I picked this up for Isaac Asimov's story "Northwestward" and it unfortunately was completely stupid. It references Batman but not really in a meaningful way. And as a mystery story goes, it had the least interesting twist, after a really boring bunch of exposition and dialogue. Other stories in here are probably better, but I doubt I'll get around to reading them. If I do, I may change my review.

This is a prose collection of Batman stories that was edited by Martin H. Greenberg, who virtually owned the short fiction market outside of the genre magazines of the time, that was ostensibly published to honor the 50th anniversary of the Caped Crusader's first appearance but was probably timed to capitalize on the popularity of the new film franchise. It's a somewhat mixed bag of a book, with stories set at different times reflecting different takes of the character from the early crook-fight...

This collection of 14 stories will have something for every kind of Batman fan, from those who prefer them dark and gothic to those who enjoyed the cheesy comics and TV series of the 60s and 70s:1) 'Death of the Dreammaster' by Robert Sheckley (Bruce Wayne starts seeing his dead enemies alive and must uncover if they're real or not) - apart form a very shocking and gruesome first scene, this story is mostly OK, well written, but nothing exceptional.2) 'Bats' by Henry Slesar (after Robin's death,...

I've been looking for this book forever. I have only a vague memory of the stories contained within. I must have purchased this sometime around when it came out, making me ten or eleven. I think I purchased it at a pharmacy. I remember an extremely dark and gruesome story with the Joker. The reading was a little difficult for me at that time. Actually, I remember something about his body, the Joker's, being crushed in gears and cogs? Now that I've found the book's proper title, I will read it ag...

Death of the dreammaster / Robert Sheckley Bats / Henry Selsar Subway Jack / Joe R. Lansdale The sound of one hand clapping / Max Allan Collins Neutral ground / Mike Resnick Batman in nighttown / Karen Haber and Robert Silverberg The Batman memos / Stuart M. Kaminsky Wise men of Gotham / Edward Wellen Northwestward / Isaac Asimov Daddy's girl / William F. Nolan Command performance / Howard Goldsmith The pirate of Millionaires' Cove / Edward D. Hoch The origin of the Polarizer / George Alec Effin...

This is an anthology by the king of genre anthologies, Martin H. Greenberg, as such - some of the stories are quite good, others are so-so, and one was really pointless. This collection of fourteen stories has a disappointing line-up of authors.I also found this book in a box of old paperbacks of mine - and it dates from 1989, and man does it show. Computers built with vacuum tubes and operated with punch cards? It's unfamthomable! And Batman's tech should be slightly futuristic not hopelessly o...

I read this when I was younger and I remember a few of the stories making an impression on me. I recently bought a used copy to check it out again and it's been fun revisiting the material. The one that always stood out to me the most was the one written in screenplay form, which was an interesting choice and the first time I was exposed to that format of writing.

I remember this book being really good, and very dark in some spots. The list of authors included is pretty eclectic, including a Batman story penned by the most prolific non-fiction science author of all time, Isaac Asimov. Talk about two of my favorite things rolled into one.

This is a mixed bag of stories. The mood changes from horror to comedy, most being rather dark. Most of them have multiple POV character, one is Alfred’s diary, and one told in memos.“Death of the Dreammaster” by Robert Sheckley: This story starts with the death of Joker. In this world, most of Batman’s allies are also dead: Robin, Batgirl, Batwoman. Not surprisingly, Bruce is somewhat depressed. Then he sees Joker’s green hair and white face on the street. He must find out what’s going on.“Bats...

I first read this little chappy in 89. I would have been just turning seventeen, and an avid Batfan, especially post-Dark Knight/Miller/Moore period.I remember being vastly unimpressed with the book back then, but for two of the tales. I also remember a little brouhaha over the graphic content of the first tale, raising a mention in English tabloids.Cut to now, twenty eight years later, and a re-reading, and I find that my feelings haven't changed. The majority of the book is shite, and the two

"Fourteen All-New Adventures of the Caped Crusader"Well, new thirty years ago! :-)Joe Lansdale’s “Subway Jack” featuring the God of the Razor is far and away the best story in this collection! GOTR is one of my favorite "bad guys" and I loved reading another story about "him"!I also enjoyed "Idol" by Ed Gorman. Two authors I like, Isaac Asimov and Max Allan Collins, have stories in here, but I didn't like them. The other ten are a mixed bag of good, ok, and not so good.For me, I think I prefer B...

This is a rather eclectic collection of short stories. They span different time periods and deal with Batman’s different styles and personalities through the ages. There’s an interesting variety of formats from letters and diary entries to scripts, and more standard third person narratives. Most of the stories are fairly odd. There’s even a particularly strange one by Issac Asimov.It feels like the book might have been rushed out to capitalize on Tim Burton’s first Batman film. Certainly it coul...

I've always loved themed anthologies, particularly ones where recognize authors and novelists all tackle a topic or setting they wouldn't normally do. Though not all the stories in this anthology land (partially because Batman has been reimagined so many times that he can be almost anything to anyone), many of them are quite effective, particularly a surrealist supernatural horror installment in which Batman is pitted against an eldritch abomination that inspired Jack the Ripper.

Their were several good and not so good stories in this book. The ones I think I enjoyed the most were the ones where I knew who the characters were both the good and the evil were in story were well written and fleshed out, whereas the ones where they tried something different with the story to me did not kind of work.But overall the book was enjoyable to read.

This book caught my eye – 14 authors from “traditional” publishing backgrounds tackle the subject of The Batman, including ones I was already familiar with: Max Allan Collins, Stuart Kaminsky, and Isaac Asimov. Unfortunately, as I read through the book, I found it to be like most anthologies – some stories are excellent and really appeal to me, while others make me feel like my time would have been more productively spent watching butterflies flutter in a meadow.Let's look at Bats, by Henry Sles...

This is a book of Batman short stories that I'm pretty sure I acquired in the 90's. I have volumes 2 and 3 as well. I wanted to read this again to see if deserved to be kept and the answer is no. Most of the stories were OK but I didn't think any of them were great. Some were campy and set in the 1950s I think. Some stories featured Robin as an active sidekick or as a dead character. I still may try to read volumes 2 and 3 but the plan is to get rid of these books.

Collection of fourteen short stories by different authors set in Gotham City. Like most anthologies, some are very good and others not so much. Weird ordering though because there are stories written after Robin has died followed by other ones where he is involved in the storyline. Worth the time though for Batman fans.

Picked this up after reading its “Joker” counterpart and was left unimpressed. Felt like it was written by authors who had never read the comics, and were only given a vague understanding of the character beforehand. Couldn’t bring myself to pass it on to anyone, couldn’t imagine anyone gaining anything from it, so I recycled my copy.

I’m not, as a rule, a fan of short stories which is why it took me 20 years to finish this book. The stories range not just in writing style but in style of Batman. One would hope that this book, published in 1989, would have been the Further Adventures of Tim Burton’s Batman. Instead it’s a collection of Golden Age to Bronze Age Batman stories of varying qualities and genres.

Some of the stories in this collection are actually a pretty good read, but most of them are fairly sub-par.Still, the collection provides an amusing enough read, if the awkward prose for some stories can be overlooked. A couple of the stories feel out of place, such as "Idol" or "Northwestward" which don't help the book any.For the most part, characterization is pretty good from most of the authors; Dick Grayson reads particularly reminiscent of his Animated Series self, despite these stories h...