Spotlight: Batman pt. 1 – PAST

It’s 2008 and it’s the year of the RAT BAT. With movies like the Dark Knight (second highest grossing movie in north american history), storylines like Batman: RIP (consistently in the top 5 of the sales charts), and the recently announced upcoming projects by Neil Gaman, Kevin Smith and Denny O’ Neil, the Batman franchise is definitely firing on all cylinders.

If you’re one of those people who just saw the movie and is craving for more batman fix but don’t know where to start. Well, you’re definitely in luck as you’ll be getting the ultimate Batman experience from the past & classic storylines, to the present & ongoing events and to the oh so exciting future & up and coming projects.

PAST: Batman is without a doubt the most bankable comic book character in history (with Spider-man trailing behind) and the main reason for that is because of the rich back stories and classic tales crafted by writers and pencillers who are considered to be the masters of the medium in their own respective era. And as masters of the medium, they definitely capitalize on batman’s greatest asset – his rogues gallery.

The writers, throughout the years, have built a rich history not only for Batman but also for his rogues. Afterall, the famous saying states that a good hero or character is only as good as his villains or antagonists. To those who have seen the dark knight, you can definitely and honestly testify that there came a point when you are more excited to see the Joker than Batman and that’s pretty much evident in all Batman stories, be it in movies or comics. The writers make sure that the rogues play an important part in Batman’s story and they’re not just there so Batman can hit someone. The late Heath Ledger has brilliantly played and shone in his role as Joker and has definitely set the bar for upcoming actors planning to play as one of Batman’s rogues. As early as now, there are already rumors that Johnny Depp might play the Riddler and Cher will play as Catwoman to keep up with Chris Nolan’s dark theme.

And of course, with villains like the Joker, Scarecrow, Ra’s Al Ghul, Riddler, Poison Ivy, Bane and others, the Batman (without any super powers) is in need of big help and that is provided by the great set of allies surrounding the Batman. From Alfred to Commissioner Gordon to Robin and to Oracle (the former Batgirl), the Batman has a great set of supporting cast who not only stays in the backgound but are also strong characters who can definitely stand in their own right. The first Robin (Dick Grayson) emerged from Batman’s shadow and became Nighting, the current Robin (Tim Drake) is the leader of the Teen Titans and also has his own series, Oracle and her Birds of Prey are still flying high in their own series, Batman’s on and off again love interest, Catwoman and even the Gotham Police department have stand-out in their critically acclaimed and well loved Gotham Central series.

Well, that’s just a very short and concise (=P) background of what you need to know before you delve into the great Bat-Universe. Without further ado, here are my top five favorite Batman Storylines of all time:

5. Batman: Son of the Demon (Written by Mike W. Barr; Art by Jerry Bingham)

Ra’s Al Ghul and his league of assassins is one of Batman’s deadliest and greatest foes. But in this story, Batman is married to Thalia (which technically makes him Ra’s son) and even helps Ra’s on several occasions. The story was originally intended as an elseworld tale but is now in continuity with Grant Morrison’s Batman and Son story.

Related Story / works: Batman: Birth of the Demon (by Dennis O’ Neil and Norm Breyfogle) tells the story of Ra’s Al Ghul and is actually the greatest Ra’s Al Ghul story and would have make the top 5 if only it features Batman a bit more. Other works from Mike W. Barr worth noting are Batman Year Two: Fear the Reaper (with Alan Davis and Todd McFarlane on art) and it s sequel Batman: Full Circle (Alan davis on art).

4. Batman: The Long Halloween (Written by Jeph Loeb; Art by Tim Sale)

The first of two year-long tale of the two famous collaborators (Loeb-Sale) on Batman actually picks up on the story of Batman: Year One. The story returns Batman to his role as a detective as he tries to find the mysterious killer, Holiday, before he claims his next victim each month. It’s Batman meets the Godfather. The thrill of trying to guess who the killer is and twists at the end of the story definitely makes The Long Halloween a fun and enjoyable read.

Related Story / Works: After the success of the Long Halloween, Loeb and Sale teamed up again for its sequel Batman: Dark Victory. Dark Victory has all the goodies that made its prequel such a huge success while still adding new surprises and twists. Batman: Hush is the third year-long tale of Jeph Loeb with the fan-favorite Jim Lee on art this time.  If you enjoyed Loeb’s first two bat-books and love Jim Lee’s art, Hush is perfect for you.

3. Batman: The Killing Joke (Written by Allan Moore; Art by Brian Bolland)

Batman + Allan Moore + Brian Bolland = sure place in the top five. Tells the story of the Joker’s origin and how he tries to drive Jim Gordon insane by shooting his daughter, Barbara (Batgirl), which eventually paralyzed her and taking him in a wild carnival ride. A classic example of how far the Joker will go just to prove his point.

Related Story / Works: Batman: The Man Who Laughs is another great take on the Joker, this time by Mr. Criminal (Ed Brubaker) with art by Doug Mahnke.

2. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Written by Frank Miller; Art by Klaus Janson)

You can’t talk about top Batman storylines without mentioning the name of Frank Miller (300, Sin City). The Dark Knight Returns provide a futuristic tale of an old Batman coming out of retirement to save Gotham city from it’s darkest hour and fighting the Joker and Two Face for the last time. Also shows how Batman single-handedly defeated his former ally Superman in a fight.

Related Story / Works: Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, the sequel to the Dark Knight Returns (written and drawn by Miller), a decent tale but nothing can top the original.

1. Batman: Year One (Written by Frank Miller; Art by Dave Mazzucchelli)

Can anything top the 4 great Batman stories listed above?  Yes, a fantastic Batman origin story by Miller will do just that. After all the incredible and sometimes crazy Batman stories that comes out in the market, Batman: Year One is without a doubt the greatest Batman story of all time and is in fact one of the main inspirations for the Batman Begins for me. No wonder the Batman movie franchise has gone so well, you can’t go wrong by basing it on the perfectly well laid foundations set by Miller on Year One.

Related Story / Works: Frank Miller is currently working on a series with Jim Lee called All Star Batman and Robin which is actually a continuation of the Batman: Year One set in Batman Millerverse (meaning it’s out of continuity).

Honorable mention: Batman: Arkham Asylum (Written by Grant Morrison; Art by Dave McKean). I’ve heard lots of rave reviews and praises concerning Arkham Asylum but unfortunately I haven’t got around to reading it yet. But it’s written by Grant Morrison so it’s worth checking it out as well.

JLA: Tower of Babel (Written by Mark Waid; Art by Howard Porter) Want to know what Batman will do when he learns that his JLA buddies have voted to wipe his mind him. He writes down plans and strategize on how to beat each one of them based on each member’s weakness. Now, imagine if that plan falls off in the wrong hands. It’s Batman vs. JLA.

Well, that’s it folks. I hope those 5 books are enough to keep your Bat-appetites satiated while waiting for the Batman 3 movie. But in case you already read those books and still want more, I recommended this great site for an in depth guide to DC continuity. If you just want to follow the Batman stories, just select those with the Batman logo / emblem. Good luck in finding those back issues.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and join me again for part 2 as we take a look on the present state of the Batman universe.

Spotlight: Green Lantern The Blackest Night

Okay, this is the first of several “Spotlights” that I’m doing and the subject of this spotlight is no other than Green Lantern and DC’s major event for 2009 – The Blackest Night.

First off, Green Lantern is one of the best titles currently out in the market and is in fact also very accessible to new readers. This is one title that you can definitely recommend to people who are avid readers and also to those who are looking to jump on the comic book scene as the earlier trades are fairly easy to find.

Written by one of the best comic book writers in the new age, Geoff Johns, and drawn by equally impressive pencillers, Ethan Van Sciver and Ivan Reis. Green Lantern is definitely way ahead of the pack. One of Geoff Johns best trait is his ability to incorporate new and interesting things in a character’s story while still respecting what came before (unlike “One More Day”, oops) and this is very much evident in his Green Lantern run.

John’s Green Lantern ride started when he and Van Sciver came up with the hit Green Lantern: Rebirth which saw how Hal Jordan (the best GL imo) came back from being the host of the Spectre to the GL of sector 2814. GL: Rebirth was so successful that it actually gave birth to two spin-offs, the Green Lantern series written by Johns and the Green Lantern Corps (Current writer is Peter Tomasi) which tells the tale of the other Green Lanterns. So if you’re looking for either Kyle Rayner or Guy Gardner, then better the GLC comics coz that’s where you’ll find them.

The two series (GL & GLC) both provide enjoyable reads and tie seamlessly with each other while standing great on its own as shown by last year’s smash crossover Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War. The Sinestro Corps War provided a great example of how Geoff have craftically used the earlier issues to build on the event. You’ll see how every little thing planted in the earlier issues paid out in the event.

And lastly, Geoff and Ethan provided the readers a glimpse of what’s to come with teasers of the last part of Geoff’s Green Lantern Trilogy – The Blackest Night. If what was seen in Sinestro Corps War was any indication then the Blackest Night is definitely gonna rock. If you like Zombies and Superheroes, then the Blackest Night is perfect for you. If not, it’s still one of the best reads currently out.

The Green Lantern series is currently in the building stage, planting new hints and seeds for the coming story arc and it is also a perfect jumping-on point for new readers as the creative team is running in Hal Jordan’s “Secret Origin” arc while planting in the seeds to the Rage of Red Lanterns (by Geoff Johns and Shane Davis) which is just a pre-cursor to the blackest night. By looking at Red Lantern Atrocitus (pictured above), the Sinestro Corps would look like fun-loving creatures by comparison.

While waiting for the Blackest Night to come, I highly recommend you reading and tracking down the earlier trades of Green Lantern (those written by Geoff Johns). Reading them is not really required to understand the storyline, as most of John’s stuff are fairly self-contained, but seeing how all the seeds Johns’ have planted in the earlier issues unravel is very much worth the bucks you pay for the books.