Batman in the Seventies (Paperback)

by Dennis O'Neil (Author)

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156389565X
• ISBN-13: 978-1563895654
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #444,354 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good showing, with some repeats, however, August 3, 2005

By	Corum Seth Smith (Hendersonville, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you DC for releasing this book., December 13, 2003

By	Matthew Jones (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good collection!!, February 23, 2002

By	"kokokay" (PA) - See all my reviews

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!