How Much Batman is too Much?

ArkhamArtistMG

I have and still do love Batman more than any other character since I was a kid, but is the Batverse being over used?

It seems since the reboot DC has tied the Batverse, Gotham or Batman himself into almost every book/media they possibly can. I know the over dose of Batness is in an attempt profit off the Nolan Batman Movie Hype and draw new readers. But, is it to much and does it water down or muddy the Batverse?

What you think my fellow CGS fans?

DoctorDoom

I like my Batman in small doses.

From 1-2 books, not including Justice League of America.

Any more than that is definitely too much for me. And this is coming from someone who loves Batbooks, and bought a ton pre-NU-DC.

Greg

Anything more than JL, Batman and Detective is too much.

WetRats

I've been batted out for several years now.

jaydee74

I like Batman and in my opinion, there are many facets to Batman which could be highlighted by a particular Batman title. Detective Comics can showcase Batman's skills in solving crimes. Batman is the more "superhero" comic for Batman. Batman & Robin highlights the interaction between Bruce and Damian. If you haven't read that yet, it's really quite good. Batman: The Dark Knight? Not sure as I haven't read it. Then you have NIghtwing, Batgirl, Batwoman and Batwing which are all amazing titles along with Red Hood and the Outlaws. I think Red Hood and the Outsiders would have been a better title but I don't work for DC. As for the story within All-Star Western with Jonah Hex and Jeremiah Arkham is kind of interesting. I guess I don't find it to be too much Batman but I decide what I am most interested in reading and read it. Just like everything else.

mguy1977

Well w/ Batman & Robin I am dropping that book as of issue 8. So that leaves for me just Batman & maybe a brief cameo in Batwoman. In addition to Justice League & JLI as a character but part of a team. There is BATMAN & Batman overdose from DC. As a Superman fan, I only get him in Action & Superman w/ Justice League & that is it. I have the "comic shakes" and look forward to Superman Family Adventures & Smallville Season 11 to balance things out. It is like a seesaw at DC,way heavy on the Batman & light on the Superman (currently) w/ Wonder Woman still getting one book.

Take reading something different that suits you even if it isn't DC. There is a world of comics out there waiting to be read.

Matthew

batlaw

The batverse is certainly top heavy and has been forever. Its especially annoying when the overall quality is so lacking. Add in all the crappy mini series and its nuts.

ArkhamArtistMG

I don't mind the Bat family having there on books. My fustration I guess is with some writers or DC decision makers just sticking Batman in books for like one pointless panel or page so they can stick him on the cover.

It is seems to me if your going to put any character in a story, make it purposeful and well done.
I say put Batman in an issue, because he aids the story and not to just to help sell weeklys lol.

Hey but to each there own.

WetRats

Considering that having Batman in a book means it will sell substantially more copies, I'm admiring DC's restraint in not using him even more than they are.

jaydee74

Batman as a franchise is very popular and I don't think the Bat-franchise when it comes to comics is lacking. I will say that it's inconsistent at best. There are some books that are better than others but in my comic list, I have four Bat-books in my list which include Batman, Batman and Robin, Nightwing and Batgirl. I know a lot of others who love Batwoman, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Catwoman and Batwing. I don't think the Bat-Franchise is doing that badly.

Greg

Is there not a point of over saturation/exposure for characters like Batman, Spidey and Wolverine who do sell books, but do we ever reach a point where the exposure starts to do some harm? We've seen it before haven't we?

jaydee74

I think it happened with Deadpool but for characters like Spider-Man, Wolverine and Batman, I don't see them dying down anytime soon. They got successful books and a lot of them. They got movies and cartoons and all of them do well. They sell a ton of merchandise and overall, they are hot. I doubt with those characters that they will cool down anytime soon.

ArkhamArtistMG

Deadpool is a good point some people just hate him sue to over use. But, lets be honest Deadpool as a character is not close to Batman when it comes to Depth (no pun intended lol,) I guess only time and sells numbers will tell if oversaturation can harm Batman or is he immune in the reality show generation.

As long as The batman movies stay away from the Georgia Clooney verison, Batmans cred is probally safe lol.

No more Nipples on the bat suit!

David_D

I have and still do love Batman more than any other character since I was a kid, but is the Batverse being over used?

It seems since the reboot DC has tied the Batverse, Gotham or Batman himself into almost every book/media they possibly can. I know the over dose of Batness is in an attempt profit off the Nolan Batman Movie Hype and draw new readers. But, is it to much and does it water down or muddy the Batverse?

What you think my fellow CGS fans?

I think it is a good question.

For me, I don't think the quantity of Batman product waters things down, because even though I love Batman, I've never felt that I needed to get all, or even close to most of them. I've always just taken the pick and choose approach, based on whatever creators or premise appeals to me. And that goes for miniseries or Elseworld stories over the years. And, maybe given the elegant simplicity of the Batman premise, I have never felt confused by not trying to keep up with all of it. In fact, I would say of most of the long-lived superhero characters, Batman feels like one of the ones that I can most often just pick up a random back issue bin issue or off-the-rack new issue and be fine. Sure, there are multi-part stories, and parts of the continuity that change in different eras, but essentially when it is a Batman story, you pretty well know what to expect. Given how disciplined and usually inflexible of a character he is (minus the occasional smile or tear ;) ) I would say his characterization tends to be rigid and consistent, so I tend to not feel lost, whatever the circumstances of the story are.

So, for that reason, I have never worried about the vast amount of Batman product I leave on the table. And I feel like I have benefited from the the variety of choices I get to pick from. So, for me, too much Batman is not a worry.

And I would say the same for things like X-Men or Wolverine books. It's funny- back when there was only, say, Uncanny, New Mutants, and X-Factor, and most everything including mini-series were written by one person, I actually did feel like I needed to read them all, because a part of me expected them all to be closely tied together.

But once aline gets big enough that it can't possibly all tie together, then I find it that much easier to just pick what I think might be the best one or two. And sometimes, when a wide gets line, there is room for esoteric books to exist. Sometimes those are the ones I end up enjoying best. Like Uncanny X-Force. It is the only X book I read right now. I would guess it would not be considered the "flagship" book, but it is the one I enjoy, so I stick with it. And whatever is going on in the rest of them doesn't seem to intrude, so who cares. Let them eat cake!

(And, sure, I know that the upcoming crossover in the Batman books may be an attempt to make me buy them all, but I plan to just stick with the Snyder/Capullo Batman, and Batman Inc. when it returns, and I'm guessing whatever I miss of the crossover I will be able to figure out. Plus, I trust that Snyder would not sacrifice the primacy of his book to the crossover in such a way that you can't just follow his part of it. We'll see.)

WetRats

And sometimes, when a wide gets line,

Man, I hate it when a wide gets line!

David_D

And sometimes, when a wide gets line,

Man, I hate it when a wide gets line!

I... I do that on long posts just to make sure someone is still reading.

Yep. That was it.

Zhurrie

I stick to trades and even then I wait to make sure it isn't just well reviewed by fanboys but actually a cohesive and solid story. There are a lot of good bat stories so it has to be excellent or I pass it by. OK is not enough. Even as good as the current run is I will be done with single titles after the price change and I'll switch to trades and hope they collect them well.

batlaw

Thats the problem... with Batman they know it doesnt have to be good to sell well. They also are convinced they have to play it so safe and by the numbers they never push any limits with the character. To me it should just be Batman (mainstream, in continuity w/ guest stars, sidekciks Etc.). Detective (primarily solo dark crime drama batman). And a Legends of the Dark Knight type book (not nec. in continuity and wide open to era and artistic interp).
Once in a while a Bat-family mini staring such as knightwing or Batgirl Etc. keep it "special" instead of oversaturated blandness and some old same old every issue every book to book.

KyleMoyer

As a big Batman fan, my opinion is that he's overused when he's being used in something that has no point other than putting Batman on it. For example, let's look at the current crop of Batman titles. Batman is the main, flagship superhero Batman book. Detective is supposed to be Batman in more of a street-level/detective mode. How successful it is can be argued, but at least it's trying for a point. Batman and Robin explores the relationship of Bruce to his son. And then there's the Dark Knight. Other than a showcase for David Finch, what point does that book serve? What does it add to the Bat-line? IMO, nothing and as a result, I think that book is where Batman becomes too much. I think if you replaced Dark Knight with something like LOTDK with top-notch creators telling their own standalone Batman stories that can take place anywhere in the past and not have to worry about continuity or crossovers, the book would serve a point and it would no longer be too much. It would be the same amount of Batman solo stories, but it would no longer be too much because each series has a point. If you prefer one over the other, you don't have to buy them all (which is another prerequisite - once you have to buy them all, then it also becomes too much).

ArkhamArtistMG

Good points I missed good comic discussions, man I an so glad the forums are back.

Also, I agree Dark Knight needs to be replaced or just cut lol.

BlackUmbrella

Batman, Detective, JLA, Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin. That's all I want or need. Anything beyond that doesn't make a lot of sense to me, and if someone has an awesome Batman story idea, they can put it in the regular Batman or Detective books, just like they did with Jim Lee's Hush run. I'd rather have a straight-up Robin series than the Batman and Robin book, even though I'm enjoying it currently.

Miraclemet

I think part of what gets Batman spread into so many titles is that Gotham itself is a very interesting character (ok I know its a City). So that leads to many stories living in gotham, which inevitably leads to Bruce showing up...

I dont think we have more bat titles than were around 4-5 years ago:
In Feb 2003 (when Gotham Central debuted) there was:

Batgirl
Batgirl Year 1 (babs)
Batman
Batman Aliens II
Batman Family
Batman Gotham Adventures
Batman Gotham Knights
Batman Legends of the Dark Knight
Birds of Prey (part of the Bat Family, though rarely with Bats in it)
Catwoman
Detective Comics
Gotham Central
Gotham Girls
JLA (Bats on the cover)
JLA The Spectre Soul War
JSA: The Unholy Three
Justice League Adventures
Nightwing (no bats in this issue, but its family)
Robin


Heck Batman was on the cover of Action Figure Digest AND Toy Review that month!

Thats 19 Batman/Batman Family/Gotham-centric comics... in ONE month.

in the new 52: ..
All Star Western (Set in Gotham)
Batgirl
Batman
Batman & Robin
Batman The Dark Knight
Batwing
Batwoman
Birds of Prey
Catwoman
Detective Comics
Justice League
Justice League International
Nightwing
Red Hood And the Outlaws (stretch but its Jason Todd)
Teen Titans (Red Robin)

So thats 15 titles with some relation (and some are a stretch)....

Whats it all mean? The more things reboot, the more they stay the same...

Krescan

I've always thought there were actually 4 big comic publishers

DC
Marvel
and Batman

And for some reason DC and Batman have crossovers sometimes.

There's an argument to be made that Spider-man is the same way with Marvel but they're so bad about everyone having their own book and the subsequent team books that I'd rather that can of worms stay closed

ArkhamArtistMG

LOL

I've always thought there were actually 4 big comic publishers

DC
Marvel
and Batman

And for some reason DC and Batman have crossovers sometimes.

WetRats

This much...



;)

rebis

This much...



;)

Thanks Rats. I had put that image out of my mind.

DoctorDoom

Eh, I say this much:

http:2.bp.blogspot.com/_5bcfpMCxb6I/RwTBZjs1OlI/AAAAAAAAAzA/DMaD31BB9bo/s1600-h/SB40b.jpg//

KyleMoyer

Eh, I say this much:

http:2.bp.blogspot.com/_5bcfpMCxb6I/RwTBZjs1OlI/AAAAAAAAAzA/DMaD31BB9bo/s1600-h/SB40b.jpg//

I don't think your link is working right.

DoctorDoom

This is too much Batman, then.

ArkhamArtistMG

That is too much Batman @DoctorDoom lol