is a good episodic murder mystery, and inspired one of the episodes of the "Animated Series" years later. "Ticket to Tragedy" is kind of like Batman meets "Murder on the Orient Express." So the 1970's saw a reformation of the detective element of the genre.

Last, "Daughter of the Demon" is the introduction of one of the most interesting Batman characters yet, Ras Al Ghul. If you want a good anthology, "Tales of the Demon" highlights several Batman/Al Ghul clashes. Ghul was first in the comics in the 70's.

There is a good Joker story, and overall, the stories are good. So if you like the sound of the above stories, this book may be for you.

The biggest problem with all such "greatest stories" collection is that everyone has an opinion on what other stories should have been included and what stories should instead be taken out. IMHO I think this is a pretty decent collection of Batman stories in the 70s. The collection includes "There is No Hope in Crime Alley", a story which explore Batman's psyche and motivations; 4 (yes 4!) Neal Adams classics: "A Vow from the Grave", "Night of the Reaper", "Marriage: Impossible" (one of the earlier Man-Bat stories), "Daughter of the Demon" (featuring The Demon Ra's Al Ghul); an Alex Toth classic "Death Flies the Haunted Sky".

Regarding short comings of this collection, I would have liked to see the story arc presented in Batman #291-294 where Bat-villains are on trial for the 'murder' of the Batman. One can also argue that it might make more sense to read the Neal Adams stories in their entire runs. Although all of the Adams' Ra's Al Ghul stories have already been compiled in the TPB Tales of the Demon, his other mini-runs would make good TPB collections too (e.g. his Man-Bat run in Detective #400,402,407; his Brave and the Bold run). However, in spite of these criticism, I think the average Bat-fan is still better-off owning a copy of "Batman in the Seventies" than not. The original comics cost a bomb and are in fact quite hard to find. Given that DC (unlike Marvel) appears to have some aversion to reprinting their 1970s material, we should be thankful that they've come up with such a compilation in the first place. Instead of buying mediocre 1990s Batman TPBs, all Bat-Fans should buy this book and experience for themselves what pre-crisis Batman is all about!

The 70's was a great time for Batman. In this collection we get some really good Batman stories where he takes on super villains like Joker,Manbat and Ras Al Ghul. Robin is seen alot too and so is Batgirl. Look for the really beautiful villain pin-up that features Joker,Penguin,Riddler,Catwoman,Two Face,Scarecrow and Ras Al Ghul,it is stunning. There is also a pin-up of Robin and Batgirl too and one in the end of the book with Batman,Robin,Batgirl,Alfred and Commissioner Gordon in the batcave.

The highlight here for me was the Earth 2 story of Golden Age Batman (now an older man) and the death of the Earth 2 Catwoman and the orgin of Earth 2 Huntress. Earth 2 Robin also makes a cameo.

Overall the book is packed with beautiful colorful pictures of the best Batman heroes and villains. A must.

I think all the stories in this book are great, but they really should have included more Ras Al Ghoul stories, because this guy is super interesting and he even gives the Joker a run for his money as Batman's number one nemesis.
As fun and goofy as the 1950s and 1960s Batmans stories were, returning the Batman to his detective roots was long overdue. The fact that DC went that extra mile and included the super dark elements (including Joker's homicidal ways) of the Bob Kane and Bill Finger period is all the better.
I am not a big fan of the comic scene of the 1970s. But if everything else in the medium had been as good as the Batman stories presented in this book, I definately would have been one.

This is an amazing book which showcases the rebirth of darkness on the Batman titles. Denny O'neil & Neil Adams are the true creators of Batman and his universe. Neil Adams drew Batsey and everyone has copied his version (or been inspired by it) since. This is the return of the weird figure that is the World's Greatest Detective. The 70's were responsible for building most of the current Bat-universe. These stories are great. The best story here is the Joker tale and Ras Al Ghul also appears. Night of the Reaper is a classic!

If you read Batman or collect comics... BUY THIS

I picked this collection of the Seventies because that's when I started reading comic books. I felt that this collection fell short from being the vintage Batman of that decade in spite of the fact that most stories were from Dennis O' Neil. He happens to be the undisputed Batman of the seventies. However, this collection moved toward other stories about the Batman family that didn't seem so powerful as Batman rivalries with some of his deadly foes. The stories on the Batgirl and Robin, the origins of the Huntress, and the reformation of Man-Bat do not offer the moodiness or the visual power of the Dennis O' Neil stories and the artwork of Neal Adams or Dick Giordano. We also remember that during this decade we saw the rebirth of many of Batman's arch-enemies. There is only one story on the Joker here.

The things I disliked most about the text were the constant teasing, the confusing Table of Contents, and the short introductions in between every two or three stories. By teasing, I mean that the editor showed cover pages of precisely the kind of stories that you would expect to read in a volume like this. A list of covers is not what you expect. Also the story of Ras Al Ghul had a continuation, but this was not offered here. The Table of Contents was a mess. It included titles that only were mentioned in the introductions, which is deceptive if you are browsing this text in a comic book store. The lack of chronology was also messy. Only a thematic thread could justify anachronism, but there was no theme to justify it. In sum, the volume was OK, but a title like this suggests vintage material. I was a little disappointed. The Greatest Stories Ever Told does a much better job in selecting stories and in organizing extra material about these stories. Les Daniels was a better editor in this latter text. I wouldn't bother with these "decade" oriented titles anymore.

The seventies and early eighties was my favorite Bat-era. Before Miller, Colan, and others ruined it.

In this volume, with cover motifs by Neal Adams (front) and Dick Giordano (back), is a nice little collection of stories from the era that will always be the "real" Batman to me. As others have pointed out, many of these have been printed in the "Greatest stories ever told" books, but I don't mind.

It opens with the classic short story "There is no hope in Crime Alley", written by Dennis 'Denny' O'neil, and drawn by Dick Giordano. One of Giordano's finest hours, and essential in the chronicles of Gotham City. Beautifully drawn, it fleshed out Batman's origin story which Finger and Kane had described more loosely.

In addition there are 4 Neal Adams-drawn stories in this book, which is always a treat, although these are less favorites of mine than "The Joker's five-way revenge", "Half an evil", or "Bruce Wayne dies at dawn", but the Adams stories can be read in the three-volume series dedicated to him.

Likewise, I think the Marshall Rogers-drawn story in this book is less stellar than his work on the "Strange Apparitions"-storyline (written by Steve Englehardt and Len Wein), but I had not read it before, so it a welcome entry in this book.

I have never really warmed up to Joe Staton's style, but I like the feeling of his Earth 2 Batman and Catwoman love stories. The relationship between the bat and the cat has always been a cornerstone in the Batman mythos, and the story in this book "To each ending, a begining" is very faithfull to that. I have always felt that all the other love interests in the series was a mistake, as Catwoman is the purr-fect (sorry, couldn't resist) counterpart to the Dark Knight, and I hope Nolan gets that right next year.

The pin-ups and cover gallery are nice touches.

Only real complaint is that I would have liked to see stories from Jose Luis Garcia-Lopes' and Jim Aparo's hands, and I might have chosen some other stories (apart from "There is no hope in Crime Alley") but otherwise I'm quite satisfied with this collection of stories from a more elegant and, dare I say it, innocent, time.

The 70's was a good read for batman.
The only thing is,this book was smaller than
the rest.They could have put at least 4 to 5 more
stories in it.I read this book in one
shot. I love the art and the stories,
but they could of added more to this
thin book.

With the possible exception of the original tales of the forties, or Frank Miller's work on the character, the seventies were the definitive era for Batman stories. This collection gives a nice overview of Batman's greatest era. I would have rated it higher, but for the ommission of the Engelhart/Rogers run In Detective Comics.

With the possible exception of the original tales of the forties, or Frank Miller's work on the character, the seventies were the definitive era for Batman stories. This collection gives a nice overview of Batman's greatest era. I would have rated it higher, but for the ommission of the Engelhart/Rogers run In Detective Comics.