CNN - Review: 'Batman: The Complete History'

(CNN) -- Fans of comic books have been engaged in an intense debate for decades. At issue: which is more important to comics, story or artwork? For those who come down on the side of story, "Batman: The Complete History" may be a bit disappointing. For those in the other camp, however, the Les Daniels biography of the Dark Knight is a visual triumph.

The predominance of the artwork is obvious without opening the book. The front of the dust jacket is an early drawing of Batman by creator Bob Kane, enlarged to pop-art proportions, without a single word of text to distract from the image. The cover art is a recreation of the same scene by contemporary artist Alex Ross.

Inside, Daniels offers a brilliant array of images. There are full-color reproductions of stories, original sketches and layouts by the various artists who have given the character life over the years, photos of the bewildering assortment of Batman memorabilia and stills from various big- and small-screen incarnations of the character. Taken together, they provide a comprehensive picture of the evolution of an American icon. So who needs text?

Those of us on the "story" side of the debate do. To give Daniels credit, he does provide a fairly detailed account of how Batman came to be. He details the first meeting between Kane, the artist, and Bill Finger, the writer (appropriately in New York's Edgar Allen Poe Park), that resulted in the creation of the character. And he faithfully chronicles the ever-changing creative team behind the character over the years. But as the image of Batman spread beyond the confines of the comic book, into films and television and onto lunchboxes and soft drink cans, Daniels offers little more than a listing of the cultural phenomena spawned by the Dynamic Duo.

Critical analysis of the stories featuring Batman and Robin also suffers as the book unfolds. Daniels provides perceptive insights about the influences of various writers and artists on the comic books in the early years. But his discussions of the most recent movies (particularly "Batman & Robin") and television series ("Batman Beyond") are largely devoid of critical assessment. In that respect, "Batman: The Complete History" falls short of other books, notably "Tales of the Dark Knight" by Mark Cotta Vaz, published 10 years ago (to mark the 50th anniversary of the character).

Still, there is no denying that Daniels has collected an impressive gallery of images that help tell the story of the Caped Crusader. There are the crude early images drawn by a young Bob Kane and the more polished (but infinitely sillier) images from the 1950s, when the comics industry was under attack. We witness Batman and Robin revitalized by new creative teams in the 1960s, again in the 1970s, and yet again in the 1980s. And we see the Dark Knight of today, who has reclaimed his heritage as a creature of the shadowy back alleys of Gotham City.

"Batman: The Complete History" is, in essence, a coffee table book. Whatever its deficiencies, it's a volume that any fan of the Dark Knight detective should be proud to display.

L.D. Meagher is a senior writer at CNN Headline News. He has worked in broadcasting for 30 years.

LATEST HEADLINES:

Back to the top