And here's what Jerry Robinson art
looks like without Bob Kane, just in case you thought (or heard) Robinson was
doing all the work. Batman's all right I guess, but just what is that haircut, Robin?
“The Case of the Costume-Clad
Killers”
Writer: Jack
Schiff
Pencils: Bob
Kane
Inks: Jerry
Robinson
Synopsis: So
in literally no time at all, the Joker is back again. His scheme this
time? Dressing his goons up in official uniforms so as to sneak past
guards unawares – crooks in military outfits raid a US armory,
crooks in police uniforms rob a bank, firefighters start fires and
then steal valuables under the cover of “doing their job”, etc.
Bruce
and Dick, hearing of this in the newspapers as is their lazy-ass
custom, agree its a brilliant scheme, and Bruce has already concluded
that it can only be the work of the Joker. Suddenly, a bright
searchlight on the roof of police headquarters beams into the night
sky, projecting the image of giant bat onto a black cloud! It's the
first appearance of the Bat-signal, and the duo quickly realize they
are wanted by Commissioner Gordon.
They
rush into Gordon's office, where the Commish confirms its the Joker,
having received a mocking playing card inscribed with a clue to the
Harlequin of Hate's next crime. Batman correctly deduces the clue
(after admitting he doesn't get the Joker's “cryptic sense of
humour”) as meaning that he's going to strike the Post Office a
block away from Police Headquarters, with his men dressed as postmen.
After a two-page fight scene followed by a chase in the Batmobile,
the Joker escapes.
The
uniformed robberies continue, with railroad hold-ups and even
elevator operator purse snatchings! Unless Batman can predict where
the Joker is going to strike next, there's almost no way to catch
him. So, of course, he lays a trap for the Joker by placing a fake
article in the newspaper. Aka, Batman's sole non-fist-related method
of crimefighting.
The
Joker buys the bait, that the great Brody Diamond is going to be sold
aboard Gerald Brody's yacht. So, continuing the theme, he dresses his
gang up in Coast Guard outfits and pull up alongside the yacht in a
patrol boat. But Batman and Robin are waiting for him! However a
two-page fight scene sees the Joker gain the upperhand, tossing Robin
overboard to drown, and then hanging Batman over the water by a rope
set to slowly burn by a candle (yeesh).
Robin
comes to underwater and makes it onto the Joker's patrol boat,
following the gang to their hideout. Batman eventually falls into the
drink as well, but awakes upon the splash of water and escapes his
bonds by cutting the rope on the boat's propeller blades. Back on
shore, he concludes that the Joker must be operating out of Charlie's
Costumes for Hire, based on a clue one of the henchmen gave earlier.
Batman
bursts in on the gang, and Robin has already infiltrated the shop by
pretending to be a dummy wearing a... Little... Red... Riding... Hood
outfit? Oh man, yep, there's Dick Grayson in a dress, curled hair and
a bonnet. How come I've never seen these panels mocked online before?
Yikes. Anyways, a two-page fight scene sees our heroes come out on
top, with the Joker comically knocking himself out when he tries to
throw a boomerang at Batman (yeesh). Batman quips that there's only
one uniform the Joker has yet to wear – a convict's uniform, and so
the Harlequin of Hate ends up back in jail. But for how long???
~~~~
My Thoughts:
This issue sees the debut of
Jack Schiff as a Batman writer. His premiere story is a little
formulaic (almost remarkably so!), but Schiff is an important figure
in the Batman mythos, as he will eventually take over from Whitney
Ellsworth as Editor of the Batman comics in the 1950s, shepherding
the character after the rise of the Comics Code Authority, after the
end of the Golden Age and through the start of the Silver Age.
Although his tenure as editor was marked by a decline in story
quality, and a rise in sci-fi fantasy silliness in the books, the
fact of the matter was that he was editor for almost ten years on the
series, and cannot be easily dismissed.
In
this story we see that he, like Joseph Greene last month, hews
carefully to the Bill Finger trends and standards, yet he manages to
introduce some new elements that refine the formula and end up
lasting for decades – like the Bat-signal, which makes its first
appearance here, as a very visible symbol of the police department's
new partnership with the Batman, as well as a dramatic and clever way
for Gordon to get in touch with a man whose identity is unknown to
him.
The Art: Good
artwork here from Kane and Robinson, particularly a few character
close-ups such as one of the Joker reading the paper and one of
Batman spying the criminals through a pair of binoculars. Also the
opening splash page depicting the Joker in a Napoleonic uniform is
fantastic, if a bit misleading as to what sort of “costumes” the
“costume-clad killers” are using. If there's something to be said
against this issue, it's that many of the panels are very small, as
if Schiff wrote more action that could be comfortably fit into the
page-count – as a result, the art is sometimes claustrophobic
feeling and muddled.
The Story: A
rogue's gallery villain commits a spree of daring crimes. The
Bat-signal summons the Dynamic Duo to police headquarters.
Commissioner Gordon informs our heroes just which dastardly fiend
we're dealing with. The Caped Crusaders attempt to defeat the
villains, but are placed in a seemingly inescapable death-trap. They,
of course, escape and finally confront the villain in one last fist
fight before hauling him off to jail while making a joke. What does
that sound like? The story not only of this issue, but also almost
every Batman story from here on out – but far more significantly,
it is the exact formula
of every episode of the 1966-68 ABC Batman television series starring
Adam West, which for all its problems was a major factor in cementing
Batman's place in mainstream popular culture. So while Schiff's story
is formulaic and close to the Bill Finger mold, it's his exact
application of the formula that sets a brand new standard in
Bat-storytelling, although I doubt that was apparent to anyone at the
time. But it certainly explains how Schiff became a rising star in
comics writing (and furthers my point that his contributions cannot
just be disregarded).
As
for the story itself, it's very similar to “The Case of the Lucky
Law-Breakers” in Batman
#9, as its another story about Joker figuring out a clever way for
his gang to commit robberies. At least Schiff remembers to keep the
gimmick up the whole way through. But the title is a little
disingenuous. The criminals are more “Uniform-clad” than
“costume-clad”, and they only kill one bank guard in the course
of a robbery – the Joker doesn't even kill anyone at all! “Case
of the Uniformed Robberies”, more like.
Notes and
Trivia: First appearance of the
Bat-signal, perfection of the Batman “story formula”
No comments:
Post a Comment