|
Inter-Robin Era (1989-1990) |
 1989 saw massive publicity for what became the smashingly successful and
still fondly remembered Batman movie, directed by Tim Burton. The popular press was
filled with the controversy of choosing Michael Keaton, known mostly for his comic roles, for
Batman. Jack Nicholson's performance as the Joker in particular met with resounding acclaim,
as did the design and feel of a much darker Gotham City. Posters from the movie were stolen
from subway stations, and myriad Batman toys hit the shelves as part of a flood of
Bat-merchandise from cereal to costumes. When the video was released, simply featuring the
Bat-symbol on the front of the black box, it seemed as if every house had at least one.
The attention was well-timed in terms of Batman comics. With Robin not
appearing in the movie, his absence in the comics posed no problem, letting stories focus on
Batman as solitary vigilante in a series of rather good stories. Sam Hamm, screenwriter of the
movie, scripted a storyline in Detective Comics. At the same time, John Byrne scripted
a storyline in Batman. The best-remembered story of this era, however, was the pricey
Batman: Arkham Asylum hardcover, written by
Grant Morrison
and featuring Dave McKean's beautiful painted artwork; despite its price, it sold briskly,
making its creators suddenly wealthy in addition to adding another classic to Batman's
history.
In the wake of Robin II's demise, a debate had begun as to whether Batman
really needed a Robin. Was Robin essential to the Batman formula, or should Batman return to
his earliest roots as an isolated vigilante? That tension, between Batman the self-reliant
vigilante and the Batman family of characters, would continue long after any such debate.
Robin represented, on the one hand, a contradiction in Batman's personality -- that of a
moralistic and self-driven vigilante who not only adopts a child but endangers him through
dressing him in tights and taking him out at night to fight murderers and to stop whores. On
the other hand, not only do such contradictions exist in real personalities, but Batman's very
isolation required the confidante that Robin represented, traditionally allowing him in terms
of narrative to express his plans but allowing him in terms of character not only to have a
companion but to redeem in some sense his own lonely childhood.
Editor Denny O'Neil ultimately agreed that Batman needed Robin. The
question then was why readers had voted to kill Robin. Did they detest the idea of Robin, or
was Jason Todd's more fringe personality and past as a hoodlum at fault? Or, alternatively,
did they just want to see if DC would do it? The decision was made: Batman would get a new
Robin and he would be more of the good guy that original Robin Dick Grayson was, rather than
having the rougher background of Jason Todd. Still, changes would be made, and that meant not
only an update to Robin's costume: this new, safer Robin would be characterized from the start
as particularly intelligent and stable -- even more than Dick Grayson, since Robin III would
not be an orphan, though danger to his parents would become a plot device.
To ease readers who had voted to off the previous Robin into the idea of
a new one so soon after, Batman's need for a Robin would first be demonstrated. Batman became
increasingly isolated, his sanity coming into doubt. To serve this characterization, Batman:
Year Three (running in Batman #436-439), the third entry in the series started with
Frank Miller's
Batman: Year One, would tell the
story of Batman's third year, in which he met and adopted Dick Grayson, through flashbacks that
emphasized Batman's Robin-less descent. The following storyline, A Lonely Place of
Dying, would introduce Tim Drake, the future Robin III, in a manner that gave him readers'
blessing. The last half of 1990 would see two storylines focusing on Tim Drake, and only at
the end of those seven issues would Drake appear in costume as Robin III. The overall arc of
this carefully managed story was impresive in terms of its quality, whatever one thought of
Timothy Drake.
And, with Drake at last in costume, Batman's era as a solitary vigilante
came to an end.
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| IMAGE | TITLE | DESCRIPTION | STATUS |
| Batman #430-432, 440-451, 455-457; Batman Annual #13: no data entered |
| Batman #430 | cover-dated February 1989 | 0 |
| Batman #431 | | 0 |
| Detective Comics #595-597, 601-621; Detective Comics Annual #2: no data entered |
| Detective Comics #597 | Batman describes himself as a wounded soldier; cover-dated February 1989 | 0 |
| Batman #432 | Batman shows hurt over Jason Todd; cover-dated April 1989 | 0 |
| Detective Comics #598-600: "Blind Justice" storyline; Sam Hamm script; no art data entered |
| Detective Comics #598 | 72 pages; cover-dated March 1989 | 0 |
| Detective Comics #599 | Bruce Wayne is shot | 0 |
| Detective Comics #600 | officially Batman's 50th anniversary issue; 56 pages; cover-dated May 1989 | 0 |
| Batman: Blind Justice | collects Detective Comics #598-600
[REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK]
| 0 |
| Batman #433-435: "Many Deaths of the Batman" storyline; John Byrne script; no art data entered |
| Batman #433 | cover-dated May 1989 | 0 |
| Batman #434 | | 0 |
| Batman #435 | cover-dated July 1989 | 0 |
| Batman: Many Deaths of the Batman | collects Batman #433-435; cover-dated May 1992 | 0 |
| Batman Annual #13 | Batman battles Two-Face; nice George Pratt cover; cover-dated 1989 | 0 |
| Detective Comics #601-603: "Tulpa" storyline; features (Jack Kirby's) the Demon |
| Detective Comics #601 | cover-dated June 1989 | 0 |
| Detective Comics #602 | | 0 |
| Detective Comics #603 | cover-dated August 1989 | 0 |
| Detective Comics #604-607: "Mud Pack" storyline |
| Detective Comics #604 | includes a free bound-in poster | 0 |
| Detective Comics #605 | Clayface battles Looker | 0 |
| Detective Comics #606 | features an insane Batman | 0 |
| Detective Comics #607 | Clayface V debuts; includes a free bound-in poster | 0 |
| Detective Comics Annual #2 | tells a good story of the KKK; cover-dated 1989 | 0 |
| Batman #436-439: "Year Three" storyline; Marv Wolfman script; no art data entered |
| Batman #436 | | 0 |
| Batman #437 | | 0 |
| Batman #438 | | 0 |
| Batman #439 | | 0 |
| Batman #440,
New Titans #60, Batman #441,
New Titans #61, Batman #442:
"A Lonely Place of Dying" storyline |
| Batman #440 | continues into New Titans #60 | 0 |
| Batman #441 | continues from New Titans #60; continues into New Titans #61 | 0 |
| Batman #442 | continues from New Titans #61 | 0 |
Larger Version Available
| Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying | collects Batman #440-442 and New Titans #60-61; softcover; cover-dated October 1990
[REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK]
| 0 |
| Detective Comics #608 | contains the first appearance of Anarky (a good character but a rip-off of V for Vendetta) | 0 |
| Detective Comics #609 | continues the Anarky story | 0 |
| Batman #443 | contains the first appearance of Crimesmith; cover-dated January 1990 | 0 |
| Batman #444 | continues from Batman #443 | 0 |
| Detective Comics #610 | Batman battles Penguin; cover-dated January 1990 | 0 |
| Detective Comics #611 | Penguin battles Kadaver | 0 |
| Batman #445 | contains the first appearance of NKVDemon; cover-dated March 1990 | 0 |
| Batman #446 | | 0 |
| Batman #447 | | 0 |
| Detective Comics #612 | Batman battles Catwoman and Catman; cover-dated March 1990 | 0 |
| Detective Comics #613 | | 0 |
| Detective Comics #614 | | 0 |
| Batman #448, Detective Comics #615, Batman #449: "The Penguin Affair" storyline |
| Batman #448 | | 0 |
| Detective Comics #615 | | 0 |
| Batman #449 | | 0 |
| Detective Comics #616 | contains the first appearance of C'yth; Batman believes Joker to be alive | 0 |
| Detective Comics #617 | Batman searches for the Joker | 0 |
| Batman #450 | the Joker flashes back to his days as Red Mask and "finds himself" | 0 |
| Batman #451 | Batman battles the Joker for the first time since the death of Jason Todd | 0 |
| Batman #452-454: "Dark Knight, Dark City" storyline;
Peter Milligan script; no art data entered |
| Batman #452 | | 0 |
| Batman #453 | | 0 |
| Batman #454 | cover-dated September 1990 | 0 |
| Detective Comics #618-621: "Rite of Passage" storyline, focusing on Tim Drake |
| Detective Comics #618 | Tim's parents' plane crashes | 0 |
| Detective Comics #619 | | 0 |
| Detective Comics #620 | Anarky appears | 0 |
| Detective Comics #621 | Mrs. Drake dies and Mr. Drake is hurt; cover-dated September 1990 | 0 |
| Batman #455-457: "Identity Crisis" storyline, focusing on Tim Drake |
| Batman #455 | | 0 |
| Batman #456 | | 0 |
| Batman #457 | Tim Drake first appears in costume as Robin III; cover-dated December 1990 | 0 |
 |
DETECTIVE COMICS
| |
|
| Detective Comics #595 | participates in DC's Invasion! crossover; also includes a Mr. Freeze "Bonus Book" story | 0 |
| Detective Comics #596 | | 0 |
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GRAPHIC NOVELS
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|
| Batman: Arkham Asylum [hardcover] | unofficially subtitled A Serious House on Serious Earth;
Grant Morrison script; beautiful Dave McKean painted art; hardcover; cover-dated November 1989 | 1 |
| Batman: Arkham Asylum [softcover] | softcover
[REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK]
| 0 |
|
HUNTRESS
| |
|
| Huntress (first series) #1-19: no data entered |
| Huntress (first series) #1 | tells the Huntress's origin; April 1989 | 0 |
| Huntress (first series) #2 | | 0 |
| Huntress (first series) #3 | | 0 |
| Huntress (first series) #4 | | 0 |
| Huntress (first series) #5 | | 0 |
| Huntress (first series) #6 | | 0 |
| Huntress (first series) #7 | | 0 |
| Huntress (first series) #8 | | 0 |
| Huntress (first series) #9 | | 0 |
| Huntress (first series) #10 | | 0 |
| Huntress (first series) #11 | | 0 |
| Huntress (first series) #12 | | 0 |
| Huntress (first series) #13 | | 0 |
| Huntress (first series) #14 | | 0 |
| Huntress (first series) #15 | | 0 |
| Huntress (first series) #16 | | 0 |
| Huntress (first series) #17-19: "Days of Rage" storyline; Batman appears |
| Huntress (first series) #17 | | 0 |
| Huntress (first series) #18 | | 0 |
| Huntress (first series) #19 | final issue; cover-dated October 1990 | 0 |
