Batman in the 1960s Issue 56: March/April 1969

  

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

Adams

Detective Comics #385

"Die Small--Die Big!"

Story by Robert Kanigher

Art by Bob Brown & Joe Giella

"Hunt for the Helpless Hostage!"

Story by Mike Friedrich

Art by Gil Kane & Murphy Anderson

Batman is the number one idol of mailman Herbert Small. Herbert's pastimes include make-up, making realistic dummies, and keeping track of the Dark Knight's adventures. When seriously bad news is delivered to Herbert from his blasé medic ("Yep, the heightened sounds inside your head signal that you're maybe a month away from dying. Please make sure your account is paid up and don't bother with a hospital!"), Herbert makes it his life work to protect his hero from harm. How will he do that? Well...

One day, while delivering mail, Herbert overhears a group of bad guys plotting the demise of the Caped Crusader and witnesses the men leaving their hideout. Coincidentally, at that moment, Batman tangles with another group of thugs and Herbert watches in amazement while the hero dispatches them in no time flat. But... Herbert theorizes... if the underworld should ever learn the secret identity of Batman, they would kill him just like that. So, rather than working on a way to deliver mail faster and more efficiently, Herbert goes home, whips up a mannikin with his own face, and sends it to Wayne Manor, where he knows there is a big dinner going on. Herbie assumes that if Commissioner Gordon (in a rare appearance outside of the Gotham Golf Club) sees the dummy, he'll alert Batman and the hero will race over to Herbert's apartment and nab the would-be killers.

Forgetting all the flaws in this logic, Herbie runs home and applies make-up to resemble one of the mobsters he saw during the big secret meeting and heads over to their lair, where he informs his "colleagues" that Batman is really... Herbert Small! After writing down his apartment address for his new buddies, Herbert races home to await his fate. Back at Wayne Manor, the dummy has been found at the front door and brought in for examination. After the mannikin  has been unmasked (and Bruce breathes fresh air that it's not carrying the face of a billionaire), the Commish and the rest of the guests leave the party. Bruce searches his computer-like brain and suddenly screams out, "Ah hah, I have it, the face belongs to the nobody who delivers our mail!"

Racing to Herbert's mangy apartment, Batman arrives just before the hapless letter carrier is about to be ventilated. Crashing through the skylight (what would Gotham be without its plethora of overhead windows?), Bats rescues Herbert only to watch in horror as one of the criminals puts a bullet in the mailman. With the bad guys out of commission, Batman asks if there's anything he can do to make Herbert's last moments tolerable. Though Herbert clearly says "Take me to the hospital, you idiot!," Batman mistakenly interprets the man's final words as "Take your mask off!" and does so. Herbert's parrot begins to sing, the sun rises in Gotham, and Batman sighs.

There's nothing salvageable from the wreck of Big Bob Kanigher's meandering and sappy script nor from the ghastly Brown/Giella graphics found in "Die Small-Die Big!" I know Herbert was dying from some unknown malady (I'd have gotten a second opinion), but why would he think this elaborate scheme (which would net him possibly a half-dozen bad guys) would work and, had he lived, would he do it all over again for the next batch of underworld thugs? It's amazing how many otherwise-normal Gothamites have hidden skills.

In the much-better second installment of the new Batgirl series, our heroine finds the missing Mark Hanner (y'know, the handsome hunk that Babs Gordon has been stalking?) and puts the cuffs on bad guy Web Foote. But, hang on, the best news is that the chick Babs has seen Mark with is actually... his sister (yeah, never mind those too-cosy panels of Mark and his "sister" in an un-sibling-esque clutch!). Babs returns to work the next day and Mark comes in to ask her out on a date. A happy ending! This little eight-pager has so much more life and sensibility than its bigger stepbrother. The plot is disposable (and half the strip seems to be made up of flashbacks to the first chapter) but it's readable and the art is fabulous, detailed, and exciting; give me more!-Peter

Jack-The Batman story is pretty good, but why would Commissioner Gordon think that a replica Batman would have his real, secret face under the mask? The real highlight of the issue is the Batgirl story, which boasts fabulous art by Kane and Anderson. This is even better than last issue's art and it gives the Neal Adams cover a run for its money. The art is so good that it makes the story more enjoyable than it should be.

Adams/Infantino

Batman #210

"The Case of the Purr-loined Pearl!"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Irv Novick & Joe Giella

Catwoman is out of prison and instead of starting a crime wave, she opens a Slenderizing Salon! Certain that she's up to something, Batman and Robin think she's behind a robbery where the getaway car is the Kitty-Car, but the crooks admit that they bought the vehicle at a used car lot!

The feline criminal is not going straight, however, and mails letters to eight female prisoners, all of whom are about to be released. When they get out, they are chauffeured to Catwoman's lair in a new and improved Kitty-Car. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne learns that the Nizam of  Nepal is coming to Gotham City for a visit and will display the priceless Potala Pearl in his turban. Bruce calls Commissioner Gordon and offers to let the Nizam stay at Wayne Manor, which is a step up from the Motel 6 that the city had planned.

At the Slenderizing Salon, Catwoman tells the eight former prisoners that she wants to start an all-girl gang to strike back at men, but the ladies aren't taken by the idea and put up a fight. Catwoman easily bests them all and tells them that their training is underway. Nine days later, the gals are slender and all are dressed in identical Catwoman costumes. They pile into the Kitty-Car and head for Wayne Manor, where the Nizam has bedded down for the night.

Batman and Robin are waiting for the attack and, despite taking some good hits, Batman manages to interrupt Catwoman as she attempts to steal the pearl. He tricks her into getting tangled up in a web of sticky yarn and the Nizam and his pearl are safe.

Needless to say, the cover is the highlight of this issue, with Infantino's cool layout and Adams's gorgeous pencils and inks. It's a shame that Novick and Giella's art inside can't compare to the cover--Novick seems incapable of drawing a sexy woman. There are a surfeit of Cat puns, none of which are funny, and the names of the eight female prisoners are just goofy--Florid Flo and Big Barbara are plus-sized, Timid Trixie is reticent, and Sultry Sarah is Novick's attempt at pulchritude. The old and new Kitty-Cars are pretty cool, as is Catwoman's retro-costume, but this story doesn't add up to much in the end.-Jack

Peter- Once again, we are in agreement, Jack. I'm not sure why Catwoman went to the trouble of trying eight cons rather than just heading down to Thug*Mart and renting a batch down there. It's strange that no reasoning is given for Catwoman's costume, which looks nothing like we've seen before. The cover is the highlight here.

Novick

Detective Comics #386

"Stand-In for Murder"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Bob Brown & Joe Giella

"The Teen-Age Gap!"

Story by Mike Friedrich

Art by Ross Andru & Mike Esposito

On a Gotham airstrip, a top-secret Air Force rocket known as the VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) is about to be test-flown by none other than... millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne! After receiving the necessary cautions, the jet takes off and accomplishes an astounding feat above the clouds... the vehicle can land in exactly the same spot it launched from. Wow! But when one of the techs pulls back the cockpit canopy he notices something odd... there's no Bruce Wayne!

The military brass immediately order that Commissioner Gordon be alerted (rather than, I don't know, the Pentagon) and that Batman be called in to investigate. Gordon gets on the Hot-Line to Bats but there's no answer. Is Batman/Bruce Wayne really dead? Well, to get to the bottom of this elaborate farce plot, we have to travel back in time to earlier that morning, where we see an ascot-laden Bruce Wayne preparing to head to the airstrip when he stops to look through the Batman mail he picked up at Gordon's office the night before. After tossing the usual nude photos from adoring fans and requests for autographs, Master Bruce comes upon a strangely written note informing the Caped Crusader that a big heist will be happening at Gotham First National in about half an hour. Bruce Wayne/Batman can't be in two places at once. Or can he?

Telling Alfred that the heist takes precedence over a photo op in a really snazzy plane, Bruce orders the world's most over-worked butler to call "Mr. Morse," Bruce Wayne's stand-in! Morse is given his assignment--to sit in a test jet and risk his life--and he heads for the airstrip while the Batmobile races to Gotham First National. Bats foils the criminal activity but is trapped in an armored car full of tear gas while, miles away, Mr. Morse is run off the road by a cement mixer and kidnapped by its shady, obviously non-union, driver. The man tosses Morse into the truck and drives it off a pier into Gotham Harbor. The driver then exits the truck, revealing a third Bruce Wayne, hops into Morse's convertible, and heads to the airfield.

There we pick up the beginning of the story and find out all the juicy behind-the-scenes details. The latest Wayne clone is actually disgraced businessman Carlyle Crane, who has rigged this impossibly complex ruse in order to kill Bruce Wayne (instead of, you know, putting a bullet in him) for ruining his reputation. Crane has built a complete replica of the top-secret VTOL, flown it up above the clouds, and killed a fake Bruce... or something like that. 

Once Batman gets out of his tear-gas-armored car mess, he answers Gordo's plea for help and heads to the airstrip, where he sorts out the entire mystery thanks to a very evident clue overlooked by Crane (Morse's helmet was left in the back of the convertible). Knowing his unknown adversary will come looking for the helmet, Batman hangs out for a few hours in the nearby bushes and puts the whammy on Crane when he arrives. Later, at the dock, Batman sighs as a perfectly good cement mixer (with Morse's corpse in the front seat) is hauled out of the water. Someone will pay for this destruction of fine equipment!

Despite (or possibly because of) the fact that this may very well be the most confusing, complex, coincidence-laden, confounding Batman adventure we've ever read, I enjoyed the heck out of it. I struggled to put into words what the hell was going on in the climax since there are so many threads being sewn together at one time. Though we've witnessed some pretty big villainous plots in these 1960s funny books, Carlyle Crane's has to take first price. The number of events that had to happen at just the right time for Crane's plate of revenge to be served is mind-boggling. 

I wish we could see the excised panels of Crane sitting at his desk, trying to figure out exactly when he should hire the cement mixer (and how would he know the exact moment Morse would come along?) and begin building his exact replica of VTOL. Not to mention the retractable roof on his mansion that hides the plane! Can someone tell me who this mysterious Mr. Morse is? It's hinted that he's been used before, but I assume he knows nothing of Bruce's alter ego. I couldn't find any reference to the character appearing before or after. The Brown/Giella art is still about as pedestrian as you'll find but, for this installment at least, the words are goofy enough to keep the pages turning.

In the back-up, Robin gets help from a nerdy college kid when he's jumped by a trio of good ol' boys tired of the Boy Wonder stealing their chicks from them. Dick thanks the awkward bookworm for saving his bacon and then ponders all the important friends and characters that come into his life and then never reappear. With "The Teen-Age Gap!," Mike Friedrich adds fuel to the argument that it's Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson who are responsible for making "Batgirl" the best Bat-strip recently. The only smile that crossed my face was when Dick is persuaded to pick up a guitar during a campfire to sing a few tunes, the lyrics of which confirmed my suspicion that Fred Wertham was not paying attention to funny books by 1969: Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine/I'll taste your strawberries, I'll drink your sweet wine.-Peter

Jack-I can't recall a Batman story with so little Batman in it as "Stand-In for Murder." Where did poor Morse come from? Bruce Wayne has a double who is available at a moment's notice to take his place--and the guy gets killed? Only in a Frank Robbins script would a crook call Batman "B-Man." And I'm starting to think that my childhood belief in rubber masks that were undetectable came from some of these DC comics!

As for "The Teen-Age Gap!," the less said the better. I'm not surprised that, after two issues with fabulous art by Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson on the Batgirl backup stories, we'd have to plummet back to Earth with a Robin story drawn by Andru and Esposito. When I was a kid, their art on Spider-Man didn't bother me, but as a much older man, I really cringe when I see their pages from the late '60s and early '70s. The groovy, hip lingo spouted by the characters is hard to take.

Adams

The Brave and the Bold #82

"The Sleepwalker from the Sea!"

Story by Bob Haney

Art by Neal Adams

Night at the Gotham City waterfront, and the Caped Crusader witnesses a strange series of events: a man stalks a beautiful woman who suddenly jumps into a speeding car. Another man, dressed in a scuba suit, shoots the stalker in the back with a harpoon and kills him. The killer removes an item of jewelry from the dead man and tosses it to the car's driver. Batman leaps onto the car, causing it to crash into a pole, but as he removes the driver he is grabbed from behind by Aquaman! The frogman takes aim and shoots Batman with a harpoon, causing him to fall into the water. Aquaman socks the frogman and dives into the drink, pulling Batman to safety before disappearing.

Later, Batman awakens to find a doctor tending to him and Commissioner Gordon standing nearby. Batman looks at the piece of jewelry that the driver held and observes that it's a talisman of a kraken--a giant squid! Just then, Batman recalls that he has a hot date and races home, where Alfred patches him up. Bruce Wayne is going out with Ailsa Dubois, model of the year, and rudely dismisses Honor, a gorgeous redhead about whom he had forgotten. Soon, Bruce and Ailsa dine on a terrace in the moonlight; he writes a check for $100,000 to invest in New Marine City at her behest but learns that money will not buy her affections. In fact, when he makes a move, she pulls a gun on him and then flips him over the side of the terrace! Bruce hangs onto a ledge and sees Ailsa leave the building; he realizes that she is heading to see Marius, a rich guy who owns a fleet of ships and who is somehow involved in the New Marine City project.

Bruce follows Ailsa to the offices of Marius Enterprises and overhears Marius boast of his plans to loot and then destroy the new project. Ailsa pulls back a curtain to reveal a painting of Maris in his super-villain garb as Ocean Master, Aquaman's half-brother and evil nemesis, and Bruce enters the room, only to be knocked out by Aquaman, who seems to be under some sort of spell. Aquaman carries Bruce to the site of the New Marine City development and admits that he was just pretending to be in a stupor to trick Marius. Suddenly, Marius and Ailsa appear and Marius starts shooting, but Bruce and Aquaman escape.

An hour later, at Police HQ, Aquaman tells Batman and Commissioner Gordon the origin story of Ocean Master, also known as his half-brother, Orm. Aquaman refuses to harm him. Aquaman also explains that his super-hot wife Mera was abducted by humanoids and, while he was searching for her, he accidentally killed a marine biologist when he thought the man was about to kill a narwhal. Ever since killing the man, Aquaman has been concerned that he is as evil as his brother. Gordon suspects there's something fishy going on and he and Batman give Aquaman some sort of drug that clears his mind and makes him feel better about things. They are helped by Honor, the gal  Bruce ditched, who dresses up as Mera.

Gordon pulls a gun and insists that Batman and Aquaman capture Orm, who is boasting to Ailsa that he is about to hijack all of the treasures in New Marine City. Not so fast, say Batman and Aquaman, but a trap door opens and drops the heroes into a giant aquarium, where they confront sharks and a kraken! Aquaman's mental fish-controlling powers fail to work very well, so it's a good thing Gordon shows up with some cops who blast a hole in the side of the massive fish tank. A cop accidentally shoots Ailsa and Orm escapes in a submarine. Aquaman swims off and Ailsa tells Batman that she was in love with Orm and is ready to face the music.

The fact that it took me so long to summarize the story in this issue demonstrates that it's a tad complicated, but this is the best full issue of Neal Adams's art that we've seen to date, in my opinion. Everything he draws is stunning. I always thought that Aquaman was a cool character and I particularly like Ocean Master's outfit. There's some pathos in the character of Honor and Ailsa has more depth than the usual beautiful women we see in the Batman comics. This is one of the best issues we've read in our journey through the '60s.-Jack

Peter-Adams's art, as usual, is fabulous but Bob Haney's dialogue and plot swim with the fishes. I never feel Haney gets the Batman vibe (in his scripts, his Dark Knight spouts dopey one-liners and behaves very un-heroically) nor any of the Gotham mythos, for that matter. Why, when Aquaman pleads with Bats to spare his brother's life, does the Commish draw his gun and act all silly/threatening? My other big problem, one not caused by Bob Haney, is that since I was always a Marvel Zombie I never read any of the second-tier hero funny books and that includes Aquaman. I had no idea if Haney was making up Orm and his nefarious deeds out of whole cloth or there was a history here until I did a Wiki dive and discovered that the character debuted only a few years prior to Brave and the Bold #82. This is still the best of the three titles, but that's due entirely to Neal Adams.

Next Week...
Avert Your Eyes When
Peter Asks Jack to Write Faster!

Batman in the 1960s Issue 42: November/December 1966

 

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

Anderson

Batman #186

"The Joker's Original Robberies!"

Story by John Broome

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella

"Commissioner Gordon's Death-Threat!"

Story by Gardner Fox

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella

There's a new member of the Joker's gang and his name is Gagsworth A. Gagsworthy, nicknamed Gaggy, a dwarf who is a refugee from a circus and whose new job is to keep the boss laughing. Every time Gaggy  makes the Joker guffaw, the Clown Prince of Crime comes up with a new idea for mayhem. "The Joker's Original Robberies!" include robbing an exhibition of original models of famous inventions from the Salon of Spectacles. Though the Dynamic Duo make the scene, the Joker and his gang escape.

Batman and Robin realize that the Joker's next target will be the original city hall of Gotham City. When the Joker uses a helicopter to airlift the building to a secret location, Batman and Robin hang on from below and burst through the door, quickly mopping up the gang and ensuring that Joker and Gaggy share a jail cell.

We are in full Batman TV show mode now and DC is making sure that they sell as many Batman comics as possible. Not only is Murphy Anderson drawing the covers, but the house ads include the latest issue of Jerry Lewis comics, featuring a guest appearance by Batman and Robin! The lead story in this issue is dreadful and Gaggy is an awful sidekick. He tries to make himself the equivalent of the Boy Wonder, but it doesn't work, and the art by Moldoff is worse than usual.

Batman receives an emergency call from Commissioner Gordon, who says that he is in Resort City, hiding out from Fred Purley, a jewel thief he locked up 40 years ago who has just been released. On his way out of the courtroom, Purley issued "Commissioner Gordon's Death-Threat!" to the then-rookie cop and now Batman's pal is afraid the crook will keep his old promise. What Batman doesn't know is that the call really came from Purley, who does a spot-on impression of Gordon's voice and who is holding the Commish hostage.

After racing to Resort City in the Bat-copter, the Caped Crusader barely escapes being blown up by a hidden bomb when he opens the door to what he thinks is Gordon's hotel room. Meanwhile, in Gotham City, Robin is out patrolling in the Batmobile when he happens upon Purley and two goons robbing a jewelry store. Robin is doing well against the goons when he's distracted by Purley's Gordon vocal impression; as a result, he's knocked out and left on the pavement. When the Dynamic Duo reunite at Police HQ, Batman quickly figures out what's going on and they take the Bat-copter to Flame Island, where Gordon has absent-mindedly scraped a Bat-signal in the black paint covering a window in the tower of the building where he's being held. Biff! Pow! Scratch one jewel thief and rescue one commissioner.

Unlike the first story in this issue, which was extra disappointing because it wasted the Joker, this one is just plain dull and features yet another run of the mill gangster. With all of the attention on Batman at this point, you'd think DC could do better, but I guess they could slap his picture on just about anything and it would sell during the heyday of Bat-mania.-Jack

Peter-In "Commissioner Gordon's Death-Threat," the Boy Wonder's inane one-liners had me screaming out "Robin! Stop!" at the same time as Purley! The hippy-cat lingo the kid keeps spouting reminds me we're almost into that Rebellious Robin phase we encountered in the early '70s. Old men writing dialogue for teenagers ("Wonder why Batman sliced air for Resort City?") never worked and probably never will. Hilarious that Purley got a life sentence for a diamond heist and Penguin and Joker are paroled before they're even arrested for multiple slayings. The Joker tale adds fuel to my argument that the 1960s Batman writers had no idea how to pen interesting tales centered on a madman. Take a look around at what DC Comics was selling in their funny books at the time and you can see there was no room for a genuine psychopath among yarns about super dogs and Kid Flashes.

Infantino/Giella

Detective Comics #357

"Bruce Wayne Unmasks Batman!"

Story by John Broome

Art by Carmine Infantino & Joe Giella

Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson are the guests on the William B. Williams TV debate show when they are blind-sided by the appearance of... Batman and Robin! The quartet engage in a feisty debate on criminal rehabilitation, bad childhoods, and the number of jewelry stores located in Gotham, with the masked invitees unaware of the secret identities belonging to the gentlemen across from them. 

Watching from home are two members of the Frankie Fargo gang, Boo-Boo and Beefy. Boo-Boo gets the ingenious idea of going down to the studio and kidnapping the Dynamic Duo to impress boss Frankie. They grab a conveniently-placed container of sleeping gas and exit through the apartment door. Later, they pump the studio full of gas and dump the faux crime-fighters in the back of their getaway car. In a secluded wood, they unmask the Caped Crusaders to reveal a pair of college kids. Without ID, they can't place the kids, so they stash the comatose "heroes" and head off to find Frankie Fargo.

Meanwhile, back at the studio, William Williams explains to Bruce and Dick that the Batman and Robin idea was all his; the men behind the masks are a pair of university students who spend their idle time at parties imitating their idols. Bruce and Robin head to the university to look for clues and happen upon Frankie and his gang just as the mobsters are about to rub out the underwear-clad figures whom they believe to be Batman and Robin.

When the real deal emerge from the Batmobile, Frankie is, to be frank, a bit pissed, and he opens up on the Dynamic Duo. It doesn't take much, however, for the Dark Knight and the Teenage Torpedo to take the gang down and deliver them to the authorities (Gordon is on a much-needed vacation). At the studio the next evening, Bruce and Robin are introduced to Tom Wiley and Stewart Hall, the two frat boys who were nabbed, and Wayne congratulates Tom on his mockery of Gotham's Greatest Detective while Dick chuckles in the foreground.

This is another one of those "high-concept" ideas that works much better on the cover than it does on the inside. Much like other plots of this ilk ("Alfred is... The Penguin!" "Robin Shops at the Supermarket!"), a single image (cover) is a fun snapshot that doesn't necessarily translate into 14 pages of action and brilliant storytelling. I was hoping the addition of John Broome to the skimpy writing staff would elicit new ideas, but nope, it's still the same old sophomoric crap.-Peter

Jack-I think you're being generous. The cover is nicely drawn but hardly memorable, and the story inside is terrible. William B. Williams was a real radio personality in NYC for decades but I can't imagine that a kid who would plunk down 12 cents for this issue would care one whit about William B. The script is so bad that even Infantino and Giella's art is uninspired. And who names villains Beefy and Boo Boo? Infantino must have been feeling overwhelmed, because he doesn't draw this issue's Elongated Man story, which has the dubious distinction of using the wrong color for the hero's costume from start to finish.

Various

Batman #187

"Batman's First Case"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Detective Comics #265, March 1959)

"The Phantom Eye of Gotham City"

Story by John Broome (?)

Art by Bob Kane & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Detective Comics #192, February 1953)

"The Last Days of Batman"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Batman #125, August 1959)

"Gotham's Cleverest Criminal"

Story by Al Schwartz

Art by Jack Burnley & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Batman Sunday strips 10/28-12/9/45)

"Peril at Playland Isle"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Dick Sprang & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Detective Comics #264, February 1959)

"The Batman of Tomorrow!"

Story by Edmond Hamilton

Art by Dick Sprang & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Detective Comics #216, February 1955)

"The Ballad of Batman"
Story by Edmond Hamilton

Art by Dick Sprang & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Batman #95, October 1955)

Peter-I love the constant rearranging of the mythos through the decades. Every so often we discover that a/Batman's first case wasn't really the first case; b/ there are umpteen people in Bruce Wayne's past that he's just lost touch with but reconnects with when a new villain arrives in town; and c/ Bruce Wayne had a myriad of inspirations for his alter ego. Most of these oldies have something that makes me smile, but if I have to pick a favorite it would be the dopiest of the six (I don't count the Sunday strips), "The Last Days of Batman," wherein the main plot is kicked off by the Dark Knight's need to travel back in time to the 17th Century. To save the world? To save Gotham? To save Robin? How about to save a kitten? Nope, it's to clear up a misunderstanding about museum curator John Kirk and an obscure painting. Thank goodness Gotham has its own time machine inventor! Gotta hand it to that Bill Finger; he could make masterpieces out of a sow's ear.

Jack-I don't think I've read this 80-page giant before, but it's an unusually strong collection. I loved the Sunday strips and now will have to go out and find a book of them so I can read them all. Art and story are great! Also great is the fact that we get three stories in a row penciled by Dick Sprang. My favorite of these is "Peril at Playland Isle," which makes fine use of an amusement park setting. "The Ballad of Batman" is a hokey tale that came out around the height of the Davy Crockett craze. 

Infantino/Giella

Detective Comics #358

"The Circle of Terror!"

Story by John Broome

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella

While out on patrol, Batman and Robin stumble upon the latest in a long line of 15th-tier Rogue villains--the Spellbinder! Exiting from the broken window of an antique store (definitely not the safest way to break into a business), Spellbinder and his two nattily-dressed henchmen dive into battle with the Dynamic Duo but the fisticuffs come to a screeching halt when Spellbinder unveils his secret power--hypnotism.

While doing cartwheels, the baddie envelops Batman with a mesmerizing pattern and our hero becomes... clock-eyed!!! Yes, clock-eyed. Suddenly, the Dark Knight believes he's facing the huge clock on the Lifetime Publications building in Gotham. Mobsters emerge from the timepiece and Batman gives wing, landing on the minute hand and delivering off-balance left hooks that seem to leave the criminals unfazed. Batman loses his footing and falls hundreds of feet to his death.

Or so it would seem, but just before he splatters all over the pavement, he awakens and finds a very worried Robin, informing his boss that the bad guys got away. Bats heads to the office of a police doctor, who tells him that the Spellbinder's trick seems to work on the Caped Crusader's inner fears and that it's very common for a frightened dreamer to die in his sleep (1960s medical research at its finest). Batman had better be well-prepared the next time he runs into the Spellbinder.

Ignoring this sage medical advice, Batman grabs Robin and hits the streets running, searching high and low for Spellbinder. He finds the dazzler in an alley (!), mapping out his next heist with his two bozos. Obviously expecting a different outcome, Batman is amazed when the Spellbinder hypnotizes him again and makes him believe he's landing a helicopter atop a speeding train to fight robbers. Unfortunately, the battle does not go our hero's way and he takes a topple from the locomotive into a body of water far below, waking up just before a whirlpool sucks him under. Again, Robin is there to roll his eyes and admonish his mentor for being foolhardy. "Next time," swears the World's Greatest Detective, "I'll be ready for him!"

Later that night, skyrockets in the sky lead the Dynamic Duo to a nearby deserted street, where the Spellbinder and his fiendish employees await. A well-hidden rocket blows up in Batman's face and becomes a pinwheel, once more hypnotizing him and sending him into an eerie dream state. Now, Batman is convinced he's in an amusement park fighting sideshow acts. But third time's the charm as Gotham's defender figures a way to foil the Spellbinder's trick and he delivers that solid left cross to the chin of his arch-enemy. Gotham's jail cells will be full again for at least a couple of months.

I gotta say that John Broome at least changes up the formula this time a bit. Batman is defeated twice before he gets a handle on the spinning trick; usually, there's one defeat and then Bats goes in swinging the second time. You can tell I'm so bored by this by-the-numbers era that I'll grab onto anything of interest. Like Batman's micro-sized crime book he keeps in his utility belt. Really, how much info could be kept in a journal the size of a folded business card? Or how about the questionable science of a helicopter blade that moves so slowly that it offers no harm to someone unlucky enough to get hit in the head by it? Gotham Villain Uniform Company must be running out of ideas; Spellbinder's get-up looks like pieces left over from three or four other 15th-tier rogues.-Peter

Jack-Is this the first op-art villain we've seen? He's described that way in the story and his costume features some go-go checks, so he has to be at DC! At the end of the story, Bruce, Dick, Alfred, and Aunt Harriet take in an op-art exhibit at a museum. Suffice it to say that Sheldon Moldoff's exhibits of op art on the museum wall do not inspire me to search for more. According to Wikipedia, the term op art was coined in '64, so DC is on the cutting edge. Sort of. Just like last issue, Infantino doesn't draw the Elongated Man backup story; this time, it's Sid Greene. From the looks of this one sample, I like him better as an inker over someone else's pencils.

Infantino/Giella

Batman #188

"The Eraser Who Tried to Rub Out Batman!"

Story by Robert Kanigher

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella

"The Ten Best-Dressed Corpses in Gotham City!"

Story by John Broome

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Sid Greene

Gazing at a giant eraser on display in a shop window (and ignoring the scantily-clad beauty who is giving him the eye), Bruce Wayne recalls a college classmate named Lenny Fiasco who made so many mistakes that he was always erasing the blackboard. The Dynamic Duo are soon summoned to the Riverside Bank, where Batman can find no evidence of any clue as to who robbed the vault. When he and Robin happen upon a toy store robbery in progress, they find an ad for the Eraser, who promises to remove every clue from a crime scene.

Batman and Robin disguise themselves as an organ grinder and his human monkey; when the organ grinder pretends to rob a safe in a jewelry shop, the Eraser suddenly turns up and reveals himself to be Lenny Fiasco, who quickly identifies Bruce Wayne in disguise due to the particular smell his shaving lotion gives off. Lenny still holds a grudge against Bruce for dating a certain girl in college and he knocks his old rival out by means of gas from one of his pointy, pencil-like shoes. Bruce manages to escape death by freezing (don't ask) before he changes into his Bat-suit and is joined by Robin. The duo make short work of the Eraser and his fellow goons and Lennie ends up in jail.

Bob Kanigher has been writing the most entertaining Bat-tales of late, and "The Eraser Who Tried to Rub Out Batman!" is nutty fun. The villain is a hoot, with a mask that resembles a pencil eraser and shoes that look like sharp pencil points. Women throw themselves at Bruce throughout the story, to Dick's chagrin, and there's even a brief attempt to kill Bruce Wayne by placing him in a non-melting ice sculpture.

Less fun is to be had in John Broome's "The Ten Best-Dressed Corpses in Gotham City!" It's not ideal to be on Squire Magazine's list of the ten best-dressed men in Gotham City, since three of the men have died in tragic accidents in the last week! The fourth name on the list is Bruce Wayne, who barely escapes death when his car loses control. Batman figures that the fifth name on the list is next, but when he and Robin visit Hampden Dennis, the rich realtor is not concerned.

The Dynamic Duo trail Dennis to a seedy part of the city, where the realtor and his beefy chauffeur engage in fisticuffs with the crime fighters. At Police HQ, Commissioner Gordon explains that Dennis was the secret king of the numbers racket, but when Batman and Robin return to Dennis's mansion they discover that the real killer is Matt Whitson, publisher of Squire, who betrayed his country during the last war. A man named Davis blackmailed him and Dennis killed him. The deaths of the best-dressed men were an attempt to cover up the initial murder.

Broome's story is overly complicated and poorly illustrated by Moldoff and Greene, whose inks are particularly heavy this time. The only brief moments of excitement occur near the end, when Robin and Batman both face danger from the magazine publisher at his mansion before they unmask him.-Jack

Peter-I'd like to think the Human Eraser was created as an answer to the camp that was being shown two nights a week on ABC. I love that--"Holy Coincidence!"--Bruce Wayne is just relating the story of Lennie Fiasco (with a surname like that, how could you fail?) to Dick when he gets word that a living eraser is wiping out all traces of criminal activity. What are the odds? And what are the odds a guy would run around with a giant eraser on top of his head? Owing also to the big hit show, we see our first wall walk and a "Zap! Pow!" nod as well. The best thing in this issue is Batman's lengthy expository detailing Matt Whitson's history in "Best-Dressed...". Deeming Whitson a "coward" for divulging government secrets while a POW, however, hasn't aged well.

Sekowsky/Giella/Anderson

The Brave and the Bold #68

"Alias the Bat-Hulk"

Story by Bob Haney

Art by Mike Sekowsky & Mike Esposito

While patrolling Gotham City in the Batmobile, Batman is surprised when the Riddler appears on his dashboard closed circuit TV screen with a riddle that leads the Caped Crusader to the Diamond Exchange. The Riddler is robbing the store and gets away after distracting Batman with a phony diamond that emits gas. Batman next encounters the Penguin, who flies over Gotham using an umbrella; he is located at the museum stealing a rare bird, but like the Riddler, he escapes.

In the Batmobile again, Batman sees that his gear shift knob has been replaced by a talking Joker head! Batman is knocked out by gas and the car crashes; when he awakens, he transforms into the Bat-Hulk, a giant figure who lumbers through the streets of Gotham and can melt anything he touches. After wandering into a park, Bat-Hulk changes back into Batman and thinks of someone who can help him. Batman visits Stagg Mansion, where Metamorpho and his crew hang out, and Stagg, the scientist, runs tests that reveal what's wrong with Batman. Unfortunately, he has no cure, so Batman asks Metamorpho to control him when he transforms into Bat-Hulk.

That happens right away, but Metamorpho can't control Bat-Hulk, who escapes. Meanwhile, the Joker, the Penguin, and the Riddler are toasting their success when Bat-Hulk bursts into their hideout to announce that he plans a super crime wave with them as helpers. Bat-Hulk quickly reverts to Batman but, as the trio advance on him, he changes back into Bat-Hulk. The crime wave begins and the inevitable showdown with Metamorpho ends when a bolt of lightning changes Bat-Hulk back into Batman for good.

I've never been a fan of Mike Sekowsky's pencils, and Mike Esposito's heavy black inks emphasize everything I don't like about this style. Unfortunately, Sekowsky drew Justice League of America for years, making the series hard to enjoy. This story is clearly influenced by the TV show and the movie (which gets a full page ad in this issue) and, while I've always liked the three villains, they are wasted here. I can't imagine that Marvel's Hulk was very popular or well-known at this point, being half of the Tales to Astonish lineup, so perhaps Bob Haney was just having a bit of fun with "Alias the Bat-Hulk."-Jack

Peter-Pretty awful stuff, from the hip-lingo script by Haney ("Stop abusing that crazy, mixed-up TV antenna!") to the barely-professional art (the work reminds me of the truly dreadful stuff Tony Tallarico pumped out for Warren in the late 1960s). The plot is hard to follow (the Joker, Penguin, and Riddler spray Bats with something and he gets porky), as is the logic behind stealing the name off of one of the biggest characters in your number one competitor's barn. I assume (there's that word again) that Bob Haney was practicing a bit of parody but, unfortunately, there's nothing funny going on. I have no history with Metamorpho, so any powers he possesses and supporting characters he interacts with are lost on me. Give me a good old-fashioned Batman/Deadman team-up over this junk any day. The villainous trio team up, doubtless, because of the TV show's popularity and to remind any reader out there that a movie is being released as well. Which begs the question: where the heck is funny book Catwoman?

BATMANIA!

Imagine scanning a newsstand in September or October 1966, just as the first full season of TV's Batman premiered! In addition to all of the comics discussed above, DC released these, all of which featured the Caped Crusader prominently on the cover:

Next Week...
Jack Finally Snaps and Questions
Whether Reading So Much Bad Science Fiction
is Healthy for a Man His Age!

Batman in the 1960s Issue 40: July/August 1966

 

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

Infantino/Giella

Detective Comics #353

"The Weather Wizard's Triple-Treasure Thefts!"

Story by Gardner Fox

Art by Carmine Infantino & Joe Giella

Tired of being foiled by the Flash in Central City, the Weather Wizard travels to Gotham to stage a brilliant heist. Actually, three brilliant heists! "The Weather Wizard's Triple-Treasure Thefts!" begins when WW causes it to rain on Gotham's empty reservoirs (there's been a drought going on for four years but no one stopped all the action to let us know). Elated Gothamites look towards the sky and see a message from WW, claiming he's paying the good folks for allowing him to steal three "great treasures." Further, he adds that the thefts have already occurred. That's news to slumbering Commissioner Gordon and his crew, who claim no reports have come in.

Millionaire Felix Bayard fears his Golden Cup (not the one he wore when he played linebacker for the Gotham Gladiators, but the solid gold drinking cup he keeps in a vault) may have been stolen and replaced with a cheap fraud. Not being an expert in priceless antiquities, he calls art expert Haverford Mimms and asks him to evaluate the goblet for him. Mimms show up, quickly declares it's the real deal, and then takes off his Mimms mask to reveal... the Weather Wizard!

Crafty devil that he is, WW wrote that note in the sky to get itchy billionaires to check their hidden storage facilities and expose the treasures to the criminal element. He exits stage left, golden goblet in hand, and wishes Mr. Bayard a good day. Gordon spends no time handing off the robbery to Batman, who's at home consoling Dick Grayson, who can't patrol for a few nights due to a basketball injury. Bats considers his alter ego, Bruce Wayne, to be a candidate for the next target since he owns the "fabulous" Rajah Ruby (the world's most perfect ruby!), bought by his father in India decades before. That night, sure enough, a trench-coated figure (gosh, who could it be?) snatches the ruby out of Wayne's wall safe and runs into the night. Next morning, Bruce and Dick discover the theft and report it to Gordon.

Monitoring the police airwaves, Weather Wizard hears of the theft and grows angry that someone else made off with such an incredible treasure. Using some of his magical weather tricks, the fiend traces the thief's footprints to a local cave and finds the ruby unprotected. Well, almost. Batman leaps out of the shadows and attempts to corral WW, but the villain is too quick and entraps the Caped Crusader in a large ice cube, explaining that the box will melt in two hours unless Batman attempts an escape. Then his oxygen will quickly be depleted. WW excuses himself, explaining he still has one more treasure to nab.

Being the hero that he is, Bats decides waiting two hours is for wimps and uses his boot heel to whip up some heat. The cube quickly melts and Batman is a free man! Luckily, our hero had the foresight to have Robin follow WW by car to his next stop, "The Mayan Room of the local museum," and there the Duo put an end to the Weather Wizard's attempted triple crown heist.

"WW's TTT!" is an entertaining enough little adventure, but it's got some silliness going on as well. I'm not sure if WW is about to make another appearance over in the Flash's mag and DC thought it a good idea to hype, but the line "Only the Flash can stop me!" is used at least a half-dozen times. Yeah, we get it. Then there's the weird panel where both Bruce and Dick act as though someone has broken in and stolen the ruby when at least one of them knows better. If Bruce hasn't told Dick that it was actually he himself who staged the robbery, why not? And if both are in on the act, who are they foolin'?  They're the only ones in the room! And there's even more expository word balloons than usual, telling us all stuff we had guessed pages before. Anyway, the Carmine/Joe graphics always make me smile even if there are some gaps in logic.-Peter

Jack-From the cover, I thought the Flash would be a guest-star in this issue, but it was not to be. I always thought the Weather Wizard was a cool villain, who seems to have unlimited powers but who is always defeated in the end. I especially like the panel where he's just sitting in a cloud, up in the sky. Why not? He can control the weather! The art is terrific, as usual.

Various

Batman #182

"The Villain of 100 Elements"

(Reprinted from Detective Comics #294, August 1961)

"Batman, Junior and Robin, Senior!"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Stan Kaye

(Reprinted from Detective Comics #218, April 1955)

"Batman, Robot"

(Reprinted from Detective Comics #281, July 1960)

"The Experiment of Professor Zero"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Dick Sprang & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Detective Comics #148, June 1949)

"The Rainbow Batman"

Story by Edmond Hamilton

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Stan Kaye

(Reprinted from Detective Comics #241, March 1957)

"The Joker Batman!"

Story by David Vern

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Batman #85, August 1954)

(Original title -"Batman--Clown of Crime")

Peter-These 1950s Batman reprints prove that, at one time at least, Sheldon Moldoff was a capable penciler. Should we blame the inkers who came after Stan Kaye? Of the four new to us, the silliest is "The Rainbow Batman," a story that would fit in well with the 1960s installments. Goofy script with a truly inane reveal. Who knew Bats kept multi-colored costumes for just such an occasion?

Jack-It has to be Stan Kaye's inks that make Moldoff's pencils look so good. My favorite story this issue is the one drawn by Dick Sprang in 1949, "The Experiment of Professor Zero." I love that the Prof's henchman is named "Beefy"! "Batman, Junior and Robin, Senior!" is also lots of fun, especially when the bad guy is wandering around Gotham City with two heavy gas canisters under his arms! They saved a goodie for last--"The Joker Batman!" is a hoot, when the Clown Prince of Crime and Batman switch personalities due to an accident. The sight of Batman laughing madly like the Joker and acting like a prankster is worth a look.

Infantino/Giella

Detective Comics #354

"No Exit for Batman!"

Story by John Broome

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella

Evil Dr. Tzin-Tzin has obviously become bored of spreading pandemonium throughout Asia and has moved his business to Gotham. His number one goal is to kill the Batman! When the corpse of Strip Bander, one of Tzin's henchmen, turns up at the morgue, Commissioner Gordon puts down his pitching wedge and calls the Dynamic Duo to the building to have a pow-wow. The coroner's verdict: death by fright!

At that point, Gordon proves to Batman that he's not just another pretty face and gives the scoop on Dr. Tzin-Tzin's swath of terror, which led to him eventually becoming Interpol's Most Wanted Man! Back at Gordon's office, the Commish shows Batman a strange object: a red ball. Experts are stymied. Since the orb was found at the site of a bank robbery, it has to be something more dangerous than a dog's ball. Gordon tasks Batman and Robin with discovering just what the device is capable of and how it can lead them to the mysterious Tzin-Tzin. 

The boys head back to the Batcave, where the orb suddenly lights up and shows them the deadly visage of Dr. Tzin-Tzin! The fiend has a message for the Caped Crusader: "stay out of my way!" The orb then explodes. Bats puts Robin in charge of examining the fragments of the red ball and heads out of the cave on patrol. A burglar alarm leads him into a dark alley, where a gang of thugs jump him and gives our hero their best. Unknown to Bats, the whole episode is being filmed for Tzin's enjoyment. 

After a terrifying and lengthy fight (one of Tzin's henchmen labels it "a gory fist battle"), Bats emerges victorious, watching as the thugs run away in defeat, tails between legs. Pooped, Bats heads back to the cave, where he has a quick meal and some well-deserved rest before declaring that the red orb must be rebuilt if they are to track Tzin. Working strictly from memory, Batman uses duct tape and super glue to piece the ball back together. Miraculously, it works and is able to help the boys locate Tzin's secret hideout: the top floor of a Gotham skyscraper!

After battling their way in, the Dynamic Duo finally get a face-to-face with their brand new arch-nemesis, who attempts to hypnotize Batman. Using his quick wits and a Batarang, the Dark Knight puts Tzin's hypnotic eye out of service and the Asian villain behind bars. But is this the last Batman and Robin will see of Dr. Tzin-Tzin? 

Well, it's the last we'll see of him in the 1960s, but with a little digging you can read about his next appearance here. An obvious knock-off of Fu Manchu (or maybe even the more timely Mandarin over at Marvel), Tzin-Tzin sure doesn't seem like an international menace. He's got an evil eye that hypnotizes (and is used effectively in this story exactly once), but he's also got big, strong henchmen who could have killed Strip Bander just as easily. There's not a lot going on in this one. The character is definitely better utilized in the 1970s by Wein and Wolfman, when Tzin becomes a member of the League of Assassins. I do like how Batman was able to rebuild Tzin's red orb and make it work just the way it did before the explosion. World's Greatest Handyman! For some reason, the Moldoff/Giella art annoyed me less this time out; the characters' faces are still amateurish at best but at least there's a bit of detail surrounding the doodles.-Peter

Jack-Moldoff continues providing us with more dynamic page layouts and Giella's inks help make the art palatable. Dr. Tzin-Tzin didn't put up much of a fight, did he? One question comes to mind: was Carmine Infantino the best cover artist who ever drew for the comics? I'm hard-pressed to think of anyone who could make me want to buy and read a comic book more than he.

Infantino/Giella

Batman #183

"A Touch of Poison Ivy!"

Story by Robert Kanigher 

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella

"Batman's Baffling Turnabout!"

Story by Gardner Fox

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella

No matter which luscious beauty Bruce Wayne dines or dances with, he can't get Poison Ivy out of his mind. The only thing that seems to distract him is fighting crime. Meanwhile, from her prison cell, Poison Ivy sends Batman a gift of a pocket mirror that she made in the machine shop. He gazes into the mirror and keeps thinking of her promise that he will set her free. The Caped Crusader has to smash the mirror to break the spell.

Poison Ivy hears about the mirror and fakes sickness, dying of a broken heart, in order to be moved to the prison hospital, but when Batman pays a visit she reveals that her hairs contain explosives! Batman carries her out to freedom in order to prevent her from blowing up the hospital. She and her goons take Batman for a ride, blowing up the police cars that are in pursuit and putting the Dark Knight to sleep with a jab of "bye-bye syrup." Back at her hideout, Ivy keeps Batman on a leash and he fights back with a hunger strike. After days of this, she brings an IV tube to force feed him but he fights back, aided by Robin, who appears out of nowhere. The Dynamic Duo quickly defeat Poison Ivy and she returns to jail.

The publishing schedule must have been getting close to catching up to the hit TV show, since the TV screen on the cover shows the TV Batman logo, while in "A Touch of Poison Ivy," Batman watches TV in the last panel but only sees Poison Ivy in her cell. I enjoyed the campy story, though it represents unusual behavior for Batman, something we've been seeing more and more of recently. Bruce Wayne certainly gets around, doesn't he? In the space of one page, he goes on dates with Trina ("as delicious as angel cake"), Vickie (they "make beautiful music together"), and Gilda (whose kiss "will break any thermometer").

In the middle of knocking around some goons in a waterfront warehouse, Batman falls through a trap door and finds himself stuck on a gooey net suspended above the river. A voice taunts him; a crook he sent to jail five years before will leave Batman to drown as the tide comes in. Above, in the warehouse, a substitute Batman joins the Boy Wonder and complains of a twisted ankle. Robin recognizes the fake right away and drives him to the auxiliary Batcave, where Batman relaxes in front of the TV. Robin heads off in the Batmobile and watches on closed-circuit TV as the fake Batman sets a bomb to blow up the hideout. Robin discovers another bomb under the hood and dismantles it before trailing the faux-Dark Knight back to the waterfront warehouse. Fake Batman is surprised to encounter the real Batman, who is alive and kicking. Their fistfight ends as expected and Batman explains to Robin how he escaped a watery grave.

"Batman's Baffling Turnabout!" scrapes the bottom of the barrel. There's yet another reference to watching TV, and Robin uses the "Bat-Noculars" to watch the duplicate Caped Crusader, something that sounds suspiciously like an influence from the TV show, which always featured "Bat-This" and "Bat-That." I must admit that I did not notice that the fake Batman's chest emblem was old style, missing the yellow oval around the bat, which is how Robin knew right away that he was a phony. In the last panel, Batman refers to his "New Look," a touch that is a bit meta. The best thing about this issue is the cover. Again.-Jack

Peter-The script for "A Touch of Poison Ivy!" is so awful it's hard to believe it was written by Big Bob Kanigher. The faux hip lingo almost made my eyes bleed; particularly egregious was Robin's "Big Daddy" nickname for Batman. At no time, in no place, should a teenage boy call a grown man "Big Daddy!" Where's Wertham when he's really needed? The entire affair has a camp sheen to it that I'm positive isn't accidental. So many panels in this one made me cringe. "Baffling Turnabout!" is just as dopey but at least it's entertaining. Odd that we never find out who the faux-Bats is. Is this the first appearance of Bat-Cave II? Never knew there was a second hideout until now. Property taxes must be a nightmare for Wayne.

Next Week...
More Ditko Sci-Fi!