Customer Reviews (11)

Small Surprise!
Wow, what fun!This little book at first glance appears to be underwhelming and gives the feeling that you may regret reading it when finished.This couldn't be any far from the truth.What a great surprise and great read.I'm not sure how well this fits into Batman canon now, but it was very enjoyable.It's basically one big story arc of someone trying to destroy batman piece by piece while he and Robin race to find the mastermind behind it all.Along the way they dive into the orgin stories of so many characters in this short book.Batman obviously, Robin, Joker, Two Face, Jim Gordon, even Alfred, Joe Chill, Batgirl, and Lucius Fox!The only thing preventing it from a five star is the main story arc feels unnecessary and it's pretty obvious who the guilty party is halfway through.I would highly recommend this however and I can't believe how cheap it is either!

This may not be what you're thinking....
I thought this was a trade paperback format collection of these classic Len wein and Jim Aparo/John Byrne stories which it is, but this is about a quarter of the physical size of an actual comic book; its black and white on newsprint but worst of all, the pages are comprised of "redistributed" panels, a convention that many had assumed died in the late 70s and early eighties when many of these reprints were done for "pocket books" for little kids.
Still a great story, and one of the first attempts in the modern era to clean up Bruce Wayne's history during the years between the murder of his parents, and becoming Batman. I didn't realize they still made these poor reproductions, but I guess that explains the low, low price. Caveat Emptor.

An interesting look at the origins of Gotham City's most famous citizens
The Untold Legend of the Batman is a three-issue series, issued in 1980, that retold the origins of the Batman, his allies, and some of his enemies.The first issue really just tells the story of Batman's origins, and it provides some surprising information: the first Batman was actually Bruce Wayne's father, and the first Robin was actually Bruce Wayne.Don't take this too literally, though.Bruce's father wore a bat-man-ish suit to a charity fundraiser not long before he was gunned down; at this special event, he was kidnapped and ordered to tend to a criminal's wounds.He refused, sent the guy to the Big House with his testimony, and was gunned down in retribution.Bruce Wayne dedicated his life to finding his parents' killer and fighting criminals of all kinds; in order to do this, he needed a teacher, and he chose Gotham's most gifted detective.Since he didn't want the detective to recognize him, he donned a costume - the Robin costume.The detective, Harvey Harris, actually came up with the name Robin because young Bruce looked "as brilliant as a robin redbreast" in the outfit.Oh, it is to laugh.

Bruce Wayne holds his father's Batman outfit in almost sacred regard, so naturally he's highly ticked off when someone steals it, cuts it up, and mails it back to him.That's what starts this whole series off.Someone knows Batman's secrets and is out to get him.At the end of the second issue, the Batmobile itself blows up right there inside the Batcave, sending Batman into a frenzy.We finally learn the identity of the person behind the attacks in the third and last issue - and you may be surprised by the revelation.

There are a number of interesting little Batman tidbits spread throughout the course of this little series - and you'll also get a special look at some of Batman's crime-fighting tools.After looking back upon the origins of both Batman and Robin, you'll meet the Joker when he was just the Red Hood, see how Harvey Dent became Two-Face, cast your eyes upon Barbara Gordon before and after she dons the BatGirl costume, and even learn who among Batman's enemies knows his true identity.You'll also see how Commissioner Gordon wasn't Batman's biggest fan early on, as Batman's success made the police department look pretty bad in comparison.You'll even get a gander at the man who designs and makes the Batmobile for the caped crusaders.I was most interested in Alfred's story, though; you'll see him helping refugees escape the Germans in World War II, discover that he was a successful stage actor after the war, and see just how he came to serve as Bruce Wayne's butler, confidante, and friend.

I daresay some won't find the revelation at the end of the story all that satisfactory, but it does provide us with a revealing window into the mind of Batman.It also would have been nice to cram a few more bad guy origin tales into the series, but I guess that would be asking too much.I suppose it's just as well, since all of these origin stories tend to drift and change over time.The Untold Legend of the Batman isn't a great series by any means, but it is one that all Batman fans should enjoy to some degree - and you might even learn something you didn't already know about this most famous of comic book heroes.

A true fan of the "Batman" must have this one.
It is the inspiration for all the background of all the movie
versions, and pretty much a great deal of the story line of the
new Batman Begins movie also.A true Bat-o-phile must have...

An okay read...some interesting stuff
Saw this in Wal-Mart and picked it up. It's a pretty good story and re-telling of the Batman origin. I have always loved the post-crisis Batman, but reading the pre-crisis origin for Batman was pretty fascinating. The only downside was the black and white art, and the dialogue was very out of date. But for a story that cost a little over three dollars, I'm not complaining. ... Read more

Product Description
You asked for it and by a special arrangement with Marvel Comics, Wizard delivers you the Top 10 Wolverine Comics of all time in one special hardcover volume. # WENDIGO is from Uncanny X-Men #139-140 by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. In the story that first defined the man's attitude, Wolverine in the Canadian tundra descends into a berserker rage as he battles the relentless Wendigo to survive. # WOLVERINE VS. THE HULK, a brutal adventure from Incredible Hulk #340 by Peter David and Todd McFarlane, is one of Wolverine's most shocking and intense tales ever. # WOLVERINE & CAPTAIN AMERICA IN WWII from Uncanny X-Men #268 by Claremont and Jim Lee is another compelling tale that has never been part of any Wolverine collection. It's told in two different eras at once and features the Black Widow as a child. # VIPER & SILVER SAMURAI is from Uncanny X-Men #172-173 by Claremont and Paul Smith. In Japan, Wolverine and the X-Men are attacked, forcing... ... Read more

Product Description
368 pages ... Read more

Product Description
CANADA's SUPER-TEAM!!!Date: 1983 to 1994Highlights: The Complete Series Run!!!*** Contains Issue #'s 1-130, Annual 1-2 ***Alpha Flight : Guardian, Sasquatch, Puck, Northstar, Marrina, Shaman, Snowbird, Aurora, others.John Byrne let loose on scripts & art to create a super team for his native Canada! Full of Wolverine, X-Men appearances, old and new heroes and villians galore - more, more, more!!! ... Read more