"The Batman never carries or kills with a gun." - Editor Whitney Ellsworth, Batman #4
"Unless he's fighting Nazis! Blast those Krauts to hell!" - Cover Artist Jack Burnley, Batman #15, assumedly.
"Your Face is Your Fortune!"
Writer: Jack Schiff
Pencils: Bob Kane
Inks: Jerry Robinson
Synopsis: Elva Barr is a young woman in Gotham City, working at a beauty salon, living in an apartment, taking the subway, just like a normal person -- except that she's also the Catwoman! But why is the Catwoman masquerading as an ordinary citizen?
Elva takes part in a beauty contest for beauty salon workers (?) where one of the judges is millionaire Bruce Wayne. Elva wins the contest, but Bruce recognizes her as the Catwoman (since Batman has seen Catwoman without her mask many times), and can't believe she could have gone straight.
Linda Page reads about Bruce pronouncing Elva the winner in the paper the next day and is jealous, while Elva/Catwoman finds herself falling in love with the handsome playboy.
Anyways, turns out she's working at the beauty salon so she can make molds of her wealthy clients faces under the pretext of giving them facials, so she can make lifelike masks and get into places to commit robberies.
The Dynamic Duo follow Elva to find out her game, and witness her sneaking a message to a crook named Jim Jones. They follow Jones to a bowling alley, beat him up, and find out Catwoman plans to strike at the Maypoint Wedding.
It's a rich society wedding of the Maypoint heiress to a US Navy Captain, and Catwoman manages to get in under the guise of the society editor of the Gotham Globe. Once inside with her men (disguised as photographers) she changes into her Catwoman costume and they begin their theft -- but Batman and Robin are ready and waiting for them! Batman catches Catwoman, removing her mask, but she pleads with Batman to let her go -- saying she'll go straight if only she could date Bruce Wayne!! Well, this puts Batman in a quite a bind and so naturally he does the moral thing and... let's her go! Because screw your hard moral code when you've got other hard things to worry about!
And so over the next few days Bruce Wayne courts Elva Barr in a whirlwind romance, and announces his engagement to her! To which Dick pleads "What's gotten into you? What about Linda? What about... us??" On that suggestive note, Bruce tells Dick he's too young to understand, while Catwoman tells her men that's she's quitting crime and going straight for Bruce Wayne. But her men tell her that Wayne is sweet on Linda Page, "everybody knows that!" Meanwhile Linda herself is crying herself to sleep, bewildered and hurt.
Catwoman decides she has to know Bruce's intentions for sure, so when Linda Page shows up at Elva Barr's beauty salon to get a look at her, Elva makes a mold of Linda's face for a mask, and meets Bruce disguised as Linda to ask him if he really loves Elva! Bruce tells "Linda" that he's only doing this as a favour to the Batman, and that the engagement is only temporary! "Linda" storms out, and when Bruce gets home, he learns that the real Linda had stopped by to talk to Dick and wish Bruce good luck on his engagement -- d'oh!
The heart-broken Catwoman returns to crime, while the identity of Elva Barr as completely disappeared! With no leads, Bruce doesn't know what to do. But Dick has been scoping out the bowling alley and trailing Jim Jones, and learned that Catwoman plans to hit the Fairview Pet Show. He's a little smarmy about sharing this knowledge with Bruce ("you might be too old to understand") and almost gets a spanking (!) but soon Batman and Robin are off to stop Catwoman from stealing the prize-winning pedigreed animals.
At the end of the battle, Batman finally captures Catwoman and finally arrests her and takes her to jail, hoping she'll "go straight in prison!" At home, Bruce wonders if Linda will ever forgive him -- Dick says she will, but will the Catwoman?
~~~~
My Thoughts: It's been five issues since we last saw the Catwoman, when Jack Schiff pulled her out from obscurity and revitalized her as a villainess. Schiff writes this script too, and once again it's a great use of the character and really cements Schiff as a great member of the current Batman writing team. In that previous Cat-story Schiff has Catwoman operating under the alias Marguerite Tone, here he has her as Elva Barr. In both cases it's unclear if this is meant to be Catwoman's real name, but is heavily implied it's just an alias used for this particular job.
The Art: Good stuff from Kane and Robinson, with fun and dynamic fight scenes. Catwoman's cat head mask costume returns and still looks awful, but when she's out of costume as "Elva Barr" Kane and Robinson give her a kind of severe beauty that really suits the character. It reminds me of the young Joan Crawford. It's good stuff, although Linda Page looks a little different than she's usually portrayed -- a strawberry blonde instead of auburn haired.
The Story: One quality of this story that I really like is that Schiff writes a classic Batman tale and also brings in Bruce Wayne -- giving something to Bruce's personal life and romances and concerns, which have been ignored in the strip for some time. It really makes everything feel far more rounded. A kid in 1943 would've probably been bored by it, but oh my god does it make for more interesting and engaging reading for an adult seventy years later! Schiff really nails the relationship between Batman and Catwoman, and also begins a relationship between "Elva Barr" and Bruce Wayne, thus laying the seeds for a complex romance square that has been going on for seventy years hence! Schiff also moves the relationship forward in both cases -- Bruce proposes to Elva, something he hasn't even done with Linda yet, while at the end of the story Batman FINALLY actually puts Catwoman in jail instead of letting his boner get the better of him. And it's for a great reason -- so she can reform and get out and perhaps he can romance her on moral terms, which is far better than letting her go because she's pretty. Of course, the comic makes no pretense that she'll reform -- the story ends by teasing the reader not with if the Catwoman will return, but when.
Notes and Trivia: Catwoman captured and arrested by Batman for the first time, using identity Elva Barr but her real identity still unknown.
"The Boy Who Wanted to be Robin!"
Writer: Don Cameron
Pencils: Jack Burnley
Inks: Ray Burnley
Synopsis: From an alleyway, a mysterious figure watches Batman and Robin beat the tar out of the gang of "Knuckles" Conger. The men are easily defeated and the Dynamic Duo disappear into the night. Of course it is Knuckles himself who is watching, who decides he needs to change his methods if he is to ever defeat Batman and Robin.
His conclusion? That he needs a kid sidekick! So he picks a homeless orphan shoeshine boy named Bobby from off the streets, tells him he's a crimefighter like Batman and how would he like to be like Robin -- the kid's answer being the same as every boy in America's: an emphatic yes!
Knuckles trains the kid in an old barn in acrobatics, boxing, fencing, judo, etc. drawing upon his experience in a lifetime of crime. They soon begin pulling a multitude of jobs -- robbing jewelers that Knuckles tells the kid are crooked fences, etc. They soon begin getting attention from newspapers and police, with Knuckles telling the kid that the police are just confused and only think they are thieves because they don't know them as well as they know Batman. However Bobby is beginning to get suspicious.
At their next job, Batman and Robin show up and Knuckles and Bobby attempt to flee. However the Batmobile is a damned powerful vehicle (it does ninety miles an hour!) so they catch up and there's a fight and Bobby finally realizes Knuckles is a crook. Knuckles threatens to give Bobby up to the police if he betrays him, but the kid fights back anyway. Knuckles flees up the side of the building, pursued by the Batman.
The two battle on the ledge, but Knuckles slips off and almost falls to his death -- when Batman catches him, Knuckles promises to make a full confession so long as Batman saves him.
Commissioner Gordon takes pity on Bobby, understanding that he was only a dupe. Bruce Wayne sponsors the boy to go to a prestigious military academy where he does very well and looks to have a bright future.
~~~~
My Thoughts: This is another story in the "moral allegory"/"crime does not pay" genre, as well as another story involving a down-on-his luck kid. These are standard Bill Finger tropes, but Don Cameron does a neat thing by having us never lose sympathy for this kid who's taken in by the "slickest crook in Gotham". It's handled just differently enough for it to feel worthwhile.
The Art: The absolute number one reason to look at this story is the art. It is phenomenal, perhaps the best art seen in Batman so far. The Burnley brothers really knock it out of the park, especially with the artwork of Knuckles early on. The first four pages are on a whole different level. Knuckles is drowned in dramatic film noir shadows at almost all times. The lighting is amazing, the figures are exact and expressive, the action scenes dramatic and epic. It's an artistic triumph.
The Story: The idea of the underworld hiring their own kid sidekick is fun, although it's rendered a little less interesting because the kid is truly a good natured boy who's being tricked, so we know how things will play out once he realizes he's been played for a sap. Knuckles is believably clever with his ruse, however, and Cameron paces the story very very well -- it doesn't overstay it's welcome, everything develops very naturally. My only nitpick would be -- why doesn't Bruce adopt Bobby? Wouldn't two Robins be better than one?
Oh well, we can't change the status quo now, can we?
"The Two Futures"
Writer: Don Cameron
Pencils: Jack Burnley
Inks: Ray Burnley
Synopsis: Batman and Robin head to Gotham University because Batman wants to ask renowned historian Professor Ranier to predict the future of America after the war. Ugh, you guys realize that's not what historians do, right? It's almost the opposite of what historians do.
However, the Dynamic Duo are in luck, as it turns out Ranier has been debating just this very problem with his colleagues Professors Proe and Conn (oh, brother).
The future that the Professors present is one in which the Axis has WON the War, and the Nazi flag flies over the United States! Gothamites are rounded up and shot if they don't kowtow to the new regime, and enemies of the state are placed in horrorifc concentration camps!
Young Bobby Logan tries to slip his mother and baby brother some stolen food through the barbed wire fence and is caught by the Nazis and placed in the camp.
But somehow Batman and Robin are still out and about in Gotham, and spot Bobby being beaten by the Nazis guards and decide to stop it if it's the last thing they do. They put up a good fight, but are eventually both captured and thrown in a cell -- the only reason they're still alive is that the Nazis want to make a show of executing them.
Somehow Bobby manages to sneak past the guards and helps the Dynamic Duo break out -- they overpower some guards and steal a truck to free the prisoners and make a break for it. They fill up the truck but many die in the escape attempt. Breaking through the fence they head out on the open road with many Nazis in pursuit.
In order to give the freed prisoners the time they need, Batman and Robin jump off and attack the Nazis to divert them. They are shot down, tied up, and finally executed by firing squad, although defiant to the last.
Well, back in the real world our heroes are none too happy with this prediction -- but Ranier insists that this is merely a vision of the future if people are indifferent and don't pull their full weight in the war. "It could happen here! It happened in Poland, Holland, France! It happened in Shanghai, Singapore, Java!" So, the people of France and Poland were indifferent?
Yes, only if every American fights for victory will the Allies prevail and give a good future, one in which Batman and Robin fly around in the Batplane knocking out Axis spy rings, where they discover the Axis fleets are launching a last-ditch desperate attack on Gotham City (what? why?) But the USAF gets amble warning thanks to the Dynamic Duo and soon the Batplane joins the squadron of fighter planes that utterly destroy the Axis fleet! Soon, the war is over, with Hitler, Hirohito and Mussolini "jailed". The powers of evil utterly defeated forever, there is never war ever again and America's great industries are turned towards building a GOLDEN CITY of skyscrapers that rise into the clouds.
But this future will only happen if we ALL contribute to the war effort, by buying war bonds and stamps and recycling paper and metal and rubber and so on! Yes, it's all up to YOU to do YOUR part!
~~~~
My Thoughts: Holy crap. This is the most extreme propaganda story we've gotten in any Batman comic ever. We actually haven't gotten many stories about World War II in Batman, despite many patriotic covers and mentions of war bonds, probably because (like this one) they tend to beg the question "Why isn't Bruce Wayne over there fighting?" I guess someone's gotta look after Dick. This particular bit of story is pure propaganda, though, a fear piece designed solely to scare you into buying war bonds. In truth, neither Imperial Japan nor Nazi Germany ever had the resources or capability to invade the United States, and once the US was in the war the situation was never so dire as to present the possibility given in this comic. It wasn't a question of "if we don't all pull together, the Nazis will win" because neither the Nazis or Japanese had the manpower to accomplish this feat, especially with the Germans getting their asses handed to them by the Soviets.
By late 1942 the Battle of Midway had already occurred, turning the tide in the Pacific theater. Rommel was cornered in Tunisia and the German army surrounded in Stalingrad. Things were turning around for the Allies. Americans were fighting mostly for revenge in the Pacific, while the European theater for Americans was mostly a rescue operation -- the goal being the eventual liberation of Europe from Nazi control. It was never really about defeating the American mainland.
That being said, there was still another two and a half hard years of fighting to go when this comic was published, and for many Americans the Nazis did seem unstoppable. Stories like this one were useful propaganda to remind Americans why it was important to fight -- the possibility of Americans in concentration camps is stronger motivation for a people made up largely of isolationists than scenes of Europeans in said camps.
The Art: It's a Burnley bros. joint, but it's not up to the quality of their last story. It's never bad but it's just about standard -- I could see the Kane Studio doing about the same job of this story. One thing that stands out though is the excellent rendering of vehicles: the jeeps, the trucks, the planes and ships in the final climatic battle. It's overall all right. Worth noting that the Japanese soldiers are drawn as the standard glasses wearing, hair slicked back, buck-toothed stereotypes that were common to this era.
The Story: So, yeah, it's cardboard propaganda. The very idea of asking historians their predictions on the future is laughable, especially Batman's line that Professor Ranier's predictions are usually accurate. Since neither of these two futures came to pass (why would the Axis fleet launch a desperate attack on Gotham? What would that gain them?) I hope all three professors were fired -- oh, wait, tenure.
Both futures are total propaganda, but the "bad future" is I suppose at least an accurate view of what a Nazi-occupied America would look like, even if there was never a chance in hell of that happening. The comic doesn't shy away from firing squads, concentration camps, and even has a very downbeat ending with Batman and Robin being executed by Nazis. Granted, it totally ignores the Nazis' anti-Jewish racial policies, but I'm not sure whether you were even allowed to mention Jews in a comic in the 40s. (America had it's own weird racial issues at the time).
The "good" future is just as ridiculous, ending with America's industrial might basically turning the country into a post-war utopia because the historians assume that industrial production would stay at wartime levels, but be given over to peaceful ends. And of course there's the old rub about there never being any other wars after this one. That worked out so well, didn't it?
"The Loneliest Men in the World!"
Writer: Don Cameron
Pencils: Bob Kane
Inks: Jerry Robinson
Synopsis: It's Christmas, and Bruce and Dick are out buying presents when they happen to notice that not everyone is filthy stinking rich and can afford piles of gifts for themselves on Christmas.
Back at Wayne Manor, Dick proposes the idea of bringing cheer and joy to the "loneliest men in the world", and Bruce was thinking the same thing so they suit up as Batman and Robin, dress up the Batplane with sled runners, sleigh bells, and a Christmas tree and head out to deliver presents to the three loneliest men in Gotham!
On their way out, they stop buy to wish season's greetings to Commissioner Gordon, who is in a meeting with Dirk Dagner, a gangster whom Gordon is letting go because they have no evidence to hold him! Batman and Robin swing through the window and tell Gordon all about their plans to bring Christmas to Ben Botts (doorman at a swanky club), Link Chesney (famous radio humourist) and Tom Wick the lighthouse keeper -- however they somehow don't notice Dirk listening in to the whole plan! Dirk heads back to his hideout and announces his plan to his men to attack Batman on his Christmas itinery.
First stop, is doorman Ben Botts, who has been working at the Crane Club for twenty-five years but never allowed inside. So of course Batman and Robin take him in to show him that the club's rich snobby patrons actually do appreciate and love him after all, and they start throwing him a party and his boss gives him a raise and so on -- but without Botts watching the door, Dirk Dagner and his men get in!
There's a fight, Botts is afraid he'll lose his job, but luckily Batman and Robin fight the crooks enough for them to... leave, I guess, and for no real reason Batman tells Robin not to pursue them (Batman must know there's six pages left in the comic).
The Batplane flies off to its next engagement with Link Chesney, who is a famous radio humourist in Gotham but also a notorious grouch who hates everyone and thinks everyone hates him. When the Dynamic Duo show up Batman points out that Link Chesney must have some humanity to bring such laughter into the world -- Chesney reveals that he buys old joke from other comedians and keeps them in a "gag file" and brings them out when he needs them on air (so... he's a fraud?)
That's when Dirk Dagner shows up to steal the gag file, and since it's the second act it's time for Batman and Robin to be captured and placed into a death trap! It's pretty elaborate -- the gangsters tied Batman and Robin to the raditor, tied a noose around their necks, then tie the end of the noose to Link Chesney who is then tied up and standing on tiptoes on a stool. The gag is that Chesney will eventually fall off the stool and thus hang Batman and Robin.
Batman gets them out of it by lifting up the stool with his legs enough for the rope to loosen and the three of them to escape. The crooks have already left to the lighthouse because I guess they didn't have much faith Batman would bite the dust either, but before going after them the Dynamic Duo reveal Chesney's Christmas gift -- all of his fans from across the country calling him at once through a national hook-up to wish him a Merry Christmas! Chesney fels appreciated and beloved (as he should, he's famous, after all!) and Batman and Robin leave in the Batplane.
The gangsters have knocked out lighthouse operater Tom Wick hoping to cause a vessel bringing in valuable war materiel will crash and they can loot it (who the hell do they think they can fence guns and ammunition to?). Batman and Robin appear, capture Dirk and his men, and celebrate Christmas Eve with Tom in the lighthouse.
Gordon's Christmas present is Dirk Dagner wrapped in a bow (literally) while Dick remarks that none of the men they helped were really lonely -- they all had friends, they just didn't know it. Bruce reveals that the true loneliest man is Dirk Dagner, who will never have a friend because he's "a wild beast to be kept caged"! Even on Christmas, Bruce Wayne is one cold sumbitch.
~~~~
My Thoughts: It's the second Christmas themed tale in Batman after last year's story in Batman #9. It's hard to know what to say about a story reviewed by Senior Batmanologist Chris Sims himself, but I will say I think it's a better Christmas tale than the last one. Both are of course overly saccharine but at least this one isn't a complete Dickens rip-off.
The Art: It's decent stuff, pretty standard layouts and character work from Kane, with Robinson clearly adding the extra detailing. It's a very busy style that fills the panels with a lot of lines, as opposed to the clean look of the Burnleys.
The Story: Can I take this opportunity to say... Dirk Dagner? I think that's the most over-the-top "villain" name any Batman gangster has recieved, and they've had some good ones. It feels like it should exist in the same breath as Dick Dastardly, Snidely Whiplash and Dan Backslide.
Anyways, the structure of the story is all right, with a good three act structure and so on, although the fact that Batman lets the villains go in act one so that they'll have someone to fight in the rest of the story is a glaring flaw. Of course, if this story were done today the writer would try to posit Batman himself as one of the loneliest men in the world on Christmas -- Don Cameron doesn't even bring it up since Batman is a millionaire with a ward, a best friend, and a girlfriend - his life's great!
A nicely rendered and memorable cover from Jerry Robinson.
"The Isle That Time Forgot"
Writer: Joseph Greene
Pencils: Bob Kane
Inks: Jerry Robinson
Synopsis: Dick Grayson awakes to Bruce Wayne spanking him ten consecutive times, even though he's done nothing wrong, because it's his tenth birthday (least I assume that it's his tenth because that's the number of time Bruce hits him, but it's also possible to interpret the scene as Dick is just turning 8, which means he's been a 7-year-old crime fighter so far! Jesus!). Cuz that's not weird. Then he let Dick have a piece of his own birthday cake (which has fourteen candles?), a cake topped by a model Batplane (where did Bruce get that?). Dick says he wishes he had a real Batplane... and GUESS WHAT? Bruce has made him his OWN small Batplane, exactly like the main one, only smaller (which means they now have two Batplanes sitting along with the Batmobile in the old barn linked to Wayne Manor with the underground tunnel). Ah, the privileges of the 1%! Dick wants to take it for a test run right away, and Bruce agrees. And this is strange, right? I'm not alone in thinking this first page is just bizarre?
Anyways, they're off flying and they run into a hurricane. It just straight up pops out of nowhere I guess and they get stuck right in the middle of it. They make it out fine, and Robin spots an island. Batman decides to set down on it (keep in mind the plane isn't damaged or out of gas or anything), and Robin thinks he's spotted a dinosaur. Batman tells him not to "get gay", then spots a good-looking couple being threatened by a bunch of cavemen looking types. So naturally he decides to set down the plane and help them.
While trekking through the jungle, the Dynamic Duo are spotted and knocked out by the cavemen. When they awake, they find that they are captives alongside the attractive couple -- captives of a mad scientist named Moloff who wants no trespassers on his island, which he sees as the scientific find of the century! Batman and Robin break free of their bonds and start fighting the cavemen, but then Moloff tells everyone to run and suddenly Batman and Robin are left fighting a Tyrannosaurus rex! (Which looks more like an inaccurate depiction of an Allosaurus maximus, but I doubt Bob Kane had a lot of paleontology).
Batman ends up strangling the Allosaurus to death with his Batrope (described as 'silken', yet also 'strong as steel cable'), and Robin remarks that "now we've fought everything!"
The girl faints in Batman's arms, gracious for having been saved, at which point her companion clubs Batman and Robin on the head and accuses them of butting into "other people's affairs" and "crabbing my act"! He and some goons he promises money too leave Batman to die in the jungle, although they complain that the "Big Guy" isn't going to like this.
Unconscious Batman wakes up to find himself attacked by a boa constrictor, which is luckily shot in the head by an unknown aide before it can kill the Dark Knight. Following a trail of footprints, Batman heads off to solve the mystery. Meanwhile, Robin is thrown in a kind of glass zoo/cage building, while the woman begs with the other guy not to be a murderer. He insists that Robin will be all right, and that this island is a fortune in buried treasure for both of them. The reader begins to wonder if this story will ever stop being coy and start making some kind of sense.
So Robin gets attacked by a sabretooth tiger. He climbs a tree and uses his radio to call Batman for help. Batman rushes to the rescue, and runs into Moloff, who denies being the one who saved Batman from the boa constrictor. He pulls a gun on Batman, who simply punches him and runs on after Robin. There's some suspense as Batman is chased after, but he eventually crashes through the glass windows and tackles the sabretooth tiger, only to find that it's tusks are fake! He pulls one out and uses it to stab the tiger to death! Yeesh, Batman.
Batman and Robin are stumped as to what's going on, but before they can figure things out they come across Moloff once again holding the handsome couple hostage with a gun. The Dynamic Duo jump in and a fight starts, and once again the handsome guy tries to take out Batman, but hitting him with a stone club seems to do nothing! During the fight, Robin uncovers a movie camera, and when he wonders what it's doing there, someone yells that he's ruining the shot!
Yes, turns out that it's all been a movie, directed by "Big" Guy Markham. Guy tells Batman they were already shooting when the Batplane landed and he decided to take advantage of the situation. Figuring the heroes would never consent to be in the film, he decided to have the actors improvise and stage scenes around them. The leading man got jealous, as this was supposed to be his break-out role, and this is why he kept trying to kill Batman. The dinosaur was a mechanical construct controlled from within by a man. A crack marksman killed the boa and would've killed the tiger if it had gotten out of control.
The director believes his "third-rate melodrama" is now an epic, and Batman and Robin fly back to the mainland looking forward to seeing it upon release.
~~~~
My Thoughts: Oh, man. So this is another in the "Batman and Robin NOT in Gotham City" genre that I generally dislike, and this time it's by Joseph Greene, writing his second Bat-script. And man it just doesn't work on so many levels. I don't like these kinds of stories, I just don't think Batman and Robin work well in them, but I admit they can be good if the change of scenery is well justified. This, on the other hand, is a story that works only through trickery. It's writing down to the audience. And sure, the audience is between eight and ten years old, but that doesn't make it okay in my eyes. Also, the whole damn thing is weird -- and also the first comic I've seen that falls into the "let's make Batman and Robin look gay by pulling panels out of context" genre of modern internet foolery.
The Art: It's all right. The Batplanes, the storm, the dinosaur, the tiger, they're all quite well done. Ultimately, too much happens too quickly in this story for the art team to really strut their stuff with the action bits. But what they do get, they do a good job of, like the boa constrictor scenes and Batman racing to rescue Robin. So in many ways the art is pulling the weight here. We're seeing Batman and Robin do cool things we don't normally see them do.
The Story: Yeesh! Not a lick of this makes sense. I kept waiting for Robin to wake up and it was all a dream. First Bruce gives Dick an airplane for his tenth birthday, which may be the height of Bruce's reckless child endangerment so far. Then they get lost in a hurricane, land on an island, fight dinosaurs and dudes with confusing motivation, and then it was all a movie? I think Joseph Greene either has no idea how movies are made, or decided his readers didn't and that it didn't matter. I get that special effects were a more mysterious and magical thing back then (no DVD commentaries and features to ruin it all) -- but a life-size mechanical dinosaur? Is that how people thought King Kong was done? And who is putting up the insurance for a picture that's really shooting on an uncharted island, with real dangerous animals? What director would just decide to start throwing dangerous animals at Batman and Robin and filming it? Why are the Dynamic Duo okay with this?? These people are crazy! This story thinks its being clever by keeping it all a muddled mystery til the end, but the explanation is just so lazy and nonsensical that it renders the whole story somewhat stupid.
Notes and Trivia: Robin has his own Batplane, identical to the first, but smaller.
"Report Card Blues"
Writer: Joseph Greene
Pencils: Bob Kane
Inks: Jerry Robinson
Synopsis: Little Tommy Trent plays hooky from school a lot and his grades are failing. His parents are angry with him, and tomorrow is report card day. His dad says that if Tommy doesn't get a good report card he won't be allowed to play after school anymore. Tommy just knows it's going to be awful, so he decides to run away from home, and sneaks off at night.
Meanwhile, in the City, some gangsters are setting a bomb at a storefront in order to scare the owner into paying protection. Batman and Robin happen upon them, and successfully beat up the crooks, but they forget about the bomb, which goes off. In the confusion, the three bandits make off in a bakery truck.
Batman tells the police to put an alarm out for the truck, which the crooks end up hearing on the radio. They put on butcher's uniforms and change the sign on the truck from Baker to Butcher, but they realize as they approach a carstop that they still match the description of three guys in a truck. But, seeing little Tommy Trent trying to hitch along the highway, they pick up the boy and use him to throw off the police. The gangsters talking makes Tommy realize they are, in fact, gangsters, and the crooks realize the kid could be a potential witness. They throw him into the back of the truck and decide to take him back to the boss for further instructions. But Tommy is smart, and drops a trail of breadrolls out a hole in the back of the truck so that... someone... can follow them. The truck arrives at a Florist's, and the lead crook reports to their boss, the flower-loving gangster named L. Milo.
Batman and Robin pick up the trail of breadrolls and follow it. At the Florist's, Milo instructs the men to kill the boy, but before they can do anything, the Dynamic Duo burst on the scene. There's a brief fight, before Milo manages to grab ahold of Robin and point a gun at him, telling Batman to stand down or Robin dies (Why he doesn't just shoot both of them is beyond me). Now captured, Batman and Robin sit tied up with little Tommy Trent, who relates his runaway story to his idol, the Dark Knight.
Milo announces that as it is the first of the month, they must settle accounts with those who haven't paid their protection money, and as they are now wanted by the police, they must work quickly. He splits the group into three, so as to hit all three businesses simultaneously, and takes Tommy with himself as a hostage, leaving Batman and Robin tied up alone in the flower shop with a guard. Batman manages to escape by pushing a fern plant in front of a steam vent, the heat causing the buds to ripen and explode in the guard's face, allowing the momentary distraction needed to strike! Ah, the things one learns in an encyclopedia! They find Milo's records book and figure out which businesses he is hitting and split up.
Robin heads to a barber shop and defeats the crooks there using a combination of barber shop props and bad puns. Batman promptly does the same at a penny arcade. There's a funny moment when he knocks a crook into a fortune machine which spits out a card reading "A tall dark man will enter your life and cause you much trouble."
They then arrive at the final location, a department store, but the crooks know the Duo is coming and outnumber them. Trying to help, Tommy grabs a bow and arrow off a shelf in sporting goods, ties his hankerchief around it, lights it on fire with a match, then shoots the arrow into the ceiling, setting off the automatic sprinklers (somehow managing to do all this without anyone noticing!) The sprinklers provide the distraction needed for the heroes to get the upper hand in the fight, especially when the Fire Department shows up to provide back-up!
Batman returns Tommy to his home, where he promises to be a good student and never play hooky again. Having only been gone during the night, he goes to school in the morning with his parents none the wiser that he was gone, promising to study hard and get good grades. (None of which will change that this term's report card is still gonna suck!)
~~~~
My Thoughts: I can really see what Greene's going for here, the wish-fulfillment fantasy of a regular kid sharing adventures with Batman -- but isn't that what Robin is for? The idea of Batman interacting with normal kids on adventures is going to be used over and over, but I can't recall ever seeing it done particularly well ("I've Got Batman in my Basement", anyone?)
The Art: Good, standard stuff from Kane & Co. Tommy Trent looks like something out of Dell Comics, like a poverty-stricken ginger version of Richie Rich. The gangsters also get some good designs, and the fight scenes in the barber shop and penny arcade are lots of fun.
The Story: Greene's script isn't as bad as the last story, but it does have a few issues. The biggest of which is that ultimately Tommy doesn't really learn anything in his adventure that actually applies to solving his issue. I get that Greene is trying to show a regular kid that the reader would relate to and impart the message that it's important to stay in school -- but Tommy running away from home means he gets to hang out with the Batman! He never could've done that if he'd stayed home! Meanwhile, he's still gonna get a rotten report card (changing your ways on the last day of term doesn't solve that) so his dad is still gonna ground him. Oh well, can't expect all your Golden Age comics to have good scripts, I guess.
"The Princess of Plunder"
Writer: Jack Schiff
Artist: Jerry Robinson
Synopsis: Popular socialite Marguerite Tone is known for throwing elaborate parties with gimmicks and games for the guests. On this particular evening, she gives all the guests a card with a rare item on it, for the game is to be a scavenger hunt! However, none of the guests know that Marguerite Tone is actually the Catwoman! Donning her cat's head mask, cape and skintight black dress, she gives her gang of crooks scavenger hunt cards as well, and sets them upon Gotham to steal items from the wealthy!
When the crooks are questioned as to why they are in these homes, they are able to use the scavenger hunt as cover, pretending to be Marguerite's guests! When Batman and Robin come across a pair of the burglars on their patrol, they give the same cover story. Batman phones Marguerite to check the story, it all seems legit, except Batman recognizes her voice as that of Catwoman's (which begs the question of why noone recognizes his voice as that of Bruce Wayne's, especially people who know both men well, like Commissioner Gordon...)
Suspecting that something is up, Bruce accepts an invitation to Marguerite's next party, a costume party where the guests must show up as their favourite character. So naturally, Bruce goes as Batman. Perhaps not a great idea for secret identity reasons, but a worse one is that he and Robin drive there in the Batmobile! Batman leaves Robin in the car and heads into the party.
Marguerite of course has had the audacity of dressing as Catwoman, but Bruce finds that he's not alone as Batman! There's a whole wack of Dark Knight cosplayers, one of whom mistakes Bruce for someone named Duke and tells him to meet up with Catwoman upstairs. So Batman finds himself standing with three other Batmen being given orders by the Catwoman! The plot is that the Batmen will be able to enter any building without suspicion (since Batman is an honorary police officer), and if there's any problems they can once again use the costume party as cover. But that's when the real Duke shows up, and they realize that one of them is the real Batman. Batman uses the identity confusion to his advantage in the ensuing two-page fight scene and is eventually assisted by Robin. However, Catwoman points out to Batman that she has not in fact committed a crime and that he cannot prove anything. Foiled, Batman lets her go. (Couldn't he arrest her for her previous crimes, knowing that she's Catwoman now?)
Marguerite's next scheme is to recommend new serving staff to her high society friends, who are unaware their new employees are in fact Catwoman's thugs, who of course use their new positions to rob their employers. Unfortunately, one of them is spotted and recognized by Bruce Wayne at a dinner party, giving the whole scheme away. He follows the crook down to the servant's quarters and confronts him as Batman. A two-page fight scene later and he's beaten the next target Catwoman and the gang intend to attack out of him.
Batman and Robin intend to stop the Princess of Plunder, but after a two-page fight scene Catwoman once again gets away. But Robin spots a clue, which leads the Dynamic Duo to a lost-and-found agency. Catwoman, unable to fence the highly unique items she has stolen, is instead selling them back to the rightful owners through a lost-and-found. There's a fight, during which one of the crooks tries to kill Catwoman for getting them into this mess. Batman saves her, Robin rounds up the crooks, and Catwoman embraces Batman in a kiss.
Catwoman gets away, but the cops arrest everyone else. Once again Robin accuses Batman of letting Catwoman get away, while Bruce muses about what could be if only they weren't on opposite sides of the law.
~~~~
My Thoughts: This story is significant in that it is the first Batman tale created without any involvement from the character's two creators, Kane and Finger. Jack Schiff's second script is another Bat-classic, demonstrating a firm grasp of the characters, and story-telling style. Catwoman's character once again goes through some evolution -- this time given a real name. It's unclear whether Schiff intended Marguerite Tone to really be Catwoman's true name, but it is implied in the story that it is a recently created alias for the purpose of this series of crimes, as Bruce has never met Marguerite before this story despite both travelling in the same social circles, and the fact that at the end of this story Catwoman's scheme is outed and she gets away and seemingly abandons this identity. Still, it's an interesting development and continuation of a character who hasn't been seen in the book for some time now -- Schiff brings Catwoman back from near oblivion and makes her relevant to the book again.
The Art: Jerry Robinson pulls a fine solo job here. His greatest contribution is a refinement of Catwoman's costume design -- now a tight black dress with a dark purple cape, and even the silly cat's head mask is drawn much better, giving the character a sleeker, more evil appearance that works in her favour. Perhaps the only major issue in Robinson's work is his Batman and Robin faces, both of which appear somewhat sloppy and off-model throughout. However, it in large part indistinguishable from his work with Kane, which I suppose proves how significant his contributions to the look of the strip have been.
The Story: Schiff once again writes a tale that feels like a classic Batman story, with no bumps or hiccups in the narrative. He also writes the first truly good Catwoman story -- with no major changes from the Kane/Finger conception of the character, yet she finally seems a competent and worthwhile antagonist. Schiff makes her smart and capable, and also gives her a gang of henchmen where previously she had been an independant operator. He retains the mutual attraction between Batman and Catwoman, and the now standard ending of Batman letting Catwoman go, a questionably immoral decision influenced by their forbidden romance. Yet this story feels so much better than the previous attempts at the character that it's like discovering her again for the first time.
"The Sheriff of Ghost Town"
Writer: Bill Finger
Pencils: Bob Kane
Inks: Jerry Robinson
Synopsis: Two tired travellers stumble upon an old ghost town somewhere in the American west. They are Cactus Joe, an old prospector, and a young boy named Joe Jeffers, son of his dead partner. Cactus Joe believes there's still gold to be found here, and decides to settle down to make some money to send the boy to school. Sometime later, a couple drives through and stops as they are out of gas. Their farm had failed, but Cactus Joe encourages them to homestead in the town and make another go of being farmer. Soon enough the town attracts a doctor (who arrives in a horsedrawn carriage?), a carpenter, a barber, a schoolteacher, etc. and becomes a flourishing small town (with the appearance of a Hollywood backlot version of a Wild West town, and everyone dressing in that style...) which names Cactus Joe its mayor and names itself Sunshine City!
So, this being a comic book, five crooks ride into town seeing easy pickings. And yes, I said ride -- horses, cowboy hats, everything like out of a western for some reason. They attack the town, they steal gold, they murder townsfolk and they burn the schoolhouse to the ground. Cactus Joe is at a loss for what to do (call the state police or the federal authorities, maybe?) but young Joe Jeffers suggests putting out a call to Batman to help them (of course! A quasi-legal vigilante from a city thousands of miles away!) The kid rides (on horseback, of course) to "State City" to ask a newspaper publisher to print their story in the hopes that it gets Batman's attention. The story is picked up by radio stations and broadcast coast to coast. Noone at any point apparently thinks to send police or help themselves or anything, of course.
Batman and Robin hear the story on the radio, and decide to leave Gotham to help. Travelling by Batplane, they actually come across the young boy being set upon by the crooks (all on horseback!)
So of course Batman dives out of the plane and knocks a dude off a horse and drives the criminals off, saving the boy. Riding triumphantly into town, Mayor Cactus Joe nominates Batman for sheriff of the town -- and the crooks promptly counter-nominate their leader, Frogel, and oh man this is stupid. Like, episode of the Adam West show stupid. How could either of these guys actually be nominated -- one's a crook and the other has no legal identity? Anyways, there's a mild subplot of Batman on the campaign trail with Frogel attempting to sabotage it, but it lasts a page and Batman becomes sheriff. He of course makes Robin his deputy, and for a time all is quiet and peaceful in Sunshine City. Newspapers ring out that Batman has ended crime in the small town, which is impressive considering he couldn't manage it in Gotham.
Now the news comes that the neighbouring town of Gila Gulch is going to lend Sunshine City money to pay for electric lights and other 20th century conveniences. For some reason they decide to bring the money in a stagecoach, and the whole town agrees to dress in pioneer clothes like it was "frontier days", despite the fact that this whole country has been doing that since the start of the story. So of course the gang of crooks plans to rob the stagecoach.
Batman assigns Robin to escort the stagecoach while he... jerks off, I guess? It gets attacked by the bandits who steal the money, kill Cactus Tom, and take Robin hostage. Because Robin sucks. The kid at least leaves a trail for Batman to follow, so the Dark Sheriff rallies a posse of old-timers in cowboy cosplay to help him take down the gang because "one ounce of fighting spirit is worth a ton of muscle!"
A two-page fight scene later and the gang is defeated and Robin freed. And while of course Batman and Robin don't kill anyone, the cowboy cosplayers do indeed shoot a bunch of dudes with six shooters. Batman tracks Frogel to his hideout, and even though Frogel shoots right at him, it somehow doesn't matter and Batman beats him up and takes him to jail. The town erects a statue of Cactus Tom, and Batman reflects that the pioneer spirit is all anyone needs and then no one can rob you of happiness, before the Dynamic Duo fly back to Gotham in the Batplane.
~~~~
My Thoughts: Usually when Bill Finger does these "Batman in another genre" stories, there is some justification for what happens. Nope, not this time. Finger apparently thinks that a) all people in the Midwest dress like they're in a Western B-movie and b) that apparently there is still no law and order in the Wild West. It's a dumb story and not only that but the central gimmick of Batman in a Western is also one we've seen before, in World's Finest #4 just four months ago, which also did a poor job of justifying things and was also a bad story. Well, I suppose I will just have to get used to recycled ideas and scripts as I continue on through this review series.
The Art: I suspect there must have been some kind of miscommunication with the art team on this story. The dialogue seems to imply that no one starts doing the Western get-up and such until the final bit of the story, when everyone dresses up for the town's celebration. But everyone looks like the 1860s all the way through, which just seems bizarre.
The Story: It's just bad writing. Finger takes forever setting up this frontier town whose whole gimmick strains belief, then we're led to believe that no one else can help these folks except Batman. The "Batman is elected sheriff" plot is dumb, and seems like it's just there to use the silver star iconography and justify the title of the story. And the whole story can be summarized as "every B-western movie cliché, this time with Batman". This is the only Finger/Kane story in this issue and it stinks, which maybe demonstrates that the strip indeed needs new blood.
"The Strange Case of the Diabolical Puppet Master"
Writer: Bill Finger
Pencils: Bob Kane
Inks: Jerry Robinson and George Roussos
Synopsis: Out one night on patrol, Batman comes across a man being accosted by a brute in a cossack outfit. Batman comes to the fellow's aide, but is attacked by an acommplice of the cossack. The two get away, and Batman discovers the man he rescued is none other than "Dr. Craig", a leading researcher in the field of atomic energy. Turns out that he has discovered a formula to perfect its use, something which Batman realises would be of great value to the warring powers of Europe.
After Batman leaves, Dr. Craig discovers he has an odd scratch on his arm -- oh well, it's just a scratch... or is it??
Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne runs into the two men from the other day and follows them to a music hall showcasing "Dmitri, the Puppet Master". Bruce is suspicious and sends Robin to spy on Dmitri and his men.
The duo finds out that the Puppet Master is after Dr. Craig as well as something called the Voss Rifle. Bruce decides to head over to Dr. Craig's to protect him and stop the Puppet Master.
Meanwhile, at the Puppet Master's lair, we learn that his men have been scratching their targets with a needle containing "thought serum" a drug wich enables the Puppet Master to hypnotize and control his victim's thought waves -- which is some grade A comic book science if you ask me!
And so the Puppet Master begins to control Dr. Craig from afar, having him get up from bed and get the atomic formula from his safe and deliver it to his waiting men. But of course, just then, the Batman intervenes! After a two-page fight scene the henchmen get away. Batman and Robin take Dr. Craig back to "the Batman's laboratory", which at this point is still presumably just a room in Wayne Manor!! Bruce proposes electric shock as a method to bring him out of hypnosis and so...
We suddenly get a new scene in which Bruce annnounces that the Voss Rifle the Puppet Master is a new army gun and that Batman and Robin will prevent its theft! Huh. Okay, Bill Finger.
Meanwhile, using the thought serum the Puppet Master gains himself an army of hoods to take on the soldiers guarding the Voss Rifle, a concept illustrated by a fantastic panel visualizing the Puppet Master reaching his clutches out into the underworld.
Back at Wayne Manor, Batman and Robin race along an underground passage that leads from Wayne Manor to an abandoned barn in which the Batplane is kept and can be launched from!! Now THIS is a new concept! When the Batplane was first introduced, it was the Batgyro, and just kept in a large room in Wayne Manor along with the laboratory.
Anyways, the plane launches, but the hypnotized hoods have already attacked the "Metropolis Limited", the train carrying the Voss Rifle. The Batplane swoops down, and Batman and Robin launch themselves onto the train to fight the hoods. They are successful in beating them back (the army also helps), but during the fight Batman is scratched with the thought serum! Unfortunately he doesn't know what it does, and assumes it's just a scratch.
One of the Puppet Master's lieutenants reports this to his master, who is delighted and immediately devlops a plan. He summons Bruce from his sleep hypnotically and, without knowing his true identity, orders him to steal jewels from a downtown shop as Batman and bring them to the Puppet Master. Then the Puppet Master calls the police and tips them off, hoping to discredit and disgrace Batman.
The Batman obeys the hypnosis and arrives at the shop, confronted by the police -- but even hypnotized the Batman defeats them and escapes, and heads back to the Puppet Master's place as per his instructions. Meanwhile, Dick notices Bruce is gone and concludes he has left to capture the Puppet Master and may needs Robin's help.
Robin knows where the Puppet Master is because when he was giving his puppet shows his home address was listed in the newspaper (!!!) and once there he spots Batman going in. He confronts him about what's in the bag, and Batman slaps him across the face! Robin is hurt, but realises Batman has been hypnotized, and clocks him in the jaw, which manages to knock him out! Robin carries Batman home.
In the next panel, Batman arrives at the Puppet Master's, and Bill Finger tries to pretend like he's still hypnotized, but he isn't! He beats up the Puppet Master and he and Robin deliver him to the police, where Batman intends to explain that he was hypnotized and will never cease fighting Crime!
My Thoughts: This is a really fantastic return to form for Golden Age Batman. A classic "comic book" style story with a big villain, plot twists, and heroism. It seems clear from his strong gimmick and open ending that Finger intended Dmitri the Puppet Master to become a recurring villain, but to the best of my knowledge this his only appearance. Both DC and Marvel would have subsequent villains known as "The Puppet Master" but this is it for Dmitri. Other items of note: Craig's atomic formula and Dmitri's thieving of military secrets points to the specific era this story was written in -- World War II was raging in Europe, but the US was not yet involved. Although Finger could not have known it, the US Army was even at this early point already looking into the possibility of nuclear arms.
The Art: Kane, Robinson, and Roussos do really good work this time. There are some fantastic panels in this, mainly revolving around the Puppet Master -- including a great circular panel of hoods falling under his control, with the Puppet Master's leering face and outreached hands in the centre. Great stuff. Batman gets a lot of great poses as well. It's a topnotch effort from the art team.
The Story: Finger does a great comic book supervillain type plot here, moving away from the mystery type stories he's been doing in Detective Comics. Probably the weakest point is the ending -- the Puppet Master's address was in the newspaper??? Why the hell didn't Batman just nab him at the start of the story then?? Also, while it appears the electric shock therapy works (it's how Robin breaks the Puppet Master's control of Batman), what happened to Dr. Craig?? It's a loose end left entirely hanging -- at first because Finger needs the suspense of if the electric shock works, but then he seems to just forget about it. Also, Batman's just going to explain everything to the police?? Even if he was hypnotized, he's still a wanted vigilante, as Finger has demonstrated many times. Aside from these holes in the story's resolution though, it's a good and ambitious effort.
Notes and Trivia: Establishing a tunnel from Wayne Manor to an abandoned barn where the Batplane is kept, an early precursor to what will eventually be the Batcave.
"The Ugliest Man in the World"
Writer: Bill Finger
Pencils: Bob Kane
Inks: Jerry Robinson and George Roussos
Synopsis: While on his regular patrol, Batman spots a man being attacked by a gang of hideous looking men. Batman beats them all up, of course, but they escape in a car -- spewing gunfire at the man who Batman narrowly saves. Turns out the man Batman saved is Detective McGongile, who was attempting to stop the hideous gang from setting fire to a museum. McGonigle then realises he is talking to Batman, and tries to arrest him, but Batman pulls a fast one on him and gets away. McGonigle returns to police headquarters, and vows to arrest and unmask the Batman.
Meanwhile, Batman returns home in time to change into Bruce Wayne and visit a rich friend of his named Harvey Dodge. When Bruce arrives, Dodge introduces him to a Mr. Larry Larrimore, another handsome young rich man. After eating dinner and talking for a bit, all of a suddent a ghastly change comes over Dodge, and his facial features suddenly contort and droop and change into the visage of a fat, ugly, idiotic man. Bruce and Larrimore call a doctor, but he is unable to discover what is wrong with Dodge.
Soon, however, men all over the city begin to be affected by what the newspapers dub "The Ghastly Change", while a gang of criminals known as the Ugly Horde begin attacking and destroying works of beauty in the city -- museums, statues, models, paintings, etc -- police follow the getaway car but it always manages to disappear.
Bruce pays one of his customary visits to Commissioner Gordon, who admits the case is driving him "batty" (I don't think Finger intended the pun). McGonigle bursts in, announcing that he believes the Ugly Horde is the same gang that tried to assault him the other night. Gordon assigns him to the case.
Meanwhile, the Ugly Horde gathers at their lair, to hear from their leader...The Ugliest Man in the World! He gives a speech in which he essentially declares war on beauty because people worship beauty and shun ugliness, thus he and his cohorts have been shunned and deserve revenge.
Bruce learns of a painting being shipped to America from a country that the Nazis have invaded in Europe and guesses the Ugly Horde may try to destroy it. So Batman and Robin head out in the Cord to the docks, where they meet the gang and have a two page fight scene. But McGongile shows up and blasts the gangmembers, claiming to be saving Batman's life only because Batman saved his. He once again attempts to arrest him, but Batman pushes him into the sea, and the two escape, hoping to catch the escaping Horde. However, even Batman can't catch up to the car, which once again disappears.
Over the car radio, Batman and Robin have learned that a Dr. Ekhart has discovered the cure to the Ghastly Change, and they figure the Horde might make an attempt on his life. They defeat the crooks, and Batman orders Robin to guard Ekhart while he follows the escaping gang. He discovers they cover their tracks by driving the car up into the bed of a shipping truck. He follows the truck, but once he leaves his car he is knocked out from behind and captured.
He awakes to find himself chained in a dungeon with two other prisoners -- a Mr. and Mrs. John Tyler. The Ugly Horde is guarding them, and announces the approach of their leader -- LARRIMORE! He removes the mask to reveal The Ugliest Man in the World! His real name is Carlson, and it turns out that in college he was accidentally injected with an unknown drug during a fraternity initiation prank. The drug's side effect was that Carlson's face was ruined -- contorted and twisted into a horribly ugly visage. Carlson's fiancee left him, later marrying John Tyler -- the man who injected Carlson! It turns out all the men struck by the Ghastly Change, from Dodge on, were members of the fraternity. Carlson had, after 15 years of research, replicated the drug, and is now going to use it on the Tylers and Batman!
But, as it turns out, Robin had followed Batman, deciding Ekhart was all right. Using the radioactive material coating the tires of Batman's car (previously established as coating the bottom of the duo's shoes), Robin tracks Batman using the infrared flashlight. He appears in the nick of time and rescues Batman. During the fighting, Carlson sneaks up behind Batman with a knife, but is shot by McGonigle! McGonigle spotted Robin and followed him there (that's what you get when you wear red, yellow and green!) Once again he attempts to arrest Batman, once again Batman and Robin escape.
At Wayne Manor, Bruce explains to Dick that the drug deactivated the thyroid gland, causing the men to develop acute myxdesma, which caused their hideous appearance. Which, actually, is pretty good comic book science considering how ridiculous the explanation of the Puppet Master in the previous story was. Bruce and Dick feel sorry for Carlson, remarking that he would never have gone mad if he hadn't been rejected by his friends, who were really the truly ugly ones.
Back at Police Headquarters, McGonigle is pleased he cracked the case, but vows to nab Batman!
My Thoughts: There are two really interesting ideas going on in this story. The first one is McGonigle -- a slightly oafish, stereotypically Irish detective who has vowed to go after Batman, but while not entirely incompetent is far below Batman's level and is always being mad a fool of. This will be a recurring character for a while, a kind of Golden Age Harvey Bullock, really. McGonigle is a kind've incongruous character -- while on the one hand hilarious and bumbling, on the other hand he's actually pretty effective, he shoots and kills several crooks in this story, something Batman would never do. Or, at least hasn't since Robin came around.
The other interesting aspect here is the villain. It's clear that Finger and Kane are attempting to create memorable and interesting villains after the creation of the Joker -- unfortunately Whitney Ellsworth isn't stepping in to save them all from Finger killing them off, so it's a little hard to build a consistent rogues gallery. But regardless, it's clear that Kane has decided that the key to a good villain is a good, horrific visual -- a hallmark of the villains in probably the best rogues gallery in comics before Batman came along: Dick Tracy. Tracy's villains are a lot like Batman's -- their twisted visages reflect their twisted natures. But Chester Gould, who wrote and drew the strip, also painted his villains with pure black and white morality -- there was no redemption for Tracy villains, who were evil to the core and usually punished mortally.
But here, with Carlson, we see a core difference with Batman villains. It will soon be a standing trope that Batman villains are motivated by revenge, jealousy, betrayal -- they are often pathetic, damaged people. So there is a sympathy for them and their plight, even as they do villainous acts. We see that clearly here, when Bruce and Dick feel sorry for Carlson -- which also represents a change in attitude for Bruce, who up until this point has often remarked with grim satisfaction upon a villain's death, even if he is no longer the one dishing them out.
The Art: Kane here displays a gift for caricature which he uses to create the freakishly ugly members of the Horde. It's very effective line work, much better than in the previous issue of Batman. Robinson and Roussos seem to be working more in harmony on the inks now, although Robinson's effectively nuanced shadowing is now being largely replaced by Roussos' solid black swaths in backgrounds.
The Story: Finger creates a neat tale of revenge, madness, mob hysteria, and action. These tales of colourful villains and heroics are far better than his recent attempts at mystery. I enjoyed this one, which was perhaps more creative and better suited to Batman than the previous "Puppet Master" tale.
Notes and Trivia: First appearance of Detective McGonigle.
"The Crime School for Boys"
Writer: Bill Finger
Pencils: Bob Kane
Inks: Jerry Robinson and George Roussos
Synopsis: We begin with a bang, as Batman jumps a gang of thieves on a high rooftop. What follows is fucking dynamite! Batman beats up the crooks, chases them across rooftops, is shot at, swings from one building to another on a rope, fights them on a fire escape, and down to the alleys. Finally, he is down to the last thug -- who turns out to be a mere boy, a little older than Robin! Batman makes the kid swear to go straight, and then follows him to an empty warehouse. The child enters, and Batman heads up to the rooftop to watch through the skylight. Inside a man named "Pockets" runs a Crime School for poor young boys, teaching them to pickpocket and so on, like Fagin in "Oliver Twist". He speaks of boys who have graduated and gone on to serve in Big Boy Daniel's mob, such as the young boy who runs from Batman and who Pockets convinces to stay in the mob, because he's bright and could go places. The boys look up to Pockets and Big Boy and are eager to learn. As you can imagine, Batman is angry about this and returns to Wayne Manor to tell Dick.
Dick asks the question I was thinking, which is why Batman didn't just bust in and start punching people, and Batman responds that it wouldn't do to attack the criminals, because the kids look up to and admire them. Batman must change the children for the better, win their hearts and minds, before he can shut down the crime school. The first thing he does is buy a property in the neighbourhood, and turn it into a free gymnasium for underprivileged youth. Then he sends in Dick as "the new kid on the block", introducing himself to the kids of the crime school. They try to beat him up and bully him, but he beats them easily cause, y'know. He tells them he works out at the free gym Bruce set up, and they follow him there. They start having a lot of fun and coming there regularly, and Dick teaches them to understand that in sports you have to play fair -- that the game isn't worth playing if you aren't honest. The kids learn this and love it -- but they don't apply it to anything outside sports and they keep going to Pockets' "school".
Eventually they invite Dick to the school, and there he learns that Big B
oy Daniels himself will be making an appearance, reporting this to Bruce. That night, Pockets introduces Big Boy to the kids. He picks two of the older boys for jobs -- one will help rob a warehouse, the other an apartment.
Batman, who has been listening in, vows to stop both kids from turning to crime.
At the warehouse, the shadow of the bat hovers over the crooks -- Batman is pissed. He leaps down and grabs a ladder, using it to trap the crooks and sock them. Then he scares the kid straight, saying "The next time I see you hanging around these rats you'll get a taste of what they got!" At the apartment it's a similar deal -- Batman beat sup the bad guys and threatens the kid til he agrees to be good.
Big Boy is convinced someone must have squealed for the Batman to know of both jobs, and just then the Batman phones! He tells Big Boy to shut down Pockets' school or else. Big Boy is convinced Pockets might be the rate and goes to the school -- murdering him in front of the kids! Batman is watching from the skylight and bursts down, now able to definitively pin murder on Big Boy. It's ambiguous, but it seems like Batman set up and allowed Big Boy to murder Pockets to play into Batman's bigger plan. That's cold.
Batman taunts Big Boy, saying he can't beat him without his gang or his guns. Big Boy takes him on and engages him in combat. They go head to head, and the Dark Knight ends up judo flipping Big Boy by his head! Defeated, Big Boy pulls his gun on Batman -- but the kids see this as cheating after Big Boy had agreed to Batman's rules. Dick spurs them on and they turn on the mobsters. They clean up and the mobsters go to jail.
The kids go straight, continue using the gym, while Dick "moves out of the neighbourhood". Dick thinks the job is finished, but Bruce counters that they and others must continue to support the construction of playgrounds, gyms, public schools, church organizations, etc. for youngsters in poor areas -- only then and "we will wipe out crime!"
My Thoughts: WOW. Now THIS is a Batman story, possibly the best since Detective #40. The best part is that it's a story with a great moral and message, but without speaking down to kids (or even directly to the audience, like in past instances of Batman moralizing) and keeping Batman thoroughly in character throughout. It fits into past themes of Batman morals, such as teaching kids not to admire gangsters, who's lives seem to be glamourous but only have one ending (Batman's fist) and that crooks are cowards without their guns. But by incorporating them fully into the themes of the story, and keeping the moralizing realistic within the story's confines, it reads far more powerfully and naturally rather than stopping things cold. There are times when I love comics that have a message and get across a point, like Steve Ditko's Mr. A stories. This comic does that brilliantly. It didn't hurt that it was damned exciting and awesome to boot.
The Art: The art team does dynamite work here. The fight scenes are inventive and exciting and Batman gets all kinds of cool poses -- including the classic "shadow on the wall" bit that will be done over and over for the next 70 years. The four page fight that opens the story is gangbusters (no pun intended) and the work in making all the crooks look really grimy is just aces.
The Story: I love the little details. It's so in character for Batman to just really, really, loathe the idea of turning kids into crooks, given his reaction to Dick's plight and of course his own origin. In turn, it gives Dick a natural spot to fit into the story as Batman's mole. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne is well used as he uses his wealth to buy the gym. And THIS is maybe the greatest thing the story does -- realise that Batman cannot Stop Crime by fisticuffs alone, that there needs to be an element of social reconstruction as well, and that Bruce Wayne as a billionaire provides that with his wealth being able to support charitable organizations and philanthropy. This is a brilliant notion because it supports the idea that in BOTH identities, he is engaging in his war on crime, which he swore to as a boy. It's one of the things that overtime allowed the Wayne personality to become more interesting than just "bored playboy" and therefore get more "screen"time, which decreased in the nineties as once again Wayne was given little to do.
"The Batman vs The Cat-Woman"
Writer: Bill Finger
Pencils: Bob Kane
Inks: Jerry Robinson and George Roussos
Synopsis: So Cat-Woman is back, having appeared in the previous two issues as well. She retains from her last appearance a confusing mixture of being referred to as The Cat and as the Cat-Woman, but what's new is she's got an actual costume! It's an ugly thing essentially made up of an evening dress with a cape and a lifelike cat's head mask. Anyways, she's been thieving jewels all over the city, becoming a media sensation. In other words, actually doing something in the story, unlike her previous appearances.
The Gotham police look like fools (neither for the first, nor last time) and Gordon angrily assigns McGonigle to the case, as McGonigle took credit from Batman for cleaning up the Ugly Horde. Meanwhile, Bruce is sitting at home reading the newspaper headlines about the Cat, and it's only now that he decides to do something about it.
So Batman's off on the prowl, and instead of running into Cat-Woman he runs into a bunch of hoods stabbing a dude in an alley. So of course he gives the hoods what for, and tries to help the stabbed man, who mentions some stuff about diamond syndicates and shipments before dying. Meanwhile, the crooks spot McGonigle coming along and escape in their getaway car. McGongile once again attempts to arrest Batman and is once again humiliated -- this time he chooses to leave "the Batman got away again" out of his report.
The next morning, Bruce once again gets his crime-fighting info from the newspaper, reporting that the man stabbed was a secretary for a large diamond firm. Bruce goes to visit Gordon, who is on his way to question the owners of the firm, so of course he lets Bruce tag along.
The three owners, Darrel, Blake and Hoffer, have no clue why the man may have been killed, unless it has something to do with the huge shipment they are bringing in to show off on models in a show in their salon. Y'know, nothing major. Gordon agrees to guard the salon with police, because that always works in these comics.
Bruce goes home and informs Dick of his cunning plan, while the Cat-Woman is also plotting to steal the diamonds (having learned of it while reading the paper, lounging in her apartment, still wearing that ridiculous cat's head mask!)
Bruce attends the show, but one of the models, wearing a million dollar's in diamonds, turns out to be Cat-Woman in disguise -- she throws a flashbomb into the crowd and escapes. Instead of just calmly leaving once removing her disguise, she actually changes into the totally conspicuous cat's head outfit and is quickly spotted by police and then nabbed by some random thugs and thrown into a car (hey, Cat-Woman -- when you are more recognizable with your mask than without, what's the point?). Anyways, the gangsters car is followed by a speeding one-man racer driven by... ROBIN! Yeah, because apparently Batman doesn't stop breaking the law at vigilantism. Meanwhile, Bruce canges into Batman and makes his way over to Darrel's apartment.
Darrel has been waiting for a call, but he's not gonna get it because Batman punches him! Punching. It solves everything. The Dark Knight calls Robin on the Boy Wonder's belt-radio, and tells Batman where he followed the crooks to. Batman brings Darrel there, and the whole reading audience is still confused.
Batman pushes Darrel through the door, where he comes across Hoffer about to shoot the Cat, who is tied to a chair by the mobsters. Turns out Darrel and Hoffer had hired the Cat to steal the diamonds but Hoffer didn't want to share the take so Hoffer is going to kill both of them (yet is still willing to pay the mobsters?) At that moment, Batman and Robin burst in and kick ass. Batman frees Cat-Woman and they immediately start flirting. Batman ties up Darrel and Hoffer and Hoffer believes he has the upper hand because Batman has no proof -- but it turns out Robin took pictures with a wrist-watch camera gadget!
Turns out Darrel and Hoffer had ruined the company with bad stock investments and planned on stealing the diamonds to get the money back -- since the company had insurance it wouldn't take the loss. The clerk they killed found out and had to die.
Batman tells the Cat-Woman that he must arrest her too, but first she kisses him to thank him for saving her life -- then pushes him away and escapes.
Robin proposes going after her, but Batman makes an excuse and once again lets her get away cause she's hot. Batman -- pinnacle of justice until he gets a little hard.
Batman drops the evidence off with McGonigle (including a note about being "your pal" which pisses the detective off) as well as directions to where he's left the villains tied up. Meanwhile, Cat-Woman has escaped in a car, but finds herself dreaming of a day when she and Batman could have a life together.
My Thoughts: Kane and Finger intro'd Cat-Woman in Batman #1, but this is the first story where she really does anything, and there's still not much too her other than a feisty independant jewel thief who Batman is attracted to and so always "accidentally" manages to let go. It's okay, but nothing really stands out about the character so far.
The Art: Okay, so after two appearances where she was just a dark haired dame in a dress, Kane gives Cat-Woman a visual. And it's ugly. Kane said he invented Cat-Woman to give the feature some sex appeal, but putting a realistic looking cat's head mask on the character is not making her sexier. It'll be a surprisingly long time before Cat-Woman gets anything resembling a recognizable costume, so we're gonna have to endure this look for a while. Other than that, the art is good, with tons of awesome dramatic shadows.
The Story: It's sort've a confused mess. There's Cat-Woman and then this thing with the diamond guys and it's sort've thrown together. Which is how all the Cat-Woman stories have felt, although at least this time it's a bit better. But it's also a story where the twist makes no sense the second time you read it -- the way Cat-Woman plans on stealing the diamonds (hell, the way she actually goes about it) makes no sense if the owners of the diamonds have hired her to steal them for them. It's a bit lazily plotted and never really goes anywhere. But it's still the best Cat-Woman story so far. It's just that they've all kinda sucked.
Notes and Trivia: First attempt at a costume for Catwoman
"Joker Meets Cat-woman"
Writer: Bill Finger
Pencils: Bob Kane
Inks: Jerry Robinson and George Roussos
Synopsis: Last we saw The Joker, he was presumed dead after stabbing himself at the end of his second appearance in Batman #1. Thankfully, DC editor Whitney Ellsworth saw fit to save the Joker's life, metaphorically speaking, and it is revealed that Joker has survived his wounds, but is recuperating in a hospital.
Upon hearing of this, Batman develops a plan of action: abduct Joker from the hospital before he can escape, and take him to a brain surgeon for an operation so he can be "turned into a valuable citizen". So, Batman wants to force Joker into a lobotomy? That's an interesting idea, certainly, and I don't think I've ever seen Batman consider anything like it for Joker. Batman often wishes to rehabilitate his enemies (Harvey Dent is a good example), but has never shown any hope for Joker. Unfortunately, this one line of dialogue is as far as the story gets with this intriguing idea.
Instead, we cut to the headquarters of "Crime Syndicate Inc.", an organization of gangsters whose "Chief" has recently died. Since this isn't a reference to a past Bat-story, I can only imagine that Finger is referencing recent events in the real life "National Crime Syndicate" -- a newspaper coined name for the loose organization of mobsters operating out of New York and Chicago.
Anyhow, with the "Chief" dead, the de facto leader Weasel decides to kidnap the Joker and turn him into the new Chief, starting by having Joker plan the theft of the Pharaoh Gems, owned by E.S. Arthur.
The gangsters slip into the hospital, and force doctors at gunpoint to operate on the Joker. However, their activities attack the attention of Commissioner Gordon and the police, who blockade the building. At that moment, the Batman appears. Gordon orders his men after him, but Batman fights back, killing two of the cops. Gordon remarks that this behavior is out of character for Batman, but orders his men to leave the hospital in pursuit. The police chase Batman to a barnhouse, where after an exciting fight sequence, they shoot down the Batman. Gordon unmasks the vigilante to discover the face of "Circus Charlie", a known criminal.
Meanwhile, the gangsters leave the hospital with Joker in tow, their ruse to divert the police a success. However, the mysterious Cat-Woman (last seen in Batman #1), has been watching them from across the street. Just then, the real Batman appears, grabbing the Cat and throwing her into his 1936 Cord (with Robin in the driver's seat?). She demands to be set free, but Batman wants information on the Joker. She tells him they are bringing the Joker to Weasel's hunting lodge, and so Batman agrees to let her go. But! The floor of Batman's car is coated with a radioactive material, and using a special flashlight, Batman can track the Cat's movements! Which is precisely what he orders Robin to do while he goes after the gangsters.
Meanwhile, the Joker has recovered, but is unsatisfied with his present company, and decides to poison the gangsters. At that minute, Batman bursts in and beats up the crooks in typical fashion, allowing Joker to get away.
Then the story gets really, really, rushed, even by Golden Age standards. Basically, the Cat-Woman has seduced E.S. Arthur, gaining access to his castle (castle??). She sneaks into his study to take the gems, but finds Arthur murdered by the Joker, who sticks her up. Robin swoops in, having followed Cat-Woman, but is bested by Joker, who is held up by Cat-Woman, at which point Batman swoops in the window, and challenges Joker to a swordfight (??). Batman beats up Joker, and leaves him to die in the burning castle (Joker lit it on fire in the course of the fight), while he rescues Robin and the Cat-Woman in the Bat-plane. However, to avoid incarceration, the Cat dives into the waters below. But Batman saved the jewels! So, um, happy ending?
My Thoughts: This story is several half-baked ideas mushed into one. Every element is just an excuse to get to the next plot point, but none of it adds up to anything special. Both the Joker and the Cat were introduced last issue, but this story doesn't really do anything new or interesting with either of them, much less the idea of the two of them in one story. It feels more like a placeholder story, acknowledging that the characters were popular and keeping them alive in the minds of the readers, but biding time until a better outing could be thought up.
The Art: Frankly, it stinks. George Roussos debuts as an inker in the Bob Kane studio, helping ease the load from Jerry Robinson now that the strip's output has increased. However, this story's pen-work is poor to say the least, leaving the art with a rushed and unfinished look. Joker is barely recognizable, and key details are missing in many panels. At this point, the Cat-Woman is still just an ordinary woman, although now she has a hood. Either way, its not an improvement. This is probably the worst the art has looked since Kane was inking himself, possibly worse.
The Story: Finger's writing is hurried and plot-driven, feeling like we're moving from setpiece to setpiece rather than being told a story. It could've been interesting to contrast Joker and the Cat-Woman, both brilliant jewel thieves, but one happens to be a murdering psychopath. Instead, their interaction is limited to two or three panels, and the entire climax feels very undeveloped. It also could've been interesting to contrast the Joker with the regular criminals of the Syndicate, but alas their only purpose in this story is rescuing the Joker. What a waste.
Notes and Trivia: First appearance of multiple Bat-villains in one story.
Joker Body Count: 16
"Wolf, the Crime Master"
Writer: Bill Finger
Pencils: Bob Kane
Inks: Jerry Robinson
Synopsis: Cyrus Craig is a millionaire who owns a private museum, curated by a meek little man named Adam Lamb, who loves reading crime novels. One night, Lamb is so enthralled by a novel called "The Crime Master" that he stays very late at the museum. Hurrying to leave after finishing the book, he trips on a loose carpet, falls down a flight of stairs, and hits his head just as the bell tolls midnight. The last thing his eyes see before passing out are the novel "The Crime Master", and the mounted pelt of a bat. He awakes several hours later, and once again heads home. But as he walks, he hears a bell toll midnight (was he lying there in the museum for a whole day? And no one noticed?) Anyways, when the bell tolls, Lamb's entire personality transforms, and he becomes an evil man named Wolf (har har). Wolf comes upon a random passerby, and beats them to death with a crowbar. The next morning, he awakes as Lamb and dismisses events as merely a dream. Each night, he transforms in Wolf, slowly building up a criminal empire, until he becomes known as... The Crime Master!
One night, Batman and Robin come across Wolf's gang raiding a warehouse. A fight ensues, during which Batman notices a dent in the fender of the getaway car, storing it as a detail to possibly identify the car later. As it happens, Bruce Wayne ends up visiting Cyrus Craig's museum, where he meets Lamb and sees that Lamb's car has the same fender dent.
Batman and Robin follow the car to the waterfront, where they attack the gang. There's a really good fight scene, featuring a fantastic panel of Batman rising up out of the water, and Batman is shot in the shoulder (not covered by the bullet-proof vest he wears). The pair use a smoke pellet to cover their trail and escape back to safety.
We catch up with them in "Bruce's laboratory" (still no Batcave), where it falls upon young Dick to remove the slug from Bruce's shoulder (no Alfred either!). This is a great little sequence of realism for the two, although I can't imagine the pressure a ten-year-old kid like Dick would feel in this situation. Anyways, while recuperating, Bruce deduces Lamb's connection to Wolf, and that in his altered state, Lamb has been following the plot of the "Crime Master" novel. They arrive at Craig's museum just as Lamb transforms and tries to kill Craig. A fight ensues, but Lamb is paralyzed at the sight of Batman. In his fear, he trips and falls down the stairs (again?) and breaks his neck. As he dies, he explains what happened to other three. Batman and Robin regret Lamb's death, as medical attention might have helped him.
My Thoughts: The story of the Crime Master is Finger and Kane's first attempt at creating a Jekyll and Hyde type character. Its not entirely successful, mainly because the resulting character isn't all that unique or interesting. Only in a Golden Age comic will you find a bump on the head sufficient to creating a psychotic murderer! Eventually, Finger would hit upon the idea of a character who is Jekyll and Hyde simultaneously, a far more interesting notion that will give birth to the villain Two-Face.
The Art: Kane and Robinson do serviceable work here, with perhaps the best sequence being the fight on the waterfront, which includes a great panel of Robin crying out in anguish as Batman is shot. Another excellent panel is the one of Batman rising out of the water, frightening the crooks.
The Story: This is a very "Golden Age" story, and it feels kind've rote and standard for Bill Finger, but its most interesting aspect, other than the Jekyll/Hyde aspect, is that I believe its the first time a Batvillain has been repentant, a villain of circumstance and fate rather than choice. Lamb begs Batman to forgive him, as he dies, and is in some ways a very tragic figure. This tragic nature has become something of a trope of Bat-villains, and will figure more prominantly the next time Kane and Finger attempt the Jekyll/Hyde archetype.
"The Case of the Clubfoot Murders"
Writer: Bill Finger
Pencils: Bob Kane
Inks: Jerry Robinson
Synopsis: While on routine patrol, Batman spots a murder being committed by a large, clubfooted man with a hook for a hand. Clubfoot defeats Batman, leaving him dazed as the police arrive. They attempt to arrest the Batman, but he makes good his escape. It turns out the murdered man is the millionaire Harley Storme. The next day, Bruce Wayne bumps into Commissioner Gordon, who invites Bruce to accompany him to the Storme mansion to question Haley's relatives. Where police procedures more relaxed in the forties, or is Gordon just really, really casual about these kinds of rules? Anyways, Bruce naturally agrees and the two are greeted by young Portia Storme, a niece who lets the two into what is essentially the opening scene of Young Frankenstein, as the Storme family lawyer (Ward) reads out the will to a greedy family that is full of feuding parties. Anyways, turns out none of the Stormes are getting anything, except a piece of gold with the inscription "united we stand, divided we fall" and some illegible scratchings. The family is annoyed, but Ward tells them all will be explained if they attend another meeting in 30 days at which time he will open a sealed letter from Haley.
Later, Tommy Storme is confronted by gangsters to whom he owes a gambling debt. Tommy had been banking on paying it off with his inheritance, so he tells the gangsters about the sealed envelope in Ward's possession. Meanwhile, Abel Storme is murdered by Clubfoot, who announces his intention to kill more of the Stormes.
Meanwhile, having heard of Abel's death, Bruce asks Gordon about Clubfoot, who tells him that a man named "Clubfoot" Beggs was last seen boarding a train headed for New York (where the Bat-stories are still set at this point, remember). Bruce and Dick conclude that Beggs must want vengeance against the Stormes for some reason. As Batman and Robin, they leave to break into Ward's house and learn more about the will.
Of course, they arrive just as the gangsters are casing the joint. We get the typical two-page fight scene, and then Batman does his interrogation bit to figure out where the gangsters have taken Ward. Of course, its an abandoned power house on the riverfront, and we quickly get another two-page fight scene as Batman and Robin rescue Ward. Batman and Robin question Ward, who claims to have no idea what is in the envelope. Returning home, Bruce concludes that there must be a secret message on the gold pieces that would be revealed when they are all brought together. Batman sends Robin to protect Roger Storme from Clubfoot, while he once again attempts to get to the contents of Ward's letter.
Robin arrives at Storme's home to find Roger already murdered. Good work, Boy Wonder. Clubfoot attacks, the two fight, but the murderer gets away. Meanwhile, Batman is searching Ward's home and finds Clubfoot, the REAL Clubfoot, locked up in the basement. Turns out Ward has been masquerading as Clubfoot, and killing the Stormes, so that he could take the inheritance for himself, because it was an entire goldmine. Huh. Anyways, Batman and Robin beat up Ward, rescue Clubfoot, and call it a day.
My Thoughts: This is another standard pulp mystery story with Batman and Robin inserted. There's really not much of significance to say.
The Art: Kane and Robinson do their usual thing here, for the most part working by the numbers, although Clubfoot is a nicely creepy visual reminescent of Hugo Strange's monster men.
The Story: Finger seems to have been really rustling through the Agatha Christie pulp mystery stock plots at this point, with this tale have so little to it that it gets padded out with an entirely unneccessary gangster subplot, with several red herrings added in for good measure. Its an okay read, but the ending is just a big "so what?"
"The Case of the Missing Link"Writer: Bill Finger
Pencils: Bob Kane
Inks: Jerry Robinson and George Roussos
Synopsis: We begin in medias res with Batman jumping onto a moving train, fighting some African pygmies who are shooting arrows at him (also on top of the train), then jumping into a car, fighting more pygmies and rescuing an apparently famous scientist named Drake.
Turns out Drake has brought back with him from Africa a giant, living, caucasian, prehistoric cave-man which he has dubbed the missing link between man and ape. At this point I must interject and point out that none of that makes any kind of scientific sense. At all.
Even Batman is dubious, wondering why the missing link would be so tall. Drake says its a glandular defect. Uh-huh. Anyways, turns out Drake found it living wild in the jungles of Africa (why is it white? Even Drake remarks that this is odd!) where the pygmies were worshipping it as a god. Naturally, Drake drugged it and took it back to the States, and the pygmies have been following and attacking Drake since. Batman asks what Drake wants to do with the giant, named Goliath, and Drake says he wants to civilize it, teach it English, and introduce it into society. What the fuck? This guy may be the single worst scientist, ever.
When Drake arrives in America, his discovery makes headlines. A duo of circus owners, Hackett and Snead, decided Goliath is perfect for their show. They visit Drake and Goliath (dressed in a tuxedo!) and offer a ton of money. Drake angrily refuses. Hackett and Snead threaten his life, so Drake tells Batman. Not the police, mind you, but Batman.
So Batman sends Robin to watch Drake, which tells you how seriously our hero is taking this.
Anyways, some hitmen show up and murder Drake, and Robin arrives too late to stop them. Great job, Boy Wonder.
The hitmen arranged the murder to look like a suicide, leaving a note that bequethed Goliath to Hackett and Snead. When reading of these events in the paper, Dick suggests telling the police. Bruce rightly points out that Dick is an idiot, and decides to "bide his time". Classic Golden Age Batman move.
Anyways, at the circus, they are exhibiting Goliath, but he spots one of Drake's murderers in the crowd and goes berzerk and after throwing the hitman into a pole and killing him instantly he begins attacking the crowd and causing general pandemonium. Of course, at this moment Batman and Robin arrive. Robin calms the rampaging animals, and the duo defeats Goliath. The beast unfortunately dies in this struggle.
Turns out that the hitman somehow managed to confess to the police about Hackett and Snead before he died, so they are arrested.
My Thoughts: So, I'm gonna go on the record with saying this is the first really ridiculous Batman story. Well, except for Detective Comics #34, because seriously, what the fuck was that? But anyways, this is the first time any element of "science fiction" is introduced into Batman, and frankly, it just doesn't work. Batman vs. the missing link is just preposterous. But I guess this is Golden Age comicbook storytelling after all. As a side note, the whole notion of the missing link is something the public was and still is taken with to some extent, but which has always been something of a misnomer. As of this writing, the links between man and primitive ape are well documented in the fossil record, it's not like evolutionary theory has this big blind spot of there being no connection. Nevertheless, the missing link is a trope that shows up a lot, although why ANYONE would think it would still be ALIVE, much less WHITE, is beyond me.
The Art: It's okay. Kane does his usual thing, but Roussos needs a lot more practice if he's gonna be as good as Robinson at inking him. Kane's art on its own is basically lazy cartooning, and it's really been Robinson who's been adding depth and dimension to the books. Roussos still needs to learn this.
The Story: Yet another stock story from Finger, this time full of pygmies after their god (a trope as old as The Moonstone), missing links, gangsters, circus pandemonium, etc. I don't know why, but ever since Detective #40, Finger seems to just be coasting. But then, I suppose stock plots help when you're a notoriously late writer.
