Nepenthes
Superhero
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2006
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This is something I keep thinking about whenever I’m reading Batman. This may sound slightly sensational or stupid but I think some of the old event stories could be greatly improved if they were represented in a more modern or mature style. Namely I’m thinking about Death in the Family, Knightfall, and a Lonely Place of Dying.
Look at Death in the Family for instance. It’s a pivotal event and it sounds damn cool when you read a synopsis or think about what goes down in the book, but when you actually pick it up it’s pretty underwhelming and more than a little cheesy. It’s dated. And not in a fun way like Strange Apparitions, The Cult, or the classic runs of the 70’s and 80’s. Yet this is a story that features a highly parental, volatile, compassionate, and ultimately an emotionally eviscerated Batman; Jason Todd kicking arses and taking names in the desert, flying helicopters, crying for his mother and being horribly betrayed by the b*tch (that’s a huge story right there). Joker mixing it with the Ayatollahs of Iran. Lebanese Civil wars, Arabs VS Israelis, Ethiopian famine, weapons smuggling (can you tell I’ve been on Wikipedia?) even Batman VS Superman, and yes, Joker beating a child with a crowbar. There is absolutely no reason why a modern telling of this story shouldn’t rock your socks off. Painted, and scripted by an A-grade writer
I know this is very much a case of wishing that comics could be more than they actually are, and that that can be kinda foolish and pointless. They’re products of their time, the stories have been covered, stop trying to grow comics up, read a novel if you want something more mature. Sure I get all that and I somewhat agree. But I also think we can have it both ways. I think new comic readers or new readers of Batman would very much appreciate Long Hallown type re-tellings of such pivotal events. As it is, if a new reader has already covered Year One, DKR, Killing Joke, TLH, etc and were looking to keep reading into Batmans history, I would actually feel a little embarrassed to tell them to go read Death in the Family or Knightfall. But would I want them to know, or rather feel what happened in these events? Certainly. Consider the quality of the stories set in Batmans early history. Now consider the middle and the back-end periods. There’s a discrepancy throughout the middle.
Does anyone else feel this way at all?
Look at Death in the Family for instance. It’s a pivotal event and it sounds damn cool when you read a synopsis or think about what goes down in the book, but when you actually pick it up it’s pretty underwhelming and more than a little cheesy. It’s dated. And not in a fun way like Strange Apparitions, The Cult, or the classic runs of the 70’s and 80’s. Yet this is a story that features a highly parental, volatile, compassionate, and ultimately an emotionally eviscerated Batman; Jason Todd kicking arses and taking names in the desert, flying helicopters, crying for his mother and being horribly betrayed by the b*tch (that’s a huge story right there). Joker mixing it with the Ayatollahs of Iran. Lebanese Civil wars, Arabs VS Israelis, Ethiopian famine, weapons smuggling (can you tell I’ve been on Wikipedia?) even Batman VS Superman, and yes, Joker beating a child with a crowbar. There is absolutely no reason why a modern telling of this story shouldn’t rock your socks off. Painted, and scripted by an A-grade writer
I know this is very much a case of wishing that comics could be more than they actually are, and that that can be kinda foolish and pointless. They’re products of their time, the stories have been covered, stop trying to grow comics up, read a novel if you want something more mature. Sure I get all that and I somewhat agree. But I also think we can have it both ways. I think new comic readers or new readers of Batman would very much appreciate Long Hallown type re-tellings of such pivotal events. As it is, if a new reader has already covered Year One, DKR, Killing Joke, TLH, etc and were looking to keep reading into Batmans history, I would actually feel a little embarrassed to tell them to go read Death in the Family or Knightfall. But would I want them to know, or rather feel what happened in these events? Certainly. Consider the quality of the stories set in Batmans early history. Now consider the middle and the back-end periods. There’s a discrepancy throughout the middle.
Does anyone else feel this way at all?
