The Bat-Box, and Back to the Beach

[thehefner]

In my ongoing project to turn Henchgirl into a comic-stuffed foie gras of a girlfriend, I've organized an entire longbox of BATMAN issues from my collection: starting with all of NO MAN'S LAND through the entirety of Greg Rucka's run on DETECTIVE and Ed Brubaker's run of BATMAN (we can all just forget that Hama's run existed, cool?).

I'm curious to reread these issues and to see if I'm right in remembering that this might have been one of the very strongest eras of BATMAN comics ever. It's criminally ignored in favor of HUSH, which followed immediately afterward and went on to bring tons of new readers into BATMAN, saying that this was the first time in years that they read or were interested in BATMAN comics. Because Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker weren't good enough for them. Sigh. Whate're.

We're back at the house in Rehoboth Beach. It's the first time either of us have been here since late December, during that strange and often-hilarious week and a half immediately following the death of Henchgirl's mother. Damn, we never finished that, did we? Not sure why. Dunno what we could do to follow that now. Maybe we don't have to.

Either way, it's good to finally be back, even during the insanity of Memorial Day weekend. I'm actively afraid of hitting the beach, even though I would go full on MDK for some caramel Fisher's Popcorn.

Comments

[kingrockwell]

Yessss Rucka's 'Tec! I <3 that run so much, especially the art direction (well, Coy Turnbull's fill notwithstanding)!
Can't quite say the same for Bru's Batman, but I only read a few issues during Fugitive, so maybe the ones I didn't read were better.
funny to think that was a whole 100 issues ago

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

I kinda dislike the whole of Murderer/Fugitive anyway, but Bru's stuff worked for me in how they dealt with the idea that Batman really is Bruce, and that Bruce isn't just mask that he wears. As the years have gone by, I've come to get rather bored with the idea that Bruce Wayne is nothing but a construct.

Also, the issues with Zeiss and Deadshot are great on Bru's part. If you haven't read those, they're worth checking out. The very end has what might be one of my all-time favorite Floyd moments.

Furthermore, on a personal fan note, I think it's interesting how pretty much the whole of Bru's run is littered with references to Harvey. His ghost/curse hangs heavy over the city, it seems.

[swimpenguin.livejournal.com]

I'll raise you one on the music: I've had Good Charlotte stuck in my head all night. :gauntlet down:
Is Brubaker's run collected in tpbs?

[lairdofdarkness.livejournal.com]

I think HUSH was one of the first Bat things I bought after getting back into comics and that was the Trade, so no idea how long away that was. I have to also admit that when I did start buying floppies again, Rucka and Brubaker were unknowns to me. I did just stick with names I knew for a while.
This has been set right though as time has gone on but I have not really gone back to read the Bat runs that came after Alan Grant and before Morrison.
So Mr Hef (and friends), please point me in the direction of trade collections I should check out. I love the Bat but am very particular about what I think he should be however I promise to remain open minded.

On a side note - Hush was a good idea (messing with Bruce's head) buried in bad ideas and covering one really bad idea (Hush was a good villian, tying him to Bruce's past was a lazy idea - what followed recently has been awful).

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Have you read the NO MAN'S LAND saga? That's where Rucka started his run, and it's honestly the best BATMAN event ever, mainly because it's focused on character over action. I'm currently focusing on the triangle of Gordon/Montoya/Two-Face in a four-part series on about_faces, if you want a preview.

NML was collected into five volumes, but I'd actually sooner recommend instead finding a copy of Rucka's own prose novelization of BATMAN: NO MAN'S LAND. Reading the comics, Henchgirl's getting a bit of whiplash going from all these different writers' distinct voices, so the entire story is much stronger under Rucka's single, considerably-talented pen. It'd also be cheaper than trades, depending on where you can find a copy.

Rucka's run carries on from there in "New Gotham," I think the trade is called. But starting with NML in either format is essential.

Most of Brubaker's hasn't been collected. Especially not the best story of his run, which ran alongside HUSH, so it was especially ignored. I actually scanned that story, if you're ever inclined (and if you haven't read it already):

http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/1423266.html

http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/1425987.html

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Sadly, not much of it is. And reading it all now, perhaps I was too hasty. It's not brilliant, but it is very good, which is better than several whole stretches of BATMAN comics over the years.

The best of Brubaker's run really should be collected, like the Zeiss stories (the shutter-lensed killer who has made return appearances in Brubaker's CATWOMAN and, most recently, Rucka's QUESTION) and the six-part "Dead Reckoning" storyline, which ran opposite of HUSH as another murder mystery about a bandaged-faced man but with very weak art, and thus went totally ignored. I posted those here, I think? Well, here they are anyway:

http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/1423266.html

http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/1425987.html

That one really needs to be collected. And if I could hire someone to redo the art, I would.