Batman in the 1960s Issue 48: November/December 1967

 

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

Infantino/Anderson

Batman #196

"The Psychic Super-Sleuth!"

Story by Gardner Fox

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella

"The Purloined Parchment Puzzle"

Story by Gardner Fox

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella

Batman and Robin are summoned to the site of a jewelry store robbery, only to meet Hungarian psychic sleuth Petru Dubrov, who uses his mental powers to lead the Dynamic Duo to the home of some reformed jewel thieves who claim that they've been playing cards all night. "The Psychic Super-Sleuth!" finds the stolen jewels in a tool chest and the men claim that they were set up; a quick fistfight with Batman and Robin doesn't end well for the hoods.

The next evening, Batman and Robin see a suspicious milk truck outside a mansion whose owners are away on vacation. A pair of masked crooks, dressed as mods, run out of the back of the truck and manage to escape, despite taking a few hits from the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder. Petru Dubrov holds a button torn from the jacket of one of the mods and leads Batman and Robin to a pool room, where three mods claim no knowledge of the theft. Dubrov finds the stolen loot in the trunk of their car, but Batman realizes they were not the thieves, since none was missing a button from his jacket. Dubrov is a fake!

Batman tracks the real Dubrov to a barn outside of Gotham City and fights a muscleman, who tosses the Dark Knight to the floor; he is saved by quick action by the Boy Wonder, who was given a telepathic warning about Batman's fall by the real Dubrov, who was trapped in a wooden crate in the barn. He leads the Dynamic Duo to intercept the real mods and, after they've been caught, he admits to Robin that it wasn't all ESP--he overheard the crooks discussing their destination!

I think we're getting near the end of Moldoff's exceedingly long run on the Batman comics, and none too soon! The art is the usual mix of awkward poses and dull page layouts that we've come to associate with Sheldon. The story is a throwaway; Dubrov is not a particularly interesting character. The best thing about this one is the appearance of the mods, who aren't particularly mod but who do serve as an example of DC's often cringe-worthy and late depiction of trends among the young and hip.

A pretrial hearing at Gotham City Courthouse examines "The Purloined Parchment Puzzle," where a rare, Ancient Roman document was stolen from a seemingly locked room. Batman is the star witness and he explains how security guard named Frost pulled off the theft.

It's odd that the entire story is told in flashback through snippets of court testimony, but that doesn't make it interesting. My favorite panel shows Batman relaxing on the witness stand, with one leg crossed over the other.-Jack

Peter- Neither one of these is a classic but I found both to be entertaining (albeit "Parchment" is a bit text-heavy). That might be just me dying for some good Batman comics rather than a reflection of their true quality. The Moldoff art just seems to run together. I wouldn't be surprised if, by 1967, the guy wasn't even reading the scripts. All the heavies are dressed the same and the Caped Crusaders continually strike the same poses. Were there any good DC comics at this time?

Kane/Anderson

Detective Comics #369

"Batgirl Breaks Up the Dynamic Duo!"

Story by Gardner Fox

Art by Carmine Infantino & Sid Greene

While assisting Batgirl in taking down some thugs in a remote swamp, Batman manages to come down with a bad dose of "swamp fever" but only Batgirl recognizes the symptoms. Assuming (correctly) that the Dark Knight is not one for resting during illness, Babs begins to shadow Batman and Robin while they are out on their patrols.

Thanks to her new "Multi-Color Light Tracer Beam," Batgirl can even anticipate where a heist will go down before the Caped Crusaders do and takes care of business before the Big Guy can arrive and endanger himself. Realizing that Bats won't slow down no matter what, our heroine takes a left turn and offers Robin a place on her Batbike as her new sidekick!

Batman's first side-effects of "swamp fewer," it seems, are hurt feelings, and he watches in awe and pain as Robin heads off into the sunset with Batgirl. At every robbery, the crestfallen hero arrives too late. That is, until he gets smart and changes his patrol route the next night. Batman attempts to halt a warehouse heist but collapses in mid-punch. Luckily, Batgirl and Robin arrive just in time to save him and put the cuffs on the thugs.

A few days later, Commissioner Gordon and daughter Babs visit Bruce Wayne at his hospital bed. Gordon hands over some Chinese oranges and wishes him the best. As his friends leave his room, Bruce wonders out loud to Dick Grayson if perhaps the Gordons know he's really Gotham's Guardian since Chinese oranges are "beneficial in helping one recuperate from 'swamp fever'!" Meanwhile, across town, Catwoman dons her claws and prepares to battle Batgirl for the affection of Batman!

The hokum continues. I'm no doctor, but I do believe the best course of action here might have been to alert "The World's Greatest Detective" that he may have a debilitating virus, whether it's assumed that he'll be stubborn or not. And how about the quick incubation period for Gotham "swamp fever" (leptospirosis usually takes one to two weeks after infection to show effects according to... um, my medical training)? Bats comes down with it literally minutes after he arrives at the scene! 

I'd love for Babs to explain in greater detail that incredible Multi-Color Lava Lamp Crime Detector she's affixed to her Moped. Its colors detect crime? Seems a pretty good tool to share with your crime-fighting colleagues, no? Bruce and Dick seem pretty calm in the final panels considering that, all evidence considered, Gordo and Babs have to have put two and two together (hmmmm... Batman and Bruce Wayne are stricken with "swamp fever" at exactly the same time?!) by now; after all, they're not idiots. The highlight of the story, of course, is the Catwoman tease. Other than Golden Age reprints, this will be our first look at one of Batman's most popular Rogues.-Peter

Jack-That dynamite cover by Kane and Anderson made the interior art by Infantino and Greene seem a little bit mannered to me. There are more than the usual shots of bodies leaning back or faces tilted to one side, all Infantino hallmarks. I didn't really understand why Batgirl thought she had to hide Batman's diagnosis of swamp fever from him. The highlight for me was the last page, where we see Catwoman in prison in a preview of the next issue of Batman.

Andru/Esposito

The Brave and the Bold #74

"Rampant Run the Robots!"

Story by Bob Haney

Art by Ross Andru & Mike Esposito

A quiet night in Gotham City is shattered by a string of robot robberies! Could it have something to do with the First International Robot Exposition, where robots from all over the world, including the Metal Man, have gathered? Batman stops by and Doc Magnus introduces the Caped Crusader to Dr. Daedalus, who wonders aloud if crime-fighting robots will ever replace Batman. In his efforts to combat the sudden, robot crime wave, Batman crashes the Batmobile into a robot roadblock and passes out.

He awakens to find the Metal Men leaning over him. Batman, the Metal Men, Doc Magnus, and Commissioner Gordon meet with Dr. Daedalus, who explains that someone messed with all of the robots except the Metal Men and Icarus, Daedalus's robot. The good robots are deputized to help and everyone fans out to try to figure out what's going on. After a few odd incidents, Batman accuses Doc Magnus and the Metal Men of being part of the crime wave. They are locked away and Batman continues battling robot mayhem.

Eventually, the Dark Knight realizes that the Metal Men are not crooks after all. For their part, the Metal Men have little trouble busting out of their prison once Doc Magnus begins to suffer from lack of oxygen. They defeat some rogue robots and rush off right before Batman arrives to reconcile. He meets Icarus, immediately realizes that he's lying, and secretly follows the robot to discover that all of the stolen loot has been stashed in the City Hall basement, right under Commissioner Gordon's office! Of course, Dr. Daedalus was behind the whole thing, and the Metal Men arrive in the nick of time to help Batman end the menace of the rampaging robots.

On page two of the story, Batman is killing time, patrolling Gotham City on a slow night and swinging from rooftop to rooftop, when he spins around a flagpole and remarks, "Here's one I did before anybody, including a certain web-spinning Peter-come-lately!" It's a cute reference to Spider-Man, whose popularity by 1967 must have been making the DC crew sit up and take notice. The rest of the story is simple, and I had no doubt from the first time Dr. Daedalus was introduced that he was behind the robot rampage. The art by Andru and Esposito isn't as annoying as it would later become.-Jack

Peter-I like the Metal Men; their title was goofy fun for quite a while during the 1960s. The concept was so out there that you could readily accept the inanities; I'm not sure Batman meshes with that goofiness. There was a phrase we coined way back during the Marvel University blog days, the MARMIS™, a convoluted situation lazy writers would use (usually while scripting Marvel Team-Up and Marvel Two-In-One) wherein one superhero believes another superhero has perpetrated a crime, even though said hero knows the other hero is not a villain. Obviously, as evidenced by "Rampant Run the Robots!," DC writers actually created the trope. None of the dialogue Bob Haney has written here for the Dark Knight sounds like words that would come out of the brooding hero ("So let's go where the action is, Brucey boy!") although the swipe at Spider-Man is fun. This is just a hectic, frazzled mess.

Infantino/Esposito

Batman #197

"Catwoman Sets Her Claws for Batman!"

Story by Gardner Fox

Art by Frank Springer & Sid Greene

There's a new crime fighter patrolling the streets of Gotham City by night in her Kitty Car--Catwoman! She foils an attempt to rob the payroll at Gotham Winery by the Parker Brothers, using her cat-o'-nine-tails to knock them out. Catwoman encounters Batman and Robin, who are also patrolling and who wonder what she's up to. The next night, the Dynamic Duo attempt to stop a robbery at a silk handkerchief factory; when the musclebound thugs begin to get the upper hand, Catwoman appears and helps to overcome them.

Catwoman tells Batman that she's a better catch than Batgirl and it becomes apparent that "Catwoman Sets Her Claws for Batman!" in a romantic way. The next day, Barbara Gordon is passing the time in the library and thinking about Catwoman's strange turn from criminal to crimefighter. Figuring out the location of a crime in progress, Barbara puts on her Batgirl costume and rushes to the scene on her Batbike, only to find that Catwoman is already there. The two women battle the evil doers, but Batgirl is knocked for a loop while Catwoman prevails. At Police Headquarters, Batgirl is forced to admit to Batman that she blew it.

Soon, Selina Kyle (Catwoman) is autographing her new book for her adoring fans and turning down an invitation from Bruce Wayne to attend a charity dinner, unaware of his other self. Catwoman continues to fight crime, hoping that it will attract Batman. Finally, she confronts him and asks him to propose to her, but he declines. The next night, Batman and Robin, Batgirl, and Catwoman all arrive at a rare coin shop where crooks are trying to make off with the goods. During the melee, Catwoman knocks out Batman while crooks handle Batgirl and Robin. Batgirl realizes that all of the crooks that Catwoman has defeated were really working for her and Catwoman takes the Caped Crusader to her catacombs, where she unmasks him, only to find that he painted a mask on his face!

Catwoman discovers the same thing when she unmasks Robin and Batgirl. When Batman refuses to propose to her, she resumes her life of crime and robs five wealthy people as they play cards at a private club. Back at the Catacombs, she thinks that she has the trio of heroes under control until Batgirl surprises her by knocking her out. In the end, Batgirl tells Catwoman that she is not romantically interested in Batman, something Catwoman has a hard time believing.

Frank Springer's art is a hair better than Sheldon Moldoff's, but not nearly as good as Carmine Infantino's. The story is absurd and is yet another in the line of tales involving Batgirl that demonstrate how different things were for women in the 1960s. I presume Catwoman returned due to her frequent appearances on the TV show, but Julie Newmar was way better than this lovesick feline. At least the cover is a knockout.-Jack

Peter- Absurd it might be, silly as well, but this was the most fun I'd had reading a Batman comic in months. I'm glad to see Catwoman back; the continual carousel of Joker/Penguin/Riddler was getting tired. We need more villains! Hopefully, this hero version of Selina won't last long. One more thing I'd politely disagree with Jack on is the art. Springer's work here is energetic, resembling the 1950s style we've come to appreciate in the reprints.

Infantino/Adams

Detective Comics #370

"The Nemesis from Batman's Boyhood!"

Story by John Broome

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella

While fighting the Blitzkrieg Bandit, a new nemesis plaguing Gotham, Batman realizes the villain is, in fact, Bart Lambert, a kid who used to pick on pre-teen Bruce Wayne. Lambert would terrorize the poor little rich kid (who evidently went to public school for some reason) until little Brucie wised up and hit the gym, putting on several pounds of muscle. The problem is, by the time Wayne had bulked up, Lambert had already left school.

But now, he's back, and grown-up Bruce/Batman seems just as terrified of Lambert/Blitzy as ever before. The two tangle on a couple of occasions and both times Batman can't seem to land a killing blow. How can this hurdle be overcome?

After looting Wayne Manor, stealing a priceless painting by Borot, and beating the crap out of Batman in his own driveway, Lambert is frightened away by the headlights of an oncoming car. That would be Alfred and Aunt Harriet returning from the picture show. Alfred hustles Harriet away before she can see the cloaked pile of beaten flesh in the drive. Robin, having been told to stay out of the fight, disobeys orders and hops in the Batmobile to chase Lambert.

Alfred revives his boss and lets him know that Robin has been calling for him on the com. Batman answers and receives a disturbing message: Robin has been shot and left for dead by Lambert! Bats grabs the 'copter and takes to the skies to rescue his youthful ward. He arrives at the scene, takes no pulse, and decides that, yep, Robin is dead!

His heart full of vengeance, Batman heads into a nearby house, searching for his old tormentor. Sure enough, Lambert is hiding out there and ready to give the big guy another whuppin'. But, no, Robin's "death" has ramped up the Dark Knight's temper and he beats the living crap out of Lambert. Later, while standing triumphant over the bleeding, broken carcass of the bully he never beat, Batman is astonished to see Robin emerge from the shadows, clearly not dead. The kid's been taking psych class at Gotham Elementary and knew his idol needed a bit of motivation in order to put Lambert in his rear-view forever. "This kid!," Batman sighs, as he watches the vultures descend upon Bart's corpse.

Well, that's the ending I'd have preferred. At least that image might have provided a bit of surprise to this tepid "adventure." Every couple of years, we're invited to witness yet another "lost episode" from Bruce Wayne's past. Here, we discover that maybe it wasn't Pop's death that got little Bruce to train, but a big bully at school! 

I really have to question how Lambert got back up after Batman threw him head-first into a tree. Most human beings don't get up from that kind of trauma. This guy really must have been a Super-Bully! The biggest laugh of the year has to go to Batman, coming across the "dead body" of Robin and deciding that checking for vitals would be a waste of time. He needs to pound Lambert right now! "World's Greatest Detective!"-Peter

Jack-It's embarrassing that Batman, who has battled every sort of crook, can't bring himself to knock out the bully who pummeled him when he was a boy without some psychological trickery by the Boy Wonder. How about that cover, though? It's hard to see much evidence of Infantino's pencils--maybe in Robin's face?

Next Week...
Can Anyone Survive the
Onslaught of The Insects??!!