Which Batman era is your favorite?

[TELLE]

There was also Len Wein's awesome Bat-stories. Len Wein is the great unsung hero of the 1970s: whether it was his ripping post-Roy Thomas run on MIGHTY THOR or his Chemo Superman stories, his reintroduction of the X-Men after a half-decade of hiatus, or his Batman stories which featured a Batman that was a swashbuckler with more of a "crimefighter" in him.

Len Wein is 58 today!

http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/happy_58th_birthday_len_wein1/

[JulianPerez]

There was also Len Wein's awesome Bat-stories. Len Wein is the great unsung hero of the 1970s: whether it was his ripping post-Roy Thomas run on MIGHTY THOR or his Chemo Superman stories, his reintroduction of the X-Men after a half-decade of hiatus, or his Batman stories which featured a Batman that was a swashbuckler with more of a "crimefighter" in him.

Len Wein is 58 today!

http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/happy_58th_birthday_len_wein1/

Happy Birthday to Len Wein, the guy that gave us the incredible "A Caper a Day Keeps the Batman At Bay" in BATMAN #312 (1979), which best summed up Len Wein's sort of crimefighter spirit. He wasn't Steve Englehart (but who is?). Len Wein wasn't heavy on atmosphere and pacing like Stainless was, but nonetheless Wein's Batman stories moved fast, had witty quips, and featured a Batman that used his brain. Len Wein's plots were clean and correct.

I almost forgot to mention Len Wein's amazing BLUE BEETLE miniseries in the 1980s, immediately after CRISIS, which featured Ted Kord as a brainy swashbuckler that didn't take himself seriously, the best writing that Blue Beetle got since the 1960s, and alas, not to last more than a year before my sworn comics creator archnemesis, Keith Giffen, sank his meat hooks into the character and made his death a mercy killing.

People tend to praise the Walt Simonson MIGHTY THOR highly, and for once, the praise for a so-called "great" comics run is actually deserved; it was an extraordinary achievement. However, in recent times there has been a tendency to view MIGHTY THOR as a "troubled" title, with Simonson and the Lee/Kirby period as the sole bright spots. I don't agree with this view; the thing about the Simonson THOR was, it stood on the shoulders of giants, and continued plot threads and ideas that were present in the Len Wein and Roy Thomas MIGHTY THOR.

[Permanus]

I well remember the Blue Beetle series of the 80s, but I'd forgotten it was by Len Wein. I really don't understand why DC seem to hate the character so much, having put him through the buffoonery of Giffen's JLI series and then shooting him like a dog. Then there's this latest incarnation, which is at best nebulous and at worst dull.

[Genis Vell]

O'Neil/Adams.
I have never seen a so perfect Batman, really. That's the Batman I want!

[Lee Semmens]

Batman circa 1968 - about the time when Frank Robbins and Irv Novick came on board - right through the 1970s is tops in my book.

Then, I guess I would have to plump for the post-war period up to about 1955 or so, particularly anything by the great Dick Sprang.

"The New Look" period - 1964-68 - had some good stories, mainly by Carmine Infantino, but also its share of clunkers, particularly while the TV show was on-air.

The period 1939-45 had some good stories, but was hampered far too often by Bob Kane's work - a definite minus. Just about anything by Jack Burnley or Sprang is worthwhile, though, and Jerry Robinson is okay.

Batman went way downhill between the late 1950s and 1964, in my opinion, and was absolutely risible far too often.

[Richard Grayson]

Thank you Super Monkey for completing the time line.
   
I would really appreciate it if you could all keep the language in your posts very clean. Otherwise my dad will see to it that I'm off this website faster than a speeding bullet....

I think as far as art goes you have to ask what the illustrators were aiming for. The older illustrators weren't trying to draw Batman the way it is drawn now. It's a completely different style just like the TV show is different from the comics. It also seems to me that the different eras may have been (unintentionally) aimed at different audiences. The 60's stuff seems to be for younger kids than the stuff from the 40's, and the modern stuff appears to be for a much older audience.  

I think the early Batman-Superman team up's from World's Finest Comics were very good. Some of the stuff got a little out of this world (literally). But for the most part they were a great team. I don't really like it when Batman and Robin go up against supernatural monsters and aliens. Theoretically he shouldn't have been able to vanquish that many of them.

Batman got his back broken? Do I want to know how?

I found a Batman website that starts off with "In the beginning, a criminal killed his parents. In the end, a criminal killed him." DC killed Batman? How could they? Was it only on Earth 2?
The same site goes on to say that Batman married Catwomen and they had a daughter: the Huntress.
I once saw a picture of a cover where Batman and Vicky Vale (I think it was Vicky) were coming out of a church after getting married. Robin was watching them and thinking something along the lines of “What's going to happen to me now?" Has anybody seen this? Was it a joke? Did any of these marriages happen?

[MatterEaterLad]

Yes, the Batman of Earth 2 married Selina Kyle, fathered the Huntress and was killed (story was well after my comics reading time, but some criminal he faced when he was older killed him and I think the criminal died as well)...

I have to ask, this is one of the most "clean cut" sites I have ever visited, I can't find any references to bad language in this thread...

Cheers.

[TELLE]

I wanted to post that Frank Miller image of Batman saying "Watch ...wach your language." But can't find it --maybe I dreamed it.