Introduction

A couple of years ago I made a monumental decision: I was going to collect every issue of Batman and Detective Comics published from 1970-85. I was fully aware that it was going to be a long and expensive process, but it seemed like a worthy goal. Whether the issue was in its original form or was a reprint didn't matter. I just knew that I wanted them all.

My reason for selecting this range of years is that they comprise, more or less, what is called the Bronze Age of Comics. There is a lot of debate surrounding what exactly the "Bronze Age" is and what its beginning and ending dates are, but it's generally considered to have started around 1970. By the end of the '60s, comics were changing, becoming more relevant, more complex, and more daring. The stories reflected the changing social climate and explored deeper subject matter. Comic-book illustrators were willing to take more chances, drawing on a host of artistic influences and techniques.

The Bronze Age didn't begin for every character at the same time. It took some longer to catch up than others. But Batman was in the vanguard. Having been rendered campy by the pall of the infernal television show, Batman was on the verge of cancellation (again), and the fans were eager to see him returned to his darker roots. In his initial appearances during the early Golden Age he was, after all, a creature of the night, not a guy in a costume who parked the Batmobile in broad daylight and in clear view of everyone downtown, as if he were picking up his dry cleaning.

A handful of writers and artists at DC were on the same page and decided that it was time for a change. Batman was, after all, too good of a character to lose. He needed to be used to his best potential. So the decision was made that a major overhaul was on the horizon. Fans waited with bated breath as the change approached.

The new Batman was revealed in issues 217 and 395 of Batman and Detective Comics, respectively. (These two issues will be the subject of the next post.) With these, Batman embarked on the fifteen-year journey of what I consider to be his greatest era. The stories were strong, the art was fantastic, and, perhaps best of all, the Masked Manhunter did his work in the dead of night.

It only makes sense that I, having made this determination, would want to collect and read every issue from this period. And it occured to me that I should blog about it so that any and all interested parties can follow my progress. The issues will not occur in publication order; rather I will write about newly acquired issues or those I already own that I find noteworthy.

I've made huge steps toward my goal since I began, but I've still got a long way to go. And you, gentle reader, can enjoy each newly acquired issue right along with me.