Batman Books - Page 2

Batman: Hush, Vol. 2

Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee

Amazon Price: $10.39 List Price: $12.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: DC Comics Amazon Marketplace: 57 new & used starting at $6.68

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Authors, A-Z -> Loeb, Jeph
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Authors, A-Z -> Sim, Dave
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Characters -> Batman

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 35 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

art: good, story: bad. 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Jim Lee's art is fantastic. The only reason I've cracked this book open again after my first and only read is to look at the art, and the art alone.
Jeph Loeb's storytelling is the same as it's always been. Bits are genuinely cool, good characterization here and there- which keeps you reading. But then the guy starts randomly shoving in cheap twist after twist- until the whole thing is reduced to an unintelligible pile.
He ends with little to no resolution on important plot points.
That sort of thing leaves some people wanting more.
I only wonder why I bought the damn thing.

Nowhere Near as Good as Part I 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Unfortunately, this second volume of "Batman: Hush" falls victim to the same problems that usually plague the second halves of graphic novel series. In other words, the storyline is predictable and the action outweighed by tedious amounts of exposition, as though the author is trying to unravel the previous volume's mysteries as fast as possible rather than allowing the story to unfold more naturally. The artwork is still very solid, but I would have greatly preferred to sacrifice some of the mystery of Volume I (which is excellent!) if it would have meant keeping Batman from long expository ponderings while he's supposedly fighting for his life!

Reading this second volume, I was reminded again and again of the second volume of "Superman: For Tomorrow", which suffers almost all the same problems. Overall, I'd say both series are still worth reading, but in both cases, the first half is definitely better!

Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again

Frank Miller, Lynn Varley

Amazon Price: $13.59 List Price: $19.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: DC Comics Amazon Marketplace: 52 new & used starting at $10.05

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Characters -> Batman
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Comic Strips -> General
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Comic Strips -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 237 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Dark Knight Strikes Again is Frank Miller's follow-up to his hugely successful Batman: the Dark Knight Returns, one of the few comics that is widely recognized as not only reinventing the genre but also bringing it to a wider audience.Set three years after the events of The Dark Knight Returns, The Dark Knight Strikes Again follows a similar structure: once again, Batman hauls himself out of his self-imposed retirement in order to set things right. However, where DKR was about him cleaning up his home city, Gotham, DKSA has him casting his net much wider: he's out to save the world.The thing is, most of the world doesn't realize that it needs to be saved--least of all Superman and Wonder Woman, who have become little more than superpowered enforcers of the status quo. So, the notoriously solitary Batman is forced to recruit some different superpowered allies. He also has his ever-present trusty sidekick, Robin, except that he is a she, and she is calling herself Catwoman. Together, these super-friends uncover a vast and far-reaching conspiracy that leads to the President of the United States (Lex Luthor) and beyond.The Dark Knight Strikes Again is largely an entertaining comic, but much of what made The Dark Knight Returns so good just doesn't work here. Miller's gritty, untidy artwork was perfect for DKR's grim depiction of the dark and seedy Gotham City, but it jars a bit for DKSA, which is meant to depict an ultra-glossy, futuristic technocracy. Lynn Varley's garish coloring attempts to add a slicker sheen, but the artwork is ultimately let down by that which worked so well for DKR--this time around, it just feels sloppy and rushed. The same is true of the book's denouement, which happens so quickly that it leaves the reader reeling and looking for more of an explanation. Moreover, DKSA is packed full of characters who will mean little to those unfamiliar with the DC Comics universe (e.g., the Atom, the Elongated Man, the Question).Perhaps the book's biggest failing is that where The Dark Knight Returns gave comic book fans a base from which to evangelize to theuninitiated, The Dark Knight Strikes Again is just preaching to the converted. Comic book superhero fans will find much to enjoy here, but others would be better off sticking with the original. --Robert Burrow

Batman: Haunted Knight

Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale

Amazon Price: $10.19 List Price: $14.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: DC Comics Amazon Marketplace: 66 new & used starting at $7.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Drawing -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Drawing -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Action & Adventure

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Batman Fights Scarecrow and Mad Hatter 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The Scarecrow and Mad Hatter as real Batman villains, the way it should be! Not as filler characters as in other Halloween books like The Long Halloween and Dark Victory. Only problem is they are short stories since there are 3 stories in this book. The last story sucks so much as Bruce Wayne gets visited by spirits of his past a la A Christmas Carol.

Another excellent graphic novel by Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Just like Loeb/Sale's "Batman: Long Halloween" and "Batman: Dark Victory", "Batman: Haunted Knight" is another holiday themed graphic novel. It is a trio of short stories which are nothing short of amazing. In the first story, Scarecrow is prowling about Gotham on Halloween night. The second story is based around the Mad Hatter and his obsession with Lewis Carrol's "Alice and Wonderland". Finally, the third story is a batman christmas carrolesque story in which batman learns a life lesson from three spirits who take the form of people who have greatly influenced him throughout his years. ((Note: the final story is clearly meant to be like Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". At the beginning of the graphic novel it says "Ghosts based on a christmas carol"))
The artwork by Sale is amazing and as always, Loeb continues to prove he knows how to tell a great story.

Editorial Review:

In the city of the demented villains, Halloween brings out the worst of the lot. This edition collects three of Batman's Halloween adventures in which he takes on some of the most fearsome and twisted foes--The Scarecrow, The Mad Hatter, and The Penguin. Graphic novel format. Available in September.

Batman: The Man Who Laughs

Ed Brubaker

Amazon Price: $10.19 List Price: $14.99 Not yet published By: DC Comics

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Characters -> Batman
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Graphic Novels -> Superheroes
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Graphic Novels -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

An Odd Collection 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Buy this book to read Ed Brubaker and Doug mahnke excellent redux of the Joker's first encounter with batman. In a shocking turn, DC hires a great artist to do a high profile Batman tale. I only fault this story on being too short.
The Man Who Laughs was orignally published as a 48 page soft cover graphic novel, but deserves the hardcover format. Sadly, the cover graphics are not very well done. The white spine with the ugly blue at the bottom doesn't look good on the book shelf, particularly next to it's natural companion, the recently released Killing Joke hardcover.
As a filler, a Batman/Golden Age Green Lantern story is also randomely reprinted here. This story originally appeared in Detective Comics which Mr. Brubaker wrote for a little over a year. I remember his run as well written (as most of his work is), but laden with poor fill-in art unworthy of his scripts. The artwork by Mike Lilly is just OK, but I fail to see why it was included in this hardcover.
It would have been much better to reprint the Joker's first two appearances from Batman #1, as well as Dennis O'Neal's Legends of the Dark Knight #50, from 1993, which retold the same story of Batman's first encounter with the Joker. Dennis O'Neal wrote a spot on story with some great moments, but the particularly bad art from Brett Blevins is not something which should be seen again. At least the theme of the book would have been consistant.

Editorial Review:

Witness Batman's historic first encounters with his deadliest foe, The Joker, in this hardcover volume featuring two tales written by Ed Brubaker (GOTHAM CENTRAL, Captain America), winner of 2007 Eisner Award for Best Writer.

A mysterious homicidal maniac is murdering prominent citizens of Gotham City, each time leaving a ghastly grin on the victims' lifeless faces. Batman soon tracks down the killer: The Joker!

This volume gives readers new insight into the early encounters between Batman and The Joker that led the Clown Prince of Crime down the path to insanity. Guest-starring original Green Lantern Alan Scott.

Batman and Son

Grant Morrison

Amazon Price: $10.19 List Price: $14.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: DC Comics Amazon Marketplace: 46 new & used starting at $6.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Characters -> Batman
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Graphic Novels -> Superheroes
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Graphic Novels -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Overly Ambitious and Not Entertaining Enough 2 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I can't tell you the thing I disliked most about this story without giving a major spoiler, so I'll just say that from the first time Damien goes after a villian, the Batman I know would have ended this game. It was convoluted and at times boring. There was no reason to change the basic storyline that had been established in "Son of the Demon", but Morrison does it anyway.

The Joker story and the Epilogue story were really just filler, but I liked the Joker story better than the other stuff in the book.

I could really have done without "Batman and Son."

Editorial Review:

Comic legends Grant Morrison (ALL STAR SUPERMAN, SEVEN SOLDIERS) and Andy Kubert (Ultimate X-Men, 1602) join forces to bring you an unforgettable tale of the Dark Knight.

After Batman faces down an army of winged horrors in a no-holds barred, bone-crunching superbrawl among the treasures of London's Pop Art Museum, Batman receives the greatest shock of his life when he discovers that he has a son. Sparks fly when the new addition to the Bat-family is introduced to Batman's adopted son, Robin, the Boy Wonder. Which one will be chosen to carry on the legacy as Gotham's protector?

Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero

E. Paul Zehr

Amazon Price: $17.79 List Price: $26.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: The Johns Hopkins University Press Amazon Marketplace: 34 new & used starting at $16.35

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Characters -> Batman
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Graphic Novels -> Superheroes
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Graphic Novels -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Battling bad guys. High-tech hideouts. The gratitude of the masses. Who at some point in their life hasn't dreamed of being a superhero? Impossible, right? Or is it?

Possessing no supernatural powers, Batman is the most realistic of all the superheroes. His feats are achieved through rigorous training and mental discipline, and with the aid of fantastic gadgets. Drawing on his training as a neuroscientist, kinesiologist, and martial artist, E. Paul Zehr explores the question: Could a mortal ever become Batman?

Zehr discusses the physical training necessary to maintain bad-guy-fighting readiness while relating the science underlying this process, from strength conditioning to the cognitive changes a person would endure in undertaking such a regimen. In probing what a real-life Batman could achieve, Zehr considers the level of punishment a consummately fit and trained person could handle, how hard and fast such a person could punch and kick, and the number of adversaries that individual could dispatch. He also tells us what it would be like to fight while wearing a batsuit and the amount of food we'd need to consume each day to maintain vigilance as Gotham City's guardian.

A fun foray of escapism grounded in sound science, Becoming Batman provides the background for attaining the realizable -- though extreme -- level of human performance that would allow you to be a superhero.

Batman: Private Casebook

Paul Dini

Amazon Price: $13.59 List Price: $19.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: DC Comics Amazon Marketplace: 34 new & used starting at $9.58

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Characters -> Batman
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Graphic Novels -> Superheroes
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Graphic Novels -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Steady as she goes 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

To anyone already familiar with Paul Dini and Co's steady run on Detective Comics, there isn't anything major to report. This latest collection starts out propitiously with a surprising epilogue to the recently completed Ra's al Ghul crossover, and then continues on with an encounter with the Mad Hatter, a Peter Milligan tale recounting the suit of sorrows, a two part origin on the new Ventriloquist guest starring Zatanna, and concludes with a murder mystery highlighted by an internet interlude involving Batman perusing an online chat room. Dini appears to have developed his own core cast of characters during his tenure, many of which are again featured here, specifically the aforementioned Zatanna, Scarface, and the Riddler to name a few. As usual, some individual issues are stronger than others, but fortunately there isn't a blemish in the entire bunch. This compilation once again makes a convincing case, despite this age of the arc that we live in, for the continued use of single issue stories. In fact, they are so well executed with sufficient depth and detail that the one two-parter reads lengthy by contrast. The one chief change was the replacement of Don Kramer on pencils by Dustin Nguyen, a transition made smoothly and skillfully. For all fans of this series, enjoy it while you can. With the recent announcement of Detective going on temporary hiatus, one has to wonder what format will be employed upon its return, and whether or not Dini himself will even be back as the main writer. Time will tell.

The Dark Knight: I Am Batman (I Can Read Book 2)

Catherine Hapka

Amazon Price: $3.99 List Price: $3.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperCollins Amazon Marketplace: 34 new & used starting at $0.98

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Action & Adventure

Editorial Review:

When Batman sees the Bat-Signal up in the sky, it means that danger is near! He'll need his Batsuit and Bat-Pod to help keep Gotham City safe from its newest enemy—the Joker!

All-Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder, Vol. 1

Frank Miller

Amazon Price: $16.49 List Price: $24.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: DC Comics Amazon Marketplace: 63 new & used starting at $12.48

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Characters -> Batman
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Graphic Novels -> Superheroes
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Graphic Novels -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 46 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

What's the goddamn point? 2 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The "All-Star" concept seems infallible on paper: bring together the most celebrated artists and writers together on an out-of-continuity title, allowing them carte blanche to loose their creativity. "All-Star Superman" was a shining example of how well this can work. Bringing Frank Miller and Jim Lee together for "All-Star Batman and Robin" should have repeated this success. SHOULD have...

Set sometime after Miller's seminal "Year One" storyline, this collection tells of Batman's adoption of Robin as his side-kick and ward. It should have been an ideal opportunity to explore grief, revenge and loss through the darkened lens of Miller's noir sensibilities. Instead, we have a flat retelling of the Robin origin that can't seem to give credence to its own style.

All too often attention is drawn to the fact that Batman's "Clint Eastwood impression" of a voice is ridiculous, that "The Batmobile" is a stupid name for a vehicle, that calling Dick Grayson his "ward" smacks of paedophilia - making us question whether Miller can even take himself seriously these days, let alone his subject matter.

Then there are the pointless appearances by the Justice League, the Black Canary and Batgirl - all of whom are given one-dimensional personalities and serve no other purpose than letting Miller poke fun at superheroes. A similar treatment is given to Vicki Vale whose sole purpose seems to be to parade around in her underwear until she can be hideously injured in a car accident.

Poor Jim Lee, who has to spend agonising hours illustrating this nonsense.

Editorial Review:

The talents responsible for some of Batman's greatest tales, Frank Miller (BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, Sin City) and Jim Lee (BATMAN: HUSH) team up for the first time to bring you Batman and Robin like you've never seen them before in this reinvention of these classic characters.

All hell breaks loose at the circus as Bruce Wayne and gal pal Vicki Vale witness a young boy's life shattered before their eyes. Orphaned, Dick Grayson has nowhere to go and no one to turn to -- no one but Bruce Wayne! Expect action, adventure, guest-stars and the unexpected as Miller and Lee deliver the ultimate tales of the Dynamic Duo!

The Essential Batman Encyclopedia

Robert Greenberger

Amazon Price: $19.77 List Price: $29.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Del Rey Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $15.49

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Characters -> Batman
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Graphic Novels -> Superheroes
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Graphic Novels -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The ultimate guide to the man behind the mask . . . and the mythology behind the man.

“Criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot. So my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible. . . . I shall become a bat!” So declared millionaire industrialist Bruce Wayne, orphaned as a boy by a murderous thug and driven as a man to battle the scourge of crime by becoming Batman. Batman swooped into popular culture in 1939–and for nearly seventy years has thrilled audiences in countless comics, live-action and animated television programs, and seven feature films. Prowling the darkened rooftops of Gotham City, roaring through the teeming streets in the sleek, high-powered Batmobile, and leaping into action when the iconic Bat-Signal pierces the night sky, the Caped Crusader is a larger-than-life legend. And now, for the first time in more than thirty years, everything there is to know about Batman–from the beginning to the present, and from A to Z–is collected in one comprehensive new sourcebook. More than 500 pages of entries and illustrations include:

• fascinating details and the complete background on Batman’s origins
• biographies of every major character in the Batman universe–including his closest allies, from Robin the Boy Wonder and faithful butler Alfred Pennyworth to Commissioner Gordon; and his countless enemies, from the Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, and the Riddler to Scarecrow, Two-Face, Ra’s al Ghul and Poison Ivy
• classic black-and-white comic book artwork throughout
• two sixteen-page full-color artwork inserts

Even an all-access pass to the Batcave couldn’t rival former DC Comics editor and Batman scholar extraordinaire Robert Greenberger’s exhaustive ultimate archive. The Essential Batman Encyclopedia is a must for every Batman fan’s bookshelf.

BATMAN, the DC Logo, and all related names, characters and elements are trademarks of DC Comics © 2008. All rights reserved.