Batman Works

If push came to shove and I had to name my all time favorite comic character, it'd be Batman.

Maybe it's because he's grounded in reality. Well, as much reality as you can get in the super hero genre. Batman doesn't have super powers. Anyone with the same determination, will power and, ahem, bank account could become Batman.

Another reason that I like Batman so much is that there are so many takes on the character that work. Think about it...

Adam West's tv Batman was camp.

Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams' Batman was the world's greatest detective.

Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers [along with Terry Austin] explored the struggle for balance between Bruce Wayne and Batman.

Frank Miller brought us the Dark Knight as Dirty Harry.

Doug Moench, Kelly Jones and John Beatty looked at the horror/supernatural aspect of Batman's universe.

I could go on and on but the point that I want to make is that each of these takes is different, but they all work.

Currently Matt Wagner is doing a riff on Batman in a six issue mini series called Batman and the Monster Men. It's a story of Batman's first encounter with super villians.

And you guessed it, it works.