BHOC: BATMAN #302

This was the last issue of BATMAN picked up new by my younger brother Ken. And so, it would be another year or more before I would sample another issue. As with most of Ken's other comics, this one wound up with me after his interest in it had waned. This really wasn't a great … Continue reading BHOC: BATMAN #302

WC: WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #140

This was the oldest issue of WORLD'S FINEST COMICS that I got in among my Windfall Comics purchase of 1988. The title was another one that serious collectors didn't much bother with for the most part, so back issues were both plentiful and relatively affordable. There were a few issues of WORLD'S FINEST in the … Continue reading WC: WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #140

Perfect Game – BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, Book One

This is, I think, one of the most discussed comic book stories of all time, so I don't know that I'm going to have a whole lot that's new to add to the conversation. What I can bring to the table is some personal perspective. I would have been 19 years old in 1986 when … Continue reading Perfect Game – BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, Book One

Lost Crossovers: Jerry Lewis Meets Batman and Robin

It's somewhat difficult to believe today, but comedian and movie star Jerry Lewis headlined his own DC comic book for about twenty years, the first half-dozen in conjunction with his then-partner, Dean Martin. Amazingly, more copies of Jerry Lewis were being sold and consumed than of the Atom or Hawkman or the Doom Patrol, all … Continue reading Lost Crossovers: Jerry Lewis Meets Batman and Robin

REAL FACT COMICS #5 and the True Story of Batman and Robin

I promised Jerry Ordway that I would do a piece on this particular story, and given that Batman Day was this weekend, it seems like a fitting moment to revisit this story. REAL FACT COMICS was a post-war innovation on the part of DC Comics. It was part of a small but widely-spoken-of effort to … Continue reading REAL FACT COMICS #5 and the True Story of Batman and Robin

WC: DETECTIVE COMICS #319

Among the books that I acquired as part of my Windfall Comics purchase, there were a number of issues of DETECTIVE COMICS. Which stands to reason--the title was one of the very few books to continue to be published uninterrupted from the Golden Age all the way through to the Silver, thanks to the abiding … Continue reading WC: DETECTIVE COMICS #319

WC: BATMAN #146

It must be said that in the early 1960s, BATMAN was a weird comic book. The Caped Crusader was still popular, he was holding down regular positions in not only his self-titled series but also in DETECTIVE COMICS and WORLD'S FINEST (and occasionally appearing in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA whenever his editor Jack Schiff's back … Continue reading WC: BATMAN #146

BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #142

This one would have been an impulse purchase, I think, when it arrived at my local 7-11. I wasn't reading BRAVE AND THE BOLD religiously, though I had picked up a number of the recent issues. Typically, it would all depend on who the guest star was, because I'd worked out that the style of … Continue reading BHOC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #142

WC: ACTION COMICS #290

As I spoke about yesterday, there were about 150 comics in the long box I got in my big Windfall Comics score, all of the super hero books. One of the most plentiful titles was ACTION COMICS. Which makes sense--ACTION was one of the biggest selling books of that era, and yet interest in these … Continue reading WC: ACTION COMICS #290

BHOC: BATMAN #301

I believe this issue of BATMAN was bought by my younger brother Ken--which may help to explain why I remember so little about it. Ken would go through these periods when he'd become interested in a particular character or title, follow it for a little while, then drop it and pretty much never mention it … Continue reading BHOC: BATMAN #301