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Volume 1, Number 150 April 2024 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow
Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!
DESIGNER Rich J. Fowlks COVER ARTISTS Bob Brown, Dick Giordano, Frank Miller, Irv Novick, Frank Robbins, Walter Simonson, Alex Toth, and Bernie Wrightson COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg
AbyN M BcArT eated
Bob Kane, er Fing with Bill
PROOFREADER Kevin Sharp SPECIAL THANKS Roger Ash Paul Levitz Terry Austin Ed Lute Jim Beard Elliot S. Maggin Eric Breen Brian Martin Alan Brennert Frank Miller Ed Catto Luigi Novi Mark Chiarello Dan Riba Art Cloos Joe Rubinstein DC Comics Walter Simonson Jon B. Cooke Jerry Smith Mark Evanier Jim Starlin Ramona Fradon Steven Thompson Mike Friedrich Mark Waid Michael T. Gilbert Dan Greenfield Dedicated to the Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Memory of Heritage Auctions Bob Brown Tony Isabella Dick Dillin Dan Johnson Dick Giordano Michael Wm. Irv Novick Kaluta Frank Robbins Rob Kelly Alex Toth James Heath Lantz Bernie Wrightson
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PHOTO GALLERY: BACK ISSUE’s 20th Anniversary Celebration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 BACKSEAT DRIVER: Editorial by Michael Eury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 FLASHBACK: Irv Novick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 ART GALLERY: Michael Wm. Kaluta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 FLASHBACK: Bob Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 FLASHBACK: Frank Robbins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: O’Neil and Robbins’ Batman Anti-Drug Comic . . 33 PRINCE STREET NEWS: The Great Unseen Batman Artists of the ’70s . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 FLASHBACK: Dick Giordano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 ART GALLERY: Dick Dillin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 FLASHBACK: Bernie Wrightson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 ART GALLERY: Jim Starlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 ART GALLERY: Ramona Fradon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 FLASHBACK: Alex Toth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 BACKSTAGE PASS: Walter Simonson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 FLASHBACK: Frank Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 BACK TALK: Reader Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 BACK ISSUE™ issue 150, April 2024 (ISSN 1932-6904) is published monthly (except Jan., March, May, and Nov.) by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Periodicals postage paid at Raleigh, NC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Back Issue, c/o TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief, 112 Fairmount Way, New Bern, NC 28562. Email: euryman@gmail.com. Eight-issue subscriptions: $97 Economy US, $147 International, $39 Digital. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover artwork from various Batman covers and interiors. Batman TM & © DC Comics. All Rights Reserved. All editorial matter © 2024 TwoMorrows and Michael Eury, except Prince Street News © 2024 Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING
Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 1
BI contributors gathered on June 17, 2023, after the BACK ISSUE 20th Anniversary Panel at Heroes Convention in Charlotte, NC. (front row, kneeling) John Morrow, Chris Irving, Dewey Cassell, Eddy Zeno, Ed Catto, Glenn Whitmore. (center row) Michael Eury (holding BI cupcake), John Schwirian, Ed Lute, Bryan Stroud, Wayne Brooks, Doug Zawisza, Chris Marshall, Jarrod Buttery. (back row) Jim Ford, Brian Martin, Zack Smith, Joe Norton.
Were you there? BACK ISSUE celebrated its 20th Anniversary on June 16–18, 2023 at Heroes Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Many of this magazine’s writers and contributors, past and current, gathered for a BI panel moderated by publisher John Morrow and featuring designer Rich Fowlks and editor-in-chief Michael Eury. Some of you readers attended the convention and panel as well. Many of you had supportive things to say about the magazine and about ye ed, for which I am humbled and grateful. To top it off, each of the BI contributors got an iced (is there any other kind?) cupcake, with an edible “BACK ISSUE 20 Years” logo created by the other Morrow in TwoMorrows, the wonderful Pamela Morrow.
2 • BACK ISSUE • Batmen of the 1970s
BACK ISSUE has become more than just a magazine about Bronze Age comic books. We’re a band of brothers and sisters, and our union—and some cases, reunion—at HeroesCon was a sheer delight. You’ll see that joy in our faces in the photos on this and the following page. A special thank-you to our good friends at Heroes Convention, the kind and generous hosts of BACK ISSUE’s 20th Anniversary Celebration. Photos accompanying this feature are courtesy of Jarrod Buttery, Ed Catto, Michael Eury, Chris Irving, Ed Lute, Rich Fowlks, John Morrow, and Rose Rummel-Eury.
Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 3
“Backseat Driver” (editorial) by Michael Eury
by M
An editor should never play favorites, suggests conventional wisdom. But Batman is a topic that always excites me—and many of you, as the increased sales of BACK ISSUE’s Batmanrelated editions have shown over the years. Yet this is no mere fan fixation on a popular character. Batman of the Bronze Age is deserving of deep and repeated study. The character had previously epitomized the wild excesses of the camp superhero age. As the ’60s gave way to the ’70s, Batman’s return to his so-called “creature of the night” status not only reinvigorated the Darknight Detective (“Darknight” was a one-word adjective at DC Comics in those days), it was part of the entire comic industry’s movement toward more realistic character interpretations. Despite the “darkening” of Batman, in the 1970s a kinder, gentler Caped Crusader could still be found on Saturday morning television and in the pages of DC’s TV spinoff title, Super Friends. Those interpretations came to us via talented writers, artists, and editors who were simply doing their jobs back in the day but whose Batman contributions inspired future storytellers, continuity, and even film adaptations. It all started in the comic books, though, whose pages we flip through with intellectual curiosity and lifelong affection. This issue, BI’s Bat-signal once again illuminates the ebon skies of Gotham City with our spotlights on a handful of artists—the Batmen of the 1970s—whose work is worthy of a more thorough
exploration than what we’ve provided in previous issues. Many writers and artists have joined us this issue to share their anecdotes about the talented titans whose sterling efforts enliven each and every page of this expanded special edition. Our cover provides a glimpse at the artwork of our Batmen of the 1970s. Each image is from the original art culled from the archives of Heritage Auctions, colored anew by Glenn Whitmore and assembled in our 100-Page Super Spectacular tribute layout courtesy of cover designer Michael Kronenberg. Art sources: Bob Brown (Detective Comics #428, page 1; Dick Giordano inks), Dick Giordano (Detective #435 cover), Frank Robbins (page 6/panel 6 of the unpublished Batman anti-drug comic that’s chronicled in this issue’s “Greatest Stories Never Told” feature), Irv Novick (Batman #221, page 3; Giordano inks), Walt Simonson (1984 Batman/Manhunter specialty illo), Alex Toth (Superman Annual #9, page 22/panel 6), Bernie Wrightson (Batman #320 cover), and Frank Miller (cover art for The Complete Frank Miller Batman vol. 1). In addition to articles about those artists’ contributions to Bat-lore, inside this issue you’ll find galleries spotlighting three other Batmen of the 1970s, Michael Wm. Kaluta, Jim Starlin, and Dick Dillin, plus Batwoman of the 1970s Ramona Fradon. In the meantime, I direct you to these previously published editions of BACK ISSUE, where you will find articles and material about many of the other Batmen of the 1970s (and 1980s):
BATMEN IN BACK ISSUE Gene Colan (BI #50) Alan Davis (BI #73) Steve Englehart (BI #51, 113) José Luis García-López (BI #50, 113) Michael Golden (BI #24, 50, 72) Alan Grant (BI #22) Mike Grell (BI #50) Bob Haney (BI #7, 66, 73, 87) Tom Mandrake (BI #50)
Frank Miller (BI #50, 73) Doug Moench (BI #72, 116, 123) Don Newton (BI #19) Denny O’Neil (BI #3, 7, 10, 50, 113, 143) David V. Reed (BI #50) Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin (BI #51, 113) Batman and related publications TM & © DC Comics.
Neal Adams (BI #3, 7, 10, 50, 143) Jim Aparo (BI #7, 50, 73) Mike W. Barr (BI #7, 50, 73, 95) Norm Breyfogle (BI #22) Rich Buckler (BI #50, 87) John Byrne (BI #50) John Calnan (BI #50) Nick Cardy (BI #7, 13) Ernie Chua (Chan) (BI #50)
ichael Eury
4 • BACK ISSUE • Batmen of the 1970s
Batmen of the 1970s:
IRV NOVICK The ‘Mark’ of Kane No More
by E d
Catto
Batman history gets rewritten all time—both the character’s backstories as well as the “truth” about creators’ contributions and visions. Comic historians love to analyze and argue about how it all happened. A simple review might summarize Batman as a character that started out as a pulpy vigilante but morphed into friendly policeman, eventually enjoying adventures with space creatures on other planets. Many fans then point to Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams’ efforts rebooting the Caped Crusader as a nocturnal avenger in the ’70s and Frank Miller’s grim-and-gritty ’80s reboot. A more nuanced look at it all would credit the character’s return to his pulpy roots starting in 1964 with the “Mystery of the Menacing Mask” in Detective Comics #327, which introduced Batman’s “New Look.” Artist Carmine Infantino’s visual revamp of the character was sleeker and more stylized, in direct contrast to the simpler “all-ages” look of Batman it replaced. But in January of 1966, the entertainment world changed as ABC premiered the live-action Batman TV show. The comics shifted again, and struggled to catch the lightning-in-a-bottle of the campy Adam West–starring program. Soon the bloom came off the rose. TV’s Batmania was short-lived. And then there was a yearning from fans and professionals to shift back to the “New Look” Batman that had been interrupted. And that’s the place to start analyzing artist Irv Novick, as it was here that his career intertwined with the man from Gotham City.
Blind As a Bat Writer Frank Robbins’ “Operation: Blindfold!” in Batman #204 (Aug. 1968) helped the Darknight Detective transition from Batmania-frenzied camp to a moodier atmosphere. Irv Novick, illustrator of this riveting cover, penciled his first Batman interior tale in this ish, beginning a long run on the character’s adventures. TM & © DC Comics.
Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 5
THE ‘REAL’ RETURN OF THE DARKNIGHT DETECTIVE
“Two things happened simultaneously in 1968 to put Irv Novick on the Bat-map,” says comics writer Mark Waid. “First, newly appointed art director Carmine Infantino was determined to shake up the company; at the time, DC had very well-defined editorial fiefdoms where editors owned their talent, and it was Carmine’s intent to break down those walls.” Infantino knew that Irv Novick would be an ideal artist that could render Batman’s adventures in a sleek, nocturnal style, yet still stay “on brand” in the waning days of the camp era. “Before 1968, Novick was pretty much held captive by war comics editor Robert Kanigher, who occasionally threw him a Wonder Woman cover or an historical adventure series like the Shining Knight or Robin Hood but would rarely allow him to stray into, say, Mort Weisinger’s or Julie Schwartz’s books,” says Waid. “Second, after 29 years, DC finally came to a new arrangement with Bob Kane where Bat-stories would no longer be produced by his studio, freeing up DC to assign other freelancers to Batman and Detective on a regular basis,” Waid explains. “Novick, then, became the first non–‘Bob Kane’ artist to draw Batman—first on covers, then on interiors beginning with issue #204’s slam-bang ‘Operation: Blindfold!’ And, boy, did he leave his mark—along with Neal Adams, Novick defined the character’s look throughout the 1970s and 1980s, bringing back the ‘Darknight Detective’ angle on the character and putting him back in the shadows where he belonged.”
Bombs Away MLJ’s (later Archie Comics) starspangled sentinel the Shield, as rendered by a young Irv Novick (inset, in an undated photo), on the cover of Pep Comics #3 (Apr. 1940). TM & © Archie Publications, Inc.
“He [Novick] also began working intermittently in advertising but that wasn’t steady so he started drawing for DC, hired by editor Robert Kanigher, who had written many of the stories he’d drawn for MLJ. Kanigher was the DC war editor, so Novick became a war artist, his work appearing in Our Army at War and all the DC combat titles, and occasionally in the romance books during the occasional periods when Kanigher worked on them. Kanigher had a reputation for being rough on artists, but he loved Novick’s work and, according to Irv, they never had a cross word in all their years of working together.” For many years, Novick drew for DC and also freelanced for Boys’ Life magazine and for the Johnstone-Cushing JUST WHO WAS IRV NOVICK? By 1968, Irv Novick was a seasoned professional with a long advertising agency. In the mid-’60s, the agency offered professional career in comics and advertising. But where did him a full-time position and he briefly left comics. Novick was unhappy in the job and he come from? Kanigher was unhappy to His career started in the lose one of his two favorite “I think Irv Novick’s work on the MLJ superheroes, the Golden Age at the Harry A. artists, Joe Kubert being Chesler shop. Novick soon imaginative layouts, character design, and storytelling the other. With Kanigher’s became one of the main artists inspired more about the language of comics than most intervention, Novick landed for MLJ’s superhero comics, realize. He was taking chances and it was fun to see. a then-unprecedented freeco-creating the very first And as he returned to comics at DC with a slick, refined lance contract with DC. It patriotic superhero (predating approach that’s most associated with him, he set the included many perks not Captain America), the Shield. standard for many who followed.” available to other artists and His other superhero work – Mike Pellerito guaranteed him the company’s included the Hangman, Steel President and Editor-in-Chief of Archie Comics, highest rate and steady work. Sterling, and Bob Phantom. which was originally called MLJ Comics When he finished one job, he Foreshadowing his ’70s had to immediately be given work, Novick, with writer Harry another. Kanigher had no Shorten, co-created the Scarlet Avenger, a pulpy hero with echoes of The Shadow and Batman. trouble keeping him busy, though other artists complained Debuting in 1940’s Zip Comics #1, millionaire/inventor Jim Kendall that assignments promised to them would sometimes be wears his green suit as he fights crime, but tops it all off with suddenly diverted to Irv. Former DC president Paul Levitz shares similar insights. a bulletproof red cape and mask. Kendall could have gone the Elon Musk route, but instead uses his electronic-propelled car in his “Carmine valued him enough that he was the only artist war against the underworld. This masked crusader also employed put on payroll with benefits in those years,” recalls Levitz. “I suppose as a necessary part of luring him from his advertising gadgets like a magnetic ray, hypnosis machine, and paralysis. By 1946, MLJ Comics would refocus on its humor titles. work (he still did some, but he may have had a staff gig The company changed its name to reflect its bestselling teen somewhere when Carmine recruited him). He was probably humor character, Archie. Superhero artist Novick left MLJ the senior comics artist working for DC in my editorial days and turned to advertising art and illustrating comic strips, (not sure if he or Jack Kirby did their pages first, and Joe Simon was editing and not drawing). Notwithstanding that, including McClure Syndicate’s soap opera strip Cynthia. Mark Evanier chronicled part of Novick’s life on his he had a thoroughly modern style, moving his camera well and composing pages imaginatively.” long-running News from ME blog (from October 15, 2004). 6 • BACK ISSUE • Batmen of the 1970s
NOVICK AND THE CAPED CRUSADER
Irv Novick technically started his long contributions to the Batman mythology penciling five issues of Teen Titans in 1967. Robin was prominently featured, although a Batman cameo would pop up occasionally. But clearly this was regular Titans artist Nick Cardy’s time to shine. Novick, being the professional that he was, seemed to consciously bend his work to the style established by Cardy. Novick formally entered Gotham City with high-profile cover duties for both Batman and Detective Comics in 1968. While his early work was still firmly ensconced in the Infantinoestablished house style, Novick turned up the volume. Novick’s covers were compelling and urgent. They were rich with story information but never felt crowded. Every Novick cover raised readers’ eyebrows in surprise or disbelief. Novick’s Batman also was featured on the cover of World’s Finest Comics #181 (Dec. 1968), but this could never be considered Novick’s finest Batman illustration. On this odd cover, riffing off the famous story “The World’s Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, Superman and Batman are frantically running away from a man with a leashed leopard. The two-part “Operation: Blindfold” in Batman #204 and 205 was a cheesy story with a convoluted plot, but Novick’s covers grabbed readers by the throat and never let go. He hadn’t quite hit his stride on the interior pages. This art was subdued by Joe Giella’s inking, but the beginning of greatness was evident. Over the next year, Novick’s interior pencils on Batman kept pushing stylistic boundaries every issue, a gradual build from the tired Batman stories of the prior years to a more dynamic and engaging version.
EMPTY-NESTING NOVICK
By the end of 1969, Batman mythology was ready to take another important step forward, and Irv Novick was there to make it come alive visually. One might argue that it all started in Batman #216 (Dec. 1969). “Angel or Devil” by writer Frank Robbins and Novick introduced readers to Alfred’s niece and brother. They are in Gotham City to perform with the Old Avon Players, a Shakespearian troupe. In reality, it turns out that they are also in town to steal an original manuscript of Romeo and Juliet from Wayne Manor. Novick’s cover art is an invigorating showcase for the Caped Crusader, crashing through a Wayne Manor window and interrupting a hooded murderess about to kill Alfred. This tale is full of action and panache. Novick presents the sleek, thoroughly modern man-about-town side of Bruce Wayne, one who is enthusiastic about a night at the theater as much as a night of crimefighting. Of note in #216: Novick illustrates Wayne Manor’s Shakespeare bust. In the Batman TV series, the bust’s head would hinge backwards to reveal a button that was used to open a secret bookcase leading into the Batcave. Here it is used to hide the Shakespeare manuscript.
Stand Back! This is a Job for Irv Novick! Starting in 1968, DC’s new art director, Carmine Infantino, wisely began utilizing Novick’s talents as a cover artist, including (top left) Wonder Woman #176 (May–June 1968) and (top right) Captain Action #1 (Oct.–Nov. 1968), the Ideal Toy tie-in comic that guest-starred the Man of Steel in its premiere issue. (bottom left) Irv once again drew Superman for the cover of World’s Finest Comics #181 (Dec. 1968), also featuring one of the artist’s earliest stabs at Batman. (bottom right) In addition to his brief stint penciling Teen Titans, for the Batman/TT team-up in The Brave and the Bold #83 (Apr.–May 1969), Novick actually trumped interior and regular series artist Neal Adams in snagging the cover berth for this startling story. All characters and titles TM & © DC Comics, except Captain Action TM & © Captain Action Enterprises.
Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 7
8 • BACK ISSUE • Batmen of the 1970s
inspired Kaluta cover (depicting a giant Shadow looming over the Caped Crusader; see Kaluta art gallery) was a lean, economical O’Neil-penned intro tale (setting up the main Shadow book, which was set back in the Depression era) depicting an aging-but-still-fearsomely powerful Shadow interacting with the Batman. Novick excelled himself and created a beguiling incarnation of The Shadow that lives up to the legacy of Street & Smith cover legend Rozen. Not only does Irv depict the Dark Avenger saving the Caped Crusader’s bacon (by gleefully derailing a speeding planeload of dastardly villains with his blazing twin .45 automatics), he gets to illustrate his Novick-smooth Bruce Wayne sharing dinner with Lamont Cranston (now an aquiline, energetic septuagenarian—late-career Basil Rathbone, if you will) and wraps the whole tale up with our heroes vigorously shaking hands and declaring their mutual admiration for each other—before Batman implores The Shadow to come out of retirement (“The world needs you!”). Will he? Only The Shadow knows… Well, only The Shadow knew for another six issues, whereupon he returned for a much-less-effective O’Neil-scripted encore in Batman #259, one of the early Batman 100-Page Super Spectaculars, which ties the Dark Avenger into Batman’s early years and gives a now-long-forgotten alternate explanation for Bruce’s aversion to guns. But we do get to see that Allard/Cranston has known Batman’s secret identity all along, and the ever-reliable Novick delivers another great art job, with more intriguingly realized Shadow visuals that kicked my newfound pulp obsession into overdrive. In the 50 years since these two issues of Batman were published, I’ve admired the impeccable Shadow work of two all-time greats (Mike Kaluta and Jim Steranko), and worshipped the unbeatable 1930s Street & Smith cover art painted by the masterful George Rozen (who created the character’s indelible visual design for The Shadow pulp magazine and set an artistic standard for pulp illustration that can never be surpassed). But whenever I hear those evocative words “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?,” the first image that clouds my mind will always be Irv Novick’s intriguingly mysterious Shadow from Batman #253.
Batman TM & © DC Comics. The Shadow TM & © Condé Nast Publications.
TITAN PUBLISHING’s ANDREW SUMNER ON IRV NOVICK Irv Novick was the first Batman artist I ever truly loved. It was Irv Novick’s masterful draftsmanship that was lurking behind those pulse-quickening Neal Adams covers (in most late ’60s/early ’70s issues of Batman, at least) and, powered by Frank Robbins’ pulp-influenced scripts, it was Irv Novick’s emotional Batman (and his polished, lanky and effortlessly charming late ’60s Bruce Wayne) that my five-year-old self truly fell in love with. Irv’s Bruce/Batman would still be my favorite of all-time if Jim Aparo hadn’t come into his Brave & Bold ascendancy a few years later and blown every other Bat-artist off the map with his granite-fisted Batman and his imposing, hyper-masculine Bruce Wayne. If Novick’s Bruce Wayne was the comics equivalent of the sharply dressed, impossibly urbane early ’70s Roger Moore (Lord Brett Sinclair to Tony Curtis’ Danny Wilde in The Persuaders), Aparo’s Bruce Wayne was the four-color incarnation of two hypnotically rugged ’40s stars: John Garfield in Body and Soul and Burt Lancaster in The Killers (with maybe a bit of ’50s Aldo Rey/Ralph Meeker attitude thrown in for good measure). But despite Aparo’s unassailable position as my all-time favorite Bat-artist, Irv Novick runs a very close second. Plus, he was also the artist who introduced me to my all-time favorite pulp hero: The Shadow. In early 1973, I just couldn’t stop gazing at a hypnotic promo ad that started appearing in my favorite DC books: “WHO KNOWS… WHAT EVIL… LURKS IN THE HEARTS OF MEN…? THE SHADOW KNOWS? HAHAHAHAHA! COMING SOON! WATCH FOR IT!” I had no idea what the hell “IT” was, but thanks to DC’s 12-issue series beginning in mid-’73, I soon would (with their 1930s jazz bar cocktail of punchy Denny O’Neil scripts, jaw-dropping art from Mike Kaluta, Frank Robbins, and the woefully underrated E. R. Cruz, and—crucially for me, sitting in the Liverpool UK suburbs, 3,000 miles away from Manhattan—Anthony Tollin’s masterfully informative backup articles). When those 12 issues concluded, I was a Shadow fan for life. But before all of that, my first encounter with the man I would one day come to know as former WWI aviator/ spy Kent Allard came courtesy of the great Irv Novick in Batman #253. Lurking beneath a beautiful, George Rozen–
Alfred’s niece Daphne is a beauty as illustrated by Novick. It’s easy to understand whey Dick Grayson is smitten with her. Unfortunately, Robin is sidelined from the adventure with a head cold. Batman solves the adventure solo. And it just might have been a dress rehearsal for the very next issue. In “One Bullet Too Many!,” a pivotal story in Batman #217 (Dec. 1969), Dick (Robin) Grayson is off to his freshman year of college at Hudson University, causing Bruce Wayne to rethink his modus operandi. “You know, the body language that that Novick gives to all three of them (Alfred, Bruce, and Dick) that they are trying to hold it together like any family is when you inevitably hit that college thing,” remembers Bat-expert Dan Greenfield of The 13th Dimension website. “But everybody is about to burst into tears also.” Bruce and Alfred essentially downsize, leaving Wayne Manor and moving into a swank penthouse in the heart of the Gotham City. Bruce even tweaks his crimefighting mission statement. He now resolves to help victims of crimes both in the day dan greenfield as Bruce Wayne and at night as the Batman. Novick’s lanky Bruce Wayne is credible and likeable. Gone are the ties and ascots of yesteryear. Novick now dresses Bruce Wayne in stylish suits with a turtleneck. There’s an easy-breezy attitude that Novick instills in the character. Novick’s Bruce Wayne had left the stuffy William Powell millionaire of yesteryear behind, and firmly reestablished the wealthy playboy as dashing, urbane, and stylish, in the mold of Robert Wagner in It Takes a Thief or Roger Moore as The Saint. Between panels, it seems that Novick found time for him to get a stylish ’70s haircut too. The character is ready for smaller stories, with less clownish elements, and Novick was the consistent element whose talents were tailor-made for the Batman of this decade. Novick loosened up, presumably graduating past the Infantino “New Look” blueprint and now influenced by Neal Adams’ vision of the spooky crimefighter. Novick’s Batman was confident, but more human. This slim detective might be stoically sitting atop a building one moment and engaged in a fistfight the next. And after it was over, he’d be sprinting at top speed to the next emergency. Novick now illustrated Batman’s cape with spirited expertise. Sometimes it was overly long, but only if you really thought about it. When the Caped Crusader dashed off, it would elegantly billow like
To the Bat-Poles…? (top) Dick Grayson quickly warms up to butler Alfred’s newly introduced (to readers) niece, Daphne Pennyworth, in Batman #216 (Nov. 1969). Despite the title’s gradual tonal shift, this story offered TV Batman fans a sly wink with its inclusion of a Shakespeare bust in Wayne Manor. Story by Robbins, art by Novick and Dick Giordano. (bottom) With Batman #217 (Dec. 1969), young Grayson was off to college and the series shifted Bruce Wayne and his loyal manservant from posh Wayne Manor to the urban jungle of Gotham City. Notice panel 3’s emphasis on Batman’s cape, which would, in the hands of many artists to follow, take on a life of its own. Original Novick/Giordano art courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com). TM & © DC Comics.
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Cinematic Storyteller (left) Mike Esposito’s inks over Novick’s pencils on Batman #225’s (Sept. 1970) “Shutdown on York Street!” evoke a Silver Age vibe. Script by Mike Friedrich. Courtesy of Art Cloos. (right) A mere two issues later, Novick and inker Dick Giordano have visually transformed our hero into the Darknight Detective we’d love throughout the Bronze Age. Original art from Denny O’Neil’s celebrated “The Demon of Gothos Mansion!” from Batman #227 (Dec. 1970). Courtesy of Heritage. TM & © DC Comics.
a parachute with the grace of a ballet dancer. The pleated creases must have taken Alfred hours of ironing. “It had a little bit more of an edge, more of a fluidity, particularly as the ’70s went on,” says Dan Greenfield, also noting how Novick drew a “slimmer kind of kind of athlete as opposed to the bulky Batman. I think that Novick captured that really well, whether he was doing stories about mobsters or weird mysteries or gothic stuff, or doing Joker stories or Kite-Man stories. His range was there. Some artists are able to do some without the other. But I think that that he managed. He had that kind of timeless style that was adaptable to different types of storytelling.” To his credit, Novick piloted a consistent and compelling artistic ride for readers as stories ricocheted between murder mysteries, battles with new villains (the Ten-Eyed Man), battles with returning villains (Two-Face), “relevant” stories (Black Power, police violence), horror, and even gothic romance. Daphne Pennyworth returned in Batman #227 (Dec. 1968) in a gothic thriller titled “The Demon of Gothos Mansion!” written by Denny O’Neil, penciled by Irv Novick, and
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inked by Dick Giordano. Batman falls for a mysterious, haunting beauty, a look-alike for Daphne. Novick’s strong contrasts, flamboyantly exaggerated cape, and moody scenes help establish this as a favorite among fans. Novick excels at both depicting Daphne and the ghostly doppelganger that enchants Batman. It’s easy to see why someone would be attracted to an Irv Novick woman. The Crown hardcover collection Batman from the 30s to the 70s reprinted this adventure in glorious black and white, and allowed Novick’s talent to shine for a wider audience. “I first discovered Irv’s work back in 1973, in Batman #249,” says author Jim Beard. “I was eight at the time, and since then have always considered him ‘my’ Batman artist (along with Jim Aparo) in the same way that Ross Andru is ‘my’ Spider-Man artist. Irv was paired with the inking of Dick Giordano then, and it’s that team that will always appear in my thoughts when I cast my mind back to those days. Irv’s Batman was wholly his own, I think. He had a stock side-shot of the Caped Crusader that he used ad infinitum, but it was always something I’d look for, as well as his trademark seams on the Bat-gloves and the heels on the Bat-boots.”
Really, weren’t Irv Novick’s splash pages dynamite? (left) This nightmarish scenario features the Frank Robbins–created Bat-rogue, the Spook. Original Novick/ Giordano art from Batman #252 (Oct. 1973), signed by the penciler. (right) Irv and Dick, together again, with the Catwoman splash from Batman #256 (May–June 1974), a 100-Page Super Spectacular issue. Both, courtesy of Heritage. TM & © DC Comics.
NOVICK’s CO-CREATIONS Irv Novick’s visual excellence was especially long-lived, as he co-created a plethora of characters in the Batman mythology, including: • Ace of Spades (Joker #5) • Bumblebee (Karen Beecher) (Teen Titans #45) • Caroline Crown (Bruce Wayne’s secretary) (Batman #323) • Colonel Sulphur (Batman #241) • Daphne Pennyworth (Alfred’s niece) (Batman #216) • Doctor Moon (Batman #240) • Duela Dent, the Joker’s Daughter (Batman Family #6) • Electrocutioner (Batman #331) • Executrix (Detective Comics #532) • Firebug (Batman #318) • Harris Blaine (Batman #242) • Jason Fox (Batman #313) • Marla Manning (Batman #342) • Matches Malone (Batman #242) • The Spook (Detective Comics #434) • The Ten-Eyed Man (Batman #226) • Terri Bergstrom (one of Dick Grayson’s college girlfriends) (Batman #230) • Wilfred Pennyworth (Alfred’s older brother, a Shakespearian actor) (Batman #216) Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 11
TM & © DC Comics.
Poster-worthy Splashes
’70s ANTAGONISTS: MOBSTERS, THUGS, OR VILLAINS
Nature abhors a vacuum, and Batman fandom yearned for the return of costumed villains. Let’s focus on two who debuted during this time, each with very different levels of success and longevity. Ra’s al Ghul was introduced by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams in Batman #232, but Novick would be the artist to illustrate this international mastermind and his captivating daughter Talia in the next adventures. Novick’s make-it-look-easy style of drawing vividly brought the characters to life. Not long after, writer Frank Robbins and Novick created the Spook in Detective Comics #434 (Apr. 1973). The Spook, clearly intended to be a substantial new antagonist, was a breath of fresh air. Like a good magician, he baffles all the characters in the story (along with readers) with his seemingly supernatural crimes and stunts. After the Spook steals the Batmobile, with two criminal prisoners handcuffed within it, even Batman is flabbergasted. “Impossible! Incredible! Disappeared without a trace!” thinks Batman as he swings through Gotham in a classic Novick shot from behind, showcasing his flowing Bat-cape. The Spook would return to square off against Batman in an another Novick-illustrated adventure. “He could also produce some fantastic atmospheric landscapes and environments, which for me reached their zenith in what is probably my favorite Novick Batissue with the Spook, Batman #252 (Oct. 1973),” recalls Beard. “There’s some connective tissue there between artist and character—they’re both woefully underappreciated JIM BEArd these days.
ROBIN FLIES SOLO
RIP, Yvonne Craig, forever Batgirl! Photo: Becky Beard/Facebook.
Once Robin, the Teen Wonder left for college, he kept crimefighting— albeit on a smaller scale—in solo Robin short stories appearing as backups in early ’70s Batman and Detective issues; many Robin stories were illustrated by Novick. Novick’s Robin looked dashing and contemporary at college, albeit a little on the conservative side. As depicted by Novick, Dick Grayson in college had a sincerity about him, with just a whiff of hipness. And while the near-adult Robin may have looked awkward
Drawing the Batman Family (top) Detail from the “Robin” backup in Batman #227 (Dec. 1970), penciled by Irv. Story by Mike Friedrich, inks by Mike Esposito. (bottom) Page 2 of “Swamp Sinister,” the lead tale in Batman #235 (Sept. 1971), with Novick’s rendition of Ra’s al Ghul. Story by Denny O’Neil, inks by Giordano. TM & © DC Comics.
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in his traditional barelegged costume, Novick always played it straight and made it work. “I loved the feeling of these stories, even though I was in middle school at the time,” muses Dan Greenfield. “I loved the idea of imagining that I was Dick racing along campus. I like the smallness of the stories. They were not over the top. Hudson University had a pretty wild crime rate for upstate New York. “And I loved the idea of Robin being on his own. And that was, you know, the old idea of Robin, to begin with, from the jump was someone the kids could relate to. I related to Batman. I wanted to be Batman. But I also wanted to be Robin. Especially in math class. I’d be sitting there looking at the clock. And I’m thinking, ‘Why can’t I just be out doing the adventures on the school roof right now in in a, in a yellow cape and a red and a red outfit?’ “But in terms of the artwork, I thought Novick did a great Robin. He did a lot of really good stories and that were very accessible. And a lot of fun.” [Editor’s note: See BACK ISSUE #22 for more on Robin’s ’70s solo stories.]
BRING ON THE (OLD) BAD GUYS
During Novick’s initial run on Batman and Detective Comics, the series had strayed away from leveraging Batman’s iconic villains. New antagonists like the Spook or Colonel Sulphur only took it so far. Was Batman becoming too “ordinary”? By 1974, there was a subtle shift away from Batman
only facing thugs and gangsters. Novick excelled at depicting mobsters and mundane antagonists, but was it time to time for a change? Was it time to bring back Batman’s larger-than-life Rogues’ Gallery? Novick had a little experience with colorful bad guys. He had previously illustrated the Joker and Penguin on covers, and a Catwoman story in Batman #210. “You went through those stages because in the late ’60s and early ’70s, they were really shying away from the costumed villains,” says Dan Greenfield. “There was a noirish element that played to [Novick’s] strengths—where he had been. He drew war comics and the great G.I. Joe ads in the ’60s. It wasn’t quite as photorealistic as Adams, but it had that quality. There was something about his artwork that felt very commercial, and I mean that in a good way. I think that the stories that he told were great. If you’re talking from 1968, to say, 1974, because that is when they started bringing back the past, and villains.” Batman #256–260 in 1974, published in DC’s then-popular 100-Page Super Spectacular format, served up consecutive Novick Bat-stories featuring the Catwoman, the Penguin, Two-Face, and the Joker, respectively. These stories were fun. It seemed that Batman, the readers, and DC’s editorial department, were leaving behind that early ’70s vibe and preparing for what would become more traditional superhero adventures with bombastic bad guys.
Breakout from Arkham O’Neil and Adams may have re-popularized the Clown Prince of Crime in the landmark Batman #251, but once the villain spun off into his own mag, it was Irv Novick joining Denny and inker Dick Giordano as the penciler of (left) The Joker #1 (May 1975). (right) Joker #5 splash, from Heritage. TM & © DC Comics.
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Batman on Ice Novick’s Bond-ish splash page, inked by Frank McLaughlin, commands the reader’s attention in Batman #333 (Mar. 1981), from Marv Wolfman’s “The Lazarus Affair” serial. Courtesy of Heritage. TM & © DC Comics.
HE WHO LAUGHS LAST
inked by Dick Giordano and future star José Luis This segued right into the Joker’s series. In the García-López. Novick’s other Joker issues, inked mid-’70s, it was unusual for a villain to headline by Tex Blaisdell and Frank McLaughlin, provided Novick’s pencils with a a comic title. Debuting looser, more cartoony in 1975, the short-lived feel to them. Joker series had to “[Irv Novick and I] didn’t have a social Novick did bring to comply with the strict relationship due in part to the different life several guest-stars Comics Code rules of generations, but it was a smooth workin this series, including the day. The villain had ing relationship. Irv executed stories as Catwoman, Lex Luthor, to be apprehended to assigned, sometimes pushing deadlines if and even Sherlock reinforce the message he jumped on a better-paying ad gig, but Holmes. [Editor’s note: that crime doesn’t always delivering quality work.” It’s no laughing matter— pay. Presumably, there – Paul Levitz BI explored The Joker was a fear that some Former Batman editor and DC Comics back in issue #35!] readers were unsure President and Publisher of how to resolve this BACK TO THE ethical question. BATCAVE Irv Novick penciled most of this series, which ran for nine issues. Some Novick then rotated off the core series, Batman of his work shined brightly, most notably when and Detective Comics. But not for long—in 1976 and 1977, he depicted the extended Batman cast in a few issues of Batman Family and Teen Titans. Novick boomeranged back to Batman, from 1979 to 1980, working with top writers like Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, and Gerry Conway. These issues tended to have a more “Marvel feel” to them, utilizing a large supporting cast, ongoing subplots, costumed villains, and multi-part stories. Catwoman became part of the supporting cast, and lesser villains like the Firebug and the Snowman showed up, too. Novick did a fine job, but his quintessential noirish work from the decade before had morphed into a more cartoony style. His inkers chose to amplify that aspect. Captain Boomerang, an old Flash foe that Novick had illustrated as the long-running artist of The Flash, surprisingly came to Gotham City in Batman #322 (Apr. 1980) for a battle of boomerang versus Batarang. Unfortunately, the issue’s drab Vince Colletta inks watered down this clever concept. Even Novick’s talent couldn’t outshine a mundane inker. But he shouldn’t have felt singled out; Colletta’s inks had the same effect on Curt Swan’s pencils in a Green Arrow Hostess ad in the same issue. “For my favorite Novick story,” muses Dan Greenfield, “I would go with the ‘The Lazarus Affair’ in Batman #332–335 (Feb.–May 1981), which was the de facto sequel to the O’Neil, Adams, and Novick story from about ten years before. Ra’s al Ghul had shown up here and there, but this was the first time they really went at it. It was like a big classic, James Bondian– type of story.” Novick’s “Lazarus Affair” artwork was “really, really strong,” states Greenfield. “It was nice to see him have center stage. His art style was not grand—it wasn’t—but that’s mostly because the material he worked with was very Gotham City–focused, very urban. Here he got to stretch and do some wild stuff. I always look back at that with a certain fondness. I also have to think that it’s one of the great stories that most people don’t remember. “Some of the stories in comics that are dearest to me were drawn by him.”
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Novick’s Last Batman Story (right) Steve Mitchell inked Novick’s final Batman assignment, the Alan Grant–scripted “Our Man in Havana.” From Detective #595 (Holiday 1988). (left) Novick, inked by Bill Wray, also penciled the Spook entry for Who’s Who #21 (Nov. 1986). TM & © DC Comics.
THE LAST RIDES
Despite his advancing age and failing eyesight, Novick continued contributing to Batman comics in the 1980s, notably: In 1981 and 1983, Novick returned to the Caped Crusader for stories in Detective Comics #489 and 521. Also in 1982, Novick illustrated World’s Finest #281, where he got another crack at a minor Bat-villain he had created ten years earlier in Batman #241: Colonel Sulphur. World’s Finest #282 teamed longtime pals Batman and Superman in a fantasy setting, showing the wide range of Novick’s illustration talents. In 1985, DC Comics Presents #83 again partnered old friends Batman and Superman, but this time the Caped Crusader brought along his new teammates, the Outsiders. Although this new team’s visual identity was established by Jim Aparo, Novick seemed perfectly comfortable with the large team. The energetic panels never seem overcrowded and Novick’s clever layouts still come across as effortless to the reader.
Novick’s last opportunity drawing Batman was in Detective Comics #595 (Holiday 1988). All the signature Novick poses are here, including the Batman profile and the running scene with the flowing cape. Steve Mitchell’s inks deftly provide a Giordano-esque quality, recalling the glory years of Novick’s Batman illustrations. Novick was 73 years old at the time of publication. On one hand, Novick’s work on the Batman books were all about big, fluttering capes, profile views, pretty girls, energetic fight scenes, and ’70s fashions. On the other hand, he was all about consistency coupled with freshness, composition in lockstep with storytelling, and shadows interspersed with elegance. While often overshadowed by higher-profile artists, you get the impression that Irv Novick, like his well-mannered version of Bruce Wayne, would shrug it all off with a casual grin and say something like, “Well, we all sure had fun!” ED CATTO is a marketing and startup strategist, with a specialty in pop culture. As founder of Agendae, Ed is dedicated to helping brands and companies innovate and grow. As part of the faculty at Ithaca College’s School of Business, Ed teaches entrepreneurial courses and one unique class focusing on comic conventions and Geek Culture. Ed’s also an illustrator, having won the 2019 and 2021 Pulp Factory Awards, and a retropreneur, rejuvenating brands like Captain Action.
Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 15
MICHAEL Wm.
KALUTA Drawing Aim on the Batman When comparing (right) this unused cover preliminary with (inset below) the published cover for Detective Comics #428 (Oct. 1972), notice how Kaluta altered both Batman’s posture and the position of the gun that threatens him.
The pulp-influenced, meticulously detailed linework of artist Michael Wm. Kaluta (born 1947) commanded attention from his earliest assignments, which began in 1970, earning him the “Outstanding New Talent” Shazam Award for 1971. From his breakout feature, DC’s “Carson of Venus” backups, to his star-making turn on
TM & © DC Comics.
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Kyle Cassidy.
Batmen of the 1970s:
the 1973 revival of The Shadow, Kaluta quickly became a fan-favorite, inspiring Batman editor Julius Schwartz to occasionally tap him for cover illustrations. While the talented Mr. Kaluta would continue to illustrate Batman covers and special stories for decades to come, in this cover gallery you will enjoy some of his earliest Bat-art.
Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 17
Batman and related images TM & © DC Comics, except The Shadow TM & © Condé Nast Publications.
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Batmen of the 1970s:
BOB BROWN The Brown Bat
by S t e v e n
Thompson
The brown bat is an endangered species of mouse-eared microbat found in North America. From 1968 to 1973, the Brown Bat was also a fairly realistic version of Batman that has rarely been seen since. Along with Irv Novick and Jim Aparo, veteran comic-book artist Bob Brown was one of the main Batman illustrators of that period, and yet all anyone tends to remember these days is the flashier, now-iconic pencils of Neal Adams, often paired with inker Dick Giordano.
FROM SHOW BIZ TO GOTHAM CITY
‘Two Titans’? In this case, it’s penciler Bob Brown and inker Dick Giordano— although writer Frank Robbins was pretty titanic, too! Courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com), original art to the splash page of Detective Comics #428 (Oct. 1972), from which this issue’s cover blurb for Bob Brown was taken. TM & © DC Comics.
Who was Bob Brown? Born in Syracuse, New York, in 1915 to showbiz parents, he and his younger brother and sister followed in the family tradition from an early age, performing as a song-and-dance team for years. In time, he went solo as a dancer and even earned a successful screen test at 20th Century Fox. Any plans he may have had to become a movie chorus boy were scuttled when his number came up in the draft at the age of 25. At that point, he enlisted so as to join the Army Air Corps. Over time, Bob survived 35 combat missions over Japan, earning multiple medals and commendations along the way. After the war, his interests turned to art and he attended the Hartford Art School and the Rhode Island School of Design on the generous GI Bill. He worked at first for an ad agency, but by that point comic books had become a major publishing industry and new artists were constantly needed. Brown contributed artwork to publishers Fox and Timely before being recalled to duty as a captain in the Reserves. At that time, he served in Newfoundland with the 52nd Air Rescue Squadron. Then, as he himself put it, it was “back to the ol’ drawing board.” Brown’s first regular gig was drawing DC’s popular “Vigilante” stories in Action Comics. He guided Vig for 33 issues beginning in late 1950. He would later take over DC’s Revolutionary War–era frontiersman title, Tomahawk. In between, Bob also drew the entirety of the first issue of the long-running Rawhide Kid title for Atlas (Marvel). By the time he arrived in Detective in 1968, I had already been a fan of Brown’s work for several years, first discovering him as the artist on the coverless Challengers of the Unknown comic books mixed in with all the Blackhawk issues at the barbershop where I got my hair cut every two weeks in the mid-’60s. He was still drawing the new Challengers of the Unknown issues at that time, as well, and I started buying them. Superboy was an early favorite of mine, so I was glad when he started drawing it, too, especially in issues inked by Wallace Wood! I have only ever owned two pages of Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 19
original comic-book art and one of them was a Superboy page cowl in others. He makes the cape awfully short as well. by Brown and Wood. [Editor’s note: Check out BACK ISSUE #142 The issue’s ludicrous plot has Batman staging an unnecessarily for more info about Brown’s Superboy art.] elaborate hoax to ensnare a snake-like supervillain called As far as the Caped Crusader goes, I was having a love/hate Copperhead. Our hero arranges for both Wonder Woman relationship with Batman comics in the late 1960s. Drawn to them and Batgirl to show up, loudly and publicly proclaiming their like so many others a couple of years earlier during the phenom- undying love for him. Wonder Woman flies in under her on enon that was Batmania, I couldn’t help feel the old baitpower—no invisible plane needed—while Batgirl flies in and-switch when we got a gorgeously drawn cover via her personal mini-Batplane (??). The plan backby, say, Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson, or Carmine fires when both women really do fall for him and Infantino and Joe Giella, only to have the insides hilarity—almost lethal at times—ensues. be by “Bob Kane.” Even then, I suspected some It’s a cringe-worthy story, really, as well as an chicanery as what we now know as Chic Stone’s inauspicious debut for Bob on Batman. But things Batman didn’t look like Sheldon Moldoff’s were about to quickly change. Just a month or Batman or Frank Springer’s Batman and none so later, Detective Comics #378 (Aug. 1968) saw of them looked the least bit like Dick Sprang’s the debut of Frank Robbins as writer of Batman, Batman in the 80-Page Giants. and with him debuted what would be—with a In 1968, though, DC was going through some few switch-outs on the inker at times—his new big changes, one of which was that instead regular art team, Bob Brown and Joe Giella. of the generic “Bob Kane” credit, editor Julius Robbins was new at DC, although he had Schwartz began regularly crediting the actual been in the comics business almost since it bejoe giella artists and writers on Batman stories, beginning gan. Mainly, he was known for the dynamic writ© Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. with Frank Robbins—newly hired from the ing and art on the long-running, Milton Caniff– newspaper strips—and artist Bob Brown. inspired newspaper aviation strip Johnny Hazard. He continued Brown’s initial take on Batman actually came in The Brave on Hazard even as he started tentatively at DC writing Lois Lane and the Bold (B&B) #78 (June–July 1968) when he both penciled and The Flash, then settled in for his acclaimed regular runs on and inked a typically wacky Bob Haney story, “In the Coils of both Superboy and Batman. the Copperhead.” Although undoubtedly familiar with the One should definitely not underestimate the importance of character, it’s clear that the artist had trouble drawing Batman’s inker Joe Giella to the Robbins/Brown team. Whatever flaws face, with too much nose showing in some shots and too much Brown had in drawing Batman only months before were nowhere in evidence in that first Robbins story. This is undoubtedly due to Giella, whose precise and assured inks helped define and tame the so-called “New Look” Batman drawn by Infantino earlier in the decade. Away from comics, Bob Kane himself reportedly even used Giella as a ghost artist. Brown, like the Sponge Man character he had co-created (with Batman co-creator Bill Finger) a few years earlier in Challengers of the Unknown, seemed to quickly soak up everything he needed to learn about the Dynamic Duo and was almost immediately on top of things.
MOVING AWAY FROM CAMP
The Robbins/Brown stories began to appear just as the classic, campy 1966 TV series was ending, and as such they at first fell somewhat in between the goofy and the Darknight Detective era soon to explode via Neal Adams. Looking at Brown’s stories now as a group, they represent a period that modern readers are unlikely to ever see again, as a very human, smart, and clearly sane Batman solves actual crimes in his beloved Gotham City rather than being entangled in massive, months-long, and increasingly convoluted “events.”
Brown Gets Around (main) Bob Brown art on a Don Rico–written Marvel oater page from Rawhide Kid #1 (Mar. 1955). (inset) Brown’s Challengers of the Unknown covers and interiors, bridging the artist’s flair for adventure strips with a superhero flavor, paved the way for Bob’s eventual transition to Batman. Cover to CotU #53 (Dec. 1966–Jan. 1967). Rawhide Kid TM & © Marvel. Challengers of the Unknown TM & © DC Comics.
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In the Coils of Camp Bob Haney’s zany Batman/Wonder Woman/ Batgirl team-up in The Brave and the Bold #78 (June–July 1968) uncharacteristically portrayed the heroines as ga-ga over the dreamy Darknight Detective… but in addition to introducing the venomous Copperhead, the issue also heralded Bob Brown’s first Batman art. (Neal Adams would begin working his gothic magic on Batman in the very next issue, the legendary Batman/Deadman team-up in B&B #79.) TM & © DC Comics.
There was only one Batman and one Robin in those days, and each month they faced a new mystery, new danger, and new challenges for their detective minds. And in the case of the Robbins/ Brown stories, most of which held the lead feature in Detective Comics, it was all usually wrapped up in 15 pages or less (with a Batgirl or Robin solo story rounding out the issue!). Well, not the first Brown Bat-story. It was actually a two-parter. Part One appeared under a signed Irv Novick cover in Detective Comics #378 (Aug. 1968). “Batman Drop Dead…Twice” starts out as a generation gap drama (a running theme in early Robbins Batman stories) paralleling the predicaments of Dick Grayson and a teenage hoodlum as they both run away and end up rooming together in a cheap hotel. Turns out the other kid, Chino, has a plan to get in good with mobsters by disguising Dick as the Boy Wonder so he can bait and kill Batman. The story finishes up in Detective #379 (Sept. 1968), with “Two Killings for the Price of One,” which features loyal butler Alfred disguised as Batman in one scene. Keeping in mind that the last new episode of the Adam West Batman TV series had just aired in March, and the show was still in reruns as these first Robbins/Brown issues appeared, it’s natural that a bit of TV camp such as that was still hanging on, but that would soon change. Not by the following month, though, in which we have a young woman claiming to be Mrs. Bruce Wayne show up at stately Wayne Manor one morning. Robbins, who apparently wrote full scripts for his artists rather than what’s come to be known as the Marvel Method, generally had quite clever and exciting stories, with good characterization, and opportunities for Brown to draw the Dynamic Duo in both action and repose. One unfortunate exception is “The Fortune Cookie Caper” in Detective Comics #383 (Jan. 1969), with its orangecolored Asians and variations on the politically incorrect “Engrish,” Robbins seemed to be having so much fun with in his now-infamous, two-part Flash story set in Japan. That said, the story presents a lovely double-page, excitingly laid-out fight scene that Brown draws with only six large panels.
Robbins wasn’t the only new writer at DC either. Over-hyped “events” in comic books are all too common these days but were actually rare until the 1970s. In 1969, though, Bob Brown was involved with a genuine “I’m glad you’re highlighting event—Batman’s 30th anniversary Bob’s work in BACK ISSUE. issue of Detective Comics, #387 (May 1969). Under yet another Novick The attention is well-decover, the task of drawing the anserved.” niversary story within fell to Brown, – Mike Friedrich and this time he was not teamed with Former Batman writer his usual Batman collaborator. and creator of Star*Reach Mike Friedrich (called “DC’s current teenage rage”) was one of the younger writers DC had started to bring in after decades of the same aging creators. Mike tells BACK ISSUE, “This story was very early in my career. I seem to remember that editor Julius Schwartz and I discussed the Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 21
anniversary issue of Detective Comics #387 late in the summer of 1967, just before I returned home to California to start attending college, so I would have written the script in the fall of that year. I was 18 years old at the time. My one significant contribution, other than the basic premise of re-telling a contemporary version of the original Detective Comics #27 Batman story, was thinking up the visual use of the Batman logo as panel shapes on pages 2 and 3. My editor really liked that idea.” Brown must have, too, as he and Joe Giella turned in a bang-up job on that double-page splash. The rest of the story felt inspired as well. As noted, “The Cry of Night is—Sudden Death!” was an update of the very first Batman story, credited to Bob Kane, in Detective Comics #27 (May 1938). Friedrich cleverly builds this version around the Generation Gap theme that had been showing up in recent issues. Robin (who hadn’t even been created when the original ran) and Batman are still at odds, although Dick notes and appreciates the fact that Bruce had been listing to his Janis Joplin records. What made the issue extra special was the inclusion of the original version of the same story as well. Although not quite a reprint (it was later revealed that it was meticulously re-drawn both to make it more printable and to eliminate things the Comics Code wouldn’t allow, such as a knife in the back), it was the oldest Batman story modern fans had seen yet, as even the popular all-reprint 80-Page Giants had almost always been sticking with post-Code 1950s stories. As if to put a cherry on the top of this anniversary cake, Bill Finger is even given due credit for co-creating Batman on the “Fact File” text page at book’s end, a rarity for DC in his lifetime! To this day, Friedrich remains pleased by how the special issue turned out, and gives a large portion of that credit to Brown. “Bob Brown is indeed overshadowed during this period,” Friedrich contends. “At that time my scripts always went to the editor, who in turn sent them on to the artists, so I had no direct contact with Bob Brown. Looking at the art again today, I was reminded of how pleased I was with how he handled visually the twist in the story, where the actual villain is revealed in panel three on page 15. The chilling point-of-view shift still works today.” According to Mike, “I finally met Bob Brown in person when we both happened to have dropped in at the same time at Neal Adams’ studio. I was writing Warlock for Marvel at the time and Bob was drawing it. He gave me some good advice on how to write my story synopses so that he would get the most out of them. That’s the only time we ever talked.”
Old Habits Are Hard to Break (top) Bob Brown’s first official Batman story, from Detective Comics #378 (Aug. 1968), still evoked the spirit of what came before. (center) Holy Impersonator! In issue #379, Alfred subs as Batman, just as he had done on (bottom) the live-action Batman TV show. Alan Napier as Alfred—uh, Batman. TM & © DC Comics.
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HUMBLE AND LOVABLE
Bob Brown was already in his 50s when he began drawing both Batman and Superboy for DC. He had been working steadily for the company for many years, toiling on secondary features such as Challengers of the Unknown, Tomahawk, and “Space Ranger.” Brown also holds the distinction of being the first artist to draw James Bond for an American comic book, even if it was only on the cover of DC’s Showcase #43 (Mar.–Apr. 1963), which reprinted a British adaptation of Dr. No on the inside. In an obituary for Brown, Marvel’s Chris Claremont, writing in X-Men #106 (Aug. 1977), said, “He was a rare beautiful man. He was a gentleman in the truest sense of the word; he was a consummate artist, and at the same time a cultured, witty, articulate—almost Renaissance—man. He was kind of man you always wished you knew better, and if you were his friend, you were a lucky person indeed.” Brown seemed humble as well. In a letter to a fan dated August of 1972, he wrote, “It’s always nice to know there is someone out there in the world who appreciates your labors.” In an answer to the fan’s apparent question as to how he drew the Caped Crusader’s strip, the artist replied, “I drew the BATMAN in pencil since that’s the way I usually work. Dick Giordano does the inking.”
While Joe Giella memorably inked 22 of the Brown Bat stories, Dick Giordano did indeed work on quite a few of the later ones and by the end of the run, his influence on Brown’s work—as well as the influence of Neal Adams, who had by then become the Bat-artist in the eyes of the majority of fans—shows. One oft-mentioned page that comes up in any online discussions of this era is a beautiful, silent Brown/Giordano page found in the artist’s only work in the main Bat-title, in Batman #248 (Apr. 1973). In it, the Darknight Detective sneaks onto a ship at a Naval base in the middle of the night in six stark panels of near perfection. [Editor’s note: We refer you to page 28 of BACK ISSUE #50 for a fullpage reproduction of Brown’s silent page from Batman #248.] Denny O’Neil, who would later succeed Robbins as the primary Batman writer, once lamented, “I made a mistake writing a bunch of stories without a colorful villain. That’s part of the genre. That was a craft slip-up on my part.” And yet Robbins and Brown only featured two during their entire run—the Joker and the Scarecrow— and neither was a particularly memorable appearance. Most of the time, Brown’s human Batman fought a succession of down-to-earth, human bad guys—burglars, mobsters, smugglers, would-be assassins, etc.
Batman After Dark (left) Brown quickly adapted to the darkening of Batman, as this fast-paced title page to Detective Comics #415 (Sept. 1971) proves. Script by Robbins, inks by Giordano. (right) Bat-rogue Colonel Sulfur is seen on this exciting Brownpenciled splash to Batman #248 (Apr. 1973), signed by inker Giordano. Both, courtesy of Heritage. TM & © DC Comics.
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Drawing the Batman Family (left) Brown (inked by Giordano) captures both Talia’s verve and vulnerability on this page from writer Denny O’Neil’s Detective #411 (May 1971). (right) Title page of the “Robin” backup from Batman #249 (June 1973). Script by Elliot S. Maggin, inks by Frank McLaughlin. TM & © DC Comics.
In the midst of his fairly steady run on Detective, Brown also moonlighted for the Haneyverse version of Batman again over in three more issues of The Brave and the Bold. The first of these was B&B #97 (Aug.–Sept. 1971), in which Batman runs into his old friend Wildcat doing exhibition boxing in Acapulco, Mexico. (The fact that Wildcat and the Spectre often teamed with the Earth-One Batman despite being Earth-Two heroes, and were always described as old friends, is a peculiarity of Haney’s B&B.) Just two issues later, in B&B #99 (Dec. 1971– Jan. 1972), Brown was back for a typically odd little Bob Haney story in which he rents his own parents’ long-abandoned beach house on a New England island—which is complete with the urn featuring their mixed ashes (!). While there, our hero gets possessed by the ghost of an old Portuguese harpooner named Manuel. As BatManuel, he’s caught red-handed tampering with a lighthouse and arrested, only to be bailed out by Barry (the Flash) Allen. Allen is there because his large high-tech lab instruments back in Central City detected rays from an alien dimension that he tracked to the Wayne cottage. Suuuure. Both of those issues, goofy though their premises may be, were highlights of Bob’s Batman run because of their inks from Nick Cardy. Like Brown, Cardy was a veteran comics penciler but he had been doing quite a bit of inking by that
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point. Like Wallace Wood, when you were inked by Cardy, it looked almost like Cardy artwork, and that was never a bad thing. In this case, though, Brown’s strong storytelling layouts and pencils assured that the overall product was an impressive mixture of both men’s styles. Frank McLaughlin, whose inking was highly reminiscent of Dick Giordano’s, handled Brown’s last Bat-visit to Haney’s private little fiefdom in B&B #103 (Sept.–Oct. 1972), in which Batman seeks out the fan-favorite Metal Men in order to help him deal with a rogue government AI computer clearly based on Colossus from the movie Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) with a dash or two of Hal 9000 from 1968’s 2001: A Space Odyssey thrown in. Frank Giacoia, another solid, reliable, but unspectacular inker, worked with Brown on his last Detective Batman story, in issue #436 (Aug.–Sept. 1973). This marked Bob’s 42nd Bat-story over the course of a five-year period. Out of his half-decade of unsung service to Gotham’s guardian, Bob Brown’s most important contribution to Bat-history has to be that he drew both the first story to feature the League of Assassins as well as the very first appearance of Talia al Ghul. Even if one ignores that character’s increasingly convoluted and conflicting continuity, since Talia becomes the mother to Batman’s son Damian, her importance to the canon can’t
“I thought his Batman was up there with the best.” – Tony Isabella Former writer/editor for DC and Marvel be denied… and Bob Brown first brought her to life along with writer Denny O’Neil. In a 2014 interview with Dan Greenfield, O’Neil said, “Julie Schwartz and I—who had a wonderful working relationship— decided it was time for a new Batman villain because, as sometimes happens, you keep going back to the same well. The Joker, the Penguin, those guys… So, Julie had a name. Ra’s al Ghul! It means ‘head of the demon,’ and I went home with the notion that we were going to try to do a major villain. That does not always work. A lot of stuff in comics happens accidentally. Spider-Man was to kill 15 pages in a title that Stan knew was gonna be cancelled. GL/GA happened because the book was dying and Julie had nothing to lose. In this case, we kind of set out to do a major addition to the mythos. The issue that preceded this was drawn by Bob Brown and introduced Talia. I must’ve known how Talia was going to fit into the mythos.” Brown introduced Doctor Darrk, the supposed leader of the League of Assassins. In “Into the Dean of the Death-Dealers” (Detective Comics #411, May 1971), Darrk kidnaps a beautiful young woman who introduces herself as Talia, daughter of Ra’s al Ghul. Her father and Dr. Darrk have had a falling out over “some sort of business.” In the end, Talia does away with the doctor saving Batman, as he rescued her. The following month, in a non-Brown Batman tale, we meet her father. There was also a coda to Brown’s Bat-career, in the form of an eight-page Robin story which showed up in Batman #249 (June 1973). Written by Elliot S. Maggin and inked again by Frank McLaughlin, it has the Teen Wonder worrying about acne revealing his identity as Dick Grayson. Mainly, though, it’s Robin on his motorbike involved in one long car chase.
BROWN MAKES HIS MARVEL
Bob Brown departed DC for Marvel in 1973. For Marvel he drew Warlock, Daredevil, Ghost Rider, The Avengers, and even a fill-in X-Men. Writer Tony Isabella tells BACK ISSUE, “I don’t recall that I ever met or even spoke to Bob Brown over the phone during my stint on Daredevil and the one issue of Ghost Rider he drew. We worked Marvel style, but my version of Marvel style was different than most. I wrote detailed paneltony isabella by-panel plot. Not Alan Moore– League of Comic Geeks. level details, but panel-by-panel descriptions with some indications what the dialogue might be when I scripted the art. I’m told the older artists liked working
From Dark Knight to Marvel Knight After illustrating Batman’s nighttime and rooftop adventures for DC, once jumping ship to Marvel Brown enjoyed a memorable stint drawing Daredevil. (top) Splash page to Daredevil #113 (Sept. 1974). (bottom) From the Heritage archives, an undated (presumably from his mid-1970s DD stint) self-portrait of Brown. TM & © Marvel.
Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 25
Bad Day for Batgirl Brown circled back to DC in 1976, but unfortunately for a short while as he passed away in January 1977. His final contribution to the Bat-mythos was his cover (and interior art) for the “Batgirl” feature in Batman Family #10 (Mar.–Apr. 1977).
“Those were wonderful, welldrawn comics that I really enjoyed. I didn’t give these guys [like Brown] enough credit for the solid work they did at the time.” – Dan Riba Director for Batman: The Animated Series and other DCU animated films and series
TM & © DC Comics.
with me because I did these plots. They didn’t have to co-plot the stories, which saved them time when they drew them.” According to writer and comics historian Mark Evanier, Bob’s work at Marvel was regarded as old-fashioned. “It wasn’t so much that Brown couldn’t take a more modern approach to his work as that he just plain didn’t understand what that meant. Editors kept showing him the work of new artists, he told me. They’d say, ‘This is what we want now,’ but Brown couldn’t grasp just what it was he was supposed to learn from the examples, which often struck him as displaying weak anatomy, poor perspective, and other fundamental errors. It was almost like they were telling him that, ‘Kids relate to crude artwork,’ and he knew it wasn’t that.” After a few years, Bob Brown returned to DC. The artist’s final take on anything Bat-related came in Batman Family #10 (Mar.–Apr. 1977). It’s a 17-page Batgirl story entitled “Those Were the Bad Old Days” and billed as “her first full-length adventure.” At this time, Barbara Gordon was a sitting member of Congress who still somehow managed to slip away to become Batgirl on a regular basis. In Bob Rozakis’ fun story, she sneaks away to fight the Cavalier and her own old enemy, from her “million-dollar debut” a decade earlier, Killer Moth. The most interesting thing about this story, though, is that it brings Batwoman— Kathy Kane—out of retirement. Alas, Brown’s top-notch pencils are herein hampered by a decidedly lackluster inking job from Vince Colletta. Sadly, that Batgirl story came out around the time of the artist’s death at age 61 from leukemia in January 1977. At that time, he had been slated to become the new regular Wonder Woman artist (also along with Vince Colletta), but was only able to complete a single issue, Wonder Woman #231 (May 1977), before taking ill. Although Brown was already gone by the time the following issue hit the stands, lag time being what it is in publishing, that comic’s letters column erroneously pointed out that he was well on his way toward recovery from an illness that had hospitalized him. Tony Isabella again: “As brilliant as Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams could be, I think credit for the revival of Batman around this time should also go to writer Frank Robbins, editor Julius Schwartz, and artists Bob Brown and Irv Novick.” By all accounts, Bob Brown was a wellrespected artist among his peers and a genuinely nice human. His artwork is deceptively simple, but in the end always leaves its mark. It’s tough to find comic-book artists like that these days. This Brown Bat is long extinct. STEVEN THOMPSON has been writing about comics, movies, TV, and radio since 1988. He has worked in various capacities on more than 150 books and magazines to date. He currently writes a regular column in TwoMorrows’ Comic Book Creator and maintains multiple blogs online.
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Batmen of the 1970s:
FRANK ROBBINS Batman and Robbins
by B r i a n
Martin
Frank Robbins was a seasoned comic-strip veteran when he arrived in Gotham City. Born in 1917 in Boston, Massachusetts, writer-artist Robbins took over the Scorchy Smith comic strip in 1939, and then created a panel play of his own, Johnny Hazard, in 1944. Robbins would continue to produce that feature until its demise in 1977. Near the end of the 1960s, interest in adventure strips had begun to wane, so Robbins came calling at DC Comics looking for work. Initially writing for the Superman titles, it did not take long for Robbins to transition over to writing tales of the Darknight Detective.
ANYONE FOR TENNIS?
No Gentleman, This Ghost Chains can’t stop the Spook—one of the Bat-villains created by writer Frank Robbins—from closing in on the Gotham Guardian. Detail from the cover art for Detective Comics #434 (Apr. 1973), by illustrator Michael Wm. Kaluta. TM & © DC Comics.
Before we get to the main thrust of this article, let’s deal with the elephant in the room. “Heck, Batman looked like a joke. Worse since, sheesh, can’t remember.” “I personally hope to see a Robbins-illustrated story every few months.” “In almost every picture, Batman looks as if he has spent the day greasing the Batmobile.” “And the art—wow! Supreme!” “The unfortunate part of the story was that Robbins attempted to illustrate it.” “Let Frank Robbins have the script and art permanently!“ “It stinx!” Robbins—never short on the liberal application of black ink—drew only five Batman stories, all in Detective Comics, beginning with #416 (Oct. 1971)—then #420 (Feb. 1972), 421 (Mar. 1972), 426 (Aug. 1972), and 429 (Nov. 1972), for those keeping score at home—but as you can see from the above quotes from actual letters pages, the fan reaction to Robbins’ Bat-art was… intense, to say the least. Every story he illustrated garnered these sorts of reactions. And it didn’t stop with Batman. Leaving DC not long after chronicling his last Caped Crusader tale in 1974, Robbins moved to Marvel, where he drew a stint on Captain America. Beginning with issue #182 (Feb. 1975), he would pencil nine of the next 11 issues. The author of most of those tales, Steve Englehart, tells BI, “I loved Frank’s art when I was a reader. When he did Batman, or Man-Bat, I accepted it for what it was, and didn’t worry how he stacked up against Neal Adams or Gil Kane.
Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 27
Where Do You Stand? Bronze Age DC readers either loved or hated Frank Robbins’ Batman artwork. (left) On the splash page for Detective Comics #416 (Oct. 1971), the writer/artist pits his co-creation, Man-Bat, against the Caped Crusader for a return bout. (right) Batman’s last will and testament? Robbins’ harrowing splash to his “Killer’s Roulette!” tale from Detective #426 (Aug. 1972). TM & © DC Comics.
“But when he took over Captain America, he replaced Sal Buscema, who’d been the only Cap artist for several years—and he did it in the middle of the Nomad arc, so it was definitely not a clean transition. As a writer, I powered through, keeping the story as involving as I could make it, and hoped that would carry people along. But the readers definitely noticed, and most of them were not thrilled. I would say it was the glaring difference between him and Sal that led to that, and not so much his actual art. It was a no-win situation for him.” [Editor’s note: Sterling Steve is referring to the classic Captain America story arc where Cap, disillusioned over US politics, relinquished his star-spangled uniform for a new crimefighting identity as Nomad. See BI #20 for our coverage.] Robbins’ next major series was the Roy Thomas–written The steve englehart Invaders [see BI #37—ed.], which he penciled from the first issue, Giant-Size Invaders #1 (June 1975), then most issues of the Invaders series that followed until #28 (May 1978). “Prior to Invaders, I was only minimally aware of Robbins’ work on Johnny Hazard and Batman,” Thomas himself reveals. “I thought he had an interesting style, but it was rather quirky. “When Marvel’s editor-in-chief pushed Robbins at me as the penciler of The Invaders, I was a bit skeptical,” Thomas continues. “But I was told he knew the WWII period and would be an asset, and [Marvel art director] John Romita, Sr. was a big fan of his Hazard work… so I didn’t fight it. However, I felt he would need a somewhat different look in order to meet with approval from Marvel’s readers, so I got Vince Colletta to ink him, with instructions to make Robbins fit a bit better with the Marvel mainstream. Frank never complained to me that I can recall. As soon as Vinnie quit to go to DC and I put on Frank Springer, an inker roy thomas who made Robbins look more like Robbins, the sales declined.” Frank Robbins’ style was certainly different than the other artists Super Festivals. handling Batman at the time. Making it even more distinctive was the fact that he inked all of his Detective work. Love them or loathe them, there was no missing the few stories Robbins illustrated.
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THE SECRET SOCIETY OF NOT-SOSUPER VILLAINS
When he wasn’t applying his controversial pencil and brush to those few aforementioned Batman tales, Frank Robbins was writing many other Bat-stories for editor Julius Schwartz, where he peppered Gotham City with his own brand of reprobate to plague the Darknight Detective. Robbins wrote his first tale featuring the Caped Crusader and the Boy-almost-Teen Wonder in Batman #204 (Aug. 1968). In this tale, which continued over into the next issue, the Dynamic Duo face off against a criminal mastermind known as the Schemer. In short order, Robbins penned tales would pit our heroes against the Planner (Batman #206), the Mastermind (Detective #381), the Armorer (Detective #382), and the Masquerader (Detective #390). These were all villains of a cerebral persuasion that had no super powers, though the Masquerader did sport a costume. True, most of Batman’s famous foes do not possess additional abilities, but they all have distinctive costumes, weapons, and MOs. For the majority of the stories he wrote, Robbins’ villains had none of these, and a number were in the similar vein of criminal schemers. Robbins’ first use of Batman’s traditional Rogues’ Gallery was the recently created Mr. Esper (from 1966’s Detective #352), who he pitted against our heroes in Batman #209 (Feb. 1969), though he did not sport colorful attire. Immediately after, in the next issue, Robbins makes a rare concession to the iconic Batman foes with an appearance by Catwoman, though she was slightly changed, using a new costume of Robbins’ design that would not last long. The tale does not quite qualify as white-knuckled suspense as Selina Kyle takes a group of recently paroled women and outfits them to look just like her while purring with multiple rolled “R”s as often as possible. The Scarecrow rustles back to life in Detective Comics #389 (July 1969). Supposedly reformed, his scheme involves everyone being deathly afraid of the sight of Batman, including the Caped Crusader himself when he sees his reflection! In Robbins’ final Batman tale, in Batman #254 (Jan.–Feb. 1974), the Getaway Genius (introduced in 1965’s Batman #170) is the featured felon. Robbins also used…. well, actually, that was it! There may be a couple of reasons for the dearth of iconic villains. First of all, as moves were made to return Batman to his darker roots, most of the stories Robbins created were at least tangentially mystery stories, and bright, bold villains may have been perceived as flying against that theme. Then there was the 1966–1968 Batman TV series. Robbins began his Bat-scripting when that one-time television smash was ending and as DC was trying to distance itself from the show’s campy tone. Since one of the most remembered aspects of the show was over-the-top portrayal of the villains, those characters’ near exclusion from the Batman comics of the time was probably not an oversight.
YOU MADE ME!
We would be remiss if we did not examine the villains that were created during Robbins’ tenure, including such memorable adversaries as the Spook! Introduced in Detective #434 (Apr. 1973), the Spook sported a full-length shroud, complete with cowl. He could escape any jail and sold crooks “insurance,” saying he would free them if they were incarcerated. Appearing in multiple Batman stories written by Robbins, the Spook would do his best to maintain an air of mystery, at one point convincing the forces of law and order that he had died years before in the electric chair. The cowled cad would appear quite often even after Robbins left Gotham. Then we have…. um…. the Ten-Eyed Man. Yes, the villain who lost sight in his eyes, but gained it in the tips of his fingers. Now, don’t laugh! When Bats realizes that he has inadvertently allowed the villain to escape, he laments that he has unleashed “the most dangerous man alive” on Gotham! Debuting in
Go Down Gambling Robbins’ Batman in original art form: page 7 from Detective #426. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions. TM & © DC Comics.
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Batman #226 (Nov. 1970) and reappearing in #231 (May 1971), this digitally dependent desperado would be the brunt of jokes among comics fans for many a year to come. Maybe the Ten-Eyed Man is due for a rethinking by a savvy creator (as Grant Morrison did in his 2000s Batman run). Or an optometrist. The most famous character introduced in a Robbins-written Batman story is the tragic Kirk Langstrom, the scientist-turned-monster better known as Man-Bat, who debuted in Detective Comics #400 (June 1970). Robbins ambiguously depicted Man-Bat as both villainous and heroic in his first few appearances, in Detective #400, 401 (Aug. 1970), and 407 (Jan. 1971). Those three tales constitute the only collaborations between Robbins and artist Neal Adams [who was inked by Dick Giordano on each—ed.]. In The Batcave Companion, co-authored by the editor and cover designer of this very publication, as well as in other venues, Adams claimed to have created the Man-Bat character. After the first trio of tales, Robbins illustrated Man-Bat’s next two appearances, then used the chiropteran crusader in his final Gotham tale in Batman #254, where he firmly establishes him as on the road to the heroic career he would pursue, for the most part, from then on. Certainly the most superpowered character Robbins had a hand in, Man-Bat is also the longest-lived, still existing today. [Editor’s note: When Man-Bat was awarded his own series in 1975, its second issue—which unfortunately turned out to be its last—pitted the monster-hero against another Robbins creation, the Ten-Eyed Man, newly garbed in a rather silly supervillain costume. Writer Martin Pasko and artist Ricardo Villamonte produced that issue.]
IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY KNIGHT
From Wayne Manor to the House of Ideas Marvel readers similarly had hot or cold reactions to Frank Robbins’ artwork. (top) Page 1 from Captain America #182 (Feb. 1975), featuring Cap in his Nomad guise. Inks by Joe Giella. (bottom) John Romita, Sr. inked Robbins’ pencils on the cover of Giant-Size Invaders #1 (June 1975). TM & © Marvel.
Detective Comics #395’s (Jan. 1970) “Secret of the Waiting Graves” is often cited as a benchmark for the rebirth of the Gotham Guardian, partly because it’s the first teaming of writer Dennis O’Neil and artist Neal Adams on a Batman story. Yet it is sometimes overlooked that the month before, in Batman #217 (Dec. 1969), Frank Robbins wrote the story in which Dick Grayson left for college, Wayne Manor was closed up, and Bruce Wayne and Alfred moved into the Wayne Foundation building in the heart of Gotham. Plus, Batman vows to strike new fear into villains’ hearts! This urban relocation was pivotal to the tone of subsequent Batman tales from Robbins and other writers. Also significant is the fact that Robbins’ first Batman tale, in Detective Comics #378 (Aug. 1968), was where the “Bob Kane” signature—famously appearing on otherwise credit-free title pages for decades—was finally laid to rest. According to The Batcave Companion, this was due to changes in DC’s contract with Kane, which now allowed the stories to bear the names of the writers and artists who actually produced them instead of Kane’s byline. This shift in art was not just in attribution, but also in artistic style. Irv Novick and Bob Brown (both profiled elsewhere in this magazine) mirrored Neal Adams’ then-recent Batman efforts, dispensing with the campy art style that had become common from various Bob Kane ghost artists. However, this was a gradual shift, not a seismic event. There were peaks and valleys leading up to the closure of the Batcave. As the most frequent writer of the Batman stories in Detective, Robbins regularly placed the character in the middle of a mystery. Robbins’ initial forays did tend to be a little on the soft-boiled side, though. Detective #380 (Oct. 1968) has a woman show up at Wayne Manor saying she is Mrs. Bruce Wayne, during which time Bruce spouts some rather “hip” dialogue. Issue #383 (Jan. 1969) has the Dynamic Duo stopping, in full costume, at a restaurant for some Chinese food! They receive a fortune cookie with a hackneyed “Help, I’m a prisoner in a Chinese bakery!” note, and the tale proceeds from there. The story in Batman #211 (May 1969) revolves around the cover gimmick of the hero removing his mask in public to reveal his true identity, while #214 (Aug. 1969) has crooks campaigning to have Batman get married, as they believe a married Masked Manhunter would be less of a problem for them. Holy Henpecked Husbands, Batman! In Detective #390 (Aug. 1969), the Masquerader’s minions rough up Batman and tear his costume, with one crook managing to grab a piece that has Batman’s tailor’s tag attached! Oops. Yet it didn’t take long for Robbins’ scripts to progress past such foolishness. Batman #212 (June 1969) has a fine underworld-themed mystery, while the main plot of issue #217 includes the use of ballistics in solving crimes and our hero’s disguise abilities in collecting clues. A Nazi-themed villain is featured in #221, and 222 (June 1970) is a famous tale that riffs on the Beatles’ “Paul is dead” urban legend. Still, an occasional throwback to old-style comic stories could be found in a Robbins Bat-script, even as late as Detective #417 (Nov. 1971). In that story, a man named Paxton, like the real-life author George Plimpton, is competing in
30 • BACK ISSUE • Batmen of the 1970s
THE BATMAN FAMILY ROBBINS In the course of his tenure as a Batman creator, Frank Robbins also handled other members of the Batman family. Robbins scripted four “Robin” backup stories, mostly involving college campus hi-jinx [see BACK ISSUE #22—ed.], but he had a fair bit more experience with the family’s distaff member. Robbins began writing the “Batgirl” backup feature in Detective Comics #388 (June 1969) and would write it almost continually until it ended with Detective #424 (June 1972), working with artists Gil Kane, Murphy Anderson, Vince Colletta, Frank Giacoia, Don Heck, and Dick Giordano. The only exception was a Batgirl/Robin team up written by Denny O’Neil in #400–401. From a story perspective, the Batgirl series had more character development and continuity than a lot of second bananas’ features. Detective Jason Bard was a love interest from early on, but it was not always a smooth courtship. Commissioner Gordon figured out his daughter Barbara was the Dominoed Daredoll before she finally disclosed this information to her father in issue #422. In that same story, Barbara Gordon decides to run for Congress, feeling she is not accomplishing enough as Batgirl, and two issues later
is elected. This put an end to the feature and moved Babs to Washington, D.C., and into the background of the DC Universe for a while. There were a few misfires. As happened quite frequently to Robbins’ Batman, Robbins’ Batgirl did seem to get conked quite often by run-of-the-mill crooks. As well, the story in ’Tec #410–411 revolves around skirt lengths, the cliffhanger has Batgirl caught in a fabric cutter, and the tale ends with new Batgirl-inspired fashions after she saves a model. Follow that with a story in issues #412–413 that features killer wigs, and you might want to pull your hair out! Frank Robbins treated Barbara Gordon and the strip’s other characters with respect, and in general produced an entertaining series of thrillers that, surprisingly to this author, never crossed over with the main feature. One final comment: Since Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred has been integral to the Batman mythos almost from the start—and as of this writing has also starred in an eponymous TV series—it should be noted that Batman #216 (Nov. 1969), written by Frank Robbins, was where readers first learned that Alfred’s surname is Pennyworth. Just thought you should know.
Claws of the Black Cat Catwoman (left) Most readers didn’t know when spying Neal Adams’ cover to Batman #210 (Mar. 1969) that its writer, Frank Robbins, actually designed Catwoman’s new costume appearing therein, riffing off the design of the Golden Age Black Cat’s costume. (right) Robbins’ Catwoman design was published as the back cover for the special Batman edition of DC’s fanzine, The Amazing World of DC Comics #4 (Jan. 1975). TM & © DC Comics.
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The Versatile Bat-scribe (left) Robbins’ use of the Caped Crusader’s sleuthing skills paved the way for Irv Novick’s mysterious cover for Batman #212 (June 1969), which included a rare (for the day) cover appearance of Commissioner Gordon. (right) Robbins’ Ten-Eyed Man made his second appearance in Batman #231 (May 1971). Cover by Adams. TM & © DC Comics.
sports and engaging in dangerous activities in order to write about them. He soon asks to meet Bats so he can masquerade as him for a night and write about the experience. After some sparring, Batman lets him!
story is examined in depth in this issue’s Giordano article. But its basic premise shows that Robbins was aware of the character’s diametrically opposite effect on the criminal element.
A NATURAL THING
Aside from his general handling of the Darknight Detective and his contributions to the character’s transformation into THE Batman, Robbins had a little quirk that has always kind of bothered me. His Batman seemed to get knocked around, or even knocked out, an inordinate amount of the time… frequently by less-thanstellar opposition! By my far-from-official count, in 19 of the 66 Bat-stories written by Robbins, Batman is knocked out, trapped, or foiled by this type of opponent. Robbins’ Batman also makes silly errors such as kicking over a trash can at an inopportune time, bringing in the wrong crook while forgetting to gather evidence, and, as mentioned, leaving the tag on his costume! Other Bat-writers around this time, O’Neil in particular, revealed a Darknight Detective who did sometimes fall prey to ordinary criminals and their traps, but it did not happen with the frequency that it did when Robbins was at the typewriter. Nevertheless, Frank Robbins’ role in the Bronze Age evolution of the Batman should be given its proper due. His depiction was usually as dramatic as that of the other creators of the time, and he crafted some darn fine tales of our favorite Gotham City resident. In fact, tracing Robbins’ stories from start to finish would probably give the inexperienced reader quite an accurate portrait of how Batman progressed from the campy Caped Crusader to the grim Dark Knight.
The nature of the Batman sometimes lends the character to stories with a supernatural twist; writer Denny O’Neil’s “The Secret of the Waiting Graves” (Detective #395) and “Ghost of the Killer Skies” (Detective #404) are prime examples. While Robbins’ stories occasionally stretched the limits of credibility, they mentioned the occult only in passing. Michael Kaluta’s creepy cover to Detective #427 (Sept. 1972), with a cackling marionette holding a smoking gun over Batman’s sprawled body, previews Robbins’ tense page-turner inside. This tale and Batman #236’s (July 1973) “Wail of the Ghost-Bride!” are the only times the supernatural crept into a Robbins script. Throughout his tenure as a Bat-scribe, Robbins would work into tales such elements as Batman’s photographic memory, his propensity for preparing himself for any eventuality as he approached a confrontation with that issue’s adversary, and his desire to seek out and solve mysteries rather than just become involved in them when they were presented to him. Bruce Wayne, on the other hand, settled into his playboy image, though Robbins did not use Batman’s alter ego very often. It took Robbins a long time to adopt the trope of Batman’s visual presence striking fear into the hearts of criminals. In most of his stories, the various miscreants were more than willing to fight back when first confronted by the dark, cloaked figure. After all is said and done, Robbins’ best Batman story— maybe his most perceptive use of the character, and one of this writer’s favorite Batman stories—is the third story in Batman #250. “The Batman Nobody Knows!” is a deceptively simple piece in which Bruce Wayne is on a camping trip with a trio of city kids who each have their own impression of what the mysterious Batman looks like. Drawn by Dick Giordano, the 32 • BACK ISSUE • Batmen of the 1970s
SEMI-TOUGH
The writer would like to thank Steve Englehart, Michael Eury, Roy Thomas, and John Wells for their assistance in preparing this article. BRIAN MARTIN is an office manager from Oakville, Ontario, Canada, who has, strangely, never fantasized about being the Ten-Eyed Man.
Just Say No! by E
d Lute
Years before US First Lady Nancy Reagan made that anti-drug motto a cultural catchphrase, the Caped Crusader took a stand against the illegal drug trade in an unpublished comic book story written by Denny O’Neil and illustrated by Frank Robbins. TM & © DC Comics.
In 1971, Marvel Comics and DC Comics both released groundbreaking and memorable anti-drug storylines in The Amazing Spider-Man #96–98 and Green Lantern #85–86, respectively. These were landmark issues in comic-book history because they employed comic storytelling to warn about the dangers of drug use. The depiction of drug use, whether portrayed as recreational or not, was taboo in comics of the era under the enforcement of the Comics Code Authority. As such, these were novel, daring stories that not only warned readers about the dangers of drugs but also helped the CCA transition toward accepting such subject matter. There was an additional comic book that might have had just as important an impact in discouraging readers from this horrible epidemic. It was a ten-page anti-drug story featuring two of DC’s premier superheroes, Batman and Robin, produced for a planned 1974 DC anti-drug comic book that failed to be published. It had art by Frank Robbins, one of this issue’s spotlighted Batmen of the 1970s, and was written by Denny O’Neil, no stranger to this magazine’s pages. BACK ISSUE spotlights the unpublished tale itself and supposes what might have been if this story had reached Bronze Age readers’ hands.
RIDDLE ME THIS: WHAT IS GOTHAM CITY’S DEADLIEST ENEMY?
“It stalks the streets of Gotham City… an enemy so quiet, so deadly, that no man can come to grips with it,” reads the splash page of the unpublished Batman story titled “The Deadliest Enemy of Gotham City!” With an opening and title like that, you’d probably think that the Joker, Riddler, or Penguin was facing off against the Caped Crusader. However, Gotham City was going to encounter a more lethal menace than those from
Batman’s legendary Rogues’ Gallery. Batman’s burg is in the grip of an actual danger that real towns and cities across the USA and world were facing (and continue to face)—illegal drugs, and their devastating effects. The story starts with Hudson University student Dick Grayson interviewing high school students on a college-recruitment effort. Some of the students are acting strangely. To find out why, Dick changes into the colorful garb of his alter ego, Robin, the Teen Wonder, and tails a student named Pete Montesi. He discovers that Pete is not only addicted to drugs, but there is a turf war brewing between Pete’s supplier, Jack Martin, and a rival dealer, Mickey Whalen. Robin recognizes Jack as someone that he, as Dick, tried to recruit for college earlier that day. Robin is about to step in to stop what looks to be a major tussle when Batman, his crimefighting partner, swoops in before things get started. When Robin questions why Batman was fighting small-time drug dealers instead of bigger threats, the Caped Crusader replies, “I’ll fight anything that does the kind of damage that drugs do... the kind that leaves lives smoldering ruins. I want a world full of people... not zombies!” With those words, Batman informs readers of the damage that drugs can do, not only to a single person, but to society as a whole. The Darknight Detective fights to stop the drug suppliers and helps Jack to see that dealing drugs is wrong, and that he has been used by his supplier, who didn’t care about him. As the story ends, Jack hopes that it wasn’t too late for him to change his life for the better by attending Hudson U. Although “The Deadliest Enemy of Gotham City!” was at times preachy in its message, it did not overdo it, speaking to the readers instead of speaking down to them. It was also a realistic take on how suppliers use young adults to get their products onto the streets and hook people. Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 33
A DYNAMIC DUO TEAMS UP ON THE DYNAMIC DUO
“The Deadliest Enemy of Gotham City!” was a well-crafted story by two creators with a history with the Dynamic Duo. As noted in the previous article, some fans disliked Robbins’ Batman artwork in the few stories the frequent Batman scribe actually illustrated himself. His work on “The Deadliest Enemy of Gotham City!,” however, was solid and nicely captured the look and feel of Batman and Robin. There were even some textless panels that allowed his work to shine and tell the story visually. This was Robbins’ last work on Batman and Robin, and it was some of his best featuring both. O’Neil was a great choice for the story. Not only did he have experience with the characters, but he also had a passion to use the comic book medium to discuss important social issues of the day. In BACK ISSUE #45 (Dec. 2010), O’Neil disclosed, “I saw people nodding out from heroin every day on the street. I had friends with drug problems, coming over at 3 A.M. with the shakes.” No wonder the scribe was compelled to write about these topics. “The Deadliest Enemy of Gotham City!” would have smoothly fit into the pages of either Detective Comics or Batman, but it was shelved and never saw print. However, the story wasn’t totally lost to comic book limbo.
THE STORY RESURFACES
This Batman story was unknown outside of those directly involved with it and ultimately forgotten about. It wasn’t until 2016 that the pages and some of the history behind the story saw the light of day. According to John Wells’ article in BI #118, “The Batman 10-pager’s existence was unknown until fan Paul Handler posted the original art for the entire thing at Comicartfans.com on June 5, 2016. When he purchased the pages, Handler was
Hooked on Comics (top left) Amazing Spider-Man #96’s (May 1971) anti-drug storyline involving Harry Osborn failed to earn approval from the Comics Code Authority—so Marvel courageously published the issue and its two follow-ups without the Code’s seal. Cover by Gil Kane. (top right) Later that year, the Code relaxed its objection and DC published Green Lantern #85 (Aug.–Sept. 1971), where co-star Green Arrow’s ward Speedy reveals his heroin addiction. (bottom) The Teen Wonder gets wise to “The Deadliest Enemy of Gotham City!” that’s wending its way onto school campuses. All original art pages shown in this article are courtesy of Heritage Auctions. Amazing Spider-Man TM & © Marvel. Batman, Robin, Green Lantern/Green Arrow TM & © DC Comics.
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told by the dealer that there’d been two other stories in the set but the original pages for those were already sold and gone. The dealer also believed that the pages were from 1970 but the job number pegged it as 1974.” In the same article, former DC president Paul Levitz offered further information as to the veracity of the date these pages were created. “The crossed-out rubber stamp (‘No border, balloons, etc.’) is something I made for Frank [Robbins] as a present when he was doing horror stories for Joe Orlando. Frank used to hand-write those instructions on every page, and I had the stamp made to make his life easier. That also guarantees that the art was done after July ’73 when I went on staff… no idea specifically when I made the stamp.” In his fanzine Destination Cool #69 (July 2016), Wells reported that “Levitz also thought that then-publisher Carmine Infantino had assigned the stories for the custom comic to DC’s three full-time editors of the time: Julius Schwartz, Murray Boltinoff, and Joe Orlando. According to Paul Handler, the original art dealer identified the two other stories as a Jimmy Olsen piece drawn Kurt Schaffenberger (which would have come from Boltinoff’s office) and a Win Mortimer– illustrated romance tale with no recurring characters (presumably edited by Orlando).” One can only imagine what these two other stories could have looked like with those creators behind them!
Big Drug Recall Frank Robbins’ effective use of shadows brings to life page 6 from “Deadliest Enemy,” where the Darknight Detective attempts to reason with drug dealer Jack. While copyright laws prohibit our publication of the full story here, it can be read online. TM & © DC Comics.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN
It is unfortunate that this Batman story never saw print. If fans had experienced this tale, it may have changed their thoughts on Robbins’ Caped Crusader for the better. But more importantly, it may also have exposed additional readers to the dangers of drug use by using a more widely known and recognizable character than DC’s Green Lantern and his partner Green Arrow. While Green Lantern’s “Snowbirds Don’t Fly” by O’Neil and Neal Adams is the landmark anti-drug story, using a more recognizable character with better sales would have put the anti-drug message out to more readers. DC missed the boat by not putting out this story featuring one of their marquee superheroes. DC continued to publish anti-drug comics in the 1980s. The company’s top-selling title The New Teen Titans’ stars appeared in three anti-drug issues written by Marv Wolfman, with illustrations by a host of outstanding artists including George Pérez, Dick Giordano, Ross Andru, and Joe Giella, amongst others. Titans leader Robin couldn’t be used in the stories and was replaced with a stand-in named the Protector [see BI #122 for the story of the Protector—ed.]. The issues were a part of then– First Lady Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” anti-drug campaign. These important comics were given out by schools and other organizations to make sure that they had a wide reach.
A special shout-out to John Wells for kindly allowing the author to quote his previous work. ED LUTE is an educator and comic book historian who loves unearthing unpublished or seldom-seen comics. He fondly remembers the New Teen Titans anti-drug issues that helped to keep him away from a life of drugs but addicted him to comic books instead. He’s going to indulge in that addiction right now.
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Batmen of the 1970s:
DICK GIORDANO Changing Batman, One Comic At a Time
by M i c h a e l
Eury
Flip through the significant Batman stories of the 1970s and early 1980s, and chances are Dick Giordano was involved, in some fashion. One of comicdom’s most beloved creators, Richard Joseph Giordano (1932–2010) received encouragement to draw by his mother, “Pina,” an amateur illustrator herself. By the early 1950s, Dick had broken into the comics field as an artist, sometimes using a “Richi” (no “e” at the end) Giordano byline. He found no end of penciling and inking work at Charlton Comics, the all-in-one publisher that handled every aspect of production— including printing—under a single roof in Derby, Connecticut. There, Dick drew hot rod, romance, and Western comics, their stories’ realistic settings and characters helping the young illustrator hone his talents. On these projects, Dick particularly developed a flair for drawing automobiles and beautiful women. He was a Charlton editor by the mid-1960s, overseeing the company’s line of “Action Heroes” (Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, the Question, and other characters later acquired by DC Comics). Giordano jumped ship to DC’s editorial department in the late 1960s, and from Charlton brought with him several influential creators, namely writers Denny O’Neil and Steve Skeates, and artists Steve Ditko and Jim Aparo. In the 1970s, Giordano—either as a freelance artist or through his affiliations with Continuity Associates or his own company, Dik-Art—inked and occasionally penciled hundreds of pages and covers for several publishers, mainly DC, mentoring numerous up-andcomers who quickly graduated from assisting Dick on his inking assignments to work of their own. Advertising, merchandising, movie posters, book covers, and custom comic assignments were also commonplace for Dick. And many of those assignments involved Batman… Which is where we begin our story.
‘There Is No Hope in Crime Alley!’ Dick Giordano’s iconic cover for Detective Comics #457 (Mar. 1976). Thank you and good afternoon, it doesn’t get any better than this. TM & © DC Comics.
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DICK GIORDANO, BATMAN INKER
neal adams © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons.
Let’s start with what you probably already know: Dick Giordano was one of the (if not the) chief Batman inkers of the early Bronze Age. Neal Adams may be heralded (and rightly so) for his role in returning Batman to his gothic roots, but many of Adams’ now-classic stories were inked by Giordano. Dick’s artistry not only complemented Neal’s (“That almost looks like I did it,” Adams commented about Dick’s inking), it also helped Neal’s work reach completion on deadline. Batman editor Julius “Julie” Schwartz regularly tapped Giordano to ink the other Bat-artists in his stable, including Irv Novick and Bob Brown, also spotlighted in this issue. “Julie would often call me and ask if I had enough work,” Giordano remembered. This provided a consistent look to the pencilers’ work, not unlike Schwartz’s similar use of Joe Giella to ink several different Batman pencilers of the 1960s.
Dick almost always brought out the best in these and other artists he delineated. He was a master of “spotting blacks”—that is, selecting the areas in line art to become solid black. His facility with blacks appropriately cloaked the Darknight Detective in nightfall, no matter who penciled the story. Former Giordano assistant and background inker Terry Austin tells BACK ISSUE, “Dick was the gold standard for the portrayal of Batman, as far as the powers-that-be at DC were concerned. He penciled and/or inked all the Batman style guides and merchandising because they knew that Dick would do fixes to make sure that Batman was always the same visually from project to project, regardless of the penciler.” “Dick did what Dick did,” notes one-time Giordano assistant Joe Rubinstein. “He brought power and elegance to the line, and because he drew so well he would help that along as well. I don’t think he did it any differently on Batman that he did any other book, though I’m sure he enjoyed the heavy blacks in the long-cape brushwork.” Former DC publisher Jenette Kahn reflected of Giordano’s reputation, “No one makes your pencils look better, an artist would say.”
DICK GIORDANO, BATMAN ARTIST
But Dick Giordano was no stranger to solo Batman art, from covers to the occasional interior story. Terry Austin, who was hired by Giordano in the late summer/early fall of 1974 to begin a threeyear stint as Dick’s background inker and assistant, tells BI, “I thought that Dick’s pencils were a cut above those of Irv Novick, Bob Brown, Dick Dillin, and even the layouts by John Buscema that seemed to be the standard fare we were inking at the time, so I obviously wanted to do a good job for him on the projects that were personal enough for him to pencil, such as Dracula, the Elongated Man, Stephanie Starr, and yes, Batman.” Let’s take a closer look at a handful of Dick’s Batman contributions as a penciler/inker. The first time his Batman art really caught my then-much-younger eye was the cover of Batman #247 (Feb. 1973), the Christmas 1972 edition. It was the type of cover you’d expect from editor Schwartz’s office, a grab-ya-by-the-throat “How’s he gonna escape from this?” shocker. In this case, it’s a bomber threatening Gotham City on New Year’s Eve, lording over the captive Batman, who’s tied to the “Happy Deadly New Year!” ball that’s being dropped over the town square.
Nice Day for a Fright Wedding Before we deep-dive into Dick Giordano’s Batman solo art, let’s take a moment to marvel at his inking of Neal Adams. A shocking She-Bat reveal from Detective Comics #407’s (Jan. 1971) “Marriage: Impossible.” Original art scan courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com). TM & © DC Comics.
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Giordano’s cover composition here is extraordinary. The ball with the bomber and Batman hurtles downward, jutting into the image area from the upper right and almost tricking the eye into feeling movement. For the background, Dick pulls back the “camera” to reveal the panicked populace below, stunned by the dangerous scenario playing out overhead. Framing the frenetic scene are skyscrapers whose perfectly rendered perspective further ratchets up the excitement by conveying the dizzying height from which Batman is falling. Topping it off, to the lower left of the image is a “DG” signature with the “G” inside the “D,” a Giordano trademark of the time and a signature I’d learn to look for in the future. softer, more accessible, than Neal’s interpretation. The interiors of the issue are a Giordano tour de Dick’s Batman could eerily brood in the backforce. Dick inks Irv Novick on #247’s lead ground shadows, but comfortably step tale, “Merry Christmas,” writer Denny forward into the light when needed. O’Neil’s six-page crime story where “For me, Dick’s interpretation of a “Christmas star” provides Batman Batman seemed a little more human with a timely assist. Giordano next and approachable than some of slides into the role of full illustrathe other artists of the same time tor—pencils and inks—for O’Neil’s period,” agrees Terry Austin. “I continuation that follows, “…and could envision myself going up a Deadly New Year!” This 17.5to Dick’s Batman if I was in a jam, page tells the full story of the issue’s whereas I would have been way captivating cover image. Giordano’s too intimidated to approach Neal’s concise storytelling and crisp Batman and ask him for directions renderings make this a riveting to the nearest subway (or even terry austin page-turner. Dick mimics a few the nearest Subway)…” of Neal Adams’ Batman poses, “Once Neal was out of the keeping the Caped Crusader tethpicture, [Dick] definitely brought his own ered to the house style of the day. But Giordano’s flair, melding Neal’s dynamism with his own Batman isn’t quite Adams’ Batman, nor is it Adams long-standing dramatic storytelling approach,” and Giordano’s Batman. Dick’s Batman seems observes comics writer Mark Waid, who, as a DC
Having a Ball (left) A New Year’s Eve nightmare for our hero on Giordano’s engrossing cover for Batman #247 (Feb. 1973). (right) Dick’s mastery of blacks made him perfect for the shadowy version of Batman popularized by his partner, Neal Adams. From Batman #247. TM & © DC Comics.
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editor in the late 1980s, worked with Giordano upon occasion. “Both Batman and Bruce Wayne always looked ‘right’ and on-model and always will—again, that goes to the timelessness of Dick’s style. He also maintained Neal’s ‘creature of the night’ approach beautifully— very few artists in comics were as adept as Dick at knowing how to balance light and shadow on the page.” It didn’t take long after issue #247 for another solo Giordano art job to appear in Batman, this time in #250 (July 1973), which also features a Giordano cover. Inside, an unassuming little backup story clocking in at a mere eight pages endures as an unforgettable mini-classic: “The Batman Nobody Knows!,” scripted by Frank Robbins and illustrated by Giordano. Here, Bruce Wayne is chaperoning three metropolitan boys on their first camping trip. The kids swap campfire stories about the mystique of the Batman, the protector of the city they’ve temporarily left behind. One boy imagines Batman to be a supernatural man-bat with a wingspan so massive it “covers all of Gotham.” The second lad believes that Batman is instead “a real, live dude,” an African American whose jet-propelled batwings make him “Muhammad Ali— Jim Brown—Shaft—an’ Super Fly all rolled into one!” Kid number three pictures Batman as twice the height of an average man, casting a threatening shadow that would stop a criminal’s heart. The boys get a visit from the real Batman at story’s end, but are disbelieving as they’re mired in their own fantasies. In Dick’s talented hands, each of the alternate Batmen is perfectly brought to life, and the artist’s charming renderings of the trio of boys make this a feel-good story reminding readers of both the impact of Batman’s “frightening image” but also the limitless imagination of children. The Giordano-drawn “The Batman Nobody Knows!” also resonated with other young readers that would one day be inspired to tell their own versions of the story. Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #94 (May 1997) offered writer/artist Michael T. Gilbert’s “Stories,” where a group of civilians trapped in an elevator share their own interpretations of Gotham’s enigmatic watchman. “As a matter of fact, ‘The
From Camp to Campout (above) The POW!s and ZOWIE!s of Batmania behind him, writer Frank Robbins penned Batman #250’s (July 1973) heartwarming study of the Caped Crusader’s mystique, “The Batman Nobody Knows!” And nobody could’ve drawn it better than Dick Giordano! (right) Sample panels from the tale, depicting “Batman” as imagined by three teenage boys. TM & © DC Comics.
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Inspired by ‘The Batman Nobody Knows!’ (top) Writer/artist Michael T. Gilbert’s fascination with “The Batman Nobody Knows!” led to his production of “Stories” in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #94 (May 1997). (bottom) Screen cap from the 2008 “Have I Got A Story for You” installment of the Batman: Gotham Knight animated film. (inset) Batwing #1 (Nov. 2011). Remind you of “ol’ Batwings” in Giordano’s Batman #250 tale? TM & © DC Comics.
Batman Nobody Knows!’ was my inspiration for my ‘Stories’ tale,” Gilbert informs BACK ISSUE. “I loved Frank Robbins’ 1973 story, but was a little disappointed that it was drawn in Dick’s more illustrative style. I felt the art would have benefited by a more cartoony style (like Dick Sprang’s). When I was pitching a story to Archie Goodwin decades later, I suggested the idea of my taking Robbins’ original story and redrawing it. He wisely suggested I keep the main idea, but do a new story from that. Which I did.” The next year, animation michael t. gilbert writers Robert Goodman and Bruce Timm presented “Legends of the Dark Knight,” an episode (original airdate: Oct. 10, 1998) of television’s The New Batman Adventures, which revealed three kids’ differing impressions of Batman. Similarly, A History of Violence screenwriter Josh Olson based his “Have I Got A Story for You” segment of the 2008 animation anthology Batman: Gotham Knight on “The Batman Nobody Knows!” In a June 2008 ComicBox.com interview, Olson remarked of Batman #250’s tale, “I always loved that story— kids sitting around a campfire talking about Batman, and he shows up. I thought it would be fun to make it more active.” One might also contend that Giordano’s depiction of the high-tech African-American Batman called “ol’ Batwings” by the kid who imagined him influenced two later DC characters: Earth-Two’s Blackwing, who saw a little action in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and Batwing, who first appeared in 2011. “I once asked Dick [which character] he felt he was most associated with,” remembers Joe Rubinstein, “because I felt that Batman was mostly thought of with Adams. Dick thought that he was most associated with Batman… not necessarily over Neal’s work, but he felt that he was also someone that had that credit to Batman.” Others most certainly agreed, as Dick was selected with the honor of penciling and inking the Batman II (Earth-One Batman) entry for Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #2 (Apr. 1985). Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 43
‘The boy wracked with endless sobs…’ The one-page retelling of Batman’s origin from O’Neil and Giordano’s “There Is No Hope in Crime Alley!,” which retroactively introduces Leslie Thompkins into Bat-lore. From Detective #457. TM & © DC Comics.
DICK GIORDANO, BATMAN ORIGIN ARTIST
Today, ubiquitous multimedia interpretations of Batman’s origin have made the Caped Crusader’s backstory familiar to just about everyone who knows the character. Yet as the Bronze Age dawned in 1970, the legend of “who he is and how he came to be” was rarely retold. That sparked Neal Adams to ask for Batman’s origin to be included in the landmark Batman #232 (June 1971), which introduced Ra’s al Ghul. The story’s writer, Denny O’Neil, obliged, and Neal penciled the origin of Batman—as well as the origin of Robin—in that tale. Its inker? Dick Giordano, natch! Dick would return to Batman’s roots to soloillustrate O’Neil’s celebrated “There Is No Hope in Crime Alley!” in Detective Comics #457 (Mar. 1976). This is no mere retelling of Batman’s origin, since it retroactively introduces into continuity Leslie Thompkins, the unofficial patron saint of Crime Alley, Gotham’s once-prosperous
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Park Row neighborhood that tumbled into lawlessness and despair after a tragic event of two decades earlier. That event, of course, was the slaying of two of the city’s most prominent citizens, Dr. Thomas and Martha Wayne. In “There Is No Hope in Crime Alley!,” however, readers discover that after witnessing his parents’ murders, young Bruce Wayne is comforted by the kindly Ms. Thompkins. The Waynes’ deaths shaped two paths that night: Bruce’s, who devoted his life to warring on crime, and Leslie’s, who devoted hers to becoming an angel of mercy for Crime Alley’s downtrodden. Thompkins would later be developed into a larger role in the Batman mythos, including media adaptations. O’Neil and Giordano’s tale inspired the Batman: The Animated Series Season One episode, “Appointment in Crime Alley” (original airdate: Sept. 17, 1992), scripted by Gerry Conway. “There Is No Hope in Crime Alley!” is regarded by many as the jewel in writer Denny O’Neil’s gem-studded crown of Batman adventures. Dick Giordano, however, elevates Denny’s script to its fullest glory. Dick dazzles the reader’s eye beginning with Detective #457’s cover, depicting the wake of gunman Joe Chill’s alleyway slayings of the Waynes, amid the wails of the crime’s anguished survivor, young Bruce Wayne. Giordano wisely frames this graphic scene inside the shape of Batman’s head, an eye-catching visual that cleverly implies the psychological damage his parents’ murders caused our hero. The cover’s mood is enhanced by colorist Tatjana Wood’s startling use of a minimalist’s palette. Giordano reemploys the layout on the splash page, with the contemplative Batman’s head now framing a foreboding shot of a Crime Alley street and the silhouetted form of a frail figure we would soon be told is Leslie Thompkins. As the 12-page story unfolds, Dick brings Denny’s story to life with his cinematic storytelling, meticulously rendered skid row architecture, and photorealistic faces of the browbeaten residents and the pitiless street punks of Crime Alley. His Batman is obsessed and powerful, yet at times vulnerable. In the hands of a lesser artist, this tale may not have achieved its well-deserved acclaim, but it’s Giordano’s artistry that truly made O’Neil’s story a classic. Dick confessed to me, “I always drew better when Denny wrote.” Terry Austin was inking backgrounds for Giordano at the time Detective #457 was published and shares with BACK ISSUE, “I don’t recall if it was during the ‘Crime Alley’ story, but one day Dick sat down with me and went over all the visual cues that he had taken the time to figure out over the years that differentiated Batman from Superman and the other DC characters. For example, he said that Batman had to work out to be stronger than an average man, therefore he was stockier and more obviously muscular than Superman, who got his powers by virtue of the yellow sun and therefore had the build of an ordinary slim human being (which is why I cringe every time some artist draws Superman with the physique of a bodybuilder). He then showed me one of his most frequent fixes: he sketched a side view of Batman’s head and neck and showed me whereas a normal human has an indent where their neck meets the
back of their skull, Batman’s neck is so muscular that, from the side, his neck meets his skull in a completely flat line, saying that his neck muscles are so developed that a criminal can break a chair over the back of his neck and he won’t even feel it. Things like that are why DC always trusted Dick to make Batman ‘right.’” The ’70s were freshly in the rearview mirror in late December 1980 when DC released the landmark 500th issue of its flagship title, Detective Comics. This double-sized special edition featured short stories by a who’s who of talent—including Jim Aparo, Mike W. Barr, Cary Bates, José Luis García-López, Carmine Infantino, Joe Kubert, Walter Simonson, Len Wein, and Tom Yeates—leading off with a Giordano-drawn Batman adventure that continues to thrill readers to this day through several reprintings. As Detective #500’s editor (and contributing writer) Paul Levitz explains to BACK ISSUE, “The goal for that issue was to have the strongest lineup of Silver and Bronze era talent possible, and Dick’s contributions to Batman, as an inker and origin recap—it’s a dream that haunts the adult rarely but delightfully as a penciler, made him a Bruce Wayne. He, as Batman—joined by his protégé, Robin, the Teen Wonder—is led to natural for one of the assignments. He Crime Alley by the enigmatic Phantom was also doing most of his work Stranger. The Stranger offers Batman under my scheduling as that point, so the chance to intervene on a parallel I knew it was possible.” Earth to spare that world’s Bruce “To Kill a Legend,” scripted by Wayne, a boy, from the same television writer and novelist Alan grisly fate that altered “our” Bruce Brennert, opens with a recap of Wayne’s life. gunman Joe Chill’s alleyway murder “Paul didn’t solicit my ideas of the Waynes, before the eyes about artists,” Alan Brennert shares of their son. Dick does not rewith BI. “I left that up to his judgment play his layouts from Detective #457. as editor. But I was delighted Instead, although the scenario when he told me he’d assigned it is familiar—down to Chill’s icy paul levitz to Dick Giordano. I’d been a fan demand, “I’ll take that neckof Dick’s art (and editing) from lace the lady’s wearin’!”— Mike Jara. © DC Comics. Charlton Comics; Sarge Steel the artist’s interpretation of this horrific event is told from fresh, [drawn by Giordano for Charlton Comics] was a new angles. Yet this is no standard Batman great hardboiled detective strip, and it amazed me
‘To Kill a Legend’ Dick’s rendition of Batman’s origin from Alan Brennert’s innovative and unforgettable “To Kill a Legend” in Detective Comics #500 (Mar. 1981). TM & © DC Comics.
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‘The Man Who Falls’ Signed original art (courtesy of Heritage) from “The Man Who Falls,” a fresh take on Batman’s origin by O’Neil and Giordano. From 1989’s Secret Origins of the World’s Greatest Super-Heroes TPB. TM & © DC Comics.
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how Dick was able to draw those hard-edged characters and you’ll join the chorus of readers singing the praises of this action sequences while also rendering attractive women phenomenal example of Batman lore. (another staple of the hardboiled detective story).” In the minds of many readers, Detective #457 and Brennert’s script is superb (“Aren’t they all?” 500 earned Dick Giordano the title of being the one might say of the author’s few but significant Batman origin artist. And so Dick was pegged additions to the Bat-mythos), and Giordano for yet another retelling of Batman’s origin, this deftly depicts the proceedings as the Dynamic time in the Secret Origins of the World’s Greatest Duo navigates an unwelcoming Gotham City Super-Heroes trade paperback published in 1989. until the fateful moment for which they were “The Man Who Falls” was the story’s title, a summoned. “The thing I love about Dick’s 16-pager penned by Denny O’Neil and the TPB’s rendition of Batman is that you can see Bruce only new origin amid reprints from this 1980s Wayne behind Batman’s mask,” Brennert contends. Secret Origins series. “Unlike today, when Batman and Bruce are Mark Waid, at the time the editor of Secret sometimes drawn as if they were two different Origins, recalls for BACK ISSUE’s readers how people, you can read the emotion, the humanity, “The Man Who Falls” came to be assigned to alan brennert in Dick’s Batman, and that was crucially important Giordano. “There were a number of factors in to the success of ‘To Kill a Legend.’” making that decision. One, of course, was my No spoiling of the tale’s conclusion here to preserve its personal love for Mr. G, whom I consider to be my main mentor originality for those of you yet to read it—but once you do, in this industry and a fine man [see sidebar—ed.]. As you know,
They Call Me Bruce Here’s one you may have forgotten: Dick inked George Pérez’s pencils on the Len Wein–scripted origins of offbeat co-stars Batman and the Incredible Hulk. From the inside front cover of DC Special Series #27 (Fall 1981). Batman TM & © DC Comics. The Incredible Hulk TM & © Marvel.
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all other factors being equal, an editor tends to turn to people they like, and I never passed up a chance to work with him. Second, yes, my love for those two stories is well documented and definitely played a part in considering who could draw the perfect origin recap. Third, that collection wasn’t originally approved to contain any new material, but I made the argument that if DC would let me spend the money to commission a new Batman origin that could be used as an evergreen—something that could be reprinted for years to come both by DC and by outside licensors looking for a short Batman origin story—it’d more than pay for itself over time… and conning Dick into doing an assignment always got it fast-tracked both for approval and, given Dick’s dependability, production. Fourth, by those
terms, I needed something that would feel timeless, a story that would be unlikely to ever date in terms of artistic style, and even back then I knew Dick’s work would be eternal.” Giordano, as inker, was involved with yet another Batman origin retelling, published shortly after “To Kill a Legend” and several years before “The Man Who Falls.” In the tabloid-sized DC Special Series #27 (Fall 1981)—better known as the DC/Marvel crossover Batman vs. the Incredible Hulk—half-page origins of the co-stars appeared, printed in black and white on the inside front cover. “The Origin of Batman” and “The Origin of the Incredible Hulk” were written by Batman/Hulk scribe Len Wein, penciled by George Pérez, and inked by Giordano.
by Mark Waid Dick Giordano was my first real mentor in the comics Didn’t they get angry as deadlines came and went?” Dick industry. Actually, he was my only mentor (so far), but laughed, then countered: “Oh, they’d lose their minds. that’s just fine—he worked overtime at it. They’d yell and they’d threaten and they’d swear they’d When I was hired as an associate editor at DC Comics never work with us again. But six months later, they in the summer of 1987, executive editor Dick and I hit it wouldn’t remember how late a job was; they’d just off immediately, and there was nothing I craved at that remember how good it was.” In retrospect, maybe not the job more than his approval. One of the best moments of smartest thing to say to an associate editor whose entire my life, in fact, was when he eventually confessed job was to keep the trains running on time, but he was to me over a lunch that I reminded him of bang-on. Comics is a periodical business, and every a young “him”—passionate about the reasonable effort needs to be made to honor that, but job, constantly looking to innovate, at the end of the day, if only one can win, then good willing to take chances and take big beats on-time, every time. No one remembers swings… but impatient when my that the last issue of The Dark Knight Returns bosses gave me dumb rules to didn’t ship on time. No one remembers that follow, a little overenthusiastic, and Watchmen’s 12 issues took 15 months to come thus maybe not really fully cut out out. Conversely, everyone will remember a for long-term office work (boy, potentially great comic that’s crap because he had that one pegged). All this the people working on it didn’t give it their to say, he was overestimating me all. And their names are gonna be on it forever. by half; I wanted to believe I was The other lesson came later. At the time, all those things, but at 25 years one of my tasks was overseeing what was, old I severely lacked Dick’s skills, his frankly, an objectively terrible series. The gift for tact and interoffice strategy, overall craftsmanship was clunky; the art was, and his charm—still do, though he at times, fanzine-level. I asked Dick in all did what he could with me. Still, I seriousness, “So why, given all that, learned so much about craftsmando I enjoy reading it?”, which was ship, talent-wrangling, and true. Dick’s answer: “Because the work ethics sitting at the feet writer would write it for free, of a master. There wasn’t and that level of enthusiasm much Dick couldn’t makes up for a lot.” I can’t accomplish if he set his tell you how many hundreds mind to it, which is of times those words have generally the hallmark resonated with me as I have of a brusque, my-waychugged along on script or-the-highway boss, after script in the 35 years but no one on that staff since. If I ever find myself didn’t love that man. getting the slightest bit bored My two most vivid memories of by what I’m writing, I stop dead Dick are the two most important lessons he and recalibrate because I know taught me, the first of which sprang early on from that if I don’t change course, an idle question about Neal Adams, with whom Dick the readers will be bored, too. had once formed an advertising studio called Continuity. Dick’s been gone an “You and Neal did advertising work for huge companies,” unbelievable 13 years [at this I said, “much bigger than comics publishers. Those clients writing], but I bet there’s not must have been spending obscene amounts of money a week that goes by when I don’t think about him, all he on their campaigns. Given Neal’s reputation for blowing taught me, and how kind he was to me despite my rough deadlines, how did you manage to keep those clients? edges. I miss him terribly. 48 • BACK ISSUE • Batmen of the 1970s
Giordano caricature by and courtesy of Mike Netzer.
DICK GIORDANO, MENTOR
DICK GIORDANO, BATMAN MERCHANDISING ARTIST
sorts of products but the characters would remain instantly recognizable to even the most casual fan.” Giordano produced a barrage of DC merchanFrom his affiliation with Continuity Associates, Giordano was no stranger to comics-inspired dising and advertising art during the 1970s and advertising art. And from his omnipresence as a into the 1980s, not only for Batman but also for Batman inker and Batman illustrator—as well as Superman and Wonder Woman, among other charhis reputation for meeting deadlines—in the 1970s acters. Dick’s versions of Batman and Robin, as well Dick was frequently tapped to produce Batman as their Rogues’ Gallery, could be found on puzzles, coloring books, birthday and Valentine’s merchandising artwork. Day cards, and other products bearing As Paul Levitz explains, “Dick’s version Batman’s image. While at Continuiof Batman, both as an inker and a ty he inked and illustrated a variety penciler (particularly of the hundreds of “Book & Record” comic books of renditions he did for licensing and promotional artwork for Peter use), were definitional for Batman. Pan Records’ fondly remembered He captured a softer dynamic than Power Records line, including 1975’s Neal’s, a less angry/emotional BatBatman: Stacked Cards (PR#27), an man, but preserved the strength Adams-penciled story also featuring of the character. He was vital to Robin and the Joker. He continued to the transition from the goofy Adam ink Adams on other high-profile West period to a more serious marketing projects such as DC’s Darknight Detective image.” 1976 and 1977 calendars, which Pop-culture historian and podrob kelly included Batman-related images. caster Rob Kelly contends, “Like “It’s hard to name a single John Romita, Sr. over at Marvel, to me Dick Giordano’s work was the face of DC favorite image across all the toys, games, records, Comics merchandise. His art style was just ‘generic’ posters, and assorted bric-a-brac that Giordano’s continued on page 53 (in the best sense) enough to appear across all
Poor, Puzzled Pengy Sorry, Penguin, foiled again! Original Giordano art for a 1974 Batman jigsaw puzzle, one of several Batman and DC-related puzzles from manufacturer APC (American Publishing Corp.) featuring Dick’s art. Courtesy of Heritage. TM & © DC Comics.
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DICK GIORDANO
(top and bottom left) Covers for the Batman and Robin insert comic books drawn by Dick for the 1974 Aurora Comic Scenes line. Also included: (right) Robin’s last page. (opposite page, top left) Adams and Giordano, together again, on 1974’s Power Records’ Batman release “Stacked Cards.” (opposite page, top right) “Batman and the Mummy,” drawn by Giordano over an E. Nelson Bridwell script, launched the popular Hostess Comic Ads campaign when it first saw print in January 1975. (opposite page, bottom) A Bat-sampler: Five of the 30 DC sticker cards illustrated by Giordano for giveaways in Sunbeam Bread in 1978. Batman, Robin, and related characters TM & © DC Comics.
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MERCHANDISING
ART GALLERY
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How to Draw Batman the DC Way Behold—original art for Batman from DC’s 1982 Style Guide. Pencils by José Luis GarcíaLópez, inks by Dick Giordano. Courtesy of Heritage. TM & © DC Comics.
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continued from page 49
work appeared on,” Rob Kelly ponders. “But at or at least near the top would be the Clark Bar double-page spread that ran in dozens of DCs in the late 1970s. The shot of Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman looking so chummy still makes me happy every time I come across an old comic that has it. And I didn’t even like Clark Bars!” Three Giordano-illustrated 1970s-era licensing initiatives remain favorites among fans. First is 1974’s Aurora Comics Scenes, where the popular manufacturer of model kits reissued several superhero sets from the 1960s, albeit with updated cover art and an all-new comic book insert. Dick penciled and inked both the Batman and Robin Aurora comic books. Next, in January 1975 came “The Mummy,” a Hostess Twinkies comic advertisement starring Batman and Robin that launched the popular Hostess Comic Ads campaign that peppered comic books from DC, Marvel, Harvey, Archie, and Gold Key from 1975 through 1982. This one-pager, scripted by E. Nelson Bridwell and penciled and inked by Giordano, showcases Dick’s ability to vacillate between moodiness— the skulking mummy endangers an archaeologist and his “beautiful daughter” (tomb-digging scientists in pop culture are often accompanied by their lovely offspring, aren’t they?)—and happiness. The smiling mummy hawks for Hostess by declaring, “I’ve been around for 2000 years and I’ve never tasted anything so good!” Finally, in 1978, Dick illustrated 30 DC superhero and supervillain sticker cards that were inserted into loaves of Sunbeam Bread (some cards bear the regional Langendorf brand instead of Sunbeam). Featured Batman family cards include Batman, Batman and Robin, Batgirl, and Batvillains the Joker, the Penguin, and the Riddler. These cards as collectibles often have oil stains from their packaging with bread. In the early 1980s, penciler José Luis GarcíaLópez stepped into the role of the artist representing DC’s house style, penciling a series of Batman and DC Style Guide pages that proved valuable to licensors, animators, and other comic artists. Giordano was his inker, and their styles so perfectly blended that their 1982 DC Style Guide is a prized collectible among DC fans. Another highly collectible pairing of the García-López/Giordano art team was the aforementioned DC Special Series #27, Batman vs. the Incredible Hulk. Dick Giordano would continue to ink, or pencil, or pencil and ink, Batman-related merchandise for decades to come.
The New Bat-Editor (top) Did you develop a Clark Bar craving after spying this tasty Giordano-drawn ad? (bottom) Giordano’s rendition of Batman graced the cover of the Comics Journal issue announcing his arrival as a DC editor, #62 (Mar. 1981). The Comics Journal © Fantagraphics Books.
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Biweekly Batman Interlocking issues of Batman (#345) and Detective (#512), both edited by Dick, each cover-dated March 1982. Cover art by Gene Colan and Giordano. TM & © DC Comics.
DICK GIORDANO, BATMAN EDITOR
“They were courting him over at DC Comics,” Neal Adams remarked about his friend Dick Giordano, “out of tremendous respect for his abilities, his comics sense, and his quiet efficiency.” At DC, Batman editor Paul Levitz was being booted upstairs into management. “I was about to move out of editorial to the business side,” Levitz remembers, “and Dick was offered the slot to ‘replace’ me. He called to tell me, and to say that he’d been offered the job at a higher salary than mine, and if that upset me, he wouldn’t take it. I told him I had no problem with that—he was far more experienced as an editor, older, and I would do fine soon enough. It was an amazingly generous act of friendship on his part.” When Dick took his new DC desk on October 27, 1980, he assumed editorship of the Batman franchise: Batman, Detective Comics, and the Batman team-up comic, The Brave and the Bold (B&B). Giordano inherited several months’ worth of inventory from Levitz but soon began to earmark the Bat-franchise as his own. On Dick’s watch, B&B’s stories often included a visual teaser hidden among the art that revealed the next issue’s Batman co-star. But his major
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editorial innovation was linking the two primary series: published two weeks apart, each of the Giordano-edited issues of Batman and Detective featured ongoing storylines penned by Gerry Conway and Doug Moench that ping-ponged between the two books, creating the impression that they were one single, biweekly series. This was an energizing move for the Batman books, but occasional continuity snafus ruffled some feathers. “We got Vicki Vale into a love affair with Bruce Wayne,” Dick recalled. “One of the continuity freaks at DC protested, because Vale was married, according to one line of copy in a Batman summer special. Should I throw out this whole storyline because of one line of dialogue that somebody… had written five or six years earlier?” Similarly, Brave and Bold #181 (Dec. 1981) raised some eyebrows by teaming Batman with the Hawk and the Dove. In this tale by Alan Brennert and Jim Aparo, one-time Teen Titans Hawk and Dove had aged into adulthood, whereas their fellow Titans were still adolescents in DC continuity. Some fans objected, prompting Giordano to remark, “As Denny O’Neil often said, continuity is a tool. When you need it, you use it. When you don’t need it, you put it away. I was
LOOKING FOR MORE GIORDANO BATMAN? You’ll find Dick Giordano–illustrated Batman work in the following comics: • The Brave and the Bold #163 (June 1980) Batman and Black Lightning in “Oil, Oil… Nowhere!” Written by Paul Kupperberg, penciled and inked by Dick Giordano • Batman #327 (Sept. 1980) Batman and Robin in “Express to Nowhere” (8-page backup) Written by Mike W. Barr, penciled by Dick Giordano, inked by Steve Mitchell • The Brave and the Bold #166 (Sept. 1980) Batman and Black Canary in “Requiem for 4 Canaries!” Written by Michael Fleisher, penciled by Dick Giordano, inked by Terry Austin • Batman #421 (July 1988) “Elmore’s Lady” Written by Jim Starlin, penciled by Dick Giordano, inked by Joe Rubinstein
Working with Top Talent (left top) Ditko devotion from Alan Brennert, in B&B #178 (Sept. 1981), edited by Dick (with Giordano inks over Rich Buckler’s cover). (left bottom) Dick was instrumental in working with Frank Miller on the initial storyline of the 1986 smash Batman: The Dark Knight. Issue #1, signed by Miller and finisher Klaus Janson, courtesy of Heritage. (right) And let’s not forget that Dick was picked to draw the cover of 1975’s The Joker #1! TM & © DC Comics.
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‘Thin Edge of a Dime’ Dick drew himself as a down-and-out senior citizen befriended by the Dark Knight in Batman: Gotham Knights #28 (June 2002). Script by Don McGregor. TM & © DC Comics.
never going to turn down a good story to satisfy project that revitalized the Darknight Detective continuity.” Brennert, who also scripted B&B into the Dark Knight. #178 (Batman and the Creeper) and In 1984, writer/artist Frank Miller, #182 (Batman and the Earth-Two white-hot in the industry from his Robin) for editor Giordano, tells lauded Daredevil run at Marvel, BACK ISSUE, “I miss Dick as an pitched to Dick a dystopian take on artist and as a friend, and I’m Batman where a reclusive, grizzled happy I got to work with both Dick Bruce Wayne emerges from retirethe artist and Dick the editor.” ment for a no-holds-barred war In late 1982, DC Comics’ on Gotham City’s crime and coreditorial department was split ruption. Giordano lobbied for this into two sections: special projects, radical interpretation of Batman helmed by Joe Orlando, and editorial, and, despite his executive duties, overseen by Dick Giordano in asked to edit the project, a a promotion to the position of four-issue miniseries in DC’s frank miller vice president-executive editor, upscale Prestige Format. Cain86/Batman Fandom Wiki. making Dick the head honcho Hammering out plot elements of DC’s line of periodicals. Giordano’s final major with Miller at Giordano’s favorite haunt, Pastrami editorial contribution to Batman was on the ’n’ Things (housed on the lower level of DC’s office building, 666 Fifth Avenue), Dick offered suggestions to Frank that helped the creator simplify some complicated storytelling. “He evolved the script, adding things to make it interesting and throwing away things that didn’t work,” Giordano said. Dick’s broader editorial responsibilities prohibited him from editing all four issues of what would become Miller’s 1986 Batman: The Dark Knight magnum opus, a bestseller that ultimately reshaped not only Batman’s world but also DC’s.
BATMAN ARTIST FOREVER
Giordano ultimately became DC’s VP-editorial director before retiring from the company in June 1993. Dick’s byline would not disappear from DC’s books, however, as he continued to ink, pencil (sometimes inked by one of his former protégés), or pencil and ink a variety of work for years to come—including work on various Batman projects. One standout from this period was the eightpage “Batman: Black and White” tale “Thin Edge of a Dime,” scripted by Don McGregor and illustrated by Giordano. Published in Batman: Gotham Knights #28 (June 2002), the story involved the Caped Crusader dissuading a downtrodden elderly man from committing suicide. Dick drew himself as the subject of the Dark Knight’s interest, making this story an unofficial team-up between Batman and Dick Giordano. How appropriate, considering that Dick, in so many different ways, always had the Batman’s back. Special thanks to Terry Austin, Alan Brennert, Michael T. Gilbert, Rob Kelly, Paul Levitz, Joe Rubinstein, and Mark Waid for their insights, plus John Wells for kindly vetting this manuscript. The other quotes in this article hail from my Giordano biography, Dick Giordano: Changing Comics, One Day At a Time (2003, TwoMorrows), or other credited sources. As DC Comics’ assistant to the VP-editorial director in the early 1990s, BACK ISSUE editor-in-chief MICHAEL EURY had the good fortune of working with and learning from Dick Giordano.
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DICK DILLIN Our look at the Batmen of the 1970s would not be complete without a salute to Dick Dillin (1928–1980). The longtime artist of the battle comic Blackhawk kept his assignment in 1956 when the Quality Comics title was acquired by DC Comics. It was in DC’s Blackhawk #228 (Jan. 1967) that Dillin would first illustrate Batman, alongside the guest-starring Justice League. In 1968 he took over as penciler of Justice League of America, where countless fans enjoyed his rendition of JLAer Batman for Dick’s amazing 12-year run on the super-team series! Dillin also illustrated many Superman and Batman stories for World’s Finest Comics (including the earliest “Super Sons” tales), Robin backups, Superman team-ups with Batman, and other occasional Batman features, such as this pinup—inked by Bob Smith—that originally appeared in Detective Comics #491 (June 1980). Original art courtesy of Heritage.
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© DC Comics.
Batmen of the 1970s:
TwoMorrows 2024 www.twomorrows.com • store@twomorrows.com
THE BEST OF SIMON & KIRBY’S
MAINLINE COMICS
by JOE SIMON & JACK KIRBY Introduction by JOHN MORROW
In 1954, industry legends JOE SIMON and JACK KIRBY founded MAINLINE PUBLICATIONS to publish their own comics during that turbulent era in comics history. The four titles—BULLSEYE, FOXHOLE, POLICE TRAP, and IN LOVE—looked to build off their reputation as hit makers in the Western, War, Crime, and Romance genres, but the 1950s backlash against comics killed any chance at success, and Mainline closed its doors just two years later. For the first time, TwoMorrows Publishing is compiling the best of Simon & Kirby’s Mainline comics work, including all of the stories with S&K art, as well as key tales with contributions by MORT MESKIN and others. After the company’s dissolution, their partnership ended with Simon leaving comics for advertising, and Kirby taking unused Mainline concepts to both DC and Marvel. This collection bridges the gap between Simon & Kirby’s peak with their 1950s romance comics, and the lows that led to Kirby’s resurgence with CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN and the early MARVEL UNIVERSE. With loving art restoration by CHRIS FAMA, and an historical overview by JOHN MORROW to put it all into perspective, the BEST OF SIMON & KIRBY’S MAINLINE COMICS presents some of the final, and finest, work Joe and Jack ever produced. NOW SHIPPING! (256-page COLOR HARDCOVER) $49.95 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-118-9
ACIFIC COMICS P COMPANION
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Author STEPHAN FRIEDT shares the story of the meteoric rise of the Schanes brothers’ California-based imprint PACIFIC COMICS, which published such legends as JACK KIRBY, SERGIO ARAGONÉS, STEVE DITKO, NEAL ADAMS, MIKE GRELL, BERNIE WRIGHTSON, and DAVE STEVENS. From its groundbreaking 1981 arrival in the fledgling direct sales market, to a catastrophic, precipitous fall after only four years, THE PACIFIC COMICS COMPANION reveals the inside saga, as told to Friedt by BILL AND STEVE SCHANES, DAVID SCROGGY, and many of the creators themselves. It also focuses on the titles and the amazing array of characters they introduced to an unsuspecting world, including THE ROCKETEER, CAPTAIN VICTORY, MS. MYSTIC, GROO THE WANDERER, STARSLAYER, and many more. Written with the editorial assist of Eisner Award-winning historian JON B. COOKE, this retrospective is the most comprehensive study of an essential publisher in the development of the creator’s rights movement. Main cover illustration by DAVE STEVENS. NOW SHIPPING! (160-page COLOR SOFTCOVER) $29.95 (Digital Edition) $15.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-121-9
ALTER EGO COLLECTORS’ ITEM CLASSICS
By overwhelming demand, editor ROY THOMAS has compiled all the material on the founders of the Marvel Bullpen from three SOLD-OUT ALTER EGO ISSUES—plus OVER 30 NEW PAGES OF CONTENT! There’s the STEVE DITKO ISSUE (#160 with a rare ’60s Ditko interview by RICHARD HOWELL, biographical notes by NICK CAPUTO, and Ditko tributes)! The STAN LEE ISSUE (#161 with ROY THOMAS on his 50+ year relationship with Stan, art by KIRBY, DITKO, MANEELY, EVERETT, SEVERIN, ROMITA, plus tributes from pros and fans)! And the JACK KIRBY ISSUE (#170 with WILL MURRAY on Kirby’s contributions to Iron Man’s creation, Jack’s Captain Marvel/Mr. Scarlet Fawcett work, Kirby in 1960s fanzines, plus STAN LEE and ROY THOMAS on Jack)! Whether you missed these issues, or can’t live without the extensive NEW MATERIAL on DITKO, LEE, and KIRBY, it’s sure to be an AMAZING, ASTONISHING, FANTASTIC tribute to the main men who made Marvel! NOW SHIPPING! (256-page COLOR SOFTCOVER) $35.95 • (Digital Edition) $15.99 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-116-5
WORKING WITH DITKO by JACK C. HARRIS
WORKING WITH DITKO takes a unique and nostalgic journey through comics’ Bronze Age, as editor and writer JACK C. HARRIS recalls his numerous collaborations with legendary comics master STEVE DITKO! It features never-before-seen preliminary sketches and pencil art from Harris’ tenure working with Ditko on THE CREEPER, SHADE THE CHANGING MAN, THE ODD MAN, THE DEMON, WONDER WOMAN, LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES, THE FLY, and even Ditko’s unused redesign for BATMAN! Plus, it documents their work on numerous independent properties, and offers glimpses of original characters from Ditko’s drawing board that have never been viewed by even his most avid fans! This illustrated volume is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience the creative comic book process by one of the industry’s most revered creators, as seen through the eyes of one of his most frequent collaborators! NOW SHIPPING! (128-page COLOR SOFTCOVER) $24.95 • (Digital Edition) $13.99 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-122-6
Star Guider TM & © Jack C. Harris.
All characters TM & © their respective owners.
by STEPHAN FRIEDT & JON B. COOKE
Batmen of the 1970s:
BERNIE WRIGHTSON Gotham Macabre
by J a m e s
Heath Lantz
Bernie Wrightson. The name brings chills up and down the spines of comics fans of all ages. Throughout his career, acclaimed horror artist Bernie (originally credited as “Berni”) Wrightson offered readers the macabre and eerie. Given that his style brought life to creatures and beings that populated the shadows and the darkness of night, his art fit in perfectly with the world of Batman in the Bronze Age. Wrightson’s stunning images told the stories of 1988’s Batman: The Cult and The Weird, along with covers and interiors for various Bat-comics in the BACK ISSUE era and beyond. Yet, the most memorable comic starring the Bat wasn’t even part of the Caped Crusader’s DC Comics titles. Co-creators Len Wein and Wrightson’s Swamp Thing #7 brought its titular muck-encrusted creature to Gotham City, leading to his first encounter with Batman. BACK ISSUE will shine the Bat-signal on this creepy tome, its effects on the Masked Manhunter’s canon, and Bernie Wrightson’s other Batman material in this article. You’ll anger Swamp Thing if you don’t read this, Batfans.
CAREER MACABRE
At the risk of sounding like a Stephen King novel... Bernard Albert “Bernie” Wrightson had always had art in his blood. Growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, young Bernie read EC horror comics. According to Wrightson in an interview with Jon B. Cooke, if a comic cover had been particularly disturbing to him, he’d buy it at the local candy store. Haunt of Fear #27 was one particular issue he read to tatters while hiding it from his mother, who would have torn the book to shreds had she discovered it in the house.
Do You Dare Enter… Gotham City? Batman hitches a ride on a haunted stagecoach and the Master of the Macabre hitches a ride into the DC Universe on Bernie Wrightson’s chilling cover for Detective Comics #425 (July 1972). TM & © DC Comics.
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Wrightson’s fascination with the eerie would grow into his love of drawing. Artists such as Al Williamson, Frank Frazetta, and Graham Ingels would influence his terrifyingly macabre style. Meeting Frazetta at a convention inspired Wrightson to become a sequential storyteller. Yet Al Williamson saw his artwork and was instrumental in starting his comics career. Wrightson started out providing illustrations for the Baltimore Sun. He would show his sequential art to DC Comics editor Dick Giordano two years later, thereby gaining freelance work at DC. Wrightson’s scary imagery would stop the hearts of readers in their horror titles House of Secrets and House of Mystery, at the time respectively edited by Giordano (Secrets) and Joe Orlando (Mystery). Wrightson would also draw for Warren Publications’ anthology magazines. Among his more famous contributions was “Jenifer” [yes, with one “n”—ed.], written by Bruce Jones for Creepy #63, which was loosely adapted in the television
series Masters of Horror by famed Italian film director Dario Argento. Wrightson would go on to make a name for himself with the co-creation of Swamp Thing, plus graphic novel versions of Stephen King and George A. Romero’s Creepshow and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Wrightson provided images for King’s novels The Stand and The Dark Tower: Wolves of the Calla, as well as concept designs for movies like Ivan Reitman’s Ghostbusters and Romero’s Land of the Dead. Before those came to be, however, Bernie Wrightson took a trip to Gotham City.
THE SWAMPS OF GOTHAM
The dawning Bronze Age had seen Batman return to his dark roots after the lighthearted camp of the 1966–1968 television series, and if any artist’s style had fit perfectly in the grim world of the Darknight Detective in that period, it was that of Bernie Wrightson. While his best-known work on the character was Swamp Thing #7, which will be covered shortly, Wrightson had been involved with Batman #237’s (Dec. 1971) “Night of the Reaper!” two years before DC’s muck monster encountered the Caped Crusader. It’s Halloween in Rutland, Vermont, the time of the town’s annual costume parade. Many participants are dressed as superheroes when Dick Grayson and his college chums arrive to celebrate. Someone dressed as Robin is attacked, and a man in a Batman suit is impaled on a tree, leading the real Caped Crusaders on a hunt for the robed, skeletal-faced Reaper. The Reaper is discovered to
Adams and Wrightson… Together! (left) Is the Caped Crusader hovering untethered over Gotham’s skyscrapers on the cover of Batman #241 (May 1972)? Who cares?? It’s penciled by Adams and inked by Wrightson! (inset) Bernie contributed story ideas to Batman #237’s (Dec. 1971) superhero fright-fest “Night of the Reaper!” (above) and appeared as a character inside the story! Cover by Neal Adams. TM & © DC Comics.
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be Jewish Holocaust survivor Doctor Benjamin Gruener, who sought revenge on Nazi Kurt Schloss. Schloss was the murdered man who had masqueraded as Batman. Writers Dennis O’Neil and Harlan Ellison and artists Neal Adams and Dick Giordano based “Night of the Reaper!” on Bernie Wrightson’s idea. In addition, Dick Grayson’s friends’ likenesses were based on those of Wrightson, Alan Weiss, and Gerry Conway. O’Neil and Tom Fagan, developer of the annual Rutland Halloween celebration, and a dedicated comic fan, are also characters in the story. According to Wrightson, Batman #237 started at a real-life party Fagan was throwing in Rutland. After some intense celebration, Wrightson, O’Neil, and Weiss were telling scary stories while going for a walk. Wrightson’s tale apparently affected O’Neil, because the writer’s “Night of the Reaper!” became one of the eeriest adventures of the Batman from the 1970s. Batman’s dark renaissance of the 1970s was not limited to Detective Comics, Batman, and The Brave and the Bold titles of the time. It carried on into DC books in which the Caped Crusader had guest-starred. Swamp Thing #7 (Nov.–Dec. 1971) is perhaps the best example of this. Searching for Matthew Cable and Abigail, Swamp Thing and his canine sidekick
‘Night of the Bat’ (top) One of the best Batman stories of the 1970s was not published in a Batman comic book: “Night of the Bat” in Swamp Thing #7 (Nov.– Dec. 1973), written by Len Wein and illustrated without equal by the remarkable Bernie Wrightson. (bottom left) Wrightson’s layouts for page 4 of Swamp Thing #7. (bottom right) The lettered, finished artwork for the extraordinary page. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com). TM & © DC Comics.
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find themselves in Gotham City. Both Swamp Thing and Batman end up searching for Mister E, the enigmatic mastermind behind the criminal organization called the Conclave. Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams rightly get a lot of credit for bringing Batman back to his shadowfilled roots. However, Bernie Wrightson should also share in those accolades, thanks to Swamp Thing #7. Few could capture the grime, grit, and utter eeriness of the streets of Gotham City and the darkness of Batman as a character like Wrightson. His flair for the terrifying elements of the horror genre made him fit right into the world of the Darknight Detective. Add to that the fact that
Batman was at home in the hidden, more fearinducing corners of the DC Universe, where the Swamp Thing dwelt. Bernie Wrightson’s strengths as a sequential artist are particularly exemplified in the fight, or rather misunderstanding, between Batman and Swamp Thing. He takes both larger-than-life protagonists and adds nuances that would make the EC Comics storytellers from the late Golden Age of comics proud. Yet the same could be said about Wrightson’s entire body of work in the medium. He made readers frightened of whomever or whatever lived in the darkness. At the same time, one could not look away from anything within his panels of macabre mayhem.
WRIGHTSON’S BAT-LEGACY
While Swamp Thing #7 led to future team-ups between Batman and Swamp Thing, most notably The Brave and the Bold #122 and 176 and Swamp Thing vol. 2 Annual #4, Bernie Wrightson was not involved in those. According to Cooke’s interview with Wrightson, the artist was burned out on monthly comics after he left his assignment
Better Late Than Never (left) Wrightson was approached by Batman editor Julius Schwartz to draw this cover around the same time Bernie produced Detective #425’s cover in 1972; note the “W72” signature and the frame bordering the left and top of this original art, ’Tec’s cover layout of the day. Yet the cover art was shelved… until being rediscovered by Schwartz in DC’s vaults years later. The art was expanded and became (right) the cover of Batman #320 (Feb. 1980). Special thanks to the indexers at Grand Comics Database for this info! TM & © DC Comics.
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The Master of the Macabre and the Masked Manhunter Oh. My. Goodness. This stunning, undated Wrightson illo sold for $16,200 at a November 20, 2022 Heritage auction. Courtesy of Heritage. TM & © DC Comics.
of Swamp Thing. However, he would provide art for DC’s Bat-books from time to time. He inked Neal Adams’ pencils on the cover of Batman #241 (May 1972) and full cover art for Detective Comics #425 (July 1972) and Batman #320 (Feb. 1980), Batman Annual #22 (1998), and Batman: Nevermore (2003). Wrightson would also do entire visuals for 1997’s DC/Dark Horse crossover Batman/Aliens, and Batman is among the DC superheroes who encounter Jim Starlin and Bernie Wrightson’s The Weird [previously explored in BACK ISSUE #78, our “Weird Issue,” in case you missed it—ed.]. Yet it was another Wrightson masterwork with Starlin that would heavily influence the Darknight Detective after the 1970s. The 1988 four-issue Batman: The Cult has the Caped Crusader investigate the murders of small time criminals. Deacon Joseph Blackfire and his cult of homeless people are responsible for the deaths. Upon discovering this, Batman is starved, beaten, and brainwashed by the supposedly 100-year-old Blackfire. This leaves Gotham City in chaos and Batman in need of deprogramming. The prestige format of Batman: The Cult allowed Wrightson to show off his artistic skill in ways an ongoing, schedule-driven comic like Swamp Thing could not. Sure, we see the same scary atmosphere and detailed characters like those in “Night of the Bat.” However, The Cult allows Wrightson to expand on those tenfold and break free of the constraints he had had during his tenure on Swamp Thing. Bernie really cuts loose within the pages of The Cult, giving Starlin’s story a scary gravitas that made it a classic among Batman fans. Batman: The Cult would later have an impact on Batman in and out of comic books, proving Wrightson’s influence on the character. Deacon Blackfire would return as a Black Lantern in 2009’s
Blackest Night: Batman #1–3, and his ghost would attempt to possess his only living relative in the more recent Detective Comics #982. In the realm of cinema, Batman: The Cult was one of the comic books to inspire Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises (2012), with scenes of Gotham City being similar to the martial law of the comic book. Meanwhile, Deacon Blackfire gives gamers who visit Gotham City trouble in the “Most Wanted: Lamb to the Slaughter” side mission that is part of the Batman: Arkham Knight video game. Bernie Wrightson passed away on March 18, 2017, but his legacy lives on in comics, novels, and film. His eerie vision will always be a part of the superhero and horror genres for many generations to come. You can check out Wrightson’s art featured in the Bat-tomes mentioned above at your local comic book shop or bookstore... if you aren’t afraid of the dark. Dedicated to my beautiful and wife without fear Laura, whose love and support bring light into the darkness; Jadis, Pupino, Odino, and our four-legged feline and canine Caped Crusaders, true fans of the macabre; my nephew Kento, who mixed the formula that created the Swamp Thing; and the late Bernie Wrightson, whose art brought true life to horror comic books. May the Darknight Detective defend you always. JAMES HEATH LANTZ is a freelance writer whose stories, essays, and reviews can be found online and in print at Sequart.org, Superman Homepage, his blog, and such publications as his self-published Trilogy of Tales and PS Artbooks’ Roy Thomas Presents Sheena vol. 3. James currently lives in Italy with his wife Laura and their family of cats, dogs, and humans from Italy, Japan, and the United States.
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JIM STARLIN
Brawl in the Family Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Man-Bat… and special guest Ragman, on Jim Starlin’s wraparound cover for Batman Family #20 (Oct.–Nov. 1978). Cover Photostat courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com). TM & © DC Comics.
© Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons.
Batmen of the 1970s:
Writer/artist Jim Starlin (born 1949) was the master of Marvel’s cosmic comics (Captain Marvel, Warlock, the Thanos saga) during the period when many of this issue’s Batmen of the 1970s were crafting their Bat-lore. In the late 1970s, Starlin began contributing to a number of DC features including the Batman titles, illustrating several covers as well as writing and penciling a Batman two-parter in Detective Comics #481 and 482. While Starlin would write a variety of influential Bat-tales in the 1980s, including “Ten Nights of the Beast” and “A Death in the Family” in Batman and the miniseries Batman: The Cult with Bernie Wrightson, he got his start on the Caped Crusader on the covers and stories presented in this gallery.
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Batman and related characters TM & © DC Comics.
Batwomen of the 1970s:
RAMONA FRADON
fondly remembered stint on Plastic Man, Fradon was the penciler of DC Comics’ Super Friends tie-in title. Her accessible, likeable version of Batman and Robin charmed a generation of young readers. Shown in this special gallery page are a Batman pencil sketch by Fradon (courtesy of Heritage) and several of her Super Friends covers featuring the Darknight Detective.
Batman and related characters TM & © DC Comics.
In the early Silver Age, Ramona Fradon (born 1926) broke comics’ glass ceiling to become one of the industry’s few female illustrators, earning fans as the artist of Aquaman (in Adventure Comics) and as the co-creator of Metamorpho, the Element Man. She also illustrated Batman’s first Brave and the Bold team-up, co-starring Green Lantern, in 1965’s issue #59. During the 1970s, in addition to a short but
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Batmen of the 1970s:
ALEX TOTH Quality Over Quantity
by D a n
Johnson
Of all the artists that helped define Batman in the Bronze Age, the one who produced the fewest comic book pages featuring the character was Alex Toth. Despite this scarcity of Toth Bat-art, for many people of a certain age, when they think of Batman, they think of Toth’s take on the character.
LEAVING HIS MARK
Before Toth ever drew Batman, he worked on two characters that bear mentioning. The first helped inspire Batman, and that was Johnston McCully’s Zorro. The co-creators of Batman lifted several elements directly from Zorro, including the hero hiding behind the guise of a bored man of wealth to throw suspicion off of himself and having a faithful manservant who acted as an aide and confidant. Walt Disney’s Zorro television series, which featured Guy Williams as the title character, gained popularity in the late 1950s that rivaled the Batmania that would follow a decade later. Zorro was a merchandising juggernaut during its heyday, and one of the most successful tie-ins was Dell’s Zorro comics. This series featured some of Toth’s most memorable work as he drew the adventures of the masked caballero. Dressed in black and leaping around as he fought villains, one could easily see the Batman in “the Fox’s” place. On the comics page, Toth gave Zorro grace and energy that just could not be captured on film. [Editor’s note: See BACK ISSUE #138 for more on Zorro’s comic appearances.] It was akin to the same action that Batman was known for in his comic book adventures. Although Batman took many cues from Zorro, Toth proved the Caped Crusader had some impact on the Fox in return.
GIVE HIM SPACE
The Bronze Age’s Friendliest Batman Alex Toth’s versions of Batman and Robin—and DC’s other heavy hitters—were the “gateway” to comic books for many children of the 1970s who grew up watching Super Friends on Saturday mornings. Limited Collectors’ Edition (LCE) #C-41 (Dec. 1975–Jan. 1976) cover art by Toth, with Superman’s face being a rather notorious Curt Swan/George Klein paste-up. TM & © DC Comics.
Alex Toth’s ability to present action-packed illustrations with the fewest lines possible and without cluttering his work with unnecessary and distracting details led him to a successful career outside of comics: animation. In the early 1960s, Toth began working in this industry, which was booming thanks to television. His first work was on Cambria’s Space Angel, and he then settled in at Hanna-Barbera Productions. Toth’s style made him a natural character designer. He was great at giving characters distinctive looks but keeping them as simple as possible to make producing a weekly animated series easier. In addition, his time working in comics made him a perfect storyboard artist. After the debut of Adam West’s Batman, the television industry was looking for projects to cash in on the popularity Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 67
Before Batman
of caped crusaders popularized during this superhero bonanza. These efforts included live-action and animated productions. Many of these shows were forgettable, and were lucky if they made it to a full season. The one truly great exception was Hanna-Barbera’s Space Ghost. Toth designed Space Ghost, and the character certainly took visual cues from Batman. This is most evident in Toth’s first pass at the character, which featured dark boots, gloves, and trunks, all reminiscent of Batman. “Alex loved Batman... he was constantly doodling the character on sheets of sketch paper,” recalls Batman: Black and White editor Mark Chiarello. “He once told me that, when creating the look of Space Ghost, he hated that Joe Hanna, the boss at Hanna-Barbera Animation, asked him to do a ‘negative,’ all-white Batman for the character’s look. Even though it became a classic, he said that it always bugged him that he had ‘mistreated’ one of his favorite characters by borrowing Batman’s look.”
(top) Batman prototype Zorro by his longtime artist Alex Toth, on the cover of Zorro: The Complete Classic Adventures vol. 1 (1988). (bottom) Hanna-Barbera’s Space Ghost, designed by Toth, was envisioned as “Batman in space.” Setup title cel courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com). Zorro © ZPI. Space Ghost © Hanna-Barbera Productions.
Modifications by Toth helped make Space Ghost more of his own man, although Batman’s influence can still be seen in the final design with the black-hood mask, white eyes, and the character’s emblem on the chest. Toth did up the ante for Space Ghost by replacing the Batmobile with the Phantom Cruiser and giving him not one, but two teenage sidekicks. Plus, Toth also gave Space Ghost a monkey! [Editor’s note: See BACK ISSUE #59 to discover Space Ghost’s journey in comic books. And coming in October 2024, RetroFan #35 will feature a history of Space Ghost in animation and beyond.] The science fiction elements Toth added helped Space Ghost stand out and become much more than just another Batman rip-off. It is due in great part to him that the character still remains popular to this day.
BATMAN AT LAST
In 1973, Toth took on an assignment for HannaBarbera that saw his work in comics and animation collide and offered a proper chance to work on Batman: Super Friends [don’t miss Andy Mangels’ extensive four-part profile of the oft-morphing Super Friends series in RetroFan #26–29—ed.]. It is with this series that Toth put his brand on the Darknight Detective. As the show’s character designer and animation supervisor, Toth was tasked with creating model sheets for all of the Super Friends, including Batman and Robin. Model sheets are character guides that every artist who works on a cartoon uses to ensure continuity throughout the show. Model sheets are designed to show characters from the front, both sides, and back. Toth’s model sheets were the de facto look that all animators would use to bring Super Friends to the small screen. Although the direction and tone of Super Friends would change over the years, Toth’s model sheets were used for all the established characters up until the final season of the show, which began in 1985. Now renamed Super Powers Team – Galactic Guardians, the series altered its look to better reflect the Super Powers toy line that was out at the time. For this final season, all the characters were based off of José Luis García-López’s work. For over a decade, though, Toth’s versions of Batman and Robin were the ones seen in Super Friends. Kids who never or rarely picked up a Batman comic book watched this cartoon during its original broadcast, and in syndication well into the late 1980s. Because of this, it is Toth’s take on the Dynamic Duo that comes to mind when they think of the characters. For many people my age, Alex Toth is the artist who introduced them to Batman.
SOMETHING IN THE AIR
While Toth was primarily focused on animation during the Bronze Age, he still took on comic book assignments. His one solo Batman story in this era was “Death Flies the Haunted Sky,” which appeared in Detective Comics #442 (Aug.–Sept. 1974). This story was part of a terrific run in the book’s history when Detective editor Archie Goodwin was scripting stories 68 • BACK ISSUE • Batmen of the 1970s
with a rotating group of artists. Goodwin (Spring 1998), “You know, Alex Toth, Flying would write to accommodate what the artists Tigers, gotta do it! In that case, it’s like me being were excited to draw. a fanboy. To me, having Alex Toth do any kind of Toth’s artwork is amazing throughout the airplane story, it’s a joy for me. If I see a chance story, but the splash page is what really stands to do something like that, I will. He did a really out. The image of Batman swinging fabulous job on it.” towards a biplane with his name In regard to Toth taking on more spelled out in the folds of his Batman stories during the Bronze cape is a beautiful and exciting Age, Goodwin told Cooke, “[Toth] thing to see. Today it is highhad always wanted to do a Batman ly regarded as one of the most story and, in fact, he would occamemorable pieces of Batman sionally still like to do a Batman art from the 1970s, but at the story.” When asked if he hoped to time, Toth was less than pleased work again with Toth at the time with how it turned out. In a of the interview, Goodwin replied, letter he wrote to a fan who “We work at it. He’s a little less asked about the page, Toth said casual about what he does in the he felt the coloring ruined the way of a story now.” artwork, although at the end of archie goodwin TREASURE TROVE the correspondence he says that DC Comics. Another comic book assignment his flat blacks didn’t help. Before this Batman story, Goodwin had that Toth took on in this period was drawing worked with Toth on a story for Our Fighting pages for DC’s Limited Collectors’ Edition Forces #146 (Jan. 1974) called “Burma Sky,” #C-41 (Dec. 1975–Jan. 1976), a tabloid-sized about the legendary Flying Tigers. It was this Super Friends treasury edition. This publication story that appeared to put Goodwin in mind featured six original pages by Toth that served to use Toth for “Death Flies the Haunted Sky.” as introductions for reprints of Justice League of As Goodwin recalled in an interview with Jon America stories. Naturally, Batman and Robin are B. Cooke for the first issue of Comic Book Artist featured on these pages.
Archie and Alex Fly High (left) The stunning splash (page 2) to Toth’s signature Batman adventure, “Death Flies the Haunted Sky,” written and edited by Archie Goodwin and appearing in Detective Comics #442 (Aug.– Sept. 1974). That creative combo had recently collaborated on another aerial adventure, (right) “Burma Sky” in Our Fighting Forces #146 (Jan. 1974). TM & © DC Comics.
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Elegance in Motion Toth’s deceptively simple renderings always bristle with action and movement. Need proof? (top) How about this in-action panel from ’Tec #442? (bottom) Courtesy of Heritage, undated marker sketches of Batman. Batman TM & © DC Comics.
This Limited Collectors’ Edition also featured an 11-page special feature by Toth about creating cartoons for television, lettered by Toth in his familiar style and including the artist’s illustrations of the animation process. Published at a time when such behind-the-scenes material was not readily available to the public, this essay is a wealth of information.
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!
Throughout the 1970s, Toth continued working on Super Friends. This includes the one season that is, for many, the best of all: 1978’s Challenge of the SuperFriends, which introduced the Legion of Doom. Initially the League of Evil (the original name given to the Legion of Doom) would have included Dr. Sivana and Mr. Atom from Captain Marvel’s Rogues’ Gallery. However, Shazam! was still under license to Filmation, so Sivana and the others, including the Big Red Cheese himself, were unavailable for Challenge of the SuperFriends. Due in great part to the ongoing syndication visibility of the 1966 Batman series, the Legion would have also featured such Bat-foes as the Joker, Catwoman, the Penguin, and Poison Ivy.
Filmation’s rights to the live-action Shazam! series and an all-new animated Batman series that featured Adam West and Burt Ward returning to voice the Dynamic Duo (along with that studio’s deal with CBS for these shows) killed both of these plans for Challenge of the SuperFriends. But things did get far enough along that Toth created some concept art and model sheets that show his take on some of Batman’s greatest villains. Of the proposed Batman characters who could not be used, the only one whose model sheets are readily available for study today is Catwoman. Toth’s design is far superior to Filmation’s take on the character. Filmation’s Catwoman looks to be based on TV Catwoman Julie Newmar, only the costume is a lot brighter. Toth’s take was the classic Catwoman from the Golden Age comic books. Toth had previously drawn the Princess of Plunder in one panel at the conclusion of a Black Canary story called “Circle of Doom: Part Two” in Adventure Comics #419 (Apr.–May 1972), but that was a mere headshot in a cameo. The unused model sheets show Catwoman in all her purr-fect Toth glory.
MAKING THE CUT
Not all of Batman’s enemies were excluded from the Legion of Doom. Two of them, the Riddler and Scarecrow, were used by Hanna-Barbera. Toth’s initial design for the Riddler resembles TV Riddler to Frank Gorshin and is pretty much what ended up on screen. Toth’s initial design for the Scarecrow looks like it was inspired by Walt Disney’s Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, and it comes off as a tad too comical, nowhere near as sinister as the version that ended up being used. Interestingly, Toth’s original design is similar to one of the versions of Scarecrow that was used early on in Batman: The Animated Series.
Cat and the Canary Catwoman cameos in the Toth-drawn Black Canary tale in Adventure Comics #419. TM & © DC Comics.
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I GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY (SUPER) FRIEND
In 1982, Alex Toth had another chance to draw Batman in a comic book. This time, the Caped Crusader teamed up with the Man of Steel in “Villain! Villain! Who’s Got the Villain?,” the lead story in Superman Annual #9 (Sept. 1983). “We just wanted to do a big shoot-’em-up involving Superman and Batman and their classic adversaries,” writer Elliot S! Maggin recalls of this story. “Luthor is Superman’s perennial opposite number: an intellectual-based character to oppose Supes’ physicality while perennially underestimating his intellect. By the same token, Joker is Batman’s opposite, chaotic and unpredictable rather than rational and disciplined, but underestimating Bats’ capacity to use irrationality as a tool. We used that as a jumping-off point to make the thing essentially into a character study of the four of them.” Maggin did the script not knowing which artist would be chosen to draw it. “Alex came into the picture after the script was done,” says Maggin. “Julie [Schwartz, editor] made a phone call. I was kinda thrilled at the time.”
FRIENDS UNTIL THE END
“Villain! Villain! Who’s Got the Villain?” came out just a few years before the release of John Byrne’s Man of Steel and Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight, both of which put Superman and Batman at odds with one another. But here, the story explores the friendship between the two heroes, and it is a fun read. Toth’s artwork, with its Super Friends vibe, helps make it memorable. The story reminds fans of a time when these two characters could not only be friends, they were also best friends. The story is truly a product of the Bronze Age, not only because of the Batman/Superman friendship, but because it also shows the lighter side of Batman, a side that was all but erased by the end of the 1980s. The story even concludes with Batman pranking Superman in his guise of Clark Kent, and the joke is only blown when Batman leaps into action to rescue a young boy before his friend can make the save. Batman is quickly surrounded by a crowd that applauds and cheers him as Clark thinks, “Well, now, the public gets a rare glimpse of the human behind the Batman!” “When people used to ask me who the ideal artist for one kind of comics story or other, I used to say Alex Toth should draw everything,” says Maggin about this story. “Turns out it was the only time I ever got to collaborate with him. I used to
‘Best Wishes from Your Super Friends’ (top) Toth’s back cover of LCE #C-41, the Super Friends tabloid, featuring a warm greeting from Batman and buds. (bottom) From 1973, Toth’s models for Super Friends’ Teen Wonder, Robin. TM & © DC Comics.
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Your Two Favorite Heroes—Together! Batman joined the Man of Steel in confronting Luthor in 1983’s Superman Annual #9. While Gil Kane ably illo’ed the cover, (left) the interiors of the Elliot S! Maggin– written tale were penciled by this article’s subject, Alex Toth, with inks by Terry Austin. (right) Toth’s pinup from Batman Adventures #25 (Nov. 1994). TM & © DC Comics.
run into a bit of flak with some artists for being verbose in my scene descriptions. That wasn’t the case with Alex. I kind of wanted to convey an attitude for the characters, not just dialogue and action. Check out the silhouette of Superman and Batman hanging out on a roof, talking, on the last page. Just two friends hanging out and casual. Alex was really the only artist I’ve worked with who captured that tone.” Interesting side note: Maggin recalls speaking with Toth once the story was finished and reveals how the artist almost got involved with one of the greatest Superman milestones of all time. “I did talk with him afterward. Nice guy, very self-effacing and accepting despite his being of my parents’ generation,” says Maggin. “I called him and we talked for a long time when we were putting together Superman #400 (Oct. 1984), the collection of stories taking place at various periods in the far future. I tried to get him to draw one of those stories. I think I had the one Klaus Janson did, although eventually I was thrilled with what Klaus did. Alex just didn’t want to take it on at that point because his eyesight was starting to go on him. I was very sad about that, but we hung out on the phone for a long time.”
ALWAYS IN DEMAND
Superman Annual #9 was Toth’s final Batman story, although he did return to draw the character a few times for DC Comics. He did a special pinup for The Batman Adventures #25 (Nov. 1994), and Toth’s last work for the company was the cover for Batman: Black and White vol. 1 #4 (Sept. 1996). Still, there was always a hope that he would do more for this series. “I created the series Batman: Black and White specifically to get Alex to do some comics work again,” says editor Chiarello. “I had gotten him to do a few covers over the years, but I wanted the master storyteller to draw some interior stuff one more time. I got good pal Archie Goodwin to write a Batman black and white eight-pager for Toth to draw, but Alex didn’t care for it, so [he] turned it down.” The story that Toth passed on was Goodwin’s “Heroes,” which appeared in the same issue that featured Toth’s cover. “I ended up sending it to Gary Gianni to draw,” says Chiarello. “He did a wonderful job, and even won an Eisner Award for it!”
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ALEX TOTH AND ‘SUPERMAN ANNUAL’ #9 I first encountered Alex Toth’s unique artistic stylings in the pages of 1964’s Brave and Bold #58 starring two characters that I was familiar with from their own DC titles, the Flash and the Atom—but I had never seen them portrayed as they were in that issue! Their faces and body language were angular and energetic; lighting was at times extreme, with inky dark shadows, as Toth demonstrated that great comic art could sometimes be about what you choose to obscure as what you clearly show! My 11-yearold self was fascinated, hooked for life, and would cause me, a decade or so later, after tracking down every Toth comic book from Frontline Combat to The Lennon Sisters’ Life Story, to pepper my obliging mentor, Dick Giordano (who had served as both inker and editor to Alex at various times) with questions about this innovative artist that I couldn’t get enough of… I met Alex on the first day of a four-day convention in Texas in 1980, asked if he had brought any original art to sell, and I proceeded to happily hand over every cent I had in my pockets for a selection of the greatest comic book and illustration artwork that I had ever seen, not caring how I was going to be able to eat for the next four days! We found that we enjoyed each other’s company over those four days (and I made a little money at my table so that I didn’t perish from starvation), which led to our ten-year correspondence (Alex informed me that he didn’t like to speak on the telephone) and occasionally we would arrange to meet at a convention and renew our friendship in person. The first mention Alex makes of the 1982 Superman Annual is on a postcard dated June 24th that year: “Am on a 30-page ‘SUPER/BAT/MAN’ job by Maggin (good script!) for DC—will do pencils only for the time being and will not do rewrite corrections, as was my wont—thus I hope to behave myself and just enjoy drawing/telling stories to suit DC’s needs—the change’ll do me good, I’m certain! Dick Giordano/Joe Orlando (and Julie Schwartz!) were the fellas who made me welcome again!” Editor Julie Schwartz I had known since he had given me my first job in comics that wasn’t in tandem with Dick Giordano; Dick had become editor-in-chief at DC by that point, and knowing my obsession and personal relationship with Alex, I’m guessing that it might have been either of them who asked if I wanted to ink Alex on that book. I probably responded with a resounding YES before having a chance to become intimidated by the prospect of working with one of my greatest artistic heroes! Alex writes on August 11th: “Up all night on last penciled pages of the 30 p. SUPER/BAT/MAN epic for Julie Schwartz—Express Mailed it this AM and, coincidentally, Julie phoned to ask of work’s status—happy to hear it’s all done—and also told me that you were set to ink it—or did he say you’d ink the ‘Challengers (of the Unknown)’? Hell, I was, and am still, punchy from the long grind, I’m not sure what’s what—but would like to know how all this happened? As they told us in the Army, never volunteer— You must have heard! Anyhoo, poor critter, you’ll have lots of heavy lead on paper, 30 pages worth, to fight through— it seems I’ve either got to gouge into paper heavily, or,
by Terry Austin
if penciling for ME, float over it too lightly—both are a pain—as you’ll agree!” No sooner did I have the lettered pages in my hands than my father called to say that my mom had been rushed by ambulance from their home in Michigan to the Cleveland [Ohio] Clinic for quadruple heart bypass surgery and he asked if I could come to Cleveland and stay there while she recovered, as he was working every day in Detroit, some 90 minutes away. So, for the foreseeable future, my days consisted of rising early (in the hotel across from the Clinic), inking Alex’s pages on a rickety little hotel table under the nearest floor lamp equipped with a dim 60-watt bulb, heading across the street at 11 AM when visiting hours began, spending the afternoon with my mother, grabbing something quick at the hospital cafeteria when visiting hours ended at 8 PM, and then back across the street to Alex and the wobbly table until I fell into bed, only to do the same again the next day. When Mom was ready to go home, Dad arrived to collect her and drop me at the airport with the completed 30-pager in my portfolio, to head back to Connecticut. Where I promptly flew out to a convention in San Francisco and, since the job was competed ahead of deadline and since both Julie Schwartz and Alex Toth were also guests at the same convention, I took the pages along to show them. Julie was delighted, as much by the job being done ahead of schedule, no doubt, as my efforts in ink; Alex said that he was very happy with the inks, although my own insecurities caused me to think that perhaps he was just being nice to spare my feelings. In case I had any lingering doubts, here’s Alex on November 5th, 1982: “Lost you in SF Sat’ night’s swarm— was glad to see your great ink job of our SUPER/BAT/MAN epic—really fine work, ol’ son! You kept to a firm, bold outline and enhanced the lot to a faretheewell! Hope we do it again—It is a recent event that I, through penciling for DC for this brief time, have come upon a new and bolder method of drawing the figures, designing shapes, etc., to meet their needs—moreso than for my own stories, I find— so it’s been a discovery—one I enjoyed—and it could only happen as it did, by getting out of my self-dug rut, and adapting to DC material—it’s been a while since I’ve drawn superjocks in wild action sequences—quite ‘new’ (again!) to this old croc’! Life, I suppose, is just that, rediscovery of what’s been there all the while—reinventing the wheel, so to speak! Lots of fun! Keeps one perking, wot?” And on December 2nd, “Re our SUPER/BAT/MAN epic, you flattered my work, indeed! Did my heavy lead work impede you? By the way, did you outline with pen? If so, which pen? I’m still dazzled by your rich black ink!” I still can’t help but feel proud all these years later, reading these words from one of the true geniuses of comic book art whose work so enthralled me from the age of 11 onward. It was important to me that I didn’t disappoint him and that I can revisit his words today to reassure myself that I did not do so. By the way, it was soon afterwards that Dick Giordano phoned to say that Alex had penciled an issue of Green Lantern and put my name in the credits next to his as the inker, so did I want to do it again? YES, yes, I did! Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 73
Gray Gothamite Toth’s cover for Batman: Black and White vol. 1 #4 (Sept. 1996). TM & © DC Comics.
GOING OUT SWINGING
Batman in Metropolis Original art from Superman Annual #9, written by Maggin, inked and autographed by Austin, and penciled by our spotlighted Batman of the 1970s, Alex Toth. Courtesy of Heritage. TM & © DC Comics.
TO WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
In talking with Mark Chiarello about the cover Alex Toth did for him, the editor revealed something truly amazing and can only leave fans of Toth and Batman wondering what might have been. “Still wanting Alex to do a story for the series, I suggested he himself write a story,” Chiarello recalls. “He tried and tried, sending me a million little story ideas, but he said he wasn’t happy with any of them. Around that time, I was visiting him at his home in the Hollywood Hills, when he told me he had written a story that he actually liked. It centered on a villain getting the better of Batman and pushing the Dark Knight off of a tenement rooftop. An old, eccentric woman finds Batman and nurses him back to health. It was sweet, and funny, and adventurous... I told Alex I loved it and gave him the green light to draw it. Well, he never did draw it, he kept making excuses why he was being unsuccessful, so I suggested he at least draw a cover for the series, which he did.”
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“I recall when he sent the artwork in for his cover, he was quite proud of it,” says Chiarello about the artwork. “Toth was never a boastful or egotistical guy, but I could tell that this particular cover had come out quite to his liking. Years later, when visiting Alex, I couldn’t help but notice that the cover art was propped up on a chair in the corner of his living room. Considering that it was the only piece of his that he had on display, I was quite flattered to have been the one to commission it.”
DAN JOHNSON is a comics writer and pop culture historian. He is a co-founder, editor, and writer for Empire Comics Lab (empirecomicslab.com) and RedLine Comics Studio. Dan has written for Antarctic Press, Campfire Graphic Novels, Golden Kid Comics, InDELLible Comics, Old School Comics, and ACP Comics, and is a writer for the Dennis the Menace comic strip.
© Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons.
Batmen of the 1970s:
WALTER SIMONSON Capes, Cowls, and Jaws of Iron
by J e r r y
Smith
Do you remember where you were when you first saw Walter Simonson’s Batman? I do. It was summer 1974. I was ten years old and my Kentucky family was on a fishing vacation in Minnesota. We stopped in a small Mayberry-type town to get supplies before heading to the lake. I went into the local drug store and beelined straight to the comics rack. There I saw it: Detective Comics #443, with that beautiful back-to-back Batman/Manhunter cover by Jim Aparo. When I paged through the story inside, nothing prepared me for the sleek, largerthan-life action of the epic Batman/ Manhunter team-up, the finale to Archie Goodwin and Simonson’s “Manhunter” saga. I want to impart to readers who weren’t there (and some who were) the game-changing nature of Walt Simonson’s Batman in the 1970s—and beyond. Walter Miller Simonson’s first published work for DC Comics hit stands the year before, in 1973’s Weird War Tales #10. “I did have some work before that,” admits Simonson, “but that was my first job where
Walt’s Batman Begins In 1974, Detective Comics readers were saddened to reach the conclusion of the cult fave “Manhunter” back-up scribed by the title’s editor Archie Goodwin, and illustrated by hot newcomer Walter Simonson. Yet “Gotterdammerung” in Detective #443 (Sept.–Oct. 1974) allowed Simonson to ply his inventive layouts to Batman for the first time as Manhunter met the Darknight Detective in this classic. Walt has since gone on to illustrate Batman special issues and projects for decades. (This is a scan from the Manhunter: The Deluxe Edition.) TM & © DC Comics.
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Archie’s Here! And Walt is, too! (bottom) Simonson art—including his dinosaur-shaped signature—on the table of contents for Detective #443, from the days when even a poor print job couldn’t dampen a fan’s excitement. (top) The issue’s Aparo-drawn cover. TM & © DC Comics.
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I got a check that cleared. My first published work in comics was actually a fan drawing in Magnus Robot Fighter #10 in 1965. That’s all I’m gonna say about that!” Back to Weird War Tales: “Cyrano’s Army,” written by Len Wein, is a six-page tale about a meek Frenchman who dreams of fighting back against the Nazis who invade his war-torn city. All of the Simonson artistic earmarks are there, including cutting-edge design work, unique panel layout, and standout characters. If you squint, you can see Simonson’s famous dinosaur-inspired signature at the bottom of the splash page. Says Walt, “‘Cyrano’s Army’ is the first published work I had in a comic where I was assigned the job by Joe Orlando, a professional editor in comics, and I did the job and got paid.” Believe it or not, Simonson’s very next project at DC won numerous awards and made him a comic-book household name… the Manhunter saga.
DETECTIVE COMICS #443 (Sept.–Oct. 1974) – “Gotterdammerung!”
As mentioned above, “Gotterdammerung!” was the explosive conclusion to the Manhunter backup stories in Detective Comics, written by comics editor and master storyteller Archie Goodwin. One of the most memorable stories in comics history, the saga centered on the adventures of the revamped Golden Age superhero Manhunter, alias Paul Kirk. These backup tales ran in Detective #437 to 443, culminating in this full-length Batman/Manhunter crossover. Manhunter has been well covered over the years by BACK ISSUE. [Editor’s note: Manhunter has been mentioned on a handful of occasions but got a deep-dive in BI #64.] The art and story whisk both characters around the world, to exotic locales and villainous secret headquarters. Simonson’s Batman is a marvel—lean and athletic, with flowing martial arts scenes and the look of an alpha predator. When asked about his approach to drawing Batman for the first time, Simonson observes, “Archie and I had figured that at some point we were going to do a Batman/Manhunter crossover. I was a big fan of Neal Adams’ Batman. At that time, I think artists in general worked more to keep characters on-model. There’d be a look for a character, and a lot of artists would try and capture that look.” Simonson points out that Batman, over the course of his career since 1939, has had a lot of different looks. “You had the Bob Kane and Bill Finger look, you had the Dick Sprang look, you had the Carmine [Infantino] look, you had Neal’s look, and the Batmans all looked rather different. When you drew Batman, you had a real range of possibilities of where you could go with the character at a time when that was probably less true of Superman or some of the other characters that were out there. But Batman had quite a range. So I drew a kind of neo-Adams Batman for Manhunter. He had long ears and a long cloak.” Indeed, the Batman/Manhunter pairing was so popular that Simonson returned to the characters with a final story after Archie Goodwin’s untimely death. In a perfect, mostly silent coda first published in Manhunter: The Special Edition in 1999, Simonson adds a tight, action-packed finale to the legacy of Manhunter—appropriately guest-starring Batman.
An Instant Batman Master (top) Starting here, on page 1 of “Gotterdammerung,” in nine extraordinary panels Simonson establishes himself as major Batman artist. Presented in both its original and remastered forms. Do you have a preference? (bottom left) From the moment Goodwin and Simonson first brought Batman and Manhunter together in ’Tec #443, Walt would return to the duo again and again, including fan sketches like one from 1980 (bottom right). Sketch courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com). TM & © DC Comics.
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BATTLE OF THE CAPES According to Walt Simonson, there existed a friendly competition with another famous comic book artist about the sartorial expanse of a certain Caped Crusader… “Bernie Wrightson and I had an informal competition just for an issue of who could draw the longest cloak on Batman, the longest cape. He had done a really beautiful Batman in Swamp Thing #7. And there’s a spectacular shot that Bernie drew, a Batman standing on the edge of a roof, and the wind is behind him (below). So this cape is billowing out on either side of him, out over the city. And the way Bernie drew and the way he inked, it’s really clear that the cape is just made of the finest silk. It’s smooth and beautiful, and that just wasn’t my forte. “[For my story, in Detective #443,] Batman was standing on top of an alleyway somewhere on some sort of crossbeam (right). And the cape is just down, tumbling down below the alley. It must be like 50 feet long. It’s so ridiculously long, and it’s probably 40-weight canvas. It must weigh 1,000 lbs. But it was a long, long cloak. So I figured I was good in the competition.”
DETECTIVE COMICS #450 (Aug. 1975) – “The Cape and Cowl Deathtrap”
Simonson’s next Batman assignment was a fun little story written by Elliot S. Maggin. “Deathtrap” showcases a different Batman from Simonson’s previous effort. This tale sees Batman battling a crime boss who hires a mercenary not to kill Batman… but to steal his legendary cape and cowl. And—at least at first—the mercenary seems to succeed. Says Walt with a chuckle, “The next time I drew him, I changed up completely. What I kind of wanted to do was to take a crack at a variety of Batman versions. I didn’t want to be bound to just one. Usually I try to let the story I’m doing guide me as far as the artwork is concerned.” Walt continues, “When I did ‘The Cape and Cowl Deathtrap,’ I had done this kind of long, lithe Batman and I thought I’d like to go in a different direction. So poor Julie Schwartz— Carmine made him give me the job and I was not Julie’s favorite artist. We got along fine, but I was not his idea of a mainstream artist. I didn’t do much work for Julie.” Some of the differences in this version of Simonson’s Batman are polar opposites of the Manhunter version. For example, Batman had very short ears and a thicker build. “I went back to the Dick Sprang model, almost a square jaw,” explains Walt. “And he was obviously sort of a… a fascist killer. I think he beat the crap out of people. I was very much influenced by the work of Jose Ortiz when I was doing that job. Ortiz was a master of chiaroscuro, master of black and white. And so that Batman job was very much influenced by Ortiz. I think that carried it even further away from what Julie would have liked. So, I don’t know 78 • BACK ISSUE • Batmen of the 1970s
that he was especially happy with the job, but I kind of liked it.” Walt does a masterful job illustrating the “Deathtrap” script, with Batman leaping across panel borders and yes, beating bad guys (who, truth be told, are all out to kill or hurt him). Here, Batman is a dynamic, square-jawed creature of the night. This story also has the distinction of being adapted into a 1992 episode of Batman: The Animated Series, “The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy,” with a screenplay also by Maggin.
DETECTIVE COMICS #469 and 470 (May and June 1977) – “By Death’s Eerie Light” and “The Master Plan of Dr. Phosphorus”
Detective Comics #469 has the honor of being the first issue of perhaps the most famous run on the title, that of writer Steve Englehart. The great Marshall Rogers was Englehart’s main artistic collaborator, but other artists did contribute, most notably Walter Simonson for the first two issues. A two-part story, these issues depict a battle between Batman and the rather unhinged burning-skeleton villain, Dr. Phosphorus (who makes a great visual). Simonson’s Batman is back to having long ears and being lean, agile, and athletic. When queried if it was always the plan for him to only draw two issues with Englehart, Simonson replies, “Yes, I think so. I don’t remember what happened. I do not remember ever having an option of doing more than just those first two. Either Marshall wasn’t around, or they hadn’t thought of hiring him yet. But I don’t think I had any more assignments than just the two issues that I did.”
Regarding the more “superheroic” art style for Detective 469 and 470, Simonson observes, “On that one, having done a couple of different kinds of Batman, I thought it’d be kind of fun to do a Batman that was a more straight superhero. Kind of a superhero body and a wide chest, narrow waist. And I think that was probably a layout job rather than a complete pencil job.” That is likely, as Al Milgrom’s finished inks are heavy and extremely murky on the old newsprint. Still, the layouts are lively and these stories are filled with solid storytelling. Batman has long, intimidating ears and his cloak flows like a river as he leaps off buildings, swings through the city and barely survives a bare-knuckle brawl with the blazing Dr. Phosphorus.
BATMAN #300 (June 1978) – “The Last Batman Story -- ?”
It’s hardly the last Batman story, but David V. Reed’s dull script for this issue may have tempted readers to wish it so. Mr. Reed was actually a pseudonym for David Vern, a comic book writer since the Golden Age of comics. In this anniversary issue story, which takes place in the future, Batman works with an adult Robin, who has a wife and children and wears the costume of the 1970s EarthTwo Robin. Simonson is inked by Dick Giordano, and the art looks terrific. Circumstances of the job resulted in positive memories of this particular Batman adventure for Walt Simonson. “Batman #300 was an emergency
job where about eight weeks from shipping, I got a call from Paul Levitz, who was the Master of Schedules at DC—or whatever Paul’s official title was then—and it turned out that it was a full script that a writer named David V. Reed, who had published some novels, had written. Dick [Giordano] was supposed to pencil and ink this 300th issue, and at eight weeks from shipping he had not started yet. Paul called me up out of the blue, and this is before royalties. He wanted to know if I would be interested in doing layouts for the book that Dick would be able to pretty much ink right from. Paul offered me ‘hazard pay,’ which at the time was rate and a half for doing the layouts. It was a 36–38-page comic, maybe. It was a little long, but I wasn’t working on anything else right then. Or at least nothing that couldn’t be put aside. So I said sure. I ended up doing the layouts for that book and kind of zipped through them, and Dick zipped through the inks and the book shipped on time. DC was quite happy, so that worked out all right.” Simonson’s layouts and Giordano’s inks work incredibly well together. Walt does a more traditional, superheroic Batman for this future tale, gets to draw an outer-space scene, and shows Batman letting loose on some thugs. He makes the best of Reed’s script, although the author loads up the panels with dialog and word balloons that crowd the story and art. Typical for a Simonson book, the storytelling flows smoothly and leads the reader effortlessly through the pages.
Doin’ the Sprang Thang (left) In Simonson’s second Batman story, writer Elliot S. Maggin’s “The Cape and Cowl Deathtrap” in Detective Comics #450 (Aug. 1975), Walt’s Dick Sprang–ish, lanternjawed Batman was a departure from issue #443’s sleeker interpretation of the hero. (right) Eye-popping layouts, from story page 5. TM & © DC Comics.
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You Light Up My Life (left) Simonson opts for a superheroic take on the Caped Crusader in illustrating writer Steve Englehart’s Detective Comics #469 (May 1977), from the first of a two-part clash with Bat-rogue Dr. Phosphorous. Al Milgrom’s inks give the work a Marvel flair. (right) From a remastered reprint. From Batman #300: (top right) Retired top cop Jim Gordon still keeps in touch with his Gotham allies. Detail from page 21. (bottom right) No longer a Teen Wonder, the adult Dick Grayson teams up with his mentor on page 24. TM & © DC Comics.
BATMAN #312 (June 1979) – “A Caper a Day Keeps the Batman at Bay”
Time for the return of one of Batman’s most dangerous and inscrutable foes—but not here! Instead, we get Calendar Man. It’s actually a blessing, due to writer Len Wein having a blast with this story. Calendar Man proves to be a worthy antagonist—until he doesn’t! Simonson provides pencils, with gorgeous inks again ably delivered by Mr. Dick Giordano. “Yeah, it was really silly,” recalls Simonson. “It was almost a throwback to older Batman stories. The Calendar Man was kind of fun simply because since it was all a calendar and there were seven days in the week. I got to come up with essentially seven different costumes.” There were several alternative outfits for the Calendar Man over the course of the story, as he showed up and foiled Batman or eventually was foiled by him, and Simonson had a good time designing and doing different things with the costumes. “Again,” says Walt, “pretty goofy. But fun to do and a little challenging to try and figure out different looks for the character as I was going along. I did enjoy those.” This story is deceptively entertaining, as Wein expertly portrays Calendar Man’s ego bloating as he thinks he is outsmarting Batman at every turn, when it’s actually the other way around. Not only is Calendar Man’s fall delicious, but the final panel is a closeup cliffhanger of Simonson’s Two-Face, arriving in Gotham to be a doubly dangerous menace to Batman. A full issue of Batman versus Two-Face by Simonson in the next issue would have been glorious, but unfortunately did not occur.
BATMAN #321 (Mar. 1980) – “Dreadful Birthday, Dear Joker...!”
One of Simonson’s favorite Batman stories to draw was the memorable “Dreadful Birthday, Dear Joker...!,” with a script by Wein and inks by Giordano. The layouts and
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finished art are as strong as ever, and Wein’s story shows another side of the Joker. Ah… who are we kidding? It’s the same side of the Joker, an insane, homicidal maniac. Simonson enjoyed the job because it was fun, and touched on a Joker that could be, in his own way, “nice.” Regarding the villain, Simonson says, “That one sort of went into a ‘nice’ Joker. That was kind of grim in that he was quite dangerous and unpredictable and there was an element of that in the story, where he blew away one of his henchmen in a kind of a clever manner.” At least he wanted to wish Batman a happy birthday. It’s the thought that counts. Behind the scenes, Simonson recalls, “What did happen with that story is that the letterer—it may have been Ben Oda, I do not remember for sure [Writer’s note: It was Ben Oda!]—but
whoever it was, it got lettered and it came back to me. I wasn’t crazy about the sound effects. I like structured sound effects. These were not very structured, they weren’t great. So basically I stole the artwork from the office. I went home and redid did all the sound effects. I took it in the next day and the editor was not pleased, but there was nothing to do about it at that point. I still got work afterwards, so I guess it was okay!” This story is wonderful, wacky work by Wein, who is possibly having some fun being inspired by the 1966 Batman TV series, as the Joker ties Batman and Robin to giant birthday candles and lights impossibly large fuses to blow them up. As Batman successfully escapes, readers are reminded, as Batarangs speed across the page with that billowing cape flowing behind him, that no one does diehard Bat-action like Walt Simonson.
Batman Beyond Dick Giordano was slated to draw writer David Vern’s “The Last Batman Story--?” for the anniversary edition Batman #300 (June 1978). He fell behind schedule and Walt Simonson raced to the rescue to pencil the job… inked by Dick, who also illustrated the cover (inset). Original art to page 1, courtesy of Heritage. TM & © DC Comics.
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A Return Date (top) A Simonson/Giordano cover graces Batman #312 (June 1979), in which writer Len Wein dusts off Bat-baddie Calendar Man. (bottom) Page 8 from the tale (from a deluxe reprint) features not only an outlandish Calendar Man costume but also a reference to Thor in panel 6—which becomes deliciously prescient considering that Walt would, in just a few short years, revitalize Marvel’s Thunder God in the pages of The Mighty Thor. TM & © DC Comics.
DETECTIVE COMICS #500 (Mar. 1981) – “Once Upon a Time…”
Now for one of the downright coolest Batman story concepts ever. “Once Upon a Time…” from Detective #500, by the dream team of Len Wein and Walter Simonson, is an original and creative concept executed perfectly in two pages, without a wasted word or pencil stroke. Here is what happened. In August through September of 1969 in the comic strip Peanuts, creator Charles M. Shultz told the story of Snoopy writing his version of “The Great American Novel,” pounding away on his typewriter on top of his iconic doghouse. Oversized text in each panel helped tell the story, beginning with “It was a dark and stormy night…” Wein took the text from Snoopy’s “novel” directly from these six strips and used it word-forword for the script of a two-page Batman story for this oversize anniversary issue. Walt Simonson remembers the impetus of this tale. “I’m sure [the idea] was Len’s. He got the idea to do a two-page Batman story based on Snoopy’s Great American Novel. That’s exactly where it came from. He had tracked down all the strip quotes. I know he tried to use every quote. I don’t know if he was successful in that.” [Writer’s note: He was.] As Walt remembers, the script was done by Wein, with artistic direction from Simonson. “I do not remember now if [Len] gave me artistic direction, the art direction for like, a ship appears on the horizon and somebody grabs a ship in a bottle. I don’t know if that was him or me. I did most of my work Marvelstyle. So it may be that he handed me the words and then I came up with the various bits. I suspect that’s how it went, but I don’t really know and I don’t want to rob Len of any credit. So we’ll just put the credit down the middle on that one. But it was fun and that was one of the few that I actually colored. It was true of the last Manhunter as well. I did some coloring in the old days. Not a lot, it was time consuming and not really cost effective compared to penciling or penciling and inking.” I’m not sure if Charlie Brown’s dog wrote the Great American Novel, but he sure made an entertaining Batman story. Snoopy would be proud. “Once Upon a Time…” was the last time Simonson drew Batman for over a decade, until the experimental comic Batman: Black & White in 1996.
MORE RECENT SIMONSON BATMAN
Due to reader demand and editorial requests, Simonson continues to revisit his unique and sometimes traditional, sometimes futuristic, sometimes exotic take on the Caped Crusader, well into the Modern Age. His revolutionary anthology story “Legend” in Batman: Black and White #2 (July 1996) was not only critically acclaimed but also adapted for an animated Batman TV series. As a writer, he also submitted the story “The Riddle” for the Batman: Black and White comic, drawn by John Paul Leon. The graphic novel The Judas Coin (2013), written and drawn by Simonson, also featured the Dark Knight, albeit as a supporting player. This centuriesspanning original story shows how one of the silver coins Judas was paid to betray Jesus had an impact on the DC Universe. Story chapters feature the Golden Gladiator (70 A.D.), the Viking Prince (900 A.D.), 82 • BACK ISSUE • Batmen of the 1970s
DARK AND STORMY KNIGHT It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly a shot rang out! The maid screamed. A door slammed. Suddenly, a pirate ship appeared on the horizon! As he touched her hand, she sighed… And they lived happily ever after. The End
Batman TM & © DC Comics. Peanuts © Peanuts Worldwide.
One of the endearing running gags in Charles Schulz’s classic Peanuts comic strip was Snoopy’s perpetual writing of the Great American Novel, as shown here on the signed original art (courtesy of Heritage) to the July 12, 1965 installment of Peanuts. For the record, here is the full script to Snoopy’s Great American Novel, which inspired Detective #500’s Batman story “Once Upon a Time …”
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Birthday Candle Blowout (top) The Simonson/Giordano art team reunited to illustrate Len Wein’s “Dreadful Birthday, Dear Joker…!” in Batman #321 (Mar. 1980). (bottom) Detail from page 12, where the Clown Prince of Crime reveals his crazy, killer birthday cake! (inset) Yes, that’s a Simonson-drawn Batman figure leaping out of the magnifying glass on this amazing jam cover by a range of luminaries for Detective Comics #500 (Mar. 1981). And wait until you snoop inside to see Walter’s interior contribution to the issue (see sidebar)! TM & © DC Comics.
Captain Fear (1740), and Bat Lash (1880). Batman appears in a present-day face-off with Two-Face. The final, futuristic chapter takes place in 2070. The bottom line for Walt Simonson is that he just plain enjoys writing and drawing Batman. Walt clarifies, “I like Batman. In some ways, I’ve used the Batman stories I’ve done as experiments to just kind of broaden the sort of art that I do and try and maybe find some different avenue because Batman seems flexible enough to be able to handle that. And it’s been a lot of fun for me to take a crack at different styles and approaches to the character. It’s one of the things I really like about Batman, he does seem so flexible.” To many creators who work on Batman, the character seems to offer an infinite number of possibilities. If Walter Simonson had simply done the Manhunter saga, or “Once Upon a Time…,” he would be considered one of the finest artists who ever contributed to the character. Luckily, we have hundreds of pages of Walt’s Batman to treasure—as writer, artist, and colorist. For today’s reprint culture, with modern coloring and high-quality paper, readers can enjoy Simonson’s Batman tales for many generations to come. Thanks, Walt! The author would like to thank Mr. Walter M. Simonson for answering all these silly questions. Many thanks to Eric Breen for research assistance. JERRY SMITH is a freelance writer and nonprofit fundraiser from the wilds of Northern Kentucky. He can’t seem to stop purchasing comic books, both old and new.
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Batmen of the 1970s:
Santa Frank is Coming to Town
pinguino k / Wikimedia Commons.
FRANK MILLER by R o g e r
Ash
DC’s Super-Star Holiday Special—officially titled DC Special Series #21 (Apr. 1980)—was an enjoyable special issue. It included five stories showing how the Star of Bethlehem played a part in adventures featuring Jonah Hex, Batman, the House of Mystery, Sgt. Rock, and Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. The issue would probably be largely forgotten today if not for the fact that the Batman story, “Wanted: Santa Claus—Dead or Alive!,” was penciled by a relative newcomer to comics named Frank Miller. While his name would be linked to the character later in the decade, this was the first time Miller worked on a story starring the Dark Knight. Miller, like most creators, paid his dues before hitting it big. His early work included a number of short stories for DC in titles including Weird War Tales and Unknown Soldier. He even drew a few of the infamous Hostess ads where the Human Torch and Spider-Man foiled villains’ plans with snack foods [see BACK ISSUE #130— ed.]. His first full story, and first published work at Marvel, was in John Carter, Warlord of Mars #18 (Nov. 1978). This was shortly followed by Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #28–29 (Feb.–Mar. 1979). He also began work on what was to become his defining series at Marvel with Daredevil #158 (May 1979). But stardom was still a few years away when Super-Star Holiday Special was published. The rest of the creative team on “Wanted: Santa Claus—Dead or Alive!” are writer Dennis O’Neil, inker Steve Mitchell, letterer Ben Oda, colorist Glynis Wein, and editor Len Wein. The big name here is Denny O’Neil, who, along
Merry Christmas, Batman Fans! Title page from Frank Miller’s first Batman story, “Wanted: Santa Claus—Dead or Alive!” From DC Special Series #21 (Apr. 1980). Script by Denny O’Neil, inks by Steve Mitchell. TM & © DC Comics.
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Miller Milestones in ’79! (left) Frank Miller’s first issue of Daredevil, #158, went on sale January 30, 1979 with a May 1979 cover date. Miller quickly graduated from the title’s penciler to its writerartist (with finishes by Klaus Janson). DD #158 cover by Miller and Joe Rubinstein. (right) Less than a year later, on December 6, 1979, Miller’s first Batman tale appeared in DC Special Series #21 (cover-dated Apr. 1980). Cover by José Luis García-López. TM & © DC Comics.
with artist Neal Adams, brought Batman back to his comic book roots after camp took hold due to the Batman TV show. They raised Batman to new heights, and O’Neil would have a profound effect on the character both as a writer and longtime editor. It seems appropriate that two creators who had significant impacts on Batman worked together on the story. The story takes place on Christmas Eve. It begins with Batman swinging past a Nativity scene and noticing that someone has stolen the star. But he has more important things to do than to investigate—namely, crashing the Christmas party of gangster Matty Lasko and finding out why Lasko has arranged for a boat to be waiting in Gotham harbor. After some “gentle persuasion,” Batman-style, Lasko tells him he arranged it for former cellmate, Boomer Katz. Some undercover work helps Batman to discover that Boomer is playing Santa at Lee’s Department Store. And the only reason for Boomer to do that, he thinks, is to rob the store. In this case, Batman’s only partially correct. Boomer is trying to go straight, but is in
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the employ of a hood named Fats Morgan. When Fats arrives after the store closes for the night, he learns that Boomer hasn’t upheld his end of the bargain. Fats, along with two goons, decides to rob the store in a more straightforward fashion and use Boomer to get inside. Things quickly go south as Fats and one goon go after the store’s owner and the other takes Boomer outside to finish him off. Batman is passing by and hears gunshots. He bursts in and saves the owner, who tells the Darknight Detective that the other goon is going to kill Boomer. Boomer and the hood wait in the shadows for the police and Batman to depart. Suddenly, a light shines through the space that held the stolen star in the Nativity scene from the opening page, illuminating the pair and enabling Batman to save the day. Where did the light come from and who took the star? Both of those questions remain a mystery. It’s a pretty basic and enjoyable story. Miller’s storytelling is solid, with the fight sequences flowing very well. Yet there’s no indication of how important Miller was to be to the future of Batman.
It was in 1986 that Miller would have his most profound effect on the Batman mythos with the debut of Batman: The Dark Knight. [Editor’s note: While Miller’s series is commonly called Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, technically the overall series is titled The Dark Knight. The issues’ individual titles are: The Dark Knight Returns (#1), Dark Knight Triumphant (#2), Hunt the Dark Knight (#3), and The Dark Knight Falls (#4).] Written and drawn by Miller, the four-issue miniseries was inked by Klaus Janson, colored by Lynn Varley, and edited by O’Neil. It features a future version of Batman and Gotham City that readers had never seen before. In this dark world, Batman has retired and Gotham has descended into madness. Finally, enough is enough, and Bruce Wayne decides to become Batman again to take back his city. The series features a battle with Two-Face, a final confrontation against the Joker, and Selina (Catwoman) Kyle appears as the head of an escort service. The series concludes with an epic battle against Superman, who is now an agent of the US government, that seemingly leaves Batman dead. But appearances, as they say, are deceiving. Also introduced in the story is the fan-favorite character, Carrie Kelley, the first female Robin. Looking back at the success of the series, it’s difficult to remember how risky it was. Each issue was 52 pages, longer than the average comic; was printed on higher-quality paper than normal comics; and published in a new squarebound format. All of this meant the price would have to go up. The series cost a whopping $2.95 an issue at a time when most DC and Marvel comics were 75 cents. There was no guarantee readers would go for that price or the format. Would readers even want to read a story featuring an old Batman? Thankfully, they did. The squarebound format was popular enough that other publishers quickly adopted it and it became known as Prestige Format. The Dark Knight was the first major story to feature an aged hero. The conceit remains popular today and includes such memorable stories as Hulk: Future Imperfect (Dec 1992–Jan. 1993) and the 2008 Wolverine story, “Old Man Logan.” Paul Levitz, former president and publisher of DC Comics, recalls, “The Dark Knight Returns changed not only Batman but the field of comics. Frank’s courage in breaking away from the ‘rules’ for the character and for all superhero stories literally rewrote the book for us all, and its success in book format was a crucial step in opening the mass market to the idea of the graphic novel.” The series was so popular that it spawned two sequels, 2001’s The Dark Knight Strikes Again and 2016’s Dark Knight III: The Master Race. Lightning would strike a second time with the “Batman: Year One” story published in Batman #404–407 (Feb.–May 1987). This story was written by Miller, with art by David Mazzucchelli, and is every bit as dark as The Dark Knight. Instead of looking at Batman’s future, it is a fresh look at Batman’s past, featuring his first year as a crimefighter. But this story belongs to James Gordon as much as it does to Bruce Wayne.
Bruce is trying to clean up the streets of Gotham and runs afoul of a prostitute named Selina Kyle, who has a thing for cats and occasionally ventures out in a cat costume (a nice tie-in to Selina owning an escort service in The Dark Knight). While things are going well, he needs something more. Bruce hits upon the idea of dressing as a bat to add to his fear factor. Jim Gordon is a new hire of the Gotham Police Department and finds it rampant with corruption, even at the level of commissioner. He attempts to clean it up, but things quickly go badly when he has an affair and his boss finds out and uses it to blackmail him. When Gordon’s newborn child is kidnapped, he teams up with Batman for the first time to ensure the child’s safe return. The story is steeped in hardboiled pulp elements that make it a gripping read. And, like The Dark Knight, led to other things. A 1989 Catwoman miniseries by Mindy Newell, J. J.
O’ Christmas Tree Fluid action sequences and dynamic storytelling made Miller’s inaugural Bat-tale a sight to behold. Page 8 of “Wanted…” TM & © DC Comics.
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The Dark Knight Arrives (top) Miller’s original art for cover and interior graphics for The Complete Frank Miller Batman vol. 1 hardcover. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com). The first of these three Batman figures was used on our cover for the Miller blurb. (bottom) Batman and “Santa Claus” are star-struck on the final page of the Holiday Special’s Bat-tale. TM & © DC Comics.
Birch, and Michael Bair takes elements from “Year One” to further explore Selina’s past. “Year One” stories became very popular as creators took a fresh look at the early years of many long-running characters. There was a “Batman: Year Two” story that ran in Detective Comics #575–578 (June–Sept. 1987) by writer Mike W. Barr and artists Alan Davis, Paul Neary, and a pre–Amazing Spider-Man Todd McFarlane. Between The Dark Knight and “Year One,” Miller defined Batman for a generation of readers. The impact of the stories on the character and comics in general is undeniable. If this was all that Frank Miller did with Batman, he would have secured a place as one of the most influential creators to ever work on the character. But there was more to come. In addition to the aforementioned Dark Knight sequels, in 2005, Miller teamed with artists Jim Lee and Scott Williams for All-Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder. This took a fresh look at Batman’s early adventures with the original Robin, Dick Grayson. The series ran ten issues, but the story remains unfinished. There was also a Batman pitch that DC rejected. Miller would rework it into his creator-owned, and controversial, Holy Terror (Sept. 2011) graphic novel. With this pedigree, and this much of an influence on the Batman canon, it’s bizarre to see that Miller’s work on Batman all began with an eight-page story in a DC holiday special. It truly was a Christmas miracle. [Editor’s note: To learn more about Frank Miller’s magnum opus, see BACK ISSUE #50 for our Dark Knight article and issue #73 for a profile of the series’ Robin, Carrie Kelley.] Thank you to Paul Levitz. ROGER ASH lives in Wisconsin with his cat, Otis. He’s a baker at the local Piggly Wiggly, an amateur photographer, and loves reading comics. Roger, that is, not Otis.
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Meet Mission: Impossible’s LYNDA DAY GEORGE in an exclusive interview! Celebrate Rambo’s 50th birthday with his creator, novelist DAVID MORRELL! Plus: TV faves WKRP IN CINCINNATI and SPACE: 1999, Fleisher’s and Filmation’s SUPERMAN cartoons, commercial jingles, JERRY LEWIS and BOB HOPE comic books, and more fun, fab features! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
The saga of Saturday morning’s Super Friends, Part One! Plus: A history of MR. T, TV’s AVENGERS (Steed and Mrs. Peel), Daktari’s CHERYL MILLER, Mexican movie monsters, John and Yoko’s nation of Nutopia, ELIZABETH SHEPHERD (the actress who almost played Emma Peel), and more! With ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, MARK VOGER, & MICHAEL EURY.
Interview with Captain Kangaroo BOB KEESHAN, The ROCKFORD FILES, teen monster movies, the Kung Fu and BRUCE LEE crazes, JACK KIRBY’s comedy comics, DON DRYSDALE’s TV drop-ins, outrageous toys, Challenge of the Super Friends, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
The BRITISH INVASION of the Sixties, interview with Bond Girl TRINA PARKS, The Mighty Hercules, Horror Hostess MOONA LISA, World’s Greatest Super Friends, TV Guide Fall Previews, the Frito Bandito, a Popeye Super Collector, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
The story behind BOB CLAMPETT’s Beany & Cecil, western queen DALE EVANS, an interview with Mr. Ed’s ALAN YOUNG, Miami Vice, The Sixties’ Wackiest Robots, Muscle-Maker CHARLES ATLAS, Super Powers Team—Galactic Guardians, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
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RETROFAN #20
RETROFAN #21
RETROFAN #22
RETROFAN #23
RETROFAN #24
MAD’s maddest artist, SERGIO ARAGONÉS, is profiled! Plus: TV’s Route 66 and an interview with star GEORGE MAHARIS, MOE HOWARD’s final years, singer B. J. THOMAS in one of his final interviews, LONE RANGER cartoons, G.I. JOE, and more! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
Meet JULIE NEWMAR, the purr-fect Catwoman! Plus: ASTRO BOY, TARZAN Saturday morning cartoons, the true history of PEBBLES CEREAL, TV’s THE UNTOUCHABLES and SEARCH, the MONKEEMOBILE, SOVIET EXPO ’77, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
Surf’s up as SIXTIES BEACH MOVIES make a RetroFan splash! Plus: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, ZORRO’s Saturday morning cartoon, TV’s THE WILD, WILD WEST, CARtoons and other drag-mags, VALSPEAK, and more fun, fab features! Like, totally! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
Meet the stars behind the Black Lagoon: RICOU BROWNING, BEN CHAPMAN, JULIE ADAMS, and LORI NELSON! Plus SHADOW CHASERS, featuring show creator KENNETH JOHNSON. Also: THE BEATLES’ YELLOW SUBMARINE, FLASH GORDON cartoons, TV’s cult classic THE PRISONER and kid’s show ZOOM, COLORFORMS, M&Ms, and more fun, fab features! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
Interviews with Lost in Space’s ANGELA CARTWRIGHT and BILL MUMY, and Land of the Lost’s WESLEY EURE! Revisit Leave It to Beaver with JERRY MATHERS, TONY DOW, and KEN OSMOND! Plus: UNDERDOG, Rankin-Bass’ stop-motion classic THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY, Christmas gifts you didn’t want, the CABBAGE PATCH KIDS fad, and more! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99
(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99
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Go to www.twomorrows.com to preview and order, including RetroFan #1-19!
Send your comments to: Email: euryman@gmail.com (subject: BACK ISSUE) Postal mail: Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief • BACK ISSUE 112 Fairmount Way • New Bern, NC 28562
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‘TEAM-UP COMPANION’ CORRECTIONS
Shortly after the late 2022 release of ye ed’s TwoMorrows book, The Team-Up Companion, I received these two emails within 24 hours of each other: Just thumbed the new Companion volume, which appears very thorough. Haven’t read through most yet, but in reading of my editorial time at B&B, one correction. Bill Kelley was a real person—a young, new writer—not Murray [Boltinoff]. If Murray used that pseudonym elsewhere, it’s just a coincidence. Thanks for all your efforts. – Paul Levitz
• Army at War #1 • The Brave and the Bold (Batman and Sgt. Rock team-up) #162 • Elvira’s House of Mystery #11 • Ghosts #106, 110, 111 • The House of Mystery #261, 268, 275, 284, 288, 292, 299, 307, 310, 312, 318 • Men of War #15 • Secrets of Haunted House #18, 22, 27–29, 32, 46 • Sgt. Rock #327, 329, 334, 335, 338–341, 346–349, 353–355, 358, 359, 363, 365, 369, 371, 378, 403 • Sgt. Rock Special #6 • Time Warp #2 • The Unexpected #191, 214, 218, 221 • The Unknown Soldier #226–228 • Weird War Tales #74, 77, 78, 86, 87 Plus writing credits for other publishers on titles including Bedlam, Creepy, Eerie, 50’s Funnies, and Sojourn.
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Re: BACK ISSUE #144. Just so you know, the photo of John Byrne that ran on Page 48 is mine. You’ve used it before, with the proper credit, but not this time. I just thought I’d clarify that it is mine. The other three photos of mine that you used in the issue were properly credited, so I appreciate that. – Luigi Novi
Congratulations on the publication We regret the error, Luigi. And as of The Team-Up Companion! My always, thank you for your kind copy arrived yesterday, and I can’t provision of creator photos. wait to take a deep dive into it. However, having flipped ‘POWERS’ TO THE PEOPLE through the Brave & Bold index, I Regarding the letter I wrote have to report that your statement about BI #132’s sensational regarding Bill Kelley, writer of Marvel miniseries content, Simon B&B #162 (page 214), is incorrect. Bullivant, in an impressive Kelley is not a pseudonym of epistle-like fashion via BI #144’s Murray Boltinoff, but is a discrete “Back Talk” pages, asserts, guy, a freelance writer who “Tom Powers (BI #138) makes sold some scripts to Boltinoff, an all-too-common mistake I think, but definitely sold some TM & © Michael Eury and TwoMorrows Publishing. when he refers to apartheid in mystery stories to Paul Levitz. I South Africa first coming to the think Paul was trying him out on transitioning to superhero material with a Sgt. Rock issue ‘world’s attention’ in 1988, when what he really means of B&B (thus my recollection that he worked for Murray is America’s attention.” While I truly appreciate Mr. Bullivant’s subsequent— on war stories). He was a nice guy who seems to have and eloquent—UK-based history lesson delineating how dropped out of comics. – Mike W. Barr both his fellow countrymen and family fought against the injustices of apartheid long before the 1980s, I must Thank you, Paul and Mike, for setting the record straight. point out that I actually wrote “1984” in my letter, I regret the error and humbly extend my apologies to Bill not “1988.” Additionally, I wish to clarify that I was Kelley. Below you’ll find a checklist of Mr. Kelley’s DC Comics paraphrasing the following comment that had appeared writing credits, culled from the Grand Comics Database in David J. Walker’s excellent BI #132 Black Panther article: “Had Black Panther vol. 2 been published in 1984 as (comics.org). But first, we must note one additional Team-Up Companion originally planned, it very well may have stood out as error: On page 22, the inset cover should have been of The being more groundbreaking. For one thing, the world Brave and the Bold #85 (Batman/Green Arrow), not B&B of pop entertainment was just beginning to take a stand #79 (Batman/Deadman). Last-minute layout alterations against apartheid in South Africa….” – Tom Powers created this unfortunate mistake. 90 • BACK ISSUE • Batmen of the 1970s
TM & © DC Comics.
BILL KELLEY DC COMICS CREDITS
Our old pal—himself a Batman of the 1970s (and beyond)!— Terry Austin recently shared with us photocopies of his recent fabulous and fun sketchbook entries, including a variety of fantasy Brave and Bold covers featuring nutty Batman team-ups with some of DC’s older humor characters.
Here’s Terry’s team-up between the Caped Crusader and a DC Golden Ager that some of you may not even recognize. The cover’s villain, though, needs no introduction. Thanks, Terry! Want to see more of Mr. Austin’s cool cartoons and fun fantasy covers? Let ye ed know!
Art © 2023 Terry Austin. Characters TM & © DC Comics.
A BATMAN BONUS!
Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 91
IT AIN’T THE COVER OF ‘THE ROLLING STONE’…
Thank you so much for my complimentary copies of BI #144, which contained my article about 2000AD’s Flesh. It was also a thrill to go to Forbidden Planet to actually buy a copy! I had to reserve it, as the store had sold out! It has been such an honor writing for BACK ISSUE, and I just want to thank you again for the opportunity. – Paul Burns Welcome to our pages as a contributor, Paul! Hopefully your Flesh article in issue #144 is the first of many. Paul was so jazzed by seeing his byline in print that he sent these photos…
ARE YOU READY FOR ‘DARK DETECTIVE III’?
Your magazine did it again and inspired me to connect with one of my favorite comic creators. I found out years ago that Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers had worked on a third installment of their interpretation of Batman, but that it had never been published due to the death of the great Mr. Rogers. Being a loyal, lifelong fan of both creators, I longed to read and admire as much of that story as possible. A couple of years ago, while reading BACK ISSUE #118 from TwoMorrows, I discovered that Mr. Englehart had published the story on his website. It took me a while to find a way to download it on my computer and I immediately printed out all pages that were available for fear that I might lose the electronic version. Finally, I would be able to read the story. But it was a very awkward way to read the six issues, printed out as they were on individual pages. What could I possibly come up to enhance my reading experience? As I pondered the possibilities, another thought kept swirling around in my mind. In that BACK ISSUE interview with Englehart, he mentioned how he had always envisaged his first Batman epic in the ’70s with Rogers as being titled Dark Detective, while their second outing together in 2005 would be called Dark Detective II, even though it was the first one to actually bear the title “Dark Detective.” Their unpublished third volume together would ideally have assumed the moniker of Dark Detective III. And then it hit me. Like a brick wall. Or better yet, as a bat crashing through the window in my study: I would publish issues from the three volumes with the titles that Englehart had originally intended. Working with Jesse Giffin, my trusted partner in the printing business at Cansel Printing in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, it would be easy enough to modify the logo from the 2005 miniseries and apply it covers from the original run in Detective Comics, and then 92 • BACK ISSUE • Batmen of the 1970s
modify it again by adding a couple of Roman numerals and adding it to an issue from the second arc. But what about the covers for the third story? I was at a loss, until one fateful day when my comic-collecting buddy, Ron Koomas, contacted me out of the blue to tell me that he had found a copy of the Marshall Rogers Batman Portfolio from the early 1980s, published by SQR. Eureka! I would use the four plates plus the front cover black-and-white drawing as covers, with Jesse working his magic to come up with the Dark Detective logo, adding three Roman numerals this time. Because there were six issues in this third story, I would just need one more image of Batman rendered by Rogers. The most appropriate one I could think of was the cover to BACK ISSUE #51, where Englehart recounts his time on the character in the ’70s. This being in early 2022 when Covid restrictions in Canada were still mostly in place, I would have to find a way to get my hands on the portfolio since my friend Ron was in Ottawa, I was in Moncton, and the portfolio was in Massachusetts. Luckily, in June 2022 I was able to scoot over to Ron’s. He had been able to bring the portfolio to his home in the spring. All the pieces were in place. In the fall, I brought the issues and the portfolio to Jesse, and in March 2023 the issues were published. I sent a message to Steve Englehart to see if he was interested in receiving copies of the issues. He responded right away, so I sent the books and awaited his reaction. Along with the books, I sent him a letter that explained why I chose the specific image for each issue, using text from his script for Dark Detective III that matched the covers. For DD3 #1, the line was the following: “Batman, running through the midst of the flaming Joker House… this is %$#% dangerous and he doesn’t have much time.” For DD3 #2, this is what Englehart wrote: “Bat prowling London roofs. The sun never sets on the British Empire, said Lord Salisbury but it is setting on Britain when the Bat is seen once more.” In DD3 #3, these two lines together conveyed the spirit of the image that I chose: “Outside, he looks to the sky—no planes today. He’s keeping more to the shadows than when he was spotted before.” DD3 #4 had the perfect line for the cover to BACK ISSUE #51: “Bat leaps to desperation into an abyss between buildings.” Englehart set up things perfectly with the following line for the image I chose for DD3 #5: “Hidden gate slams shut behind them, leaving Bat and the rapidly approaching cops.” For DD3 #6, the following lines could only have been written for the cover; I chose: “God help me, I love being the Batman,” and “Bat moves thru darkness and is every inch the Batman.” Mr. Englehart responded as soon as he received the package, writing, “Well, I’m stunned, Wade. I can understand liking something, but spending your own money to craft your liking is amazing. The comics really are little works of art. I’m honored to have entertained you. (…) I would be fine if you want to share the comics with the world. People should see them.” And then a few days later he wrote to me again: “The longer I have them, the more I appreciate not only the passion but also the professionalism involved. They’re very well done. Now if only DC would do something similar.” And so, I am calling out to anyone at DC Comics to see if there is any interest in publishing Dark Detective III, perhaps as a way to commemorate the upcoming 50th anniversary of the first work by Englehart and Rogers on Batman in Detective Comics. My email address is carwade@nb.sympatico.ca, and I would love to connect with anyone at DC to discuss this possibility. – Wade AuCoin Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
Batman TM & © DC Comics.
Thanks for including the Dark Detective III covers along with your letter, Wade. You are comics’ No. 1 Dark Detective Fan! Hopefully, someone from DC Comics will read your appeal.
OUR MOST POPULAR ISSUE??
I’ve really been enjoying the last several issues since “NotReady-for-Primetime Marvel Heroes” [BI #139]. I was never really interested in those issues when they originally came out, not being a Marvel fan then. So I really didn’t have much in them now, but I appreciate how you mix up the content to get a nice variety of topics so there will always be fans that will have an interest. I loved the Neal Adams issue [BACK ISSUE #143], even though I have the Superman and Batman companions [The Krypton Companion and The Batcave Companion, from which #142’s Superman and Batman articles were extracted—ed.].
I met Neal at a NY Comicon a number of years ago. He was great. There was a fan and his young son talking to him and Neal pulled out one of the Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams hardcover, signed it, and gave it to the boy. I wouldn’t have minded had he given one to me. What impressed me most about him was his fight for creator rights, whether it was Siegel and Shuster or informing artists what each other was making. What a crusader! Being a Tarzan fan, I enjoyed the Ka-Zar issue [BI #144] as well as the Spidey Villains issue [#145]. Loved the Kingpin article, Lizard, etc. I’m just curious, Michael, which edition of BACK ISSUE has been the most popular issue to date? I’d vote for the tabloids issue [#61]; so glad it was reprinted as a longbox edition, having missed the tabloid size, and it running for about $150 on eBay. Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 93
Once again, thank you for putting out such a quality and entertaining publication. Far better than many comics being published today. –Yaakov Gerber Yaakov, BACK ISSUE’s sales figures remain fairly consistent issue to issue—that’s why we’re lucky to keep producing this magazine after over 20 years now! Some special issues do tend to sell a little better—and sell out faster—though. Recent examples are the aforementioned Adams tribute (#143) and the George Pérez issue (#147). Yes, the Tabloids and Treasuries issue (#61) sold out quickly. Our first Hollywood issue, BI #5, with its Alex Ross and Adam Hughes flip covers of Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman, was another fast-seller. As I recall, the first issue of BI to sell out was issue #13, a ’70s Comics spotlight with a Nick Cardy cover (with inks by Scott Hanna).
TARZAN’S MARVEL ADVENTURE
Allan, thank you for this valuable information, and for its remastered scan, which you kindly provided for our readers.
CRAZY ABOUT BI
Huge Euryman fan here. BACK ISSUE and RetroFan are currently my favorite reads, every month or two. No matter the topic, the writing style and content make things interesting. The Ka-Zar retrospective [BACK ISSUE #144] is a good case in point. Excellent coverage of a character that floated around the Marvel Universe and showed up when needed. I distinctly remember issues #10–20 of his series and always wondered why it ended and why a very cool storyline was given a half-assed end by Claremont and Byrne. I don’t blame them—X-Men was on a roll at that time. It’s too bad Ka-Zar couldn’t show up in Two-in-One to resolve it. This generates a question or two: Have you or anyone ever looked at the history of the Super-Soldier Serum? The formula kept popping up in libraries or other places in various mags. Second, why has Marvel not done a Ka-Zar Epic Collection or a Dr. Doom Epic Collection? I suppose you can’t answer that. Also really enjoyed the Annihilus retro. He’s a very complex character and has been given a lot of play. I wish we had been given more appearance references—such as the Annihilation books in various series (which reignited the use Marvel’s space heroes, such as Ronan, etc.). That’s something (references) that I find missing too many times. I really like the definition and history of the Negative Zone. Wow, 20 years! Nice going. No requests or brainstorming ideas, just a “have a nice day” and “keep ’em flying”! – Steve Andrews 94 • BACK ISSUE • Batmen of the 1970s
Tarzan TM & © Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.
The undated Buscema Tarzan piece [in BI #144’s “Rough Stuff” column, on page 38—ed.] appeared as a pinup in Marvel’s Tarzan #1, although as is often the way the pencil version has a lot more life to it. – Allan Harvey
So glad you like my magazines! My main job, of course, is to bring together different writing styles into a cohesive package. I’m fortunate to have a lot of talented writers who like contributing to BACK ISSUE (RetroFan, too). Super-Solider Serum? No, we’ve never done an article about that... and it’s an intriguing idea. I know that Marvel has released Omnibus editions for Ka-Zar (the Bruce Jones era) and Dr. Doom, but until your letter it hadn’t dawned on me that neither has received his own Epic Collection. Marvel is very robust when reprinting their Bronze Age library, though, so maybe these will join their booklists.
Didn’t believe it possible, but you actually did come up with some aspects of Ka-Zar that captured my interest. I recall his appearances on the ’60s covers you had on display. Thanks for including those, especially Daredevil #13, with the absolute classic DD pose by Jack Kirby. It’s been so long, I hadn’t recalled that Marvel had brought Ka-Zar back in a split book series [in this case Astonishing Tales, which Ka-Zar split with Dr. Doom— ed.]. I found that exploration to be of great interest. Roy Thomas mused that the format seemed passé to both the readers and Marvel. On a sales basis, perhaps. As Roy mentioned, the focus was on full books. Yet the split books of just a few years earlier were always enjoyable. In fact, I was sorry they ended. They always used the shorter space more effectively to tell a decent story. And once they converted to full titles, in early 1968, we lost Gene Colan on Iron Man almost immediately, and Jim Steranko on S.H.I.E.L.D. less than half a year later. The creative crews at Marvel were always pressed for time, so a split book could have been a viable option, productionwise. Or they could have gone with full books, only on a bimonthly basis. Same thing but for less-regular appearances on the spinner racks. Well, other than inviting the reader to sample a different character along the way. But, if the readers of the day didn’t positively respond, as per Roy’s account, end of conversation. Whether split or full books, a recurring problem, in the ’70s, was the lack of consistent creative teams. Frequent turnover. Hard to get enthused with a character that reads and looks different every few issues. Candidly, despite being a Lee/Kirby character, Ka-Zar was not a particular favorite. Points to both Stan and Jack, as Ka-Zar wasn’t a costumed superhero—they were trying for something else. But subtract a point or two as he was similar to another literary character who pounded his chest and swung from vines. I really never could understand the allure of hanging out with—or worse, wrestling—wild jungle animals. Maybe it’s an escape from then-modern society of 1970? The noble savage being more admirable than contemporary man? I never recall considering leaving comfortable civilization for a steamy jungle. In my case, not wish fulfillment. One thing you emphasized, to my delight, was the many cool Gil Kane covers I’d never seen. Some beautiful works. My favorite, surprisingly, was the layout to Savage Tales #8, in rough pencil form. Hard to get a more action-packed scene than that! I was also quite surprised to see a pencil Barry Windsor-Smith Tomb of Dracula #8 cover. I’d never even heard of it before. I only wished he’d had a chance to ink it with all his meticulous detail. An absolutely unexpected treat. What was objectionable: that it was a medium shot and not a closeup? Do have two questions, though 53 years tardy: 1) Jack Kirby didn’t ordinarily borrow existing characters from other books for his stories, especially so late in his Marvel run (1970). So, why Kraven the Hunter? Did Stan suggest it? [Editor’s note: In case you missed BI #144,
TM & © Marvel.
NOT SO CRAZY ABOUT KA-ZAR
Kraven guest-starred in Kirby’s Ka-Zar tale in Astonishing Tales #1 and (above) 2.] 2) Why cancel Astonishing Tales with #20, only to issue the exact same thing under new numbering the following month? Was it so they’d get a sales spike with a new #1? – Joe Frank Do any of you Marvelites have answers to Joe’s questions? Next issue: Dreams and Nightmares, headlined by a star-studded examination of NEIL GAIMAN’s Sandman and a Gaiman interview! Plus: Sandman Mystery Theatre’s MATT WAGNER and STEVEN T. SEAGLE, Dr. Strange’s nemesis Nightmare, Marvel’s Sleepwalker, Casper’s horse Nightmare, & more. Featuring SHELLY BOND, BOB BUDIANSKY, STEVE ENGLEHART, ALISA KWITNEY, and a Who’s Who of Sandman artists! Featuring a 1991 Sandman and Death cover illustration by KELLEY JONES. Don’t ask—just BI it! See you in sixty! Your friendly neighborhood Euryman, Michael Eury, editor-in-chief
Sandman and Death TM & © DC Comics. BACK ISSUE TM & © TwoMorrows Publishing.
Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 95
19942024 UPDATE #1
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IT ROSE FROM THE TOMB An all-new book written by PETER NORMANTON
Rising from the depths of history comes an ALL-NEW examination of the 20th Century’s best horror comics, written by PETER NORMANTON (editor of From The Tomb, the UK’s preeminent magazine on the genre). From the pulps and seminal horror comics of the 1940s, through ones they tried to ban in the 1950s, this tome explores how the genre survived the introduction of the Comics Code, before making its terrifying return during the 1960s and 1970s. Come face-to-face with the early days of ACG’s alarming line, every horror comic from June 1953, hypodermic horrors, DC’s Gothic romance comics, Marvel’s Giant-Size terrors, Skywald and Warren’s chillers, and Atlas Seaboard’s shocking magazines. The 192-page full-color opus exhumes BERNIE WRIGHTSON’s darkest constructs, plus artwork by FRANK FRAZETTA, NEAL ADAMS, MIKE KALUTA, STEVE DITKO, MATT FOX, WARREN KREMER, LEE ELIAS, BILL EVERETT, RUSS HEATH, THE GURCH, and many more. Don’t turn your back on this once-in-a-lifetime spine-chiller—it’s so good, it’s frightening! (192-page SOFTCOVER) $31.95 • (Digital Edition) $15.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-123-3 • NOW SHIPPING!
ALTER EGO #188
All characters TM
& © their respecti
ve owners.
Double-size 25th Anniversary Edition, edited by ROY THOMAS
A special DOUBLE-SIZE (160-PAGE) ISSUE with twin (flip) covers—one for Marvel, one for DC—celebrating 25 years of ALTER EGO at TwoMorrows! The Marvel side includes DAVID ARMSTRONG’s Comic-Con mini-interviews with JOHN BUSCEMA, MARIE SEVERIN, JIM MOONEY, & GEORGE TUSKA—plus “STAN LEE’s Dinner with ALAIN RESNAIS,” as annotated by SEAN HOWE! On the DC side: ARMSTRONG’s short talks with CARMINE INFANTINO, JOHN BROOME, JULIUS SCHWARTZ, JOE KUBERT, & MURPHY ANDERSON—plus a special photo-feature on GARDNER FOX, featuring his extended family! All this, plus FCA, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, and more! SHIPS JUNE 2024! (160-page COLOR magazine) $21.95 (Digital Edition) $9.99 Counts as TWO ISSUES toward your subscription!
BACK ISSUE # 150 Edited by MICHAEL EURY
Back Issue #150 is our oversized 100-Page Super Spectacular sesquicentennial edition, featuring Batmen of the 1970s! Exploring the work of Bronze Age Batman artists Bob Brown, Dick Giordano, Irv Novick, Frank Robbins, Walter Simonson, Alex Toth, & Bernie Wrightson. Plus: revisit Frank Miller’s first Batman story! NOW SHIPPING! (100-page COLOR magazine) $12.95 (Digital Edition) $5.99
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ALTER EGO #189
ALTER EGO #190
ALTER EGO #191
BACK ISSUE #151
BACK ISSUE #152
JOHN ROMITA tribute issue! Podcast recollections recorded shortly after the Jazzy One’s passing by JOHN ROMITA JR., JIM STARLIN, STEVE ENGLEHART, BRIAN PULIDO, ROY THOMAS, JAIMIE JAMESON, JOHN CIMINO, STEVE HOUSTON, & NILE SCALA; DAVID ARMSTRONG’s mini-interview with Romita; John Romita’s ten greatest hits; plus FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, & more!
MITCH MAGLIO examines vintage jungle comics heroes (Kaänga, Ka-Zar, Sheena, Rulah, Jo-Jo/Congo King, Thun’da, Tarzan) with art by LOU FINE, WILL EISNER, FRANK FRAZETTA, MATT BAKER, BOB POWELL, ALEX SCHOMBURG, and others! Plus: the comicbook career of reallife jungle explorers MARTIN AND OSA JOHNSON, FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and more!
#191 is an FCA (FAWCETT COLLECTORS OF AMERICA) issue! Documenting the influence of MAC RABOY’s Captain Marvel Jr. on the life, career, and look of ELVIS PRESLEY during his stellar career, from the 1950s through the 1970s! Plus: Captain Marvel co-creator BILL PARKER’s complete testimony from the DC vs. Fawcett lawsuit, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and other surprises!
DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES! A who’s who of artists of NEIL GAIMAN’s The Sandman plus a GAIMAN interview, Sandman Mystery Theatre’s MATT WAGNER and STEVEN T. SEAGLE, Dr. Strange’s nemesis Nightmare, Marvel’s Sleepwalker, Casper’s horse Nightmare, with SHELLY BOND, BOB BUDIANSKY, STEVE ENGLEHART, ALISA KWITNEY, and others! KELLEY JONES cover.
MARVELMANIA ISSUE! SAL BUSCEMA’s Avengers, FABIAN NICIEZA’s Captain America, and KURT BUSIEK and ALEX ROSS’s Marvels turns 30! Plus: Marvelmania International, Marvel Age, Marvel Classics, PAUL KUPPERBERG’s Marvel Novels, and Marvel Value Stamps. Featuring JACK KIRBY, KEVIN MAGUIRE, ROY THOMAS, and more! SAL BUSCEMA cover.
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BACK ISSUE #153
BACK ISSUE #154
BACK ISSUE #155
BACK ISSUE #156
KIRBY COLLECTOR #91
BIG BABY ISSUE! X-Babies, the last days of Sugar and Spike, FF’s Franklin Richards, Superbaby vs. Luthor, Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine, Baby Snoots, Marvel and Harvey kid humor comics, & more! With ARTHUR ADAMS, CARY BATES, JOHN BYRNE, CHRIS CLAREMONT, SCOTT LOBDELL, SHELDON MAYER, CURT SWAN, ROY THOMAS, and other grownup creators. Cover by ARTHUR ADAMS.
BRONZE AGE NOT-READY-FORPRIMETIME DC HEROES! Black Canary, Elongated Man, Lilith, Metamorpho, Nubia, Odd Man, Ultraa of Earth-Prime, Vartox, and Jimmy Olsen as Mr. Action! Plus: Jason’s Quest! Featuring MIKE W. BARR, CARY BATES, STEVE DITKO, BOB HANEY, DENNY O’NEIL, MIKE SEKOWSKY, MARK WAID, and more ready-for-primetime talent. Retro cover by NICK CARDY.
THIS ISSUE IS HAUNTED! House of Mystery, House of Secrets, Unexpected, Marvel’s failed horror anthologies, Haunted Tank, Eerie Publications, House II adaptation, Elvira’s House of Mystery, and more wth NEAL ADAMS, MIKE W. BARR, DICK GIORDANO, SAM GLANZMAN, ROBERT KANIGHER, JOE ORLANDO, STERANKO, BERNIE WRIGHTSON, and others. Unused cover by GARCÍA-LÓPEZ & WRIGHTSON.
BRONZE AGE GRAPHIC NOVELS! 1980s GNs from Marvel, DC, and First Comics, Conan GNs, and DC’s Sci-Fi GN series! With BRENT ANDERSON, JOHN BYRNE, HOWARD CHAYKIN, CHRIS CLAREMONT, JOSÉ LUIS GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, JACK KIRBY, DON MCGREGOR, BOB McLEOD, BILL SIENKIEWICZ, JIM STARLIN, ROY THOMAS, BERNIE WRIGHTSON, and more. WRIGHTSON cover.
30th Anniversary issue, with KIRBY’S GREATEST VICTORIES! Jack gets the girl (wife ROZ), early hits Captain America and Boy Commandos, surviving WWII, romance comics, Captain Victory and the direct market, his original art battle with Marvel, and finally winning credit! Plus MARK EVANIER, a colossal gallery of Kirby’s winningest pencil art, a never-reprinted SIMON & KIRBY story, and more!
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AMERICAN COMIC BOOK COMIC BOOK CREATOR #34 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #35 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #36 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #37 PALMER retrospective, career-spanSTEVE ENGLEHART is spotlighted in CHRONICLES: 1945-49 DAN JURGENS talks about Superman, Sun An in-depth look at the life and career of TOM ning interview, and tributes compiled by
Covers the aftermath of WWII, when comics shifted from super-heroes to crime, romance, and western comics, BILL GAINES plotted a new course for EC Comics, and SIEGEL & SHUSTER sued for rights to Superman! By RICHARD ARNDT, KURT MITCHELL, and KEITH DALLAS.
(288-page COLOR HARDCOVER) $49.95 (Digital Edition) $15.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-099-1
SHIPS SUMMER 2024
Devils, creating Booster Gold, developing the “Doomsday scenario” with the demise of the Man of Steel, and more! Traverse DON GLUT’s “Glutverse” continuity across Gold Key, Marvel, and DC! Plus RICK ALTERGOTT, we conclude our profiles of MIKE DEODATO, JR. and FRANK BORTH, LINDA SUNSHINE (editor of DC/Marvel hardcover super-hero collections), & more!
writer/editor DENNY O’NEIL, and part one of a career-spanning interview with ARNOLD DRAKE, co-creator of The Doom Patrol and Deadman! Plus the story behind Studio Zero, the ’70s collective of JIM STARLIN, FRANK BRUNNER, ALAN WEISS, and others! Warren horror mag writer/ historian JACK BUTTERWORTH, alternative cartoonist TIM HENSLEY, & more!
GREG BIGA. LEE MARRS chats about assisting on Little Orphan Annie, work for DC’s Plop! and underground Pudge, Girl Blimp! The start of a multi-part look at the life and career of DAN DIDIO, part two of our ARNOLD DRAKE interview, public service comics produced by students at the CENTER FOR CARTOON STUDIES, & more!
a career-spanning interview, former DC Comics’ romance editor BARBARA FRIEDLANDER redeems the late DC editor JACK MILLER, DAN DIDIO discusses going from DC exec to co-publisher, we conclude our 100th birthday celebration for ARNOLD DRAKE, take a look at the 1970s underground comix oddity THE FUNNY PAGES, and more, including HEMBECK!
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New from TwoMorrows!
ALTER EGO #186
ALTER EGO #187
KIRBY COLLECTOR #88
KIRBY COLLECTOR #89
KIRBY COLLECTOR #90
Focuses on great early science-fiction author EDMUND HAMILTON, who went on to an illustrious career at DC Comics, writing Superman, Batman, and especially The Legion of Super-Heroes! Learn all about his encounters with RAY BRADBURY, MORT WEISINGER, JULIUS SCHWARTZ, et al—a panoply of titans! Plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and more!
THE COLLECTORS! Fans’ quest for and purchase of Jack’s original art and comics, MARV WOLFMAN shares his (and LEN WEIN’s) interactions with Jack as fans and pros, unseen Kirby memorabilia, an extensive Kirby pencil art gallery, MARK EVANIER moderating the 2023 Kirby Tribute Panel from Comic-Con International, plus a deluxe wrap-around Kirby cover with foldout back cover flap, inked by MIKE ROYER!
KIRBY CONSPIRACIES! Darkseid’s Foourth World palace intrigue, the too-many attempted overthrows of Odin, why Stan Lee hated Diablo, Kang contradictions, Simon & Kirby swipes, a never-reprinted S&K story, MARK EVANIER’s WonderCon 2023 Kirby Tribute Panel (with MARV WOLFMAN, PAUL S. LEVINE, and JOHN MORROW), an extensive Kirby pencil art gallery, and more!
WHAT IF KIRBY... hadn’t been stopped by his rejected Spider-Man presentation? DC’s abandonment of the Fourth World? The ill-fated Speak-Out Series? FREDRIC WERTHAM’s anti-comics crusade? The CIA’s involvement with the Lord of Light? Plus a rare Kirby interview, MARK EVANIER and our other columnists, a classic Simon & Kirby story, pencil art gallery, & more! Cover inks by DAMIAN PICKADOR ZAJKO!
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All characters TM & © their respective owners.
Spotlights ANGELO TORRES, the youngest and last of the fabled EC Comics artists— who went on to a fabulous career as a horror, science-fiction, and humor artist for Timely/Marvel, Warren Publishing, and MAD magazine! It’s a lushly illustrated retrospective of his still-ongoing career— plus FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and more
RETROFAN #35
RETROFAN #36
COMIC BOOK CREATOR #33
BRICKJOURNAL #85
Saturday morning super-hero Space Ghost, plus The Beatles, The Jackson 5ive, and other real rockers in animation! Also: The Addams Family’s JOHN ASTIN, Mighty Isis co-stars JOANNA PANG and BRIAN CUTLER, TV’s The Name of the Game, on the set of Evil Dead II, classic coffee ads, and more! With ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, MARK VOGER & MICHAEL EURY.
Feel the G-Force of Eighties sci-fi toon BATTLE OF THE PLANETS! Plus: The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.’s STEFANIE POWERS, CHUCK CONNORS, The Oddball World of SCTV, Rankin/Bass’ stop-motion Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, TV’s Greatest Catchphrases, one-season TV shows, and more! With ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, MARK VOGER & MICHAEL EURY.
STEVE GERBER biographical essay and collaborator insights, MARY SKRENES on co-creating Omega the Unknown, helping develop Howard the Duck, VAL MAYERIK cover and interview, ROY THOMAS reveals STAN LEE’s unseen EXCELSIOR! COMICS line, LINDA SUNSHINE (editor of early hardcover super-hero collections), more with MIKE DEODATO, and the concluding segment on FRANK BORTH!
LEGO MINIFIGURES! Customized minifigs by fans, designing the Disney minifigures from LEGO House, spotlight on minifig fan artist ROBERT8, and more! Plus, all our regular features: Nerding Out with BRICKNERD, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, Bantha Bricks: Fans of LEGO Star Wars, and Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS!
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RETROFAN #34
Take a ride with CHiPs’ ERIK ESTRADA and LARRY WILCOX! Plus: an interview with movie Hercules STEVE REEVES, WeirdOhs cartoonist BILL CAMPBELL, Plastic Man on Saturday mornings, TINY TIM, Remo Williams, the search for a Disney artist, and more! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER. Edited by MICHAEL EURY.