Of all the Batman titles in my collection, Morrison's run on the title aside, Legends of the Dark Knight is the series of which I have the most consistent run. I'm not sure how that happened. It's an interesting title, in that it charts some of Batman's earliest adventures, before the weight of continuity and supporting case began to bog him down. He's more foot soldier than general in these stories. Anyway, I've had this first story arc kicking about for a long while now, and, thus far, the project has been quite light on the major players in the DCU. I thought it was time for a change.
I don't know much of Dennis O'Neil's work on the Batman titles, but I do know that he is linked to their incarnations through the 70s, 80s, and 90s. This tale, set at the very beginning of Bruce Wayne's crime-fighting career, captures a strangely optimistic Batman, one who hasn't been exposed to the horror's that Gotham city has in store for his future. This is young Bruce Wayne, still not quite divorcing the billionaire playboy image from the dark crusader. For the series to be called Legends of the Dark Knight links it explicitly to Miller's Dark Knight that would have preceded it by a few years, but the character we're given in this story is far from the elderly architect of Miller's seminal series.
This is Batman before he has all the answers, before he can beat all of the bad guys. This is Batman learning, and it's a fascinating story. I'll be continuing on with this story for the next five days, just to bring my bat-quotient up.
See you tomorrow.
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