Batman in the 1960s Issue 1: January/ February 1960

 

The Caped Crusader in the 1960s
by Jack Seabrook
& Peter Enfantino

Moldoff

Detective Comics #275

"The Zebra Batman"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris

"The Super-Brain Maker"

Story Uncredited

Art by Ruben Moreira

"John Jones' Pesky Partner"

Story by Jack Miller

Art by Joe Certa

While out patrolling Gotham, Batman and Robin come across a bizarre, zebra-striped villain and his thugs breaking into the Gotham Art Museum. When the Caped Crusaders attempt to nab the baddie, he uses a maddeningly-brilliant super-power to make huge objects move towards our heroes. They are stunned, to say the least. Giving chase, the Batmobile is slowed by a crashing water tower. Has Batman met his match at last?

Tracking the evil Zebra-Man to his lab, Bats and the Boy Wonder engage the hoods in a brutal battle. During the scuffle, Robin (as he's been known to do) accidentally trips a switch and Batman is bathed in the same "eerie light" as Zebra-Man. In a split second, Batman becomes Zebra-Batman, imbued with the same uncanny powers. Zebra-Man gets away (again) and Bats is left to ponder a future where he can't eat and children can't approach him for his autograph. 

But, with a little knowledge of how physics and electro-magnetic pulses work, Batman reverses his new unwanted power and successfully puts Zebra-Man behind bars. As Robin wryly notes, "He's still got stripes... only this time, they're from prison bars!"

Considering that I'm a big fan of dark, depressing Bat-tales, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this initial foray into 1960s DC comics. When I was a kid in the early 1970s, there weren't a lot of funny book readers in my neighborhood, but those who proclaimed their fannishness made one thing clear: DC was not cool. Marvel was the thing (pun intended). Only Jack Seabrook would have the nerve to stand up in English class and declare Legion of Super-Heroes the best comic book in the world. Press me for my thoughts on early DC and all I can come up with is "Jimmy Olsen: Werewolf" and "The Day Superman Married Lois Lane." You get the picture.

Maybe I just need a break for a bit from the heavier material and 1960s Batman might just be the perfect fodder. Funny book scholars much more intelligent than I have pointed to the innocence and awe pervading these pre-Viet Nam War-era strips. Rather than tackling serial killers and pollution, the Caped Crusaders face villains who really don't want to harm anybody as long as they get their loot. Whatever the reason, "The Zebra Batman" made me smile from ear to ear several times (especially when Batman is pondering all the pitfalls of having a body that repels materials like potato chips and beer and a future where every Gothamite can finally add together one striped millionaire plus one striped hero and equal Bruce Wayne/Batman) and I even laughed out loud at scripter Bill Finger's endless expositories about Zebra-Guy's powers and how they work and don't work. Sadly, this was the only appearance by Zebra Man, but the character was rebooted in 1987 by Mike Barr and Jim Aparo for The Outsiders #21.

The art is rudimentary but perfect for the subject matter. Light, but consistently workmanlike. That's not a knock; it would be hard to imagine Neal Adams's art attached to this type of script. Oh, and this will be the first and only time I bring up the name of Bob Kane, the Stan Lee of DC Comics who, for years, claimed that he alone created Batman and all his surroundings. That's his name on the splash for legal reasons, I assume, but it's the dependable Sheldon Moldoff who provides the visuals. Kane officially retired from the funny book business in 1966 but he had stopped participating (other than slapping his name on other creators' work) years before. End of rant. 

In the back-ups, TV Detective Roy Raymond is tasked with determining if a "Super-Brain" gizmo is the greatest invention of the 20th-Century or a phony, and J'Onn J'Onzz, Martian Manhunter, saves a woman's life but may have given away his secret identity in the process. 

The former features some striking art by Ruben Moreira (whose work reminds me of Joe Kubert's) but requires quite a bit of belief suspension. The latter is just plain goofy fun (J'Onn saves a woman trapped in her car on a drawbridge, but instead of simply zooming up and grabbing the woman out of the vehicle, he grows to giant size and acts as the missing piece of the bridge for the heroine to drive across!). Unlike those annoying 1970s back-ups featuring Batgirl and Robin, both Martian Manhunter and Roy Raymond are quick, charming, and competently illustrated. Roy had been a regular in 'tec since 1949 (and will be unceremoniously ousted come #293); J'Onzz first appeared in 'tec #225 (November 1955) and will be ported over to The House of Mystery in 1964.-Peter

Jack-I admit that I always preferred DC to Marvel, perhaps because I'm a contrarian. I too enjoyed this issue! These were the days before adults read and studied comics--this is clearly directed at kids. I liked when the Batmobile swerved off the road and got stuck in a ditch; in a Christopher Nolan film, that would never happen. I also liked seeing the Bat-Plane and Batman's visions of his future with zebra stripes. Science saves the day at the end of the first story, as it so often did in this era.

The art on Roy Raymond, TV Detective, is terrific and elevates a good little detective story. I always liked J'Onn J'Onzz when he appeared in the '70s and I enjoyed his short story as well, especially his goofy use of super-breath and the fact that he's a superhero masquerading as a detective. The art isn't as good as that in Roy Raymond, but it's decent. It's neat that all three stories focus on detective skills.

Moldoff

Batman #129

"The Web of the Spinner"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris

"The Man From Robin's Past"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris

"Merriweather Jones--Crime Prophet!"

Story by Jerry Coleman

Art by Dick Sprang & Charles Paris

Having agreed to search for a villain called the Spinner, Batman and Robin locate him trying to steal the payroll at the Kool Fan Company, but the Spinner aims spinning buzz-saws at the Dynamic Duo and gets away while they use a floor fan to avoid the tiny objects of death. Batman gets a possible clue to the Spinner's identity when he overhears the baddie refer to money as "rhino," which is Joliet Prison slang.

Meanwhile, Kathy Kane, who is secretly Batwoman, investigates a man whom she thinks is a fake swami, but when he correctly locates a woman's missing jewelry, Kathy wonders if he might be on the level. The next day, the Spinner holds up the Gotham Drill Co., again after a payroll; this time he avoids capture by Batman and Robin by sending a giant, spinning top their way; they have to use the Batmobile to guide it safely into Gotham Bay and can't give chase. Once again, Batman picks up a clue: the Spinner lost a glove and Batman takes it back to the Batcave for analysis, only to find traces of peanut oil and salt. The Spinner must be an ex-con who likes salted peanuts!

Someone thinks to ask the swami for the location of the Spinner's hideout and he identifies it as a windmill just outside Gotham City. Batwoman happened to be listening in from the ledge outside the swami's window and beats the Dynamic Duo to the hideout, where the Spinner captures her and ties her to a giant fan. Batman manages to prevent her demise and unmasks the Spinner as "Peanuts" Gilson. But wait! Peanuts reveals that he's just filling in for the real Spinner! Batman realizes that there's something fishy going on and everyone quickly exits the windmill, which promptly blows up. It seems the Spinner wanted to make it look like he was killed!

Batman deduces that the Swami is the Spinner and unmasks him. The Spinner admits he blew up the windmill in hopes that he could be thought dead so he could retire and enjoy his ill-gotten gains.

Whew, "The Web of the Spinner" was complicated! The Spinner sure went to a lot of trouble to make it seem like he was dead so he could retire and count his money. It would probably have been easier just to leave Gotham City. His costume is particularly silly--he wears an all-green suit that has rings around it and there's a little fan spinning on top of his head. I do like the giant fan to which Batwoman is lashed, as well as the giant spinning top. Props like those would show up regularly on the TV show not too many years later. As I recall, Batwoman was created to make it clear that Batman and Robin were not a gay couple. Now, she has her own TV show and she's gay!

"The Man From Robin's Past" turns out to be Sando the Strongman, a he-man at the circus who Robin knew way back when he was in an aerial act with his parents. The circus visits Gotham and the Dynamic Duo confront a gang of robbers. Sando seems to know more than he's saying so, after a recap of Robin's origin story, Batman and Robin get some help from Sando in rescuing his college-aged son from the criminals.

Boy, I thought jumping back from 1989 to 1960 would rid us of the constant need to rehash the main characters' origins, but I was mistaken! This eight-page story wastes two pages on the genesis of Robin, making me wonder just how old that kid is and how slowly time passes in the DC universe. Shouldn't he be shaving by now?

"Merriweather Jones--Crime Prophet!" is a citizen who suddenly finds he gets a funny feeling when a crime is about to be committed. After two accurate predictions, where Batman and Robin are able to intervene and stop the crime, Jones is kidnapped by crooks who want to use his ability for evil. Batman figures out a clue left by Jones and rescues him; Jones happily tells the Caped Crusader that his mysterious ability has left him!

This is just plain fun and I'm fond of Dick Sprang's individual art style. I love that there's no attempt to explain why Merriweather Jones knows when a crime is being committed; this is just par for the course on another day in Gotham. Nor is there any explanation as to why the ability disappears. No scientific detection needed here, folks--just accept it for what it's worth!

Unlike the last issue of Detective Comics, which features a one-page text story, this issue of Batman contains a letters page with such missives from readers as: "In what way is the BAT-ROPE different from any ordinary rope?" The editor replies that it is woven of pure silk and reinforced with metallic thread. Gosh!-Jack

Peter-I gotta admit I got lost in the multiple expositories issued by Bats and the Spinner revealing what the heck was going on in the villain's master scheme. A lot of the plot hinged on timing and coincidence rather than reality. Welcome to the 1960s DC Universe. I'm going to keep notes on the ever-expanding Low-Tier Rogues Gallery, to which the Spinner surely belongs. Though the Spinner might not have made much of a splash in the funny book world, he (like many of the Low-Tiers) was rescued from obscurity via cameos in the various animated series (in this case, Batman: The Brave and the Bold) produced by Warner Bros. after the success of Tim Burton's Batman. 

Half of "The Man from Robin's Past" is given over to a retelling of the Boy Wonder's origin; good timing, since Jack and I just dissected Marv Wolfman's version of the story several weeks ago. Marv's recollection finds Bruce Wayne recklessly throwing open the Batcave for the kid, while Bill Finger's account sees Robin as the one doing the pitching. The structuring of the Batman title differed from that of 'tec in that this title ran three short strips starring the Dynamic Duo and 'tec had a longer main feature starring the boys and two shorter back-ups with an ever-changing cast of characters.

It seems as though every Batman and Robin adventure has to contain at least one gigantic item and in "Merriweather Jones..." the early nadir might be the story's enormous sewing machine! Gigantism was all the rage over in the Atlas/Marvel titles as well, surely fueled by the popularity of films like Godzilla, Them, The Deadly Mantis, and the like. The identity of Merriweather Jones completely fooled me -- I assumed it was Alfred, bored of cleaning up Master Dick's bedroom and disguising himself as a genius in order to participate in all the fun. I'm sure that plot will drop at some point.

Moldoff

Detective Comics #276

"The Return of Bat-Mite"

Story by Bill Finger (?)

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris

"The Great Space Hoax"

Story Uncredited

Art by Ruben Moreira

"The Crimes of John Jones"

Story by Jack Miller (?)

Art by Joe Certa

Fresh from her outing vs. the Spinner, Batwoman (a/k/a Kathy Kane) senses that another fiendish, low-tier villain, the Hobby Robber, may be setting his sights on a rare book exhibit at Gotham Library and talks Batman and Robin into accompanying her on her stake-out. Turns out Kathy is A-One correcta-mundo and the Hobby Robber's goons are in for a heck of a fight. 

But, just as the Titanic Trio are about to put the thugs in cuffs, a giant penny rolls across the floor and drives a wedge between the two factions. What's up? It's Bat-Mite, that insufferable but cute little elf from another dimension, here to help his favorite Earth superhero in any fashion that he can. Bats works his way around the penny and nabs the tough guys, telling Bat-Mite to buzz off before he really loses his temper.

Realizing he may have done something wrong while trying to do something right, Bat-Mite follows Kathy back to her Bat-Lair and pleads his case. Across town, the porcine Hobby Robber rages at his gang's inability to steal a simple set of books, giving them a second chance by assigning them another robbery the following night. Gotham's heroes were not born yesterday, so Batman and Robin stake out the Gotham Museum and Batwoman and Bat-Mite watch over a collection of rare musical instruments.

That's where the Hobby Robber strikes! Batwoman has the hoods collared but (and this is an old story) Bat-Mite wants a little more excitement and attempts to extend the altercation. Kathy blows her top and tells the imp to grab a hunk of highway. He heads back to the Batcave, where Batman and Robin are planning their next patrol. Bats (stuck in early 1960s male chauvinism) believes the assignment may be too dangerous for Kathy and tells the Boy Wonder she's persona non grata at Gotham Harbor, where the duo will set their trap. 

Bat-Mite pops into Kathy's place to let her know what the other cats are up to. Ashamed of her behavior, Batwoman welcomes the little pest back into her trust. Good on that, as Batman and Robin blow their scheme and are captured by the Hobby Robber. The nefarious baddie, wanting to elevate his status from fifth-tier Rogue to first in one fell swoop, has chained the Dynamic Duo in a pool and activated his fleet of deadly toy war ships. Batman and Robin are to be torpedoed for HR's amusement. Batwoman and Bat-Mite arrive in the nick of time to shut down the evil collector/hoarder's scheme of world domination and Batman allows how the little guy might be helpful now and then.

Another goofy and 100% enjoyable adventure with a lot of amusing ingredients. As a child of the 1960s I, of course, grew up with the Adam West Batman but, more important to me, with Yvonne Craig's Batgirl. I had no idea until decades later that there was such a dame as Batwoman (first appearance: Detective #233, July 1956) and that Batgirl herself was created for the TV show and not the funny books. 

I love how Kathy has a utility make-up bag rather than a belt and how she seems to have a Batwoman Cave just like her macho mentor. Hobby Robber is a character who's been around since the 1940s (albeit with a different handle--Hobby-Napper) and closely resembles a pig with pointy ears. You can feel the influence of the then still-recent Comics Code in a villain who specializes in stealing collectibles. The complicated hero death-trap (here represented by an Olympic-sized pool filled with dangerous toys) would escalate during the 1960s. You'll be happy to know that I've deactivated my "rolling eyeballs" emoji and I'll try to just go with the camp flow. Bat-Mite is one of those characters who is very much of his era; you probably wouldn't see Denny O'Neil, Frank Miller, or Alan Grant utilizing the space-midget in any of their scripts. 

In "The Great Space Hoax," TV Detective Roy Raymond is approached by a man who claims he can rocket Roy and the lovely Karen to another planet. Can Roy prove that the space travel is just a gimmick? Nope, because the trio actually visit a distant world. Again, a fun read, but the draw here is the excellent Moreira work. Meanwhile, J'Onn J'Onzz is tracking down the "Big Boy" Benson gang before they pull another robbery when a "cosmic cloud passing between Mars and Earth" causes amnesia for the Martian Manhunter. J'Onn becomes a train robber! Like with a lot of these 1960s strips, I get the feeling there were no rules in the DC Bullpen; any goofy idea was fair game. It turns out that J'Onn is feigning amnesia to locate the secret hideout of "Big Boy" but, surely, diverting train tracks can be very dangerous.-Peter

Jack-I admire your willingness to go with the flow! Three comics in and the goofy factor is already at 11. Were great big versions of commonplace items a regular thing in 1960? At the stamp and coin exhibit, we see a giant penny, a giant stamp, and a giant pair of tweezers. Where are these made and where do they go once the exhibit is over? Is there a great big Gotham storage unit filled with giant whatzits? The inclusion of Bat-Mite pushes this story into the sci-fi/fantasy realm, and I have to wonder if the DC brass thought little girls were buying Detective just to follow the adventures of Batwoman. When I was a kid, in the late '60s/early '70s, my sister read Supergirl and Lois Lane, not Detective. Also, there sure seem to be a lot of robbers operating in Gotham!

As with last issue, the Roy Raymond story features very nice art and, like the lead Batman story, elements of science fiction. J'Onn J'Onzz fights still more bank robbers and we get to see a lot of him in his green Martian skin. This issue of Detective is heavy on the sci-fi!

Next Week...
More Outer Space Menace!