Legends of the Dark Knight: Alan Davis

Still feeling worn out from the past couple of weeks, so this is another rerun from an earlier blog of mine.

Batman, as a fictional character, has been around since 1939. As with any long-lived character in popular culture, he has changed and evolved to reflect changes in the culture. Over 75 years, that’s a lot of change, and while it’s easy to be a fan of Batman, the question becomes of which version of the character is one a fan? Is it the dark, gritty loner of the first year of the series? The campy version from the 60s TV series? The version from the 70s, returning to the dark, serious tone but still feeling human? The obsessed, emotionless douchebag of the current series? One of the things I loved about the short run by Mike W. Barr and Alan Davis in Detective 569-575 was that it showed that a Batman story doesn’t have to be exclusively either dark and humorless or light and silly. It’s one of the most successful merging of the darker, more realistic tone of the 70s and 80s with the lighter, more fun stories of the late 40s and 50s, and that’s why it’s perhaps my favorite period of Batman comics of all time.

What's in the Box?!?: July Gentleman's Box, Star Wars Smuggler's Bounty, and Marvel Collector Corps Year One Special

First, apologies for not having a blog last week. We were traveling, and dealing with some stresses at work and at home, and I just wasn’t able to get anything done early enough.

This week, we’ll be talking about this month’s subscription boxes!

First up is the Gentleman’s Box, which was waiting for me when we got home on Monday. Since the packaging is the same every month, I didn’t bother to take a photo this time. 

This month’s box honors “Our Favorite Fashion Mogul.” Reading the description, that is apparently Tommy Hilfiger, but I had to do a little research to confirm that.

This month’s box isn’t jam-packed with little items, but what is there is definitely quality. $101 worth of quality, retail, according to the booklet.

What's in the Box?!?: July Nerd Block, Gentleman's Box, and Marvel Collector Corps

Welcome back! First, some housekeeping: I think I’m going to change my posting day from Friday mornings to Saturdays. it’s a little easier for me to try to get something written for Saturday, rather than Friday. So, keep an eye out for new stuff on Saturday mornings for the foreseeable future.

Now: onto this month’s subscription boxes!

First up is the June Nerd Block. I didn’t even bother taking a picture of the outside of the box this month, because it is exactly the same as it is every month. Besides, it’s the contents that matter.

I had thought this month’s theme was Ghostbusters, but I can’t find the preview card from last month to confirm that. I’m not sure, because this month is kind of a mixed bag.

The Rocketeer by Dave Stevens

Since we are just past the 25th anniversary of one of my favorite films, The Rocketeer, I want to revisit the character and the comics and stories about him. Back in 2011, on an older blog of mine, I wrote an entry about the original comics by creator Dave Stevens. I was pretty happy with that blog at the time, and still am. So, rather than reinvent the wheel, I present it here again.

As a kid, I loved the Rocketeer. The creation of taken-too-soon Dave Stevens, the 1930s hero first appeared in comics a few months after I entered comics fandom myself. Only a relatively few stories appeared over the next decade or so, but I eagerly devoured every one. And when the movie came out in 1991, I was in heaven. Last weekend, a number of things led to me wanting to watch the movie again, and that led to me rereading the comics. I’m pleased to say they all held up exactly as I remembered them.