Batman in the 1970s Part 43: July and August 1976

by Jack Seabrook

& Peter Enfantino

Batman 277 (July 1976)

"The Riddle of the Man Who Walked Backwards!"
Story by David V. Reed
Art by Ernie Chua & Tex Blaisdell

Even while vacationing in Florida with a gorgeous doll named Susan, Bruce Wayne can’t avoid crime! He sees a sea monster rise from the ocean waves and investigates, only to be knocked out in a beachside cave. When he awakens, he is dressed as Bruce Wayne and the police arrest him for the murder of a fisherman. Bruce escapes from prison and Batman finds some dope smugglers on a boat. They toss him down a pipe underwater, but he manages to escape once again and bring the crooks to justice.

Jack: A great BEM cover highlights this fun issue, which features a little more of Bruce Wayne than we’re used to. I love a good sea monster story, and I also like seeing Bruce with a girlfriend who is more than just the usual bimbo. Monsters like the one seen here were running out of steam in the comic book world by this time—Marvel’s Man-Thing had been canceled the year before and DC’s Swamp Thing would be canceled later in 1976.

PE: You might love a good sea monster story but this ain't it, Jack!  The creature is actually one of the hoods and I'm assuming they're using this disguise to scare away any nosey ninnies. Sounds more like a certain Saturday morning cartoon featuring a talking dog and his hippie buddies to me. I find it hard to swallow that Bruce Wayne would say "There ain't no such animal." Silly little thing, I know, but it bothers me. Even harder to swallow would be Batman having Alfred bury him in the sand rather than hide behind the rocks with binocs. And what kind of romantic getaway is it if you have to bring your butler with you? This spoiled millionaire can't open a bottle of champagne or spoon some caviar onto a cracker by himself? In our final panel, he asks his gal, Susan, if they can skip a kiss and "go on from there." Ostensibly, Alfred is behind the bushes just in case he's needed. Batman's dispatching of one of the hoods via a huge monkey wrench around the neck is almost Michael Fleisher-esque!  And a million thanks to Julius Schwartz for letting us know that "skam" is underworld slang for "scheme, caper!" We'd have been lost without ye, ed.

"I'm gonna get me one"???

Detective Comics 461 (July 1976)

"Bruce Wayne--Bait in a Bat-Trap"
Story by Bob Rozakis & Michael Uslan
Art by Ernie Chua & Frank McLaughlin

There's some concern that Bruce Wayne has been kidnapped by an unknown party. Since Batman spends quite a bit of time with Wayne he's sure that the millionaire playboy is fine but he puts on the charade of looking for him anyway. His "search" leads him into the sewers where he's attacked first by rats and then Captain Stingaree. The Dark Knight is captured but when the evil captain unmasks him, he's revealed to be Robert Courtney!

Jack: Part two of the Captain Stingaree story is better than part one. Seeing Batman down in the sewers below Gotham City surrounded by rats is certainly an exciting visual, and I have to admit I'm curious as to how he is managing to get one of the Courtney Brothers to appear each time he's unmasked.

PE: I couldn't make heads or tails of this story. I'm still not sure what the point of Stingaree's plot is. Hopefully we'll find out in the concluding installment next issue. The art is running hot or cold. Chua (Chan) and McLaughlin excel at presenting Batman but crash mightily at "human" characters (then again, that pretty much goes for most of Batman's artists, doesn't it?). That cover is one of the biggest cheats of 1976, but it is a damn good cover. We don't get to see thousands of rats dine on The Batman. He scarcely pays attention when he encounters them. It is a good cover though. Robert Courtney is a dead ringer for Vic Morrow.

Blink and you'll miss 'em

"The Moneybag Caper!"
Story by Denny O'Neil
Art by Pablo Marcos & Al Milgrom

Tim Trench agrees to chauffeur mobster Big Willy Cline to the airport for a measly five hundred. On the way, they're ambushed and Willy is mowed down by machine-gun fire. In the end, as with all big mobsters, Willy was set up by his own henchman.

PE: I love how Tim Trench pretends to have scruples. He refuses to take Big Willy's money, thinking it's dirty dough, until Willy assures him it was earned at his own laundromats. Lots of humor throughout its too-short 6-page length. After Willy's goon sets him up and Trench figures the score, the man wants to know what happened to the 500 bucks. We see it being carted away in the jaws of a seeing-eye dog.

Jack: Another terrific little Tim Trench tale, with pouring rain, lots of violence, hard-boiled dialogue, double crosses, and most everything a guy like me likes to read. Trench's office is above a run-down movie revival house that is showing Duck Soup. I really hope we see more of Mr. Trench in Detective!

PE: Sorry, Jack, th-th-that's all for Tim Trench. I'm afraid we'll be back to the thrilling adventures of The Overly-Elongated Man next issue. You might be interested to know that Tim Trench made a few appearances in the DC Universe post-1976, eventually meeting his maker in the series 52 back in 2006.

Jack: Notice the banner across the top of the covers of the July 1976 issue. There were 33 comics in all that sported the banner that month, and if you cut off at least 25 and mailed them in you would get a Superman belt buckle. You would also mutilate your comics. By July 1976, I was 13 years old and old enough to know better, unlike about 6 years before, when I was cutting out the coupons for Palisades Amusement Park.

Batman 278 (August 1976)

"Stop Me Before I Kill, Batman"
Story by David V. Reed
Art by Ernie Chua and Tex Blaisdell

Inspector Kittridge is visiting from Scotland Yard and works on a case with Batman. A madman called the Wringer twists the heads off of a series of increasingly large dolls and he tries to remove Batman’s cranium as well! Inspector Kittridge gets it all wrong, but Batman figures out the obscure clues and prevents the madman from murdering the stockbroker who lost all of his money.

Jack: Much like the prior issue of Batman, this is harmless fun. The visiting British inspector adds a foil to the Caped Crusader, who seems to go around talking to himself a lot ever since Robin went off to college six years ago. The Wringer, who is so named because he wrings necks, is torn between carrying out his murderous plan and providing Batman with the clues necessary to prevent him from doing it. I’m not sure why the Wringer got tongue-tied when he tried to talk to Batman, but the story is fun in any case.

PE: It is silly nonsense but it's an entertaining read, something I'll latch onto and cherish around this place. The Wringer is a dead ringer for the old Daredevil villain, The Jester (who was a rip-off of The Joker, so fair play I say), and gets his name just like all the old Marvel villains. The Inspector names him: "Back in London, we once had a Jack the Ripper... you might call this one Jack the Wringer!" and Batman concurs: "Good name... The Wringer." The Throttler, The Mannequin-Killer, and The Neck-Squeezer were already taken. 

Kind of how we feel after reading
almost seven years of Batman comics!

Detective Comics 462 (August 1976)

"Kill Batman--In Triplicate"
Story by Bob Rozakis & Michael Uslan
Art by Ernie Chua & Frank McLaughlin

Batman finally gets to the bottom of the Captain Stingaree case after he finds Robin delivered to City Hall in a giant ice cube. While thawing out The Boy Wonder, Batman notices he himself is starting to freeze up.  He quickly has the final Courtney brother, Jerome, dress as The Dark Knight so that he can become a human popsicle and be carted off to Stingaree's hideaway. There the real Batman saves the day and explains that he's been assisted by The Flash throughout this adventure.

Jack: So much happens in these eleven pages that it's a shame it makes very little sense. Captain Stingaree was the black sheep fourth Courtney brother who decided his three brothers must be sharing Batman's secret identity? Batman gets the Flash to help him by tricking the Captain into thinking there were actually six Batmen? My head is beginning to hurt. At least the pictures look nice. We hadn't seen Robin in awhile and it was good to have him swing by for a visit. This story is only ten pages long. Can that be right?

PE: Rubbish, absolute rubbish. Does The Flash's involvement explain how Batman was able to escape and leave a Courtney brother each time for capture? This story line was so confusing and dim-witted (The Batman brings in The Flash and triplet investigators?) that I think I'd rather read a sequel to the Underworld Olympics saga. Did I just say that?



"Clue of the Talking Orchid!"
Story by Bob Rozakis
Art by Union Studio & Vince Colletta

On the way into a movie premiere, Sue Dibny is given an orchid to wear. Once she and Ralph sit down, they notice the orchid is talking. Smelling a rat, Ralph Dibny changes into his Elongated Man outfit and goes to investigate. He discovers the woman who gave Sue the flower actually isn't a woman and isn't a very nice guy to boot. He claims that an associate has kidnapped Sue and will kill her unless Elongo does a dirty job for him but some good ol' ingenuity saves the day.

Jack: The story isn't half bad, but whoever was part of the "Union Studio" that pencilled this short story never appeared again under that name, according to the DC Comics database. It's a good thing, because the art is pretty weak. One panel looks like an Infantino swipe, and much of it looks a little bit like Schaffenberger, but I can't say for certain who pencilled this or how much Colletta had to do to clean it up. This story is six pages long, making the new material in this issue a mere 16 pages, unless I'm missing something.

PE: I'd have to say that, despite its obvious aim at the nine-year olds, this was the most entertaining Elongated Man story I've read thus far. Now, to qualify that statement, before I read this installment I'd have said six blank pages were more entertaining than an Elongo story, but there's some bits here to like. Chief among them would have to be the truly queasy shot of our hero's elongated eyeballs serving as periscopes.

Are there any copies still floating around?

PE: Just something else Bob Kane put his name on and probably had nothing to do with. Was Bob Kane the Milli Vanilli of the comic book world?

Ray Bradbury on TV Part Seven-The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: "The Life Work of Juan Diaz"

by Jack Seabrook

“The Life Work of Juan Diaz” was the seventh and last episode of the Hitchcock series either written by Ray Bradbury or based on one of his stories. The story was published in the September 1963 issue of Playboy and reprinted in Bradbury’s 1964 collection, The Machineries of Joy. It begins as Filomena, a Mexican woman, slams the door of her adobe home in the face of the gravedigger, who has just told her that he will dig up her husband’s mummified body and place it in the catacomb. Her eldest son, nine-year-old Felipe, objects, but she is resigned to fate. The hot sun and dry earth in her Mexican village turn corpses into mummies in just a year and the gravedigger exhibits them to American tourists.

Pina Pellicer as Maria

Filomena and Felipe walk to the Official Palace to visit her cousin Ricardo, the chief of police. It has been a year since Juan died and the rent on her husband’s grave is due, but Filomena cannot pay it. They walk to the graveyard, which stands on the highest hill overlooking the village. Ricardo pleads with the gravedigger but is rebuffed. The next day, children tease Felipe, whose father now stands against the catacomb wall, one mummy among many. Filomena recalls her husband’s last month; as he was dying, he promised to protect and care for her even after death. She watches as tourists pay the gravedigger to visit the catacombs.

That night, she and Felipe break into the catacombs and steal Juan’s mummified body. The next day, the gravedigger appears at her door with her cousin Ricardo, accusing her of stealing the mummy, but she explains that is only a “life-size toy” made of “paper and flour and wire and clay” (the list of materials recalls Thedy’s list of what was used to make the thing in “The Jar”). Ricardo agrees with his cousin and the men leave, the gravedigger angry but unwilling to spend years in court pressing his case. Filomena plans to charge tourists to see her new museum exhibit. In this way, Juan will provide for his family long after his death. She asks his forgiveness and thinks she sees him smile in the flickering candle light.

Jorge explores the catacombs

Bradbury adapted his story for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and the show was broadcast at 10 PM on NBC on Monday, October 26, 1964, the fourth episode of the final season of the series, one week after the classic Robert Bloch episode, “Water’s Edge.” “The Life Work of Juan Diaz” starred Alejandro Rey as Juan Diaz, Pina Pellicer as his wife Maria, Larry Domasin as his son Jorge, Valentin DeVargas as Maria’s brother Ricardo, the police chief, and Frank Silvera as Alejandro, the grave digger. In adapting the story for television, Bradbury used the skeleton of the tale to expand and flesh out his story, creating an hour-long film that had at least one scene that ranks with the great moments of suspense on television.

Bernard Herrmann’s powerful score sets the scene right away as it blasts over the opening credits, using a four-note phrase reminiscent of Bizet’s Carmen to create an ominous theme. Unlike the story, in which the title character only appears alive in his wife's memory, the show begins with the living Juan Diaz collapsing on his way home, dropping and breaking a load of sugar skulls, upset more at the loss of profit than at his own illness. Death surrounds him and his family—a carpenter looks on as he pauses in his work of finishing a coffin, and the gravedigger escorts a group of American tourists out through the cemetery gates, after having toured the “kingdom of the dead.”

Frank Silvera as Alejandro

Diaz enters the cemetery and bargains with the gravedigger, paying rent in advance on his grave for a period of two years. The change from one year in the story to two years in the show is significant, since the gravedigger’s later act of deception justifies Maria’s theft. Alejandro the gravedigger shows Juan his catacombs, a passageway beneath the graveyard that is lined with the mummies of former local residents whose families failed to make rent payments on their graves. The catacombs are dark, the only light coming from a candle held by Alejandro; they are frightening at mid-day but will be even more terrifying at midnight. Alejandro calls the mummies “my friends,” and addresses them by name. The scenes in the catacomb are the highlight of “The Life Work of Juan Diaz,” and it is surprising to read the story on which it is based, only to discover that there are no scenes that take place in the catacombs at all!

Valentin DeVargas as Ricardo

At home in their small adobe house, Maria tends to the dying Juan as their three children look on. The performances are adequate but no better than that; Rey, Pellicer and the children do not represent the episode’s strong points. Other than Frank Silvera, who is a standout as the gravedigger, the best work in the show comes from behind the camera—writing, direction, camerawork and music are all excellent.

The story resumes a year later, as Alejandro speaks to the late Juan Diaz at his grave and declares his contract “done.” Alejandro visits Maria to tell her that “the year is up” and the rent is due. She argues that her husband paid for two years, but without a signed paper she has no recourse. So far, everything that has occurred in the show comes before the beginning of the story on which it is based. Maria then visits her brother (cousin, in the story) to ask for help in a scene that follows the story closely. She and Ricardo visit Alejandro at the cemetery, finding him in the act of excavating Juan’s grave. The scene is well-staged by director Norman Lloyd, with Maria, Ricardo and Jorge standing above the grave while Alejandro is six feet below them, down in the open hole. The contrast between the status of even the poorest members of society and that of the gravedigger could not be more evident, recalling a similar dichotomy in Kurosawa’s High and Low (1963). Alejandro makes an elegant case, calling Juan “a traveler in death’s kingdom who paused to rest awhile here in this little room.” The irony of this story is that the most eloquent character is the gravedigger, who occupies the lowest rung of society’s ladder; Frank Silvera’s performance in the role dwarfs the performances of the other actors in the show.

Larry Domasin as Jorge

The next day, the children tease Jorge, daring him to go down into the catacombs to see his father. Jorge bravely descends into the land of the dead, a flower in his hand. In the episode’s second trip into the underground passageway, Jorge finds himself among the dead, locates his father’s mummy and places the flower in his dried hand. The mummy, which bears an uncanny resemblance to the living actor Alejandro Rey, does not reply, but when Jorge leaves the mummy’s arm seems to move, and the flower drops from its hand. The music is evocative in this sequence, as a subdued version of the central four-note theme adds to the scene’s pathos.

That night, Jorge and Maria return to the cemetery, where Alejandro sits, drunk. A creaking gate begins to build tension. Jorge hides behind a large cross, his arms outstretched in a heavy-handed bit of Christian symbolism. He and his mother descend into the catacombs, followed by the drunken Alejandro. They hide among the mummies as the gravedigger talks to himself, edging ever closer to where the boy cowers. Alejandro speaks to the mummies in the dark and suspects he has a living visitor: “do my dead ones breathe?” he asks. This is the scene toward which the entire episode builds. Alejandro speaks to Juan Diaz, challenging him but getting no reply. He lights a match to look at the mummy more closely, but the child blows it out, leading Alejandro to fear that the puff of breath emanated from the mummy. This scene is brilliantly played by Silvera, with lighting and music creating the perfect mood of terror. Afraid, Alejandro leaves the catacombs, pursued by the mummy of Juan Diaz—the gravedigger, drunk and afraid, does not notice that it is by carried and propelled by Jorge, his mother following close behind. The somewhat fanciful nature of this scene is unimportant—it is frightening, exciting, and just—the cheater himself is cheated.

Alejandro Rey as Juan

Alejandro arises and realizes he has been robbed, his screams of anger echoing up from the catacombs. He takes Ricardo to the Diaz home, where he accuses Maria of theft, but she does not relent. Maria hangs a sign outside her house advertising The Juan Diaz Museum, and American tourists file past Juan’s mummy, depositing money in a bowl and ensuring the future of the little family that looks on from a corner of the room. Marie speaks to her husband’s mummy, much as Alejandro once did, and begs his forgiveness. The camera lingers on the mummy’s face, as a light of assent appears to shine in its eye.

“The Life Work of Juan Diaz” is an uneven episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Other than Frank Silvera, the acting is average at best. The script has moments of Bradbury’s trademark lyricism, but the program drags in spots, especially in early scenes involving Juan Diaz and his family. Norman Lloyd again directs, as he did in many of the Bradbury episodes, and he does a wonderful job of building and sustaining tension. The climax at night in the catacomb is staged brilliantly, with director of photography and Hitchcock regular John L. Russell providing just the right amount of light and shadow as the scene begins in darkness and is then briefly lit by the matches Alejandro strikes. Bernard Herrmann’s score is excellent from start to finish, though one wishes there were more of it to be heard in a few of the duller scenes in the Diaz home. This episode is not as solid from start to finish as “The Jar,” but the best scenes rival any scenes of classic television horror.

Alejandro Rey (1930-1987) was six years younger than the character he played (the grave marker reads 1924-1962) and was born in Argentina. He came to the U.S. in 1960 and acted in only one episode of the Hitchcock series, along with two episodes of Thriller. He was best known for his starring role in The Flying Nun from 1967 to 1970.

Frank Silvera (1914-1970), who gives such a convincing performance as a Mexican gravedigger, was actually an African-American actor whose complexion allowed him to play numerous ethnic roles. He appeared in one other episode of the Hitchcock series, as well as in single episodes of Thriller and The Twilight Zone. He died when he was electrocuted at home while trying to repair his kitchen sink’s garbage disposal!

Pina Pellicer (1934-1964) had a brief career, lasting from 1960 to 1964, and appeared in five movies and three TV shows. She took her own life on December 4th, not long after this episode aired.

Valentin DeVargas (1934- ) played Ricardo, the police chief, and was in only this episode of the Hitchcock series. He has appeared in numerous TV episodes and is still acting.

Finally, Larry Domasin (1955- ) played the key role of Jorge, Maria’s son. He acted in movies and on TV from 1962-1967, appearing in just this episode of the Hitchcock series.

The paucity of roles for Hispanic actors at this point in Hollywood history likely explains why these actors and actresses were not seen in other shows of Alfred Hitchcock Presents or The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, with the exception of Silvera, who made only one other appearance on the series.

“The Life Work of Juan Diaz” has never been remade for TV or film, yet Larry Rapchak, who has written for this blog, adapted it as a chamber opera; a CD may be purchased here and one may also listen to free samples online.

Watch "The Life Work of Juan Diaz" online.

Sources: 

Bradbury, Ray. "The Lifework of Juan Diaz." 1963. Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales. New York: William Morrow, 2003. 751-60. Print.

"Galactic Central." Galactic Central. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2012. <http://philsp.com/>.

Grams, Martin, and Patrik Wikstrom. The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion. Churchville, MD: OTR Pub., 2001. Print.

IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2012. <http://www.imdb.com/>.

"The Life Work of Juan Diaz." The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. NBC. 26 Oct. 1964. Television.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2012. <http://www.wikipedia.org/>.

The Caroline Munro Archive: Oui, April 1973

by John Scoleri

Welcome to the latest installment of another one of our semi-regular features on bare•bones, in which I feature rarities from my Caroline Munro collection. This time out I'm featuring a unique, albeit brief, interview with Caroline from Playboy's sister publication, Oui.

Oui
Vol. 2, No. 4
April, 1973
Page 18

New sex symbol discusses leeks

Does Caroline Munro have the power to cloud men's minds? Is it her unnerving habit of serving Scotch neat in a large wine glass? Her extreme height? Could it possibly be her boobs? Would you like at least one declarative sentence instead of all these questions? Hang in there.

A cheery, wholesome English lady gave birth to a girl 23 years ago in Brighton. She named her Caroline.

A happy, contented child, Caroline Munro ate all her porridge and grew up into a sex symbol. This was not widely known at the time. Barring a worldwide epidemic of glaucoma, it will be known sooner or later. Caroline married American pop singer Judd Hamilton at the age of 17 and became a fashion model. An American movie mogul, thumbing through a copy of British Vogue, eyeballed a picture of Caroline and fell right off the crapper.

"One inch equals one foot"

Caroline is now taking a breather (and you have never seen anyone breathe until you've seen Caroline Munro breathe) from her fifth film, Sinbad's Golden Voyage—a good old-fashioned hokey epic in which she co-stars with John Phillip Law, and gets her first screen kiss, such as it is, and is lowered into a cave populated chiefly by a randy, one-eyed centaur.

But when you are sitting in Caroline Munro's London flat on a Saturday night drinking Scotch neat out of a large wine glass, you are apt not to be concentrating on randy one-eyed centaurs, let alone John Phillip Law.

"No, I've never been nude in a film," Caroline was saying in response to a question. "I don't really think it's essential. I mean, you can get so much more—well, meaning out of a bikini or a little décolleté, if that's what they want. Don't you think my dog is intelligent? She can sing, you know. Not on key, really, but she could if she wanted to. She doesn't see much point in it. She'd rather be a journalist. Are we still on that nudity thing? I mean, we do need the press. A pity. I adore celery. Cooked or uncooked. I love it with cheese on it. You can't be all that bad if you write about celery. You can put cheese on leeks, too. That's the Welsh national dish. I'd give you a good recipe, but I'm getting on to you chaps now. I mean, I can see the headlines now: 'How Caroline Munro Does Leeks.'"

Caroline has a sense of humor.

—R.R. (Richard Roraback?)

Batman in the 1970s Part 42: May and June 1976

by Peter Enfantino

& Jack Seabrook

Detective Comics 459 (May 1976)

"A Clue Before Dying!"

Story by Martin Pasko

Art by J.L. Garcia Lopez

Writer Elliot Quinn is having a bash in celebration of the book he's working on, "The Dreamhouse Murder." The shindig is being held in the same house the famed murder was committed in as this gives Quinn his mojo. Unfortunately, that book will have to be ghost-written since Quinn is found dead - shot in the jugular - at his writing desk later that evening. Luckily (or coincidentally), Bruce Wayne's name was on the invitation list and where he goes, so does The Batman. The suspects include: actor Walter Gaunt, Detective Dannay, secretary Lyle Keane, housekeeper Emma Rundle, and one Alfred Pennyworth (identified by Mrs. Rundle as exiting the room where Quinn's body was found). When Mrs. Rundle is found dead, by poker, in the parlor, the suspect list dwindles. Thankfully, the dead writer left a clue and Batman adds one plus one and that equals toupee! We eventually discover Quinn's murderer was also the guilty party in The Dreamhouse Murder and was afraid the writer would find him out. 

Jack: Martin Pasko’s tribute to Ellery Queen features a mystery writer named Elliot Quinn (E.Q., get it?) and a detective named Lt. Dannay, a nod to Frederic Dannay, one of the two men who wrote as Ellery Queen. The story itself is simple and the clues rather obvious. Still, having Batman solve an actual mystery with any clues at all is an improvement over having him herding horses or camels in Gotham City.

PE: Do I have to select either door, Jack? Bruce Wayne always seems to get invited to these whodunits. The only piece missing is Commissioner Gordon, who's usually at the party as well. Can a corpse actually point out a clue? And would that corpse actually have the wherewithal to point to a rug as a clue that his murderer wears a toupee?! That "startling" cover is a bit of false advertising. Alfred's guilt is discussed in about two panels (and he's certainly never asked by Bats to be a patsy), the cops haul him away (in his nightgown, no less), and nothing more is said about our favorite butler. In fact, as far as we know, he's still waiting to be bailed out.

"Scream of the Gargoyle!"

Story by Marty Pasko

Art by Pablo Marcos

To save his wife Francine, Man-Bat must first face the threat of Dr. Thanatogenos and his Devil-Bell.

PE: Thank goodness this is only six pages long as I had to read it twice to figure out what was going on. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if I grasped it even after the double pass. So Thanogenitals turns out to be the demon-gargoyle, I guess. That should be a shocking development but leads to more head-scratching on this reader's part. What we end up with here seems to be five pages explaining what happened in the first chapter (last issue) and a one-page wrap-up. I argue that all action would stop for minutes on end as Man-Bat tries to pronounce the good doctor's name without skreeking (and how about the demon's "gleeking"!)

Jack: This conclusion to the Man-Bat two-parter is very quick and not terribly coherent, but the art by Pablo Marcos is nice. I find it hard to believe that the Langstroms are the only people in Chicago possessing mystic energy; I’ve been to the Windy City enough times to know better! It looks like the artists have stopped numbering pages—I wonder if this was intentionally done to make it less obvious that readers were paying 30 cents for 18 pages of new material. I also wonder if Pasko took the backup story less seriously, since the Batman lead story is credited to “Martin” while the Man-Bat backup is credited to “Marty.”

PE: Based on evidence presented in this issue, Jack, I'd say Pasko didn't take either one seriously.

Batman 275 (May 1976)

"The Ferry Blows at Midnight!"

Story by David V. Reed

Art by Ernie Chua and Tex Blaisdell

Batman is determined to crack the case of the mysterious crimes that have been occurring in Gotham. Luckily, the North American team is hard at work fulfilling its assignment as the last group to take a turn in the Underworld Olympics. Batman succeeds in foiling their attempt to blow up a ferry and then follows a spotter back to their headquarters, where the entire crew of international bad guys is rounded up.

Jack: The fourth and final Underworld Olympics story is on par with the first three. The North American team consists of a Native American, an African-American, a Mexican bandito, a bald guy with an eye patch (Joey One-Eye), and a cowboy. David V. Reed is using plenty of “bat” this and “bat” that, including the Whirlybat, a nifty one-man helicopter that allows Batman to fly low and follow a crook. Reed is also slipping back into the old tradition of corny Bat-quips, such as this line from the Caped Crusader: “as they used to say in vaudeville, ‘dis must be de place.’”

PE: 4 issues wasted on this garbage? I still have no idea what the point of this arc was. Why were these underworld goons risking life, liberty, limbs and, in one case, a million bucks? For some silly "underworld olympics?" I'd applaud the wrap-up of this detritus but who knows what Julius Schwartz had up his sleeve next? It almost seems, as the 1970s wear on, that the Batman character (and the stories around him) is sliding back into the 1960s.

Detective Comics 460 (June 1976)

"Slow Down--and Die!"
Story by Bob Rozakis and Michael Uslan
Art by Ernie Chua and Frank McLaughlin

There's a nut loose in Gotham who believes that Batman is actually triplets and he intends to prove it. To his chagrin, Commissioner Gordon discovers someone has placed a bomb in his patrol car. An unknown voice over his C.B. tells him that if he, at any time, decreases his speed below 50 mph, the bomb will detonate. As with all cases large and small, Gordo's first call is to Batman. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne is enjoying the company of buxom Barbi Brendan aboard The Stingapee, "Gotham's hottest in-spot for the jet set." The Stingapee is a faux pirate ship (or is it?) run by Karl Crossman aka Captain Stingapee. When Bruce's Gordo-buzzer vibrates, he hightails it to the awaiting Batmobile (courtesy of Alfred) and heads to the open road to help Gordo. After an exciting mid-road transfer, Batman is able to open the hood of the car and defuse the bomb, but Gordon's car is wrecked and Batman is thrown to the road, dazed. An ambulance arrives but the paramedic turns out to be none other than Captain Stingapee himself. The Captain takes Batman hostage but our hero is able to damage a tank of ether and both are rendered unconscious. Stingapee revives first and unmasks Batman, who is revealed to be Michael Courtney. Who?

PE: Not nearly as bad as a/ it sounds and b/ the tripe that's been filling the pages of the two Bats titles lately. There's a lot of credibility-stretching stuff going on here (Bats' climb onto Gordo's speeding car hood, the fact that rich people would spend lots of money in a pirate ship, Bruce Wayne's outfit while aboard said ship) but the oddest to me was that Jim Gordon would be riding home in a patrol car. The surprise ending might have been more effective if the man unmasked had been someone we were more familiar with (no, I'm not suggesting Alfred) rather than a character that, as far as my admittedly bad memory goes, has never been introduced. Co-writer Michael Uslan has lived the dream life of every Batman fan, first as a comic collector, then as a writer, and graduating all the way up to executive producer of all seven of the big screen Bats flicks beginning with Tim Burton's Batman (1989) up through this past summer's The Dark Knight Rises. I'm not sure if this story was ever pitched at brainstorming sessions but, who knows, Hollywood loves Batman and pirates so maybe someday...

Jack: I don’t know where this kook got the idea that Batman is actually three brothers, but it’s nutty. The “surprise” ending where Batman is unmasked and turns out to be someone other than Bruce Wayne has been done many times before. At least now we know where the idea for the movie Speed came from! Most interesting is the character of Bruce Wayne’s latest girlfriend Barbi Brendan, who is clearly a takeoff on Barbi Benton, the Kim Kardashian of the 1970s. The lack of page numbers is already having an effect—the lead story is down to 11 pages, making the total of new material in this issue a paltry 17 pages.

They don't make 'em like this anymore

"The Cold-Fire Caper!"

Story by Denny O'Neil
Art by Pablo Marcos and Al Milgrom

Private Dick Tim Trench is asked by the beautiful Velma Grayle to hold onto a massive ruby for her friend. Trench smells a rat but agrees. He soon regrets his decision as bullets fly all around him.

Jack: This is a great little strip! In six pages, O’Neil, Marcos and Milgrom paint a good, hardboiled picture that reminded me of something out of a 1970s Charlton comic crossed with a Max Allan Collins novel. This is more adult than the usual Detective fare and it’s a lot of fun!
PE: I was a bit less entertained by this strip than you, Jack, but I guess I've read more quality detective fiction than you. Your Max Collins reference is spot on and I'd throw in more than a heaping helping of Dirty Harry Callahan as well (that's quite a trick Trench pulls off, firing those deadly .357s without breaking a wrist). I'm open to more cases with Tim for no other reason than it leaves no room for The Elongated Man.

Batman 276 (June 1976)

"The Haunting of the Spook!"
Story by David V. Reed
Art by Ernie Chua

The Spook returns to drive Batman crazy with his disappearing tricks. Using subliminal messages, he hopes to get Batman so riled up that he will kill the Spook—or seem to, since the Spook can feign death. The Dark Knight turns the tables, however, and it is up to Commissioner Gordon to figure out a way to keep the Spook locked up this time.

Jack: I think the Spook qualifies for the Rogues’ Gallery by now, after this, his fourth appearance. As before, his tricks don’t seem very plausible and the explanations behind them are pretty far-fetched. It’s almost funny when Batman tries to use the Spook’s methods against him, since the fake Batman ghosts that appear outside a window look completely phony. Still, the Spook is a fun villain and the story is entertaining enough. Like this month’s Detective, Batman is now down to 17 pages of new material.

PE: I should applaud that! Good trick that dolphin leap Batman executes under the Kingsboro Bridge, a move I doubt even a 1976 Gold medalist could pull off. Our favorite cop, Commissioner Gordon, has moved from convincing The Dark Knight he should handle all the dirty jobs Gordo and his donut crew can't to ordering Bats to strongarm their mutual buddy Bruce Wayne!
Gordo: Never mind this Spook menace! Tomorrow the Gotham Assistance Corporation is meeting to consider the department's budget! Bruce Wayne is representing his bank at that meeting! You've got more influence with him than I have! Explain the situation...

Bats: ...about the Spook...
Gordo: Blast The Spook... Now... Get going!
I guess we know who wears the pants in this relationship. The motive behind The Spook's latest haunting is revenge. He goes to amazing lengths to push Batman into humiliation. This is an old plot line, one we've been "enjoying" over at Marvel University time after time. These crooks are such dopes.

Not very convincing!

Limited Collector's Edition C-44
also came out in June 1976
and featured reprints of
4 Batman stories

Straight from Red China!

Batman in the 1970s Part 41: March and April 1976

by Jack Seabrook

& Peter Enfantino

Batman 273 (March 1976)

"The Bank-Shot That Baffled Batman!"

Story by David V. Reed

Art by Ernie Chua and Frank McLaughlin

The Underworld Olympics continue as Team Europe steals a British Revolutionary War cannon. They use the cannon to fire a shell containing a safety deposit box into the air, but Batman intercepts them when they try to recover the shell after it hits the ground. Although they got caught, Team Europe leads with fifty points.

PE: The idea that the Colonial Cannon could be broken down into so many wee small bits that it would fit in a bank of safe deposit boxes is moronic. Was the barrel of the cannon folded lengthwise? But then pop that idea into a story about Batman being menaced by the "Underworld Olympics" and it's not so silly, is it? Well, not if this comic was Batman and His Amazing Super Friends, but bearing in mind this is the same title that gave us "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge" and introduced Ra's al Ghul, it's tough to swallow. Colossally stupid.

Jack: I went over this story several times and I still can't figure out what was in the box or why they fired it into the air. I like the opening Bicentennial celebration and I'm glad to see that the British reenactors are the ones who cheat by using real bullets. I like the idea of an ongoing series but the stories don't make a lot of sense. In addition, the scoring seems capricious--Europe gets 50 points but South America got only 20?

Detective Comics 457 (March 1976)

"There is No Hope in Crime Alley"

Story by Denny O'Neil

Art by Dick Giordano

On the same night every year, for the last 21 years, Batman has made his way to the dangerous neighborhood known as Crime Alley. There he tries to make the block just a little safer from pushers and hoodlums. He always ends his night with a visit to a woman named Leslie Thompkins and through a series of flashbacks we find out why. When his parents were brutally murdered in Crime Alley (nee Park Row), Ms. Thompkins comforted little Bruce Wayne and now, as his alter ego, he makes the yearly trek to give something back...and perhaps take something back at the same time.

PE: This is one of those stories that feels like it was written to be iconic. For the most part it succeeds. It's a bit overly-sentimental (with a little bit of reworking this could have been a Christmas story) and I question how Alfred, perhaps the most trusted man in Batland, could possibly have no idea "where (Batman) goes on this date every year...or why!" He was, after all, in the Waynes' employ when they were gunned down all those years ago. And about that gauntlet: does Ms. Thompkins walk the same route every night or once every year? Seems as though she picked just the right time to wander down Crime Alley with "the receipts from the street fair" in her purse. And then there's the matter of time-elapse. If only 21 years has gone by, that makes Bruce about 31-33. Doesn't jibe with some of the other stories we've read from the 1970s. Ah, no matter, it's a great story and indeed iconic. I get the sense Denny O'Neil peeked above the hedges of mediocrity he'd been hiding behind for the last couple years and said "Wait'll they get a load of this!" Welcome back, Denny.

Jack: Not only is this a beautiful story, but Dick Giordano's art is as close as we'll come to that of Neal Adams in 1976. I have read rumors about swipes (or "cloning"), and it may be true, but it looks great. This is one of those Batman stories that comes along every so often and makes me glad we're doing this project. There's just one problem with this issue. Look at the cover of Batman 273, then look at the cover of Detective 457. Somewhere in March 1976 (actually, December 1975), between the time Batman came out and the time Detective came out, DC raised its cover price to THIRTY CENTS! Arrgh! Now we get 18 pages of new material for 30 cents. Believe me, it won't end there!

"Make Way for the Elongated Woman!"

Story by Bob Rozakis

Art by Kurt Schaffenberger

Ralph Dibny, the Elongated Man, is being held for ransom by three young fur robbers. All they want is Ralph's secret stretch potion and Sue might be the one to hand it over to them.

Shouldn't someone tell Sue that Ralph
has been dipping into her hormones?

PE: There's not much to discuss here. The Elongated Man is obviously an acquired taste, one I have yet to acquire, and his adventures could be categorized as "fluff." The art is just as dreadful as it was in the first chapter. The only ray of sunshine I see here is that next issue will see the return of Man-Bat as a back-up.

Jack: I agree that this is pretty hard to take. The only highlight in the art is the female criminal in short-shorts.

Batman 274 (April 1976)

"Gotham City Treasure Hunt!"

Story by David V. Reed

Art by Ernie Chua

In round three of the Underworld Olympics, the Afro-Asian team is sent on a treasure hunt. Batman catches the crooks at their first stop, but one of the bad guys manages to relay a clue to his compatriots by hand signals when his arrest is televised. The second phase goes well, as Batman is decoyed by a fighting she-devil. The Dark Knight figures it out and catches the criminals in phase three; unbeknownst to him, their team earns 36 2/3 points.

Batman kicks back by
pushing back his mask.

PE: I can't help but feel that something better, possibly something of substance, could have filled what will eventually be 72 pages of mindless fluff. It wouldn't be so bad if the story was entertaining but it's not. It's tedious. Are we really supposed to believe that a crew of international terrorists have come to Gotham and while one or two of them venture out, the rest stay inside listening to a guy with a mic running down scores? "Well, the Afro-Asians did blow up the bank. That's good for 10 points. They also killed two guards. That's twenty points for a total of 30 but we have to minus 11 and 2/3 because they were caught by police so their total now stands at 18 and 1/3. Next up: the Jamaicans!" All three of the installments thus far have set the same pattern: Crew goes out based on clues, does some damage, and gets busted by The Batman. There are some real howlers here as well, such as when The Dark Knight yells out to a bad guy "Wait for me! Uncle Batman wants you!" Or how about at the climax of this third chapter, when Batman says to Gordo: "Commissioner, it's as if we're in some kind of underworld olympics!" We've said it before but I think I really mean it this time: the bottom of the barrel has been scraped.

Jack: This is getting tedious. It has become apparent that the Underworld Olympics are pointless and the crimes have no ultimate goal. I am concerned by the odd grouping of criminals. We had the South American team, the European team, the Afro-Asian team, and--next issue--the North American team. Why didn't Africa and Asia each get their own team? And what about Australia? Those Aussies could have kicked serious butt. Are there no criminals in Antarctica? This should be a seven-issue arc but mercifully it will end after the fourth issue.

Detective Comics 458 (April 1976)

"The Real Batman Dies Next!"

Story by Elliot S. Maggin

Art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Ernie Chua

At the annual Policeman's Costumed Ball, a young lieutenant named Bucky Dunlop, dressed as The Batman, is murdered. On his forehead reads "The Real Batman Dies Next!" Commissioner Gordon suspects and later arrests tattoo artist Slats Johnson but Batman is holding out for more evidence. Eventually the trail leads The Dark Knight to calligrapher Charles Fellman. After a brief showdown, the murderer is brought to justice.

PE: I couldn't make heads or tails of this story. I assume Fellman had a run-in with Batman in the past and so swore vengeance on him. I'm not sure how the tattoo got onto Bucky's forehead. Maggin might have strained to explain it but it just wasn't clear enough. Nor was the reasoning behind killing a cop dressed like Batman and putting the world's greatest detective on alert that he's next. It's not a horrible installment, it just feels unfinished and rushed. For the most part, Garcia-Lopez is keeping up his end although there's one panel (reprinted here) that has some perspective problems. The two characters look larger than the automobile.

Jack: I thought the art by Garcia Lopez and Chua was smooth overall and the story, while it had some major holes in the plot, had a nice theme about a wasted life. I like Batman's final comment to Commissioner Gordon: "If you can figure out how the law comes out ahead with this arrest, I wish you'd let me know."

"Peal of the Devil-Bell!"

Story by Martin Pasko

Art by Pablo Marcos & Tex Blaisdell

Man-Bat must fight a sorcerer named Dr. Thanatogenos who has kidnapped Mrs. Man-Bat (Woman-Bat?) and turned her to stone. Before Dr. Langstrom can free Francie, he's also turned to stone.

"Booga-booga"?

PE: Clearly this was meant for the aborted Man-Bat #3 as it riffs on events that took place in the second issue (published just one month before Tec 548). Suddenly, Kirk has a sister (who wears what looks like native clothing) not privy to the goings-on at House Langstrom. Wife Francie (we really have to get a moniker for her soon) turns into a Girl-Bat and bursts her dress but, in the best traditions of comic book history, retains a modicum of decency thanks to a purple two-piece. Dr. Thanatogenos (just rolls off your tongue, don't it) is obviously patterned after Marvel's Damon Hellstrom, The Son of Satan. I usually like Pablo Marcos's work but here it's too cartoony. M-B looks like an ape in some panels and, come to think of it, so does his sister. This is Marcos's stomping ground, to be sure, as he's done good work for Tales of the Zombie, Planet of the Apes, Conan, and several other Marvel monster titles, but he misses the mark this go round.

Jack: I enjoyed this story, but then I always liked Man-Bat. Langstrom refers to his wife as "the She-Bat" in the course of the story. I think the cartoony vibe you're getting is the fault of inker Tex Blaisdell, who had turned in worse work in Batman 268 (the awful "Murder Masquerade"--the one with the camels and the ice skating rink). We should give him a pass, though, since he'd been drawing comics since the dawn of the industry. I have had it in for writer Martin Pasko since he did such a terrible job reviving my beloved E-Man for First Comics in the 1980s.

What Neal Adams was doing in March and April 1976 instead of drawing Batman:

Neal Adams part one--
cover for the Marvel-DC crossover
(from Detective 457)

Neal Adams part two--

public service announcement

(from Detective 457)

Neal Adams part three--
public service announcement
(from Detective 458)