Here’s the next chapter in my series of bloggy things about the stories reprinted in Batman: The Silver Age Omnibus Volume One. That hardcover chronicle collects Batman #101-116 and Detective Comics #233-257, ranging from the mid-1956 through the mid-1958.
First up is Detective Comics #252 [February 1958}. Cover artist Sheldon Moldoff drew one of his typically goofy monsters for “The Creature from the Green Lagoon!” As a kid, I loved those critters and I still get a kick out of them today. The story was written by Dave Wood with art by Moldoff and inker Charles Paris. The synopsis:
A film producer friend of Batman's on Skull Island sends for the Dynamic Duo and shows them a set he has built for a movie in production...a wall to keep out a creature that is wrecking his production equipment and preventing the movie from being completed for some unknown reason.
Young as I was when I first read this, I figured out the monster wasn’t real. After all, we were introduced to characters who had “suspect” written all over them. Even so, Batman’s battles with the beast were exciting and the resolution was satisfying.
Batman #114 [March 1958] has a Moldoff cover featuring a gorilla in a Batman costume. Back in the day, DC Comics knew apes on the cover meant a boost in sales. The issue has the usual three short adventures.
“The Secret of Mechanical City” is written by Batman co-creator Bill Finger with art by Dick Sprang and inker Paris. There’s no honor among thieves as one crook steals a secret formula from his criminal scientist boss. The crook flees to an exhibit city run by giant robots, something Sprang excelled at drawing. Finger’s script has exciting action scenes and a smart deduction from our hero.
“The Mirage Maker” is by an unknown writer with art by Moldoff and Paris. The title villain creates illusions to baffle Batman and the police until Bats eventually figures out how to beat the illusions. The villain’s garb is weird; he’s dressed like some sort of Arabian ruler or wizard.
“The Bat-Ape” is also by an unknown writer with art by Moldoff and Paris. The synopsis:
An animal trainer at a circus is arrested for robbing the box office since an ape provided a distraction. However, Batman seeks to prove the man’s innocence, using the ape as a cowled assistant.
It’s a goofy story, but entertaining. How has DC Comics resisted launching a Bat-Ape title? Mogo seems much more stable than the present-day Batman.
Detective Comics #253 [March 1958] introduces a trio of costumed criminals who have made a few rare appearances over the decades. Moldoff drew the cover for “The Fox, The Shark and The Vulture.” The writer is Wood. The art is Moldoff and Paris.
The Terrible Trio have already shown themselves to be dangerous masterful thieves. Batman and Robin are nearly killed when first they clash with these villains who strike on land, on sea and in the air. I took a liking to them when I read this story as a kid and was disappointed they didn’t appear again. If I were ever to write “my” Batman, the one who isn’t a jerk, I’d probably use them.
We find the usual Moldoff cover and three stories in Batman #115 [April 1958], “The Million Dollar Clues” is written by Finger, penciled by Moldoff and inked by Stan Kaye. The synopsis:
Batman is given a clue to the whereabouts of stolen gems from a dying criminal, who warns the Caped Crusader that some of his henchmen are also seeking the loot. What he doesn’t tell Batman is that the gems are booby-trapped.
While the clues aren’t particularly difficult, they lead to some wild action scenes. Including a giant typewriter. If I had crazy wealth, I would buy a big house and property large enough to fit lots of giant objects. I always got a kick out of them.
Fun fact. After Finger passed, I wrote an issue of Ghost Rider that was a tribute to him. It featured a cast of characters with problems forced to work together, something Finger and the other Batman did often, and a giant motorcycle.
“Batman For Hire” is by an unknown writer, Moldoff and Paris. On the pretense of needing money for Robin’s college education and his own retirement, Bats opens up a private detective agency. It’s a convoluted but quite amusing scheme by our hero to solve a cold case.
The issue wraps with “Batman in a Bottle’ by Finger, Moldoff and Paris. It’s another of those (disliked by me) Professor Nichols time travel tales. Sent to investigate the origins of various giant objects from an ancient civilization, Batman and Robin find themselves battling a race of giants. Not even giant objects saved this story for my younger self.
Detective Comics #254 [April 1958} had a cool Moldoff cover for “One Ounce of Doom” featuring Ace the Bat-Hound, a favorite of mine. This story was by an unknown writer with art by Moldoff and Paris. The Grand Comics Database synopsis:
A hobo unwittingly steals a high explosive from the laboratory of a scientist.
This was an exciting chase adventure with lots of twists. Ace is a big help to the Caped Crusaders. Reading the story today makes me recall the role of the hobo in comics and other media of the era. In some, they were treated as criminal vermin. In others, as honorable knights of the road who had fallen on tough times. Today, they’re called homeless or un-housed people often reviled for their poverty. I would love to see some super-heroes address this societal issue.
I would also love the learn the identity/identities of those who wrote these stories. Credit where credit is due.
That’s it for today. Look for the finale of my writing about the first Batman: The Silver Age Omnibus coming soon.
© 2024 Tony Isabella
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