Batman in the Seventies

Rating:
Summary: A flawed gem
Review: After almost crashing and burning due to overexposure and camp excess in the later 60s, Batman not only survived but thrived in the 70s under the hands of some of the greastest creators to chronicle his adventures. The main problems with this collection are its length (its about 30 pages shorter than the 60s collection although there was a great deal of better material to choose from in the 70s) and the fact that several of the stories are also available in Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told, which is still in print. In Superman in the 60s , the chapter introduction states that some of the best stories of the decade were left out because they were available in other books still in print. Why is there repetition here? However, there are some great tales here and the book is a good introduction to Batman for someone with no knowledge of his printed exploits. Let's look at each tale.
"There is no Hope in Crime Alley" A decent story, but available in Greastest, so it shouldn't have been included here. Could have been replaced by the similary themed but superior "Night of the Stalker" by Englehart and Almendola, which is not available in trade paperback format. A book on 70s Batman is incomplete without an Englehart tale.
"A Vow From the Grave" The best story in the book and one of the best in Batman history. With the possible exception of "Secret of the Waiting Graves" it is the best Denny O'Neil/Neal Adams collaboration.
"Night of the Reaper" A good story, although Adams art, while excellent, lacks some of his famous detail on the backgrounds. This is probably due to its 25 page length since Adams was well known for missing deadlines.
"Invader from Hell" An awful Batgirl-Robin story that Batman isn't even in. Has no place in the book, although I must admit Mike Grell draws a sexy Batgirl.
"Marriage: Impossible" The third part of the Man-Bat trilogy, again with gorgeous Adams art. The problem here is that the reader is given only part of the story. Perhaps had the books length been expanded, the entire trilogy could have been presented. The complete three-parter is one of my all time favorite Batman tales. By the way, a book on the 70s also should have included more than one tale written by fabulous Frank Robbins.
"From Each Ending A Beginning" The origin of the Huntress, back when she was on Earth 2 and was Batman's daughter. Not bad, but there were many 70s tales that deserved presentation here much more.

"This One'll Kill You Batman" I've always thought the great Irv Novick was the most underrated artist in Batman history and he and inker Dick Giordano turn in some beautiful work here. Unfortunately, the story is one of the worst O'Neil ever penned. The goofy premise, especially the part where Batman overcomes the toxin by playing scenes from Marx Brothers movies in his mind, could have been used on the Adam West series. This was probably only included because it featured the Joker and Two-Face. I think readers would have enjoyed "Demon of Gothos Mansion", the gothic horror tale that is the finest O'Neil-Novick collaboration I have ever read, more than this looney aberration from a normally solid team.
"Daughter of the Demon" Action oriented tale that is lacking in the plot department, but who cares when Adams art looks so good. My complaint with its inclusion comes from the fact that its available in Tales of the Demon. Give the readers a story that hasn't been reprinted so recently.
"Death Flies the Haunted Sky" An entertaining mystery that shouldn't have been included because of its availability in Greatest Batman. I'm not really a fan of Alex Toth's Superfriends-ish art. After all, he designed that lame show. I do think Archie Goodwin's writing should have been represented, perhaps by his "Judgement Day" collaboration with Howard Chaykin.
"Ticket to Tragedy" An entertaining, though not spectacular, mystery by O'Neil. The artwork by Marshall Rogers, second only to Neal Adams as greatest Batman artist ever, is wonderous to behold.
One of the great things about 70s Batman was the variety of types of stories he appeared in (super hero, mystery, noir, horror), but all the genres weren't represented here. Perhaps DC will release a sequel with more materials from this great time in Batman history.

Rating:
Summary: Thank you DC for releasing this book.
Review: I think all the stories in this book are great, but they really should have included more Ras Al Ghoul stories, because this guy is super interesting and he even gives the Joker a run for his money as Batman's number one nemesis.
As fun and goofy as the 1950s and 1960s Batmans stories were, returning the Batman to his detective roots was long overdue. The fact that DC went that extra mile and included the super dark elements (including Joker's homicidal ways) of the Bob Kane and Bill Finger period is all the better.
I am not a big fan of the comic scene of the 1970s. But if everything else in the medium had been as good as the Batman stories presented in this book, I definately would have been one.

Rating:
Summary: Struggling Into The 70s
Review: Not as successful a volume as the 60s book. This book tries to feature stories that have not been reprinted as often. We get good artwork from the likes of Neal Adams, Marshall Rogers, and Mike Grell. The 70s were when Denny O'Neil started to really put his imprint on the book and the Batman became a darker character (but not quite as grim or violent as the Dark Knight). At this point in time for the Batman, his popularity was at a bit of a low point. This was after the TV show and before the Dark Knight Returns and the movies. The stories attempt to be more contemporary as the camp and fun of the sixties were gone. The best story is the classic "There Is No Hope In Crime Alley" which retells Batman's origin and introduces Leslie Thompkins. Also in this volume is the origin of the Earth-2 Huntress, a more successful character than the current Huntress being written these days. These stories are not the best of the time but this book is a good representative of the Batman comics being put out in the 70s.

Rating:
Summary: batman in the 70
Review: The 70's was a good read for batman.
The only thing is,this book was smaller than
the rest.They could have put at least 4 to 5 more
stories in it.I read this book in one
shot. I love the art and the stories,
but they could of added more to this
thin book.

Rating:
Summary: Batman in Bronze...
Review: The 70's was a great time for Batman. In this collection we get some really good Batman stories where he takes on super villains like Joker,Manbat and Ras Al Ghul. Robin is seen alot too and so is Batgirl. Look for the really beautiful villain pin-up that features Joker,Penguin,Riddler,Catwoman,Two Face,Scarecrow and Ras Al Ghul,it is stunning. There is also a pin-up of Robin and Batgirl too and one in the end of the book with Batman,Robin,Batgirl,Alfred and Commissioner Gordon in the batcave.

The highlight here for me was the Earth 2 story of Golden Age Batman (now an older man) and the death of the Earth 2 Catwoman and the orgin of Earth 2 Huntress. Earth 2 Robin also makes a cameo.

Overall the book is packed with beautiful colorful pictures of the best Batman heroes and villains. A must.

Rating:
Summary: A good collection!!
Review: The biggest problem with all such "greatest stories" collection is that everyone has an opinion on what other stories should have been included and what stories should instead be taken out. IMHO I think this is a pretty decent collection of Batman stories in the 70s. The collection includes "There is No Hope in Crime Alley", a story which explore Batman's psyche and motivations; 4 (yes 4!) Neal Adams classics: "A Vow from the Grave", "Night of the Reaper", "Marriage: Impossible" (one of the earlier Man-Bat stories), "Daughter of the Demon" (featuring The Demon Ra's Al Ghul); an Alex Toth classic "Death Flies the Haunted Sky".

Regarding short comings of this collection, I would have liked to see the story arc presented in Batman #291-294 where Bat-villains are on trial for the 'murder' of the Batman. One can also argue that it might make more sense to read the Neal Adams stories in their entire runs. Although all of the Adams' Ra's Al Ghul stories have already been compiled in the TPB Tales of the Demon, his other mini-runs would make good TPB collections too (e.g. his Man-Bat run in Detective #400,402,407; his Brave and the Bold run). However, in spite of these criticism, I think the average Bat-fan is still better-off owning a copy of "Batman in the Seventies" than not. The original comics cost a bomb and are in fact quite hard to find. Given that DC (unlike Marvel) appears to have some aversion to reprinting their 1970s material, we should be thankful that they've come up with such a compilation in the first place. Instead of buying mediocre 1990s Batman TPBs, all Bat-Fans should buy this book and experience for themselves what pre-crisis Batman is all about!

Rating:
Summary: A good collection!!
Review: The biggest problem with all such "greatest stories" collection is that everyone has an opinion on what other stories should have been included and what stories should instead be taken out. IMHO I think this is a pretty decent collection of Batman stories in the 70s. The collection includes "There is No Hope in Crime Alley", a story which explore Batman's psyche and motivations; 4 (yes 4!) Neal Adams classics: "A Vow from the Grave", "Night of the Reaper", "Marriage: Impossible" (one of the earlier Man-Bat stories), "Daughter of the Demon" (featuring The Demon Ra's Al Ghul); an Alex Toth classic "Death Flies the Haunted Sky".

Regarding short comings of this collection, I would have liked to see the story arc presented in Batman #291-294 where Bat-villains are on trial for the 'murder' of the Batman. One can also argue that it might make more sense to read the Neal Adams stories in their entire runs. Although all of the Adams' Ra's Al Ghul stories have already been compiled in the TPB Tales of the Demon, his other mini-runs would make good TPB collections too (e.g. his Man-Bat run in Detective #400,402,407; his Brave and the Bold run). However, in spite of these criticism, I think the average Bat-fan is still better-off owning a copy of "Batman in the Seventies" than not. The original comics cost a bomb and are in fact quite hard to find. Given that DC (unlike Marvel) appears to have some aversion to reprinting their 1970s material, we should be thankful that they've come up with such a compilation in the first place. Instead of buying mediocre 1990s Batman TPBs, all Bat-Fans should buy this book and experience for themselves what pre-crisis Batman is all about!

Rating:
Summary: Batman in Limbo
Review: The stories in this collection come between the camp 60's tv Batman and the Dark Knight of the 80s. Though it starts off strong, the stories presented here quickly sink into mediocrity. The art is good (especially Neil Adams)and the Man-Bat even makes an appearance, but with one exception, these stories are not up to par. Maybe ol' Bat was appearing in too many books at once and just got watered down (much like Spider-Man and the X-men did over at Marvel). Here are a summary of the 10 stories:
*There Is No Hope in Crime Alley - touching story that revisits his origin. Grade A
*Vow From the Grave - classic macabre 70s story with some nice twists. Grade B
*Night of the Reaper - goes for the ironic 'wronged character out for revenge goes bad' theme. Grade C
*Invader From Hell - Batgirl and Robin team-up against supernatural & Revolutionary War-era villains todefend the Spirit of America. About the only good thing is the way Batgirl is drawn. Grade D
*Marriage:Impossible - Man-Bat in a dull story where the worst thing he does is change his g/f into a Woman-Bat. Dissapointing. Grade D
*From Each Ending...A Beginning - origin of the Huntress. Grade C
*This One'll Kill You, Batman! - the Joker infects the Batman w/ lethal laughing gas and then tries to kill the doctors who can cure him. Grade C+
*Daughter of the Demon - Ra's Al Ghul enlists Batman to find his kidnapped daughter, however the ending concludes elsewhere. Grade D
*Death Flies the Haunted Sky - a 40's looking story slipped in. Grade D-
*Ticket To Tragedy - Batman makes a deal with a doctor to share his new heart transplant technique if he finds the killer of the doctor's friend. Grade C

Rating:
Summary: Batman's REAL golden age...
Review: With the possible exception of the original tales of the forties, or Frank Miller's work on the character, the seventies were the definitive era for Batman stories. This collection gives a nice overview of Batman's greatest era. I would have rated it higher, but for the ommission of the Engelhart/Rogers run In Detective Comics.