[World of Bats] Batman Book Club Phase II: First Appearance Bat-Tacular!

[BatJamags]

Greetings, Bat-Fans! This is Batm- I mean, BatJamags. I assume most of you know the drill by now, but if you don’t, then you’re in luck! For today’s reading selection, we’re going back to the beginning…s. Specifically, we’re going on a tour of DC continuity to meet every version of Batman as they were introduced to readers… sort of. I’ll admit that ‘Tec 27 is the only one I didn’t fudge here, but I’ll explain why I had to fudge in the section for each book.

Our selections for today are:
Detective Comics #627 (Including a reprint of Batman’s first appearance in 'Tec #27)
Superman (1939) #76
Detective Comics #567
Detective Comics (’11) #1

1: DETECTIVE COMICS #627
The big one. The one that started it all. All six pages of it. And, since it is so short, three remakes!

1A: Is this a worthy introduction for the World’s Greatest Detective?

1B: Which of the four versions of the story is your favorite? Did Friedrich, Wolfman, and Grant do a good job of expanding it, or do you prefer Finger’s original?

2: SUPERMAN (1939) #76
OK, so pop quiz: Does anyone know when Earth-One Batman first appeared?

Trick question. The answer is no: no one knows. The official line is that it was Detective Comics #327 from 1964 with the introduction of the “new look” costume with the yellow oval, but that’s perfectly absurd because that costume postdates the introduction of the Justice League of America and Batman’s membership thereon by four years (and also came far after the earliest JLA/JSA crossovers, in which Batman participated), and there was never a JLA on Earth-Two. The other leading suggestion is this Superman issue from 1952, so that’s what I’m going with even though I’m pretty sure there are earlier issues that were considered part of the Earth-One Batman’s timeline (e.g. the Riddler’s first appearance).

So, yeah. Anyway, questions:

2A: What did you think of how the World’s Finest learned one another’s identities?

2B: We’re cooler than those World of Superman nerds. That wasn’t a question, by the way, just a fact.

3: DETECTIVE COMICS #567
It’s not clear whether this one is actually Post-Crisis Batman’s first appearance. Given that Legends was meant to kick off the new timeline, and the Legends tie-ins for ‘Tec and Batman came out the month following this issue, you’d think this was the end of Pre-Crisis Batman. However, since it was published concurrently with Batman #400, which was a much more dramatic sendoff for Earth-One Bats, DC Database counts this as Post-Crisis Batman’s first appearance… and I’m going with it because this is really much more interesting than the Legends tie-ins.

3A: This issue is written by classic speculative fiction author Harlan Ellison (evidently to deliver on a promise to editor Julius Schwartz made about a decade prior). Have you read any of Ellison’s other work? If so, what do you think of him?

3B: While the issue is obviously just meant to be silly, do you think there’s something insightful in Batman’s frustration at the night’s events (such as they are)?

4: NU-‘TEC
Alright, so technically Prime Earth Batman first appeared at the end of Flashpoint, but only in a cameo. And technically, there were like a million Bat-titles published in November of 2011, but this is a oneshot rather than part of a longer story, so it’s what I’m going with.

4A: What do you think of the Joker’s portrayal in this issue? Is it true to the character?

4B: Are the renewed hostilities between the GCPD and Batman interesting, or a backslide?

[BatJamags]

Oh, and I forgot to mention: @Jay_Kay wanted to do some stuff in October, so I’ll be running this weekly so that I’ll be out of the way by then. The next one will go up around midnight Eastern on Monday the 16th.

[Jay_Kay]

Nice! Some of these I haven’t read, so looking forward to going through it.

[Nathan.Payson]

What’s the difference between Phase 1 and 2?

[AlexanderKnox]

'Tec #627 is a real gem. We get Batman '39, Batman '69, and Batman '91 in one package. The only thing it’s missing is “Partners in Peril,” the Shadow story that Bill Finger plagiarized!

I absolutely love Finger’s story, even if he did pilfer it. The commish seemingly has nothing better to do during the day than smoke pipes with a twentysomething socialite, whom Gordon invites to come along with him to a murder crime scene! We discover that the Bat-Man has been operating just long enough to be known about by both the police and a pair of hitmen, so Finger is starting us off about where Tim Burton would start off 50 years later. (For his first adventure, read 'Tec #265, also by Finger.)

While driving in his red car, the Bat-Man makes a “grim smile,” establishing his long history of creepy grins. You gotta love his chutzpah in leaping into the gas chamber to rescue someone! We also establish two of the most important recurring features in Gotham City: open skylights and open vats. In all fairness, it wasn’t the Bat-Man who killed Stryker, but the villain’s own failure to follow OSHA standards with his guardrails. Bruce insists that the batty vigilante is “a very lovely fairy-tale,” but then comes the twist: that rich loser was the Shadow all along! (Er, I mean the Bat-Man!) A fitting beginning for his kind.

Mike Friedrich’s mod-ernized version is my happening, and it freaks me out. We get the odd inclusion of Robin in this retelling, but all is forgiven as we get to the spread with the letters in BATMAN serving as the comic book panels. Batman drops some knowledge about Janis Joplin, so we’re clearly in pre-Crisis territory (before he grew to hate rock and roll). As our young suspect spouts dialogue that would make Snapper Carr cringe, Bruce demonstrates that he has learned how to examine a crime scene in the past 30 years instead of merely contaminating it with his pipe ashes. Gordon, on the other hand, is only somewhat more competent. And Robin is one furious little Young Republican as he condemns his fellow youth.

Note how we’ve shifted from chemicals to atomic power, complete with military applications. Topical! When Batman flips Stryker this time, he doesn’t pin him to the ground and start pummeling him in the face with the fists of justice as he did in '39, let alone knock him into a vat of supervillain ready mix. I guess that’s the kind of restraint that comes with a badge. The story ends with Robin thinking he should be a little less square even as Mel Lambert considers being a tad less far out in his hatred of the Man.

Marv Wolfman starts off by reciting Bill Finger’s narration, complete with the now-anachronistic claim that Batman’s identity is unknown. Then we’re hit with something totally alien to the original story: an assassin named Pesticyde who seemingly shops at the same place as Mr. Freeze. The only difference is that she’s into melting things with toxic waste. (What is this: Tromaville?) Wolfman uses one of his recently-created characters, Detective Hanrahan, and alludes to Gordon’s recent heart attack in Batman #489. He also retains the '69 version’s idea that Lambert’s son had been protesting his father’s work, but the young man’s appearance is much closer to his '39 look. The message this time around is environmentalist rather than antiwar, so we’re definitely in the early 90s.

Alan Grant opens his story with toxic waste, too. He also hits us on every sign and logo with nods to a slew of creative talents from Bat-Years past. Meanwhile, Norm Breyfogle gives us a Batman who seems to be showing off some actual Shadow powers! This Batman is also a fan of throwing a bag of cocaine at a young man’s face, but the letterer unfortunately went with FWUF for the onomatopoeia instead of the more appropriate CRACK. We then learn that Batman’s no-gun rule doesn’t preclude him from sticking a gun inside a criminal’s mouth and threatening to pull the trigger. Striker leaps into the acid himself this time, but Batman still gives the morbid one-liner (and then seemingly morphs into the Bob Kane cowl one panel later). We end with a splash page featuring allies and rogues, both old and new.

The best story is still Finger’s. Next up is Friedrich’s version, which was the first to realize that the only way to make a notable remake is to make it preachy. Grant’s take is just kinda there, but at least it has some rather unsavory tactics from Batman to make it stand out. The worst is Wolfman’s goofy contribution, which is even less remarkable than the 1980s Secret Origins #6 or the New 52 'Tec #27 versions.

[BatJamags]

@Nathan.Payson: Phase I were Aquamon’s picks (though Jay_Kay had to post the last one for him). My thought was that Phase II would be mine, Phase III would be Jay_Kay’s, Phase IV would be Aquamon’s again, and so on. Honestly, I meant it as a clarifying function to denote when a new person is taking over the picks, but if it’s not serving that purpose, I can just drop it.

@AlexanderKnox: Thanks for the summary! I think I agree with your ranking, too, which is a little surprising. It’s not often that I’d rank an Alan Grant story above a Marv Wolfman one (Wolfman’s had some whiffs, but his Batman stuff is usually pretty on-point). But really? Pesticyde?

[Jay_Kay]

“Is [Detective Comics #27] a worthy introduction for the World’s Greatest Detective?”

I’d say so. It’s a solid mystery story and it immediately shows that the title character isn’t just a physical hero, but a cerebral one as well, using his brain as much as his fists. I also liked that even his identity of Bruce Wayne was a mystery until the last panel.

“Which of the four versions of the story is your favorite? Did Friedrich, Wolfman, and Grant do a good job of expanding it, or do you prefer Finger’s original?”

Friedrich’s version felt like what would happen if the 66 TV show adapted the story. It has it’s kitchy charm and made me laugh a few times (Robin HATING his fellow youths was hilarious), but like the show itself, it’s just not what I look for in Batman.

Wolfman’s starting with the woman melting the businessmen with acid is a good hook – I often find that Batman is at his best when the crimes he investigates veer more into the over-the-top – but I agree that Pesticyde was a HORRIBLE name. It doesn’t even fit! She melts people with acid pesticides don’t melt their intended targets (at least not according to my five minute wikipedia search). Why not go with Acidic or Sulfuric or something like that. But it’s not like this character is ever going to appear again, so c’est la vie.

Grant feels like a stronger adaptation. Some of the added elements like the homeless man and it dealing with how corporations handle toxic chemicals make it feel topical without going overboard. The thing that really made this story pop was the Norm Breyfogle art. The splash page at the end by him is just SO DAMN GOOD.

Ultimately, though, I feel like while they’re all decent stories, none of them have quite the same spark as the original.

[Jay_Kay]

Funny, Superman #76 was actually the first entry for the one-shot book club that was around a while back, so this one is still pretty fresh in my head.

“What did you think of how the World’s Finest learned one another’s identities?”

It’s kind of funny how Clark and Bruce find out who each other by catching each other changing out of their clothes. Like Kirk and Spock, they’ve been peppering clues for shippers for decades.

Funnily enough, DC did do a remake of this story some years back in Superman/Batman Annual #1. It took the conciet of Superman and Batman finding out their secret identities and working together but added to it Deathstroke, their Earth 2 Counterparts (Ultraman, Owlman and Superwoman) as well as the Earth 2 Deathstroke who…you’ll just have to see for yourselves.

“We’re cooler than those World of Superman nerds. That wasn’t a question, by the way, just a fact.”

That may be true, but remember: the coolest people don’t need to say how cool they are.

[AlexanderKnox]

Superman #76 is a real downer. All the superheroes gather together to mourn the loss of…

whisper whisper

Oooooooh, that Superman #76. Yeah, that one’s fun. Not as good as Action Comics #241, but still fun.

Ellison’s story is amusing, but it would work better as a backup in an annual. It’s certainly no City on the Edge of Forever, and it feels pretty weak after Doug Moench’s epic finale to the pre-Crisis era.

The New 52 story was a snoozer. Very by-the-numbers Joker story until the “hey look how edgy we are” final scene.

[BatJamags]

@Jay_Kay: “That may be true, but remember: the coolest people don’t need to say how cool they are. :)”

Counterpoint:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jutkNkVgXQ

(But just to be clear, there’s no actual offense intended. I… honestly just couldn’t think of a second question, so I decided to be silly.)

[BatJamags]

And I’m back! Barely in time to answer my own book club.

1A: Is this a worthy introduction for the World’s Greatest Detective?

I’d say so… other than the fact that it’s apparently ripped off from a Shadow story.

In all seriousness, this is a cool little mystery. It probably wouldn’t be notable if it weren’t the first, but it sets up the character pretty well.

1B: Which of the four versions of the story is your favorite? Did Friedrich, Wolfman, and Grant do a good job of expanding it, or do you prefer Finger’s original?

Finger’s version is honestly the only one that I’d call good. Friedrich’s is kind of amusing in how '60s it is and it actually addresses how Stryker planned to get away with the killings, but is otherwise kind of blah. Grant’s is a pretty unremarkable expansion of the original story, modified to accommodate the fact that every single issue Alan Grant has ever written includes an anti-drug PSA and a self-righteous homeless guy. There’s otherwise not much flavor added, it’s just the same plot points taking more pages. Wolfman’s version tries to surprise you by changing up the villain and making Lambert, Crane, and Rogers into the original wrongdoers, but it just makes me care less about stopping the killings. Also, “Pestidcyde.”

2A: What did you think of how the World’s Finest learned one another’s identities?

It was silly and cheesy in a perfectly '50s sort of way. Honestly, this was a very unremarkable issue.

2B: We’re cooler than those World of Superman nerds. That wasn’t a question, by the way, just a fact.

All I’m saying is Batman doesn’t torture his girlfriends for fun.

3A: This issue is written by classic speculative fiction author Harlan Ellison (evidently to deliver on a promise to editor Julius Schwartz made about a decade prior). Have you read any of Ellison’s other work? If so, what do you think of him?

I don’t believe I have. Maybe a short story or two.

3B: While the issue is obviously just meant to be silly, do you think there’s something insightful in Batman’s frustration at the night’s events (such as they are)?

Well, this was a bit of a leading question, but I do think there is something to be said for Batman’s needing the conflict and thrill of the hunt.

4A: What do you think of the Joker’s portrayal in this issue? Is it true to the character?

Ew. No. He’s not funny. Just a generic edgelord, and don’t get me started on how dumb of a plot development the face-removal thing is.

4B: Are the renewed hostilities between the GCPD and Batman interesting, or a backslide?

It adds some interesting tension, certainly, but the problem is that when they’ve been cooperating for years, it feels forced. I just don’t buy it. Like, yeah, supposedly the mayor’s behind it, but is he really going to micromanage individual officers?

[Jay_Kay]

Just finished #567 again (after previously reading it when I got the 80 Years of Batman hardcover), and honestly, I didn’t really care for it either time. I get the feeling that with the whole “promise to Julius Schwartz” thing that this was something that Ellison didn’t really want to do this, and it really shows. I get what @BatJamags said about being into the thrill of a busy night of crime, but I feel like Ellison took it to such a degree that Batman came off as not only a little psychotic, but rather pathetic. It’s just not a great Batman story at all, IMO.

[Jay_Kay]

Reading Detective Comics #1 and it was…okay? It’s interesting seeing the seeds being laid for what would eventually become Death of the Family – Joker talking about how Batman is missing the big picture feels like one of those things that could be a hint of that in retrospect, though it could also hint at what Bruce would be dealing with at the same time with the Court of Owls, as well as Dollmaker and his family.

Overall, I would say that while Tony Daniel is a really strong artist, writing is definitely not his strongest suit.

“What do you think of the Joker’s portrayal in this issue? Is it true to the character?”

It definitely has the creep/evil factor, but Joker himself felt kind of flat. I feel like Joker is a character who should be funny – you should despise him, find him sickening, but still cracks lines that make you laugh despite yourself.

“Are the renewed hostilities between the GCPD and Batman interesting, or a backslide?”

It can be under the right circumstances/writing, but going from this issue alone, it’s not as compelling as they would like. In more modern versions, I think Snyder and crew did that sort of thing better with Batman Eternal.

[Jay_Kay]

Overall, pretty neat set of books for the club, @BatJamags! Looking forward to the next.