Batman!

I must admit I have never been a big Batman fan, I didn't grow up watching any of the animated shows or the live action series from the mid sixties. However I did watch Batman Begins and read the story arc War Games and thought they were both interesting. As you can probably tell I am not going to claim that I love Batman and always have, I have to state that until recently I held no regard to Batman in movie form or in comic books. There are many reasons for this as high as people seem to hold the Adam West TV show it always seemed to add a stigma to reading Batman comics or even watching the movies.

The first time I picked up a Batman comic book it was the final part to A Death In The Family the story arc on which Jason Todd is killed by The Joker. Now I was reading this years after its original release and the art seemed to copy that of the camp TV series and I was instantly put off, for a story which is supposed to be powerful and depressing for the Caped Crusader the art reflected a care free and happy tone.

Then I read War Games which I thought was much better yet as I wasn't a regular reader of any DC comic I quickly got lost in the amount of characters and back story they had either way I loved War Games. It put to bed my thoughts of the 1960's TV show.

Recently I read Mark Millar's Nemesis and really quite enjoyed it, it reflected the anti-Batman. The story is about a rich man who has access to all these coll gadgets, cars and weapons much like The Dark Knight but instead of using them for good he uses them purely to kill police officers. At this time my friend had just started reading Batman graphic novels and was raving about the story arc where Bane breaks Bruce Wayne's back and it got me curious so I decided to do a little research and purchase some of the more classic Batman titles those being...

Batman: Arkham Asylum, Year One, Hush, The Killing Joke, The Long Halloween and The Return Of Bruce Wayne... the latter purchased purely because I wanted to know what the hell happens. So first off I have to say that I thought these stories were amazing however The Return Of Bruce Wayne and The Long Halloween are collecting dust on my shelf so I must read them soon. Year One which I had read parts of previously was my favourite as it was simple and it shown Batman as a vulnerable figure who needed to capture the streets of Gotham City rather then not lose control like he does in the modern comics. Hush which is more modern left a little to be wanted but it was superb in the way it kept the mystery alive and Arkham Asylum was by far my favourite, it was so dark and let you see Batman at a different level. It made you question Bruce Wayne's sanity and let you see what life could be like for the inmates of Gotham's Arkham Asylum.

So has my opinion of Batman changed... yes and no, I liked the classic stories and thought all of them had something different to offer yet I still need to read more. Yet I expect a fun journey as I take a ride through the past of The Dark Knight.