Batman: Tales of the Demon, by various writers and artists

(pb; 1991: graphic novel; "Introduction" by Sam Hamm; "Afterword" by Dennis O'Neil)

From the back cover:

" 'There was no doubt that Batman needed a worthy opponent. We set out consciously and deliberately to create a villain in a grand manner, a villain who was so exotic and mysterious that neither we nor Batman were sure what to expect.

'Hence, Rā's al Ghūl - "the demon's head."' - from the introduction by Sam Hamm"

Review:

This graphic novel brings together several Batman-related comic book series: Batman, issues #242-244; Detective, issues #411, 485, 489, 490; and DC Special. They were published in 1971, 1972, 1978, 1979 and 1980.

I owned an earlier, slightly shorter version of this graphic novel when I was kid, in the mid-Seventies - it was a slender, 11x17" affair, its cover showing Batman screaming over a seemingly dead Robin, while Rā's al Ghūl and his sexy daughter, Talia, look on from the background.

It was the first graphic novel that I owned, purchased by one of my aunts - thanks, Ant K! - who knew what a Batman fan I was. (Sadly, I no longer own that comic book - I don't know what happened to it.)

Reading the more recent/retitled effort as an adult, I encountered similar, continual frissons that I'd first felt as a kid, while memorizing the older version - though this time my excitement was mixed with nostalgia.

Rā's al Ghūl was - is - just as dangerous, "exotic and mysterious" (to use the back cover description) as he was when I was a pre-teen; Talia, his seductive daughter, even wilder and more tastefully amatoric, and Batman darker, rougher and more ambiguous in his hero/outlaw identity. This, no doubt, was an intentional, opposite reaction to the entertaining cheesiness of the late Sixties television show, on the part of those who wrote and drew these comics.

Excellent, sensational, visually dramatic and macabre as it was thirty-plus years ago, this graphic novel is book-ended by an "Introduction" (by Sam Hamm) and "Afterword" (by Dennis O'Neil), which provide further, illuminating behind-the-scenes context regarding the tales contained therein.

Worth owning, this.

Batman: Gotham After Midnight, by Steve Niles & Kelley Jones

(pb - graphic novel; 2008)

"Gotham City after dark is a dangerous place.

"Gotham City after Midnight is Hell on Earth.

"There's a new kind of madman loose in Gotham and he's out to steal the city's heart. The monstrosity named Midnight is convinced he's doing Batman's job, only better than Batman ever could.

"As the city descends into madness, it's Batman's duty to stop Midnight, but the newcomer has manipulated an exceptionally unstable Joker, a giant Clayface and others into destroying the Dark Knight for him!

"Can Batman restore peace to a city that's growing colder and more heartless by the minute? Or have the people forsaken their patron protector to live in the shadow of Midnight's perpetual terror?

"Masters of the macabre Steve Niles (30 Days of Night, Simon Dark) and Kelley Jones (Batman and Dracula: Red Rain) bring you a heart-stopping mystery beating within the darkest corners of Gotham City."

Review:

This efficacious blend of computer-style art, 1930s pulp and 1970s EC/Creepy-style gothic-schlock atmosphere may appeal to afficionados of the aforementioned elements.

Between Niles' off-beat, quick-moving, horror-veracious writing and Jones' equally off-beat, Creepy-recalling stylings, this is a fun, cheesy-villainous, fresh take on Batman, one that's familiar enough to not alienate longtime Batman traditionalists, and different enough to be its own metropolis-of-darkness beast.

Worth owning, this.

(Quick note: if you're a fan of Jones' artwork, check out his 1997-1998 comic book mini-series and one-shots, The Hammer, which simultaneously, over the course of countless re-reads, sent chills down my spine and made me laugh. . . Inconveniently, the 9-single issue comics that comprise these four stories haven't been anthologized into a single graphic novel.)

This is the first-ever issue of The Hammer: