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turret's review
3.0
+5 An interesting piece of history since this is the second limited-run comic book series ever made, this serves as a worthy introduction to the origin stories of Batman and his supporting cast of allies and foes for uneducated readers of the ‘80’s and ‘90’s.
Condensing 40 years of Batman origin additions into a three-issue series with several flashbacks re-telling specific stories with new art was genius execution for writer Len Wein to do. Most of them were different in a few major ways compared to their contemporary counterparts for better or for worse, only because the stories used were pre-Crisis (before DC’s reboot event Crisis on Infinite Earths that reset the DC Universe). Despite the book’s title, Batman’s origin story is actually being re-told yet again with information given through said published stories, making it riddled with convoluted details and a conspiracy involving his parents and the mafia.However despite these unnecessary additions, it does mean the origins are not worth skipping over for the sake of differential material. Aside from the flashback sequences, there is a present-day mystery Batman is solving about who is messing with him in the Batcave, and the ending was incredibly weak. Mental illness goes away just by seeing your dead dad’s costume!
Attempting to derive further meaning from the ending, a lot of modern Batman stories are written as if Batman and Bruce Wayne are two separate individuals, but here the conclusion is they are one person dealing with the issues of both identities. Hated how almost all of the dialogue and narration used exclamation marks - it became old really quickly, and makes this book super dated. I’ve heard it was done due to exclamation marks being more prominent in case of any printing failures, but that doesn’t affect my opinion on how it was written.
The art by John Byrne and Jim Aparo is decent and consistent, with how the capes are drawn as if they’re flowing like water in the wind being the most admirable.
Only read if you can be patient with wonky exclamation points, consistent flashbacks and an anti-climatic ending.
[Read and reviewed in June 2023]
Condensing 40 years of Batman origin additions into a three-issue series with several flashbacks re-telling specific stories with new art was genius execution for writer Len Wein to do. Most of them were different in a few major ways compared to their contemporary counterparts for better or for worse, only because the stories used were pre-Crisis (before DC’s reboot event Crisis on Infinite Earths that reset the DC Universe). Despite the book’s title, Batman’s origin story is actually being re-told yet again with information given through said published stories, making it riddled with convoluted details and a conspiracy involving his parents and the mafia.However despite these unnecessary additions, it does mean the origins are not worth skipping over for the sake of differential material. Aside from the flashback sequences, there is a present-day mystery Batman is solving about who is messing with him in the Batcave, and the ending was incredibly weak. Mental illness goes away just by seeing your dead dad’s costume!
Attempting to derive further meaning from the ending, a lot of modern Batman stories are written as if Batman and Bruce Wayne are two separate individuals, but here the conclusion is they are one person dealing with the issues of both identities. Hated how almost all of the dialogue and narration used exclamation marks - it became old really quickly, and makes this book super dated. I’ve heard it was done due to exclamation marks being more prominent in case of any printing failures, but that doesn’t affect my opinion on how it was written.
The art by John Byrne and Jim Aparo is decent and consistent, with how the capes are drawn as if they’re flowing like water in the wind being the most admirable.
Only read if you can be patient with wonky exclamation points, consistent flashbacks and an anti-climatic ending.
[Read and reviewed in June 2023]
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
When his father's bat-suit arrives in the mail, shredded, Batman finds that someone close to him means to destroy him, someone who knows his true identity. Will Batman find the person targeting him before winding up dead?
I actually own two versions of this: the black and white paperback version DC put out in 1982 and the undersized individual issues that came with the Batman cereal to coincide with the first Tim Burton movie. My old copy got waterlogged when my beer fridge leaked but I stumbled upon a new copy a little while back at the used bookstore I always go to.
Back in 1980 or thereabouts, John Byrne had a gap in his schedule and DC offered him Untold Legend of the Batman, a retelling of Batman's origin for the Bronze Age. Due to logistical issues, Byrne only did the pencils for the first issue. Jim Aparo, MY Batman artist, did the inks on the first issue and all the art on the remaining two. Jose Luis Garcia Lopez did the covers. How's that for art? For the time period, it was pretty much unbeatable. In black and white, Jim Aparo's wizardry is quite apparent, especially in his use of shadow.
As for the story, it streamlined, rearranged, condensed, and edited a lot of material that came after Batman's first Silver Age appearance in Detective Comics 327, establishing that Bruce Wayne was the first person to wear the iconic Robin outfit Dick Grayson is known for and Thomas Wayne was the first Batman of sorts. It also recaps the origins of Robin, Alfred, the Batmobile, Batgirl, Commissioner Gordon, and The Joker for the Bronze age.
The ending is kind of lame but since The Untold Legend of The Batman was a miniseries, it couldn't upset the apple cart too much. How many times has Batman been rebooted since Untold Legend of the Batman? Regardless, this is an interesting look at an interesting period in the life/publishing history of the Dark Knight, when Bruce Wayne lived atop the Wayne Foundation building because Wayne Manor was too big for he and Alfred when Dick went off to college. Batman is far from the flawless Bat-God he'd later be and seems a lot more human.
For a bunch of comics from 1980, The Untold Legend of the Batman holds up very well. Four out of five stars.
I actually own two versions of this: the black and white paperback version DC put out in 1982 and the undersized individual issues that came with the Batman cereal to coincide with the first Tim Burton movie. My old copy got waterlogged when my beer fridge leaked but I stumbled upon a new copy a little while back at the used bookstore I always go to.
Back in 1980 or thereabouts, John Byrne had a gap in his schedule and DC offered him Untold Legend of the Batman, a retelling of Batman's origin for the Bronze Age. Due to logistical issues, Byrne only did the pencils for the first issue. Jim Aparo, MY Batman artist, did the inks on the first issue and all the art on the remaining two. Jose Luis Garcia Lopez did the covers. How's that for art? For the time period, it was pretty much unbeatable. In black and white, Jim Aparo's wizardry is quite apparent, especially in his use of shadow.
As for the story, it streamlined, rearranged, condensed, and edited a lot of material that came after Batman's first Silver Age appearance in Detective Comics 327, establishing that Bruce Wayne was the first person to wear the iconic Robin outfit Dick Grayson is known for and Thomas Wayne was the first Batman of sorts. It also recaps the origins of Robin, Alfred, the Batmobile, Batgirl, Commissioner Gordon, and The Joker for the Bronze age.
The ending is kind of lame but since The Untold Legend of The Batman was a miniseries, it couldn't upset the apple cart too much. How many times has Batman been rebooted since Untold Legend of the Batman? Regardless, this is an interesting look at an interesting period in the life/publishing history of the Dark Knight, when Bruce Wayne lived atop the Wayne Foundation building because Wayne Manor was too big for he and Alfred when Dick went off to college. Batman is far from the flawless Bat-God he'd later be and seems a lot more human.
For a bunch of comics from 1980, The Untold Legend of the Batman holds up very well. Four out of five stars.
lindakat's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
It was ok, for its time I imagine this origin story would have been revolutionary in forming continuity in the timeline. However, having read a stack of Batman, I much prefer origin stories like the ones Scott Snyder done in the New 52’s or Neil Gaiman’s where there was an infinite loop of realities. This felt… lacking in depth in comparison.
hmt200's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sherpawhale's review
4.0
An interesting look at Batman pre-Year One. At first, many of the differences seemed weird and not quite right. But in retrospect, I like that Alfred came to Gotham later (jives with Snyder's backups in the Court of the Owls), I like that Bruce's father inspired the costume, and I like that Bruce was actually the first Robin.
The art was quite expressive and beautiful. One star off for it being in black and white, and the ending, which seemed rather abrupt. Good, classic Batman origin.
The art was quite expressive and beautiful. One star off for it being in black and white, and the ending, which seemed rather abrupt. Good, classic Batman origin.
rabbithero's review
3.0
Kinda silly, even taking into account the era it comes from. Still, a fun overview of pre-crisis Batman.
samhain's review
3.0
Alfred basically hijacking Bruce's mansion is probably my favorite part of this story. I constantly forget that the origins of Batman were akin to an acid trip, but it's always worth revisiting.
thebookishbabbler's review
3.0
Actual rating 3.75
This was a bit of a different vibe compared to other batman comics which sort of took em out of the story. And even though my child dick grayson was involved this wasn't my favorite. It was still really fast and entertaining and had some amazing action sequences.
This was a bit of a different vibe compared to other batman comics which sort of took em out of the story. And even though my child dick grayson was involved this wasn't my favorite. It was still really fast and entertaining and had some amazing action sequences.
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