Batman in the 1960s The Final Issue: November/December 1969 + The Wrap-Up!

 

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

Novick

Detective Comics #393

"The Combo Caper!"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Bob Brown & Joe Giella

"Downfall of a Goliath!"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Gil Kane & Murphy Anderson

Well... Dick is about to go to college (it seems just yesterday he was a pre-teen) and that's bringing up the tears and melancholy from Bruce and Alfred. Late one night, the Duo are making their rounds when they notice a light on in the Winslow Mansion. The Winslows are away at their beach property so the boys know something is up. Assuming it's a heist, they swing in through the open second floor window to surprise the thief but the masked man gets the better of them, stealing away in the Batmobile!

But, in his haste, the criminal left behind a clue: a soda pop tab etched with the combination of the Winslow safe! "Golly, Batman, this didn't get manufactured this way!," exclaims the Boy Wonder and the Big Guy pauses and has to agree. Batman tries the combo and, sure enough, the safe opens, revealing lots and lots of money. The thief was interrupted just in time! 

The next morning, Bruce, Dick, and Alfred pack up the car and head for the beach house as a "Last Weekend" celebration for the new college boy. Bruce mentions he first has to make a stop and, soon after, he pulls up to a shady-looking teenager standing on a corner. "Recognize him?" asks Bruce. Dick answers in the positive, "Yep, that's high school drop-out, Skeet Callum!" Master Wayne explains that he's become a member of the "Save a Punk" program and Skeet will be joining them for a weekend of love and rehabilitation. Dick grunts and Al mentally remembers to check the silverware later.

Upon arrival, the four are met by Deena, daughter of the recently burgled Winslows, who own the spread next to Wayne, and she invites them to a party that evening over at chez Winslow. That night, the party gets swinging; Dick and Skeet head down to the beach with Deena while Bruce mingles. Bored housewife Mrs. Winslow introduces Bruce to "world-traveler" Aristotle Onassis Aristide Naxos, whose lavish yacht sits just offshore. After coming on to Bruce, Mrs. Winslow asks him if he could go into the house and retrieve her wrap. While rummaging around, Bruce finds an open safe in the den. Deena drops in just at that moment to cast suspicion on the playboy billionaire. The family jewels have been stolen!

Bruce naturally suspects down-on-his-luck Skeet (even though we know he's way too obvious!) and tells the kid that if he coughs up the jewels, it'll go easier on him. Skeet reacts as all innocent-but-thought-guilty 1960s teenagers would: he exclaims expletives about "the man keeping him down" and "hands off me, rich pig!" and turns his back, walking towards the beach. Knowing he's blown it big time but not letting us know why suddenly he suspects the kid is innocent, Bruce sends Dick after Skeet to smooth things over.

When Dick gets to the beach, he finds Skeet unconscious with a really big bump on his head. Skeet explains that Deena clobbered him after he saw a signal come from the yacht offshore. Adding two plus two and coming up Deena, Bruce and Dick hatch a plan: Dick will grab a surfboard and create a diversion while Bruce (in his Bat-Uni) will sneak onboard and check out the scene. When he's attacked by a couple of thugs, the truth is clear: there are criminals hiding aboard! Batman busts into the Deck below and finds Aristotle  Abraxas the Greek guy and Deena with the jewels. 

The mastermind pulls a gun but Deena kicks it out of his hand, explaining she didn't want anyone to get hurt, she just wanted to punish her parents for being rich and giving her everything she ever wanted, including a beach house, a Corvette, a credit card, and two Dalmatians. But all she ever wanted from them was love, something they just couldn't give. Later that day, Dick visits Skeet in the hospital and gives Bruce's apologies for him, noting that the billionaire would have been there to give those sincere apologies in person but he's just too busy. Batman stands outside the hospital room and realizes it's the end of an era, the end of Batman and Robin.

Well, I for one, would be grateful for that information had I been paying attention in 1969, but the 2025 me knows that the Boy Wonder didn't disappear, he just went on to Teen Titans fame, a back-up, and eventually his own title. Can someone please explain to me why Frank Robbins is suddenly putting dialogue into the Dark Knight's mouth that sounds completely foreign? In this issue he calls his partner "Robbie!" Robbie? And in next month's Batman, Bruce calls his butler "Alf" more than once. I don't see the normally-near-poetic Bruce Wayne contracting names just for the halibut. I love how Bruce emphasizes the importance of the trio having a fun "last weekend" together and then picking up a JD along the way. Another very pedestrian Robbins script meant to highlight the billionaire's big heart but we all know we'll never see poor Skeet again.

Continued from the mini-adventure last issue, "Downfall of a Goliath!" finds Batgirl and Jason Bard chasing down leads in a fatal mugging in the park and finding the clues all lead to a Gotham Guardians player. After a few tussles in the locker room, Batgirl snaps the cuffs on the athlete and his criminal handler. Once again, we find that if you provide us with some pretty pitchers to look at, we don't care how trivial the plot may be. And this is pretty darn trivial. The biggest hoot, for me, was Jason Bard charging into action and, time after time, falling on his face because of his bum knee. "Argggh! Blasted pivot-knee again! Now it's locked! But I know I can still help Batgirl! Damn, there go my arches!"-Peter

Jack-Jason Bard doesn't seem very promising as a new hero, does he? He also doesn't seem like much of a representation of the injured Vietnam vet making his way back into society. Still, as you say, the Kane art is spectacular, so I can forgive some of the story's deficiencies. Not as forgivable is another weak lead script by Frank Robbins. It's too bad the Brown/Giella art isn't as good as the Kane/Anderson art...but it's better than Moldoff.

Novick/Giordano

Batman #216

"Angel--Or Devil?"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Irv Novick & Dick Giordano

In an alley outside the Gotham Theatre, where Ye Olde Avon Players will soon stage a Shakespeare festival, a pretty, young blonde is being menaced by a couple of men when Batman comes to the rescue, only to be knocked out. Back at Stately Wayne Manor, Dick Grayson is in bed with a cold. He reads about the festival and Alfred the butler has a personal interest in the troupe, since one of the actors is his brother Wilfred. Inside the theater, Batman reengages with one of the men from the alley before losing him among the costumed players. On his way back to the Batcave, the Caped Crusader picks up the young woman, who tells him she needs a lift to Wayne Manor!

The young woman identifies herself as Daphne, daughter of Wilfred Pennyworth and niece of Alfred the butler. She explains that the scene in the alley was a misunderstanding and that one of the men was her headstrong boyfriend. Batman drops Daphne off at the front door and Alfred welcomes her. Dick is taken with the pretty blonde and shows her Bruce's collection of rare theater handbills, capped off with the original manuscript for Romeo and Juliet. That night, Daphne sneaks out and returns to the theatre with a wax impression of the key that will allow her boyfriend access to Wayne Manor and the manuscript.

On the evening of the final performance, Bruce, Dick, and Alfred sit in the audience watching the play while Daphne rushes back to Wayne Manor and uses her key to gain entrance. She is caught in the act of stealing the manuscript by Alfred and shoots him when he won't give her the priceless document. Fortunately, the gun is a theater prop that only shoots blanks. Daphne doesn't know this, however, and thinks she's killed her uncle. Bruce returns to Wayne Manor and discovers what's happened just as Daphne delivers the manuscript to her boyfriend, who had been holding her father hostage.

In the end, it's Alfred to the rescue, as he prevents Daphne's boyfriend from skewering her father. Batman takes over and mops up the crooks but it's Wilfred, aided by Dick Grayson, who prevents Daphne from making Juliet's death scene turn real. All is forgiven among the Pennyworths, Dick Grayson, and Batman.

"Angel--Or Devil?" is about as good a Batman story as we're going to get from Frank Robbins, Irv Novick, and Dick Giordano. I found myself captivated as I read and, for once, it was not dull or obvious. Giordano's inks really make Novick's pencils shine and the plot, featuring Alfred's relatives, made sense from start to finish. There's a sequence where Dick shows Daphne the manuscript, which is kept under a bust of Shakespeare that looks just like the one that hid the button to open the doors that hid the elevator to the Batcave in the TV series! I was worried that Dick was going to spill the beans to Daphne, but instead I think Robbins and co. were just teasing readers familiar with the TV show prop. I think the series is heading in a good direction as the decade comes to an end.-Jack

Peter-We all knew Daphne really wasn't a bad girl, despite all the many criminal acts she committed and should have been jailed for. I love how 12-year-old Dick tries to put the moves on the gorgeous blonde, despite it being past his bedtime. Frank Robbins writes 'orrible dialogue for the Brits but then, 'alfway through the adventure, 'e must've 'ad enough and dropped the pidgin English altogether. Thanks mostly to the art, I found this installment very bearable.

Adams

The Brave and the Bold #86

"You Can't Hide from a Deadman!"

Story by Bob Haney

Art by Neal Adams

Why is everyone trying to kill Batman? First Robin points a gun at him, then Commissioner Gordon fires and misses. The Dark Knight quickly deduces that his old friend Deadman must be entering other peoples' bodies and trying to kill him for some reason. After avoiding a slew of random citizens with murder in mind, Batman confronts Deadman and explains that someone must be controlling his actions.

On the other side of the world, in the citadel of the Society of Assassins, the Sensei listens while Willie Smith and Lotus provide an explanation as to what's been going on with Deadman recently. None of it makes much sense, but the upshot is that Willie told Deadman that Batman is his enemy and Deadman is controlled by some sort of hypnotic suggestion.

In Gotham, Batman happens upon Hill Bros. Circus, Deadman's old employer, which is in town. Deadman's brother Cleve is wearing the Deadman suit and doing his act, so Deadman enters his body and requires Batman's aid to prevent him from falling to his death. An Indian dude named Vashnu shows up and summons Deadman to Nanda Parbat, a city somewhere on the other side of the world.

Batman rents a private jet and he and Deadman fly to Nanda Parbat, where Willie Smith and other bad guys try to blow them away. For some reason, Boston Brand seems to be alive but not doing so well; Batman and Deadman track down Smith and his cohorts in a snowstorm and confront the Sensei, who is in a grumpy mood. Batman says bye-bye to Boston Brand and the Sensei stalks off through the snow.

I guess this story made sense to someone at the time but read today it's a garbled mess. Deadman's original run in Strange Adventures had come to an end less than a year before, so I guess Neal Adams wanted to try to wrap up the story by bringing his hero back again not long after his appearance in The Brave and the Bold #79. The art is stunning, perhaps the best single issue's work we've seen in a 1960s Bat comic. That goes a long way toward making up for the incomprehensible story. I'm so glad we decided to cover The Brave and the Bold in this blog, since it's where the greatest Bat-artist ever started drawing our favorite hero!-Jack

Peter-There's a point at the end of this adventure where Cleve Brand thinks to himself, "This whole thing is too much for me!" Brotha, I know where you're comin' from. I couldn't make heads or tails of Bob Haney's story this issue; way too much Rama Kushna and Nanda Parbat for this Deadman rookie. I take Haney to task now and then for his silly plot devices and dopey dialogue but I'll give him massive props for doing research on someone else's character (Arnold Drake and Carmine Infantino were the proud fathers) for a single story. It could not have been easy fashioning a plot around all this goofy mysticism and supernatural backstory. No matter, as I can gaze upon Neal Adams's insanely atmospheric graphics. Once you see Neal's Dark Knight, how could you ever prefer Sheldon Moldoff? This was Neal's last issue of  The Brave and the Bold but he'd return to Batman soon. 

Adams

Batman #217

"One Bullet Too Many!"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Irv Novick & Dick Giordano

Bruce Wayne and Alfred the butler say a sad goodbye to Dick Grayson as he heads off to start his studies at Hudson University. After Dick leaves, Bruce tells Alfred that it's time to shut down the Batcave and vacate Stately Wayne Manor, which is too big for them. They move into an apartment building in downtown Gotham City, where Bruce will inhabit the penthouse suite and manage the Wayne Foundation from offices downstairs.

Bruce visits Dr. Susan Fielding, whose husband was killed by gangsters. Bruce offers an interest-free loan to help her keep running her practice and reappears later as Batman, determined to solve her husband's murder. After Susan provides some clues, Batman goes undercover and spreads the word among the underworld that Susan is going to tell the cops who killed her husband. That night, a killer visits Susan and, when Batman intervenes, he is shot in the arm. A bit of quick deduction leads to the arrest of the killer, but just as Bruce sits down to write Dick a letter, a man enters his office and points a gun at our hero!

Every so often, the Batman series takes a big step forward, and "One Bullet Too Many!" marks one of those steps. Robin heads off to college, remarking that his draft card says he's now a man and ending thirty years of boyhood. Bruce and Alfred are appropriately sad, and this leads to the second big change as Bruce departs from Wayne Manor and the Batcave in favor of a penthouse suite downtown! It's a lot to process in one issue. The crime solving part of the story is less interesting and seems to be a bit of an afterthought, but the fact that it ends on a cliffhanger may indicate some of the influence of Marvel comics on the Caped Crusader.-Jack

Peter-"One Bullet Too Many" is a strictly average adventure with a landmark event--the so-long to Robin. There's a clunky soap opera vibe to the initial Wayne-Dr. Fielding encounter and you almost get the feeling that a future relationship is being set up. But then, Wayne beds every woman in Gotham who isn't over forty. It was obvious that the titles would have to leave the camp behind and embrace the darkness of the early 1970s if they were to survive. The art's not by Neal Adams yet but you can sure feel his presence all over the last issue of Batman of the 1960s.

Adams

Detective Comics #394

"A Victim's Victim!"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Bob Brown & Joe Giella

"Strike... While the Campus is Hot"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Gil Kane & Murphy Anderson

While busy composing a letter to Dick Grayson (who left for college approximately 45 minutes prior), Bruce Wayne is interrupted at his desk in the Wayne Foundation Building by a man calling himself "Dakota." This guy's obviously incensed by something he perceived the billionaire playboy committed since he's holding a loaded pistol under Bruce's nose. Not one to appreciate a handgun in his face, Bruce lets out with a violent kick to the shin and a tussle is underway. Once the fisticuffs end, the two parties decide to talk it out.

Dakota is a Native American race car driver who was shot in the eye while competing against a Wayne Industries car and he was unable to finish the race after a fiery crash. Dakota seems to think Bruce had him shot for either the money or the glory. Bruce snickers and shows Dakota his bank book, putting to rest any notion that the entrepreneur needed the $1400 prize. Bruce promises the guy he'll investigate and get to the bottom of the event.

That night, Batman takes his sleek new Batmobile (a sports car) out of the garage of his new penthouse suite hideout at Wayne Foundation. A glimpse into the hero's mind tells us that he's decided to streamline his entire operation now that Robin is off at college. His new one-way mirrored windows allow him to see out but no one can see in. His fancy new license plate (handed over by the Commish at the Gotham Golf Club the day before) grants him the same immunities to the law that ambassadors have. After a few moments reflecting on how all this helps him fight crime more efficiently (because, well, the Batmobile stuck out like a sore thumb), the Dark Knight arrives at the racetrack.

Walking the track, the Caped Crusader can eerily pull up the scene of the crash even though he was away on business that day. He inspects the Wayne Industries-sponsored car and finds a spent shell casing, undeniable proof that the shot came from within that car. In a wild coincidence, the guilty parties show up to retrieve that evidence and Bats shuts himself in the car. He overhears big time gambler "Chance" Collins and his thugs confess to the shooting for monetary reasons. 

When the goons open the car, Batman pops out and throws a few knuckle sammitches at the trio but they somehow get the better of our brave hero. Just as Chance is about to demonstrate on Batman the trick pistol lodged in the grill of the race car, Dakota bursts in and interrupts, saving Batman's bacon and forcing Chance to exit stage left. The criminal hops in the mothballed race car and almost makes it past "killer curve," the lap where Dakota ate dirt months before, when Dakota forces him off the road. Chance's car bursts into flames, killing him, and Batman and Dakota are left to ponder the frailty of life.

What a dismal, lazy way to end our journey through the 1960s. This is a Frank Robbins special, filled with clunky exposition, dopey dialogue, and a mixed-message climax. Dakota spouts Indian cliches (as does Bruce, who should know better) because Frank learned everything he knew about Native Americans from low-budget 1950s westerns. Batman doesn't even check on the car carrying Chance, instead admitting to Dakota that maybe the gambler had it coming. This is the Batman who doesn't believe in carrying a gun and thinks that "justice shall be served"? This radical revamping of the Dark Knight's surroundings is vapid and takes a lot of the mystique away; worse, it makes no sense. Bruce is "streamlining" because the kid is off at school? Relocating to the middle of the city? How long before one of the rogues gets pictures of Batman exiting his new Formula-1 and traces the vehicle back to Wayne Enterprises? Batman now ostensibly receives the freedom of running red lights whereas before he had to stop at a hard yellow while chasing the Joker van for fear of receiving a ticket? Hokum.

Bruce Wayne and Alfred receive a startling letter from Dick Grayson, who left for college mere minutes before. Just as sure as the world turns and Arnold Ziffel is America's mascot, Dick Grayson runs into trouble on his first day at Hudson Academy. Seems a little riot has broken out on campus but Dick notices the usual sides are reversed. The Dean wants to keep peace, promising he'll call no authorities to break up the protest, but the students' mouthpiece, "Fire Brand" Fran, seems to be firing up the crowd, pushing them toward a confrontation. The police arrive and start busting heads but Dick notices a fatal flaw, immediately recognizing that these cops are phonies. Before he can voice his theory, he's busted over the head and tossed in a squad car.

Dick is dumped in a deserted silo but, luckily, he's worn his "reversible" shirt, which transforms into a complete Robin outfit (don't ask). He makes the change and uses his Bat-rope to escape the silo. He engages in some fist-fighting with a couple of the goons but then reinforcements arrive and he faces a sure TKO. To be continued... "Strike..." is pure Robbins, with all the dreck and dull dialogue that entails. The campus riot was, of course, the go-to plot device in comics as well as television in 1969 but the apex would be reached some months later, after the events at Kent State. We get it, Frank, you are a hip writer guy trying to solve today's problems with a typewriter, but the character swings in Dick Grayson never made much sense. He would go from lingo-spouting teenager to millionaire mama's boy who doesn't trust hippies in the space of a couple of issues. Kane and Anderson do their best (and "Full-Figured" Fran is some of their best) but the team doesn't have much to work with. If you're one of the three people who really dug the Robin back-up, you can read our analysis of said disaster starting here. 

And that's that, the 1960s.-Peter

Jack-Kind of a disappointing final issue for the decade. The art on the Batman story is barely better than what we got from Moldoff and Giella. I'm intrigued by the trend of having more Bruce Wayne and less Batman, along the lines of what was going on in Wonder Woman, where Diana Prince ditched her alter ego. I don't recall a sports car replacing the Batmobile and wonder how long that lasted. The story is straightforward and, while not great, it's better than the art. The Robin story isn't much better and Kane and Anderson aren't doing their best work here either, especially in the shots of Dick's face. At least we get the usual Kane layouts and cheesecake to keep us awake.

THE TEN BEST 1960S ADVENTURES

Batman #180

Peter:

1 "The Creatures That Stalked Batman" (Detective #279, May 1960)

2 "Batman's Interplanetary Rival" (Detective #282, August 1960)

3 "The Mystery of the Man-Beast" (Detective #285, November 1960)

4 "The Menace of the Planet Master" (Detective #296, October 1961)

5 "The Challenge of Clay-Face" (Detective #298, December 1961)

6 "The Flame-Master" (Detective #308, October 1962)

7 "Castle with Wall-to-Wall Danger" (Detective #329, July 1964)

8 "The Million-Dollar Debut of Bat-Girl" (Detective #359, January 1967)

9 "But Bork Can Hurt You" (Brave and the Bold #81, January 1969)

10 "The Senator's Been Shot" (Brave and the Bold #85, September 1969)

Jack:

The Brave and the Bold #85

1 "The Second Batman and Robin Team" (Batman #131, April 1960)

2 "The Blue Bowman" (Batman #139, April 1961)

3 "Bat-Girl!" (Batman #139, April 1961)

4 "Batwoman's Junior Partner" (Batman #141, August 1961)

5 "The Challenge of Clay-Face"

6 "Castle with Wall-to-Wall Danger!"

7 "The Track of the Hook" (The Brave and the Bold #79, September 1968)

8 "The Sleepwalker from the Sea" (The Brave and the Bold #82, March 1969)

9 "The Senator's Been Shot!"

10 "Angel--Or Devil?" (Batman #216, November 1969)

The Best Artist Not Named Neal Adams:

Peter: Carmine Infantino

Jack: Gil Kane

The Worst Story of the Decade:

Peter: "Batman! Drop Dead... Twice!" (Detective #378, August 1968)

Jack: "The Case of the Abbreviated Batman" (Detective Comics #360, February 1967)

Best Cover: 

Peter: Batman #180, Kane/Anderson

Jack: The Brave and the Bold #85, Adams

Next Week...
More Stinkin' Commies!
And Atlas Goes Weekly!