Customer Reviews

The Untold Legend of the Batman

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I thought this was a trade paperback format collection of these classic Len wein and Jim Aparo/John Byrne stories which it is, but this is about a quarter of the physical size of an actual comic book; its black and white on newsprint but worst of all, the pages are comprised of "redistributed" panels, a convention that many had assumed died in the late 70s and early eighties when many of these reprints were done for "pocket books" for little kids.

Still a great story, and one of the first attempts in the modern era to clean up Bruce Wayne's history during the years between the murder of his parents, and becoming Batman. I didn't realize they still made these poor reproductions, but I guess that explains the low, low price. Caveat Emptor.

This nice little story of early-modern age Batman is not so much a story in its own right but more something of a clip show. The actual scripts and drawings are all original, of course, but very little of the plot is. The plot itself is mostly an excuse for a thorough retelling of the story of the Batman, his allies and his foes. It doesn't make any shocking new discoveries about the Batman's past, as do the Killing Joke or Year One; the stories told are taken directly and fully from classic silver and golden age volumes such as 'The Origin of the Batman'(Batman#47, 1948), or 'The First Batman'(Detective Comics#235, 1956).

The plot itself is lacking and simply not very interesting. The ending is quite well done, but there's simply no building up to it. Whatever plot there is is constantly interrupted by flashbacks from practicaly every character. However, what 'the Untold Legend of the Batman' attempts to do, and does quite well, is put some order into the Batman world, settle some old contradictions and set one formal history of Batman. Indeed, the early 80s were a time when super-heroes were recreated, especially Superman and Wonder-Woman, and Batman had to be fitted into the new DC universe.

So, while 'the Untold Legend of the Batman' is hardly a decent story itself, and does very little to develop the characters or the plot in any way, it's still an interesting read for all Batman fans and anybody who wants to know a thing or two about the Dark Knight, and is a fine addition to any comics collection.

Growing up, I'd always enjoyed watching Adam West and Burt Ward on the television show Batman. So, one day at the school book fair many moons ago, I picked up this book. Boy was I impressed! First of all, the writing is excellent and is presented in a very mature manner. Secondly, the art is amazing. It blew me away then and still impresses me now. Watching the t.v. show, you never really learn any history about the Dark Knight. This book tells you who the first Batman and Robin were, who killed Bruce Wayne's parents and who first tought young Bruce the skills he'd need to become a detective. The origins of some of the favorites such as Alfred Pennyworth and The Joker are here too. I have always been very proud to own this book and I'm sure you would be too.

Saw this in Wal-Mart and picked it up. It's a pretty good story and re-telling of the Batman origin. I have always loved the post-crisis Batman, but reading the pre-crisis origin for Batman was pretty fascinating. The only downside was the black and white art, and the dialogue was very out of date. But for a story that cost a little over three dollars, I'm not complaining.

For those interested in the history of Batman you probably find this story an entertaining, though not great, story about the Pre-Crisis Batman. This is a consolidation of all the history, origin, and first meetings of the character before Crisis and Year One. I liked the story but I have say to that I'm glad they don't write Batman this way anymore (the dialogue's pretty bad even for an exposition story) and I very much prefer the scaled back origin that they character has now. On the art Jim Aparo is in top form in this black and white story, being inked by John Byrne. I found this to be the perfect companion piece to Batman: Strange Apparitions.

For those interested in the post-Crisis retelling of these stories: Year Two retells Batman's confrontation w/ Joe Chill (Chill's role was thrown into doubt after the Zero Hour tie-in of DETECTIVE; a LOTDK story from 2000 called "Siege" retells the story of the 1st Bat-costume and the penthouse; and Lew Moxon was retold last year (2001) as part of the Brubaker/Mcdaniel run in BATMAN, with Thomas Wayne dressed as Zorro instead.

Also the shipping cost for this will be more than the actual price of the book.

This great story interweaves the untold legend of Bruce Wayne, the Batman, as well as a psychological subplot. The art is great by Byrne and Aparo, and we finally learn who slew Bruce Wayne's parents, and the shocking scheme behind it. Unfortunately, thanks to both the Crisis of Infinite Earths and Zero Hour, this entire story is null and void, but it is a must for all fans of Batman.

Of all the comic book characters, the most complex background stories of their origins are those of Superman and Batman. This is largely due to the fact that their histories are among the longest. Both first appeared in the 1930's when the world was very different, so they have had several generations to be altered to reflect the changes in social structure.

I really enjoyed this book because it delves into many of the details of the life of Batman and the underlying near pathological psychology of the hero. In this book we learn that Bruce Wayne was not the first man to wear a Batman costume nor was Dick Grayson the first to wear a Robin costume. How Alfred came to be the loyal butler to Bruce Wayne and how the relationship developed between Batman and Police Commissioner Gordon are also explained. This is a book that fleshes out the Batman character and the major figures around him and is a must read for all fans of the Bat-Man.

Wow, what fun! This little book at first glance appears to be underwhelming and gives the feeling that you may regret reading it when finished. This couldn't be any far from the truth. What a great surprise and great read. I'm not sure how well this fits into Batman canon now, but it was very enjoyable. It's basically one big story arc of someone trying to destroy batman piece by piece while he and Robin race to find the mastermind behind it all. Along the way they dive into the orgin stories of so many characters in this short book. Batman obviously, Robin, Joker, Two Face, Jim Gordon, even Alfred, Joe Chill, Batgirl, and Lucius Fox! The only thing preventing it from a five star is the main story arc feels unnecessary and it's pretty obvious who the guilty party is halfway through. I would highly recommend this however and I can't believe how cheap it is either!

The Untold Legend of the Batman is a three-issue series, issued in 1980, that retold the origins of the Batman, his allies, and some of his enemies. The first issue really just tells the story of Batman's origins, and it provides some surprising information: the first Batman was actually Bruce Wayne's father, and the first Robin was actually Bruce Wayne. Don't take this too literally, though. Bruce's father wore a bat-man-ish suit to a charity fundraiser not long before he was gunned down; at this special event, he was kidnapped and ordered to tend to a criminal's wounds. He refused, sent the guy to the Big House with his testimony, and was gunned down in retribution. Bruce Wayne dedicated his life to finding his parents' killer and fighting criminals of all kinds; in order to do this, he needed a teacher, and he chose Gotham's most gifted detective. Since he didn't want the detective to recognize him, he donned a costume - the Robin costume. The detective, Harvey Harris, actually came up with the name Robin because young Bruce looked "as brilliant as a robin redbreast" in the outfit. Oh, it is to laugh.

Bruce Wayne holds his father's Batman outfit in almost sacred regard, so naturally he's highly ticked off when someone steals it, cuts it up, and mails it back to him. That's what starts this whole series off. Someone knows Batman's secrets and is out to get him. At the end of the second issue, the Batmobile itself blows up right there inside the Batcave, sending Batman into a frenzy. We finally learn the identity of the person behind the attacks in the third and last issue - and you may be surprised by the revelation.

There are a number of interesting little Batman tidbits spread throughout the course of this little series - and you'll also get a special look at some of Batman's crime-fighting tools. After looking back upon the origins of both Batman and Robin, you'll meet the Joker when he was just the Red Hood, see how Harvey Dent became Two-Face, cast your eyes upon Barbara Gordon before and after she dons the BatGirl costume, and even learn who among Batman's enemies knows his true identity. You'll also see how Commissioner Gordon wasn't Batman's biggest fan early on, as Batman's success made the police department look pretty bad in comparison. You'll even get a gander at the man who designs and makes the Batmobile for the caped crusaders. I was most interested in Alfred's story, though; you'll see him helping refugees escape the Germans in World War II, discover that he was a successful stage actor after the war, and see just how he came to serve as Bruce Wayne's butler, confidante, and friend.

I daresay some won't find the revelation at the end of the story all that satisfactory, but it does provide us with a revealing window into the mind of Batman. It also would have been nice to cram a few more bad guy origin tales into the series, but I guess that would be asking too much. I suppose it's just as well, since all of these origin stories tend to drift and change over time. The Untold Legend of the Batman isn't a great series by any means, but it is one that all Batman fans should enjoy to some degree - and you might even learn something you didn't already know about this most famous of comic book heroes.

Over a decade ago all 3 issues from this series came with some cassettes. I'd kept the comics, but I'd lent all 3 of the half hourly tapes to someone who'd lost all of the tapes! I should have copied those tapes before lending them to him! Fortunately, I can now put this problem behind me because I'd bought the 3 comics and tapes on eBay. However, the readers who just want the comic story can find a great deal here on Amazon.