By Bob Kane, Don Cameron, Bill Finger, Jack Schiff, Jerry Robinson, George Roussos, Jack & Ray Burnley (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-56389-983-3
This fourth captivating deluxe hardback chronicle of yarns from the dawn of his career encompasses Batman #13-16 (October/November 1942- April/May 1943) and again features adventures produced during the scariest days of World War II which helped to the gladden the young hearts of overseas and home-front heroes alike.
The feature had grown into a media sensation and pocket industry and just as with predecessor and trendsetter Superman had necessitated an expansion of dedicated creative staff.
It’s certainly no coincidence that many of these Golden Age treasures are also some of the best beloved tales in the Batman canon, as co-creator and lead writer Bill Finger was increasingly supplemented by the talents of Don Cameron, Jack Schiff and others as the Dynamic Duo became a hugely successful franchise. The war seemed to stimulate a peak of creativity and production, with everybody on the Home Front keen to do their bit – even if that was simply making kids of all ages forget their troubles for a brief while…
After a comprehensive overview in the Foreword from professional fan and historian Bill Schelly the contents of Batman #13 opened with ‘The Batman Plays a Lone Hand’ (Cameron, Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson & George Roussos) tugging heartstrings as the Dark Knight fired Robin, kicked out Dick Grayson and returned to his anti-crime campaign as a solo act. Of course there was a perfectly logical reason…
They were back together again and on more traditional ground when the Joker caught the acting bug and organised a ‘Comedy of Tears’ (Schiff, Kane, Robinson & Roussos), after which ‘The Story of the Seventeen Stones!’ (scripted by Finger, drawn by Jack Burnley & inked by brother Ray) presented a deliciously experimental murder-mystery and the  heroes slipped into more comfortable Agatha Christie – or perhaps Alfred Hitchcock – territory when they tackled a portmanteau of crimes on a train in ‘Destination: Unknown!’ by Cameron, Kane, Robinson & Roussos.
Cameron wrote all four stories in Batman #14 beginning with ‘The Case Batman Failed to Solve’, (illustrated by Jerry Robinson) – a superb example of the sheer decency of the Caped Crusader as he fudged a mystery for the best possible reason, whilst ‘Prescription for Happiness’ (with art from Kane, Robinson & Roussos) is a classic example of the human interest drama that used to typify Batman tales as a poor doctor discovered his own true worth, and ‘Swastika Over the White House!’ (Jack & Ray Burnley) was typical of the blistering spy-busting action yarns readers were lapping up at the time. The final story ‘Bargains in Banditry!’ – also by the Burnley boys – was another canny crime caper featuring the Penguin wherein the Wily Old Bird stopped committing crimes and began selling the plans for his convoluted capers to other crooks…
Batman #15 led with Schiff, Kane, Robinson & Roussos’s Catwoman romp ‘Your Face is your Fortune!’ with the Feline Fury taking on a job at a swanky Beauty Parlour to gain info for her crimes and inadvertently falling for Society Batchelor Bruce Wayne, whilst Cameron and those Burnley boys introduced plucky homeless boy Bobby Deen ‘The Boy Who Wanted to be Robin!’ and proved he had what it takes to do the job.
The same team created the powerful propaganda tale ‘The Two Futures’, which examined what America would be like under Nazi subjugation and ‘The Loneliest Men in the World’ (Cameron, Kane, Robinson & Roussos) was – and still is – one of the very best Seasonal Batman tales ever created; full of pathos, drama, fellow-feeling and action as the Dynamic Duo brought Christmas to a selection of dedicated but overlooked workers and public servants …
The landmark Batman #16 (April/May 1943) opened with one of three tales by Cameron ‘The Joker Reforms!’ (Kane, Robinson & Roussos) wherein the Clown Prince suffers a blow to the head and a complete personality shift, but not for long – after which Ruth “Bunny Lyons†Kaufman scripted a bold and fascinating black market milk caper in ‘The Grade A Crimes!’ for Ray & Jack Burney to dynamically delineate.
‘The Adventure of the Branded Tree’ (Cameron and the Burnleys) saw the Gotham Gangbusters head to lumberjack country for a vacation and become embroiled in big city banditry before the issue and the action conclude with the hilarious thriller-comedy ‘Here Comes Alfred!’ (Cameron, Kane, Robinson & Roussos) which foisted a rotund, unwelcome and staggeringly faux-English manservant upon the Masked Manhunters to finally complete the classic core cast of the series in a brilliantly fast-paced spy-drama with loads of laughs and buckets of tension.
These torrid tales from creators at their absolute peak and heroes at their most primal are even more readable now that I don’t have to worry about damaging an historical treasure simply by turning a page. This is perhaps the only way to truly savour these Golden Age greats and perhaps one day all ancient comics will be preserved this way…
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