Batman in the 1960s Issue 50: March/April 1968

 

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

Novick

Detective Comics #373

"Mr. Freeze's Chilling Deathtrap!"

Story by Gardner Fox

Art by Chic Stone & Sid Greene

Bruce Wayne and his ward, Dick Grayson, race to the hospital in an ambulance with Aunt Harriet. She's got something wrong with her but don't ask what, cuz the info is not forthcoming. All we know is that she'll die unless the surgeon uses cryosurgery on the much-loved Harriet. In the middle of the procedure, the "cannula" ("a tube which feeds liquid nitrogen into its diseased target") suddenly ceases to work. Bruce and Dick are crestfallen when they hear the news. Where the heck can they get another tool that shoots a freezing solution?

Meanwhile, not so coincidentally across town, Mister Zero Freeze is pulling a caper using his very own Cryo-Gun, a bazooka that fires a spray of pure ice, when the gizmo suddenly conks out. "No problem," says the newly christened rogue, he'll use the heat modulator on his blaster instead. The villain is now the proud owner of the most celebrated masterpiece of cold weather, "Winter Wonderland." He and his boys head back to their HQ.

While brainstorming what they'll do if the incredibly irreplaceable Harriet succumbs to her mystery malady, Bruce and Dick look out the window and notice the Bat-Signal! Bruce calls Gordon at the golf course and the Commish spills the beans on Freeze's art theft. Suddenly, the light bulb goes on over Bruce's head and he knows just where to get a freezing tool. Through devious and clever trickery, he fools Freeze into showing up at a warehouse, where fisticuffs immediately break out.

Batman manages to grab Freeze's Cryothermal Gun and lobs it to Robin, who hoofs it out of the building and heads for the hospital. Batman and Freeze engage in a little tit-for-tat as each gets the better of the other for a couple pages before Bats lays the cuffs on and hands the hoods to Gordo. Later, at the hospital, Harriet has made an incredible recovery thanks to the Cryo-Gun, but both Bruce and Dick do double takes when it appears that their beloved boarder has aged a few decades and gained a bit of weight.

More influence from the TV show which, ironically, had just gotten the axe and was televising its final episodes.. Hilariously, Robin even remarks on the fact that Mr. Freeze sounds like "a campy name invented for a villain in a television program!" Suddenly, a not-so-popular baddie is elevated to All-Time Rogue status. My memory is really bad, but I remember when Harriet was introduced I thought she looked awfully young and, if not hot, mighty cougar-ish. Now she's a dumpy old matron. Poor woman. Which reminds me: when does she disappear from the titles? The story itself is fluff (what the heck is G. Fox trying to say when he unloads "The crown prince of chillblains?"), but at least the art is better. The work here by Chic and Sid (who could have been a famous TV comedy duo) falls right smack dab between the high of Carmine and the basement of Shelly.-Peter

Jack-This issue really feels like we're on the right track. The art by Stone and Greene is a step up from that of Moldoff and Giella, and it reminded me in spots of the cartoony style that would later be used for the Super-Friends. There are no hoods in fedoras and suits; instead, we get one of my favorite TV villains. There's even a bit of depth to the storytelling, with Aunt Harriet in danger and the need to rescue her with one of Mr. Freeze's weapons. The backup story with Elongated Man has a cameo by the Dynamic Duo and the villain is another TV favorite, the Riddler! All in all, this was an enjoyable comic, made even more so by the house ads for a Supergirl giant that I recall as one of the first comics I ever saw, along with teasers for two new Ditko titles.

Adams

Batman #200

"The Man Who Radiated Fear!"

Story by Mike Friedrich

Art by Chic Stone & Joe Giella

When the Scarecrow confronts Batman, the villain is paralyzed by fear! What's going on? It's a test--one of the Scarecrow's gang is dressed as Batman in order to try out a new pill that causes the person who takes it to radiate fear. A few nights later, the Scarecrow and his gang wait for the Dynamic Duo to respond to a jewelry store robbery. The Scarecrow's new fear pill works like a charm, causing Batman and Robin to collapse from fright and allowing the crooks to get away.

Batman and Robin return to the Batcave, still shaking, and tell Alfred that they might as well hang up their capes and cowls. Alfred helpfully reminds them in detail of their respective origin stories and they snap out of their funk and head to the gym for a workout.

In the nights that follow, the Dynamic Duo happen upon the Joker, Killer Moth, and the Penguin, all separately, and arrest them. Each bad guy has some colored straws on his person that represent clues from the Scarecrow. Batman and Robin intercept him and his gang at a fur store and a battle follows but, once again, the good guys are defeated by fear. They awaken to find themselves tied to chairs with guns pointed at them; the slightest movement will cause the guns to go off. This proves not to be much trouble for our heroes to escape, and soon they have caught the Scarecrow once again.

Fan-turned-pro Mike Friedrich wrote this, which appears to have been his first pro sale. Since it's the 200th issue, he finds a rather awkward way to work in a retelling of the origin stories, but the tale as a whole is thin. The strangest part is the way Batman and Robin happen across three villains and those villains have straws on their persons that are clues to the Scarecrow's plans. The art is definitely a step up from Moldoff's pages, but having Adams draw the cover makes me salivate for his debut on the inside pages.-Jack

Peter-Friedrich had already sold a couple of scripts to DC, but neither would see the light of a newsstand until post-Batman #200. For an early stab at writing, it's not bad, certainly no worse than a Gardner Fox script. But it's also meandering and rudderless and never explains the biggest mystery: how the heck Scarecrow got that straw into Joker's hair. The art certainly proves the point that the proper inker means a lot. Whereas Chic's art in 'tec #373 was impressive when aided by the inking of Sid Greene, it's two steps back with Joe Giella finishing. My favorite bit in this issue has to be the interview Friedrich conducted with Biljo White, one of the founding members of 1960s comic fandom and editor/publisher of Batmania. Nice touch naming one of Scarecrow's goons after Biljo. Funny how these anniversary issues didn't have the impact they would have decades later. No lenticular covers, extra pages, or high cover price. It's just another monthly.

Novick

Detective Comics #374

"Hunt for a Robin-Killer!"

Story by Gardner Fox

Art by Gil Kane & Sid Greene

The Lemon Brothers are knocking over yet another warehouse when the Caped Crusaders arrive to put the "squeeze on them" (as Robert Plant might say). Batman sends Robin to the back of the building but then remembers that the rear has been barricaded. The Dark Knight puts the KO on the Bros and then goes to check on his little buddy, only to find him dead, beaten to death in an alley. Yep, definitely dead.

While on his Bat-cell phone making funeral arrangements, the "World's Greatest Detective" notices signs of life from the pre-teen titan, lifts him in his arms, and hoofs it to the local hospital. Exiting the building, he swears to find the party responsible for Robin's near-death experience and to make him pay.

Based on clues acquired at the scene (garment fibers, footprints, etc,), Batman puts together a mental picture of Robin's attacker and heads off to search every inch of Gotham. Three minutes later, Batman finds who appears to be the guilty party at a bar called O'Malley's, reading the want ads and enjoying a Pina Colada, and he goes nuclear on the guy. After beating the man to a bloody pulp, our hero drags him to Gordo's office, where the Commish exclaims that this man, a prizefighter named Jim Condors, couldn't possibly be the man who beat the Boy Wonder in the alley. Gordo was with Condors at the exact moment the attack took place! Condors vows to sue Gotham's Avenger!

Disgraced, Batman heads back to the Batcave to look through old files. On a hunch, he searches through some of Robin's old cases and discovers that his partner once busted Jim Condors's twin brother, Ed. With some sly trickery, he tricks Jim into confessing to the beating of Robin (as revenge for his brother's incarceration). Batman and Condors trade right crosses and left upper cuts until Bats gets the drop and kayos the teen beater. Weeks later, Robin is up and out of his hospital bed as if he had never even died!

For the most part, I love the Gil Kane art, with the possible exception of Batman's facial features (which, I guess, is a major "except") and that hellacious full-page pin-up on page 13 (reprinted here). The pose and action are both dynamic, but I assume the Dark Knight might be at the chiropractor the next day after twisting his anatomy in impossible directions. Still, there's a heck of a lot more style and energy here than in so many of the other 1960s strips. The script is lame as usual; it's amazing, for instance that the "World's Greatest Detective" can pull minute fibers from a wall and yet pronounce his partner "dead" from twenty feet away.-Peter

Jack-We all knew from page one that Robin was not going to die, so the real appeal of this story lies in Gil Kane's art. His panels and pages are so dynamic that it's fun to read and see what positions he'll have the characters contort themselves into next. There are a lot of people flying upside down and backwards, but it's entertaining. He still needs practice on faces, though--in the last panel, Batman and Robin look goofy.

Adams

The Brave and the Bold #76

"Doom, What is Thy Shape?"

Story by Bob Haney

Art by Mike Sekowsky & Jack Abel

"The Man Called '50-50'!"

Story by David Vern

Art by Jim Mooney

(Reprinted from Star Spangled Comics #128, May 1952)

When a sports car pulls up to a bank's drive-through window, the driver's mirror turns into a long, malleable arm and reaches in to grab a satchel of loot! Batman is alerted and chases the car, but he is befuddled when it disappears and only a deli delivery van is in the area. This is the work of a costumed villain who calls himself the Molder and who helpfully explains to the reader that the car was made of plastic with a memory; it began as a truck, was remolded into a sports car, and then regained its original truck form from memory. The Molder crows about the Age of Plastic and predicts that the material will revolutionize crime.

He next creates a group of Plastoids, human-like forms who rob the passengers on a subway train. Again, Batman is alerted and he flies into the subway on his Bat-Copter, only to have the Molder engulf him in a gushing mass of plastic that cements him right in the path of the onrushing train! Fortunately, Plastic Man has also been tracking the Molder and uses a stretchy arm to stop the subway cars from crushing the Caped Crusader. Plas explains to Bats that the villain was a plastics research scientist who went berserk after a lab accident.

Plastic Man chases the Molder but is zapped by a ray emanating from his helmet that breaks the stretchable sleuth into five pieces. Batman flies up in his Whirly-Bat and doesn't fare much better. He reassembles Plastic Man while the Molder heads back to an abandoned warehouse, where he completes his latest deadly invention. He soon appears outside of Gotham City Hall and begins to cover it in plastic. Plastic Man puts his body in the way of the stream of plastic shooting from the Molder's big gun, but this only causes our hero's molecules to begin to replicate endlessly.

As Plastic Man's body send out tentacles that threaten to destroy every building in Gotham City, Batman confronts the Molder, only to find himself drowning in plastic. Commissioner Gordon enlists police to blast away at Plastic Man's expanding form, causing Plas's head and shoulders to shear off and bounce into the Molder's lab, where he drinks memory plastic solution. The Plastoids attack and his head and shoulders bounce back into contact with the rest of his body, which shrinks back to its normal shape and size. Batman manages to escape suffocation and finds the Molder atop a building, where a good left hook knocks the bad guy off the edge. Plastic Man's giant hand catches him before he goes splat on the pavement and Plas explains to Bats that the memory solution that he drank allowed his body to recall its prior state and return to it.

The Molder is one of those villains who comes out of nowhere, seems to have powers that are unlimited and unstoppable, and then suddenly is beaten by a good punch thrown by Batman. The story breezes by quickly with nary a mention of the Boy Wonder. Fortunately, this issue also features a reprint from 1952 of a Robin solo story, where he outwits a crook knows as "50-50" Finley, whose face and clothes are equally divided between light and shadow. He claims to give everyone an even chance to beat him, but Robin  finds that the bad guy always stacks the odds in his own favor. I like the early-'50s Mooney art.-Jack

Peter- Most of the art for the Plastic Man story is strictly amateur hour, in particular the "human" faces, but the script has a goofy, non-stop energy to it that's infectious and the panels with Plasty pasted all over the city are genius. In the best sense, "Doom, What is Thy Shape?" feels like an improv, with Haney one-upping himself as the script progresses. To me, it's the most entertaining B+B story yet. The Molder is as generic a villain as they come; the costume immediately brought to mind Spider-Man's nemesis, Hobgoblin. The back-up, an old Robin solo yarn, is fun but "Fifty-fifty" Finley is strictly low-rent Two-Face.

Next Week...
Wally!

The Hitchcock Project-Act of Faith by Nicholas Monsarrat [7.27]

by Jack Seabrook

"Act of Faith" is based on a short story called "Up the Garden Path" by Nicholas Monsarrat. The story was collected in The Ship That Died of Shame and Other Stories (1959), and a postscript says that it was first published in the British tabloid, Daily Sketch. A copyright date of 1953 is given. I have searched Daily Sketch in the online British Newspaper Archives, but I could not find the story.

"Up the Garden Path" is narrated by an unnamed, successful London author. As the story opens, he speaks to his secretary, dictating responses to letters that he has received from friends, strangers, and people asking for money. The last letter he dictates is to Alan Chatterton, a fellow author who offers to let the narrator read the part of a novel he has written so far and asks for help if he likes it.

Recalling his own days as a struggling writer, the narrator invites Chatterton to visit, and he arrives a few days later. He is twenty-two years old and needs money to survive while finishing his book, a job he estimates will take six months. The narrator reads the sample, likes it, and agrees to pay a small amount each month but, as time passes, Chatterton begins to ask for more money but does not want to show his benefactor any more of his unfinished work.

The requests for money continue and the reasons pile up: a holiday, rent, an overcoat, a new typewriter; by year-end, the total is about 1000 pounds. In May, Chatterton reveals that he has to get married and claims that, if he doesn't, he may never finish the book. He asks for 500 pounds to settle down with his new wife and offers the narrator a contract giving him a half-interest in the novel.

A few days later, the narrator is dining at an opulent club when he sees Chatterton entertaining a large party; a waiter confirms that he is a good customer. The next morning, the narrator confronts Chatterton in a rage, thinking he's been conned out of a total of about 1800 pounds. Chatterton claims that it was his wedding party and just one of the many experiences he needs for his book, which is nearly done. The men argue and the narrator angrily tears up the contract and dismisses Chatterton. He soon learns that at least two other men have been supporting the young writer as well.

Chatterton's book is published while the narrator is out of the country on a lecture tour and it's a runaway best-seller. The narrator returns home to find a check repaying him in full. He reads the book, thinks it brilliant, and realizes that the young man had been working on it the whole time. The narrator sends a congratulatory note and runs into Chatterton later that year. The young man thanks his benefactor and adds, "'But you never really believed in me, did you?'"

In his postscript, Nicholas Monsarrat writes that "Up the Garden Path" is based on personal experience. He loaned money to a struggling writer, whose book was a modest success and who never repaid the loan. Monsarrat later discovered that two of his friends had also supported the writer. He concludes that it was not his only "exercise in Good Samaritanism," but it was "the least edifying." The short story is an odd choice to adapt for Alfred Hitchcock Presents because no crime is committed and there is little suspense, other than the question of whether Chatterton will finish his book and pay the narrator back. The reader, like the narrator, grows to suspect that Chatterton is a fraud as the story develops, but the surprise at the end is that the young man was being truthful all along. In other words, the twist ending is that there is no twist!

Nicholas Monsarrat (1910-1979) was an English author who served in WWII and who wrote novels beginning in 1934, including The Cruel Sea (1951) and The Tribe That Lost Its Head (1956). He also wrote short stories from 1943 to 1974. His works were adapted for film and television, including two episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents; the other was "A Secret Life."

George Grizzard as Alan Chatterton

In the short story, the narrator thinks he is being led "up the garden path" by Chatterton, only to learn that he was mistaken. The phrase means to be misled into believing something that is false. The title was changed to "Act of Faith" when the story was adapted for television by Eric Ambler and the TV version follows the plot of the story closely. The location has been moved from London to New York City and the narrator has been christened Ralston Temple, who has an English accent and is the only British character in the show. In the first scene, Temple dictates letters to his secretary, who has been named Alice; her role in the TV version is much larger than it is in the story.

In the story, the narrator responds to Chatterton's letter and the young man responds by visiting and bringing sample chapters from his novel; the narrator then reads them and agrees to sponsor him. In the TV show, the secretary has already read the sample chapters and encourages a reluctant Temple to support the writer. The second scene shows Chatterton's visit to Temple, and the young man is far less charming than he is in the story. He wears shabby clothes and his behavior is rude and arrogant, making the viewer wonder why Temple agrees to give him money.

A new scene follows, where Temple is sick in bed and his secretary visits him. This scene summarizes the section of the story where Chatterton keeps asking for more money for various things, and the secretary remains supportive. In between scenes, there is stock footage of New York City at different times of the year, showing the passage of time. In the next scene, Alice takes a phone call from Chatterton, followed by his visit where he offers Temple a half-interest in the book because he has to get married. Temple refers to his decision to fund Chatterton's marriage as an "'act of faith,'" thus giving the episode its title, though his entire course of sponsorship could be seen as such an act.

Temple then sees Chatterton at the restaurant and, unlike the story, where the narrator summons the young author to his home the next day, in the TV show, Temple confronts Chatterton in the restaurant. In the following scene, at Temple's apartment, the teleplay deviates from the story by having Chatterton admit that he made up the story about needing to get married. Temple asks Chatterton if he has any other sponsors; in the story, he discovered this after his rift with the young man. The scene ends with Alice accusing Chatterton of stealing the sample chapters from another writer, a suggestion that is not in the story.

Dennis King as Ralston Temple

After stock footage of a ship entering New York Harbor represents Temple's return from a voyage, Alice hesitantly hands him a newspaper and there is a cut to the final scene, which plays out differently than in the story. In the TV version, Chatterton is at a bookstore, signing copies of his best-seller for a long line of women. Alice and Temple visit the store and Temple confronts Chatterton, who is now more of an equal to Temple as a successful author with a group of admiring fans. Chatterton signs a book for Temple and dismisses him as women gather around the table.

"Act of Faith" is a disappointing adaptation of a short story that, while enjoyable, probably should not have been chosen for this TV series. The camera setups at times recall those in the early days of live TV, when the camera is placed too close to one character, making them look unnaturally large in relation to other characters. The show as a whole looks like it was made on a low budget. There is no suspense and the attempts at humor fall flat. Worst of all, the two lead performances render the characters unlikeable. Temple seems like a flamboyant, older man, as if he is playing the part on stage for a large audience, while Chatterton seems like the "'angry young man'" Temple accuses him of being in the first scene when they meet. The two acting styles are quite different and don't match up well.

Eric Ambler (1909-1998), who wrote the teleplay, was born in London and was married to Joan Harrison, who produced this episode. He had a long and successful career as a novelist and is considered the father of the modern spy novel, having influenced such writers as Graham Greene and John le Carre. He was a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America and adapted Monsarrat's novel, The Cruel Sea, for film. "Act of Faith" is not indicative of his writing and is the only episode he wrote for the Hitchcock TV show.

The show was directed by Bernard Girard (1918-1997), who directed many TV shows and a few movies between 1951 and 1975. He directed twelve episodes of the Hitchcock show, including "Ride the Nightmare."

Florence MacMichael as Alice

Alan Chatterton is played by George Grizzard (1928-2007), who was on screen from 1955 to 2006, working more often on television than on film. He had a Broadway career that spanned the same years and was in the original cast of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Grizzard was seen in three episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, including "Fog Closing In," as well as episodes of The Twilight Zone and Thriller and the famous Bus Stop episode, "I Kiss Your Shadow."

Dennis King (1897-1971) plays Ralston Temple. He was born Dennis Pratt in England, served in WWI, and began a long career as a stage actor in 1919. He moved to the US in 1921 and worked steadily on Broadway until 1969. He was both an actor and a singer and, though he made only a small number of films, he was a busy TV actor from 1948 to 1963. This was his only role on the Hitchcock TV show.

Alice, the secretary, is played by Florence MacMichael (1919-1999), who appeared on Broadway and whose long screen career lasted from 1943 to 1971. She was on The Twilight Zone and she was a semi-regular on Mister Ed (1963-1965); she also is credited with roles in three other episodes of the Hitchcock show, including "Annabel."

The cast and crew of "Act of Faith" were a talented group, but the episode is one of the weakest of the series. Read the story here or watch the TV show here; it first aired on NBC on Tuesday, April 10, 1962.

Sources:

"Act of Faith." Alfred Hitchcock Presents, season 7, episode 27, NBC, 10 Apr. 1962.

"Eric Ambler, Thriller Writer Who Elevated the Genre to Literature, Is Dead at 89." The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/1998/10/24/arts/eric-ambler-thriller-writer-who-elevated-the-genre-to-literature-is-dead-at-89.html.

Grams, Martin, and Patrik Wikstrom. The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion. OTR Pub, 2001.

IBDB, www.ibdb.com.

IMDb, www.imdb.com.

Lane, Christina. Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Woman behind Hitchcock. Chicago Review Press, 2020.

Monsarrat, Nicholas. "Postscript." The Ship That Died of Shame and Other Stories, Pan, 1980, pp. 203–204.

Monsarrat, Nicholas. "Up the Garden Path." The Ship That Died of Shame and Other Stories, Pan, London, 1980, pp. 115–129.

Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org.

Listen to Al Sjoerdsma discuss "The Dangerous People" here!

In two weeks: "Final Escape," starring Stephen McNally!

Journey Into Strange Tales Issue 139: Atlas/Marvel Science Fiction & Horror Comics!

 

The Marvel/Atlas 
Horror Comics

Part 124

October 1956 Part IV

by Peter Enfantino

and Jack Seabrook

Uncanny Tales #48

Cover by Russ Heath

"Power Mad!" (a: George Roussos) ★1/2

"The Whirlpool" (a: Bob Forgione) ★1/2

"The Night Watcher!" (a: Bill Everett) ★★1/2

"They'll Never Find Me" (a: Doug Wildey) ★1/2

"What Happened to Harry?" (a: Pete Morisi) ★

"The Door I Dare Not Open!" (a: Jim Mooney) ★1/2

With his new "Compound K" formula, scientist Conrad Elton finds he can bend the will of his favorite dog, Otto. So why shouldn't it work on people? Conrad begins to dream of unparalleled power, unending wealth, and a wife like Christina Urbana! Sure enough, when Conrad dumps a vial of "CK" into the punch at a social gathering, everyone in the town of Nordsburg votes him mayor and Christina accepts his proposal of marriage.

But, after just a few months of mayordom, Conrad's magic begins to wear away and, after demanding a new City Hall be built, the villagers light torches and chase Conrad and Christina (and Otto) out of town. Suddenly, while driving, Conrad realizes that it wasn't "CK" that won him the trust of his neighbors, but love. Gosh, how sweet. "Power Mad!" perfectly represents all that was bad about the post-code. Just two years before, Conrad would have been taken to the nearest town square and disemboweled for his grievous errors, but here we see him heading into a new life, completely cleansed of bad intentions. There's literally no suspense or danger in these yarns.

After his girlfriend leaves him for another man while he's fighting in the war, Jeff Dawson gives up, wanting only to die. So, naturally, he accepts a professor's challenge to recreate the raft voyage of a group of South American Indians, who disappeared and were found safe thousands of miles away in the Polynesian Islands. Days into the journey, Dawson's raft is sucked into a whirlpool and he awakens in an undersea cave, surrounded by fishmen in bad spacesuits. They tell him that he will never be released and suddenly Jeff Dawson wants to live! "The Whirlpool" is yet another story about the triumph of the will and all that, with nary a surprise nor a twist in sight (well, except for the fact that Dawson seems to exist for a long period of time on a small box of provisions). 

An alien lands in the middle of a backwoods forest, looking for the dominant species in order to duplicate it and then rule the world. Along comes brain-dead hick (well, at least that's what the other hillbillies in Coonskin Junction call the poor man) Pete, hunting raccoons with his trusty dog, Bob. But Pete ain't so dumb after all and he tricks the alien into transforming into a raccoon before he gives it both barrels. "The Night Watcher!" is a fun little distraction with some decent Bill Everett artwork. If only they gave poor Bill something to draw other than Pete, Bob, and a smoke monster. Definitely a waste of a master's talent.

In the three-page "They'll Never Find Me," escaped convict Jerry Owens hides in a satellite that is about to be launched into space. Weighing the cops outside his small shelter against fifty years in space, what will Jerry do? Well, I can't tell you that even if I wanted to because the story ends with Jerry's contemplation. In "What Happened to Harry?," the E-12 spaceship lands on Earth after five years in space and authorities are alarmed to discover that only one of the crew made it back and that's Harry. The sole survivor confesses that he had to leave the rest of his crew back on planet Zeno when a duplicate crew of explorers made it impossible to tell which batch were friends and which were foes. The climax is oddly muddled; I thought for sure we were going to be handed the old "the other guys are actually these guys from the past or future" cliche but, instead, no explanation is given.

Ben just has to get away from his wife, Julia, after a typically heated argument. When his car breaks down, he finds shelter in a remote house owned by a kindly old man who invites Ben to stay the night. "But," he warns sternly, "whatever you do, don't go through that door right there... no matter what, just don't open it, ya hear... no way no how should you go through that doorway!" Ben agrees but then finds it hard to sleep so, naturally, he opens the door and enters a misty corridor. 

There he witnesses a grim scene... his wife, Julia, standing over his fallen form, admitting she's poisoned him for the insurance money. He turns away and finds another door. Opening that, he sees himself captured by savage natives, the kind with bones in their noses, after the ship he's sailing on shipwrecks on a deserted island. Suddenly, Ben awakens to find himself in a partially constructed house with workers all around him. They inform him that the house is just now being built; Ben smiles and promises himself he'll find a pay phone to call Julia to tell her how much he loves her. Sure, right after he sees a glimpse of a future where the woman has killed him for his dough. Sounds like someone you want to run back to. The Mooney art reminds me that, aside from Bill Everett's work on "The Night Watcher!," this issue is filled with merely competent art.-Peter

World of Mystery #3

Cover by Bill Everett

"The Bugs!" (a: Angelo Torres) ★★

"Who is Raymas?" (a: Jack Davis) ★★★

"The Mystery Man!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★1/2

"I Received Letters from Nowhere!" (a: Ed Winiarski) ★

"The Man Who Failed!" (a: Manny Stallman) ★

"Nobody" (a: Bernard Baily) ★

A metal thingie resembling the wing of an airplane crashes into the barn belonging to a hick farmer and his young son. The boy insists that the object is a spaceship, but the older man is having none of that. He cuts open a section and inside spots some bugs. The boy once again insists the craft is from outer space and that, with his younger eyes, he can see the "bugs" are actually space travelers. Having had enough of his son's poppycock, the hillbilly tosses the metal into the garbage and orders the boy back into the house. The last panel of "The Bugs!" proves the kid was right. The art of Angelo Torres is so radically different than that of some of the hacks working on the Atlas genre titles that anything sporting its sheen is, like those stories blessed with Everett, Ditko, Heath, and Maneely, eminently more readable despite cliched scripts.

A troop of entertainers, including Raymas the Magician, are forced to work in the factories owned by the stinkin' commies. Unfortunately for the Reds, Raymas begins a reign of mischief, shutting the plant down and forcing the State's leader, Baruta, to sign a peace treaty with a neighboring country. The politics are hazy, as is the meandering script, but the Jack Davis work is solid and the whole thing has an EC vibe to it. In my book, that makes this a standout this month.

Government agent Peter Dennis is tasked with finding an answer to why so many people across the world are sending large sums of money to a Professor Moros, who preaches a belief known as "cosmic harmony." When Dennis finally finds Moros, he tells the professor to denounce his own beliefs and tell the sheep who are sending him dough to put a halt to it. Dennis believes the old man is a crackpot, but an incident at a rally changes his mind. After Dennis is accidentally shot, Moros heals his wounds and begins to fade away, explaining that he will return when mankind is ready to hear his message of peace. The reveal for "The Mystery Man!" is very Klaatu barada nikto, but the graphics by young Steve Ditko are eye candy. Agent Dennis is a dead ringer for Ditko's Norman Osborn.

In "I Received Letters from Nowhere!," Eugene Page buys a ratty old mailbox from an antique store and, when it's installed, the relic spits out recipes for riches. Page's interest is piqued after he makes thousands on the tips received, but when he enlists the aid of postal inspectors, he discovers that the antique dealer has been running a scam. So how did his tips pay off?  In the inane "The Man Who Failed!," an inventor attempting to create a time travel machine accidentally whips up a space travel gizmo, sending him to Pluto. 

A strange being (let's call him "Nobody" for now), oddly dressed in what appears to be a superhero outfit is discovered in the desert and brought to a bevy of scientists for study. The creature cannot talk but, with the magic of word balloons, we discover that his name is Holdar and he's from another dimension. Some of his buddies from Dimension X arrive (they're invisible) and tell Holdar that the pressure from arriving on Earth has caused him to lose his memory. Now that the earthlings have found him and will no doubt yearn to trace his origins, Holdar must make the supreme sacrifice and remain on Earth.

After reading three more crappy Atlas comics,
Peter makes a startling confession

Holdar transforms into human form and regains the power of speech, explaining to the scientists that his name is John Billings and he was exposed to an atomic explosion, which explains his amnesia. The world's most brilliant men all nod in agreement that such a cataclysmic event would cause memory loss and no blisters. They accept Holdar's story, thus adding weight to P. T. Barnum's theory. The good will generated by the art for the first three stories in this issue is erased by the sheer ugliness found in the last three.-Peter

World of Suspense #4

Cover by Carl Burgos

"Something Is In This House" (a: Paul Reinman) ★1/2

"Bait!" (a: Manny Stallman) ★★

(r: Strange Tales #173)

"He's Hiding on Earth!" (a: Robert Q. Sale) ★★

"They Were Reborn!" (a: George Roussos) ★★

"Volcano!"(a: Hy Fleishman) ★1/2

"Brainwash" (a: Bob Forgione) ★★

Phil Evans has a recurring nightmare in which he visits a big house where a maid and a dog both run in fright when they see something that Phil can't see. He wakes up and his wife Julie suggests a vacation, but as they drive, they suddenly see the house in Phil's dream. Phil approaches it alone (because there are some things a man must do alone) and the maid is terrified. Phil confronts her and she tells him that he is a ghost!

When we worked our way through the DC horror comics, we frequently encountered Jack Oleck. I don't recall if his stories were as bad as "Something Is In This House," but this one demonstrates that he must have learned at the feet of the master of confusion and dopey twist endings himself, Carl Wessler. Why does the maid call Phil a ghost? Who knows? It's page four, so it has to be over. Paul Reinman's art is mediocre.

Three scientists take a fishing trip and one hooks a bizarre fish from the depths that appears to have lungs. The boat captain is disappointed in the catch, especially when the trio want to cut the trip short and head back to land with their fish. The creature thinks back to its origin in the time of dinosaurs; when they became extinct, it shrank and hid in the depths of the ocean. Now it will grow again and go on the attack! Well, it would have if the captain hadn't cut it up to use for "Bait!" the next morning.

I'm getting used to Manny Stallman's art, which has an EC vibe in spots. The story isn't much and depends on the reader accepting that the captain is a simpleton.

Professor Duncan lectures his students, suggesting that even though there is no water on Mars, the Red Planet may still sustain intelligent life. A student named Bellows upsets the prof by arguing that any life form that could exist without water must be very simple. At home, Duncan muses about his true identity as a Martian, gathering data for the coming invasion; he catches Bellows snooping outside and follows him to the lake, where the professor confronts the student in a boat and admits that, as a Martian, "He's Hiding on Earth!" The boat tips over and Duncan disappears--Bellows realizes that he must have drowned because Martians would not need to know how to swim on a waterless planet.

Another alien invasion foiled by a simple thing! H.G. Wells must have been rolling over in his grave. Just once I'd like to see an Atlas Martian succeed! Sales's art is average and creates no reader interest or excitement.

Rex Mott and his mob held up an armored truck and stole a half-million bucks, but when a policeman makes a TV announcement that they know who did it and have blocked all exits from the city, Rex is concerned. He sees a TV interview with a scientist who can put people in suspended animation for 200 years, so Rex and the gang seek him out and take a very long nap. Upon awakening, they are greeted by bald men of the future and boast of their crime. One of the future men hands Rex a contract to appear on stage and Rex blithely signs it, only to discover that the whole thing was a fix; they never traveled into the future and his boastful confession was recorded.

I was so convinced that "They Were Reborn!" was a prototype for "The Rip Van Winkle Caper," an episode of The Twilight Zone, that the ending caught me off guard. It's not as clever or effective as Serling's twist, but the premise of this story is so similar to the later TV episode that I wonder, and not for the first time, if the great TV writer secretly read and mined Atlas comics for some of his plots (also see "The Bugs!," above).

Gerald Hawkes is a rich jerk who buys up the leases to the land in a Mexican village and then orders the residents to pay up or get out by tomorrow morning. Gerald has his eye on minerals under the ground, but that night, a nearby "Volcano!" erupts and pours gold nuggets into the village. The next morning, the villagers pay off their leases in gold and Gerald is forced to leave the area.

Simple, silly, and forgetful, the story matches Hy Fleishman's art.

A new American fighter jet being tested over Russia encounters problems and the pilot is forced to land in enemy territory. The plane explodes and the Russkies grill the pilot for details of the new plane, but he refuses to divulge any information. Starvation doesn't work. Depriving him of water doesn't work. He even resists the charms of a sexy agent named Marla. Diplomats order his release and the pilot returns home, where it is revealed that he is a robot and he, not the plane, was what was being tested! He resisted the enemy's attempt to "Brainwash" him!

Not a bad little story, with solid art by Forgione and Abel, this wraps up an underwhelming issue with a minor surprise and some good old anti-Communist themes.-Jack

Next Week...
The 200th Issue of Batman
Has to be Something Special, Right?

Batman in the 1960s Issue 49: January/February 1968

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

Various Artists

Batman #198

"The Origin of the Batman!"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Bob Kane & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Batman #47, July 1948)

"The Jungle Cat-Queen!"

Story by Edmond Hamilton

Art by Dick Sprang & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Detective Comics #211, September 1954)

"The Web of the Spinner"

(Reprinted from Batman #129, February 1960)

"The Man of 1,000 Umbrellas"

Story by Al Schwartz

Art by Jack Burnley & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from the Batman Sunday Syndicate Strip, February 10-March 10, 1946)

"The Crimes of Batman!"

Story by David Vern

Art by Bob Kane, Lew Sayre Schwartz & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from World's Finest Comics #61, December 1952)

"The Menace of False Face"

Story Uncredited

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Batman #113, February 1958)

"The Bandit of the Bells!"

Story Uncredited

Art by Bob Kane & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Batman #55, November 1949)

Another 80-page giant packed with reprints means another chance to read one of the Sunday Comics series from the 1940s, and this one is a hoot. While the actual pages don't carry a title, this issue's table of contents calls it "The Man of 1,000 Umbrellas," so we'll use that. The Penguin's aunt visits Gotham and he enlists the aid of the Dynamic Duo to keep up the facade that he's an upstanding citizen. The sight of her attacking some hoods with an umbrella is great!

Next best is the Catwoman story, beautifully drawn by Dick Sprang and Charles Paris. It's from 1954, so right around the time the Comics Code came into being and, while it's hardly risque, there are still pulp elements to be found. "The Origin of Batman!" is one of a number of retellings of that seminal event, and Bob Kane's art here and on two other stories shows an attractive yet primitive style that reminds me a bit of Gould and Eisner, but without the same level of skill. The rest of the stories are forgettable.-Jack

Peter-I always look forward to these King-Size Batbusters more than the regular fare. The scripts are either overly complicated or very simple, but they're Hemingway compared to the fluff Fox pounds out. In any case, we don't come to these 80-pagers for the words but for the graphics. The 1940s-early 1950s work has a vibrant color and almost noir-ish atmosphere to it that is unbeatable. Just have a look at the panels of Selina in "The Jungle Cat-Queen!" and tell me she ain't a dame to share a drink with. Just one night and she'll be talking you into murdering her rich hubby! Batman and Robin in Tarzan get-ups (plus face masks) is a hoot! In comparison to Dick Sprang's expert penciling, Bob Kane's art (if it really is Kane) in "The Crimes of Batman!" is simplistic and amateurish. Not quite as simplistic as Shelly, but close. 

For trivia buffs, "The Jungle Cat-Queen!" would be Catwoman's last appearance until she was rebooted in the Silver Age and "The Menace of False Face" was the one and only appearance by a rogue who would get a second life thanks to the '66 show. FF would go back into obscurity once the TV fad collapsed.

Infantino/Anderson

Detective Comics #371

"Batgirl's Costume Cut-Ups!"

Story by Gardner Fox

Art by Gil Kane & Sid Greene

Batgirl is hot on the trail of the latest heist Simpletons to terrorize Gotham, the Sports Spoilers, a group of numbskulls who use sporting gear as weapons for their robberies. Babs is about to put the kibosh on the gang when a passing bicycle snags her headpiece, tilting it askew. Fearing it might have mussed her make-up, the Dominoed Daredoll grabs at her mask and thus allows the Sports Swindlers to say "Aloha!"

Batman and Robin arrive, alas not in time, but try their best to console the crestfallen Costumed Countess. She accepts their kind words and hops on her Bat-Bike, motoring off into the night. The next night, the Caped Crusaders follow a tip that brings them to the Gotham River Sawmill and yet another offbeat heist by the Sports Simpletons. Before you ask how much value logs bring in the criminal underworld, let me just point out that the Sawmill also features a metal shop where gold ingots are kept to fashion all those Gotham bowling trophies.

The boys are in the process of rounding up the Sports Clowns when a shriek ripples its way through the evening breeze. The Duo, distracted by the feminine squawk, fall off their logs and into the dangerous current. Luckily, the shrieker turns out to be none other than Babs Gordon, a/k/a Batgirl, come to the Boys' rescue. Alas, as she's about to engage in fisticuffs with one of the Sporties, mud is splashed upon her mask and it's deja vu all over again! Batgirl grabs at her utility purse (Louis Vuitton, natch) and whips out a wet wipe to clean her mucky mask.

For the second time that week, Batgirl's vanity has allowed hardened, albeit imbecilic, criminals to walk away scot-free and necessitates more hand holding from the Dynamic Duo. Babs vows to herself that she'll never allow her good looks to interfere with her side job ever again. A few days later, Dick and Bruce are way under cover, dressed as beatniks (well, at least what Gardner Fox and Gil Kane deem beatniks), when they pick up a clue that the Sporting Sillies will be taking down a festival known as The Royal Happening. 

Sure enough, that night at the Happening, the Gang demand that all festivalgoers pony up their valuables. Batman and Robin arrive just as the last wallet is tossed in the bag and engage in some feisty uppercuts. Suddenly, from out of the shadows, Batgirl jumps into the action. Well, she tries to, until she squeals and admits she's had a run in her tights. All criminal eyes turn to search for skin and Batman and Robin deliver the KOs. The Sportsters are sent right to jail and Batman admits there might just be some advantages to feminine vanity. Batgirl winks at us and admits she tore her uniform on purpose cuz it was the easiest way to get attention from thugs. She then wonders if, since Bats and Robin never even glanced her way, maybe Professor Wertham was on to something.

Quasi feminist that I am, I must take umbrage with Gardner Fox's obvious commentary that the only good superheroine is one with firm breasts, hot gams, and a great ass. How else to take a story where Batgirl, who previously seemed free of "vanity," is suddenly mortified by a tainted cowl and issues "Eeek"s when confronted by a battle? Is this Gardner's pushback against the rising feminism of the late 1960s? Absolutely detestable! (wink wink)

This pre-teen funny book devourer would have laughed and smiled frequently throughout "Batgirl's Costume Cut-Ups!" because it's so ridiculous. Batman and Robin coddling the poor girl only adds to the camp atmosphere that invaded these titles by 1967. The art by Kane, aside from a few... ummm... interesting anatomy twistings, is absolutely first-class, maybe even better than Carmine.-Peter

Jack-I think it's the best art we've seen on a Batman story in the 1960s. I love Kane's page layouts, faces, and character poses. I was expecting Batgirl's sudden attack of crippling vanity to be due to the knock on the head she received early in the story, but no such luck. She's just a typical girl. Am I wrong, or was Barbara Gordon/Batgirl on the TV show less prone to such things?

Infantino/Anderson

Batman #199

"Peril of the Poison Rings!"

Story by Gardner Fox

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella

"Seven Steps to Save Face!"

Story by Gardner Fox

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella

"Operation 'Escape'!"

Story Uncredited

Art by Jim Mooney

(Reprinted from Star Spangled Comics #124, January 1952)

A quartet of clever crooks pose as TV  repairmen in order to rob a millionaire's home, but the Dynamic Duo intercept them and capture three of the four varlets. Crook number four is Rembrandt Dickens, a comic book artist who draws Batman magazine, among other things, and who depicts the failed robbery in the latest issue.

Dickens has devised a poisonous ink that he put into three rings; he gives them to his cohorts with instructions to scratch Batman and Robin during a fistfight, since the poison will cause death within hours. As the burglars rob the House of Clay (valuable clay pots?), they are interrupted by Batman and Robin and, during the melee, Batman's face is scratched by one of the poisoned rings. The crook helpfully tells Batman that he'll be dead in two hours. The Dark Knight recalls seeing the hoods pictured in the latest issue of Batman, so he races from newsstand to newsstand, seeking a copy in hopes that it will hold clues to the "Peril of the Poison Rings!"

Robin finds a copy (probably marked up 500% at a comic shop) and Batman finds a clue that leads him to the studio of Rembrandt Dickens. He quickly dispatches with the artist, finds the chemical formula for the poisoned ink in a file, and rushes to a doctor, who whips up an antidote just in the nick of time.

Once again, a great cover by Infantino and Anderson leads to a letdown of a story by Fox, Moldoff, and Giella. I think I used to visit that same newsstand when I was a kid. I looked up photos of Sheldon Moldoff online to see if Rembrandt Dickens was a self-portrait, but it doesn't seem to be the case.

A gang of thieves are robbing the Southley Art Gallery when Batman and Robin arrive and start using a combination of judo throws and old-fashioned punches to foil the crime! Robin is knocked out cold during the melee and Batman takes him back to the Batcave, only to discover that he's really a circus midget who looks just like the Boy Wonder! Robin pulls off Batman's mask and announces that he is Bruce Wayne; he adds that the rest of his gang are listening through a radio in his belt. The gang planned to knock Robin out and replace him so that they could learn Batman's secret identity.

Batman drives toward the Batcave's exit and uses a Vulcan nerve pinch (or the equivalent) to knock out the faux Robin. The Caped Crusader then embarks on a program of "Seven Steps to Save Face!" He puts the fake Robin back where he found him, finds and beats up the other gang members, and frees the real Robin. He convinces the fake Robin that he dreamed that Batman was Bruce Wayne and it turns out that anti-bugging devices in the Batcave blocked the crook's radio transmission.

Sometimes it seems like all that Batman and his enemies are concerned with is maintaining or revealing his secret identity. It gets tiresome. What made me laugh in this story was the revelation that the person hired to impersonate Robin also had a job as a circus midget!

In addition to the 13-page lead story and the 10-page backup, this issue includes a 6-page reprint of a solo Robin story from near the end of his run in Star Spangled Comics. "Operation: 'Escape'!" finds the Boy Wonder giving a lecture to a crowd of policemen and asking them to figure out how he escaped from a seemingly impossible trap using a few common pieces of sports equipment. Jim Mooney's art is professional but the story is over quickly.-Jack

Peter-Full-throated laughs emitted from this here Bat-reader when the "World's Greatest Detective" recalled seeing the "Peril of the Poison Rings!" bandits in the latest Batman comic book. Was Shelly Moldoff illustrating that one too, since 100% of his felons all look and dress alike? Perhaps when the Caped Crusader phoned the DC office for Rembrandt Dickens's address, he told Julie that the editor needed a better artist and that's why Moldoff is out the door after this issue. Similarly, the "Seven Steps..." story leads off with Batman telling the faux Boy Wonder that he's not the real Robin. Coulda fooled me. 

Adams

Detective Comics #372

"The Fearsome Foot-Fighters!"

Story by John Broome

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella

In a posh apartment in the best part of Gotham, a rich couple are preparing for an extraordinary evening out at the Karonian Festival when Mabel opens the wall safe and finds her jewelry has been stolen! And the thief has left an IOU!

Next day, at Commissioner Gordon's office, the top cop admits he's befuddled by the rash of IOU heists around town. He's put in hours of work on the case but still can't crack it. With a heavy sigh (knowing that Gordon had been spotted golfing at Mar-a-Lago that week), Batman accepts the Commish's challenge to solve the crimes while he attends to more pressing issues. Examining the IOU, Batman deduces that the writing on the notes matches the font he saw on a menu at the Royal Karonian Restaurant. Time to investigate!

He gives recent flame Andrea a call and the pair head to the restaurant. On the way, Andrea berates the billionaire playboy about disappearing in the middle of dessert: "If you ever up and leave me again in the middle of an evening--I'll never go out with you again!! But never!" Perhaps thinking, "If only!," Bruce smiles and drives on. They arrive, are seated, and Bruce examines the menu. Precisely the same writing as that on the IOUs! The couple eat their meal while Andrea hints that Marberry's is having a half-off sale on mink stoles, and then they hit the tiles. 

Suddenly, a fight breaks out in front of the restaurant; two acrobats (we know they're acrobats because Bruce tells us so!) are beating on a cowering man. Bruce hails a cab, tosses the furious Andrea in the back seat, and tells the driver to hit the gas. Unafraid that some passerby might notice that the handsome billionaire can really kick ass, he jumps in, making quick work of the jiu-jitsu, karate-chopping, kung-fu mofos. The victim makes his getaway.

When the assailants awaken, they explain to Bruce that they are Savate* fighters and they were here to apprehend Marne Zoldin, a former despot from Karonia and Bruce has botched the operation. Feeling like a heel, the "World's Greatest Detective" apologizes and then feels bad all day that he helped let the bad guy get away. That night, he calls up the ever-patient Andrea and asks for forgiveness. Could she accompany Bruce to the Karonian Festival for some cool acrobatic displays? 

Andrea agrees but berates the billionaire playboy on the way to the Fest: "If you ever up and leave me again in the middle of an evening--I'll never go out with you again!! But never!" Perhaps thinking, "If only!," Bruce smiles and drives on. They arrive at the arena and are seated. The show starts and, soon after, an acrobat tumbles away from the action and nearly puts the KO on an astonished Bruce Wayne. Suspecting something foul, the "World's Greatest Detective" knows he has to follow up on this. Exiting the building, Bruce hails a cab and tosses a fiery red Andrea in the back and tells the driver to floor it.

He then heads to the back of the building, where he witnesses the acrobats making a sneaky, quiet exit to their creaky old jalopy. Bruce hops in his sports car and tails the Kardashians to their hideout, where he changes into his fighting clothes. Just as he zips up his fly, the acrobats tumble out of their lair and pile into the station wagon, speeding down the country lane. The Dark Knight enters the house and finds a beaten Marne Zoldin, who explains to his rescuer that he was leader of the opposition forces back in Karskadonia and has come to America to raise funds for the Democratic movement back in his country. Batman snickers, says "Yeah, good luck with that" and watches helplessly as the man passes out from his beating. Just as he lapses into unconsciousness, Marne whispers "Gabort!"

The Caped Crusader takes Zoldin to a nearby hospital and then speeds his way to the hotel the man was staying at, feeling in his bones that this is where he'll find the gang of sadistic tumblers. Sure enough! Like a Marx Brothers movie, all 26 of the acrobats come spilling out of the elevator as Bats hits the lobby. After a terrific battle, Batman emerges triumphant. Later, in Gordo's office, Batman learns that Zoldin never recovered from his injuries and his widow has arrived to claim the body. As she departs the office, she vows to carry on her dead husband's work. Batman wishes her the best and tells her if she breaks the law, he'll be there to bring her down. 

Just another in a long line of disposable, no-risk, no-effort adventures, "The Fearsome Foot-Fighters!" is dismal, mind-numbing pablum. Hilarious that the heretofore unheard of Karonia is all over Gotham, including a five-star restaurant! Other than for comic relief, why does Bruce continue to invite this Andrea (a chick we've never met before and probably will never meet again) to these functions when he's there to investigate clues and knows there's a 100% chance he's going to have to change clothes and take on bad guys?

The only plus to this mess is the fact that we don't have to sit through Robin one-liners. You can only grimace while moving your eyes over Shelly's art; by the final panels, Bruce has aged enough to pass for Ward Cleaver. The good news is that this is Moldoff's final month of Batman chores. Though we've dogged the guy for his poor work, I have to admit that learning why his stint ended (he and some other artists and writers asked DC for health benefits and were basically fired for their request) puts yet another foul taste in my mouth for these comic companies. As far as artist chores go, we'll have a carousel of pencilers until Bob Brown establishes residency in a few months. Can't wait to see what we're in for there!-Peter

*Google it

Jack-What a shame it is that Neal Adams just drew the cover and not the story inside! The cover makes this look like an exciting, martial arts battle, while Moldoff and Giella put on a clown show for fourteen endless pages. Looking at Moldoff's bio online, I respect his Golden Age work, but by the 1960s, his attempt to imitate Bob Kane's style had ossified and he added very little to the stories.

Adams

The Brave and the Bold #75

"Batman and The Spectre"

Story by Bob Haney

Art by Ross Andru & Mike Esposito

Bill Loo, the unofficial mayor of Gotham City's Chinatown, welcomes in the Year of the Bat with none other than the Caped Crusader! Bill's son, Danny, takes part in the New Year festivities by playing the electric guitar as swingers dance and enjoy the party. In a nearby alley, a caped figure identifies himself as Shahn-Zi, the River God, and restores his ancient powers by pouring water from the Yellow River over the Wheel of Ming.

A quarter mile away, a giant figure of Shahn-Zi appears and spreads his massive cloak over Chinatown, creating an impenetrable, see-through wall that no one can penetrate. Bill Loo explains that Shahn-Zi is evil incarnate and has "'fantastic powers of the occult.'" Batman is trapped inside the wall, but on the outside, "famed detective" Jim Corrigan is visiting Gotham City to observe its police methods and shares Commissioner Gordon's frustration at the new wall. Corrigan ducks into an alley and summons the Spectre, who is able to pass through the wall and enter Chinatown.

Shahn-Zi explains to Bill Loo that his thousand years of life have passed and now he has chosen Bill's son, Danny, to be his successor. If Bill doesn't agree, the people of Chinatown will be trapped forever inside the wall. Batman promises to help. The Spectre confronts Shahn-Zi and barely escapes with his life, with a little help from Batman. Meanwhile, Bill Loo has resigned himself to giving Danny to the River God, but Batman and the Spectre intervene and confront Shahn-Zi in the underground sewers. The duo manage to defeat the River God and Danny is saved. The wall disappears and the New Year's celebration resumes.

That cover is suitable for framing, isn't it? I always thought that the Spectre was a cool character, so I'm glad to see him join forces with Batman in this issue. The art by Andru and Esposito is above average and the twenty-four-page story flies by quickly.-Jack

Peter-I continue to be less than enthused about Bob Haney's dialogue in these B&B fist-fests; in particular, the "cool cat" lingo that comes out of Danny's mouth is oh so annoying ("Crazzee, man! Wonder what his gig is?"). Having said that, this is an exciting enough adventure and the Spectre is always welcome. The Andru/Esposito art is solid; it's obvious that as long as they don't have to depict unmasked faces, they're on solid ground. For as menacing a menace as Shahn-Zi is, he sure gets defeated fairly easily.

Next Week...
Jack Davis Leads a Stellar Group of Artists...
Now, Can We Get Some Stellar Scripts?