This book picks up around the time that Frank Miller wrapped up his first run on the series and around the time right before Frank Miller started his second run on the series. It's caught between greatness, thus overshadowed by the better-known arcs, but it does a good job of holding the inbetween.

Please, don't pass this book up just because it's not Frank Miller. It does have good stories in it (all except for one...surprisingly, it's the Frank Miller issue [Frank only wrote one issue and co-wrote another out of all the issues collected in here, by the way]), and the art is very good. While none of what you read in Love's Labor's Lost will be forever remembered as some of Daredevil's most defining and infamous moments (save, perhaps, Heather Glenn's suicide), all this book does is give more strength to the character of Matt Murdock/Daredevil, thus showing that he doesn't need Frank Miller to be good.

This book shows that he's great just by himself.

I thought the reviews for this book were harsh. Then I got the book. They're right on the money. I grew up reading the Superman of the 1970s. These are the stories that shaped my viewpoints of Superman, but this book is wanting. None of the great Superman chronicles I remember are here. "The Double or Nothing Life of Superman" is a series I just purchased on eBay. It should be included in this volume. I also recall an outstanding, well-written series in which, among other things, the Bottled City of Kandor was smashed, as Superman again had issues with his Kryptonian past. And the greatest Superman story of the 1970s, "Superman Vs. Spider-Man," while mentioned, is woefully missing. The Superman of the 1970s brought about characters like Steve Lombard, Morgan Edge, and a few others, who participated in some great tales. You'll find the characters here, but not the good stories. Really, save your money on this book. Go to eBay and try and win some of the actual issues themselves from the 1970s.

This book is a collection of wonderful Superman comics from the 1970s, the Superman that I grew up with. The comics were apparently selected to give a cross-section of Superman's activities in the 70s, and include comics from Superman #276 (6/74), DC Comics Presents #14 (10/79), Superman #248 (2/72), #271 (1/74), #249 (3/72), #286 (4/75), Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133 (10/70), Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #106 (11/70), Superman #287 (5/75), #233 (1/71), #247 (1/72), #270 (12/73), and Action Comics #484 (6/78).

OK, as you can tell from that list, the comics seem somewhat jumbled or randomized. And, as several of the stories were multi-issue, it is rather sad that you can't keep reading to find out how the Man of Steel overcomes the bad guy. But, in spite of all that, this book is really great! The stories included are all very interesting, and it is great to look back to the Superman of a different era.

An added little bonus to this book is the introduction, which was written by Christopher Reeve, Hollywood's Superman, and a bit of a hero in his own right. This is a really good book, and I highly recommend it.

As I've mentioned in my review for "Batman in the 70s", the problem faced by all such compilations is that everyone will have an opinion of what other stories should be included and what should have been left out. I feel that this is a decent collection of Superman stories in the 70s, as all the key artists and characters are represented here. The TPB contains classics like "Superman Breaks Free" which is Dennis O'Neil's attempt at revamping the Superman; Elloit S! Maggin's classic "Must there be a Superman?", somewhat overhyped but still an interesting story; a Jimmy Olsen story by Jack 'King' Kirby; a story about Krypto; and other stories featuring Lex Luthor, Brainiac etc. Of course, it would have been even better if the TPB collects more stories about the Fortress of Solitude, bottled city of Kandor etc.

Some shortcomings of this collection: It would probably have been more fun to read some of the stories in the entire run (like Marvel Essentials) than on a single-issue basis as they are presented in this TPB. E.g. "Superman breaks free" is actually the first book of O'Neil's Sandman saga; the Jimmy Olsen story is the first of around 20 (?) issues which Kirby wrote. It is a shame that DC has decided not to reprint these classic runs anywhere, since it will cost a bomb for anyone to try to collect the original copies of these comics. Another omission that everyone complains is the story arc in Superman #296-299 "Who took the Super out of Superman?"

In spite of all the shortcomings, I feel that this collection will give the reader a good sampling of pre-crisis superman stories. There are many classic moments in this TPB: Superman eating Kryptonite (!); Superman playing billards with planets; plus time-travel, aliens, inter-galactic travel all thrown in for good measure. In my opinoin, the biggest attraction of this TPB is the great artwork by Curt Swan, viewed by many fans as the greatest Superman artist of all time. Conclusion: Even though this TPB is not really the most ideal 70s collection possible, it will be a welcome addition to your collection, unless you are fortunate enough to own many original Superman comics from the 70s. Enjoy!!

I am a huge Batman fan, and more specifically, a huge fan of Batman's immortal nemesis, Ra's Al Ghul. After trying to hunt down this volume of collected tales for over a year, when I finally picked it up, I felt very disappointed. While the collected stories provide an interesting look into Batman's second-greatest foe (next to the Joker), their presentation leaves much to be desired.

More specifically, I never felt like I read any one, complete story. I have to think it was the way comic books were written at the time, and not that pages were edited out, but some stories begin with little to no exposition, or end way too quickly. At one point, Talia, beautiful daughter of Ra's, kisses Batman. Without dialogue or expository balloons, the story abruptly ends, and the next page sees a mysterious box being brought into Wayne manor. Another story has Batman automatically chasing Ra's from snow-covered mountains to the desert, with little explanation of his travels in between. In short, there's very little sense of closure and continuity, and it becomes irritating. On top of that, the pages of each story vary in length. This is also irritating because today's comic books have a set number of pages, and in the end I felt like I didn't read my money's worth of stories.

That said, there are some highlights for Ra's and Batman fans. Ra's was designed at a time when the campy approach was being phased out and the darker, brooding Batman was being brought in. What we have here is a mix, a Batman who sometimes scares his enemies in one frame and gives quirky, "Stan Lee" asides in the next. Definitely an interesting combination. The artwork is also pretty good, with more vibrant colors than some collected volumes I have of later comics. Lastly, for fans who have watched all the Ra's Al Ghul episodes of the animated series, they get to see where the original stories for "Veritgo" and "The Demon's Quest" come from. Ra's Al Ghul's duel with Batman in the desert, the kidnapping of Robin, Batman and Talia's final kiss - it's all here. Unfortunately, the animated series really did a much better job reinterpreting the material, and even though the panels are fun to see, they come off as a disappointment.

Tales of the Demon isn't a very good collected volume. There are better, cheaper volumes avaliable, and even fans of Ra's Al Ghul will probably want to skip this one.

Batman Tales of the Demon had a lot of promise. Judging by other Ras Al Ghul stories I've read, I thought that it would be a classic. Since it was written by the great Dennis O'Neil, and featured the most intresting Bat-villian ever how could it go wrong? I'll tell you...it was a buzz kill. Although the stories in this volume were written in the 70's, the material lacks considerly compared to the other stories being written at this time by O'neil, which can be found in 'The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told vol.1' ALso the characterization of Batman is still somewhat of a holdover from 60's camp, as we see the Dark Knight knocked out by...Molly the Ski-champ, who thinks Batman is assualting Talia(Ra's daughter).
This collection is intresting for the archival quality alone, and is not recomended as a definitive look at Ras AL Ghul. Try 'Batman: Son of the Demon' or the animated episode by O'neil 'The Demon's Quest'. This should be taken in the context as a historical look at batman in the 70's, and not as a serious offering to his present day mythos.

I thought that this was a great story, we see Ra's Al Ghul desperately trying to recruit the Dark Knight to be his successor, and he considers Batman the only one worthy enough in all the world. A very tempting offer, as it included his very attractive daughter to be his bride, so it's clear that Batman must remember to keep his focus and not let his personal feelings get in the way of his mission.

Also in the TPB, we see Batman square off against The Bronze Tiger, who proves to be Batman's match in martial arts combat. This just solidifies that Batman is a top 5 martial artist, because The Bronze Tiger was trained by Richard Dragon, who is supposedly was the greatest martial artist in the DCU. Dragon also trained Lady Shiva, who quite easily can beat Nightwing in open combat (Nightwing isn't exactly a slouch, either!).

DC has reissued Batman: Contagion in the wake of it's mega-successful No Man's Land collections, and it serves as a good reminder of just WHY the Batman books needed to be shaken up so drastically in the first place...

Contagion revolves around an outbreak of "The Clench", a fictional Ebola offshoot, in Gotham City. Batman and company attempt to contain the spread of the Disease, while trying to track down a trio of survivors of a previous Clench outbreak, with the hope of synthesizing a cure/vaccine from their blood.

The book is very choppy, especially the first chapter, which appears to be heavily trimmed from it's original presentation in Batman: Shadow of the Bat. DC hasn't taken any steps to make their collections new-reader friendly, either, which could be a very big mistake. Longtime readers will know Oracle, Azrael, Nightwing, The Huntress, etc.; A new reader browsing this in a store would no doubt put the book right back on the shelf. The story has a few compelling moments, but for the most part it seems unnecessarily padded. Did we really need the Native American tracker? What did Biis contribute to the story? The writing is average at best; Most of the stories in Contagion were written by people who had long since overstayed their welcome on the Bat-books, such as Doug Moench & Alan Grant; The art ranges from okay to sub-par; Kelley Jones' chapter seems especially ugly thanks to poor color reproduction which mars his intricate pencils. The ultimate revelation of who is behind the spread of The Clench is sure to be a head-scratcher to new readers, since no background at all is offered to explain who these people are and what their motives are. DC really needs to get on the ball with their trade-paperback program; Preaching to the Choir is nice, but they need to try for new converts. Junk like Contagion is NOT the way to expand their readership......

In this history you can see a different Batman, one that found something he cant't fight. There was a virus and he can not trap it or take it to the justice. You can see a different Batman, not necesesary a dark one but a human,a man. I enjoyed it a lot!

I cannot believe why some people do not like "Contagion". Like Knightfall, Knightquest, KnightsEnd, Prodigal, and Cataclysm & No Man's Land, "Contagion" is an awesome book. It has Poison Ivy (drool), Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Huntress, Azrael, Catwoman, Oracle, Commissioner Gordon, the Penguin, and many other supporting characters like Alfred and Ariana.

Part one of a two part crossover story that DC and Marvel published in 1994 finds Frank Castle aka the Punisher macthing wits with the Jean Paul Valley/Batman while Gothom City is on the verge of being turned into a Lake of Fire, litterally. Below par artwork and no story really make this a pretty weak story.

Another Marvel-DC crossover: Punisher comes to Gotham. The novel is set in KnightQuest times, so Azrael is playing Batman - equipped with his arsenal of shurikens, flame throwers and body armor.

As per tradition, the two cross paths, have a half-hearted tussle, agree to cooperate (and of course they don't) and finish the bad guys. Punisher pulls out quietly, leaving Azrael wondering if the Punisher could have really been his match.

It seems the reaper is back in gotham, but we learn right away that it's the son of joe chill, the man who murdered bruce's parents. not only must bruce confront him, but his greatest fears too.

heros: batman, robin, James gordan, leslie thompkins.

villans: {flashbacks} joker, two-face, penguin.

When I bought this book I thought that It could be an excellent story, because I have read Batman year two and I think It's one of the most amazing strories I've ever read. However, This time the book has'nt got the same "power" and It's just a simple story with some bored topics. I think that the writer didn't Know how to extract all the power of the incredible characters.

Azrael/Ash is an interesting little tale that doesn't appear to fit into the continuity of either of its parent comic books, but serves as a neat primer for both. It tells the story of Jean Paul Valley, better known as Azrael, after he relinquished the Mantle of the Bat, and Ashley Quinn, a.k.a. Ash, sometime after gaining his powers, as they attempt to solve a series of arsons (an apt crime as both characters are strongly tied into fire).

Fans of the Azrael comic series will be happy to see the reunion, if only for this one-shot, of the original creators of Azrael - Dennis O'Neil handling the writing and Joe Quesada pencilling. The plotting isn't particularly novel or very deep - two superheroes meet with initial antagonism, then get together to find/defeat the evildoer. There's no real sense of bonding between the principal characters, and the book ends with the feeling that there won't really be a sequel. Still, it's not often we see two super-dudes (even in their secret identities, as is the case here) hang out at a diner together. The art is great, and the glossy TPB format really brings out the colours and Joe's lines. Dennis indulges in his penchant for crazy characters and odd dialogue (e.g.: the old couple who watch a fight between Azreal, Ash and some mobsters).

I'd recommend this for fans of either Azrael or Ash interested in the other hero in this book; otherwise, there's not much else here that distinguishes this book from other comic fare.

While most of John Ostrander's work is superb, Penguin Triumphant is somewhat of a let down. This is the only story I know of that takes a look at the life of the Penguin. Sadly, there's not too much of a life there. The comic just doesn't compare with Ostrander's other works. I can only recommend this to die hard Batman fans.

nevermind the plot here. this novel is oh so poorly poorly drawn! the action too hard to follow. looks like kids drew this!

This is a book that should have never come out. If you want to read a Batman story look into his many trade paperbacks and spawn has several too, just do not read this book, you will regret it if you do.