This final volume of the Silver Age Batman newspaper strips features a veritable Who’s Who of Gotham City and beyond: Superman, Green Arrow, The Penguin, Joker, Mad Hatter, Riddler, Scarecrow, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Two-Face, Catwoman, Batgirl, Killer Moth, Poison Ivy, and Black Canary, plus the introduction of the mysterious Man-Bat! And if that wasn’t enough, included are the four months of rare 1972 strips that were created by the Ledger Syndicate, without DC’s input, in which Batman was no longer featured, although Bruce Wayne continued as a character. Batman expert Joe Desris explains it all in an insightful introduction. This book includes all strips from June 1, 1969 through April 29, 1972.
"IDW gives us a rewarding look into a different side of these characters by releasing this collection. Here we can see the characters almost as if through a telescope, blocking out all the rest of the universe around them and focused only on these actors themselves. In here, too, we see echoes and hints of what will become, for us, staples of the current lore and state of the Dark Knight." –Outright Geekery
"His origin story stretches over many weeks of the strip’s run, and finally offers a subject worthy of Batman’s attention. In a following tale, Batman ends up with a broken back, threatening to permanently put him out of commission and introducing a plot device that would famously be used over 20 years later in Batman’s initial comic book encounter with Bane, as well as the Bane story’s retelling in The Dark Knight Rises film. It’s worth mentioning that the collection also features the first Silver Age appearance of the Harvey Dent Two-Face, beating out his 1971 comic book appearance by half a year." –Cinema Sentries
