'Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight' feels like the matrix simulator that runs this universe realized that I am too familiar with all the famous DC comic runs, so it decided to retcon a third batman line into existence so that I would have something else to discover.

Anyone else have a "discovery" like this?

>>149810786 (OP)
Isn't that like the second most popular Batman run of all time or something? I dint think it's much of a "discovery"

>>149810786 (OP)
I haven't really liked any of these.
>>149810794
Not likely.

>>149810794
Wow you’re so cool

>>149810786 (OP)
OP, no offense, but when did you start reading comics? Because this was a fairly well known book until about the late 2000s

>>149810885
I dunno man it isn't that obscure. Venom the drug is introduced in it that Bane eventually uses.
Semi obscure stuff is like that Man-Bat issue Ditko drew which is the only time he drew Batman, Hex where Jonah Hex goes to a Mad Max world, all the New Universe books put out by Marvel, that No-prize book, the Generic Comic Book one-shot, Fantastic Force, the Razorline imprint by Clive Barker, Steeltown Rockers, Mort the Dead Teenager, Captain Savage and the Leathernecks, Omega the Unknown, and U.S. 1. I dunno maybe some of those are super obscure like Sledge Hammer! also by Marvel. I'd say some of the licensed stuff more people know about like the Combo man or Superpro issues but others like the partnerships with newspapers or the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders are more obscure.
You could make an iceberg out of a lot of the more obscure books themselves for DC and Marvel. Then a whole separate iceberg on obscure facts about the creation of well-known or obscure books.

>>149810976
DC also has a lot of obscure series probably just as part of being around longer. I'd say a slightly more obscure Batman series is probably Batman and the Outsiders. Normies can now recognize Katana but they don't know where she came from.
Any DC heads who can list off some obscure stuff like Madame Xanadu, Captain Action, or other things I took a cursory look at?

>>149810925
It had a toy line, even!

>>149810786 (OP)
>third batman line

Were you not aware of Shadow of the Bat?

The first like 70 issues (give or take) are mostly pretty good. After that the series is really hit or miss.

>>149810976
>Steeltown Rockers

This is one of the best slice-of-life dramas ever published in American comics and it's a shame that it isn't more well known.

>>149811026
>Any DC heads who can list off some obscure stuff like Madame Xanadu, Captain Action, or other things I took a cursory look at?

John Ostrander's Manhunter (NOT Martian Manhunter)
Warlord (especially the original series)
Amethyst (in particular the 80s stuff)
Vigilante (especially once Paul Kupperberg takes over)
Checkmate (80s series)
Angel Love (deceptively adult comic that wasn't labelled as such)
Bob, the Galactic Bum
Outcasts (one of the most underrated miniseries of all time, basically a 2000AD style story published by DC)
Camelot 3000 (see also: BEST ART EVER)
Ms. Tree Quarterly (this almost doesn't count, since it's a single volume of a creator-owned indie series, but the whole comic is still HIGHLY recommended nonetheless, including DC's portion of it)
Ronin (I think this counts as "obscure" by now)
Catwoman: Her Sister's Keeper (effectively Batman Year One retold from Catwoman's perspective)
Terminal City (Vertigo miniseries)
Plastic Man (1988 miniseries)
The Question by Dennis O'Neil (does this count as "obscure"?)
Chain Gang War
Haywire
Secret Origins (1986 series)
Metalzoic
Hawkworld (post-Crisis series, mostly by John Ostrander)
Ironwolf
Tarzan by Joe Kubert
The Heckler
Wild Dog
The Butcher
Hero Hotline
The Spectre by John Ostrander (not sure if this is obscure enough, but strongly recommended regardless)
Tattered Banners

>>149811609
>The Question by Dennis O'Neil (does this count as "obscure"?)
Not anymore, it used to be a cult classic, but in the last 10 years or so it seems like it's gotten the recognition it deserves. Still a fantastic run though, and not just because it makes conservatards seethe

>>149811652
>conservatards
Are Americans really incapable of discussing anything without dragging their playground politics into it?

>>149811652
stop being a faggot

>>149811770
>>149811783
lmao triggered again

>>149811770
It's honestly funny how much that word seems to bother the right. It's like their N word or something, they can't not comment on it whenever it gets used.

>>149811652
>>149811887
>>149812078
Dude, no. Take it elsewhere.

>>>/pol/

>>149810786 (OP)
This one.

>>149810794
its not

>>149811483
Issue 100 is still a highlight. That was Denny O’Neil circa 1997, meaning his shithead assistants were in the process of taking over, but he still had the creative juices to dish out a good story.

I wish they'd used at least a couple arcs in this book to rework the classic Batman and Robin dynamic for the modern age. Instead they used to to push Robin out of all the classic Batvillain origin stories

>>149813524
I mean, was it really needed? Dick was with the Titans and Tim had his own ongoing run. There should have been more Batmite.

>>149811609
>John Ostrander's Manhunter (NOT Martian Manhunter)
>Warlord (especially the original series)
>Amethyst (in particular the 80s stuff)
>Vigilante (especially once Paul Kupperberg takes over)
>Angel Love (deceptively adult comic that wasn't labelled as such)
>Camelot 3000 (see also: BEST ART EVER)
>Ronin (I think this counts as "obscure" by now)
>Catwoman: Her Sister's Keeper (effectively Batman Year One retold from Catwoman's perspective)
>Plastic Man (1988 miniseries)
>The Question by Dennis O'Neil (does this count as "obscure"?)
>Hawkworld (post-Crisis series, mostly by John Ostrander)
>Tarzan by Joe Kubert
>Wild Dog
>The Spectre by John Ostrander (not sure if this is obscure enough, but strongly recommended regardless)

these aren't obscure, maybe not entry level, but I wouldn't put them in obscure like never never, if you read magazines back then or used fromsu in 2000s-2010s

Those aren't obscure. But good list.

>>149814072
What you people read here that camelot 3000 ain't dank?

>>149810786 (OP)
You did the right thing legends is the true batinfluence, movie fans never figure it out, they explored the character when it was never done before

>>149811483
The first 70 are hit or miss.

>>149811449
Kenner was doing some wild shit, I miss that company like you wouldn't believe

>>149811652
I was so excited to read this after all the hype and was left disappointed.

I mean, it is better than the slop produced nowadays for sure.

However, this is an O'Neil work first and a Question story at a very distant second. On top of feeling incongruent with the character, I think O'Neil has done better stuff.

I mean, there is a reason that this interpretation of the character was largely ignored. It would be like making Ollie a Right Winger. It just feels wrong, and there are more interesting things you can do. The politics aren't the only issue with it, but it deserves mentioning.

>>149810786 (OP)
>be retard
>don't know something mildly experimental exists
>start having schizo delusions

>>149814552
Shadow of the Bat was another bat comic, considered the third Batcomic as far as mainline continuity(LOTDK wasn't in the present day, with some stories vaguely out of continuity) , it was the book Alan Grant got since they wanted to change bat writers but didn't want to ditch him since he was on the Batman book in one of the strongest sales periods and was well regarded.
I would say that book is indeed obscure now, as many people probably mix it up with Grant's tenure on Tec/Batman.

I wanna read SOTB… but I don’t wanna read the crossover stuff.

>>149813524
>I wish they'd used at least a couple arcs in this book to rework the classic Batman and Robin dynamic for the modern age
They did.

>>149815315
This is the issue that convinced me that Denny didn’t hate Jason.

>>149814782
Anyone who isn't on estrogens aknowledges it's overrated as fuck and far from deserving a "cult following".

>>149811496
It's too short-lived. Doesn't get off the ground.
>>149811609
The Question is not obscure. Also, not a fan.
Wild Dog and Hero Hotline aren't very good.
>>149814782
100% agree. /co/ gave me shit for not calling it a masterpiece.

>>149815392
It has entertaining writing and good art. What other good Question run is there? Rucka did some all right stuff with him as a supporting character for Huntress and Montoya, but that last story involved his death. Ditko's original run wasn't anything particularly memorable. Sort of a good concept, but during that time period he was stuck in a rut of making all his heroes crusading journalists. The only difference between Rex Graine, Vic Sage, and Jack Ryder are their gimmicks.

Streets of Gotham was a street-level series written by Paul Dini (this was when he was coming off his run on Detective Comics which was also really good). I don't think I've seen anyone talk about that before.

Continuing with the Batman setting; I find there are a bunch of great elseworlds that don't get too much recognition. The Doom That Came to Gotham is mentioned somewhat frequently but still super underrated given that Gotham By Gaslight and maybe the Vampire story are the only Batman Elseworlds that really get mentioned regularly. Batman/Houdini is possibly the best Elseworld I've read and I've never seen anyone else mention it.
Much better known but still comparatively obscure is Gotham Central which is an excellent series even after the main writers left it.

>>149815392
"Overrated" isn't a genuine criticism of anything, who gives a fuck how it's rated
What's wrong with it in your opinion?

>>149814782
Ditko's Question is a pretty sparsely written character, watered down compared to Mr. A by Ditko's own words. A lot of his morals were vague enough to apply to most heroes. I don't think there was enough there to really be incongruent , if anything O'Neil gave him more of Ditko/Mr.A's personal beliefs in the initial issue before breaking them down.

>>149816094
>"who gives a fuck how it's rated" he says as he gets triggered by someone telling him how he rated it
lol

>>149810794
>I dint think it's much of a "discovery"
Mainstream comic book fans have such little knowledge of stuff that unfortunately anything that isn't the same few recommended books are treated like a discovery. Only the same few things that are either good, necessary or infamous tend to get recommended. There are plenty of problems like recency bias amongst other things.

>>149814782
>I was so excited to read this after all the hype and was left disappointed.
Hype is a (you) problem. Comic books for the longest time were essentially a largely disposable, low profit margin, short creative turn around, piece of entertainment. The fact that any of them had legs is a testament to the creators that made them. But rec list mentality pushes the same few books and people either read those books and recommended them (regardless of whether or not they liked those books, they'll recommend them as an appeal to the standing of the book) or bounce right off those books because their expectations were too high.

>>149816506
Why is Snyder’s Batman that high?

>>149816827
Flagship title in the New 52 era which was a jumping on point, some people got into Batman/comics via it and now some people are nostalgic for the New 52. Court of Owls got memed as an example of good modern villains, in particular because of pic related issue. Capullo's art is solid. This is also treated as Scott Snyder's "good" era before going off the deep end with events. That and the first few trades got pushed very hard.

>>149810794
Yes lol

>>149816506
>pic
Horrible taste.

>>149817188
What do you expect? It was from a Reddit poll.

>>149816506
Reddit is high on crack, in what world is fucking Far Sector better than the greatest GLC run of all time?

>>149816331
He didn't say how he rated it or anything about it at all, he just said it's overrated which annoys me whenever anyone says it because it means nothing by itself
Feel free to think the comic sucks, genuinely was asking what he felt was wrong with it beyond it being overrated

>>149815315
>a single anniversary issue
>wasting 30 pages retelling retelling Dick's origin (again)
>spending the rest on Jason Todd grief-porn.
Did you even read my post?
The better example would have been that Batman: Grimm arc, but it was a weird anachronistic little fairy tale instead of a modernization of the classic stories.

>>149816506
>a nu-Harley comic in the same tier as TDKR
Based troll

>>149814782
>I mean, there is a reason that this interpretation of the character was largely ignored.
Because adaptations will always have more eyes on them than comics. And the Question in JLU isn't even much like the Ditko Question anyway.
The O'neil version is the version who appeared in comics in the 90's and 2000's, and the one who forged his relationship with Huntress the JLU show would take inspiration from. From the moment the series was out to when he was killed off, this was the Question's personality , with the exception of some non-canon stuff like DKSA and the Veitch mini(which arguably exists because of the precedent of the O'Neil run). Since he's been killed off he's barely been in much, except for a few attempts at relaunching him in the New 52 that were far worse and completely buried now.

>>149816032
There is no other good question run, but that doesn’t make it a top tier comic

>>149817971
I don't care about tiers, it's a pretty solid run. These rec lists are made by people with a bit more refined taste, assuming the person looking to branch out is the same. If your standards are pleb-tier, just stick to whatever's most popular.

>>149818111
Meh.

>>149817904
They're probably not trolls, they just very, very shitty taste.

>>149817904
They're probably not trolls, they just have very, very shitty taste.

>>149814072
Some of those are unquestionably obscure. A few of them have fallen into obscurity in recent years.

>>149816506
So much Tom King.

>>149811652
>conservatards seethe
Come on, now. Don't be a fag.

>>149814072
>Vigilante (especially once Paul Kupperberg takes over)
Based

>>149811609
brb

>>149815012
So you are saying that you never completely overlooked the existence of something popular for so long that you should have seen, that when you did discover it, you were convinced you were in a simulation?

>>149810786 (OP)
Why don't they make a run with the same premise as LOTDK?

This is my favorite cover. Call me reddit, I don't care.

After reading the Batmite issue, I grew to love him very much.

>>149824732
They drained the "Batman's early years" well dry. Waid is doing "Batman and Superman's early years" and "Batman and Robin's early years" right now which is adjacent to it.

>>149824912
While a lot of the stories are supposed to be Bruce's early years, it always felt like Legends was the book that was the crossroads of Gotham where it was noir and supernatural. I never get that in Waid's books which feel so toothless and boring by comparison to Alan Grant and Denny O'Neil.

>grow tired of Batman because of the last twenty years of bad stories
>reread LOTDK and remember why I like him
I miss Denny O'Neil and his team of writers.

>>149824678
That isn't a common belief, no.

>>149824732
There's more eyes on them if they do miniseries these days. Late LOTDK suffered from it being taken for granted between not tying in to current continuity and high issue counts it had dwindling sales.
Nowadays they'd rather take what would be in LOTDK and make it a stand alone miniseries.

>>149810786 (OP)

>>149811026
'Mazing Man. This guy >>149811609 lists Hero Hotline, but you want to read 'Mazing Man first.
Also adding The Atlantis Chronicles and Sonic Disruptors.

>>149827323
>'Mazing Man

This is good. Absolutely worth checking out. Had something of a cult following back in the 80s.

>>149827323
>Sonic Disruptors

Keep in mind that this never finished.

>>149824732
Batman: Dark Patterns is going on right now and is basically a spiritual Legends of The Dark Knight rebirth.

>>149828092
Hmm.

>>149828092
This would look so much better on shitty paper.

>>149825178
>I never get that in Waid's books which feel so toothless
That's because Waid is a hack.

>>149829884
To be fair, he did some decent (and even a few truly good) things in the 90s and 2000s. He just hasn't been worth shit since then.

>>149829704
?

>>149831597
Older comics used cheap newspaper. The color distorted but looked better than the modern floppy comic paper.