As part of the effort to cull the backlog, I’ve been bringing some of DC’s Archive hardcovers with me on the bus. I’ve read two volumes of Legion of Super-Heroes from the early 1970s, and an early volume of Batman from the early 40s. The interesting thing about the Legion Archives is that there are 12 volumes out, so you can watch the series evolve over decades, and as the series hit the 70s there’s a noticeable transition in the art. With Dave Cockrum and especially Mike Grell handling pencils, the renditions of the characters look like things you could find on stands today, although now Grell’s style would probably be considered a little bit ‘classic’ or ‘retro.’ But it’s interesting to watch the characters age and take on slightly trendier appearances.
The Batman comics, on the other hand . . . well, I’m not really crazy about Bob Kane’s (and whatever ghost artists he may have employed) pencil work. Frankly, it just looks a bit crude. I do find it amusing how many of the stories end with Batman delivering some kind of law and order moral to Robin. I kinda wonder how Frank Miller’s Dark Knight would have delivered a Respect Fair Play message to all of us impressionable readers . . .
Part of me feels like I shouldn’t write off the Golden Age just based on my exposure to Superman and Batman comics of the day, but on the other hand, there’s plenty of stuff from the ’70s through the ’90s that I still haven’t gotten through yet.