> Kevin mentioned some volumes of Batman short stories;
there are three
> that I know of, all edited by Martin H. Greenberg.
The stories vary
> wildly in quality. My favorite story from these
anthologies is Stewart
> M. Kaminsky's "The Batman memos." Kaminsky's story is
told indirectly,
> through interdepartmental memos from Jack Warner, and
members of his
> staff. It seems Warner Brothers wants to make a movie
of Batman's
> exploits and is dealing with Batman's agent Bruce
Wayne, who's just
> arrived in Hollywood. There's a kidnapping, which is
apparently solved
> by Batman, but it's not clear--the only hint is a
puzzling note from a
> night watchman who makes reference to a man "dressed
like an umbrella"
> skulking around the corridors.
>
> Finally, I'll mention that Joe R. Lansdale has
written a couple of
> Batman novels, and the one that I read, _Batman,
Captured by the
> Engines_, is really pretty good. This novel is closer
to some of
> Lansdale's more wild horror novels (like _The
Drive-In_), and Batman is
> almost ignored to the point of becoming a supporting
character in his
> own novel. Still well worth seeking out.
> --
> James Stephenson
> Rare Books & Special Collections
Cataloger
> McKeldin Library
> University of Maryland
> College Park, MD 20742
> Mailto:js272@umail.umd.edu
Gawd, I need to get my collection out of boxes and onto
shelves again,
so I can quit relying strictly on feeble memory! Of the three
Batman
original anthologies edited by Martin Greenburg, there is one
story in
which Joe Lansdale joins Batman with his own character, The
Lord of the
Razor. It is one of the best noir stories I've read in recent
time, and
I'd say I'd like to see more but that would just dilute the
power of the
one and only.
... Reed Andrus
Phoenix, AZ (rising)
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