{"id":29719,"date":"2024-04-24T08:00:35","date_gmt":"2024-04-24T08:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=29719"},"modified":"2024-04-24T09:55:14","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T09:55:14","slug":"showcase-presents-batman-volume-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2024\/04\/24\/showcase-presents-batman-volume-2-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Showcase Presents Batman volume 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy John Broome, Gardner F. Fox<\/strong>, Robert Kanigher, Carmine Infantino, Sheldon Moldoff, <\/strong>Joe Giella<\/strong>, Sid Greene<\/strong>, Chic Stone<\/strong>, Murphy Anderson<\/strong> and with covers from Gil Kane <\/strong>and Joe Kubert<\/strong> & various (DC Comics)
\nISBN 978-1-84576-661-0 (TPB)<\/p>\n

This volume from the wonderfully cheap & cheerful, crushingly much-missed Showcase Presents\u2026<\/strong> line serves up in sharp, crisp monochrome 36 more Bat-stories from September 1965 to December 1966 as originally seen in Batman<\/strong> #175-188 and Detective Comics<\/strong> #343-358. Other than covers it excludes Batman<\/strong> #176, 182, 185 & 187, which were all-reprint 80-Page Giants<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

These tales were produced in the months leading up to the launch of and throughout year one of the blockbuster Batman<\/strong> television show (premiering January 12th<\/sup> 1966 and running 3 seasons of 120 episodes in total). The show aired twice weekly in its first two seasons, resulting in vast amounts of Bat-awareness, no end of spin-offs and merchandise, a movie and the overkill phenomenon of \u201cBatmania\u201d. No matter how much we might squeal and foam about it, to a huge portion of this planet\u2019s population Batman will always be that \u201cZap! Biff! Pow!\u201d buffoonish costumed Boy Scout\u2026<\/p>\n

Regrettably this means the comic stories published during that period have been similarly excoriated and maligned by many ever since. It is true some tales were crafted with overtones of the \u201ccamp\u201d comedy fad – presumably to accommodate newer readers seduced by the arch silliness and coy irony of the show – but no editor of Julius Schwartz\u2019s calibre would ever deviate far from characterisation that had sustained Batman for nearly three decades, or the then-recent relaunch which had revitalised the character sufficiently for television to take an interest at all.<\/p>\n

Nor would such brilliant writers as John Broome, Bill Finger, Gardner Fox or Bob Kanigher ever produce work which didn\u2019t resonate on all the Batman\u2019s complex levels just for a quick laugh and cheap thrill. The artists tasked with sustaining the visual intensity included such greats as Carmine Infantino, Sheldon Moldoff, Chic Stone, Joe Giella, Murphy Anderson and Sid Greene, with covers from Gil Kane and Joe Kubert supplementing the stunning and trend-setting, fine-line Infantino masterpieces.<\/p>\n

Most stories in this compendium reflect those gentler times and an editorial policy to focus on Batman\u2019s reputation as \u201cThe World\u2019s Greatest Detective\u201d, so colourfully costumed, psychotic veteran supervillains are in a minority, but there are first appearances for a number of exotic foes who would become regular menaces for the Dynamic Duo in later years.<\/p>\n

The mayhem and mystery begin with book-length epic \u2018The Secret War of the Phantom General!\u2019 <\/em>from Detective Comics<\/strong> #343 (September 1965). Written by John Broome and limned by Carmine Infantino & Joe Giella, it incorporates back up star Elongated Man<\/strong>: a costumed sleuth blending the charm of Nick<\/em> \u201cThe Thin Man\u201d<\/strong> Charles<\/em> with the outr\u00e9 hero antics of Plastic Man<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n

This tense thriller pits hard-pressed heroes against a hidden army of gangsters and Nazi war criminals, before #344 introduces intellectual bandit Johnny Witts<\/em>, \u2018The Crime-Boss Who Was Always One Step Ahead of Batman!\u2019<\/em> in a sharp duel of mentalities from Gardner Fox, Sheldon Moldoff & Giella. The same creative team produced epic shocker \u2018The Decline and Fall of Batman\u2019<\/em> in the 175th<\/sup> issue of his own titular magazine, wherein fringe scientist Eddie Repp<\/em> almost ends the Caped Crusaders\u2019 careers by assaulting them with electronic ghosts, after which Detective<\/strong> #345 debuts a terrifying and tragic new villain in \u2018The Blockbuster Invasion of Gotham City!\u2019<\/em> (Fox, Infantino & Giella), as a monstrous giant with the mind of a child and raw, physical power of a tank is constantly driven to madness at sight of Batman and only placated by the sight of Bruce Wayne<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n

Batman<\/strong> #177 opens with Bill Finger, Moldoff & Giella\u2019s puzzler, \u2018Two Batmen Too Many\u2019<\/em> complete with a brace of superhero guest-stars, after which \u2018The Art Gallery of Rogues!\u2019<\/em> (Broome, Moldoff & Sid Greene) combines good-natured matchmaking with murderous burglary before \u2018Batman\u2019s Inescapable Doom-Trap!\u2019<\/em> (Detective<\/strong> #346, Broome, Moldoff & Giella) highlights the Gotham Gangbuster\u2019s escapology skills when a magician-turned-thief alpha-tests his latest stunt on the unwilling, unwitting hero.<\/p>\n

Fox, Infantino & Giella reveal \u2018The Strange Death of Batman!\u2019<\/em> in Detective<\/strong> # 347, launching habitual B-list villain The Bouncer<\/em> in a bizarre experimental yarn which must be seen to be believed, whereas it\u2019s all-action business as usual in Batman<\/strong> #178 when the \u2018Raid of the Rocketeers!\u2019<\/em> (Kanigher, Moldoff & Giella) set the Caped Champions on the trail of jet-packed super-thugs after which Broome, Moldoff & Greene start referencing the TV series\u2019 tone in light-hearted caper \u2018The Loan Shark\u2019s Hidden Horde!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Whilst \u2018The Birdmaster of Bedlam!\u2019<\/em> (Kanigher, Moldoff & Giella) who hatched his first sinister scheme in Detective<\/strong> #349 proves ultimately incapable of containing the heroes, Batman<\/strong> #179 provides more of a challenge with \u2018Clay Pigeon for a Killer!\u2019<\/em> Kanigher, Moldoff & Greene (erroneously credited as Giella here) see Batman using television\u2019s \u201cMost Wanted\u201d show to trap a murderer beyond reach of the law whilst \u2018The Riddle-less Robberies of The Riddler!\u2019<\/em> (Broome Moldoff & Giella), fully reinvents the Prince of Puzzlers as the felon discovers he cannot escape or defy an obsessive psychological compulsion preventing him from committing crimes unless he sends clues to Batman first! Sadly, even when Eddie Nigma<\/em> cheats, the Masked Manhunter keeps solving the clues\u2026<\/p>\n

The microcephalic man-brute who hates Batman returns as \u2018The Blockbuster Breaks Loose!\u2019<\/em> in a blistering, action-fuelled thriller by Fox, Infantino & Giella (Detective<\/strong> #349) which also hints at the return of a long-forgotten foe, whilst \u2018The Monarch of Menace!\u2019<\/em> (#350 by Kanigher, Moldoff & Giella) introduces the greatest criminal in the world, who starts well but inevitably falls to the Gotham Guardian\u2019s indomitable persistence.<\/p>\n

Illustrated by Moldoff & Giella, Batman<\/strong> #180 debuts the uncanny Death-Man<\/em> in \u2018Death Knocks Three Times!\u2019<\/em> – Kanigher\u2019s best tale of this era and an early indication of the Caped Crusader\u2019s eerie potential, after which Detective<\/strong> #351 premieres game-show host turned felonious impresario Arthur Brown<\/em> in \u2018The Cluemaster\u2019s Topsy-Turvy Crimes!\u2019<\/em> courtesy of Fox, Infantino & Greene.<\/p>\n

\u2018Beware of\u2026 Poison Ivy!\u2019<\/em> in Batman<\/strong> #181 introduces the deadly damsel to the Caped Crusader\u2019s Rogues Gallery, but in this tale she\u2019s only a criminal boss using sex as her weapon to split up the Dynamic Duo and defeat rival villainesses in a sly tale from Kanigher, Moldoff & Giella. Following an iconic pin-up courtesy of Infantino & Murphy Anderson comes a superb Mystery Analysts of Gotham City<\/em> shocker. Fox, Moldoff & Greene detail \u2018The Perfect Crime\u2026 Slightly Imperfect!\u2019,<\/em> before Detective<\/strong> #352 sees Broome, Moldoff & Giella explore \u2018Batman\u2019s Crime Hunt A-Go-Go!\u2019 <\/em>wherein Batman hits an incredible hot-streak, repeatedly catching criminals in the act with incredible hunches. Of course, it\u2019s no such thing and sinister stage mentalist Mr. Esper<\/em> is manipulating the crime campaign for his own sinister ends\u2026<\/p>\n

After another stunning Infantino & Anderson Bat pin-up, narrative action resumes with \u2018The Weather Wizard\u2019s Triple-Treasure Thefts!\u2019<\/em> (Fox, Infantino & Giella) in #353, pitting the Dynamic Duo in spectacular opposition to The Flash<\/strong>\u2019s archenemy: one of the first times a DC villain moved out of his usual stamping grounds. Batman<\/strong> #183 opens with \u2018A Touch of Poison Ivy<\/em>!\u2019<\/em> (Kanigher, Moldoff & Giella) as the seductive siren tries again to turn the Caped Crusader\u2019s head before excellent \u201cfair-play\u201d mystery \u2018Batman\u2019s Baffling Turnabout!\u2019<\/em> sees Gardner Fox challenge readers to deduce what turns the hero against a baffled Boy Wonder\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2018No Exit for Batman\u2019<\/em> (Detective<\/strong> #354, by Broome Moldoff & Giella) introduces bloodthirsty oriental fiend Dr. Tzin-Tzin<\/em> and gives me another excellent opportunity to remind you just how far we\u2019ve all come in confronting all those pernicious stereotypes that underpinned so much popular fiction\u2026<\/p>\n

The tale itself is a bruising all-action battle with the hero targeted by a Chinese ganglord seeking to break him down by fighting an army of foes, followed by Fox\u2019s \u2018Mystery of the Missing Manhunters!\u2019<\/em> which generated one of the most memorable covers of the decade for Batman<\/strong> #184 and a back-up Robin<\/strong> solo tale: \u2018The Boy Wonder\u2019s Boo-Boo Patrol!\u2019<\/em> (Fox, Chic Stone & Greene) showing the kid\u2019s potential in a smart tale of thespian skulduggery and clever conundrum solving.<\/p>\n

Detective<\/strong> #355 again highlights our hero\u2019s physical prowess and deductive capabilities in blistering yarn \u2018Hate of the Hooded Hangman!\u2019<\/em> (Broome, Infantino & Giella), after which an extended duel with a mutated mastermind culminates in \u2018The Inside story of the Outsider!\u2019<\/em> and the miraculous resurrection of faithful retainer Alfred<\/em> in a landmark, game-changing, classic confrontation by Fox, Moldoff & Giella from Detective Comics<\/strong> #356.<\/p>\n

Batman<\/strong> #186 sees the Clown Prince of Crime in possibly his most innocuous exploit \u2018The Joker\u2019s Original Robberies\u2019<\/em> as Broome, Moldoff & Giella sought to out-Camp the TV show, whereas \u2018Commissioner Gordon\u2019s Death-Threat!\u2019<\/em> (written by Fox) put the artists\u2019 talents to far better use in a terse and compelling kidnap thriller. Broome redeems himself in Detective<\/strong> #357 with sharp secret identity saving puzzler \u2018<\/em>Bruce Wayne Unmasks Batman!\u2019<\/em> (limned by Infantino & Giella).<\/p>\n

Batman<\/strong> #188 featured \u2018The Eraser Who Tried to Rub Out Batman!\u2019<\/em> (Broome, Moldoff & Giella) and Fox, Moldoff & Greene\u2019s decidedly sharper and less silly murder-mystery \u2018The Ten Best-Dressed Corpses in Gotham City!\u2019<\/em> after which this collection concludes on a note of psychological intrigue as Broome, Moldoff & Giella use Detective<\/strong> #358 to outline \u2018The Circle of Terror\u2019,<\/em> wherein the Masked Manhunter is progressively driven to the edge of madness by Op Art maestro The Spellbinder<\/em>.<\/p>\n

With covers by Infantino, Gil Kane, Murphy Anderson and Joe Kubert, pin-up extras, frequent reprint compendiums and lots of cross-pollination with the TV series, DC were pulling out all the stops to capitalise on the screen exposure and ensure the comic buying public got their 12\u00a2 worth, but the most effective tool in the arsenal was always the sheer scope and variety of the stories. The bulk of the yarns reprinted here are thefts, capers and sinister schemes by heist men, murderers, would-be world-conquerors or mad scientists and I must say it\u2019s a joy to see such once-common staples of comic books in play again. Call me radical or reactionary but I say you can have too much psycho-killing, and just how many alien races really and truly can be bothered with our poxy planet – or our women?<\/p>\n

\u2026And yes, there are one or two utterly daft escapades included here, but overall this book is a magical window onto a simpler time but not burdened by simpler fare. These Batman adventures are tense, thrilling, engrossing, engaging and even amusing and I\u2019d have no qualms giving them to my niece or my granny. It\u2019s such a shame DC seems to disagree but at least by seeking this out you can Tune In and become a proper Bat-Fan.
\n\u00a9 1965, 1966, 2007 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By John Broome, Gardner F. Fox, Robert Kanigher, Carmine Infantino, Sheldon Moldoff, Joe Giella, Sid Greene, Chic Stone, Murphy Anderson and with covers from Gil Kane and Joe Kubert & various (DC Comics) ISBN 978-1-84576-661-0 (TPB) This volume from the wonderfully cheap & cheerful, crushingly much-missed Showcase Presents\u2026 line serves up in sharp, crisp monochrome … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Showcase Presents Batman volume 2”<\/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":[10,75,76,225,127,172,107,126,325,123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-batman","category-crime-comics","category-dc-superhero","category-mystery","category-nostalgia","category-robin","category-science-fiction","category-the-atom","category-the-joker","category-tv-adaptations"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-7Jl","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29719","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=29719"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29727,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29719\/revisions\/29727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}