Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (1989) Appreciation Thread

[Brandon Shepherd]

When I rediscovered comic books late in my adolescence, I found myself favoring Batman books over my childhood favorite, Superman. As I started accumulating various Bat-titles to read, I found myself becoming partial the Legends of the Dark Knight title, especially the early years of the run.

 

I knew of, and had read Year One, one of my favorite Batman stories, I was glade to see that the Legends title focused on the early years of Batman's career, with some of the storylines serving as followups to Year One.

 

I have a short box full of books from this title and I'm really looking forward to reading these stories again for the first time in over a decade. Venom is one of my favorite storylines from the run, I also enjoy Grant Morrison's Gothic from the title.

 

The title was launched in 1989, to coincide with the hype generated by the successful Batman movie. The series first stroyline was the five part Shaman. The title ran for an impressive 214 issue before being canceled in 2007.

 

What are some of your favorite stories from this title?

 

[Garf]

Venom was a classic arc.... so many good arcs in that run, one of the few I have kept in the loft complete.

 

 

 

 

 

Rojay still has 6 pages up for sale from the Venom arc... they are pretty average examples IMHO, but all I have seen out there on offer for a while and I do take a peek at them every now and again The introduction of the Venom drug into the Batman / DC universe turned out to be a pretty major game changer and set things up for a brutal confrontation at the end of Knightfall with Bruce knowing all too well what he is up against.

 

 

[Brandon Shepherd]

Thanks for reminding me of the Mask and Tao arcs, both are included in a TPB I forgot I had. I just finished Shaman and Mask, I can't wait to read more.

[the authority]

There were a lot of very good stories in that run. Venom would have to be the one that had the most lasting impact imo.

[JasonDaTwit]

VENOM rocked! I remember liking the previous arc done by Doug Moench & Paul Gulacy although I don't remember the name of the arc.

 

I remember Bart Sears doing amazing work in another arc involving a gang of Bat-Fanatics who wanted to spread the word of the bat. I think I liked the art more than the story though.

 

The LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT were where Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale 1st worked on Batman together (they previously did a Gambit/Wolverine Teamup for Marvel & CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN mini as well). They did 3 distinct Halloween tales that were amazing and led them to do THE LONG HALLOWEEN and DARK VICTORY together.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Haunted-Knight-Jeph-Loeb/dp/1563892731/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1402926674&sr=8-2&keywords=Tim+Sale+Batman

 

Tim also worked on some other stories by some great writers and its all collected here:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Of-The-Batman-Sale/dp/1401217354/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402926674&sr=8-1&keywords=Tim+Sale+Batman

 

I really wished they collected these in the order they were released. I know GOTHIC & VENOM are easy to get but not sure about the others. I tend to see them in other collections but not their own i.e. TALES OF THE BATMAN: Tim Sale.

[mister_not_so_nice]

I loved the series. I like the short, self contained stories.

 

Once the series started to do cross-overs with BATMAN & DETECTIVE I was disappointed and lost interest

[Lonzilla]

LOTD started the multi variant cover phase at the big 2. Ba$tards

[Brandon Shepherd]

I can't wait to re-read Venom again!

 

[Junkdrawer]

When I see book come out today with a multitude of covers, just to sell more of the same book, I always think back to when this book(s) came out with it's four colored covers. Yes that day a monster was created.

[Brandon Shepherd]

VENOM rocked! I remember liking the previous arc done by Doug Moench & Paul Gulacy although I don't remember the name of the arc.

 

That would be Prey, I'm not sure if that one was ever collected or not.

[Point Five]

I really loved this issue. #40 (2nd part) didn't quite have the same punch, but overall this was a fantastic read. I've never seen anyone reference this story before.

 

The other issue I kept from the run was #50, with the awesome Bolland Joker cover.

 

 

[Brandon Shepherd]

Here is a good link with story lists and summaries for the title.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_Legends_of_the_Dark_Knight

[Garf]

I really loved this issue. #40 (2nd part) didn't quite have the same punch, but overall this was a fantastic read. I've never seen anyone reference this story before.

 

The other issue I kept from the run was #50, with the awesome Bolland Joker cover.

 

 

It was certainly one of the better ones, the comic art festival in Kendal had some of the original pages up on the walls last year

[awakeintheashes]

Great series. You guys might get some more traction with this discussion in the Copper thread, since it is a copper book. If it's not a hot modern, a thread falls of the radar pretty quickly.

[ChrisInBaltimore]

When I see book come out today with a multitude of covers, just to sell more of the same book, I always think back to when this book(s) came out with it's four colored covers. Yes that day a monster was created.

 

When I worked at my LCS, I was counting overstock so he could sell it at 10 cents an issue. I counted three long boxes of this book in multi colors. My LCS remembers the guy who came in and filled long boxes with the book. He then, of course, remembers the guy coming back 15 or so years later selling them for $10 a long box or something.

[Brandon Shepherd]

Great series. You guys might get some more traction with this discussion in the Copper thread, since it is a copper book. If it's not a hot modern, a thread falls of the radar pretty quickly.

 

I was wondering which tread would be most appropriate when I first posted this, my first thought was Copper, I chose Modern due to the majority of the title running in the Modern Age.

[Brandon Shepherd]

When I see book come out today with a multitude of covers, just to sell more of the same book, I always think back to when this book(s) came out with it's four colored covers. Yes that day a monster was created.

 

When I worked at my LCS, I was counting overstock so he could sell it at 10 cents an issue. I counted three long boxes of this book in multi colors. My LCS remembers the guy who came in and filled long boxes with the book. He then, of course, remembers the guy coming back 15 or so years later selling them for $10 a long box or something.

 

That's hilarious, I bet there are many more stories like this with other titles.

[Brandon Shepherd]

I now have the first two story arcs from this series under my utility belt. I did not remember much since it had been several years, it was pretty much like reading them for the first time.

 

 

I enjoyed the opening story arc, Shaman, written by Denny O'Neil. We see a Batman who is still honing his tracking skills, the story also flirts with the supernatural. The detective skills of the young Dark Knight shine, there is no bat-cave yet and there is only one bat-suit in the closet. This reminds me of James Bond and Casino Royal, brains and brawn, no fancy gadgets. This is a very human story, highlighting the consequences of good intentions and the effects of our vices.

 

 

Gothic, by Grant Morrison and Klaus Jansen delves deeper into the supernatural. The mysterious Mr. Whisper is killing Gotham's top mobsters, he also shares a connection to Bruce Wayne's past. I did not remember much of this story but I remember really liking it when I read for the first time in 2001.

[ebtorres]

I really enjoyed the "Prey" arc; issues 11 - 15.

[JasonDaTwit]

In an interview (I think on Kevin Smith's FATMAN ON BATMAN podcast) Denny stated that SHAMAN wasn't going to be the first story arc in the series. It was originally supposed to VENOM but I can't recall why. It is on that podcast though. Very good interview.