The Untold Legend of the Batman

Rating:
Summary: A nifty little part of comic book history.
Review: For those interested in the history of Batman you probably find this story an entertaining, though not great, story about the Pre-Crisis Batman. This is a consolidation of all the history, origin, and first meetings of the character before Crisis and Year One. I liked the story but I have say to that I'm glad they don't write Batman this way anymore (the dialogue's pretty bad even for an exposition story) and I very much prefer the scaled back origin that they character has now. On the art Jim Aparo is in top form in this black and white story, being inked by John Byrne. I found this to be the perfect companion piece to Batman: Strange Apparitions.

For those interested in the post-Crisis retelling of these stories: Year Two retells Batman's confrontation w/ Joe Chill (Chill's role was thrown into doubt after the Zero Hour tie-in of DETECTIVE; a LOTDK story from 2000 called "Siege" retells the story of the 1st Bat-costume and the penthouse; and Lew Moxon was retold last year (2001) as part of the Brubaker/Mcdaniel run in BATMAN, with Thomas Wayne dressed as Zorro instead.

Also the shipping cost for this will be more than the actual price of the book.

Rating:
Summary: The origins of the dark detective.
Review: Growing up, I'd always enjoyed watching Adam West and Burt Ward on the television show Batman. So, one day at the school book fair many moons ago, I picked up this book. Boy was I impressed! First of all, the writing is excellent and is presented in a very mature manner. Secondly, the art is amazing. It blew me away then and still impresses me now. Watching the t.v. show, you never really learn any history about the Dark Knight. This book tells you who the first Batman and Robin were, who killed Bruce Wayne's parents and who first tought young Bruce the skills he'd need to become a detective. The origins of some of the favorites such as Alfred Pennyworth and The Joker are here too. I have always been very proud to own this book and I'm sure you would be too.

Rating:
Summary: The origins of the dark detective.
Review: Growing up, I'd always enjoyed watching Adam West and Burt Ward on the television show Batman. So, one day at the school book fair many moons ago, I picked up this book. Boy was I impressed! First of all, the writing is excellent and is presented in a very mature manner. Secondly, the art is amazing. It blew me away then and still impresses me now. Watching the t.v. show, you never really learn any history about the Dark Knight. This book tells you who the first Batman and Robin were, who killed Bruce Wayne's parents and who first tought young Bruce the skills he'd need to become a detective. The origins of some of the favorites such as Alfred Pennyworth and The Joker are here too. I have always been very proud to own this book and I'm sure you would be too.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT STORY
Review: IF U ARE NEW TOO BATMAN U NEED TOO READ THIS BOOK BECAUSE IT STARTS U OFF WITH HOW BATMAN CAME TO BE AND HOW ROBIN AND BATFIRL CAME TO BE

Rating:
Summary: What about the tapes?
Review: Over a decade ago all 3 issues from this series came with some cassettes. I'd kept the comics, but I'd lent all 3 of the half hourly tapes to a boy named Jeff. Unfortunately, he'd quickly lost all of the tapes! I should have copied those tapes before lending them to him! This action had affected my relationship with him. Now, he's a much more responsible adult, but I somehow doubt that I'll ever forget about this. I should probably put this behind me because this happened 11 years ago, and I still have the comics. However, some things are easier said than done. If anyone still has the tapes and would copy them for me, I'll gladly either trade something else for it, or pay for the shipping. Either way, please post a follow-up review if you can help me, and I'll gladly email you. Thanks in advance for your help.

Rating:
Summary: An okay read...some interesting stuff
Review: Saw this in Wal-Mart and picked it up. It's a pretty good story and re-telling of the Batman origin. I have always loved the post-crisis Batman, but reading the pre-crisis origin for Batman was pretty fascinating. The only downside was the black and white art, and the dialogue was very out of date. But for a story that cost a little over three dollars, I'm not complaining.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT STORY
Review: This great story interweaves the untold legend of Bruce Wayne, the Batman, as well as a psychological subplot. The art is great by Byrne and Aparo, and we finally learn who slew Bruce Wayne's parents, and the shocking scheme behind it. Unfortunately, thanks to both the Crisis of Infinite Earths and Zero Hour, this entire story is null and void, but it is a must for all fans of Batman.

Rating:
Summary: The Origin of the Batman Finally Revealed!
Review: This great story interweaves the untold legend of Bruce Wayne, the Batman, as well as a psychological subplot. The art is great by Byrne and Aparo, and we finally learn who slew Bruce Wayne's parents, and the shocking scheme behind it. Unfortunately, thanks to both the Crisis of Infinite Earths and Zero Hour, this entire story is null and void, but it is a must for all fans of Batman.

Rating:
Summary: Quite an interesting read
Review: This nice little story of early-modern age Batman is not so much a story in its own right but more something of a clip show. The actual scripts and drawings are all original, of course, but very little of the plot is. The plot itself is mostly an excuse for a thorough retelling of the story of the Batman, his allies and his foes. It doesn't make any shocking new discoveries about the Batman's past, as do the Killing Joke or Year One; the stories told are taken directly and fully from classic silver and golden age volumes such as 'The Origin of the Batman'(Batman#47, 1948), or 'The First Batman'(Detective Comics#235, 1956).

The plot itself is lacking and simply not very interesting. The ending is quite well done, but there's simply no building up to it. Whatever plot there is is constantly interrupted by flashbacks from practicaly every character. However, what 'the Untold Legend of the Batman' attempts to do, and does quite well, is put some order into the Batman world, settle some old contradictions and set one formal history of Batman. Indeed, the early 80s were a time when super-heroes were recreated, especially Superman and Wonder-Woman, and Batman had to be fitted into the new DC universe.

So, while 'the Untold Legend of the Batman' is hardly a decent story itself, and does very little to develop the characters or the plot in any way, it's still an interesting read for all Batman fans and anybody who wants to know a thing or two about the Dark Knight, and is a fine addition to any comics collection.