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skipbassman's review
3.0
Overall a pretty great collection when it comes to the self contained Adams stories. Interesting to see how his art progresses as he writes some of the most iconic Batman rogues such as Man-Bat and Ra's and the League of Assassins.
Unfortunately, Batman Odyssey is a hot mess and brings the enjoyment of the collection to a screeching halt. It'd been a good eight years or so since I'd read it, picking up the first issue from Neal's booth at a comic expo in Calgary years back, and maybe the fact that I'd read it in single issues made me think I liked it more than I truly did.
In any case, it's a great collection for your shelf and I'm happy that mine has a commissioned Batman bust by Neal on the inside cover from a later Expo I'd attended.
3.5 / 5
Unfortunately, Batman Odyssey is a hot mess and brings the enjoyment of the collection to a screeching halt. It'd been a good eight years or so since I'd read it, picking up the first issue from Neal's booth at a comic expo in Calgary years back, and maybe the fact that I'd read it in single issues made me think I liked it more than I truly did.
In any case, it's a great collection for your shelf and I'm happy that mine has a commissioned Batman bust by Neal on the inside cover from a later Expo I'd attended.
3.5 / 5
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
Batman by Neal Adams Book One contains World's Finest Comics #175-176 and The Brave and The Bold #79-85. On the heels of Superman vs. Muhammad Ali, I was jonesing for more Neal Adams and picked this up.
Neal Adams changed comics forever, ushering in a new age of illustration-based artwork rather than cartoon-based. He was also instrumental in ending the campy, fun Batman inspired by the TV show to the Dark Knight Detective. The stories in this book are his earliest experiences with Batman.
The two World's Finest issues were kind of a bizarre, juxtaposing the funny Batman of the 1960s with more realistic art. Two Batman-Superman team-ups, two cheesefests. I do like that Robin and Jimmy Olsen were so chummy that they had their own headquarters independent of Batman and Superman.
The issues of The Brave and the Bold are another animal entirely. Gone are most of the quips as Batman becomes an avenger of the night, battling street crime in Gotham City with the likes of Deadman, The Creeper, The Flash, Aquaman, The Teen Titans, Sgt. Rock, and Green Arrow. At one point, the main Batman books caught heat because fans said the real Batman was in The Brave and the Bold. I'm inclined to agree.
The stories in the Brave and the Bold seem like fairly typical Batman fare of the late 1970s with other heroes bolted on but they were ground-breaking tales from almost a decade earlier. Green Arrow's iconic costume was also introduced in these pages. Even at 40+ years old, Neal Adams' pencils still look contemporary. The man is that damn good, especially with Dick Giordano on inks. His realistic artwork is still influential decades later.
Batman by Neal Adams Book One showcases the artwork that would change Batman and comics in general for decades to come. Four out of five stars.
Neal Adams changed comics forever, ushering in a new age of illustration-based artwork rather than cartoon-based. He was also instrumental in ending the campy, fun Batman inspired by the TV show to the Dark Knight Detective. The stories in this book are his earliest experiences with Batman.
The two World's Finest issues were kind of a bizarre, juxtaposing the funny Batman of the 1960s with more realistic art. Two Batman-Superman team-ups, two cheesefests. I do like that Robin and Jimmy Olsen were so chummy that they had their own headquarters independent of Batman and Superman.
The issues of The Brave and the Bold are another animal entirely. Gone are most of the quips as Batman becomes an avenger of the night, battling street crime in Gotham City with the likes of Deadman, The Creeper, The Flash, Aquaman, The Teen Titans, Sgt. Rock, and Green Arrow. At one point, the main Batman books caught heat because fans said the real Batman was in The Brave and the Bold. I'm inclined to agree.
The stories in the Brave and the Bold seem like fairly typical Batman fare of the late 1970s with other heroes bolted on but they were ground-breaking tales from almost a decade earlier. Green Arrow's iconic costume was also introduced in these pages. Even at 40+ years old, Neal Adams' pencils still look contemporary. The man is that damn good, especially with Dick Giordano on inks. His realistic artwork is still influential decades later.
Batman by Neal Adams Book One showcases the artwork that would change Batman and comics in general for decades to come. Four out of five stars.
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
Batman by Neal Adams Book Two contains stories from Batman 219, The Brave and the Bold 86 and 94 and Detective Comics 395, 397, 400, 402, 404, 407, 408, and 410.
Neal Adams is often credited with revitalizing Batman and changing comics forever with his illustration-based style. This volume is a prime example.
In Batman by Neal Adams Book Two, the Caped Crusader goes up against Man-Bat, Dr. Tzin-Tzin, and the League of Assassins, as well as more mundane menaces. He teams with Deadman and enters the House of Mystery, encounters ghosts and immortal lovers. None of the stories are anything spectacular apart from Neal Adams' art, although it's interesting to see Batman as the Dark Knight Detective rather than the guy who plans for every contingency. As a whole, the stories are more mature than the ones in Batman By Neal Adams Book One, although it's still amusing to see Neal Adams' realistic looking Batman engaged in occasional Silver Age silliness.
Neal Adams' art is as fresh as ever. It has a timeless quality, like it was in a comic published yesterday instead of being fifty years old. Dick Giordano's inks on most of the tales only serve to drive home that point. Adams and Giordano's Batman spends a lot of his time in moody, shadowy places. His Man-Bat is also great, a grotesque but still sympathetic figure. It's sad that Man-Bat has pretty much faded into obscurity these days since his tales in this collection were easily my favorites.
Neal Adams' reputation as a pioneer and innovator in comics is well-justified. While his Batman isn't quite my favorite, it's easily in the top three. Four out of five stars.
Neal Adams is often credited with revitalizing Batman and changing comics forever with his illustration-based style. This volume is a prime example.
In Batman by Neal Adams Book Two, the Caped Crusader goes up against Man-Bat, Dr. Tzin-Tzin, and the League of Assassins, as well as more mundane menaces. He teams with Deadman and enters the House of Mystery, encounters ghosts and immortal lovers. None of the stories are anything spectacular apart from Neal Adams' art, although it's interesting to see Batman as the Dark Knight Detective rather than the guy who plans for every contingency. As a whole, the stories are more mature than the ones in Batman By Neal Adams Book One, although it's still amusing to see Neal Adams' realistic looking Batman engaged in occasional Silver Age silliness.
Neal Adams' art is as fresh as ever. It has a timeless quality, like it was in a comic published yesterday instead of being fifty years old. Dick Giordano's inks on most of the tales only serve to drive home that point. Adams and Giordano's Batman spends a lot of his time in moody, shadowy places. His Man-Bat is also great, a grotesque but still sympathetic figure. It's sad that Man-Bat has pretty much faded into obscurity these days since his tales in this collection were easily my favorites.
Neal Adams' reputation as a pioneer and innovator in comics is well-justified. While his Batman isn't quite my favorite, it's easily in the top three. Four out of five stars.
bstratton's review against another edition
3.0
The art is incredible, and Adams was so far beyond everyone else in the business at this time that it’s not even funny. He’s so good, he makes these absolutely godawful stories readable and even somewhat entertaining.
bstratton's review against another edition
5.0
The first appearance of Ra’s al-Ghul, the Rutland Halloween Parade, Joker and Two-Face stories, and lots of Denny O’Neil-penned tales. You can’t ask for a better collection of Batman’s 70’s adventures!
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