An intriguing trifecta of new Bat-related non-comic-book books!

[about_faces]

Every so often, I like to check out Amazon.com to see if there are any Batman books which have slipped through the cracks, stuff which doesn't get mentioned on the usual geek sites anywhere. Usually, I don't find anything new, but on my most recent search while I was procrastinating to distract myself from doing actual writing of any importance, I

Comments

[captaintwinings]

Batman and Psychology looks greatly superior to Batman and Philosophy (in that it seems to acknowledge that there's more to the villains than "thing Batman reacts to"). I'd like to read that.

[about_faces]

... in that it seems to acknowledge that there's more to the villains than "thing Batman reacts to"

Yeah, I think you've touched upon one of the main reasons why those books are so tedious. They have the entire Batman mythos at their disposal, and all they really care about is picking apart Batman, who is often one of the least interesting Batman characters! If they examine any actual villain, it's pretty much just the Joker, as if he's the only villain of depth.

[psychopathicus]

Speaking personally, while I am a big Bat-fan, there's only so many books about the guy that I care to own. I have a crapload of comics starring him that I plan to continue adding to, and copies of Batman: The Complete History and Bob Kane's autobiography, and for me, that's enough. I like me some Batman, but I'd rather make up my own mind about the psychology and so forth of the characters, instead of laying down a relatively hefty chunk of cash on a large book I can't afford and don't really have shelf space for.
Wayne of Gotham, on the other hand, does sound potentially interesting, as I've had good experiences with Bat-related prose so far. I'll wait and see what people think of it, but it's definitely a possibility.
Oh - and man, you are so lucky that you got the GCBH with the reprints! I got a copy a few years ago for Christmas, and I was so excited until I realized that there weren't any comics in it, and minus them it was basically just a slim pamphlet. It's still good stuff, mind you, and I've quoted it on the 'Net

[about_faces]

Yeah, I'm not sure what other Bat-histories would be better than The Complete History (also by Les Daniels, who sadly passed away not too long ago without anybody noticing), although I do want to check out The Batman Vault by Matthew Manning. While I've complained about his second Bat-book, Batman Unmasked, I'm curious to know what would be included within his "museum in a book."

Oh - and man, you are so lucky that you got the GCBH with the reprints!

Man, don't I know it! It belonged to my stepfather, a guy old enough to remember reading Eisner's The Spirit in the newspaper, and I still have that book somewhere packed away. I'm hoping to pass it down to my son, if he cares. I too was disappointed that the comics weren't included in the reprint, but eh, rights and all. Jules Feiffer is one of my heroes, but his essays were the least interesting part of that book, with his backhanded praise of comics being enjoyable junk. We can't really fault him for thinking that, especially during the time that book was written, but it's

[psychopathicus]

The thing about the Complete History books is that they really tell me all I need to know about the characters up to when they were written - which was in the late '90's, and the questions I'd have about the characters are mainly all before then, anyway. There may be more complete histories out there that were written recently, but my tastes tend to run towards the antiquated anyway, so what's the point?
I dunno - I enjoyed the essays well enough. They actually brought up some good points about certain characters that I really hadn't thought of up 'til that point - like the whole 'a real man doesn't want women' aspect to the Clark Kent/Lois Lane/Superman relationship. In the psychological terms of a typical comics reader of the early '40's, it's something that makes perfect sense, and yet it's something I'd never even considered until I read the book - there's insight for you.

[abqreviews]

>Speaking personally, while I am a big Bat-fan, there's only so many books about the guy that I care to own.

Same here. I'm eternally grateful that the first book on comics that I ever read was 'The Comic Book-Book', which, although it touched upon some hero stuff, also included pieces on the EC's, Barks and Gottfredson, The Spirit and war comics. It opened my eyes to a lot of stuff I'd have ignored if I'd only been focused on one particular character or genre. It also gave the incentive to snatch them up at cons back when vendors were dumber.

[abqreviews]

They also are supposedly going to collect the Barr/Davis run as well. That alone will make me jump for joy.

I know I went off on a tangent about how DC treats it's older material, but I have to admit I'm proud of them for recently putting out stuff like the Colan/Rogers/Aparo art books, and the Prey/Terror omnibus (although part of me thinks the reason for that is because both books are going for hundreds on Amazon).

Now if only they'd out out a 'Legends of the Dark Knight: Dick Sprang" edition...

[about_faces]

I managed to get copies of the Gene Colan and Don Newton hardcovers they've done so far, which are really interesting but kinda stupidly collected. The Colan collection has pretty much half of the "return of Rupert Thorne and Hugo Strange" storyline by Conway, so that presumably the rest will be reprinted in second Newton volume... assuming that DC will actually make a second Newton collection. And then the Colan collection jumped ahead to the first Night Slayer and Nocturna appearance and just ended there? Kinda silly and random, really.

Still, really cool collections to have, and I hope they do more. I also approve of the coloring jobs, which are cleaned up but not heavily enhanced. The main source of contention amongst fans is the choice to print it on glossy paper, but I don't mind that so much with these stories. I'm more bothered by the crappier paper quality they used for Prey/Terror, especially since the paper stock and coloring for the original LOTDK Prey issues was--in my opinion--pure perfection.

[mothy_van_cleer]

I actually read World of the Dark Knight in its entirety at a local bookstore, and I'm sorry to say that it's exactly like all the other "official" DC guides they've put out over the years - an abundance of glossy colour photo spreads to fill space, and very little information regarding the characters themselves. Now, granted, this one actually goes a step further than most sourcebooks by recommending lesser-known issues and story arcs in addition to the high-profile stuff, but many of the selections are of dubious quality. (The two-page synopsis of Face the Face, for example. Which member of the editorial board thought that shit was still worth reading?)

It's a passable introduction to younger readers, I suppose, but I still can't help wondering if it's going to give entirely the wrong impression.

[about_faces]

Sighhh, I'm sorry to hear that The World of the Dark Knight is pretty much entirely what I expected. I'm glad to hear that there's SOME attempt at recommending lesser-known storylines, but seriously, a two-page spread for Face the Face Sheesh.

[mothy_van_cleer]

If nothing else, it gave me an excuse to do an Al Pacino impression under my breath. I think I scared some of the nearby kids.

[ext_1288008]

I just finished reading Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight and I know I'll read it again. It's that good. Yeah, it really is greatly superior to Batman and Philosophy and that weak thing Denny edited several years ago. This author really knows his stuff - for both the psychology and the Batman history - and explains it all well, clearly, smartly, sometimes wittily. You asked which version of Harvey. It addresses Two-Face's inconsistent depictions. There's lots on Batman and lots on the villains. The Joker gets a little more attention than most (how could he not?), but other villains get a fair shake too. Stuff on the Scarecrow and Mad Hatter particularly interested me for some reason. The King Tut analysis is pretty fun. It's more about the comics but gets into the movies and some TV too. Chapters on the criminals progress from real world world crime and then get into crazier crooks. I'd like to see what could have been added about the Court of Owls story arc.

[about_faces]

Very cool! That all sounds pretty damn great! Okay, I'm sold, I'll pick up a copy at some point!