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The Golden Age Batman
By Aaron Severson
Bibliography
Books
There are a variety of useful reference books about the Golden Age Batman. If they're in print, I list the ISBN (so you can more easily find it through various online book vendors) and, if it's available through comic shops, the order number from Diamond's STAR System back list (if you give this number to your comics retailer, they can order it for you from the distributor along with the rest of their comics and such).
The single best resource for information on Batman's early adventures is Michael Fleisher's extraordinary volume The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume 1: Batman (New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1976, published in both hardcover and paperback editions), an immensely detailed 387-page encyclopedia of Batman's career from 1939 through 1965. This book, an invaluable reference for any Batman fan, was out of print for many years, but DC issued a new trade paperback edition in April 2007. (As a note to completists, the projected six-volume series listed in the endpapers never came to pass, although a second volume on Wonder Woman appeared a year later and the third, about Superman and retitled The Great Superman Book, was released in 1978 to coincide with the first Christopher Reeve film. Don't bother hunting for the Captain Marvel and Spirit volumes — they don't exist.)
The best overall history of Batman's career is Batman: The Complete History by Les Daniels and Chip Kidd (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1999, ISBN 0-8118-2668-6, STAR 10203H, $29.95). A lavishly illustrated, admirably complete overview of Batman's creation and evolution that no Batman reader should be without. Two versions of the book were initially released, one with a slightly higher price ($34.95) and an additional 16-page section comprising a cover gallery of the Batman series from #1 to #144, with artist credits. A reedited Masterpiece Edition, including a Batman statuette and other trifles (ISBN 0-811827-82-8, STAR 11643H, $65.00), appeared in summer 2000, but the basic text is the same.
A similar but less authoritative volume, Tales of the Dark Knight: Batman's First Fifty Years, by Mark Cotta Vaz (New York: Ballantine Books, 1989), was released to coincide with the first Tim Burton Batman film. It suffers from a lack of color and poor quality art reproductions, and is more a coffee-table book than a real history, but it's definitely a worthwhile overview of the various phases of Batman's career, and the large-size color cover reproductions are nice. Out of print, but produced in massive numbers in 1989, so copies are easily found in used bookstores for a fraction of the original $17.95 cover price.
Also of value, although not necessarily a reliable history, is Bob Kane's autobiography, Batman and Me (Forestville, California: Eclipse Books, 1989). It has a colorful account of Kane's early years as a cartoonist, although Kane's versions of the creation of Batman and various elements of his mythos seriously understate the contributions of Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson, and should be taken with a large grain of salt. A whitewash, certainly, but interesting reading. Contains color reprints of three early stories, including Batman and Robin's visit to the World's Fair from the 1940 edition of New York World's Fair Comics; these are now available in Batman in World's Finest Comics Archives Vol. 1. Kane's autobiography was printed in both hardcover and paperback editions.
For a different perspective on the creation of Batman, Arlen Schumer wrote a fascinating article for the revived Alter Ego magazine entitled "The "Bat-Man' Cover Story: The Tale of Bob Kane's Darknight Detective That "Could Have Been" examining Kane's own account of how he created the first image of Batman, using a "swipe" from an Alex Raymond Flash Gordon figure. The issue also includes an article by Schumer refuting Kane's assertion of sole authorship of Batman, as well as interviews with artist Sheldon Moldoff (who was Bob Kane's primary ghost artist from 1953 through 1968) and Fred Finger, the son of the late Bill Finger, Batman's co-creator and single most important author. It's Alter Ego (which is the flip side of Comic Book Artist magazine) #5, Summer 1999, from TwoMorrows Publishing, reprinted in Alter Ego Collection, Vol. 1 .
An affectionate and enormously engaging account of the highlights of the Golden Age in general is Jim Steranko's two-volume The Steranko History of Comics (Reading, PA: Supergraphics, 1970), which traces the dawn of the comic books from the great newspaper adventure strips and the "Bloody Pulps" through the birth of Superman, Batman, Captain America, the Sub-Mariner, the Human Torch, Captain Marvel, the Spirit, and other giants of the forties. The article on Batman is in the first volume, but both volumes are eminently worthwhile. These volumes have been reprinted several times, and aren't particularly tough to find at reasonable cost.
Amazing Heroes #27 has a feature of the Earth-2 Batman.
Comic Book Reprint Collections
There are, of course, many of these. The most noteworthy are:
- Batman from the Thirties to the Seventies, with an introduction by E. Nelson Bridwell (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1972). A big hardcover collection of Batman stories from four decades, including Batman's debut, the introductions of Robin, the Joker, Alfred, the Riddler, Ace the Bathound, Batwoman, Bat-Girl, and Batgirl. Sadly, most are in blackand white, save for a few oddly placed color plates. A great source for fifties material, although the handful of seventies material included is excellent: two Neal Adams-drawn tales, "Secret of the Waiting Graves" and "Man or Bat?", and a fine Denny O'Neil/Irv Novick piece, "The Demon of Gothos Mansion." There were at least three printings of this book, so it can be found with a little judicious searching. Expect to pay in the neighborhood of $30 to $40 U.S. for a copy in decent shape.
DC has offered a bunch of reprint volumes, first in its "Greatest Stories" series of the late eighties, later with the hardbound Archives volumes.
- The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told Vol. 1 (DC Comics, 1988, in both hardcover and softcover versions) is a superb overview collection that thankfully avoids over-reprinted stories like the first appearance of the Joker. In 2005, DC released a new version with a cover by Alex Ross (ISBN 978-1401204440). This is a slimmer volume with fewer stories and a greater concentration on later material; I consider it inferior to the original.
- The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told Vol. 2 (1992, paperback only), timed to coincide with the release of Batman Returns, includes only Catwoman and Penguin stories. It has a shameful dearth of Golden Age material, although it does include the 1950 story in which Catwoman claimed to have turned to crime while suffering from amnesia. This one is out of print, but a new version with an Alex Ross cover (ISBN 978-1401212148) appeared in early 2007. This again is not a reprint of the original edition, but a new collection, focusing primarily on modern material; only three of its stories are from before 1964.
- Batman Featuring Two-Face and the Riddler (1995). An unofficial third volume, released around the time of Batman Forever, this reprints various key appearances of those two villains. It may still be available from DC's backlist (ISBN 1-56389-198-0, STAR 01094D, $12.95).
- The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told (1989) is all Joker stories, most of them decent if not stellar. It was offered in hardcover and paperback form, and also in a bright purple leatherbound edition called Stacked Deck. The latter is a snazzy package, but has only three additional stories (from Batman #353, by Gerry Conway and José Luis García-López, and Detective Comics #569-#570, by Mike W. Barr, Alan Davis, and Paul Neary) and isn't worth paying premium prices. As with the other volumes, a new version (ISBN 978-1401218089) appeared in 2008. It contains some of the material from the earlier version, with additional modern stories.
- The Greatest Golden Age Stories Ever Told (1990, hardcover and paperback), now out of print, has one Batman story, "While the City Sleeps" from Batman #30 (1945). There are two in The Greatest 1950s Stories Ever Told (1990, hardcover and paperback), "The Super-Batman" from World's Finest Comics #77 (1955) and "Two-Face Strikes Again" from Batman #81 (1954). The paperback edition is still in print (ISBN 0-930289-83-8, STAR 01036D, $14.95). Team-Up: The Greatest Stories Ever Told (1990, paperback only) has another Superman-Batman team-up, "Three Super-Musketeers" from World's Finest #82 (1956); this also is in print (ISBN 0-930289-61-7, STAR 00119D, $14.95). Each of these volumes has a lot of great material, but most of it is not Batman-related.
- Giant Batman Annual #1. A much cheaper but still lovely collection is this 1999 replica of the first giant-sized Annual from 1961. It has a nice selection of early fifties material for only $4.95. It should be in stock at any decent comic shop, and is available from DC's backlist (STAR 09477D).
- DC Comics Classic Library: Batman—The Annuals Vol. 1. Reprints Batman Annual #1-#7 from the early sixties. Since each of those was all reprints, this is a treasure trove of material from the fifties and early sixties.
- Batman in the Forties. Seventeen stories from the '40s in trade paperback (ISBN 1-4012-0206-3, $19.95).
- Batman in the Fifties. Sixteen more '50s in the trade paperback (ISBN 1-56389-810-1, $19.95).
- DC Hardcover Archives. There are numerous volumes of this Archives
series containing Golden Age Batman stories. Most are in print, although
their cover price is formidable. Fortunately, they can be obtained through
various on-line vendors at substantial discounts, up to 40%.
- Batman Archives
- Vol. 1 (ISBN 0-930289-60-9, STAR 00034D, $39.95): Reprints Batman stories from Detective Comics #27-#50, including his first appearance and the debut of Robin. New printings of this volume witha much lower price tag ($19.95) are periodically released.
- Vol. 2 (ISBN 1-56389-000-3, STAR 00035D, $49.95): Reprints Batman stories from Detective Comics #51-#70, including the debut of the Penguin and the first two appearances of Two-Face.
- Vol. 3 (ISBN 1-56389-099-2, STAR 00670D, $39.95): Reprints Batman stories from Detective Comics #71-#86, including some of Dick Sprang's first published work on the character.
- Vol. 4 (ISBN 1-56389-414-9, STAR 07867X, $49.95): Reprints Batman stories from Detective Comics #87-#102.
- Vol. 5 (ISBN 1-56389-725-3, STAR 12886X, $49.95): Reprints Batman stories from Detective Comics #103-#119.
- Vol. 6 (ISBN 1-4012-0409-0, $49.95): Reprints Batman stories from Detective Comics #120-#135.
- Vol. 7 (ISBN 978-1-4012-1493-7, $49.95): Reprints Batman Stories from Detective Comics #136-#154
- Batman: The Dark Knight Archives
- Vol. 1 (ISBN 1-56389-050-X, STAR 09450X, $49.95) reprints Batman #1-#4, including the debuts of Catwoman and the Joker.
- Vol. 2 (ISBN 1-56389-183-2, STAR 11835X, $49.95) reprints Batman #5-#8.
- Vol. 3 (ISBN 1-56389-615-X, STAR 11820X, $49.95) reprints Batman #9-#12.
- Vol. 4 (ISBN1-56389-983-3, $49.95) reprints Batman #13-#16.
- Vol. 5 (ISBN1-4012-0778-2, $49.95) reprints Batman #17-#20.
- Batman: The World's Finest Comics Archives
- Vol. 1 (ISBN 1-56389-819-5, STAR 16574X, $49.95) reprints the rarely seen Batman and Robin stories (without Superman) from New York World's Fair Comics, World's Best Comics #1, and World's Finest Comics #2-#16.
- Vol. 2 (ISBN 978-1401201630, $49.95), reprints Batman and Robin stories from World's Finest Comics #17-#32.
- Robin Archives Vol. 1 (ISBN 1-4012-0415-5, $49.95) reprints the first year and a half of Robin's solo adventures from Star-Spangled Comics in the late 1940s. Only one of these stories has ever been reprinted before.
- World's Finest Archives
- Vol. 1 (ISBN 1-56389-488-2, STAR 08933X, $49.95) reprints the Batman-Superman team-ups from Superman #76 (1952) and World's Finest Comics #71-#85.
- Vol. 2 (ISBN 1-56389-743-1, STAR 14679X, $49.95) reprints the Batman-Superman team-ups from World's Finest Comics #86-#101.
- Vol. 3 (ISBN 978-1401204112, $49.95) reprints the Batman-Superman team-ups from World's Finest Comics #102-#116.
- As a point of interest, Batman's brief cameo in All-Star Comics #7 is reprinted in All Star Archives Vol. 2 (ISBN0-930289-12-9, STAR 00455D, $49.95) and his one Golden Age adventure with the JSA, All-Star Comics #36's "Five Drowned Men" is included in All-Star Archives Vol. 8 (ISBN 1-563898-12-8, STAR 16272X, $49.95). The cameo of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson in Superman #20 (their first appearance in the Superman strip) can be found in Superman Archives Vol. 5(ISBN 1-563896-02-8, STAR 10734X, $49.95).
- Batman Archives
- The Batman Chronicles. DC has recently begun a series of more
affordable paperback reprints, which contain the same material as the
Archives (in chronological order, rather than separate series being covered
in separate volumes). They are a much better value than the Archives, and
more coherent, as well.
- Volume 1 (ISBN 978-1401204457, $14.99): Reprints Detective Comics #27-#38 and Batman #1 (ISBN 1-4012-0445-7, $14.99).
- Volume 2 (ISBN 978-1401207908, $14.99): Reprints Detective Comics #39-#45 and Batman #2-#3 (ISBN 1-4012-0790-1, $14.99).
- Volume 3 (ISBN 978-1401213473, $14.99): Reprints Detective Comics #46-#50, Batman #4-#5, and New York World's Fair #2.
- Volume 4 (ISBN 978-1401214623, $14.99): Reprints Detective Comics #51-#55, Batman #6-#7, and World's Finest Comics #2-3.
- Volume 5 (ISBN 978-1401216825, $14.99): Reprints Detective Comics #56-#61, Batman #8-#9, and World's Finest Comics #4.
- Volume 6 (ISBN 978-1401219611, $14.99): Reprints Detective Comics #62-#65, Batman #10-#11, and World's Finest Comics #5-6.
- Volume 7 (ISBN 978-1401221348, $14.99): Reprints Detective Comics #66-#70, Batman #12-#13, and World's Finest Comics #7.
- Volume 8 (ISBN 978-1401224844, $14.99): Reprints Detective Comics #71-#75, Batman #14-#15, and World's Finest Comics #8-#9.
Newspaper Comic Strip
From 1943 to 1946 Batman and Robin appeared in both daily and Sunday newspaper comic strips (each with separate continuities) from the McClure Syndicate (which also released the Superman newspaper strip). Although most of the strip was not part of the same continuity as the comic books (a number of the newspaper stories were rewritten from existing comic book tales), the newspaper comic was written by the same writers as the comic book (Bill Finger, Al Schwartz, and Don Cameron) and drawn by the same artists (Jack Burnley on most of the Sunday strip and Bob Kane on the daily, the last major body of work that Kane actually drew himself), so it's very much in the same vein. DC and Kitchen Sink Press reprinted the entire series in several volumes in 1990-1991. All are beautifully packaged, with lovely covers by artist Pete Poplaski in the style of Dick Sprang, excellent reproduction, and thorough historical notes by uber-Batfan Joe Desris.- The daily strips were originally released in three volumes: Batman:
The Dailies Vol. 1 reprints daily strips from October 25, 1943 to October
28, 1944; Batman: The Dailies Vol. 2 (ISBN 0-87816-130-9), reprinting
strips from from October 30, 1944 through November 24, 1945; and Batman:
The Dailies Vol. 3 (ISBN 0-87816-147-3), reprinting strips from November
26, 1945 to November 2, 1946. All three volumes have subsequently been
collected in a single large slipcased hardcover volume. It contains the
same material as the paperback dailies collections, so don't buy both.
- Batman: The Sunday Classics 1943-1946 reprints all of the Sunday strips from November 7, 1943 to October 7, 1946. It also has biographies of the principal Batman creators and an overview of subsequent Batman newspaper strips. It is in print through DC's backlist (ISBN 0-87816-148-1, STAR 08524D, $19.95). It was also released in a slipcased hardcover volume, now out of print, but still easy to find. As with the dailies collection, it's the same material as the softcover edition.
Batman on Radio
Although efforts to get Batman his own radio series during the '40s failed, Batman and Robin were regular guest stars on Superman's radio series beginning in 1945, usually played by Matt Crowley and Ronald Liss. A number of Superman's radio adventures, some with Batman and Robin, are commercially available (or download them here).- Superman on Radio. The first 27 episodes from 1940. Batman and Robin don't appear, but Superman's origin, first employment by the Daily Planet, and earliest radio adventures are included. Great fun. Six hours on four cassettes (ISBN 1-57019-036-4) or five compact discs (ISBN 1-57019-037-2).
- Superman with Batman & Robin on Radio. 27 episodes from fall 1945. Despite what the package says, this does not include the first teaming of Superman and Batman, recordings of which apparently do not survive in their entirety; rather, it's their second major team-up. Batman and Robin actually figure only in the first half of this collection, helping Superman to acquit Lois Lane of murder charges. The second half is the lead-in to Superman's battle with the Atom Man, which is on the third set. Six hours on four cassettes (ISBN 1-57019-086-0) or five CDs.
- Superman vs. Atom Man on Radio has the clash between Superman and the vicious Henry Miller, the Kryptonite-charged Nazi villain called the Atom Man, from late 1945. No Batman and Robin here, but an epic struggle justifiably considered one of the high water marks of radio adventure. Superman's brutal final battle with the villain high above Metropolis Reservoir is still stirring. Seven hours on five cassettes (ISBN 1-57019-096-8) or six compact discs (ISBN 1-57019-097-6).
- Superman with Batman & Robin on Radio is a mammoth collection of the episodes from about half of 1947, including seven storylines. Batman and Robin play a role in only two, but don't let that dissuade you. On 20 audio cassettes (ISBN 1-57019-238-3). Highly recommended.
- Batman's Great Mysteries, a 1948 storyline, was also released on cassette and CD by Radio Original on two cassettes or three CDs.
Batman Serials
Batman and Robin appeared in two 15-part chapter-plays from Columbia Pictures:
- The first, starring Lewis Wilson as Batman, Douglas Croft as Robin, Shirley Patterson as Linda Page, and J. Carrol Naish as Dr. Daka, was released in 1943.
- The second, with Robert Lowery as Batman, John Duncan as Robin, and Jane Dams as Vicki Vale, appeared in 1949.
Both have been available on video. Be warned that both serials were cheap and shoddy even by the dubious standards of '40s chapter-plays. The 1943 serial has a livelier villain in the form of Naish, but its racist, anti-Japanese wartime sentiments (although comparatively mild for the time period) sit uneasily today. The 1949 serial, with a masked villain called the Wizard, is less offensive, but rather dull. If you value your sanity, don't try to watch more than an installment or two of either serial at a time.
Related Web Sites
- Golden Age Batman. Bill Jourdain maintains a website that has a variety of useful and interesting material, including an extensive image gallery of classic Batman covers.
- Who Drew Batman. Bob Hughes has a site analyzing the different uncredited artists who drew Batman prior to the mid-sixties (when DC began crediting artists other than Bob Kane). It's still a work in progress, but it's invaluable, and I'm sure that it will eventually reach the state of his very fine Who Drew Superman page.
- Various incarnations of the Batmobile. Model-maker Dan Thompson has a nice page describing the, with photos of his nifty model of the Batplane depicted in Brave and the Bold #167.
- JSA Chronology. For more information on Batman's comrades of the Justice Society of America.
- David Stepp's Comics Archives. Another handy source of information on a variety of Golden Age DC characters.
- Grand Comics Database. For a wide variety of information on comics of all vintages.