For
over 60 years, one man has ruled the Gotham night, striking
fear into the hearts of the venal, the superstitious, the
cowardly: he is the Batman. Now, in this collection of classic
Batman
tales, written and illustrated by some of the greatest talents
in comics, readers will experience the thrills and chills,
triumphs and tragedies of the Dark Knight's long career protecting
the innocent and punishing the guilty. These are the stories
that have ensured his enduring popularity...
The
Greatest Stories Ever Told collects, under one cover,
what are claimed to be 12 of the best Batman stories
ever told. Personally I take great exception to this claim.
Who says these are the 12 greatest tales? Well, it would appear
from the introduction that Les Daniels (who he?) says so.
Daniels who is so well known and respected that after his
introduction it spells out for those of us not in the know
that he is: "the author of seven books on comics."
So that makes him a Batman expert does it? Is his memory
that good or did he really sit through and read all of the
Batman tales in order to narrow down these 12 stories?
The
problem is that collections like this are very subjective
- it is a personal thing and no one (and I mean no one) will
agree that these 12 tales represent the greatest 12 Batman
stories ever committed to paper. There are epic tales which
obviously don't get a look in because of their size (Frank
Miller's Dark
Knight Returns being the most obvious example)
and most of the stories collected here are old and have not
aged all that well.
If
you want to decide for yourself which are the greatest Batman
stories ever told, you might be better off collecting Titan's
other series (Batman Chronicles). Volume
One was released this month (May 2005) and reprints,
for the first time, every comic book appearance of the Batman
in chronological order.
Sadly
what The Greatest Stories Ever Told is really all about
is cashing in on the new movie - attracting new readers to
the world of the Batman. Serious fans might like to give this
one a wide berth.
Nick
Smithson
Buy
this item online
We
compare prices online so you get the cheapest
deal! Click on the logo of the desired store
below to purchase this item.
|
|
£9.09
(Amazon.co.uk) |
|
|
|
£12.99
(Countrybookshop.co.uk) |
|
|
|
£9.87
(Studentbookworld.com) |
All prices correct at time of going to press.
|
|