Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Batman Collected Legends of the Dark Knight by James Robinson Read All the Comics! I used to love this. Then I watched the animated movie, which completely ruined it for me. (So many horrible problems with it.) I was worried that the comic would never be as good for me again. Thank goodness for Alan Moore, this is still as well written as it used to be. Hearing his words spoken aloud (as with Frank Miller, some authors are best read and not said) doesn’t diminish their power on the page. This is apex Brian Bolland art, his is on the top tier of Joker renditions. The rare serious Joker. Almost feel sorry for him. And of course there’s Joker shooting Barbara Gordon. A truly disturbing event that somehow changes the DCU for the better - Oracle is one of the coolest characters ever, and as much as I like Batgirl, I wish she had stayed the information hub of the heroes. It’s a far more interesting, powerful, and unique role. One of the most pivotal moments in DC history. Nice to know that the classics can’t be ruined. Regret buying: No. Would buy again: Yes. Would read again: Yes. Rating: Really good. Batman: The Man Who Laughs. Ed Brubaker and Doug Mahnke tell the story of Batman’s first encounter with the Joker (after the accident at the chemical plant). It’s perfectly acceptable, nothing standout. Regret buying: No. Would buy again: No. Would read again: Yes. Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 16-20. Venom . This is a really well told story by Denny O’Neil and Trevor Von Eeden. It’s completely plausible that a perfectionist like Batman, who tolerates no failure on his part, would break down and start taking steroids in response to a kidnapped girl’s death on his watch. His descent into addiction is gripping to watch, as is his cold turkey recovery. Things get a little less interesting once he goes to Santa Prisca (is Bane there as we speak?) but Batman’s escape from the deathtrap is vintage brains over brawn. An excellent arc even without considering the bigger picture of how this eventually leads to Bane. Regret buying: No. Would buy again: Yes. Would read again: Yes. Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 28-30. Faces by Matt Wagner. This reads a lot like Batman/Grendel , with blackmailed victims, turncoat civilians, villains stealing from museums, and amazing Wagner art. Not quite as good as I remember, but still a lot of fun. "Holding it." It paints such a vivid picture. Wagner's so good at these creative layouts. Love how a few splotches of ink can do so much. The word balloons! Regret buying: No. Would buy again: Yes. Would read again: Yes. Rating: Pretty good. Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 32-34. Blades by James Robinson and Tim Sale. A wonderful mixing of genres, as this all-star team takes Errol Flynn and drops him right into the middle of a film noir. Toss in the comic book heroics of Batman and there are so many ways this could have gone wrong. Instead, this is practically perfect with an ending that’s still emotionally affecting after all these years. BATMAN: BLADES. With the sheer volume of Batman stories that are produced every year, there always seems to be great tales that fly under the radar. One of these stories is Batman: Blades by James Robinson with art by Tim Sale which was actually his first work on the character. Originally published in Legends of The Dark Knight the story deals with Batman becoming obsessed with catching a serial killer, and also sees the reinvention of an obscure Batman villain The Cavalier. The story was a great balance of dark and light elements and excellent character work. Robinson was able to reintroduce one of the silliest Batman characters and tell a tale that equal parts fun and tragic. The artwork of Tim Sale also showcased great things to come and it’s very obvious from these issues that he was going to be one of the best artists to ever work on the dark knight. The story revolves around Batman as he is tracking a killer known as “Mr. Lime”. Lime has been attacking senior citizens throughout Gotham but besides his type of victim, everything else is random. Batman becomes obsessed with the case and as a result, he is not as active on the streets. In his absence, a new Vigilante “The Cavalier” makes his appearance. He is a swashbuckling swordsman in the mold of Zorro and his charismatic nature and effective crime-fighting quickly makes him popular in Gotham. Even Batman approves and is happy that someone else is helping to fight crime in Gotham. However, when the Cavalier saves a woman from committing suicide and falls in love with her he finds out that she is being blackmailed by a criminal for killing her abusive husband. The Cavalier strikes a deal with the criminal which require him to commit a string of robberies and the blackmail will end. However, the Cavalier is caught and is put on a collision course with the dark knight. For a three issue story there is a lot going on but amazingly the story never feels cramped as Robinson and Sale craft an excellent tale. The strength of the story is in the character work with the highlight being the Cavalier and his tragic downfall. When he is introduced he is immediately likable as a more upbeat and charismatic version of Batman. Even the dark knight approves of him and admits that style of crime fighter and probably better for Gotham. His likeability makes his downfall all the more tragic but even his turn to crime isn’t from greed or insanity but from trying to save someone else. This one of the best reinventions of an old obscure character and reminded me a lot of Mr. Freeze’s revamp in Batman: The Animated Series , in fact, this story actually feels a lot of an episode of that show with its focus on character. Batman’s story is also well done. One of the great things about doing an early years tale of the dark knight as you can have been a little more flawed and have him overcome these faults. Here we see Batman become obsessed with a murder investigation which causes him to have tunnel vision and ignore everything else in his life. His obsession with the case takes its toll on the caped crusader as the victims pile up he becomes more guilt-ridden and more determined to catch the killer. When the Cavalier hits the scene he’s initially skeptical but quickly comes around as he is reminded of Zorro and even admits he is the hero he wishes he could be. The Dark Knight is actually happy that someone else has taken up the crime-fighting cause but the betrayal hits hard when the cavalier is exposed as a thief. Obviously, a big reason to check out the story is Tim Sale’s art. As mentioned this was his first Batman story and it’s interesting to see his work before the more well-known collaborations with Jeph Loeb. His style of art fits Batman incredibly well and it seems obvious from this story that he would go on to great things. It’s kind of amazing that this story is sort of forgotten about considering it has one of the all-time best Batman artists making his debut with the character. The writing is also excellent. James Robinson was able to put a lot into this story and not have it feel cramped. He would go on to great work with both JSA and Starman . He would write a number of Batman stories after this all of which are pretty good, but this still might be my favorite. Given the level of talent that worked on this book and the quality of its story, I feel like this is a tale that deserves more love than it gets. Yes, the story arc was only three issues but it feels much bigger and is really an incredible feat of storytelling. The story was actually one of the earliest LOTDK stories to be collected when it was included in Batman: Collected Legends of the Dark Knight but sadly that trade has long since fallen out of print. It was recently recollected in Legends of the Dark Knight: Tim Sale which collected all the artist’s work on the character sans the Jeph Loeb stuff. Batman: Blades is definitely worth checking out as the story is a wonderful blend of action and drama and sees two great comic creators in a work that showed great potential. Collects: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #32 – 34 (1992) Batman: Monsters. Werewolf was written by James Robinson. It was illustrated by John Watkiss. It was published from May to July, 1995 in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight. In this story Batman investigates murders that seem to have been committed by a werewolf. Infected was written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by John McCrea. It was published in May and June, 1996 in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight. This story is about Batman battling bio-engineered soldiers turned killing-machines. Clay was written by Alan Grant and illustrated by Enrique Alcatena. It was published in December, 1996 and January, 1997 in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight. In this story Batman faces Clayface.