Shadow Of The Bat

[Joker85]

I have seen this comic around, but have never purchased on. I was wondering, can someone tell me waht it was about. You know, which characters it focused on, was it good or bad, stuff like that. I know it's an old one, but I was just curious. From what I have heard, it kinda sounds like Gotham Knights.

[CadaverousEyes]

It was a regular Bat title that lasted for 94 issues. It told you who was going to be in it on the cover ("The Shadow of the Bat falls on...") unlike some Batman covers where you have no clue what the issue's supposed to be about. It was of varying quality, just like all monthlies.

[BLACKHEART]

The book had a lot of good Poison Ivy stories. It seemed like towards the end of the run that had one every 10 issues. There was a good 3 parter. There were also some quality Joker stories.

[James Harvey]

The title, up until No Man's Land, focused on the psychologocal side of both the heroes and the villians. The opening arc is one of the most acclaimed Batman storie sin recent history. The story, about Batman locked up in Arkham, was incredibly well written with breathetaking art by Norm Breyfogle. For every arc, the "Shadow of the Bat Falls Upon" a particular character and delved pretty deep into them. This is the only title, in my opinion, where they made Anarky a likeable oppenent. There was also an amazing Joker story in from #37 - 38 I believe. It was masterfully done. The series was cancelled to make room for Gotham Knights.

[BlackTerror]

SOTB used to be my favorite Bat title when it first came out. I believe it supported some of the better stories at the time. Eventually the book declined into just another Bat title though and not a particularly great one IMO. However, that's a bit of a generalization as I dropped it around thirty or so and never came back except for occassional pick n'choose issues. Off hand there's nothing in the series I can advise checking out ASAP though. Maybe the first Batman in Arkham story if you're really looking for something from the back issue bin. I remember liking the story at the time, but it's been awhile since I read it. Other than that I've forgotten just about all the other SOTB stories I read - which is a bad sign for the comic...or me. Not sure which.

[Doc Savage]

The Misfits. 7-9
Killer Moth, Catman, and Calendar Man teamup.
They Kidnapped Bruce, Jim Gordon, and the Mayor.
The other story line in those issues wasn't as interesting.
Nimrod: the hunter tracking down the Chancerer.

Another good story was the death of Black Spider. 6

How about 55. Bruce is framed for murder and Dick must become Batman to clear his name.
Amazing Alan Grant could tell that story in one issue.
While the current team takes a couple of dozen to clear Bruce.