GH: DETECTIVE COMICS #526

Goodbye, Hello

If there’s one thing that DC did well in the early 1980s, it was producing oversized anniversary issues. They wound up doing a bunch of these, and almost all of them are exceptional in one way or another. This one is no exception, a key moment in Batman history. But still, this was my final issue purchasing the title for many years, really until I started getting the issues for free as a part of my Marvel bundle. I was never a huge Batman fan, though I’d been purchasing both BATMAN and DETECTIVE steadily for a number of years, so this was an easy cut to make when it became apparent that I couldn’t afford all of the comics I was regularly following.

BHOC: LIMITED COLLECTORS’ EDITION #C-28

I think the first issue of DETECTIVE COMICS that I ever bought was this Famous 1st Edition reprinting Batman’s first appearance in the beloved Treasury Edition format. I had bought the edition for ACTION COMCS #1 previously, and I was fascinated by the history of these characters, so grabbing this book would have been a no-brainer decision as well, despite having only a passing fancy with the Caped Crusader.

BHOC: DETECTIVE COMICS #448

The first genuine issue that I picked up was #448, the conclusion to the “Bat-Murderer” storyline that had been running for four months. And I did so for a stupid reason. I had seen the cover to the issue that started this story in house ads, and so seeing this similar cover, I somehow thought that maybe they were going to be including the entire story in this one issue. So I bought it, and was only slightly disappointed. It was a perfectly fine issue, but it didn’t get me buying the book on a regular basis. No, rather I would drop in occasionally when an issue would cross my path in a place that had few options for comics to buy, or that had something provocative going on in the story. But like BATMAN, the title couldn’t seem to hold me.

Eventually, though, having started a Pennysaver paper route, I had enough ready cash coming in to buy pretty much all of the comic books that I wanted, and so I expanded my purchasing circle to include both series. Best as I can figure it, my first regular issue was this one, #498, part of a two-part story featuring Blockbuster, a villain I knew from an early BATMAN giant. It didn’t especially make an impact on me, but it was good enough to keep me coming back, at a time where 50 cents wasn’t quite so difficult to come by.

As I mentioned earlier, this last issue of DETECTIVE COMICS that I purchased was a part of a monumental shift in Batman’s world, an almost unthinkable one. At the time, NEW TEEN TITANS was an enormous hit for DC, the book that really put them on the map again in a big way in the burgeoning Direct Sales marketplace especially. But difficulties had cropped up concerning the use of Robin in that series. Writer/editor Marv Wolfman wanted to have the character mature and start a relationship with Starfire, but the Batman editorial office objected, saying quite rightly that having his ward married to an alien princess wouldn’t work in the more grounded environment of Batman. And from a licensing standpoint, the classic “Burt Ward”-style Robin was still one of the most licensed characters in the DC stable.

Eventually, a solution was proposed. Not wanting to rock the boat on their golden goose, DC permitted Marv to transition Dick Grayson into a new costumed identity, Nightwing (the name had previously been used by Superman and successors when they became the Batman of the Bottle City of Kandor). The Batman titles, meanwhile, would introduce a new, young Robin who would visually resemble the original. Writer Gerry Conway took this task on, bringing in Jason Todd, another young aerialist whose parents were killed by criminals–in this case, the monstrous new villain Killer Croc–and who would discover Batman’s true identity and be taken on board as a protege. DEECTIVE COMICS #526 was the climax to this storyline, the one in which Jason Todd officially becomes Bruce Wayne’s new partner.

This issue was illustrated by Don Newton, whose early death at a young age was a real loss to the world of comic books. Newton had been a fan artist for years, in particular of the original Captain Marvel, and he had broken in to DC with a style that evoked that of Gene Colan with a bit of John Buscema mixed in for impact. His work was really exceptional, and he was only getting started when he suffered a fatal heart attack. Here, he’s inked by Alfredo Alcala, who is a very thick sauce as an inker, but whose approach meshes well with Newton’s pencils, in my opinion. He left behind a decent body of work, but not having a noteworthy run on any one title has left him lost to the pages of history a little bit.

The story is typical Anniversary fodder, in which Killer Croc assembles all of Batman’s old enemies in an attempt to get rid of him so that he can become the new King of the Underworld. But Batman has allies as well: Batgirl, Robin, Talia Al Ghul, and unknowingly, Jason Todd. By the end of the issue, Bruce has worked out what he needs to do and takes the kid under his wing. Unfortunately, fans weren’t kind to Jason Todd, saying that he felt like too much of a carbon copy of Dick Grayson. And when later creators tried to differentiate the two further, fans didn’t like the direction that was taken there, either. Famously, Jason Todd would be killed off in a phone line contest in which readers cast their ballots as to whether the new Robin should live or die. it was a close thing, but Todd was toast. Of course, this being comics, he was resurrected a couple of decades later and now runs around Gotham as the Red Hood for some reason.

As best as I can figure it from the timing, my first issue back–the first issue that I would have received in my Marvel bundle–was #602. That said, I did drop in on occasion over the interim, such as for #600 two months earlier. But nothing brought me back full time until I was getting the series for nothing.

Published

51 thoughts on “GH: DETECTIVE COMICS #526”

  1. I really enjoyed Gerry Conway’s run on the Bat-books. That was a satisfactory finish. I much preferred Jason Todd, aerialist, to Jason Todd, petty hood.

    It’s funny, though. I’ve been rereading Silver Age books and getting up to the point Dick leaves for college. Hard to believe now that Batman went what, a decade and a half without anyone feeling the need for a constant teen sidekick.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. It’s also odd that in the late sixties, Batman-sales had dipped so much that the editors were willing to cut Robin out of the picture to distance the books from the 66 TV show. They would have still had a lot of Robin merchandising then too– were they counting on keeping the character viable just by having him make appearances in back ups and the rather short lived BATMAN FAMILY (though I think I read it had strong sales).

      One thing I noticed is that though Conway’s script makes a big deal about highlighting the Penguin at the opening, the Birdman Bandit does not appear in the main action.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. They wrote Robin off to college as part of the “Batman gets darker” shift of that time, but by the time of this story, Robin had been a steady TV presence again since 1973 on SUPER FRIENDS and THE NEW ADVENTURES OF BATMAN, THE BATMAN/TARZAN HOUR and BATMAN AND THE SUPER 7.

        One way or another, they wanted to have a Robin active in the DC Universe.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. In about early 1978, when you had stories by People like Mike Golden and P. Craig Russell and Denny O’Neil was editing it, Batman Family outsold Detective.

        That was why Detective went to a Dollar Sized book and had stories like they had published in Batman Family starting in the Fall of ’78.

        Like

      3. Denny never edited BATMAN FAMILY — it started out under Julie Schwartz and E. Nelson Bridwell and shifted to Al Milgrom for the last few issues. Golden started doing stories for it during Julie and Nelson’s time, and Russell inked Golden on a story during Al’s run.

        After the BATFAM content (and logo) switched over to DETECTIVE, material edited by both Al and Julie got used, before Paul Levitz took over.

        But you’re right, it outsold ‘TEC and the switch saved ‘TEC from cancellation.

        Liked by 2 people

    1. In 1985-1986 (with a slight spillover into 1987), Marvel published MOONSHADOW, the DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN serial, the ELEKTRA: ASSASSIN serialization, and DAREDEVIL: LOVE AND WAR. Those were probably the most impressive efforts Marvel had published since the 1960s. I would argue they were better.

      Like

      Reply

    2. Marvel had some strong points post-1980 — Simonson THOR, Cockrum and Paul Smith on X-MEN, Roger Stern’s AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, DR. STRANGE and AVENGERS, Byrne’s FANTASTIC FOUR and more.

      But DC built up very well in the early 1980s, too. It was fun to be there seeing all that.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      1. I like that stuff.

        But no new material Marvel published in the Shooter era compared to what I cited. And Jim Shooter trained all the creative people involved. They went in other directions after that training, but the foundation he established remained.

        Apart from the Alan Moore material, nothing DC published during that time was half as good.

        Like

      3. There are facts, and there is opinion.

        If you think MOONSHADOW, DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN, ELEKTRA: ASSASSIN, and DAREDEVIL: LOVE AND WAR are second-rate, or at least not part of the high-bar for comics creators of the time, argue away. It should be amusing.

        If you want to claim that J. M. DeMatteis, David Mazzucchelli, Frank Miller, Jon J Muth, and Bill Sienkiewicz didn’t get their foundational comics storytelling training from Jim Shooter, well, that’s fact.

        I could say something nasty about your scriptwriting work at Marvel while Shooter was running things, but I’ll leave it. You got a lot better afterward.

        Like

      4. Sorry, RS, I have no interest in arguing with anyone as condescending and passive-aggressive as you.

        I’ll leave it at: I don’t think I concur with much of that, but to each their own.

        Liked by 3 people

      5. Passive-aggressive? No, I’m trying to be polite. Passive-aggressive is not addressing a challenge to back up a claim, while reaffirming the claim in question. You can offer opinions of the works in question, however discrediting that might be, or you can claim I’m misrepresenting facts, at which point you’re either mistaken or dishonest. Passive-aggressive? No. I’m just insisting you show your cards. If you won’t show them, that’s on you.

        Like

    3. I won’t dispute you’re entitled to your opinion, & reading preferences/purchases. I think Marvel really suffered more by the mid-90’s. Like others have said, through the 80’s, Marvel had several books firing on all or most of their cylinders. Uncanny X-Men; the Spidey books, Avengers; Walt’s Thor; Miller/Janson/Mazzucchelli/JRJr runs on Daredevil, the JM/Zeck period of Cap. DC was working hard to catch up, and I think they did. With much of the same talent. Miller did “Daredevil: Born Again” AND “The Dark Knight Returns” and “Batman Year One”.

      The “house tones”, the monthly editorial styles, were often different. “Secret Wars” was for a toy line, & read better for a younger audience. “CoIE” was to streamline an entire publishing line, & often read as emotionally more substantial (or substantive ?). Kara Zor-El’s death as Supergirl is still unsurpassed as the death that moved me the most in any comics I’ve read.

      I was buying about the same from both, in the 80’s, plus a combined equal amount of indies (First, Comico, Eclipse, Dark Horse). It wasn’t until the mid-90s where my purchases really got lopsided in favor of DC. My Marvel buys were much less than my indies. Two series sort of encapsulated the Big 2 publishers for me, then. “Sandman” and “Sleepwalker”. If you know them, you know what I mean. On the very surface they could be similar. But in execution & depth, one was way outclassed by the other.

      There was always one various title Marvel had that would keep me from dropping them completely in the 90’s. First it was Peter David’s Hulk. Then Waid & Garney’s Cap. DeMattais & Garney’s Silver Surfer. Kurt & George’s (then Davis, & then Dwyer) Avengers.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. I’m trying to think of what Marvel has published after 1987 that I thought was worthwhile. If Moebius or Katsuhiro Otomo weren’t in the credits, I’m all but drawing a blank. 1960s reprint editions, I guess.

        Oh, Stray Toasters was pretty good. And Groo.

        Like

  3. So Batman face a large number of his foes in this anniversary special and then again in Batman#400 ( October 1986 ) Anniversary Special ( by multiple artists ) — but no Gentleman Ghost in that one, visually a cool character.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. I thought bringing the Gentleman Ghost into the Batman ethos was clever.

    I thought Bob Kanigher did a good job reinventing the character in Atom-Hawkman #43 &44 back in 1969 by saying he was a Ghost, rather than backing the key plot point his being alive or dead as in his Flash Comics appearances.

    (It also made him a better fit for Batman.)

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. True enough, but poor Hawkman has so few good villains, and Batman has so many, it hardly seems fair for Bats to steal him.

      (Seriously, besides Gentleman Ghost and Shadow Thief, who has Hawkman got? Matter Master? IQ? The Man-Hawks? Not exactly a Murderers’ Row…)

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. Good points. There’s Byth. And he “borrowed” Kanjar Ro. When they “combined” Carter/Katar”, or connected them through Paran Katar, Katar Hol’s father (Tim Truman’s “Hawkworld” “Prestige” format miniseries), then you could count the Eygptian villain who killed Hawkman’s Prince past life, who was reincarnated & opposed Hawkman’s other identities through history…

        Before anyone tears me apart for the off-the-top-of-my-head recollections above, I’d like to see Hawkman vs. Copperhead. And Kobra as a world-level threat. The hawk/snake theme is too obvious to ignore. And the drug cartel enforcer El Flamingo that Grant Morrisson wrote during his very satisfying tenure. DC cuoul loan him some villains not currently engaged w/ their traditional nemeses. The Icicle (freezing his wings). The Wizard. Or free agents like Death Bolt.

        A fun one-off could be a “Hawkman & Robin” where Damien treats Hawkman like a junior partner (that inherited arrogance, un-tempered by the long-standing, if not begrudging or even fragile, respect between Batman & Hawkman from the length of their mutual association. Maybe Hawkman helps Damien’s Robin take down the Penguin. “Birds of a feather” (but they really aren’t, are they?) Maybe Hawkman tangles w/ a lone Talon from the Court of Owls? Or that erstwhile Owlman DC has running around occasionally (in the Outsiders, not the Crime Syndicate, although we could see Hawkman vs. his Crime Syndicate counterpart).

        Like

      2. A really good one (usually forgotten) was Konrad Kaslak (a somewhat realistic sorcerer).

        Fox and Kubert in the B&B try outs really did a lot of research and gave Kaslak the kinds of powers the myths talk about sorcerers had attributed to them (ability to influence people from a distance and manifest things that may (or may not) be there.

        I thought Hastor (the Egyptian who started Carter and Shiera’s cycle of reincarnation was handled well in the early 2000s Hawkman book.

        Lionmane was also a good character.

        During the B&B tryouts, it seemed like Hawkman would have a fair number of good antagonists. It did not sustain itself.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. One that seemed to have a lot going for it was Criminal Alliance of the World (“CAW”) that seemed to also have that cool esoteric stuff going on, too . . . .

        Liked by 1 person

  5. Robin was getting exposure on TV, true, but those shows were outside DC’s control, and if they wanted to keep stoking the merchandising, they needed to keep Robin in the comics. As John M pointed out, BATMAN FAMILY was the one successful venue DC came up with for the Teen Wonder in the seventies, and its existence did save DETECTIVE COMICS (though I assume the numbers for DETECTIVE must have come up even after the Dollar Comic format went away). But Robin wasn’t winning fannish hearts and minds as a Batman back-up, or in the other venue I forgot, the unsuccessfully seventies revival of TITANS.

    Still, if NEW TEEN TITANS hadn’t come along and upset the status quo applecart, maybe DC would have continued to keep Batman a solo act while farming out Robin from time to time, instead of coming up with a replacement Robin.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I think you’re right. “Detective Comics” was on the chopping block. “Batman” & “Batman Family” was selling better. Levitz & maybe others understandably didn’t want to see a former flagship (where the “DC” name originated, correct?) title get cancelled. So they wisely combined them under Detective’s numbers as “Detective Comics Starring the Batman Family”. When the sales improved, “Detective” stopped being a dollar comic. But wasn’t quite monthly yet. Denny O’Neil & Don Newton (excellent stuff) were on it & the issues were “Sept/Oct”, “Nov/Dec”. So sold less frequently, before going back to monthly sales again. Dick Giordano took over as Bat-editor from Levitz, when Paul was promoted. Then Len Wein took them from Dick, when Dick moved up. I still really like a lot of that stuff. I think it was more consistent quality, but neither hitting the highs or lows of Denny’s epic tenure as editor. Denny oversaw some of the greatest Bat-material. But there were also long patches of mediocre, even less than much of what Levitz/Giordano/Wein helped produce. To me, anyway. 😉

      Like

      Reply

  6. For the early eighties– the last years of the Bronze Age JMO– both Marvel and DC walked a tightrope between (1) delivering dependable if unremarkable entertainment to further the brand with the more “mainstream” titles, and (2) courting the fans who wanted more radical takes on established characters, like the aforementioned Daredevil and Thor.

    One amusing thing, at least to me, is that in the seventies DC management called upon Jenette Khan to improve DC’s sales, because (it says here) of her prior experience with children’s magazines. But I would say Khan’s more enduring impact was developing the “radical approach” for DC titles, particularly those associated with “the English invasion.” Back in the day I was very surprised to see staid DC rocket past Marvel in that department.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. A big reason I value Jim Shooter over Jenette Kahn is that he cultivated talent. Kahn didn’t. She just threw money at people who had been established elsewhere. You don’t really see an editor cultivating talent at DC until Karen Berger in the latter half of the 1980s.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      2. You raise an interesting point that obviously applies to sports management as well,

        In a time of greater use of freelancer/contractor talent throughout the economy, it has increasingly broad impact,

        Like

  7. That cover was recycled for the “Tales of the Batman: Don Newton” collection, which covered half, or just over half of Don’s Bat-assignments. I first heard his name after his sad passing, @ a comics show. Some dealers were discussing their favorite artists. His name came up, but I didn’t recognize it. I had sporadic access to comics back then. The farmer’s market where I bought most of them didn’t carry every title. Within a year I was frequenting regular comics shops every other week, due to parental visitation locations…

    I’ve since gone back & read Don’s Bat-stuff. And all his Aquaman jobs, from the last few issues of the 70’s monthly, to Don’s Aquaman in “Adventure Comics” (bring it back, DC!) & “World’s Finest”. This issue of Detective Comics looks great. Conway is lower on my list of Bat-scribes. I’ve actually liked Bob “the Answer Man” Rozakis’s occasional Batman more than Gerry’s. But Don’s work is special. He wasn’t only a “fan artist”. He was a junior high school art teacher. before becoming a full time proffesional comicbook artist. And lots of others, Staton, Layton, Perez, Byrne, did fan stuff before they broke into the big leagues. I’m not sure why Tom has frequently, previously singled out Don for his fan art days more than other artists. But Tom wrote some other very nice things about Don above. I appreciate that, man.

    Tom’s described Don’s style as (or compared it to) some Gene Colan meets (or crossed with) John Buscema. I can see why. I don’t think Don’s figure’s anatomy was as loose or free-wheelin’ as Gene’s (“Colanatomy”, I call it). Gene would exaggerate foot sizes, and other stuff. I loved his work, though, especially on Batman, and especially when inked by Klaus Janson. Then by Bob Smith. But both Gene & Don drew very expressive faces. Don almost “painted with pencil” the way Gene did. Don’s art needed a very elegant, sometimes delicate ink line. Dan Adkins’ inks were very good over Don’s work. I liked Bob Smith’s inks for Don, too. Maybe Pablo Marcos, but I could be remembering wrong.

    Both John Buscema and Don Newton drew very naturalistic figures. John Buscema had several “stock” figures. Don’s weren’t as uniform. But very expressive. And both knew anatomy. Don could exaggerate some limb lengths here & there. Some faces weren’t as precise. I think John could delivery high quality at a faster pace than Don. I loved them both. And Don’s Batman is now one of my favorites, and I think the best of that late 70’s early 80’s period. And I think influential on artists like Alan Davis, Bryan Hitch, and even Ivan Reis (if Ivan even knows who Don was- the similarities could be coincidental, or they had similar influences on their own work independently of each other).

    Those pages above are really well done. I’m not a big fan of Alfredo Alcala’s inking Don’s drawings. I like Alfredo inking Alfredo very much. A master artist, himself. And in this issue Don’s art isn’t smothered. But later on, especially during Doug Moench’s stint as writer, Alfredo’s inks really overpower what I loved about Don’s work.

    DC was in the early stages of turning their fortunes around. I’m still sad Don wasn’t around much longer, to benefit from the royalties that started to really pay off. And to be part of Batman’s return to greater prominence & even dominance in comics, & eventually mass media on unprecedented levels, eclipsing 60’s Batmania. He’d have loved it. And I’d like to have seen him draw Spidey, solo Captain America, Dr. Strange. Maybe he could’ve saved the classic Defenders. Of course, his family & friends certainly wish he’d have survived & thrived much longer too…

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. I have read that M marvel wanted Newton to draw The Avengers and Newton would have liked to have done it. However, Newton wanted to work with Joe Rubenstein (who I guess was exclusive to Marvel by then) and Marvel did not deliver for whatever reason . . . .

      I liked Newton’s early work on the New Gods with Dan Adkins—consistent. high quality art.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. i’d have to look up again which jobs he did for Marvel besides the Avengers annual I had. Villain was a big, helmeted brute called Arsenal. Don wanted to draw some issues of “Captain America”, but the job wasn’t open

        After he died in 1984, there was still work by him unpublished. One was an issue of “Infinity. Inc.” Marvel EIC Jim Shooter graciously allowed an exception for Rubinstein ‘s contract to ink that issue. It was released as “Infinity, Inc.” #13. Honorable gesture. The story’s not great, though.

        i’d have loved to have seen Draw a Superman book regularly. I’ve only seen his Superman in a “DC Comics Presents” teamed with Green Arrow. Then for Marvel, solo Cap, Dr. Strange, the classic Defenders, & some Spidey.

        Like

  8. I like half a dozen Hawkman foes from Gardner Fox, but they’re often one-offs. Chac, the guy with alien weapons that just happen to look like pre-Columbian art. Alvit, the hot Valkyrie who decides Hawkman’s going to be one of her husbands. There are some clever ideas but they didn’t make readers want more, especially of other winged foes– the Raven, the Falcon. In the same era Fox came up with three iconic Atom villains– Chronos, Woodrue and the Bug Eyed Bandit– which also had the advantage of looking distinctive, even Woodrue, who was just a guy in a lab coat. Gil Kane contributed better costume design skills to the mix, whereas Murphy Anderson was arguably a little better with sci-fi content. The aforementioned Matter Master might have the most distinctive costume among the Hawkman rogues gallery.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Chac had another Silver Age appearance in an Issue of the JLA by Fox after Hawkman became a member,.

      I thought the best of the winged bad guys was The Shrike whose costume was designed by a fan named David Cockrum.

      There were two very good antagonists introduced later in the Fox/Anderson run: Criminal Alliance of the World (“CAW:) and Lion Mane. Truman and Ostrander liked and used Lion Mane in Hawkworld. I’m not sure about CAW and may have forgotten. Since Truman got on the Hawkworld project working with Gardner F. Fox in 1984 or so, that indicates Fox & Anderson may have had bigger plans for Lion Mane before they left when Boltinoff took over as Editor. Although everyone was doing secret societies after SPECTER and THRUSH, I liked the idea of CAW, trying to capture advanced esoteric ancient artifacts. This is a basic Gardner F. Fox concept going back to Dr. Fate..

      Like

      Reply

      1. I liked CAW as well, but they really only worked in the Silver Age, and only under Gardner Fox. He had a special talent for the trope I call APWWOOS (Always Pulling Weird Weapons Out of Somewhere) and is almost Kirby’s equal at giving his villains huge arsenals of bizarre devices. Without such weapons, CAW would just be a bunch of punk terrorists.

        Reminds me of that FF issue where the Invisible Girl has a solo encounter with Doctor Doom on his airship. When she turns invisible, he triggers a jungle-gym of “moving bars” to impede her, though Doom had no idea that she’d find her way into that particular chamber, and thus no reason to outfit the room with that device. Then after she foils that plan, Doom threatens to sweep the whole room with a heat ray– and I’m wondering, “Why didn’t he do THAT from the start?” And I answered myself, “Because it wouldn’t have been as much fun.”

        Liked by 1 person

      2. The interesting thing about CAW was that their whole reason to exist was to collect ancient weapons and tech which gave them a natural conflict and a natural point of overlap with Hawkman.

        It also gave Fox a reason to use his large card files of historical trivia and Fottean phenomenon

        Fox just LOVED that kind of thing. He started ii with Dr. Fate (if not before).

        Liked by 1 person

    1. @RS Martin, when you threaten or warn that you “could be say something nasty” to someone about their past work (or anything else), just because they disagree with you, it sucks the interest from continuing the discussion with you. We’re here on our own free time. Which is limited. We’re Tom’s guests. We should return the favor if his hosting us with decent manners.

      You have many good insights to offer, and informative stories & stats to share. I thank you for those. I hope you can keep contributing, while also staying civil, if not friendly. Even when you’re attempting to to set the record straight.

      Thank you. 😉

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      2. @RS Martin, I can’t speak for Kurt or anyone else, but I appreciate your most recent comment. Thank you. You’re in this community with us. We can all enjoy it together. No stress, man. We love comics. 😉

        Liked by 2 people

    2. Very true and Murphy Anderson always tried to follow the Kubest designs for Master Master and Shadow Thief (although the Men-Hawks looked a bit different,

      Like

      Reply

  10. as a lover of C and D list villains, I love this issue as it might have been the first time I saw people like The Cavalier and Captain Stingaree before I would seek them out later in back issues once I started going to comic shops and conventions. Was only a kid when this issue came out.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. I would say, why not who doesn’t love a good Three Musketeer or Zorro movie on liking The Cavalier & Captain Stingaree — but there probably are people, just not me. Granted I wouldn’t want to be a hero armed with a sword ( Blue Blade, El Aguila, Swordsman, etc. — at least Timely’s Fourth Musketeer is a ghost ) anymore than I would want to be Indiana Jones armed with just a whip up against guys with guns. Musketeers & Zorro in the movies seemed to handle guys with guns ( Plus Daredevil is only armed with billy clubs and some how is still alive ).

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  11. Don Newton’s untimely death does pose an interesting ‘What If’ — if Newton hadn’t died, then Todd McFarlane wouldn’t have gotten the boost he did by taking over Infinity Inc and having Roy Thomas praise him. Would McFarlane ever have been hired by Marvel in that scenario?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I’m pretty sure Jim Shooter authorized Todd McFarlane for work at Marvel before he left. I suspect Shooter left it up to Archie Goodwin to authorize non-author work in the Epic titles, where McFarlane got his start, but I think he OK’ed McFarlane on the company-owned books. (I’m sure Kurt Busiek is familiar with Shooter’s authorizing and/or deauthorizing of creative talent based on performance.) Shooter has talked positively about McFarlane since, and McFarlane has said, from his dealings with Shooter, that Shooter liked his work. Bob Harras’s criticisms back in the day, in which he invoked Shooter as a bogeyman, didn’t hold up when McFarlane talked to Shooter one-on-one. At least according to McFarlane.

      Like

      Reply

  12. Looks like COMICBOOKHERALD.COM does not agree with you: The 55 Best Marvel Comics of the 1980s

    The 55 Best Marvel Comics of the 1980s — Daredevil#178-189, Marvel Fanfare#15, Uncanny X-Men#129 -137 ( Read to issue #140 Dark Phoenix Saga ), Daredevil#168-172 ( Keep reading to #177 ), Uncanny X-Men#141 -142 ( Days of Future Past, to the end of John Byrne’s time with issue #143 ), Kraven’s Last Hunt, Daredevil#227-233 ( Born Again ), New Mutants#18 -21 ( Demon Bear ), secret Wars , Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment, X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills , Squadron Supreme ( 1986 ) , Thor#350 -353 ( Ragnarok and Roll ), 337-339 ( Beta Ray Bill ), The Amazing Spider-Man#229-230 ( Nothing can stop the Juggernaut ), Daredevil#190-191 ( Resurrection, Roulette ), and more that I’m not going to finish adding. UNLIKE a lot of people I don’t have a list ( Other than favourite monster ( Godzilla ), cartoon character ( Bugs Bunny ) & Super-Hero ( 2 Silver Surfer & Sub-Mariner ) but not songs, movies or tv shows ( Just I like these movies, tv shows, songs, comics book stories ( some or a lot in the list of 55 for the 1980s ) — but do I think they are the best ever? I really don’t give that much thought, it is all about me enjoying them { like Wolverine#1 to 4 ( Frank Miller & Chris Claremont ) & Thor#379 -380 ( Thor vs. Jormungand — Mjolnir’s Song was beautiful ) on that list ].

    Like

    Reply

  13. I ran into Newtons art briefly while we tried to collect Batman comics from the local market. When I saw the art above, at first I thought it was vaguely Colan. But looking closer, I decided it wasn’t. Not too many artists look like Colan, so that’s pretty interesting in itself. The Buscema plus Newton comment, I think it pretty spot on. I do have the Batman by Don Newton book, and I am going to have to give that one a read through soon. Similarly, Marshall Rogers also died of a heart attack and was only 7 years older than Newton. Another great Batman artist.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. “Tales of the Batman: Don Newton” includes from Nov 1978 to August 1980. He drew more Bat-stories up t0 1985. I doubt it, but still hope DC will collect more of his work. I guess it depends on how well the first collection sold. Like Tom said, Don’s work is mostly forgotten to history.

      “Detective Comics” #480, 483–492 are in that collection . But he’s credited as having drawn #493-499, 501–509, 511, 513–516, 518–520, 524, 526, 539. (Wikipedia credits him for # 533, but that’s a Gene Colan issue, inked by Bab Smith.) Also, maybe when it featured the Batman Family; Robin in #481. Man-Bat in #481, 485. Batgirl in #492.

      “Batman” # 305 & 306. He’d later draw 328, 331, 332 (Catwoman), #337–338 (Robin), 346, 352–357, 360–372, 374–379. A lot of Alcala inks, I think.

      “Brave & The Bold” #153 (w/ Red Tornado, #156 (w/ Dr. Fate), #165 (w/ Man-Bat).

      Don & Gene both drew “fleshy”, pliable-looking faces. I think Don’s figures’ anatomy was more naturalistic. Maybe that’s where the comparison to John Buscema comes in. Both had that “Renaissance” art feel.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Thanks I don’t know there was even more Don Newton Batman out there. Not sure if you’ve heard of the new “DC Finest” line, but it’s there answer to Marvels Epic collection. IF they stick with it, we could eventually get those other Newton issues reprinted.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. @Faust, just to clarify, Don died in August 1984. But according to the credits on Wikipedia, he had work on published in 1985. Maybe that “Infinity, Inc.” #13, inked by Rubinstein.

        Liked by 1 person

  14. There are several Don Newton Batman stories in the Gerry Conway Tales of the Batman collection up to 526. I hope they eventually collect those later stories.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to RSMartin Cancel reply