a teaser for a big post I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to make

[about_faces]

Holy hell, have I made a discovery today.

After years of searching, I've finally found copies of the Batman newspaper comic strips from 1990. They're not collected anywhere, nor are they online. They'd only been reprinted once, in Comics Revue magazine, the issues of which have been IMPOSSIBLE to track down, and I've been looking in comic shops

Comments

[1mercystreet]

Sounds exciting! I look forwards to seeing your posts about it. Even if suicidal Harvey is always heartbreking to read.

[thehefner]

Needless to say, that little preview is from the very end of the series. Just to give you a taste of how far this newspaper strip goes.

[abqreviews]

Yeah, it's always great to discover little gems like this.

I remember reading the late 80's-90s Batman newspaper strip when it was new, and wasn't really impressed(though admittedly, I had a lot going on back then). Can't wait to see what I was missing.

And I quite like Stan's SPIDERMAN strip, considering how adept he is at humor(well, corny humor)and his past attempts at getting his own newspaper strips with Joe Maneely and Dan DeCarlo, I actually think he's doing what he wanted to all along.

[thehefner]

Which creative team did you read: the one by Max Allan Collins and Marshall Rogers, or the one by Bill Messner-Loebs and Carmine Infantino?

I'm amazed that no one's collected Stan's Spidey strips. They're not great, but god damn can they be fun, even if the fun is unintentional. Such a cornball! Does Stan actually write them, or does Larry pretty much run the whole ship?

[killermoth]

Fantastic! Not only am I glad you're posting the strips, but I'm glad you enjoyed them so much. I only have the Catwoman and Penguin sequences, but they're very good. As a major Catwoman fan, I much preferred the origin presented in the strip than the one in the comics themselves at the time.

I also believe they did the Hatter at some point in the strip? Since we both see eye to eye on Jervis and how poorly he's treated in the comics, I'm wondering how they presented him. For some reason I have a feeling it's the "impostor" Hatter though.

[thehefner]

As you've at least read the Penguin story arc, you've already got a head-start on what makes this Harvey so different.

The Catwoman one is the only story arc I'm not sure I'm gonna include, as it's by an entirely different creative team and, from what I can see, bears no connection to the rest of the strips by Messner-Loebs and Infantino. But let's see how I feel after I read the whole thing.

She has a different origin?? What is it? Are you expressing a preference of that to the Miller origin? I don't mind the Miller origin being a part of her past, since subsequent writers like Brubaker have used it to build a strong backstory for Selina.

The Hatter is indeed Impostor Hatter, which suits me just fine. Jervis from TAS was my second-favorite villain, but since the comics counterpart sadly bears no resemblance to him (Jervis deserves so much better), I'm gaining an increased enjoyment of Impostor Hatter. For one thing, he lends himself to less stories where lazy writers ride the Alice in Wonderland references for all they're worth

[ext_262094]

Harvey Dent's wife name is Alice? O_o That's just wrong...

[thehefner]

It definitely seems random. Unless, again, they actually involve her in the Hatter storyline. The strip follows a very different continuity, which serves to make it seem more cohesive. Wait'll you see the changed reason for Harvey's scarring!

[scuppernong]

I CARE.

EEEeeeEee now I'm excited.

[wo_meimei]

Oh, Harvey, why so suicidal? :(

Actually, I totally get the 'why', but it doesn't make it any less distressing to read. *doesn't handle suicidal themes well*

[thehefner]

I think you'll be genuinely surprised with what happens. God knows I was.

[wo_meimei]

-rubs chin- I am intrigued. Well, as long as he doesn't shoot himself (again...), I'm sure I'm going to be wowed by this story. :)