Reviews

This is a collection of some of the weirdest gold- and silver-age Batman stories.
They're definitely off the beaten path. They were....odd.
I can see how they inspired Morrison's Batman run, but they don't age well.

howattp's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I was warned about the incredibly campy content throughout, but I thought that it would be worth it as context for brilliant work Grant Morrison has done on his run with Batman. In that sense it was. Morrison shows his readers some really interesting precedents for what he's doing, drawing from the deepest recesses of Batman's history in the Golden Age.
Would I ever read full collections of Batman stories from that era? No.
Why? It's not the same as it is now--it's hardly even recognizably the same. Robin is a wimpy crybaby and I see Batman as that kind old uncle who you wish would stop talking long enough to actually do something useful. The writing is just...unfortunate.
Do I really appreciate the far-reaching grasp of Morrison's research and innovation, bringing in some obscure references and building on them for use today? Yes I do.

Spoiler

Some of it was really impressive, like Zur-en-arrh and Bat-Mite being reused as psychological triggers for Bruce Wayne's sanity later on, and the introduction of what would later become Batman Inc, as well as the "reappearance" of Thomas Wayne and what would become the Black Glove.

I was really intrigued by a lot of it, but put-off (as I was warned I would be) by quite a bit more. Read this as source material, nothing more.

cemeterygates's review

Go to review page

4.0

These are the seriously weird stories from Batman's past. A lot of fun to look at them in this vacuum.

librarimans's review

Go to review page

4.0

On its own this is an odd collection of vintage Batman stories. Taken from the 50s (which is often considered the forgotten age of Batman due to the sci fi nature of the stories), there is nothing obvious to connect them. However this book is more than the sum of its parts. Curated by Grant Morrison, this collection of stories is the basis for much of his run on Batman. When he set about to craft his run with the character, he did it in a way no other creator had before: he plotted it out so that every Batman story that came before him was one long continuity and actually happened to Bruce Wayne and examined how that would affect his psyche. The oddest of the stories were contained in the Black Casebook, hence the name of the collection.

If you're a casual Batman fan you can safely skip this and not miss much, but if you're a fan of Morrison's run, then this is a great supplement to better understand his motivations and inspiration.

morgiei's review

Go to review page

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

billil1957's review

Go to review page

3.0

I read this before rereading Batman RIP. Other reviews said knowing more about these earlier stories would help explain what's going on in the Grant Morrison era Batman. I don't really think they helped, but the issues in the Casebook are interesting enough anyway as period pieces.

More...