tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post1249248898387473079..comments2024-03-27T11:32:34.392-07:00Comments on NOT A HOAX! NOT A DREAM!: BATMAN BY MICHAEL FLEISHER: DETECTIVE COMICS #494, 495, 496Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-33291938329917876232014-07-10T09:35:57.904-07:002014-07-10T09:35:57.904-07:00Well, I didn't think the Crime Doctor story wa...Well, I didn't think the Crime Doctor story was bad -- and, honestly, coincidence plays a huge part in some of my favorite comics (Cyclops getting shipwrecked on an island that just happens to belong to Magneto, I'm looking at you). But, yeah, the age at which you first read these things does definitely play into what you're willing to swallow.<br /><br />As far as the books, I think DC views these first and foremost as creator spotlight volumes. And most of the creators they've chosen are artists. We do have an Archie Goodwin volume and an upcoming Len Wein edition, though. But I'd love to be able to read all the Gerry Conway and Doug Moench pre-"Crisis" stories in the correct order.<br /><br />Problem is, even though they have a Don Newton series and a Gene Colan series, Newton only has one volume which hasn't even caught up with Colan yet, and if there's ever a guest artist, you would miss that chapter entirely. DC just hasn't tumbled to the concept, which Marvel figured out a few years ago, that people want to read full writers' runs. Comics are a visual medium, yes, and the good art is obviously a huge draw. And I generally don't enjoy comics with sub-part art. But I would like to be able to read the story attached to that artwork anyway, just to follow the ongoing plot.<br /><br />I have less problem with these books if they're from an era with minor inter-series continuity. I have all the Neal Adams BATMAN volumes due to the fact that DC's stories in seventies -- at least from the Julie Schwartz Batman office -- weren't ongoing serials like they would eventually become. There was the occasional multi-part storyline, and certainly sequels to past issues, but for the most part something like Adams Batman is a bunch of vignettes. Plus, when there was a sequel to an Adams story, Adams himself usually drew it, so that helps.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-48337595319560453372014-07-10T09:07:42.276-07:002014-07-10T09:07:42.276-07:00And I totally agree that, as great as Don Newton&#...And I totally agree that, as great as Don Newton's stuff is, the fact that <i>Batman</i> interwove with <i>Detective</i> nearly every month during this period makes it ridiculous to issue a hardcover devoted to, for the most part, only every other chapter in an ongoing saga.Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-45730880112926913162014-07-10T09:05:26.068-07:002014-07-10T09:05:26.068-07:00I'll stipulate to the fact that nostalgia play...I'll stipulate to the fact that nostalgia played into it, but that Crime Doctor two-parter is a favorite of mine. Circa 9 years old, I loved Don Newton, I loved DC's Dollar Comics package, I loved the whole Batman "Family" in <i>Detective Comics</i>, and the fact that Bruce Wayne had a personal doctor who knew he was Batman made perfect sense. The coincidence in Thorne coming upon Batman and, in particular, recognizing the wound he'd dressed right after treating Bruce Wayne was a bit too pat, sure, but the whole deal of him having an ethical dilemma about revealing Batman's secret identity since he was his patient and the way he planned out his Crime Doctor capers, honestly, I was riveted. Of course you're reading this from a modern perspective, just as I'm reading stuff over at Teebore's for the first time that you guys grew up with, and context is huge for comics of earlier eras.Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.com