GKO: MADHOUSE
Here you will find our rambalings on all area's of Batman, interviews and speical features!
This weeks top 5 comes from Tommy the editor of the Bat-Blog, and fellow reader George from the UK:
Tommy's Picks:
5. Batman 366
OK, I could say that the artist for this issue's cover was Walt Simonson & that would be enough. But I loved how he was completely rebellious by NOT putting the large Batman logo at the very top like he's suppose too, ha ha! The way the "Batman word" is placed within the whole design, it's like an homage to The Spirit Newspaper Comics done by Will Eisner. Plus, it's got the Joker!
4. Batman 243
This is the issue where I really started to realize who Neal Adams was & started to be a huge fan of his work. Plus, it's the beginning of Ra's Al Ghul. I really love the way that it's drawn too, almost hyper-realistic, with a lot of detail. You can sense the strain in Batman's muscles. Adams' drawing of anatomy was very accurate & that was not an important thing to most artists from that time period. He took comics to another level with his sense of realism. The very next issue after this one is a great cover too but I could add only five.
3. Batman 237
OK, this is a no-brainer, I mean, come on...this is Neal Adams art we're talking about! Plus, the story written by Dennis O'Neal is a complete classic, a great storyline. It dealt with social-political issues like Racism, Nazis, & the hatred of Jews. I mean, kinda hardcore! It was a very meaningful story that was NOT like most comics of it's day.
2. Batman 186
Graphically, this cover is great too but I picked it for more personal reasons. I really got into collecting comics as a young teen in the mid-1970's & this issue was the very 1st "old comic book" that I ever bought. It's from the 1960's & was a great find for me at that time. It really got me into looking for the "older comics" out there.
1. Batman 9
I knew that at least one cover had to be something from the Golden Age because I really love that era so much. I almost picked Detective Comics #27 (because it's the very 1st appearance) but Batman #9 is so completely iconic, it's just a really great image. I have seen this classic "characters in a spotlight" pose in a ton of parodies.
George's Picks:
5. Batman 237
Have to have a favourite Neal Adams cover in my top five - just such a striking cover, with so much movement - and probably my favourite Neal Adams story inside.
4. Detective Comics 473
Again - I grew up enjoying these covers in the 70's & 80's - Marshall Rogers did one of the best ever runs on Detective Comics. Beautiful cover - a homage to the Detective Comics 27 cover.
3. Batman 321
Easily my favourite cover of Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez - one of the first Batman comics I read as a kid. Just makes you want to read it to find out what happens in the story - great colours.
2. Detective Comics 569
Alan Davis is a personal favourite of mine from the 80's. A homage to the Batman 11 cover - simply brilliant.
1. Dark Knight Returns Book 1
One of the greatest and most iconic Batman images ever produced - a masterpiece.
Want to take part?
all you need to do is pick your top 5 Bat-related covers (anything that features anything from the Batman Family) then write a sentence or two on why you picked them and then email me the list at gothanknights@att.net
Tommy's Picks:
5. Batman 366OK, I could say that the artist for this issue's cover was Walt Simonson & that would be enough. But I loved how he was completely rebellious by NOT putting the large Batman logo at the very top like he's suppose too, ha ha! The way the "Batman word" is placed within the whole design, it's like an homage to The Spirit Newspaper Comics done by Will Eisner. Plus, it's got the Joker!
This is the issue where I really started to realize who Neal Adams was & started to be a huge fan of his work. Plus, it's the beginning of Ra's Al Ghul. I really love the way that it's drawn too, almost hyper-realistic, with a lot of detail. You can sense the strain in Batman's muscles. Adams' drawing of anatomy was very accurate & that was not an important thing to most artists from that time period. He took comics to another level with his sense of realism. The very next issue after this one is a great cover too but I could add only five.
OK, this is a no-brainer, I mean, come on...this is Neal Adams art we're talking about! Plus, the story written by Dennis O'Neal is a complete classic, a great storyline. It dealt with social-political issues like Racism, Nazis, & the hatred of Jews. I mean, kinda hardcore! It was a very meaningful story that was NOT like most comics of it's day.
Graphically, this cover is great too but I picked it for more personal reasons. I really got into collecting comics as a young teen in the mid-1970's & this issue was the very 1st "old comic book" that I ever bought. It's from the 1960's & was a great find for me at that time. It really got me into looking for the "older comics" out there.
I knew that at least one cover had to be something from the Golden Age because I really love that era so much. I almost picked Detective Comics #27 (because it's the very 1st appearance) but Batman #9 is so completely iconic, it's just a really great image. I have seen this classic "characters in a spotlight" pose in a ton of parodies.
George's Picks:
Have to have a favourite Neal Adams cover in my top five - just such a striking cover, with so much movement - and probably my favourite Neal Adams story inside.
Again - I grew up enjoying these covers in the 70's & 80's - Marshall Rogers did one of the best ever runs on Detective Comics. Beautiful cover - a homage to the Detective Comics 27 cover.
Easily my favourite cover of Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez - one of the first Batman comics I read as a kid. Just makes you want to read it to find out what happens in the story - great colours.
Alan Davis is a personal favourite of mine from the 80's. A homage to the Batman 11 cover - simply brilliant.
One of the greatest and most iconic Batman images ever produced - a masterpiece.
Want to take part?
all you need to do is pick your top 5 Bat-related covers (anything that features anything from the Batman Family) then write a sentence or two on why you picked them and then email me the list at gothanknights@att.net
LISTEN TO THIS WEEKS PODCAST ONLINE COVERING NEWS, REVIEWS AND INTERVIEWS WITH GUESTS FROM ALL BATMAN INDUSTRIES!
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This week we cover the usual news in the Batman Universe. Aug 2nd to Aug 8th, including Batman: Knightfall Pt5.
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