Why The Jack Schiff Era Batman Is Gold

Seriously...how can you top that? 

Super Friends #11 On Sale Now

Even though it's been out for over a week, I wanted to remind everyone that Super Friends #11, featuring everone's favorite imp Bat-Mite, is now on sale. I haven't had the opportunity to read it yet, but you can bet when I do, I'll be reviewing it on the blog.

Super Friends #11

Written by Sholly Fisch

Art by Chynna Clugston

Cover by J. Bone 

Batman's got a fan club! But it's a mischievous fan club of one known as Bat-Mite, and he just can't stand the other Super Friends saving the day alongside Batman. Will the caped crusader be forced to fly solo from now on? Not if Mr. Mxyzptlk can help it!

32pg, FC, $2.50 US

Also, I apologize for the sporadic posting over the past few months. I hope to get back into a consistent schedule this weekend.

"The First Batman"

Issue: Detective Comics #235

Cover Date: September 1956

Writer: Bill Finger

Penciller: Sheldon Moldoff

Inker: Stan Kaye

Cover Artist: Sheldon Moldoff

Synopsis: One day, while Bruce and Dick are cleaning out the attic in Wayne Manor, Dick accidently touches a hidden spring in a desk that had belonged to Bruce's father. A secret compartment is revealed, and Bruce reaches in it to pull out...a bat costume! The gears start to turn in Bruce's mind, as he remembers seeing the costume on his father when he was a child. Dick remarks that this means Thomas Wayne was a Batman before Bruce, but Bruce responds that that's impossible, as he became Batman many years after his parents death. Returning to the compartment, Bruce discovers a film reel and a diary. The film reveals that Thomas Wayne had been at a masquerade ball, the theme of which was flying creatures, when he was forced to leave by gunmen who had need of a doctor. The diary continues the story, revealing that Thomas Wayne had been taken to remove a bullet from a bank robber named Lew Moxon.

Knowing that Moxon would not let him live after the operation, Thomas Wayne knocks Moxon's chair out from under him and punches out his cohorts. Moxon is arrested by the police and sentenced to ten years in prison. Thomas Wayne runs into Moxon after his sentence ends, with Moxon telling Thomas that he'll be hiring someone to kill him in return for putting him in jail. The diary holds two revelations for Bruce: that the bat who had burst through his window subconsciously reminded him of his father in a "Bat-Man" costume and that the murder of his parents at the hands of Joe Chill had not been a holdup, but a hired killing. Bruce also realizes that he was left alive to serve as a witness, preventing Moxon from being connected with th killing. Bruce tells Dick to don his Robin costume, announcing that the Wayne Murder case has been reopened.

Through Commissioner Gordon's police contacts, Batman and Robin learn that Lew Moxon is living in Coastal City, running a billboard blimp business. The Dynamic Duo fly there via Batplane and a fight ensues between them, Moxon, and his men when they arrive. Batman and Robin of course come out on top and take Moxon to the local police station, where he tells them he has never heard of Thomas Wayne. He even agrees to a lie detector test and ends up passing. Confused by this turn of events, Batman telephones Comissioner Gordon and discovers that Moxon received a head injury from an automobile accident, resulting in amnesia. Batman and Robin follow Moxon's blimp, knowing they wouldn't have been jumped by Moxon's men unless he was involved in criminal activities, and catch Moxon's men right in the act. With the evidence they need, Batman and Robin go to confront Moxon, with Robin remarking that Bruce should don a spare Batman costume after the wear his current one has suffered. Without a spare Batman costume, Bruce puts on his father's bat costume (he had brought it along because it made him feel that his father was on the case with him). When Bruce confronts Moxon, the sight of Thomas Wayne's costume restores his memory and he runs away thinking that it is Thomas back from the dead. He is so griped by fear that he doesn't notice his surroundings and is hit by a truck, bringing an end to the Wayne Murder Case once and for all.

Thoughts: This story completes a Batman origin trilogy (to borrow a phrase from Bill Jourdain of The Golden Age of Comics podcast) of sorts that ran throughout the Golden and Silver Ages, all written by Bill Finger. The first part of this trilogy was the two page story "The Batman and How He Came To Be" from Detective Comics #33. While only two pages long, it contained all the elements of the Batman origin: the death of Bruce's parents in front of his eyes after a movie, Bruce's oath to avenge his parents' deaths, his training, "Criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot", and of course, the bat crashing through the window. The second part of the trilogy is "The Origin of The Batman" from Batman #47. In this story, Batman discovers that is parents' killer was Joe Chill, confronts him, and is able to gain a degree of closure concerning the deaths of his parents. The story synopsised above completes the trilogy, revealing more information concerning the death of the Waynes, how Bruce's father influenced him becoming Batman, and brought a greater sense of closure to the Wayne murder case. Bill Jourdain covered all three stories in great detail in Episode 27 of the Golden Age of Comic Books podcast which you can listen to here.

As for "The First Batman" itself, it is undoubtably a classic Batman story. It fleshes out Batman's origins even further and strengthens the bond between Bruce and his father. What was initially inspiration due to a bat flying through a window is added upon, becoming a subconscious inspiration from Bruce's memories of his father. This story is also a lot more serious in tone compared to the stories from this period. Instead of a story adding a member to the Bat Family or Batman visiting an alien world, we see a return to the grim Dark Knight. Armed with new information concerning his parents' death, Bruce is filled with a burning desire to close the Wayne Murder Case once and for all, and it is no laughing matter. While the story is for the most part serious, there is one appropriate lighhearted moment; Bruce enthusiastically cheering his dad on as he lands a punch on one of the gunmen at the ball. For a split second, the mask of Batman is gone, and Bruce is a happy kid again. But only for a moment.

This story has been reprinted in Batman Annual #4, Batman #255, Batman: Secrets of The Batcave TPB, The Best of DC #2, and The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told (1988).

Bat-Mite Commission #1

This piece was done for me by Dan Kurtzke, alias Gland on The Comic Forums. I think his style perfectly captured the look of the Sheldon Moldoff Bat-Mite, down to the belly roll over the utility belt. The Mite-Signal in the background was a nice touch as well.

You can check out more of Dan's work here and if you're interested in requesting a commission, you can reach him at DanKurtzke@gmail.com.

Added To The Collection: Detective Comics #s: 289, 310, 313, and 325

I was searching eBay for a Detective Comics issue featuring Bat-Mite, when I came across an auction for four issues of Detective Comics from the early 60's. It was a stroke of luck that I found it; there were only 30 minutes left to go. The issues vary from VG+ to GD- condition, which was perfect as I tend to look for books in VG condition. 

"The Winged Bat-People"

Issue: Batman #116

Cover Date: June 1958

Writer: Bill Finger

Penciller: Sheldon Moldoff

Inker: Charles Paris

Cover Artist: Sheldon Moldoff

Synopsis: The planes of Gotham's weather bureau are unable to analyze the eye of a hurrican due to too much turbulence, but luckily, the city has a crime fighter with a plane tough enough to get the job done. When Batman activates the Bat-Plane's reserve jets to battle the fierce winds, he and Robin are surprisingly transported to another dimension. They barely have time to realize what has happened when they are captured by Romanesque soldiers, the leader of which mentioning that they were warned of an attack by "the Bat-People". Batman and Robin are taken before the soldiers' Queen for sentencing, where we find out that the Queen's minister Arko had warned of the Bat-People attack. While the Queen sees Batman and Robin as proof that rumors of Arko being a traitor were false, his thought balloon reveals that his report was a false one. Before Batman and Robin can be taken to the dungeons, the castle is attacked by the aforementioned Bat-People.

The Bat-People are taken down by Batman's batarang, his left hook, and the Bat-Plane's engine. Batman gains the Queen's trust and proposes they, along with Robin and Arko, journey to the Bat-People's territory. Arko declines, saying he has state business, so the soldier who had captured the Dynamic Duo goes in his place. While flying over the chasm that seperates the two territories in the Bat-Plane, they are attacked by a flaming net courtesy of the Bat-People, confirming that Arko was a traitor. They return to find that Arko has taken over the palace, but he and his allies are no match for Batman and Robin. Upon capture, Arko reveals that the Bat-People are on their way to launch a full scale attack. Batman is unafraid of the attack, having deduced that the chasm seperating the two territories contained a coal vein; a coal vein that is now producing updrafts of hot air due to the flaming net. Batman and Robin set the vein aflame using the jets from their Bat-Plane, producing an explosion that propels them back to their dimension.

Thoughts: One of the notable aspects of Batman in the fifties is the amount of story output. While Detective Comics always contained one Batman story, the number of stories in the Batman title changed throughout it's publication. There were usually four stories during the forties, three during the fifties, and two during the early sixties. By the time Batmania hit in '66, Batman was down to the single, full length story of a standard comic book. While the fifties tales were only 8 to 12 pages, it's amazing how much story was packed into each, especially compared to the current trend of decompression. While some stories could have used a few more pages, most of them were able to tell a solid, interesting story in the space given. And with 36 Batman stories being published each year by 1954 (not counting World's Finest), who can complain about a clunker here and there?

"The Winged Bat-People" is undoubtably a late fifties story, with its use of strange creatures and alternate dimensions. With what we know now of the DC universe, I like to think of this dimension as one of the infinite earths prior to the Crisis, where Batman is instead a race of Bat-People. There were several touches to this story that made me chuckle, one of them being that the Bat-Plane was able to break the sound barrier "at a speed ten times greater than was ever thought possible" and travel to alternate dimensions. I actually wish this concept had become the Professor Carter Nichols of the late fifties, with Batman and Robin using the Bat-Plane to travel to other alternate dimensions. The ending of the story is patricularly great, with Dick mentioning to Bruce that the Queen likely thinks they're dead. When Bruce says it is for the best and Dick inquires why, Bruce responds that if she still thought Batman was alive, the Queen would pine for him and never marry the soldier who was infatuated with her. There you have it: Bruce Wayne isn't the mask, Batman is. (And to Bill Finger's credit, the Queen-Soldier romance wasn't random; there are two panels in the story that do imply it).

There are fun moments and good action in this story, but as always, there are also a few questions. Can four normal soldiers haul the Bat-Plane across a desert? Where is the catapult on the Bat-Plane that allows Batman to leap over the castle walls during the coup? How bad a ruler is the Queen if her palace minister can stage a coup in an afternoon? And if said minister can stage a coup in an afternoon, why would he tell his enemies to launch a full-scale attack on the castle? And how does the palace minister communicate with these winged creatures anyhow? While it does raise a lot of questions and is an example of a fifties story suffering a bit from the low page count, it is still worth seeking out for a zany Batman yarn.

This story has been reprinted in Eighty Page Giant #12.

Batman: The Black Casebook TPB Confirmed

Back in October, I blogged about a rumor that DC would be releasing a trade paperback collecting the fifties stories that inspired Grant Morrison's current run on Batman. DC Comics recently unveiled their list of collected editions coming out in May and June of 2009 and underneath June was this solicitation:

Batman: The Black Casebook TP

Writers: France Herron, Edmond Hamilton, Bill Finger

Artists: Dick Sprang, Charles Paris, Sheldon Moldoff, Stan Kaye

Collects: Stories from Batman #113, 134, 156, and 162, Detective Comics #215, 235, and 267, and World's Finest Comics #89.

$17.99 US 144 pages

That's right, more fifties reprints are on the way! As the stories tie-in to Morrison's run, here are my guesses on which stories will be collected:

Batman #113: "Batman -- The Superman of Planet X!"

Batman #134: "Batman's Secret Enemy"

Batman #156: "Robin Dies At Dawn!"

Batman #162: "The Batman Creature!"

Detective Comics #215: "The Batmen of All Nations"

Detective Comics #235: "The First Batman"

Detective Comics #267: "Batman Meets Bat-Mite"

World's Finest Comics #89: "The Club of Heroes!"