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"Kid-safe" Batman comics |
PPGvsBatman
Gotham’s Newest Citizen
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| Posted on 11-08-2005 06:16 |
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Hi everyone,
I'm trying to purchase kid-friendly (or whatever term you wanna use) Batman comics. The "kid" is not that young, but still sensitive at this age. These are difficult to find because Batman is a darker hero than most. That means no nudity, excessive gore/violence, sex, profanity, etc. -- the usual stuff. I have already purchased:
The Batman Adventures (style based on 1990 animated series)
The Dark Knight Adventures (sort of the sequel to the above)
Rogues Gallery - The Batman Adventures, Volume 1 (looks like same artists as above series, but it's a different The Batman Adventures!!)
I bought these from Amazon.com (in case you want to see the covers).
I have also identified the following as "safe":
The Batman Adventures: The Lost Years
Batman: The Gotham Adventures
Shadows and Masks - The Batman Adventures, Volume 2
Batman Adventures: Dangerous Dames and Demons
Past this, I have looked at A Death in the Family, but didn't have time skimming through it. I think the amount of violence/blood in there might be OK, but I was told by a friend to check it again and be sure. I also don't want anything too confusing. I picked up one comic and there were all these characters i've never heard of. The kid wants mostly Batman (Robin is OK), but "real" Batman. She doesn't like the new "The Batman" series. I've bought her all three seasons of the old animated series and that type of Batman (with the classic look and w/o too many other heroes walking around) is preferred.
I was looking at the Azrael saga at a comic shop and it seems ok because the new hero is being introduced and not just appears out of nowhere and it's like, where'd that purple girl on the motorbike come from? But I didn't get to check the violence and sex content of the Azrael one. One example of a mistake of sorts was The Killing Joke, which had a panel with what looked like the Commisioners penis, and that whole scene with him was just a real awkward scene (imho).
I've researched extensively and come up with this list:
Batman: Sword of Azrael
Batman: Knightfall
Batman: The Long Halloween
Batman: Dark Victory
Batman: Collected Legends of the Dark Knight
Batman: Blind Justice
Batman: A Death in the Family
Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying (or something like that)
If anyone could please provide comments on these, or let me know about others that might be appropriate, I would really appreciate it. Reading these takes a long time, and it's still easy to miss something like I did in The Killing Joke. Thanks.
Sorry for the long post. |
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| Author |
RE: "Kid-safe" Batman comics |
Darknight
Dark Knight
Posts: 1010
Location: NW Arkansas
Joined: 26.06.05
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| Posted on 11-08-2005 11:06 |
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I would read them first if I had any concern, and they would go pretty fast. I am going to assume that the kid is 7-10 or so, just based on the reading level that you would need. Of course kids today are smarter than I was, so he/she may be younger than I think.
Here is what you can look out for in each of these, that could be iffy.
Batman: Sword of Azrael - Gets a little bloody, Azrael is the avenging angel and it was the 90's so things can get a little graphic. Bruce is also interrogated, not too bad a scene, but could look wierd. No nudity that isn't covered up by shadows, buut there is an implied naked guy.
Batman: Knightfall - Less graphically violent than Sword of Azrael, but if you get into the sequels (Knightquest and Knightsend) you have a pretty bad couple parts with Abbattoir.
Batman: The Long Halloween - Nothing really sticks out to me. I only read it once, but some of the others may be better able than I am. I know that there are several murders
Batman: Dark Victory - Never Read it.
Batman: Collected Legends of the Dark Knight - Not sure what is in this collection, probably stuff from the monthly title, shouldn't be too bad.
Batman: Blind Justice - Again more stuff in shadows. The story can be kinda complex. There is a shot of a body that has been liquified early on, but the art isn't that good so you can't really tell what it is without reading.
Batman: A Death in the Family - Gets pretty painful towards the end. The Joker is not exactly a nice guy to Robin. Not really a happy story either
Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying - SHould not be anything wrong with this one, as long as he/she has no problem with Two Face. Everything else is fine, pretty good story too.
When is doubt you can always just stick with the animated stuff. I am pretty sure that most of it stays really clean. The current Batman animated comic is based on The Batman. There is also a Justice League and Justice League Unlimited comic. Those should be good based on the coulple I have read.
I hope that this was some help. I tend to gravitate on the more conservative side. Most of the kids I am around anymore see extremely sensitive and easily scared (I know a 7 year old who was scared of Darth Vader at the end of the Lego Star Wars game, he's never seen the film one, the Lego one scared him).
About the only Batman thing I have ever seen with nudity is the Dark Knight Returns and Dark Knight Strikes again, both were pseudo covered up. I think that Frank Miller may have some issues or something.
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RE: "Kid-safe" Batman comics |
moonmaster
Gotham’s Newest Citizen
Posts: 24
Joined: 28.07.05
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| Posted on 11-08-2005 19:50 |
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About the only Batman thing I have ever seen with nudity is the Dark Knight Returns and Dark Knight Strikes again, both were pseudo covered up. I think that Frank Miller may have some issues or something.
Have you read Sin City ? Miller's books tend to have a lot of sexual undertones (I just recently heard that when he had Bullseye impale Elektra in Daredevil, it was meant to symbolize rape (which obviouslly couldn't even be implied in a comic back then))
NEXTWAVE:
Healing America by beating people up.
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RE: "Kid-safe" Batman comics |
TheDarkKnight666
W. Indust. Employee
Posts: 699
Location: Woodside,NY
Joined: 30.07.05
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| Posted on 11-08-2005 20:35 |
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it was? whoah
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| Author |
RE: "Kid-safe" Batman comics |
PPGvsBatman
Gotham’s Newest Citizen
Posts: 4
Joined: 11.08.05
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| Posted on 12-08-2005 00:29 |
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Hey Darkknight, thanks a lot. I really appreciate you taking the time out to write up those descriptions for me. I know that must've been a good 15 mins out of your day. Thanks. I'll check out the end of Death in the Family again. She did see the Return of Joker animatied film and had no problem with it, while I found that "kids" movie very disturbing and twisted, heh.
She's in her teens now but still very sensitive about this stuff. Loves Batman (loathes Superman), but doesn't want to see any of this sort of thing (nudity/gore) for entertainment purposes and I don't want to expose her to anything she's uncomfortable with. The Justice League has Superman, so I can't get her that, unless there's a particular series where Superman gets whupped by Batman like in that one animated episode. As far as The Batman based comic, I saw those just yesterday, but the whole teen titans, teen x-men, teen batman thing really puts her off.
Also, does anyone know if WB is releasing the episodes of Batman that came after the animated series ended? It was Superman/Batman adventures or something. They had a small Robin in there and the old Robin had gone solo.
One more q, are there animated movies other than Phantasm, Freeze, Batwoman, and Return of Joker? I don't have the heart to show her the old 70s POW/BAM Batman show and movie. I think that will devestate her more than anything, to see Batman depicted that way. |
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RE: "Kid-safe" Batman comics |
Drunken Fist
W. Indust. Employee
Posts: 601
Location: Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Joined: 30.07.05
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| Posted on 12-08-2005 01:32 |
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Yeah, vol. 4 of the BTAS boxed sets will be the episodes from the "New Batman/Superman Adventures." It sounds as if you've already gotten most of the best stuff. The animated-style comics are not only kid-safe, they're also among the very best superhero comics publishedover the course of the past couple of decades. I'd also recommend some trades of stuff from the '70s, as they were still written with the idea in mind that kids would be reading the stuff. "Batman in the Seventies" has a great sampling of the stories from that decade, while "Strang eApparitions" reprints the landmark run by Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers, and Terry Austin that is pretty much universally considered one of the definitive runs on a superhero character. Both are filled with great stories, and there's nothing in there that should be objectionable. As always, though, you'll probably want to give it a once-over yourself to make absolutely sure.
DK covered pretty much all the bases with the title you mentioned, except for "Dark Victory." It's got some violence in it, nothing too graphic, but the implications are pretty gruesome sometimes. there are several murders by hanging, and some implied nudity and sexuality. It's nothing graphic, but I might think twice about letting my 12 year-old niece read it. "Collected Legends of the Dark Knight" reprints the stories "Blades," "Hothouse," and "Legend of the Dark Mite," which revives the old Bat-Mite character from the '50s as a drug-induced hallucination. These are some great stories, but the content is a bit mature at times. There is implied sexuality and implied drug use, but that's the worst of it.
Oh, and Frank Miller doesn't have issues, he just likes drawing hot women.  He's said that when he created Sin City, he did it so he would be able to draw the things he enjoys drawing the most: hot women, great-looking classic cars, and guys in trenchcoats.
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RE: "Kid-safe" Batman comics |
Chris
Dark Knight
Posts: 2999
Location: Richmond, Indiana
Joined: 22.06.05
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| Posted on 12-08-2005 09:17 |
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If she is in her Teens, she could become a member here. We are a family site that loves BATMAN! LOL
We try to MOD the boards and make sure any offensive material stays out. If you have any questions, PM me and I'll be more than happy to answer them!
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| Author |
RE: "Kid-safe" Batman comics |
Darknight
Dark Knight
Posts: 1010
Location: NW Arkansas
Joined: 26.06.05
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| Posted on 12-08-2005 09:57 |
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It really wasn't much trouble, PPGvsBatman. At this point of the year I welcome any chance to talk a little comics instead of the upcoming school year.
I am a pretty big Superman fan, so I will just let her keep her opinions about Supes. The JL cartoon is really quite good, especially the last season.
I figured that Drunken Fist would have some good suggestions. Going along with his 70's suggestions, check out the recent release of Tales of the Demon. It has the early Ra's al Ghul stories which are really good and done in the same era when they wrote good stories that are ok for kids.
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RE: "Kid-safe" Batman comics |
BigDaddy Gotham
Arkham Inmate
Posts: 147
Location: NYC
Joined: 30.06.05
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| Posted on 12-08-2005 16:11 |
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yeah i agree with what these guys have already stated, espeically that the older animated comic is probably your best bet in avoiding any questionable content.
along with the other suggestions i think u could try out "scarecrow tales" which is a collection of old stories feature scarecrow as the villian. all the stories however are from the 40s - 70s era with only one being recent. and that would be the last story, which i think you might wanna look over because it tends to run a bit deeper, but the others as far as i can tell are just fine for the teen.
hope that helps
-BDGB) |
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RE: "Kid-safe" Batman comics |
PPGvsBatman
Gotham’s Newest Citizen
Posts: 4
Joined: 11.08.05
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| Posted on 13-08-2005 03:24 |
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I got her the latest Batman issue with Killer Croc on the front, and I guess Drunken Fist was right, the animated-style comics I got her before were pretty good, so she didn't like this one as much as those, but hey, it's Batman, so whatever. It'll hold her over until I can find something else. Summers almost up and I gotta keep my promise of getting her Batman stuff before school starts.
When I was at the comic shop, there was this other Ra's al Ghul volume for about $6, it wasn't Tales of the Demon though. It said Two of Two on the back and the shopkeeper didn't have One of Two, so I passed. It's a very recent one, it was sitting with the new issues. Does anyone know what the name of this one is? It slipped my mind to write it down.
Thanks everyone for your help so far. |
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RE: "Kid-safe" Batman comics |
Darknight
Dark Knight
Posts: 1010
Location: NW Arkansas
Joined: 26.06.05
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| Posted on 13-08-2005 11:02 |
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That was Year One: Batman/Ra's al Ghul. It was pretty good, but if you aren't pretty familiar with current events in the comics it could throw you off. Similarly to what happened with the recent issue of Batman. Tales of the Demon will run you around $15, but it does reprint 5-10 comics so it makes up for it.
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RE: "Kid-safe" Batman comics |
Caleson
Dark Knight
Posts: 1631
Location: Rockville, IA
Joined: 24.06.05
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| Posted on 13-08-2005 19:05 |
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From my experience, most Batman stories up to the mid '80s should be pretty kid-friendly. And there's a lot of great ones.
And speaking of school, I added all sorts of new items to our Desktop & School Supplies section that should currently be out in stores. Might give you an idea of some neat stuff to get her, PPGvsBatman.
Edited by Caleson on 13-08-2005 19:29 |
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RE: "Kid-safe" Batman comics |
PPGvsBatman
Gotham’s Newest Citizen
Posts: 4
Joined: 11.08.05
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| Posted on 17-08-2005 02:31 |
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Hey, has anyone ever came across this page: http://www.dccomi...es/bmcod/
It asks me for a password when I try and open it and I can't seem to find any info on the site that would indicate that I need to pay to read it. |
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RE: "Kid-safe" Batman comics |
Darknight
Dark Knight
Posts: 1010
Location: NW Arkansas
Joined: 26.06.05
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| Posted on 17-08-2005 09:10 |
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I am going to move this post to the thread we have on Batman Child of Dreams. Someone there may be able to figure out a way to open the .pdf. It potentially has the full comic.
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RE: "Kid-safe" Batman comics |
Drunken Fist
W. Indust. Employee
Posts: 601
Location: Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Joined: 30.07.05
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| Posted on 19-08-2005 04:31 |
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D'oh, I just thought of something I can't believe I didn't think of sooner. There was a great series published in the mid '80s called Batman and the Outsieders, which featured Batman breaking ranks with the Justice League and putting together his own team. The stories are all kid-friendly, and were some pretty good stuff. Plus, in the first issue, Batman tells off Superman right on the cover. They should be pretty easy to find, and are dirt cheap. You could probably pick them up at most comic shops for no more than $1 an issue. Might be worth picking up a couple just to let her try 'em out. I know my neice used to love 'em, back when she was into "boy" things.
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