I was going to say something in defence of Dinah’s taste in clothes here…
Then I remembered what costume she was wearing at the time.
Even if I particularly liked Maguire’s art (I don’t - blasphemy, I know), even he couldn’t save that thing.
Heck, I prefer the campy nonsense of the TV series. What does that make me? 
Hmm… you know, I’ve said before that in addition to the mainstream DC universe there are a few characters (Lobo for instance) who seem to inhabit a semi-parallel “farceverse” where they’re played for laughs. If DC can run Vertigo, a ultra-serious line which has some overlap with the mainstream universe, maybe they could go the other way and have a humorous line that’s a throwback to the '50s, with purile parodies of Batman and Superman.
Well, he is.
Batman’s at his best when it’s clear that he enjoys being Batman. Maybe it’s because they were sadistic (and I am too), but I always most liked the stories where he and Robin joyously kicked the holy living bejeezus out of criminals. The very best of those stories are like a good hard boiled detective yarn. Batman, in my favorite stories, is a lot like Phillip Marlowe in a costume. He’s tough. He’s cynical. He’s smart. But he’s also fundamentally goodhearted and noble. Sometimes the badguys get the drop on him, but he gets back into the fight with a wiseass remark on his lips.
I don’t much like the obnoxious crazoid demi-god Batman they are writing now. I don’t think those writers really like Batman.
Which of the Batman in the . . . XXs books is the best? I have Batman in the 50s on hold at the library right now.
Slight hijack here, but your post just made me remember a plot point that I don’t remember ever being resolved. It was from Morrison’s “Rock of Ages” story-arc in JLA. The basic premise was that Lex Luthor assembled a new Injustice Gang, and then used corporate sabotage methods to undermine the League. Essentially, he treated the JLA as a rival company, and used the same shady business tactics he’d use to stage a hostile takeover to undermine the League. Luthor’s downfall occured because he didn’t know that Batman was Bruce Wayne - who was every bit the crafty CEO he was, and beat him at his own game.
In the final issue of the arc, Luthor is making his getaway. He says “You, Batman, have just made a fatal mistake!” I had always thought that it meant that Luthor had deduced his secret identity (“Batman recognized my strategy to take control of the League, then he countered my tactics with similar corporate manuevers. He must be a saavy businessman. What saavy businessmen reside in Gotham City and are known to be reclusive or have unexplained prolonged absences? Ah! I know - Bruce Wayne!”) But as far as I know, it was never followed up. Did anything ever come of this dangling thread?
Another thing I miss is when Batman used to fight criminals whose goals were other than murdering the world. He used to take on counterfeiters, jewel thieves, smugglers, kidnappers, and all manner of other malefactors. Now it seems like all he does is round up one bizzarre serial killer after another and return them to Arkham Asylum for the 15 minutes til their next escape.
The Joker, in his scary psycho mode, was a lot better villain when he wasn’t surrounded by a whole bunch of other scary psycho killers. When Batman spent 6 or 7 issues dealing with more prosaic villains, The Joker’s appearances were more of an event.
I agree that Batman sucks. Sorry, I just can’t suspend disbelief to enjoy this character.
Of currently working writers, the one who I think actually gets Batman the best is… John Byrne.
Back when he did Captain America/Batman (which is excellent) he gave an interview to some 90’s comic magazine that wasn’t Wizard that I can’t remember the name of where he laid out his approach to Batman. His take is that Batman is Bruce Wayne’s therapy, and he loves it. Hence his preference for the grinning Batman who trades banter with Robin.
Sans Batman, Bruce Wayne gets crazy and violent like he is in Dark Knight Returns.
Some of the best non-animated Batman stuff of the 90’s was Byne’s Bats & Cap and that sort of weird “Generations” series he did.
What if The Dark Knight (2008 movie) was made in 1960s Batman style?
