I Believe In Bat-Mite is (Really) Back

It has been over a year since I last posted, ready to blog more than I ever had before. Then, nothing. I do not have a profound explanation for this. I had a couple of projects I was working on in addition to the blog that fell through, which kind of sapped my burst of enthusiasm for producing internet content. Like I said, not much of a reason, but all the same I apologize for my radio silence. Now however, I have the enthusiasm to blog again. I am excited to talk about fifties Batman again. And I want to really, actually stick to a schedule this time. I have the rest of March and April planned out for the blog, covering a lot of stories that I have been wanting to talk about, specifically the Second Batman and Robin Team:

March

3/22 - "The Jungle Cat Queen!" from Detective Comics #211

3/23 - Batman: The Brave and The Bold Episode 35 - "The Super-Batman of Planet X!"

3/24 - "Two-Face Strikes Again!" from Batman #81

3/29 - "Batman Meets Fatman" from Batman #113

3/30 - Batman: The Brave and The Bold Episode 45 - "Emperor Joker!"

3/31 - "Bat-Mite's Super Circus" from Detective Comics #310

April

4/5 - "The Batwoman!" from Detective Comics #233

4/6 - Batman: The Brave and The Bold Episode 46 - "The Criss Cross Conspiracy!"

4/7 - "Bat-Girl!" from Batman #139

4/12 - "The Second Batman and Robin Team" from Batman #131

4/14 - "The Return of the Second Batman and Robin Team" from Batman #135

4/19 - "The Son of The Joker" from Batman #145

4/20 - Batman: The Brave and The Bold Episode 49 - "The Knights of Tomorrow!"

4/21 - "Danger Strikes Four" from Batman #154

4/29 - "The Boyhood of Bruce Wayne Jr." from Batman #159

4/31 - "Bat-Girl - Batwoman II" from Batman #163

I have other posts in mind too, but I'll leave those to be seen when they are posted.

So, there it is. I'm back, I have a plan, and I'm dedicated to posting about fifties Batman for a long time to come.

Fifties Batman Blogging Elsewhere

Pat from the Silver Age Comics blog has started up a new series looking at the various aliens that went up against the Dynamic Duo. Sci-fi stories appeared here and there throughout the Golden and Silver Ages, but it is the Jack Schiff era of the late fifties and early sixties that most people associate aliens with Batman. Pat is going to be working backwards, starting in the first post with the significant stories from 1963-1964. You can check it out here. Pat also did an interesting post on the origins of the Silver Age Cat-Man a couple weeks back, who appeared in three Batman stories in the Silver Age.

The Bat-Mite Blogger Returns!

No, seriously.

I know it's been a couple of months since the last time I said I was back, but this is not a dream, hoax, or an imaginary story. I'm back to blog about the weird, wacky, wonderful Batman stories of the 1950s. There have been a couple of big releases since the last time I posted and I'll be covering them all in the next few weeks. This Wednesday, I'll be giving my thoughts on the DC Comics Classics Library - Batman: The Annuals Volume 1 hardcover, with the reviews on Tuesday and Thursday coming from the collection. Next week will follow the same format as I take a look at the Batman: The Black Casebook trade paperback. The week after that will be a special one, as I finally complete Bat-Mite Month and review the Bat-Mite centric episode of the Batman: The Brave and The Bold cartoon, "Legend of The Dark Mite". I'll then close out July with a look at one of my favorite Batman gimmicks from the early 1960's. Here's a hint: II.

That's a glimpse at what's coming up this month. I Believe In Bat-Mite is back and I hope to make it better than ever.

DC Comics Classics Library: Batman - The Annuals HC Now On Sale!

Hey fifties Batman fans, apologies for my absence from the blogosphere the past couple of weeks. I have not fallen off of the face of the Earth and will be back to posting reviews of fifties Batman tales tomorrow, beginning with the long delayed finale to Bat-Mite Month (Plus A Few Weeks). And what better way to get the blog back up and running than to remind everyone that the DC Comics Classics Library: Batman - The Annuals HC is now on sale! I get my comics monthly through an online service, so I won't get my copy for a few weeks, but you can guarantee I'll be posting my thoughts as soon as it arrives on my doorstep. 

Thanksgiving Break

Apologies for the lack of posts for the past couple of weeks. I've been extremely busy and getting ready to travel for Thanksgiving. I'll be back to blogging next week with stories of cities without guns and winged bat-people. Until then, I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

Defining The "Fifties Era"

Several times in the blog I've used the term "fifties era" or "fifties period", but I haven't exactly defined what I mean by that. When I refer to the "fifties era", I am referring to the Batman comics published from cover date January 1950 to May 1964. Now some are probably wondering why the timeframe doesn't end with December 1959. The reason is that the science fiction tone and expanded Batman family prevalent during the later half of the 1950s continued into the 1960s until cover date June 1964 when the "New Look" Batman was introduced. 

The "New Look" Batman was new Batman editor Julius Schwartz's effort to revitalize and modernize the Batman comics for the 1960s. In the space of one issue, Batwoman, Bat-Mite, and the rest of the Batman family introduced in the late 1950s were gone from the books. The stories shifted from science fiction to those that emphasized Batman's detective skills. The art of the stories was also modernized, with Carmine Infantino on Detective Comics and veteran Batman artist Sheldon Moldoff's pencils on Batman slicked up by Joe Giella. You can see clearly see the shift by comparing the covers of the Batman comics cover dated May 1964 with the covers of the Batman comics cover dated June 1964.

I tend to think of it as Batman having two Silver Ages. There's the Silver Age Batman from the late fifties to early sixties with the science fiction tone and expanded Batman family and then there's the Silver Age Batman from the late sixties with the "New Look" revamp and the stories that reflect the camp tone of the 1960s television show. So if I blog about a Batman story from the sixties, it will be one from the first Silver Age Batman had and not from his second, "New Look" Silver Age.

A Bevy of Bat-Mite Buttons

The name of the blog comes from a promotional button released by DC in 2000. For the past couple months I tried to get my hands on one, but never could as when it did turn up on eBay, it was part of a larger set that cost more than I was willing to spend. Finally I saw someone selling a set of 28 of the buttons for $9. One buy it now and a few days of shipping later and I am now the owner of 28 "I Believe In Bat-Mite" buttons. Now I obviously don't need 28 buttons, so my hope is that as readership of the blog grows, I can send out some of my extra buttons to other fifties Batman fans. If you'd like to become a "Bat-Mite Believer", send your snail mail address to 50sbatmanblog@gmail.com.

Where To Find Fifties Era Batman Stories

One of my hopes for this blog is to not only give more exposure to a fun and dismissed period of Batman's history, but to interest others in checking out these stories. In this post, I'm going to give a rundown of three formats where fifties Batman stories can be found.

Trade Paperbacks


Unfortunately, while most of Batman's Golden Age stories have been reprinted in Archive and Chronicle format and his "New Look" Silver Age tales are being reprinted in Showcase format, DC has not engaged in an ongoing reprint program for fifties Batman stories. However, as part of their Batman In The... series, DC has printed a trade collecting sixteen stories spanning the entire fifties period. This is a perfect collection for those interested in checking out what the fifties era of Batman was like. The volume contains the first appearances of Ace The Bat-Hound, Batwoman, and Bat-Mite, the story "The Man Behind The Red Hood" (which provided the basis for Alan Moore's "The Killing Joke"), and "Batman...The Superman of Planet X!" (which features Zur En Arrh and the Bat Radia, both of which factor into Grant Morrison's current run on Batman), among other stories featuring classic foes and aliens. Fans of the Joker who want to see what the Clown Prince of Crime was like in the fifties can find a number of fifties Joker stories in The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told collection from 1988. This trade is not to be confused with the more recent volume which has 192 pages as opposed to the 288 in the 1988 collection. The Batman In The Fifties trade retails for $19.99 and should be available. The 1988 Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told collection is out of print, but a number of them are usually available on eBay.

Annuals and 80 Page Giants

During the 1960s, DC began releasing Annuals for several of their titles collecting 80 pages worth of previously published material. Seven annuals for the Batman title were published, each one with a certain theme. DC also launched an Eighty Page Giant title which ran for 15 issues, of which issues 5, 12, and 15 contained reprinted Batman stories. After their Annuals and Eighty Page Giant series, DC began publishing "80 Page Giant" reprint issues within several of their titles, which would eventually shrink to 64 pages. The Annual and "80 Page Giant" issues of Batman contain mostly reprints of stories from the fifties, with a few from the forties here and there. These are great ways to pick up a bunch of fifties era stories, along with newspaper strip reprints, fan letters from the sixties, and that unbeatable old comics smell. If you're fine with a lower grade reader copy, the annuals and "80 Page Giants" can be picked up on eBay in the GD-VG range for $12 to $25, depending on how old the Giant is. More information on DC's "80 Page Giants" can be found at http://www.dcindexes.com/giants/80page.php.

Single Issues


Of course there is always the option to pick up the original issues. As they're from the 1950s, the issues are a bit expensive, but if condition is no object issues from the latter fifties can be picked up in GD condition at a reasonable price. If you're going to go the original issue route, you may want to pick up issues of Batman, as those contained three Batman stories (toward the end of the fifties era, two) as opposed to one story in an issue of Detective Comics (along with other stories, most notably Martian Manhunter).

Welcome

Welcome to the I Believe In Bat-Mite blog! This blog will feature reviews of stories from the fifties era of Batman comics, which is notorious among Batman fans for its more lighthearted and science fiction bent as opposed to the dark tone associated with the character. Sure, Batman smiles a lot and the Joker is more likely to whip out his own utility belt than a crowbar, but I get a real kick out of the tales from this era. A lot of the stories are just plain comic book fun and the art from this period has a vibe that just pops. I plan on reviewing two stories a week, posted on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Next week, the fifties fun begins.

Zur En Arrh!