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| The Caped Crusader in the 1960s by Jack Seabrook & Peter Enfantino |
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| Infantino & Anderson |
"Zero Hour for Earth!"
Story by Bill Finger
Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella
At Gotham Airport, Batman and Robin's meeting with a man getting off a plane is canceled when the man is shot and the gunman is killed when he is hit by the plane's wheels. The man that Batman was supposed to meet was an Interpol agent who had information on Hydra, an international crime syndicate. Batman vows to put an end to Hydra; elsewhere, a sinister man gloats about his belief that Batman is unaware of the real reason the agent was killed.
Batman and Robin fly the Batplane to Holland, where they find and defeat Hydra agents using a windmill to hide stolen diamonds. Batman and Robin discuss the fact that the Interpol agent was not really killed immediately at the airport and told Batman that a man named Karabi is plotting to start a war between two Asian countries that will embroil other nations, including the U.S.! To keep Karabi from knowing that Batman is looking for him, Batman is traveling around the world, eliminating Hydra cells, while also seeking Karabi.
In Singapore, an Interpol agent masquerading as a dancer uses Semaphore to pass information onto a disguised Batman. The Dynamic Duo then fly to Greece, where they intercept and neutralize another Hydra cell. Batman learns more about Karabi in Hong Kong; this leads him and Robin to a jungle in an unnamed Asian country, where Batman comes face to face with Karabi, who plans to fire a nuclear missile from one country to another and trigger a war.
Batman is captured but escapes, and he and Robin arrive just in the nick of time to stop the missile from being launched. They fly to Switzerland and defeat another Hydra cell before finally returning to Gotham City.
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| The best panel of art in this whole issue |
Jack-I enjoyed "Zero Hour for Earth" more than most of the Finger/Moldoff collaborations we've read recently. First of all, it's a rare, full-length story that spans 24 pages! Giella's inks improve the pencils, even if they're not going to rival those of Infantino. The cover, by Infantino and Anderson, is impressive. I enjoyed the spy aspects of the story, even if there was an excessive amount of jetting from one country to another.
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| Infantino, Giella, & Anderson |
"Hunters of the Elephants' Graveyard!"
Story by Gardner Fox
Art by Carmine Infantino & Joe Giella
After busting the Gotham City Zoo Gang at (where else?) the Gotham City Zoo, Batman and Robin are astonished when a mysterious figure materializes in the elephant house. Identifying herself as Gorla, Goddess of All Elephants, the vision explains to the Duo that she fears animal trainer Evan Bender may have been the victim of some shenanigans while searching for an elephant graveyard. She hopes the Caped Crusaders will fly to Africa to aid the vanished explorer.
After the Goddess disappears, Batman smells a fish and races outside to discover the fleeing Alice Foss, who happens to resemble Gorla and who is engaged to Bender. She quickly explains that she put on the dramatic act in order to get the boys to pay attention to her story. She begs for their help and, since all the Rogues are in prison for the first time in months, Batman agrees to leave Gotham unguarded.
Bender explains that a ruthless big game hunter named Kraven "Red" Loftus used a potent drug to control his mind and make the pacifist explorer do naughty things, but now he's ready to right the wrongs he committed while under deep hypnosis. Just then, Loftus comes charging across the African plain with a score of natives to back him up. Once Bats tosses his bat-a-rang at the approaching hood, the natives scatter and Bender puts the man in the dirt with a mean left hook. Batman and Robin stand and smile as the hood hits the dirt.
Jack-I thought it was interesting that there was another reference to Interpol early in the story; you must be right that James Bond fever is starting to affect the Batman comics. I'm thrilled to see another tale penciled by Infantino and note that the GCD says that Anderson put his stamp on the cover by inking the Batman and Robin figures. It's quite a change from the days of Moldoff and Paris.
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| Infantino & Giella |
"The Fight That Jolted Gotham City!"
Story by Ed Herron
Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella
"How to Solve a Perfect Crime--In Reverse!"
Story by Ed Herron
Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella
The circus has come to Gotham City, but strongman Mr. Mammoth tells his boss that he can't perform tonight and he can't explain why. Fearing that the kids will be disappointed, the boss gets word to Commissioner Gordon, who contacts Batman, who pays a visit to the strongman. Mr. Mammoth explains that he's had recent episodes where he lost control and he's too scared of what might happen to perform.
Batman deduces the cause of Mr. Mammoth's fits but, before he can tell the big guy what's wrong, Mammoth has another episode and it results in "The Fight That Jolted Gotham City!" Mammoth and Batman knock each other around until the fit wears off, at which point the Dark Knight explains that Mammoth's brain is reacting to the musical notes that accompany a radio stations' call letters. The radio station agrees to change its tune and Mammoth performs for the kids that evening at the circus.
Boy, that was dumb! I had a hard time working up much concern for poor Mr. Mammoth. I have to wonder what will happen if that same combination of notes plays again in some other setting. He'll go nuts and wreak havoc!
Batman and the rest of the Mystery Analysts Club are presented with a new conundrum: an anonymous club member has stolen the Kashpur Diamond and committed the perfect crime! Can the Mystery Analysts sole the case? The diamond has been replaced by an imitation. It doesn't take long for the Caped Crusader to deduce that Prof. Ralph Vern stole the diamond, but it takes a trip to Tibet to discover how. Batman returns to Gotham, shows the Mystery Analysts how the diamond can be used to hypnotize, and exposes Prof. Vern.
"How to Solve a Perfect Crime--In Reverse!" is quite ordinary and I wasn't clear on exactly how Batman uncovered the criminal. The art by Moldoff and Giella does nothing to add excitement.-Jack
Peter-I love Batman's solution for Mr. Mammoth's frequency disturbance in "The Fight..." Get the station to change their tune rather than make sure the big lug doesn't have a radio on. I'd say Mr. Mammoth should probably have immediate medical help rather than let him wander the city a ticking time bomb. I liked "Perfect Crime" slightly better, if only for the mystery angle and the fact that we were presented with the identity of the guilty party halfway through the story. Rare for a whodunnit.
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| Infantino & Giella |
"The Man Who Stole From Batman!"
Story by Gardner Fox
Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella
There's a new would-be Rogue in town and he goes by the name of... the Grasshopper! Batman and Robin first come in contact with the villain dressed as a... (well, Bats says he looks like a giant grasshopper, but I'd go with the Yellowjacket) when he's seen fleeing down a dark alley, a bag of money open and leaking greenbacks all over the street. Bats and Robin chase the goof up onto a roof but are amazed as they watch their new foe drive off in the Batmobile. That, he claims, is exactly why he initiated contact. He wants to be "The Man Who Stole From Batman!"
Too embarrassed to call the police to report a stolen car, the boys hoof it home to Stately Wayne Manor, where they don their best suits and ties to get ready for the big charity auction that night on the Water Baby yacht. The money raised will be donated to the Alfred Foundation to help poor butlers throughout the land. Fearing a repeat performance, Batman has Robin stand guard outside the vessel while Bruce Wayne tends to the auction.
The two Grasshoppers converge on the Caped Crusader but he's able to outthink and outmuscle the goons. He releases an unharmed Robin and the pair call the police, who come and take the Hoppers away. In the Batmobile, leaving the scene, the Bat-phone rings and the Dark Knight answers it. A mysterious voice announces it belongs to "The Outsider," claims the Hoppers were working for him, and promises that the next item stolen from Batman will be his life!
A very pulpy adventure but one with several pleasing aspects. The Grasshoppers are goofy villains; those wings surely would get in the way during a high-speed chase and they don't enable flight, so why bother? The idea that there are two of them is a surprise as is the last page reveal that a major menace is backing the double dolts. A continuing plot element in 1960s Batman? Gotta be a first. I'm in even if the reveal turns out to be dopey (Vegas odds are 3-1 it's Alfred).-Peter
Jack-The most interesting thing in this story to me is the end, where the Outsider calls Batman. I thought the Grasshopper was not much of a menace and I was tickled when one caption referred to Batman as the Cowled (not Caped) Crusader--we have another synonym to use! Reviewing the readers' letters in recent issues makes it clear that they were divided between those who love the New Look and those who hate it, which surprised me. I guess readers were comfortable with Moldoff and Paris. What really puzzles me is why Carmine Infantino is being used on the backup strip in Detective rather than the lead strip. What's the point of that? Maybe the editor didn't want to shock the readers with too much change all at once. For my money, I'd rather see Carmine draw the Cowled Crusader than the Ductile Detective.
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| Next Week... We All Need a Little Maneely Now and Then |
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