Batman: Second Chances

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If you are a fan of the character or a fan of this era of Batman comics this is a collection worth picking up. Furthermore, there is a lot of emotional complexity at work here, particularly with respect to the unresolved anger Dick harbors toward Batman for being told his sidekick services were no longer necessary. BATMAN – SECOND CHANCES represents a second chance for my comics stories on that character to be reappraised, and I’m pleased to have these stories gathered in one place. The stories here focus mainly on establishing a grittier tone for the post-Crisis Batman while developing Jason Todd, who served as Robin.

Some might question the inclusion of the weird Penguin story at the end, but it's also to show you that Batman isn't infallible. I loved his two issue backstory, I thought the house for troubled kids was a good plot point, I thought him constantly stealing people's car tires was hilarious, I thought the fact that when Bruce looked at him he saw a mix of Dick and himself was amazing. Batman said that only the kidnappers' footprints would be in the OR because the doctors and nurses would wear paper socks over their shoes. His psychological disconnect is so strong he believes he is the real Batman and that the genuine article is an imposter. Here he developed his ideas of God, death, and infinity, free of the restrictions of mainstream comics publishers' self-censorship arm, the Comics Code Authority.

PLEASE NOTE: This series of graphic novels is intended for adults and may not be suitable for younger children. I remember at one point I had Batman getting a baseball bat broken over his upper torso, which sent him down and out. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it as a historical artifact, a record of what Batman comics felt like in the late 1980s before other creators like Alan Grant and Chuck Dixon became the architects of a new Batman mythos.

Seeing him adopt a child immediately after losing one was a very big challenge on us as a reader, because on one side you fall for Jason Todd's wittiness and spunk, but on the other side you mourn the loss of Dick. It is a perfectly self-contained story that not only recaps the "retirement" of the first Robin, Dick Grayson, but Jason's revamped origin, as well. Though some of the ideas that Collin’s put forth were good and ended up becoming iconic (Like Jason’s new origin) the stories themselves fall flat and the Starlin tales are a clear upgrade.But while Jason shows great potential to be a hero, he is also a troubled young man, consumed with bitterness and anger. That company went to DC, wanting to put together bags of BATMAN comics; the Toys ‘r’ Us people looked at about three or four years of BATMAN…and picked out my issues. Just Another Kid on Crime Alley," "Two of a Kind," and "Second Chance," is the real meat of this collection, though Max Allan Collins' scripts are somewhat more juvenile than I remember, with a lot of on-the-nose dialogue (and too much talk in general). Batman tells Harvey he needs his other hand to pull himself up, but without the coin, Harvey can't decide what to do.