This is a review of Tales of the Batman: Len Wein. The comics in this volume are amongst the first Batman material I ever read, over forty years ago. I enjoyed the five-part Ra’s Al Ghul story in a mass market paperback before there was such a thing as graphic novels. The Joker’s Birthday Bash story is the first Batman comic I ever bought. For some reason, I thought the writer was Gerry Conway but it’s Len Wein.
Anyway, this is a hefty volume. Over thirty issues of 70’s Batman goodness, which if you like the Dark Knight turns out to be pretty good deal. I’d suggest waiting until Comixology has another sale, though, as these volumes are pricey.
The stories are mostly one-shots, and feature Batman’s rogue gallery as well as villains from other titles. Hawkman villain the Gentleman Ghost makes an appearance here, as well as Captain Boomerang (a Flash foe). Two-Face, The Joker, Kite Man, Calendar Man, Firebug, Signal Man, etc., etc., etc. also make appearances. Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, is present, but this time it’s mostly as Bruce Wayne’s love interest.
Selina and Bruce manage to have sex, off-screen, a fact I missed because I was twelve years old. This leads into a two-part story where it turns out Selina is dying of some rare unnamed disease she caught as Catwoman, which okay. The only cure is an urn full of even rarer Egyptian herbs, because the ancient Egyptians knew so much more about medicine than us. When the herbs are stolen from the museum, Selina becomes suspect #1. You know, the usual nonsense.
I like Mr. Wein’s portrayal of Batman. Instead of being portrayed as a sociopathic asshole, the Dark Knight manages to achieve balance in both sides of his busy life. His powers of detection are highlighted, as well as his escape artist skills. There are a number of instances where Batman is knocked out and put into a death trap, which he always manages to escape. I’m assuming the villains who choose to tie him up instead of just putting a bullet through his head either have a bondage fetish or watched too many episodes of the 60’s TV show.
Recommended for Batman fans!
Abandoned Places 
Ooo, I’ll have to check this one out. I love your reviews of Batman comics, because while I was a HUUUUGE fan of the Batman: Animated Series, as a girl growing up where/when I did, I didn’t get a lot of comic exposure (beyond Betty & Veronica). So I’m going back now in my adulthood to fill in everything I missed.
One of the things that drew me to the Batman universe early on was that there were a HELL of a lot more female characters. Admittedly, mostly villains–but they were complex and had damn good reasons for being pissed off at the world. But Batman has always had a special place in my heart as a kid–so thanks for sharing! Any other recommendations for the Batman cannon would be much appreciated (I have read through Zero Year and The Killing Joke, and have Hush, The Dark Knight Returns, and The Long Halloween queued up on my kindle)!
Hi Maggie,
Thanks for the comments! I’m happy someone is reading these. Here’s my take.
NOT RECOMMENDED
I do enjoy the Golden Age Batman, but the art & writing often don’t hold up. Some of the stories are wild – Batman & Robin fight mobsters in one issue, and in the next issue they’re transported off to the land of fairy tales to save Humpty Dumpty from falling off the wall. There’s some racist content, some stories you don’t see a lot of (not many morality tales in comics nowadays), and also material that reads as weird & a little uncomfortable.
Asshole/Sociopath/Grumpy Batman, aka Batman in the early 21st century. People seem to like this. To me, it’s like watching paint dry. It’s also lazy. If I wanted to see Batman written as a psycho, I’d read the Punisher.
Death in the Family, aka the most shameful storyline in Batman history. DC did a gimmick where they set up a 900-Number so that people could vote on whether the second Robin, Jason Todd, would live or die. The readers spoke. Robin was bludgeoned to death with a crowbar by the Joker.
HAVEN’T READ YET/ON THE FENCE
I haven’t yet read the Tom King run, where Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle may or may not get married, so I can’t say if it’s good or not. It’s on my TBR list. I like it when Batman is in a relationship, because it makes the character more interesting and less like something a 14-year-old boy would dream up. For the most part, Batman isn’t written as a misogynist like Daredevil, whose lovers/girlfriends are all dead or institutionalized. I view Killing Joke as the exception rather than the rule.
KnightFall & Knightquest are really, really long – the story spans several years, encompasses several Bat books, and is around 50+ issues. It’s fine, but IMO not worth the journey, unless you read it free at a library or get the volumes cheap.
RECOMMENDED
Dark Knight Returns: I’m not a Frank Miller fan, but Dark Knight Returns is a classic. It also helped usher in grim & gritty Batman. Ditto, Batman Year One.
Court of Owls, by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo is my favorite 21st century storyline. I believe it’s twelve issues. I read most of Mr. Snyder’s run, and it sort of jumps the shark by the time the Joker appears, but he’s worth reading.
Long Halloween & Dark Victory, by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. Great synergy of art & writing. They say in the introductions that they played it fast & loose, plot wise, in the first volume and that the second was more tightly plotted. I think I prefer Long Halloween, even if parts of it are confusing. Jeph Loeb, the writer, also wrote Hush with famed artist Jim Lee, which I recall liking (I read it but I don’t remember any of the details) and will thus recommend.
70’s/early 80’s Batman is great. There’s a villain of the month quality, but Batman is interesting here. He’s a detective and an escape artist, and he’s definitely not overpowered. He gets conked in the head and put into a death trap almost every issue. Early 80’s is the same. There’s also art by Neal Adams, Jim Aparo and Gene Colan.
I guess that’s it! Sorry this is so long.
This is all awesome! And I don’t mind it being long! More info for me! 😄 thank you!!