Batman in 1960s Issue 53: September/October 1968

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

Adams

The Brave and the Bold #79

"The Track of the Hook"

Story by Bob Haney

Art by Neal Adams

In a Gotham alley, small-time crook Whitey Marsh is gunned down by a man who has a hook replacing one of his hands. Batman and Commissioner Gordon arrive and examine the body, unaware that Deadman has also come to Gotham City to look for his killer--he's on "The Track of the Hook," since the man who murdered Boston Brand, Deadman's identity before he was killed, also had a hook for a hand. Batman is interrupted by a crusading citizen named "Kubla" Kaine, who criticizes the Dark Knight for failing to uncover the identity of the King, leader of a crime syndicate. Batman and Gordon argue about whether the King is Jack Le Sabre or Big Jim Coltrane. 

Suddenly, a witness to the shooting emerges from the shadows and announces that the killer had a hook for a hand. Deadman thinks that Marsh's killer must be the man he's seeking and he enters the body of a stranger in order to try to convince Batman to look into the murder. Batman gets into a fistfight with the man before Deadman exits the body, and Kaine accuses the Caped Crusader of assault. As Batman leaves, Deadman enters his body to prevent him from getting shot by a gun from a passing car and, when Alfred picks up Batman in his vehicle and takes him home, Deadman learns Batman's secret identity. Before exiting Batman's body, Deadman makes a tape recording that explains his origin and his quest; Batman listens to it and agrees to help him.

That evening, Bruce Wayne attends a dinner at Kaine's house and Deadman accompanies him, going through Kaine's crime files and finding plenty of information on Le Sabre and his syndicate connections. Deadman helps Batman catch up with a stool pigeon, who reveals that Marsh's murderer was brought in from out of town by Coltrane. The duo track down the killer's apartment and find a photo of him that lacks a hook. However, on the back of the photo, the killer is identified as none other than Max Chill, brother of the man who killed Bruce Wayne's parents! Max has sworn to kill Batman; he locates the Caped Crusader and holds a gun on him--and one of his hands has been replaced by a hook! Deadman notices that the hook is on the wrong hand for it to be his killer and it turns out to be fake when it falls off during a fight.

Chill is killed when several slot machines topple over on top of him during the battle, and as he dies, he reveals that he was hired by the Paymaster. Batman and Deadman locate the Paymaster, who is dead, and follow a clue to Kaine's house, where they discover that Kaine is the King--head of the syndicate and boss of both Coltrane and Le Sabre. He and Batman fight it out while Deadman assists by entering a couple of bodies; in the end, Kaine is defeated and Deadman heads out of Gotham to continue his search for the man who made him a wandering ghost.

I don't have to go back through the prior 52 posts to conclude that this 24-page epic is the best Batman story we've read in the 1960s. It won an Alley Award for best full-length comic story of 1968 (tied with the Silver Surfer's origin story, from the first issue of that classic series), and deservedly so--the story is long, complex, and totally engaging. While I prefer Neal Adams's art when it's inked by Dick Giordano, there's nothing to complain about here, since this is easily the finest work we've yet seen. Carmine Infantino was a welcome improvement over Sheldon Moldoff, but Neal Adams is in a whole 'nother ballpark. The addition of Deadman, a great character, is icing on the cake. Now THIS is why we slogged through the '60s!-Jack

Peter-At the risk of hyperbole, let me say that Neal Adams arriving at a dull and lifeless DC Comics in the late 1960s had the same cultural impact as the Beatles visiting America in '64. By 1968, Batman was as washed-up and unreadable as any number of DC superheroes. Though the '66 show had given the comics line a shot in the arm, it wouldn't last and the effect the William Dozier production had on the comic book incarnation of the Caped Crusader was disastrous. True, pre-'66, Batman and Detective were awash with juvenile scripts and below-average graphics, but the success of the show convinced the powers that be that camp was the way to go. Neal Adams's depiction put the dark back into the Dark Knight for the first time in years.

I'm sure fans were divided; hundreds of thousands were buying both titles every month so there had to be somebody out there who was perfectly happy with Shelly Moldoff's stiff caricatures and empty backgrounds, along with Gardner Fox's baffling, sometimes headache-inducing scripts. Neal Adams's arrival synched perfectly with the collapse of the network show and the mass exodus of comic readers from Batman and 'tec. Once the circ numbers dropped significantly, chances could be taken and that's where Neal came in. Thank God.

It's evident right from the start in this, Adams's second full-length Batman adventure (the first was a Superman team-up in World's Finest), that we were in for something new (the only other contemporary artist who could touch the atmosphere NA created was Steranko, who had been camped out at Marvel doing Nick Fury), with virtually every panel telling a story rather than just taking up space. I'm not a huge fan of Bob Haney's scripts (his Batman dialogue still sounds off) but I am looking forward to seven more issues of Neal Adams goodness in The Brave and the Bold!

Novick

Detective Comics #379

"Two Killings for the Price of One!"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Bob Brown & Joe Giella

In the exciting conclusion to last issue's equally-exciting (sarcasm alert!) "Batman! Drop Dead... Twice!," we find the Dark Knight arriving to save Robin, who's been hung out to dry forty floors above the Gotham streets by a JD named Chino. After some derring-do, Bats swings into the room housing the aforementioned Chino, who tries to ventilate the Caped Crusader (pay attention to that part) and then successfully kicks him out the window and into the nearby harbor waters. 

Chino immediately gets on the phone and crows to his mobster boss, Salvo, that he's iced the Batman and now demands respect from the underworld (pay attention to that, too). Salvo scoffs at Chino's boast and offers up the reasoning that Batman is right now lying dead on his rooftop. Just then, that Batman rises from the grave and belts the fake Robin standing over him (try to keep up, please, I'm doing my best). He belts the Rusty Robin and then hops in the Bat-Copter, with a mission to save Robin (though how he knows where his partner is and what kind of danger he's in is anyone's guess). 

Batman arrives to find the Boy Wonder held hostage, gun to his head, by the deadly delinquent, Chino (again, this is a part that you may want to remember). With some nifty footwork and crafty partnering, Batman and Robin reverse the roles and Chino finds himself the captive. Robin wonders aloud who the other Batman was and the Real Deal inquires as to the whereabouts of said phony.  Robin swings over the dock and finds a harried Alfred, still partially disguised in cape and cloak, in a giant net in the water. Batman laughs out loud and explains the whole tawdry affair to his junior partner. To make a long story even longer, Bats had Alfred (y'know, the 70-year-old, out of shape butler?) suit up and head out in the Copter to save Robin's fat. That extra suit must have a whole lot of muscular padding!

Anyway, while the Wayne Manor trio are guffawing about their masquerade, Chino escapes, jumping in the Batmobile and racing away. Salvo arrives just in time to run the kid off the road and, just as his henchmen are about to put a bullet in Chino's drug-addled brain, Batman and Robin arrive and drop a huge net over the lot of them. It's a rat trap... and they've been caught! Later, at police headquarters, Batman convinces Gordon that Chino is just an errant youth looking for affection and should be taken in by a loving family. On cue, the door opens and Mr. and Mrs. Champion (!) arrive to meet their new ward. Back at Stately Wayne Manor, Dick apologizes to Bruce for being such a Dick and the two share an apéritif, toasting their renewed partnership.

The very definition of padded, this two-part behemoth barely had enough story for a six-page vignette. To add insult to injury, it's confusing as all heck with all its Batmans and Robins. This installment forced me to pay attention. Not a good thing. Chief among the chuckles this issue is Batman assuring Gordon that Chino is a good kid who just took a wrong turn in life, this despite attempted murder, kidnapping, assault, and breaking and entering. I figure Bats probably assumed the kid would be sentenced to life in a Gotham penal institution and be back on the streets in three issues anyway. That Al... pretty resilient guy. And when he puts on that suit, we never get the hint that it's twenty pounds of potatoes in a ten pound sack. He's suddenly got the exact build, the same fighting skills--hell, he's even got the chiseled chin. Neal Adams can't get here fast enough. A rare shout-out on the splash page to the men who really whipped up this issue. As much as we dog Fox and Brown (and Moldy and etc.), they actually toiled over the work rather than the legendary Bob Kane, who did nothing but collect paychecks every month from DC.-Peter

Jack-Not surprisingly, I liked this one more than you did. The Brown and Giella art is a welcome relief after years of Moldoff's stodgy pencils, and at least Robbins can tell a story longer than 14 pages that keeps me interested. I had no idea who the second Batman was and am skeptical that Alfred could pull off such a great impersonation. I thought Robbins wrapped things up too quickly. For me, the addition of Robbins, Novick, and Brown marks the start of the great period of Batman that we parachuted into the middle of when we started our prior journey with the January 1970 issues.

Novick

Batman #205

"Blind As a... Bat?"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Irv Novick & Joe Giella

Batman manages to avoid being shot by a fake blind man in an alley, while Robin is thrown from the top of a speeding truck and lands safely in a banner. He observes millions of dollars in gold bars being loaded onto an armored car that is soon unable to move because the streets are blocked with mobs of blind men. Back in the alley, Batman switches outfits with the fake blind man who attacked him and the cops arrest the faux Batman.

Disguised as a blind man, Batman discovers that the dark glasses worn by the fakes allow one to see but block harsh light. Batman prevents the Schemer from transferring the gold from the armored car to his helicopter and is picked up by Alfred in the Bat-Copter, but not before the Schemer captures the Boy Wonder and flies off with him. The Schemer takes Robin to his hideout, which is concealed in a submarine hidden under a duck blind in a marsh. The armored truck drives onto a cargo plane and the Schemer plans to shoot it down with a missile!

From the Bat-Copter, Alfred and Batman locate the Schemer's sub and Batman is lowered to a position atop it. Robin is tied to the top of the sub so that he will drown if it submerges, but Batman manages to overcome the villain and his crew of fake blind baddies, rescue Robin, and joke around with Commissioner Gordon.

It's been noticeable lately how involved Alfred has been with the Batman adventures--it's almost like he's the third man on the team! Curiously, he always wears the same purple jacket, purple bow tie, and purple and black striped trousers. If I didn't know that he used to be a British secret agent, I'd think he was unqualified for all of this activity!-Jack

Peter-The script for "Blind As a... Bat?" is no worse nor better than the usual Bat-Adventure in 1968 (well, it is better than both the issues of 'tec this month) but I got a kick out of the Schemer's Bond-influenced hidden submarine and the staking of Robin on the deck of the sub. The scope of his plan sure exceeded his reach though and, in the end, I didn't quite get the whole blind man distraction. Oh, and let's add "Batman becomes hunted by the law" to the pile of overused plot contrivances. Sharp cover.

Novick

Detective Comics #380

"Marital-Bliss Miss!"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Bob Brown & Joe Giella

There's a loud knocking on the front door of Wayne Manor. Both Al the Butler and Dick the Boy Wonder answer to find a comely redhead who introduces herself as the new Mrs. Bruce Wayne! "WTF...?" mutter the dazzled duo, jaws agape. Taking the girl's word (I mean, she could be the real deal, right?), Al admits her into Bruce's sanctum, where he's currently dumping all his ABC-TV stocks. To the amazement of Al and Dick and the delight of the babe, Bruce admits that, yes, he and Ginny were secretly wed while he was away on business. "Well, of course!," mutters Dick.

When the loving couple are alone, Bruce drops his smile and asks the girl what's really up since, sure, he tied a few on that night and hit the sack with several unnamed escorts, but marriage? Nope! Ginny admits that her big brother, Jim Jenkins, CEO of the Geriatric Research Institute, overheard her brother making threats on the life of Bruce Wayne and figured Jim would never murder her husband. Makes sense.

Wayne visits Eugene Driscoll, the treasurer of his company, grills him as to the nature of one Jim Jenkins and gets the full rap sheet: Jenkins owns GRI and applied for grants from Wayne Foundation several times but was never accepted because of his shady business practices. Later, that night, Batman heads to GEI headquarters to investigate. He interrupts a robbery of the company safe just as Jenkins enters and takes a couple of shots at the Dark Knight. During a scuffle, Jenkins is shot and killed. But by whom?

Just then, Ginny happens in with a piece of her own and aims at Bats, screaming "You murdered my brother!!!!" Quickly debating whether he can kill two birds with one stone and get rid of his first (albeit fake) wife before the honeymoon, Batman takes the high road (?) and wrestles the gun free from Ginny's grasp, explaining that there was someone else in the room at the time of the altercation. It was that mystery man who ventilated Jim Jenkins.

Rifling the still-open safe, Batman comes across a clue that leads him to the home of current Wayne Foundation treasurer and ex-bank president Eugene Driscoll. In a switch on the typical confession, Driscoll whips out a gun, sets his sights on Batman, and tells him the truth: he and Jenkins robbed a bank years before and Jenkins has used the info to blackmail Driscoll. With Bruce Wayne dead, Driscoll would become trustee of Wayne Foundation! Holy complications! With the help of Ginny, who distracts the murderous treasurer, Batman connects with a killer right and slaps on the cuffs. Later that week, Ginny sues Bruce Wayne for divorce.

"Marital-Bliss Miss!" is the latest in a long line of Batman adventures vying for Worst of the Year contender. Not much of this makes sense and the bit that does is lame. To what end does Bruce falsely confess to Al and Dick that he tied the knot? What would Ginny do if her accusations were met with a slammed door? And how the heck does a murderer become CEO, treasurer, and future trustee of the DC Universe's biggest company? Granted, there was no internet in 1968, but wasn't there rigorous vetting for super-important jobs? And how long has he been CEO? Just long enough to figure in this plot, I'd guess. Stay tune for next month's update when Lex Luthor takes over Wayne Industries.-Peter

Jack-This time out, the art was better than the story. Ginny is a cute gal and there's an effective sequence where Batman fights Jenkins. Other than that, this is one forgettable tale.

Next Week...
The First Atlas Jack Kirby Strip
of the Post-Code Era!