{"id":28885,"date":"2023-11-14T18:34:49","date_gmt":"2023-11-14T18:34:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=28885"},"modified":"2023-11-14T18:34:49","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T18:34:49","slug":"batman-the-golden-age-volume-1-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2023\/11\/14\/batman-the-golden-age-volume-1-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Batman: The Golden Age volume 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" \"\"
\nBy Bob Kane<\/strong>, Bill Finger<\/strong>, Gardner Fox<\/strong>, Whitney Ellsworth<\/strong>, Sheldon Moldoff<\/strong>,<\/em> Jerry Robinson<\/strong>, George Roussos<\/strong> & various (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-4012-6333-1 (TPB\/Digital edition)
\nWin\u2019s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Vintage Comic<\/strong> book Perfection<\/strong>\u2026 10\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next year marks Batman<\/strong>\u2019s 85th<\/sup> Anniversary and we\u2019ll be covering many old and new books about the Dark Knight over the year. However, why not pre-load the noir wonderment with this perfect compilation of how it all began. It\u2019s not too big – like an Omnibus edition – or too small – like a measly pamphlet comic book – and would therefore make an ideal gift for the fan in your life (and we all know I mean you, right\u2026)?<\/em><\/p>\n

Batman: The Golden Age<\/strong> re-presents the Gotham Guardian\u2019s earliest exploits in original chronological order, forgoing glossy, high-definition paper and reproduction techniques in favour of a newsprint-adjacent feel and the same flat, bright-yet-muted colour palette which graced the originals. There\u2019s no fuss, fiddle or Foreword, and the book steams straight into the meat of the matter with the accumulated first year and a half of material featuring the masked mystery-man, plus all those stunning covers spanning Detective Comics<\/strong> #27-45, Batman<\/strong> #1-3 and the Dynamic Duo\u2019s story from New York World\u2019s Fair Comics 1940<\/strong>. That cumulatively covers every groundbreaking escapade from May 1939 to November 1940.<\/p>\n

As Eny Fule Kno, Detective<\/strong> #27 featured the Darknight Detective\u2019s debut in the \u2018Case of the Chemical Syndicate!\u2019<\/em> by Bob Kane and as yet still anonymous close collaborator\/co-originator Bill Finger.<\/p>\n

A spartan, understated yarn introduced dilettante playboy criminologist Bruce Wayne<\/em>, drawn into a straightforward crime-caper as a cabal of industrialists are successively murdered. The killings stop when an eerie figure dubbed \u201cThe Bat-Man\u201d intrudes on Police Commissioner Gordon<\/em>\u2019s stalled investigation to ruthlessly expose and deal with the hidden killer.<\/p>\n

The following issue saw the fugitive vigilante return to crush \u2018Frenchy Blake\u2019s Jewel Gang\u2019<\/em> before encountering his very first psychopathic killer and returning villain in Detective<\/strong> Comics <\/strong>#29. Gardner Fox scripted these next few adventures beginning with \u2018The Batman Meets Doctor Death\u2019<\/em>, in a deadly duel of wits with deranged, greedy general practitioner Karl Hellfern<\/em> and his assorted instruments of murder: the most destructive and diabolical of which was sinister Asiatic manservant Jabah\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

This is my cue to remind all interested parties that these stories were created in far less tolerant times with numerous narrative shortcuts and institutionalised social certainties expressed in all media that most today will find offensive. If that\u2019s a deal-breaker, please pass on this book\u2026 and most literature, pop songs and films created before the 1960s\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Confident of their new villain\u2019s potential, Kane, Fox and inker Sheldon Mayer encored the mad medic for the next instalment and \u2018The Return of Doctor Death\u2019<\/em>, before Fox & Finger co-scripted a 2-part shocker debuting the first bat-plane, Bruce\u2019s girlfriend Julie Madison<\/em> and undead horror The Monk<\/em> in an expansive, globe-girdling spooky saga. \u2018Batman Versus the Vampire\u2019 <\/em>concluded the tale with an epic chase across Eastern Europe and a spectacular climax in a monster-filled castle in issue #32.<\/p>\n

Detective <\/strong>#33 featured Fox & Kane\u2019s \u2018The Batman Wars Against the Dirigible of Doom\u2019<\/em>: a blockbusting disaster thriller which just casually slips in the secret origin of the grim avenger, as mere prelude to intoxicating air-pirate action, before Euro-trash dastard Duc D\u2019Orterre<\/em> finds his uncanny science and unsavoury appetites no match for the mighty Batman in \u2018Peril in Paris\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Bill Finger returned as lead scripter in issue #35, pitting the Cowled Crusader against crazed cultists murdering everyone who had seen their sacred jewel in \u2018The Case of the Ruby Idol\u2019<\/em> – although the many deaths are actually caused by a far more prosaic villain. Inked by new kid Jerry Robinson, grotesque criminal genius \u2018Professor Hugo Strange\u2019<\/em> debuted with his murderous man-made fog and lightning machine in #36, after which all-pervasive enemy agents \u2018The Spies\u2019<\/em> prove no match for the vengeful Masked Manhunter in DC<\/strong> #37.<\/p>\n

Detective Comics<\/strong> #38 (April 1940) changed the landscape of comic books forever with the introduction of \u2018Robin, The Boy Wonder\u2019<\/em>: child trapeze artist Dick Grayson<\/em> – whose parents are murdered before his eyes – thereafter joins Batman in a lifelong quest by bringing to justice mobster mad dog Boss Zucco<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n

After the Flying Grayson\u2019s killers were captured, Batman<\/strong> #1 (Spring 1940) opened proceedings with a recycled origin culled from portions of Detective Comics<\/strong> #33 and 34. \u2018The Legend of the Batman – Who He Is and How He Came to Be!\u2019<\/em> by Fox, Kane & Moldoff delivers in two perfect pages what is still the best ever origin of the character, after which \u2018The Joker\u2019<\/em> (Finger, Kane & Robinson – who also produced all the remaining tales in this astonishing premiere issue) launches the greatest villain in DC\u2019s pantheon via a stunning tale of extortion and wilful wanton murder.<\/p>\n

\u2018Professor Hugo Strange and the Monsters\u2019<\/em> follows as an old adversary returns, unleashing laboratory-grown hyperthyroid horrors to rampage through the terrified city whilst \u2018The Cat\u2019<\/em> – who later added the suffix \u2018Woman\u2019 to her name to avoid any possible doubt or confusion – plies her felonious trade of jewel thief aboard the wrong cruise-liner and falls foul for the first time of the dashing Dynamic Duo.<\/p>\n

The initial issue ends with the \u2018The Joker Returns\u2019<\/em> as the sinister clown breaks jail to resume his terrifying campaign of murder for fun and profit before \u201cdying\u201d in mortal combat with the Gotham Guardians.<\/p>\n

Following a superb pin-up (originally the back cover of that premier issue) of the Dynamic Duo by Kane, tense suspense and all-out action continues in Detective<\/strong> #39 and Finger, Kane & Robinson\u2019s \u2018The Horde of the Green Dragon\u2019<\/em> – \u201coriental\u201d Tong killers in Chinatown – after which \u2018Beware of Clayface!\u2019<\/em> sees the Dynamic Duo solving a string of murders on a film set which almost sees Julie Madison the latest victim of a monstrous movie maniac\u2026<\/p>\n

Batman and Robin solved the baffling mystery of a kidnapped boy in Detective<\/strong> #41\u2019s \u2018A Master Murderer\u2019<\/em> before enjoying their second solo outing in a quartet of comics classics from Batman<\/strong> #2 (Summer 1940). It begins with \u2018Joker Meets Cat-Woman\u2019<\/em> (Finger, Kane, Robinson & new find George Roussos) wherein svelte thief, homicidal jester and a crime syndicate all tussle for the same treasure. with our Caped Crusaders caught in the middle.<\/p>\n

\u2018Wolf, the Crime Master\u2019<\/em> then offers a fascinating take on the classic Jekyll & Hyde tragedy after which an insidious and ingenious mystery ensues in \u2018The Case of the Clubfoot Murderers\u2019<\/em>, before Batman and Robin confront uncanny savages and ruthless showbiz promoters in poignant monster story \u2018The Case of the Missing Link\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u2018Batman and Robin Visit the New York World\u2019s Fair\u2019<\/em> comes from the second New York World\u2019s Fair Comics<\/strong>. Finger, Kane & Roussos followed the vacationing Dynamic Duo as they track down a maniac mastermind with a metal-dissolving ray, after which Detective Comics<\/strong> #42 again finds our heroes ending another murderous maniac\u2019s rampage in \u2018The Case of the Prophetic Pictures!\u2019<\/em> before clashing with a corrupt mayor in #43\u2019s \u2018The Case of the City of Terror!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

An unparalleled hit, Batman stories never rested on their laurels. The creators always sought to expand their parameters, as with Detective<\/strong> #44\u2019s nightmarish fantasy of giants and goblins in \u2018The Land Behind the Light!\u2019<\/em>. Then, Batman<\/strong> #3 (Fall 1940) has Finger, Kane, Robinson & Roussos rise to even greater heights, beginning with \u2018The Strange Case of the Diabolical Puppet Master\u2019<\/em>: an eerie episode of uncanny mesmerism and infamous espionage\u2026<\/p>\n

A grisly scheme unfolds next as innocent citizens are mysteriously transformed into specimens of horror, and artworks destroyed by the spiteful commands of \u2018The Ugliest Man in the World\u2019<\/em> before \u2018The Crime School for Boys!!\u2019<\/em> registers Robin infiltrating a gang who have a cruel and cunning recruitment plan for dead-end kids\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2018The Batman vs. the Cat-Woman\u2019<\/em> lastly reveals the larcenous lady in well over her head when she steals for – and from – the wrong people\u2026<\/p>\n

The issue also offered a worthy Special Feature as \u2018The Batman Says\u2019<\/em> presents an illustrated prose Law & Order pep-talk crafted by Whitney Ellsworth and illustrated by Robinson.<\/p>\n

The all-out action concludes here with a magnificent and horrific Joker jape from Detective Comics<\/strong> #45 as \u2018The Case of the Laughing Death\u2019<\/em> displays the Harlequin of Hate undertaking a campaign of macabre murder against everyone who has ever defied or offended him\u2026<\/p>\n

With full Creator Biographies and comic covers by Kane, Robinson & Roussos plus all the other general action ones by Fred Guardineer & Creig Flessel (crafted before the superheroes took over the front page forever), this is a stunning monument to exuberance and raw talent. Kane, Robinson and their compatriots created an iconography which carried the Batman feature well beyond its allotted life-span until later creators could re-invigorate it. They added a new dimension to children\u2019s reading – and their work remains captivatingly accessible.<\/p>\n

These primal stories set the standard for comic superheroes. Whatever you like now, you owe it to these stories. Superman<\/strong> gave us the idea, but writers like Finger and Fox refined and defined the meta-structure of the costumed crime-fighter. Where the Man of Steel was as much Social Force and wish fulfilment hero, Batman and Robin did what we ordinary mortals wanted to do. They taught bad people the lessons they deserved\u2026<\/p>\n

These are tales of elemental power and joyful exuberance, brimming with deep mood and addictive action. Comicbook heroics simply don\u2019t come any better. More than anything else, this book serves to perfectly recapture the mood and impact of a revolutionary masked avenger and, of course, delights my heavily concealed inner child no end.
\n\u00a9 1939, 1940, 2016 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Gardner Fox, Whitney Ellsworth, Sheldon Moldoff, Jerry Robinson, George Roussos & various (DC Comics) ISBN: 978-1-4012-6333-1 (TPB\/Digital edition) Win\u2019s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Vintage Comic book Perfection\u2026 10\/10 Next year marks Batman\u2019s 85th Anniversary and we\u2019ll be covering many old and new books about the Dark Knight over the year. However, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Batman: The Golden Age volume 1”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10,33,76,172,325,156],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-batman","category-catwomman","category-dc-superhero","category-robin","category-the-joker","category-world-classics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-7vT","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28885"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28889,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28885\/revisions\/28889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}