Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo Vol. 3

This may be a bit of a cheat, as I had many of these stories as single issues when they came out, so that is why I am posting a review four hours after it was delivered to my house. This is another great collection of 70's era Batman and pals fighting crime and not each other to protect the lives of innocent citizens like you and me. That's the idea - thrill and adventure and plenty of great artwork. This is such a wonderful series. What a way to collect whole years worth of issues, and you have the chance to read not only the often reprinted issues but the other ones that were anywhere from so-so to just as good, and, you don't have to mylar bag them. You can just take it off the shelf and read it. My only complaint had to do with as usual the way Amazon packaged it: loose so it slides in the box means bent corners, in this case all four. I don't mind some wear and tear, as long as I am the guy doing the wearing and the tearing on my own stuff. Anyway, great artwork, feast for the eyes, stories with plots as well as characterization, even if they may seem hokey by today's standards.

Jim Aparo's Batman is always the one I picture in my head when someone mentions Batman so I was all over this.I had a couple problems with this collection right out of the gate. For one thing, the binding is so tight that the edges of pages are lost in the gutter, making some dialogue impossible to read. Another thing is that the initial story isn't complete since Aparo only drew the first three installments. I have no idea how the Batman shooting Talia in the back storyline was ever resolved.Gripes aside, this is a visually spectacular volume. Jim Aparo was in his prime at this time and he throws the Batarang out of the park on every page. His Brave and the Bold run is top drawer despite the Zany Bob Haney anchor tied to his neck at times. He's no slouch on Untold Legend of Batman, either.I have about half of the comics contained within in one form or another but it's nice to have them in a durable volume I don't have to worry about handling with care. I just wish it opened all the way and details weren't getting lost.

The fourth star is simply because this collection exists and is the 3rd installment for Jim Aparo's Batman.If you've been picking up these Legends of the Dark Knight and Tales of the Batman hardcovers, then you know they are really decent quality, with uniformed spines and dust jackets. Well DC went and screwed that up (with the Conway book first, I think) and changed the art and spine so that it does not match the first two Jim Aparo volumes nor all of the Legends of the Dark Knight books previously published.But this is not my biggest gripe. Remove the Dust Jacket and rub your finger, gently even, along the cover of the book. Now look at your finger. Yes, that is ink on your finger! After probably months after printing and the ink is still coming off??? No, the cover is fine, but there is most definitely residue left on the cover. Come to think of it, because of this gross mistake on DC's part I'm considering a two-star review for this book. Not cool all the way around, DC.

This is the review of this publication not the content (which is obviously amazing). The printing was misaligned from the designers and the binding cuts into the pages which makes it difficult to read the issues, particularly when there are captions or word balloons to the side. It’s still able to be read if you press the pages down. However, for the price point, and it being for collectors, it should be of a better quality. Other editions from DC don’t have this problem. This one does.

.Another piece of the ongoing showcase from the '70's time in Batman's decades long story arc. There's classic art and storylines collected here whether you had these growing up or you're just discovering them now. Graphic art work from this time period is quite edgy but not over the top like some of the work now; so it's well worth a look for newcomers or people rediscovering it in hardcover form whho read the original magazines.This is a Batman who isn't campy like the 1950's and 1960's were- but yet not as brutal as some of the work published since Watchmen and Dark Knight returns. The work collected here has a different feel to it than what's published in 2017 because of the detailed and somewhat gothic in a sense art style. Batman's cape is particular was handed somewhat differently in the Bronze age- and would change size shape and movement style depending on the needs of the story at the time or even in individual panels. We often don't see detail like this in 2017 that was invested into the art in the Bronze Age- in short it's a different Batman now depending on who writes and draws the character so pick this up for an earlier more interesting version of a lasting hero.

Jim Aparo was the definitive Batman artist for me.

Highly recommended!!! Great artwork by Jim Aparo! Book arrived in mint condition, with fast shipping!

This is THE stuff. Don't get me wrong, a good percentage of the time the stories don't make a lick of sense but still are a lot of fun. The artwork remains some of the best Batman illustrations ever., second only to Neal Adams.

La edicion es fantastica de un autor con el que muchos lectores clasicos descubrimos a Batman. En España creo que no se ha editado este material asi que es el momento de disfrutarlo aunque sea en ingles.