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

 

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

Novick

Detective Comics #393

"The Combo Caper!"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Bob Brown & Joe Giella

"Downfall of a Goliath!"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Gil Kane & Murphy Anderson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Novick/Giordano

Batman #216

"Angel--Or Devil?"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Irv Novick & Dick Giordano

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

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

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

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

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

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

Adams

The Brave and the Bold #86

"You Can't Hide from a Deadman!"

Story by Bob Haney

Art by Neal Adams

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

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

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

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

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

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

Adams

Batman #217

"One Bullet Too Many!"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Irv Novick & Dick Giordano

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

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

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

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

Adams

Detective Comics #394

"A Victim's Victim!"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Bob Brown & Joe Giella

"Strike... While the Campus is Hot"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Gil Kane & Murphy Anderson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE TEN BEST 1960S ADVENTURES

Batman #180

Peter:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jack:

The Brave and the Bold #85

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

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

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

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

5 "The Challenge of Clay-Face"

6 "Castle with Wall-to-Wall Danger!"

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

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

9 "The Senator's Been Shot!"

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

The Best Artist Not Named Neal Adams:

Peter: Carmine Infantino

Jack: Gil Kane

The Worst Story of the Decade:

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

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

Best Cover: 

Peter: Batman #180, Kane/Anderson

Jack: The Brave and the Bold #85, Adams

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

Batman in the 1960s Issue 58: July/August 1969

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

Adams

Detective Comics #389

"Batman's Evil Eye"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Bob Brown & Joe Giella

"Batgirl's Bag of Tricks!"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Gil Kane & Murphy Anderson

Assuring Robin that even bad guys can be rehabilitated, Batman shows up at Gotham Prison to wish Jonathan Crane the best as he walks out onto the streets of Gotham for the first time in at least three months (since the last time he was tried and convicted of multiple counts of attempted murder, extortion, terrorism, and armed robbery). The Boy Wonder is doubtful, claiming these bad seeds never learn, but Crane, for his part, seems to be a happy clam, going so far as to shake Batman's hand.

As they drive away, the Dark Knight muses how the times have changed and criminals aren't really scared of his "Bat persona" anymore. Just then, the Duo run across some dastardly fiends stealing parking meters (I ain't making that up!) and jump from the Mobile to apprehend said criminals. The thugs seem to wet their pants and stand in total fear while the Duo apply knuckle sammitches to their kissers. "Odd," muses the Caped Crusader, "for a brief moment there I thought..." Robin sighs and admonishes his mentor, "Enough of the group therapy, let's get a burger."

The next night, the boys are patrolling the streets of Gotham when they see a group of thieves exiting Gems 'R' Us and leap into the mob. Again, like the previous night, these hooligans seem terrified of their own shadow and the boys slap the cuffs without much of a fight. Boring! As the goons are led away into the police precinct, Batman corners Gordo (who hasn't changed out of his Gotham Golf Resort polo yet) with an eye to discussing this new Bat-Phobia craze that's sweeping the underworld, but the Commish receives a call. "It's for you!," exclaims Gordon, and hands Batman the phone. 

On the other end of the phone, a mysterious voice tells Bats if he's interested in the reason why criminals are suddenly terrified at the very sight of him, to meet the voice at a nearby warehouse and... come alone. The World's Greatest Detective™ has no idea who the voice could belong to (um, let's see, 2+2=?), but his curiosity has been piqued. He heads to the warehouse and peeks through the skylight, boasting how his unknown adversary will never guess where Batman will enter. Wrong!

The Scarecrow is ready for his nemesis and has a room of mirrors erected so that when Bats gazes at his own reflection, he'll be just as terrified as the goons! Crane's voice informs our hero that Batman can only look at himself five times in the mirror before he goes mad. Using the Sherlock Holmesian skills God gave him, Batman suddenly realizes his foe must be... The Scarecrow! After several unsuccessful attempts to escape, The Dark Knight tricks Crane into believing he's used up his allotted five trips to the mirror and now he's as crazy as a loon. The Scarecrow sends his henchmen in to finish Bats off, but our wily hero uses his Bat-Phobia powers to agitate the thugs and gain access to the Scarecrow. As he's hauling the 2nd-tier villain off to the pokey, Batman swears he'll never be fooled by a parolee again.

I love the Scarecrow so any visit is welcome, but all through the 1960s, his limited guest appearances have been greeted with below-average scripts, this one included. Robin mocks his boss for giving Crane a job at Wayne Labs and, I gotta tell ya, for the first time ever, I agree with the little twerp. Who thinks it's a good idea to set a psycho (even a so-called rehabilitated nut) loose in a lab full of dangerous stuff? And how is it the Caped Crusader couldn't figure out who was behind the fear factor? He just let the guy out of prison, fercrissakes! Best laugh of the strip goes to Robin for losing his patience and telling Batman to drop the psychobabble already. 

In the conclusion of a two-parter, Batgirl first takes down a faux-JLA and then heads after airline hostess/gem smuggler Darlene, who has headed out to her grandpappy's 85th birthday party. Once Babs arrives, she discovers that the old man is behind the smuggling ring. Despite Gramps pulling a Tommy-gun on our heroine, Batgirl slaps on the cuffs and calls the local cops to haul the smugglers away. Once again, the dessert is much more filling than the main course. The script, the art, hell even the one-liners are snappier. It's a doggone dirty shame Babs was never given her own title.-Peter

Jack-I agree with you about the Batgirl story. The art is fantastic and I loved the jittery old man with the machine gun. As for the Batman story, I liked it better than you did. The Scarecrow is a cool villain, the story was fun, and the fight at the end, where Batman is unable to see but prevails anyway, was neat. Sure, there were some parts that were hard to believe, but I enjoyed it. And that cover! Wow!

Draut/Colletta

Batman #213

"The Origin of Robin!"

Story by E. Nelson Bridwell

Art by Ross Andru & Mike Esposito

"Here Comes Alfred!"

Story by Don C. Cameron

Art by Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson & George Roussos

(Reprinted from Batman #16, May 1943)

"The Game of Death!"

Story by David Vern

Art by Jim Mooney

(Reprinted from Star Spangled Comics #127, April 1952)

"The Man Behind the Red Hood!"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Bob Kane, Lew Sayre Schwartz & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Detective Comics #168, February 1951)

"The Challenge of Clay-Face"

(Reprinted from Detective Comics #298, December 1961)

Some covers bring me right back to childhood, and this is one of them. I'm surprised to see it was drawn by Bill Draut and Vince Colletta, two artists I don't think of as Batman regulars.

"The Origin of Robin!" is disappointing, mainly due to the art by Andru and Esposito. The Golden Age version is punchier and the art is primitive, but it's more enjoyable. The new version is rewritten and redrawn but essentially the same story. "Here Comes Alfred!" is the butler's first appearance and opens with a wonderful splash page by Jerry Robinson featuring a giant-sized Alfred about to step on tiny crooks without realizing it. The chubby, Golden Age Alfred of the story is an amateur sleuth and former music hall actor who foists himself on Bruce Wayne as his new butler, explaining that his father was butler to Wayne's father. Alfred quickly figures out the secret identities of the Dynamic Duo so they have to keep him on; a helpful editor's note reports that he lost weight and grew his mustache about eight months later.

"The Game of Death!" is a throwaway Robin story from 1952. I've always loved "The Man Behind the Red Hood!" because it serves as the Joker's origin story. On rereading it, the art is pretty good and the story has flaws, but it still holds a special place for me. I looked back at my comments on "The Challenge of Clay-Face" and I called it excellent when I first read it. I have no reason to change that assessment!-Jack

Peter-The obvious standouts here are the Clay-Face adventure (which SPOILER ALERT! will earn a place on my list of the best Batman stories of the 1960s) and the intro of the Red Hood, a story I read decades ago in this here issue. "The Man Behind the Red Hood!" has an impractical plot (why would the Joker bother coming back as the Red Hood?) and a laughable event (Joker is overpowered and captured by a bumpkin named "Farmerboy" Benson) but a Formula One pace and that killer retro art. The remaining three stories are varying levels of fluff. This will be the final 1960s Giant-Sizer we review and, I must say, I'll miss the format!

Adams

The Brave and the Bold #84

"The Angel, the Rock, and the Cowl"

Story by Bob Haney

Art by Neal Adams

Jack and I reviewed this eons ago when we were doing our bi-weekly dissection of DC war comics. You can find that discussion here.-Peter

Jack-Looking back at our writeup from 2017, I see that  neither one of us loved the story, but the art is spectacular. It's interesting to note that Joe Kubert helped out. Seeing Sgt. Rock as an older man was cool.

Novick

Detective Comics #390

"If the Coffin Fits--Wear It!"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Bob Brown & Joe Giella

"Countdown to Chaos!"

Story by Mike Friedrich

Art by Gil Kane & Murphy Anderson

Look out Gotham--there's a new Rogue in town and his handle is the Masquerader! So what's this new villain's M.O.? Well, he does the occasional heist but it seems only a ploy to get the Dark Knight to show up so that the Masquerade thugs can tear bits out of the Bat-uni. Odd, no?

You'd think they would be nothing but a nuisance to our hero but, hey, a hero only keeps a certain number of outfits in the closet and Batman has completely run out. He and Robin ponder the subject, noting that the goons ripped off the piece of uni that contains the name of Batman's tailor. "Gosh, Batman, why would the Masquerader want the name of your tailor?" Why indeed, Boy Blunder? The World's Greatest Detective™ simply shrugs and hold up his hands as he grabs the phone and dials Sam Tweed (yes, Sam Tweed) to order another suit. Sam laughs and reveals to his number one client that he always keeps an extra handy just in case. The uniform will be delivered to Gordo's office within the hour.

Robin races over to the precinct, grabs the clothing box, and heads back to the Batcave, pronto. Just as the junior partner is taking the outfit out of its box, Batman gets a call on the hotline from the Commish: the Masquerader, who always sends a riddle to the police before pulling a heist (wonder where he got that trick from), has left a cryptic message for the Duo. With a little bit of brainwork, the pair work out that the clue is meant to lead them to Charles Finger Moving Company. Robin lets out a girlish squeal once he's emptied the box, for inside, under Batman's new uni, lies the disguise of the Masquerader!

"That could mean one thing and one thing only, Robin. Yes, of course, this devious villain must have a tailor to stitch his get-ups as well and that tailor is... Sam Tweed! Innocent, kind, and courteous Sam could be in danger. I'd better call him!" Tweed admits that the Masquerader forced him to knit one, purl two at gunpoint and he's so embarrassed! Bats insists that Sam tell him the identity of the Masquerader but before he can... Blam! Blam! The Masquerader snickers and goads Batman before hanging up the phone.

Batman sends Robin to the moving company and races to Tweed's shop. "If the Masquerader has harmed one hair on the head of the most courteous, innocent, kind, sin-free resident of Gotham, I'll... well, he'd better not!" Alas, when Bats reaches the shop, Tweed is on the floor, dying from his bullet wounds. His last words before the ambulance crew take him away are the Masquerader's home address! Hang on a sec... how did those EMTs get to the scene so fast? Evidently, the neighbors reported the gunshots. Batman sighs as the ambulance takes the body of Tweed away.

The Dark Knight arrives at the Fashion Art Studios, home of the Masquerader and, rather than pick the lock of the door, crashes through the plate glass display window, where he discovers his new archenemy waiting for him. A tussle ensues but the Masquerader gains the upper hand as he activates a huge heat lamp on the ceiling and Batman's uniform begins to constrict. "I've sewed you into your own shroud!!!" screams the unhinged maniac, as he rips away his mask, revealing... Sam Tweed!!!! NO way!

"Hang on, this can't be real, I just left your bullet-ridden, admittedly bloodless corpse back at your shop. And those ambulance drivers? They had stethoscopes and thermometers! Surely, they couldn't be..." The Masquerader lets out a long giggle and informs Batman that his uniform is made of "Hygroscopic Monofilaments, strong as steel, which absorb moisture from the air..." and a whole lot of other sewing machine lingo. Long story short: Bats is going to be squeezed to death! Quick-thinking Batman pulls out his laser gun and aims it at the sprinklers high above. The resulting deluge wipes out the heat lamp and allows our hero to deliver quite the blow to the chin of Sam Tweed, Future Prison Garment Mender. 

Though "If the Coffin Fits--Wear It" contains no aliens or robots, the script is just as ludicrous as those past triumphs, filled with dopey contrivances and red herrings. In the end, Tweed reveals that this huge, complicated plot, which relied on lots of coincidences and expensive props, was initiated because he had become weary of crafting custom suits for heroes and villains and it was time for him to man up and become Gotham's Number One Crime Lord™. Why bother with such an elaborate setup as the fake killing of the tailor? Why include the Masquerader costume in the garment box? How stupid is our favorite DC hero that he couldn't put two and two together and come up with Tweed? Why the panel where the Masquerader gleefully holds up a piece of Batman's costume and exclaims, "At last, I have the identity of Batman's tailor!" when everyone within earshot knows the dope's real identity anyway? Why do a growing number of bad guys feel it's necessary to clue the Duo in on their next hold-up? If I were a criminal, I'd want to make off with the goods and not have to worry about a fistfight with the Dark Knight. Nothing about this one makes sense except for the art, which is just about the best Brown/Giella work I've laid my eyes on yet. 

During a particularly heated teachers' contract negotiation, Gotham High's cub newspaper reporter, Dick Grayson, asks his editor, the really cute and nicely drawn Sandy, out on a date to the school's football game that evening. After the Gotham Titans beat the Skyline Bulldogs in a tightly contested game, Dick and Sandy are put upon by a group of rabble rousers dressed in Skyline jackets. Realizing this may be the most grueling battle of his short, illustrious career (even more dangerous than the time he pulled Mr. Thomas's Pomeranian out of the Gotham Public Swimming Pool), Dick leaps into the bushes and emerges as... Robin, the Boy Wonder! 

Robin pummels the Skyline fans to a bloody pulp but their (older) leader gets away. The next day, the lead negotiator for the teachers receives a private call in his office, a very stressful call if the sweat on his forehead is to be believed, and the following evening he holds a press conference informing the public that talks between the city and the teachers have broken down. "What?!" screams Dick Grayson, "That means the teachers will go on strike!" Well, if we have to endure the lightweight solo adventures of Robin (which will rotate with the Batgirl back-up), at least the powers that be thought it a good idea to keep the same art team of Kane and Anderson. And to be fair, the plot of "Countdown to Chaos!" is not too bad, with a couple of interesting plot devices inserted to keep our interest. Who is the mystery rabble-rouser who escapes and does he have something to do with the mysterious phone call? Will Sandy drop her cold, hard demeanor long enough to plant one on Dick? To be continued...-Peter

Jack-At first I thought the torn costume was further evidence of the more vulnerable Batman we've been seeing since Frank Robbins took over as writer, but that turned out not to be the case. The Masquerader resembles the Red Skull, does he not? I like the fact that the Batman story is not filled with long captions and instead focuses on action and dialogue. I agree that the art is good, but I think Novick's cover is even better. The letters column has two interesting tidbits: first, the editor writes that Carmine Infantino lays out the cover of every DC comic, which is quite a feat, and second, Martin Pasko writes to ask that Mike Friedrich "quit trying to be 'cool' in the dialogue of his stories," something we've also complained about.

Novick

Batman #214

"Batman's Marriage Trap!"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Irv Novick & Joe Giella

The winner of the annual Gotham Queen of Beauty Awards gets to spend a night on the town with Batman! Crooks watching the pageant on TV are elated, since Batman's every move will be covered and they'll know where he is all evening. Robin announces that he plans to stay home and watch it all on TV, too! The crooks make the most of their opportunity and commit a record number of crimes without any opposition.

The boss, a guy named Strack, decides to set "Batman's Marriage Trap!" and use the women of Gotham City against the Dark Knight. He summons a sexy blonde named Cleo and sends her out as bait. Cleo visits a top ad agency and tells the top man that she represents W.E.B., which stands for Women to End BATchelorhood. Their goal is to force Batman, Gotham's most eligible bachelor, to marry, thus removing the one barrier to happy marriage in the city. She has a million dollars to spend on an ad campaign, so the admen start papering the city with fliers that say "Wanted! For Marriage" and feature a picture of Batman.

Women start flooding the streets, carrying signs and blocking the Batmobile's path. "Down With Singles!" "Batman Unfair to Gotham Gals!" Even Batgirl joins the picket line! What's a crime fighter to do? Batman and Robin get unexpected aid from Cleo, who creates a smokescreen with her sports car and blocks the women's path. Cleo plays hard to get, figuring that will intrigue the Caped Crusader. As Batman and Robin drive up to a robbery in progress, their car is swarmed with more women, who insist that Batman choose a bride. Suddenly, Cleo reappears, tossing ladies hither and yon until they run from her. Batman becomes more intrigued by the blonde savior.

Strack and his gang set a trap for Batman by making it look like someone has stolen Cleo's sports car. A fierce battle ensues between the Dynamic Duo and Strack's gang until Cleo joins in, having fallen for Batman in earnest. Batgirl makes a surprise appearance to keep Batman from being shot and reveals that she was trailing Cleo, who tearfully admits her crush on Batman before she is led off in handcuffs. In the end, Batgirl disguises herself as Cleo and helps Batman and Robin round up the gang boss. Our heroes drive off and see all of the picket signs discarded in a trash pile--they are relieved that women will no longer be throwing themselves at Batman.

I know Peter will mock me, but I enjoyed this silly story, which features an impressive cover by Novick and interior art that is as good as the cover. I liked seeing a guest appearance from Batgirl and I thought the whole plot was so over the top that it was fun.-Jack

Peter-"Batman's Marriage Trap!" simultaneously puts us on alert the Frank Robbins is running out of story ideas and that he really digs ripping his ideas from the headlines. Tired of burning their bras in front of Gotham City Hall, the town's feminists now protest... Batman's bachelorhood? You can tell pretty quickly which side of the line Frank Robbins stood on in 1969. This is just about the most offensive and lunk-headed Bat-script on this journey and barely missed my pick for Worst Bat-Story of the 1960s. What placed first? Stay tuned!

Next Week...
Paul Reinman Shows Us
"Something in the Sea!"

Batman in the 1960s Issue 55: January/February 1969

 

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

Novick

Detective Comics #383

"The Fortune-Cookie Caper!"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Bob Brown & Joe Giella

Deciding to give the most overworked butler/chef/stuntman in Gotham the night off, Batman and Robin pop into their favorite Chinese restaurant, the famous Tommy Chee's, for some won ton soup, spring rolls, Moo Goo Gai Pan, and Tommy's renowned sweet and sour pork. After scarfing down their food, the boys are presented with the requisite fortune cookies. Batman's has a cryptic "Hang on baby, I'm almost there. Love, Neal" while Robin's has the hilarious "Help! I'm a prisoner in a Chinese bakery!" Robin remarks that he'll be saving this one for Aunt Harriet, who has a particular "yen" for Asian humor.

As the Duo are exiting the establishment, they are both cuffed from behind and knocked out. When they come to, they realize the only thing missing is Robin's fortune. "Ah ha!," exclaims the World's Greatest Detective Brain™.  "This makes me think the thugs wanted that message!" When they return to the restaurant to grill Tommy, the owner explains that the humorous message in the cookie is referred to in the trade as a "Number 25." Batman gets another scrunched-up look on his face and screams, "This means something!"

Eventually, our heroes split up, with Robin visiting the bakery where the cookie was born and Bats heading down to the freight yard to investigate anything that has a "25" on it: telephone poles, manholes, discarded Adele CDs, the works. While investigating the bakery, Robin is attacked by the baker and accidentally stumbles across a pretty young lady stashed in a closet. She tells Robin she is Hu Shi, sister of the bakery's owner, Yin Yan. Unfortunately, his attention is averted by the young lady's legs and he's clobbered from behind by the baker. Unbeknownst to Robin, Hu is in cahoots with her evil brother, who emerges from the shadows to inform his sibling that when Robin wakes up, they'll force him to lure Batman to the bakery and get rid of two of their problems.

Batman finally finds the elusive "25" he's been seeking when he comes across two hoods (the same two who put the boys to sleep back at Tommy's joint) rummaging through a freight car and carefully separating a #25 crate. Bats gets a little revenge by roughing up the criminals and, in the process, accidentally destroys crate #25, which spills its valuable cargo all over the freight car floor: pearls, smuggled from the Orient!

Back at the bakery, Robin has finally come around and is talked into summoning his mentor to the scene. But Bats is three steps ahead and overhears Hu Shi and Yin Yan discussing their smuggling operation. He bursts in through a skylight and, after dressing the thousands of cuts across his body, slaps the cuffs on the pair of Won Ton villains (see what I did there?), and explains the whole scheme to his junior partner. 

How did the Boy Wonder not shout out, "Hang on a sec, Batman, why didn't Yin just slip the two hoods a note that says 'check out crate #25 in the freight yard' instead of an elaborate scheme involving random fortune cookies?" I'm amazed that the racist Asian stereotypes had hung around through 1969 in the funny books. Writer Frank Robbins has the characters spouting dialogue like "Confucius say 'little man with big mouth... get face full egg-rolls!'" while the colorist slaps a bright yellow sheen across all the foreign faces. Can you imagine the multitude of five-year-old Batman readers who went to school expecting their Asian classmates to be bright yellow?  But then, as I'm quickly reminded, the Black characters in funny books of the time were pigeonholed with equally egregious conventions. But pull all this nonsense aside and we're still left with an overly-complicated plot and half-baked (pun intended) action. The graphics are competent (in fact, stacked next to Shelly's dribbles, they're art) but someone needs to motivate Frank to write something... I don't know... maybe original.-Peter

Jack-As I read this story, I was jotting down all the offensive Asian stereotypes, but by the end I thought it was pretty good! The art by Brown and Giella is certainly smooth and one panel (on p. 13) even looks a bit like the work of Gil Kane. The level of story and art has gone up enough that even a tale like this one is enjoyable. By the way, this is the last issue to feature an Elongated Man backup story.

Cardy

Batman #208

"The Women in Batman's Life!"

Story by E. Nelson Bridwell

Art by Gil Kane & Jack Abel

"The Secret Life of the Catwoman"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Bob Kane, Lew Sayre Schwartz & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Batman #62, January 1951)

"Vicki Vale's Secret!"

Story by David Vern

Art by Bob Kane, Lew Sayre Schwartz & Charles Paris

(Reprinted from Batman #73, November 1952) 

"The Menace of the Firefly"

Story by Gardner Fox

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella

(Reprinted from Batman #126, September 1959)

"The Dilemma of the Detective's Daughter!"

(Reprinted from Batman #165, August 1964)

Peter-As usual with the reprint volumes, there's some fun stuff here, but I'm not a fan of the scattershot approach utilized, with some stories only getting a few pages here and there. Of the full-lengthers, the one I liked the most was the supremely goofy Firefly yarn and least, of course, was the dreadful Moldoff/Giella "Detective's Daughter" drivel. The Ma Chilton epilogue is a little too much for me to stomach. It's all a bit too coincidental. What ever happened to Uncle Philip, the guy who inherited Bruce and dumped him in the lap of a dead gangster's mother?

Jack-Here's where we differ! I recall that fantastic Cardy cover from childhood, and comics like this were a big part of what made me a Batman/DC Comics fan. The issue starts out with five pages of a framing story drawn by Gil Kane--not his best work, but still dynamic. Next comes a vintage Catwoman story with great, old-style art by Lew Sayre Schwartz, including a terrific splash page. A couple more pages from another old Catwoman story are followed by more framing pages by Kane.

Vicki Vale has never been one of my favorite characters (except when embodied by Kim Basinger), but the panel reproduced here shows that Schwartz could draw cheesecake with the best of them. Things quickly plummet in the art department as Shelly Moldoff wrestles away the pencil and draws the dull story with Firefly, which is included because it features Batwoman. Moldoff is also responsible for the wretched story about the detective's daughter. Things pick up with a selection about Eclipso drawn by Win Mortimer before Moldoff brings us down again with a smattering of Poison Ivy. The issue ends on a high note with a portion of Infantino's classic Batgirl story.

I have place in my heart for these Batman 80-page giants and would happily pay a quarter all over again if I saw one on a newsstand.

Adams

The Brave and the Bold #81

"But Bork Can Hurt You!"

Story by Bob Haney

Art by Neal Adams, Dick Giordano, & Vince Colletta

A big lug named Carl Bork disembarks from a tramp steamer at Gotham Harbor and is shocked to remain unharmed when a truck runs him over. To test his newfound invulnerability, Bork robs a nearby diner and feels no pain when police shoot him as he runs away.

Barry Allen (the Flash) is visiting Gotham City Police Headquarters and hears a call on the police radio about a disturbance at the waterfront. Batman rushes to the scene and sees Milo Manning, an extortionist, being confronted by Bork. When Manning's goons attack Carl, he tells them that nothing can hurt him, "But Bork Can Hurt You!" The goons switch their allegiance to Bork, who gives Batman a walloping when the Dark Knight tries to arrest him. Bork announces that he's taking over Gotham City and no one can stop him!

Within hours, Bork has given an ultimatum to the mayor, so Batman and the Flash team up to figure out the secret to his invulnerability. Using his super speed, Flash runs around the world and learns that the leader of a new African nation is sending a commando unit to Gotham to arrest Bork and bring him back for trial. Bork's mayhem continues while Flash's investigation proceeds. From a ship's captain, the Scarlet Speedster learns that natives on Desolation Island made a life-sized wooden carving of Bork and these carvings are said to possess supernatural powers. The Flash races to the island but is knocked out when a volcano erupts and the carving floats away.

Back in Gotham City, the mayor is pushing to give in to Bork's demands. The Flash recovers and goes looking for the wooden statute while Bork is jailed and easily punches his way through a wall to escape. The Flash finds the carving and sets out to destroy it, but it's no easy task--nothing seems to affect it. The African commandos have reached Gotham City and shoot Bork with a dart that wounds him, suggesting he's no longer invulnerable. Batman challenges Bork to a duel to buy time as Flash runs through outer space and destroys the carving by planting it inside the sun! Batman succeeds in knocking Bork for a loop and the menace is over. The criminal is led to a waiting plane to face justice in Africa.

Twenty-four pages of Neal Adams are a treat and the Flash is an added bonus. The story moves along quickly and doesn't waste too much time with needless fistfights, though it stretches my suspension of disbelief to accept that Flash can run through space and into the sun without having any problems with lack of oxygen or incredible cold. I wonder if Colletta inked the Flash sections and Giordano inked the Batman sections?-Jack

Peter-This one's a total winner. Clever script and knockout graphics. I'll have to do a brush-up on my Flash knowledge. How can the guy run to the sun?  Well, as I said, it was a lot of fun so I didn't let the particulars drag me down. Refreshing that Carl Bork was gifted with invulnerability and yet didn't go shopping at Villains 'R' Us for a costume. He just ran around in his work civvies. Bob Haney's best work so far. Could the good stuff finally be here now that we're near the end?

Novick

Detective Comics #384

"Whatever Will Happen to Heiress Heloise?"

Story by Gardner Fox

Art by Bob Brown & Joe Giella

"Tall, Dark, Handsome--and Missing!"

Story by Mike Friedrich

Art by Gil Kane & Murphy Anderson

While getting ready to head out on a solo patrol (Robin is off with the Titans), Batman happens upon two thugs roughing up "recently found heiress" Heloise Madigan. Bats puts the kibosh on the dastardly duo and then drives Heloise back to her place. Upon entering the huge mansion, Batman and Heloise are both surprised to hear the family lawyer proclaim that this Heloise is a fraud! The real Heloise has just turned up to claim the millions left to her in her father's will.

Slightly astonished, Batman throws Heloise #1 (who keeps spouting newspaper jargon to the Caped Crusader) in the Batmobile and whisks her away to the Gotham precinct house, where she is booked for impersonating an heiress. Batman heads out the door but his Incredible Detective Brain (the World's Greatest™ ) suddenly alerts him to the fact that the real Heloise Madigan might be in danger. Duh! He speeds back to Madigan Manor, where he finds the gorgeous redhead taking a dip in the pool and saves her from death as two criminals leap from the bushes and head for her unprotected flesh.

Batman leaps some would say a wee bit far for a human being and nabs both villains, pulling them into the pool with him. After a minor tussle, both cretins are apprehended and our hero once again hops in the Batmobile to make that long trip to the precinct house. The next day, while Bruce is sitting in his smoking jacket, enjoying a Cuban and a snifter of Henri IV Dudognon Heritage Cognac Grande Champagne, his Bat-senses once again alert him. Could Heloise #1 be in danger as well? 

After a little detective work, Batman is able to track Heloise #1 to the Rogers Real Estate Agency, where she is currently extorting money from her crooked boss. In a long and sloppy expository word balloon we discover that the stunning redhead once took dictation (and provided other secretarial functions, no doubt) for Big John Madigan, Heloise's dead father. The knowledge she gained during her employ allowed her to impersonate the heiress (who was long thought to be dead as the result of a car accident when she was six--please.... don't ask me to elucidate any further) in an attempt to lay her wicked fingers on all that dough. Drat that real Heloise showed up just then! Bad timing! Batman busts through the door, revealing he's heard enough of the backstory (well, she goes on for at least an hour) to testify in court to the beauty's bad business practices. 

I love how when the Madigan family lawyer lays out exactly how they discovered that Heloise #1 was a fraud: that morning (yes, that morning!) they had discovered a "long-lost baby rattle" and had the FBI run the fingerprints, which matched those of a "local government clerk"!!! All that in just a few hours (yes, just a few hours!) from a city that can't even keep its most wanted criminals behind bars for more than a few months at a time. "Whatever Will Happen..." is dumb as dirt and extra hard to follow but I won't deny that it's at least a wee bit entertaining as well. I do have one more nit to pick with funny book writers in general: why put dialogue in a character's mouth that must then be followed constantly by an asterisk and explanation of said dialogue?

Every Friday at exactly 1:30, Mark Hanner, a very handsome man, attracts the attention of a very special librarian. That would be, of course, Babs Gordon, daughter of Gotham's police chief (and 10-handicap golfer) and a/k/a the beautiful Batgirl. Anyway, this guy comes into the library every week and requests a copy of the Gotham Gazette until one day... he doesn't. Becoming alarmed, Babs visits the man's apartment and sees a pretty girl fleeing, leaving the door open. Immediately heading for Hanner's bathroom (!) our curvaceous crusader notices the medicine cabinet open and fears her Romeo might be in danger.

As Batgirl, Babs follows the girl to a seedy part of town and up into a very nasty apartment, where she's attacked by a gang of gunsels. She fights them off, they flee, and she turns her attention to a locked door. With one kick of her boot, she's in. It's there she finds Hanner. But is he alive? To Be Continued! It's only a small part of a bigger piece but "Tall, Dark..." beats any of the regular Bat-adventures this month in both script and art. Where can I vote for this to be the lead strip? Gil's art is gorgeous; his Batgirl is babe-alicious (a dead ringer for Gil's Mary Jane Watson) and the fight scenes are well-choreographed! Please let this strip stay good!-Peter

Jack-"Heloise" was a quick, enjoyable read, marked by a lot of large panels and not a ton of dialogue. Bob Brown continues to impress me with his art on the Batman strip. It pales in comparison to the art by Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson on the new Batgirl backup strip, which replaces the long-running strip featuring Elongated Man. Not only does Kane draw a gorgeous Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, his fight scenes are bursting out of the panels!

Novick

Batman #209

"Jungle Jeopardy"

Story by Frank Robbins

Art by Irv Novick & Joe Giella

Batman and Robin return to the Batcave and feel compelled to take the elevator upstairs before changing out of their costumes. Halfway up, they realize it's a bad idea and descend to the Batcave, but when the elevator door opens they see that the Batcave has been transformed into a jungle, where a tiger and an elephant rush toward them!

The night before, the Dynamic Duo had foiled a robbery in progress, after which some crooks who escaped met with a clever bad guy who called himself Brainwash and who had a plan to eliminate Batman and Robin. Brainwash paid a visit to the office of Commissioner Gordon and planted a small device under his desk that broadcast subliminal messages to the Commish. That night, Gordon was compelled to call Batman and Robin to dispatch them to the scene of a bank robbery. The Batmobile was parked over a manhole cover, so Brainwash popped up and planted another device on the car's undercarriage.

As Batman and Robin chased the robbers, they felt compelled to rush home to the Batcave and take the elevator upstairs. After their jungle vision, they went upstairs and saw another angry tiger in the place of Alfred the butler. Meanwhile, Brainwash and the gang are robbing the bank. The Master Detective figures out what's going on, realizing that he and Robin have been brainwashed. He removes the device from under the Batmobile and surmises that old nemesis Mr. Esper is behind this.

The Dynamic Duo head to the bank and quickly dispatch Brainwash and his gang, plugging their ears so they can't be subjected to any more subliminal suggestions. Batman pulls off Brainwash's amazingly lifelike mask to reveal Mr. Esper, who is handcuffed and headed for jail.

Another fun, full-length story with nice art by Irv Novick, "Jungle Jeopardy" is fast-moving. Robin makes an offhand remark about the elephant being African (due to its big ears) and that leads Batman to realize the jungle is an illusion, since there are no tigers in the African jungle. It's nice to learn a little something every once in a while. Oh, and that cover would definitely have made me want to buy this comic!-Jack

Peter-This one wasn't too bad at all and the Novick/Giella art is easy on the eye. But, yeah, I have some questions. The Batmobile seems to be a pretty easy target since Esper is able to plant his brainwashing device without setting off any alarms. You'd think a super sophisticated piece of weaponry like the Batmobile would have some safety measures built in, no? And I just love when our heroes are so easily fooled by the instant jungle that grows out of the Batcave. "I've never been so scared in my life, Batman! It was so real!" How could it be, Boy Blunder? It's the Batcave!!!  I'm not sure I understand why Esper was disguising himself as "Brainwash." Does he have a split personality? Is he so egotistical he wants to be two super-villains?

Next Week...
Angelo Torres Leads an
All-Star Monday!