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By various (DC Comics)
ISBN 1-84576-661-X
No matter how much we might squeal and foam about it, to a huge portion of this planet’s population Batman is always going to be that “Zap!†“Pow!†caped boy scout and buffoon of the 1960s television show. It was just that popular and all-consuming.
Regrettably that has meant that the comic stories from Batman and Detective Comics published during that period have been similarly excoriated and maligned by most Batfans ever since. It is true that some tales were crafted with overtones of the “camp†fad, presumably to accommodate newer readers seduced by the arch silliness and coy irony of the show, but no editor of Julius Schwartz’s calibre would ever deviate far from the characterisation that had sustained the Batman for nearly thirty years, or the recent re-launch that had revitalised him enough for television to take an interest at all. Nor would such brilliant writers as John Broome, Bill Finger, Gardner Fox and Robert Kanigher ever produce work that didn’t resonate on all the Batman’s intricate levels just for a quick laugh and a cheap thrill.
This volume from the wonderfully cheap and cheerful ‘Showcase Presents…’ imprint re-presents all thirty-six Batman stories from September 1965 to December 1966 (which originally appeared in Batman #175-188 and Detective Comics #343-358) in beautiful, crisp black and white. The artists include such greats as Carmine Infantino, Sheldon Moldoff, Chic Stone, Joe Giella, Murphy Anderson and Sid Greene, as well as covers from Gil Kane and Joe Kubert supplementing the stunning and trend-setting, fine-line masterpieces of Infantino.
Most of the stories reflect the gentles times and stated editorial policy of spotlighting Batman’s reputation as “The World’s Greatest Detectiveâ€, so the colourful, psychotic costumed super-villains are in a minority, but there’s still the first two appearances of Poison Ivy and Blockbuster, as well as debuts for The Cluemaster and Doctor Tzin-Tzin, and second stringers such as The Bouncer, The Birdmaster, Monarch of Menace, and even the Flash’s nemesis The Weather Wizard.
The Riddler and the Joker (in possibly his most innocuous exploit ‘The Joker’s Original Robberies’) are included, and there are a couple of guest appearances from the super-stretchy Elongated Man (a sleuth in the manner of Nick “Thin Man†Charles, and the long running back-up feature in Detective Comics), in the tense thriller the ‘Secret War of the Phantom General’, and again in ‘Two Batmen Too Many!’ with the Atom thrown in for good measure.
The bulk of the stories here are thefts, capers, plots and schemes by world conquerors, heist men, would-be murderers and mad scientists, and I must say it is a joy to see these once-staples of comic books again. You can have too much psycho-killing, I say, and just how many alien races really, really want our poxy planet – or even our women?
And yes there are one or two dafter tales but overall this is a window to a simpler time but not simpler fare. These Batman adventures are tense, thrilling, engrossing and engaging, and I’d have no qualms giving these to my niece or my granny.
Stay tuned and become a Bat-fan.
© 2007 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.