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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2016 11:02:35 GMT -5
 I think Rogers hits his stride with this issue. Look at the difference in his art with this cover compared to the previous 2 covers. "The Malay Penguin" by Englehart, Rogers & Austin. At the docks 2 thugs are throwing a barrel into the water...a barrel that has the body of Hugo Strange in it. Batman & Robin tackle them. Englehart uses the next few pages to bring the readers & Robin up to speed. Thorne has used the courts to run Batman out of town, Batman is now wanted by the police, his time in Strange's clinic healed him ("It's almost like he wanted me to live all along..."). The Penguin goes back to the theatre & finds it empty...except the Joker is there also. The Penguin leaves quickly "The Penguin fears no sane man - but the Joker is hardly that!". Batman goes to Reed Galleries to check the security around the Malay Penguin. Then back to the penthouse. Bruce works to undo Strange's damage to his accounts. Fortunately Strange still had all the money at the penthouse & did not transfer it yet. Then Bruce & Dick go to see Silver in the hospital. Silver & Dick meet & they change to Batman & Robin to watch over Reed Galleries. They see the Penguin coming out of the theatre next to the galleries but he gets away. Cut to Thorne at a meeting talking how to get rid of Batman & suddenly Thorne sees Strange's ghost who warns him he will take Thorne down. No one else in the room sees the ghost. Thorne is rattled. Then an alarm goes off at Reed Galleries because someone rented out the theatre next door to a dancing show which sets off the seismic alarms. Bruce & Dick are back at the penthouse when leaflets are dropped across Gotham by birds. Dick draws the same conclusion as the reader that the Penguin is taunting Batman before he steals the Malay Penguin. However Batman is always a step ahead & tells us we are wrong. Then Batman & Robin race to the airport & capture the Penguin. In a page of exposition Batman explains to Robin the Penguin's plan (which is too detailed to go into here). Needless to say the Penguin confesses that he had stolen the Malay Penguin 2 weeks ago & replaced it with a fake! Next: Deadshot (who last appeared in Batman #59) |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2016 11:06:11 GMT -5
Some interior art:
I would love that panel as a poster! |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2016 12:25:49 GMT -5
Comments: as I said I think Rogers really settled into the book with this issue. His art & storytelling skills really jumped in quality with this issue. Compare his interior art with 2 issues ago. In some ways this felt like an episode of the 1966 TV show BUT without the campiness. Englehart managed to write Batman as the Dark Knight without making him so grim. He also did well with fleshing out Bruce Wayne.
Englehart was only supposed to do 7 issues (2 part Phosphorus, 2 part Strange, one issue Penguin & 2 part Joker). For unknown reasons they asked him for one more issue so he wrote the next issue with Deadshot as a filler between the Penguin & the Joker before he left for Europe.
I also liked the quick shifts in the story since stories were only 17 pages an issue & most stories were only 2-3 issues long at that time.
I am also getting excited to review The Joker story which has been reprinted multiple times & is pretty well known! |
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Post by String on Jul 23, 2016 17:59:15 GMT -5
I am also getting excited to review The Joker story which has been reprinted multiple times & is pretty well known! This is the only portion of this classic run that I've read so far. I wonder why DC hasn't kept this run in print considering how influential it became. The last TPB printing that I know is from 1999. Looking at various online sites from Amazon to eBay, the cheapest copy I came across was for around 40 bucks. So far, Comixology only has #471-476. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2016 18:09:44 GMT -5
Some interior art:
I would love that panel as a poster! I would buy one for sure. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2016 19:51:44 GMT -5
Some interior art:
I would love that panel as a poster! I would buy one for sure. So would I ... loved it too!  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2016 20:18:12 GMT -5
I am also getting excited to review The Joker story which has been reprinted multiple times & is pretty well known! This is the only portion of this classic run that I've read so far. I wonder why DC hasn't kept this run in print considering how influential it became. The last TPB printing that I know is from 1999. Looking at various online sites from Amazon to eBay, the cheapest copy I came across was for around 40 bucks. So far, Comixology only has #471-476. 1. I don't know why they don't either. They only seem to keep the Joker issues (#475 & 476) in print.
2. #471-476 are the only issues that Englehart & Rogers did together. Simonson drew #469 & 470 & Wein wrote #477-479 (and #477 had only 3 new pages framed around a reprint).
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2016 20:25:51 GMT -5
Rogers Penguin:  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2016 20:32:28 GMT -5
Some of Roger's other art. His Silver Surfer:  His Hawkman:  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2016 21:30:12 GMT -5
 "The Deadshot Ricochet" by Englehart, Rogers & Austin. Batman & Robin return to the Batcave under the Wayne Foundation building. They have a friendly wrestling match until Robin gets a call from Wonder Girl that he is needed back at Titans HQ. Robin then leaves Batman behind. These 3 pages show an enduring friendship built on respect & trust. It was awesome to read a Batman that lets someone share his burdens. Then we cut to Gotham Prison as Penguin is put in the cell next to Floyd Lawton (Deadshot). Penguin brags that his Monocle is actually a laser lens. Deadshot snatches it from Penguin's hands thru the bars & uses it to cut thru his cell wall & escapes. Then in Rupert Thorne's office Thorne gets a late night visitor...Batman! Batman confronts Thorne about his orders to rid Gotham of Batman. After Batman leaves Thorne gets another visitor...Hugo Strange's ghost! - who threatens Thorne a second time. Then the next day Bruce meets Silver for a lunch date. In one panel Bruce thinks back to his first girlfriend (Julie Madison in Tec #31). Englehart had to have read a lot of 1940's Batman & Detective Comics for research. Back to the story...we learn that Silver runs a company that arranges conventions - " everything from menus to security to the look of the exhibition hall". They run into Gordon who tells them that Deadshot escaped. At lunch Silver asks Bruce probing questions about his relationships with Gordon & Batman. Bruce attempts to deflect her questions. Later that night Batman goes looking for Deadshot. As he thinks back to their only encounter (in Batman #59) Deadshot appears in a new modern costume & attempts to shoot Batman. Their fight takes them to the rooftop of the convention center & they both crash thru the skylight landing on a giant typewriter (this is a homage to older comics that had fights on giant sized replicas of common items). Silver is there & witnesses the fight & Batman's victory over Deadshot. When the police arrive Batman exits (remember he is still wanted) & Silver calls out to him. As he turns to look at her she thinks "It was Bruce. I know it. It Was Bruce". Next: The Joker |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2016 21:35:29 GMT -5
Interior art:  |
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Post by Action Ace on Jul 23, 2016 22:39:15 GMT -5
 Yes, he is fighting Deadshot on a giant typewriter. |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Jul 24, 2016 8:54:18 GMT -5
This is the only portion of this classic run that I've read so far. I wonder why DC hasn't kept this run in print considering how influential it became. The last TPB printing that I know is from 1999. Looking at various online sites from Amazon to eBay, the cheapest copy I came across was for around 40 bucks. So far, Comixology only has #471-476. 1. I don't know why they don't either. They only seem to keep the Joker issues (#475 & 476) in print.
2. #471-476 are the only issues that Englehart & Rogers did together. Simonson drew #469 & 470 & Wein wrote #477-479 (and #477 had only 3 new pages framed around a reprint).
The Laughing Fish in 475 & 476 are what I have in The Greatest Joker Stories TPB. I couldn't believe how well and closely adapted the Batman TAS episode of the same name was. I know the Detective issues came out first but I was still comparing the comic to the episode when I read it the first time :-) So I'll be following along with the next two issues. Also whil I have 99% of that volume of SS I was reading the Starlin/Lim issues first before I went back and read Englehart/Rogers run. And while Roger's art is still phenomenonal compared to others on SS, it doesn't have the visual impact as Batman. Maybe it's because SS isn't a challenge of a character to draw as Batman. He's pretty simplicitic humanoid with no costume. So I guess that's why Lim is my favorite SS. I really did like Englehart on SS though. I thought he did real well from Lee's previous SS. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2016 8:58:56 GMT -5
1. I don't know why they don't either. They only seem to keep the Joker issues (#475 & 476) in print.
2. #471-476 are the only issues that Englehart & Rogers did together. Simonson drew #469 & 470 & Wein wrote #477-479 (and #477 had only 3 new pages framed around a reprint).
The Laughing Fish in 475 & 476 are what I have in The Greatest Joker Stories TPB. I couldn't believe how well and closely adapted the Batman TAS episode of the same name was. I know the Detective issues came out first but I was still comparing the comic to the episode when I read it the first time :-) So I'll be following along with the next two issues. Also whil I have 99% of that volume of SS I was reading the Starlin/Lim issues first before I went back and read Englehart/Rogers run. And while Roger's art is still phenomenonal compared to others on SS, it doesn't have the visual impact as Batman. Maybe it's because SS isn't a challenge of a character to draw as Batman. He's pretty simplicitic humanoid with no costume. So I guess that's why Lim is my favorite SS. I really did like Englehart on SS though. I thought he did real well from Lee's previous SS. I agree with your thoughts on Silver Surfer. My favorites Marshall Roger's work is his Batman & Dr Strange (with Stern). |
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Post by Icctrombone on Jul 24, 2016 10:00:21 GMT -5
Some of Roger's other art. His Silver Surfer: I was really underwhelmed by his artwork in the Silver Surfer series. He teamed up with Engelhart with this run, too. |
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