Back Issue #150 Preview

SUPER SPECTACULAR

NO. 150

APRIL 2024 $12.95

BATMEN OF THE 1970s ANNIVERSARY ISSUE!

™

IRV K C I V O N

DICK GIORDANO

WALTER SIMONSON

ALEX TOTH

82658 00515

3

FRANK ROBBINS

1

Batman TM & © DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

BOB BROWN

BERNIE WRIGHTSON

FRANK MILLER’S FIRST BATMAN STORY!

Volume 1, Number 150 April 2024 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow

Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

DESIGNER Rich J. Fowlks COVER ARTISTS Bob Brown, Dick Giordano, Frank Miller, Irv Novick, Frank Robbins, Walter Simonson, Alex Toth, and Bernie Wrightson COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg

AbyN M BcArT eated

Bob Kane, er Fing with Bill

PROOFREADER Kevin Sharp SPECIAL THANKS Roger Ash Paul Levitz Terry Austin Ed Lute Jim Beard Elliot S. Maggin Eric Breen Brian Martin Alan Brennert Frank Miller Ed Catto Luigi Novi Mark Chiarello Dan Riba Art Cloos Joe Rubinstein DC Comics Walter Simonson Jon B. Cooke Jerry Smith Mark Evanier Jim Starlin Ramona Fradon Steven Thompson Mike Friedrich Mark Waid Michael T. Gilbert Dan Greenfield Dedicated to the Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Memory of Heritage Auctions Bob Brown Tony Isabella Dick Dillin Dan Johnson Dick Giordano Michael Wm. Irv Novick Kaluta Frank Robbins Rob Kelly Alex Toth James Heath Lantz Bernie Wrightson

Don’t STEAL our Digital Editions!

C’mon citizen, DO THE RIGHT THING! A Mom & Pop publisher like us needs every sale just to survive! DON’T DOWNLOAD OR READ ILLEGAL COPIES ONLINE! Buy affordable, legal downloads only at

www.twomorrows.com or through our Apple and Google Apps!

& DON’T SHARE THEM WITH FRIENDS OR POST THEM ONLINE. Help us keep producing great publications like this one!

PHOTO GALLERY: BACK ISSUE’s 20th Anniversary Celebration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 BACKSEAT DRIVER: Editorial by Michael Eury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 FLASHBACK: Irv Novick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 ART GALLERY: Michael Wm. Kaluta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 FLASHBACK: Bob Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 FLASHBACK: Frank Robbins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: O’Neil and Robbins’ Batman Anti-Drug Comic . . 33 PRINCE STREET NEWS: The Great Unseen Batman Artists of the ’70s . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 FLASHBACK: Dick Giordano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 ART GALLERY: Dick Dillin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 FLASHBACK: Bernie Wrightson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 ART GALLERY: Jim Starlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 ART GALLERY: Ramona Fradon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 FLASHBACK: Alex Toth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 BACKSTAGE PASS: Walter Simonson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 FLASHBACK: Frank Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 BACK TALK: Reader Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 BACK ISSUE™ issue 150, April 2024 (ISSN 1932-6904) is published monthly (except Jan., March, May, and Nov.) by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Periodicals postage paid at Raleigh, NC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Back Issue, c/o TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614.

Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief, 112 Fairmount Way, New Bern, NC 28562. Email: euryman@gmail.com. Eight-issue subscriptions: $97 Economy US, $147 International, $39 Digital. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover artwork from various Batman covers and interiors. Batman TM & © DC Comics. All Rights Reserved. All editorial matter © 2024 TwoMorrows and Michael Eury, except Prince Street News © 2024 Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING

Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 1

Batmen of the 1970s:

IRV NOVICK The ‘Mark’ of Kane No More

by E d

Catto

Batman history gets rewritten all time—both the character’s backstories as well as the “truth” about creators’ contributions and visions. Comic historians love to analyze and argue about how it all happened.

A simple review might summarize Batman as a character that started out as a pulpy vigilante but morphed into friendly policeman, eventually enjoying adventures with space creatures on other planets. Many fans then point to Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams’ efforts rebooting the Caped Crusader as a nocturnal avenger in the ’70s and Frank Miller’s grim-and-gritty ’80s reboot.

A more nuanced look at it all would credit the character’s return to his pulpy roots starting in 1964 with the “Mystery of the Menacing Mask” in Detective Comics #327, which introduced Batman’s “New Look.” Artist Carmine Infantino’s visual revamp of the character was sleeker and more stylized, in direct contrast to the simpler “all-ages” look of Batman it replaced.

But in January of 1966, the entertainment world changed as ABC premiered the live-action Batman TV show. The comics shifted again, and struggled to catch the lightning-in-a-bottle of the campy Adam West–starring program.

Soon the bloom came off the rose. TV’s Batmania was short-lived. And then there was a yearning from fans and professionals to shift back to the “New Look” Batman that had been interrupted.

And that’s the place to start analyzing artist Irv Novick, as it was here that his career intertwined with the man from Gotham City.

Blind As a Bat Writer Frank Robbins’ “Operation: Blindfold!” in Batman #204 (Aug. 1968) helped the Darknight Detective transition from Batmania-frenzied camp to a moodier atmosphere. Irv Novick, illustrator of this riveting cover, penciled his first Batman interior tale in this ish, beginning a long run on the character’s adventures.

TM & © DC Comics.

Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 5

NOVICK AND THE CAPED CRUSADER

Irv Novick technically started his long contributions to the Batman mythology penciling five issues of Teen Titans in 1967. Robin was prominently featured, although a Batman cameo would pop up occasionally. But clearly this was regular Titans artist Nick Cardy’s time to shine. Novick, being the professional that he was, seemed to consciously bend his work to the style established

by Cardy.

Novick formally entered Gotham City with high-profile cover duties for both Batman and Detective Comics in 1968. While his early work was still firmly ensconced in the Infantinoestablished house style, Novick turned up the volume. Novick’s covers were compelling and urgent. They were rich with story information but never felt crowded. Every Novick cover raised readers’ eyebrows in surprise or disbelief.

Novick’s Batman also was featured on the cover of World’s Finest Comics #181 (Dec. 1968), but this could never be considered Novick’s finest Batman illustration. On this odd cover, riffing off the famous story “The World’s Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, Superman and Batman are frantically running away from a man with a leashed leopard.

The two-part “Operation: Blindfold” in Batman #204 and 205 was a cheesy story with a convoluted plot, but Novick’s covers grabbed readers by the throat and never let go. He hadn’t quite hit his stride on the interior pages. This art was subdued by Joe Giella’s inking, but the beginning of greatness was evident.

Over the next year, Novick’s interior pencils on Batman kept pushing stylistic boundaries every issue, a gradual build from the tired Batman stories of the prior years to a more dynamic and engaging version.

EMPTY-NESTING NOVICK

By the end of 1969, Batman mythology was ready to take another important step forward, and Irv Novick was there to make it come alive visually.

One might argue that it all started in Batman #216 (Dec. 1969). “Angel or Devil” by writer Frank Robbins and Novick introduced readers to Alfred’s niece and brother. They are in Gotham City to perform with the Old Avon Players, a Shakespearian troupe. In reality, it turns out that they are also in town to steal an original manuscript of Romeo and Juliet from Wayne Manor.

Novick’s cover art is an invigorating showcase for the Caped Crusader, crashing through a Wayne Manor window and interrupting a hooded murderess about to kill Alfred. This tale is full of action and panache. Novick presents the sleek, thoroughly modern man-about-town side of Bruce Wayne, one who is enthusiastic about a night at the theater as much as a night of crimefighting.

Of note in #216: Novick illustrates Wayne Manor’s Shakespeare bust. In the Batman TV series, the bust’s head would hinge backwards to reveal a button that was used to open a secret bookcase leading into the Batcave. Here it is used to hide the Shakespeare manuscript.

Stand Back! This is a Job for Irv Novick!

Starting in 1968, DC’s new art director, Carmine Infantino, wisely began utilizing Novick’s talents as a cover artist, including (top left) Wonder Woman #176 (May–June 1968) and (top right) Captain Action #1 (Oct.–Nov. 1968), the Ideal Toy tie-in comic that guest-starred the Man of Steel in its premiere issue. (bottom left) Irv once again drew Superman for the cover of World’s Finest Comics #181 (Dec. 1968), also featuring one of the artist’s earliest stabs at Batman. (bottom right) In addition to his brief stint penciling Teen Titans, for the Batman/TT team-up in The Brave and the Bold #83 (Apr.–May 1969), Novick actually trumped interior and regular series artist Neal Adams in snagging the cover berth for this startling story.

All characters and titles TM & © DC Comics, except Captain Action TM & © Captain Action Enterprises.

Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 7

in his traditional barelegged costume, Novick always played it straight and made it work.

“I loved the feeling of these stories, even though I was in middle school at the time,” muses Dan Greenfield. “I loved the idea of imagining that I was Dick racing along campus. I like the smallness of the stories. They were not over the top. Hudson University had a pretty wild crime rate for upstate New York.

“And I loved the idea of Robin being on his own. And that was, you know, the old idea of Robin, to begin with, from the jump was someone the kids could relate to. I related to Batman.

I wanted to be Batman. But I also wanted to be Robin. Especially in math class. I’d be sitting there looking at the clock. And I’m thinking, ‘Why can’t I just be out doing the adventures on the school roof right now in in a, in a yellow cape and a red and a red outfit?’

“But in terms of the artwork, I thought Novick did a great Robin. He did a lot of really good stories and that were very accessible. And a lot of fun.” [Editor’s note: See BACK ISSUE #22 for more on Robin’s ’70s solo stories.]

BRING ON THE (OLD) BAD GUYS

During Novick’s initial run on Batman and Detective Comics, the series had strayed away from leveraging Batman’s iconic villains. New antagonists like the Spook or Colonel Sulphur only took it so far.

Was Batman becoming too “ordinary”? By 1974, there was a subtle shift away from Batman

only facing thugs and gangsters. Novick excelled at depicting mobsters and mundane antagonists, but was it time to time for a change? Was it time to bring back Batman’s larger-than-life Rogues’ Gallery?

Novick had a little experience with colorful bad guys. He had previously illustrated the Joker and Penguin on covers, and a Catwoman story in Batman #210.

“You went through those stages because in the late ’60s and early ’70s, they were really shying away from the costumed villains,” says Dan Greenfield. “There was a noirish element that played to [Novick’s] strengths—where he had been.

He drew war comics and the great G.I. Joe ads in the ’60s. It wasn’t quite as photorealistic as Adams, but it had that quality. There was something about his artwork that felt very commercial, and I mean that in a good way. I think that the stories that he told were great. If you’re talking from 1968, to say, 1974, because that is when they started bringing back the past, and villains.”

Batman #256–260 in 1974, published in DC’s then-popular 100-Page Super Spectacular format, served up consecutive Novick Bat-stories featuring the Catwoman, the Penguin, Two-Face, and the Joker, respectively. These stories were fun. It seemed that Batman, the readers, and DC’s editorial department, were leaving behind that early ’70s vibe and preparing for what would become more traditional superhero adventures with bombastic bad guys.

Breakout from Arkham O’Neil and Adams may have re-popularized the Clown Prince of Crime in the landmark Batman #251, but once the villain spun off into his own mag, it was Irv Novick joining Denny and inker Dick Giordano as the penciler of (left) The Joker #1 (May 1975). (right) Joker #5 splash, from Heritage.

TM & © DC Comics.

Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 13

MICHAEL Wm.

KALUTA Drawing Aim on the Batman When comparing (right) this unused cover preliminary with (inset below) the published cover for Detective Comics #428 (Oct. 1972), notice how Kaluta altered both Batman’s posture and the position of the gun that threatens him.

The pulp-influenced, meticulously detailed linework of artist Michael Wm. Kaluta (born 1947) commanded attention from his earliest assignments, which began in 1970, earning him the “Outstanding New Talent” Shazam Award for 1971. From his breakout feature, DC’s “Carson of Venus” backups, to his star-making turn on

TM & © DC Comics.

16 • BACK ISSUE • Batmen of the 1970s

Kyle Cassidy.

Batmen of the 1970s:

the 1973 revival of The Shadow, Kaluta quickly became a fan-favorite, inspiring Batman editor Julius Schwartz to occasionally tap him for cover illustrations. While the talented Mr. Kaluta would continue to illustrate Batman covers and special stories for decades to come, in this cover gallery you will enjoy some of his earliest Bat-art.

Batmen of the 1970s:

BOB BROWN The Brown Bat

by S t e v e n

Thompson

The brown bat is an endangered species of mouse-eared microbat found in North America. From 1968 to 1973, the Brown Bat was also a fairly realistic version of Batman that has rarely been seen since. Along with Irv Novick and Jim Aparo, veteran comic-book artist Bob Brown was one of the main Batman illustrators of that period, and yet all anyone tends to remember these days is the flashier, now-iconic pencils of Neal Adams, often paired with inker Dick Giordano.

FROM SHOW BIZ TO GOTHAM CITY

‘Two Titans’?

In this case, it’s penciler Bob Brown and inker Dick Giordano— although writer Frank Robbins was pretty titanic, too!

Courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com), original art to the splash page of Detective Comics #428 (Oct. 1972), from which this issue’s cover blurb for Bob Brown was taken.

TM & © DC Comics.

Who was Bob Brown? Born in Syracuse, New York, in 1915 to showbiz parents, he and his younger brother and sister followed in the family tradition from an early age, performing as a song-and-dance team for years. In time, he went solo as a dancer and even earned a successful screen test at 20th Century Fox. Any plans he may have had to become a movie chorus boy were scuttled when his number came up in the draft at the age of 25. At that point, he enlisted so as to join the Army Air Corps. Over time, Bob survived 35 combat missions over Japan, earning multiple medals and commendations along the way.

After the war, his interests turned to art and he attended the Hartford Art School and the Rhode Island School of Design on the generous GI Bill. He worked at first for an ad agency, but by that point comic books had become a major publishing industry and new artists were constantly needed. Brown contributed artwork to publishers Fox and Timely before being recalled to duty as a captain in the Reserves. At that time, he served in Newfoundland with the 52nd Air Rescue Squadron. Then, as he himself put it, it was “back to the ol’ drawing board.”

Brown’s first regular gig was drawing DC’s popular “Vigilante” stories in Action Comics. He guided Vig for 33 issues beginning in late 1950. He would later take over DC’s Revolutionary War–era frontiersman title, Tomahawk.

In between, Bob also drew the entirety of the first issue of the long-running Rawhide Kid title for Atlas (Marvel).

By the time he arrived in Detective in 1968, I had already been a fan of Brown’s work for several years, first discovering him as the artist on the coverless Challengers of the Unknown comic books mixed in with all the Blackhawk issues at the barbershop where I got my hair cut every two weeks in the mid-’60s. He was still drawing the new Challengers of the Unknown issues at that time, as well, and I started buying them. Superboy was an early favorite of mine, so I was glad when he started drawing it, too, especially in issues inked

by Wallace Wood! I have only ever owned two pages of Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 19

original comic-book art and one of them was a Superboy page cowl in others. He makes the cape awfully short as well.

by Brown and Wood. [Editor’s note: Check out BACK ISSUE #142 The issue’s ludicrous plot has Batman staging an unnecessarily for more info about Brown’s Superboy art.] elaborate hoax to ensnare a snake-like supervillain called As far as the Caped Crusader goes, I was having a love/hate Copperhead. Our hero arranges for both Wonder Woman relationship with Batman comics in the late 1960s. Drawn to them and Batgirl to show up, loudly and publicly proclaiming their like so many others a couple of years earlier during the phenom- undying love for him. Wonder Woman flies in under her on enon that was Batmania, I couldn’t help feel the old baitpower—no invisible plane needed—while Batgirl flies in and-switch when we got a gorgeously drawn cover via her personal mini-Batplane (??). The plan backby, say, Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson, or Carmine fires when both women really do fall for him and Infantino and Joe Giella, only to have the insides hilarity—almost lethal at times—ensues. be by “Bob Kane.” Even then, I suspected some It’s a cringe-worthy story, really, as well as an chicanery as what we now know as Chic Stone’s inauspicious debut for Bob on Batman. But things Batman didn’t look like Sheldon Moldoff’s were about to quickly change. Just a month or Batman or Frank Springer’s Batman and none so later, Detective Comics #378 (Aug. 1968) saw of them looked the least bit like Dick Sprang’s the debut of Frank Robbins as writer of Batman, Batman in the 80-Page Giants. and with him debuted what would be—with a In 1968, though, DC was going through some few switch-outs on the inker at times—his new big changes, one of which was that instead regular art team, Bob Brown and Joe Giella. of the generic “Bob Kane” credit, editor Julius Robbins was new at DC, although he had Schwartz began regularly crediting the actual been in the comics business almost since it bejoe giella artists and writers on Batman stories, beginning gan. Mainly, he was known for the dynamic writ© Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. with Frank Robbins—newly hired from the ing and art on the long-running, Milton Caniff– newspaper strips—and artist Bob Brown. inspired newspaper aviation strip Johnny Hazard. He continued Brown’s initial take on Batman actually came in The Brave on Hazard even as he started tentatively at DC writing Lois Lane and the Bold (B&B) #78 (June–July 1968) when he both penciled and The Flash, then settled in for his acclaimed regular runs on and inked a typically wacky Bob Haney story, “In the Coils of both Superboy and Batman. the Copperhead.” Although undoubtedly familiar with the One should definitely not underestimate the importance of character, it’s clear that the artist had trouble drawing Batman’s inker Joe Giella to the Robbins/Brown team. Whatever flaws face, with too much nose showing in some shots and too much Brown had in drawing Batman only months before were nowhere in evidence in that first Robbins story. This is undoubtedly due to Giella, whose precise and assured inks helped define and tame the so-called “New Look” Batman drawn by Infantino earlier in the decade.

Away from comics, Bob Kane himself reportedly even used Giella as a ghost artist.

Brown, like the Sponge Man character he had co-created (with Batman co-creator Bill Finger) a few years earlier in Challengers of the Unknown, seemed to quickly soak up everything he needed to learn about the Dynamic Duo and was almost immediately on top of things.

MOVING AWAY FROM CAMP

The Robbins/Brown stories began to appear just as the classic, campy 1966 TV series was ending, and as such they at first fell somewhat in between the goofy and the Darknight Detective era soon to explode via Neal Adams. Looking at Brown’s stories now as a group, they represent a period that modern readers are unlikely to ever see again, as a very human, smart, and clearly sane Batman solves actual crimes in his beloved Gotham City rather than being entangled in massive, months-long, and increasingly convoluted “events.”

Brown Gets Around (main) Bob Brown art on a Don Rico–written Marvel oater page from Rawhide Kid #1 (Mar. 1955). (inset) Brown’s Challengers of the Unknown covers and interiors, bridging the artist’s flair for adventure strips with a superhero flavor, paved the way for Bob’s eventual transition to Batman. Cover to CotU #53 (Dec. 1966–Jan. 1967).

Rawhide Kid TM & © Marvel. Challengers of the Unknown TM & © DC Comics.

20 • BACK ISSUE • Batmen of the 1970s

Batmen of the 1970s:

FRANK ROBBINS Batman and Robbins

by B r i a n

Martin

Frank Robbins was a seasoned comic-strip veteran when he arrived in Gotham City. Born in 1917 in Boston, Massachusetts, writer-artist Robbins took over the Scorchy Smith comic strip in 1939, and then created a panel play of his own, Johnny Hazard, in 1944. Robbins would continue to produce that feature until its demise in 1977.

Near the end of the 1960s, interest in adventure strips had begun to wane, so Robbins came calling at DC Comics looking for work. Initially writing for the Superman titles, it did not take long for Robbins to transition over to writing tales of the Darknight Detective.

ANYONE FOR TENNIS?

No Gentleman, This Ghost Chains can’t stop the Spook—one of the Bat-villains created by writer Frank Robbins—from closing in on the Gotham Guardian.

Detail from the cover art for Detective Comics #434 (Apr. 1973), by illustrator Michael Wm. Kaluta.

TM & © DC Comics.

Before we get to the main thrust of this article, let’s deal with the elephant in the room.

“Heck, Batman looked like a joke. Worse since, sheesh, can’t remember.”

“I personally hope to see a Robbins-illustrated story every few months.”

“In almost every picture, Batman looks as if he has spent the day greasing the Batmobile.”

“And the art—wow! Supreme!”

“The unfortunate part of the story was that Robbins attempted to illustrate it.”

“Let Frank Robbins have the script and art permanently!“ “It stinx!”

Robbins—never short on the liberal application of black ink—drew only five Batman stories, all in Detective Comics, beginning with #416 (Oct. 1971)—then #420 (Feb. 1972), 421 (Mar. 1972), 426 (Aug. 1972), and 429 (Nov. 1972), for those keeping score at home—but as you can see from the above quotes from actual letters pages, the fan reaction to Robbins’ Bat-art was… intense, to say the least. Every story he illustrated garnered these sorts of reactions. And it didn’t stop with Batman.

Leaving DC not long after chronicling his last Caped Crusader tale in 1974, Robbins moved to Marvel, where he drew a stint on Captain America.

Beginning with issue #182 (Feb. 1975), he would pencil nine of the next 11 issues. The author of most of those tales, Steve Englehart, tells BI, “I loved Frank’s art when I was a reader. When he did Batman, or Man-Bat, I accepted it for what it was, and didn’t worry how he stacked up against Neal Adams or Gil Kane.

Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 27

Where Do You Stand?

Bronze Age DC readers either loved or hated Frank Robbins’ Batman artwork. (left) On the splash page for Detective Comics #416 (Oct. 1971), the writer/artist pits his co-creation, Man-Bat, against the Caped Crusader for a return bout. (right) Batman’s last will and testament?

Robbins’ harrowing splash to his “Killer’s Roulette!” tale from Detective #426 (Aug. 1972).

TM & © DC Comics.

“But when he took over Captain America, he replaced Sal Buscema, who’d been the only Cap artist for several years—and he did it in the middle of the Nomad arc, so it was definitely not a clean transition. As a writer, I powered through, keeping the story as involving as I could make it, and hoped that would carry people along. But the readers definitely noticed, and most of them were not thrilled. I would say it was the glaring difference between him and Sal that led to that, and not so much his actual art. It was a no-win situation for him.” [Editor’s note: Sterling Steve is referring to the classic Captain America story arc where Cap, disillusioned over US politics, relinquished his star-spangled uniform for a new crimefighting identity as Nomad. See BI #20 for our coverage.]

Robbins’ next major series was the Roy Thomas–written The steve englehart Invaders [see BI #37—ed.], which he penciled from the first issue, Giant-Size Invaders #1 (June 1975), then most issues of the Invaders series that followed until #28 (May 1978). “Prior to Invaders, I was only minimally aware of Robbins’ work on Johnny Hazard and Batman,” Thomas himself reveals. “I thought he had an interesting style, but it was rather quirky.

“When Marvel’s editor-in-chief pushed Robbins at me as the penciler of The Invaders, I was a bit skeptical,” Thomas continues. “But I was told he knew the WWII period and would be an asset, and [Marvel art director] John Romita, Sr. was a big fan of his Hazard work… so I didn’t fight it. However, I felt he would need a somewhat different look in order to meet with approval from Marvel’s readers, so I got Vince Colletta to ink him, with instructions to make Robbins fit a bit better with the Marvel mainstream. Frank never complained to me that I can recall.

As soon as Vinnie quit to go to DC and I put on Frank Springer, an inker roy thomas who made Robbins look more like Robbins, the sales declined.”

Frank Robbins’ style was certainly different than the other artists Super Festivals. handling Batman at the time. Making it even more distinctive was the fact that he inked all of his Detective work.

Love them or loathe them, there was no missing the few stories Robbins illustrated.

28 • BACK ISSUE • Batmen of the 1970s

Just Say No!

by E

d Lute

Years before US First Lady Nancy Reagan made that anti-drug motto a cultural catchphrase, the Caped Crusader took a stand against the illegal drug trade in an unpublished comic book story written

by Denny O’Neil and illustrated by Frank Robbins.

TM & © DC Comics.

In 1971, Marvel Comics and DC Comics both released groundbreaking and memorable anti-drug storylines in The Amazing Spider-Man #96–98 and Green Lantern #85–86, respectively.

These were landmark issues in comic-book history because they employed comic storytelling to warn about the dangers of drug use. The depiction of drug use, whether portrayed as recreational or not, was taboo in comics of the era under the enforcement of the Comics Code Authority. As such, these were novel, daring stories that not only warned readers about the dangers of drugs but also helped the CCA transition toward accepting such subject matter.

There was an additional comic book that might have had just as important an impact in discouraging readers from this horrible epidemic. It was a ten-page anti-drug story featuring two of DC’s premier superheroes, Batman and Robin, produced for a planned 1974 DC anti-drug comic book that failed to be published. It had art by Frank Robbins, one of this issue’s spotlighted Batmen of the 1970s, and was written by Denny O’Neil, no stranger to this magazine’s pages.

BACK ISSUE spotlights the unpublished tale itself and supposes what might have been if this story had reached Bronze Age readers’ hands.

RIDDLE ME THIS: WHAT IS GOTHAM CITY’S DEADLIEST ENEMY?

“It stalks the streets of Gotham City… an enemy so quiet, so deadly, that no man can come to grips with it,” reads the splash page of the unpublished Batman story titled “The Deadliest Enemy of Gotham City!” With an opening and title like that, you’d probably think that the Joker, Riddler, or Penguin was facing off against the Caped Crusader. However, Gotham City was going to encounter a more lethal menace than those from

Batman’s legendary Rogues’ Gallery. Batman’s burg is in the grip of an actual danger that real towns and cities across the USA and world were facing (and continue to face)—illegal drugs, and their devastating effects.

The story starts with Hudson University student Dick Grayson interviewing high school students on a college-recruitment effort.

Some of the students are acting strangely. To find out why, Dick changes into the colorful garb of his alter ego, Robin, the Teen Wonder, and tails a student named Pete Montesi. He discovers that Pete is not only addicted to drugs, but there is a turf war brewing between Pete’s supplier, Jack Martin, and a rival dealer, Mickey Whalen. Robin recognizes Jack as someone that he, as Dick, tried to recruit for college earlier that day.

Robin is about to step in to stop what looks to be a major tussle when Batman, his crimefighting partner, swoops in before things get started. When Robin questions why Batman was fighting small-time drug dealers instead of bigger threats, the Caped Crusader replies, “I’ll fight anything that does the kind of damage that drugs do... the kind that leaves lives smoldering ruins. I want a world full of people... not zombies!”

With those words, Batman informs readers of the damage that drugs can do, not only to a single person, but to society as a whole. The Darknight Detective fights to stop the drug suppliers and helps Jack to see that dealing drugs is wrong, and that he has been used by his supplier, who didn’t care about him.

As the story ends, Jack hopes that it wasn’t too late for him to change his life for the better by attending Hudson U. Although “The Deadliest Enemy of Gotham City!” was at times preachy in its message, it did not overdo it, speaking to the readers instead of speaking down to them. It was also a realistic take on how suppliers use young adults to get their products onto the streets and hook people.

Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 33

Batmen of the 1970s:

DICK GIORDANO Changing Batman, One Comic At a Time

by M i c h a e l

Eury

Flip through the significant Batman stories of the 1970s and early 1980s, and chances are Dick Giordano was involved, in some fashion.

One of comicdom’s most beloved creators, Richard Joseph Giordano (1932–2010) received encouragement to draw by his mother, “Pina,” an amateur illustrator herself. By the early 1950s, Dick had broken into the comics field as an artist, sometimes using a “Richi” (no “e” at the end) Giordano byline. He found no end of penciling and inking work at Charlton Comics, the all-in-one publisher that handled every aspect of production— including printing—under a single roof in Derby, Connecticut. There, Dick drew hot rod, romance, and Western comics, their stories’ realistic settings and characters helping the young illustrator hone his talents.

On these projects, Dick particularly developed a flair for drawing automobiles and beautiful women.

He was a Charlton editor by the mid-1960s, overseeing the company’s line of “Action Heroes” (Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, the Question, and other characters later acquired by DC Comics). Giordano jumped ship to DC’s editorial department in the late 1960s, and from Charlton brought with him several influential creators, namely writers Denny O’Neil and Steve Skeates, and artists Steve Ditko and Jim Aparo.

In the 1970s, Giordano—either as a freelance artist or through his affiliations with Continuity Associates or his own company, Dik-Art—inked and occasionally penciled hundreds of pages and covers for several publishers, mainly DC, mentoring numerous up-andcomers who quickly graduated from assisting Dick on his inking assignments to work of their own. Advertising, merchandising, movie posters, book covers, and custom comic assignments were also commonplace for Dick. And many of those assignments involved Batman…

Which is where we begin our story.

‘There Is No Hope in Crime Alley!’

Dick Giordano’s iconic cover for Detective Comics #457 (Mar. 1976). Thank you and good afternoon, it doesn’t get any better than this.

TM & © DC Comics.

Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 39

DICK GIORDANO, BATMAN INKER

neal adams © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons.

Let’s start with what you probably already know: Dick Giordano was one of the (if not the) chief Batman inkers of the early Bronze Age. Neal Adams may be heralded (and rightly so) for his role in returning Batman to his gothic roots, but many of Adams’ now-classic stories were inked by Giordano. Dick’s artistry not only complemented Neal’s (“That almost looks like I did it,” Adams commented about Dick’s inking), it also helped Neal’s work reach completion on deadline.

Batman editor Julius “Julie” Schwartz regularly tapped Giordano to ink the other Bat-artists in his stable, including Irv Novick and Bob Brown, also spotlighted in this issue. “Julie would often call me and ask if I had enough work,” Giordano remembered. This provided a consistent look to the pencilers’ work, not unlike Schwartz’s similar use of Joe Giella to ink several different Batman pencilers of the 1960s.

Dick almost always brought out the best in these and other artists he delineated. He was a master of “spotting blacks”—that is, selecting the areas in line art to become solid black. His facility with blacks appropriately cloaked the Darknight Detective in nightfall, no matter who penciled the story.

Former Giordano assistant and background inker Terry Austin tells BACK ISSUE, “Dick was the gold standard for the portrayal of Batman, as far as the powers-that-be at DC were concerned.

He penciled and/or inked all the Batman style guides and merchandising because they knew that Dick would do fixes to make sure that Batman was always the same visually from project to project, regardless of the penciler.”

“Dick did what Dick did,” notes one-time Giordano assistant Joe Rubinstein. “He brought power and elegance to the line, and because he drew so well he would help that along as well. I don’t think he did it any differently on Batman that he did any other book, though I’m sure he enjoyed the heavy blacks in the long-cape brushwork.”

Former DC publisher Jenette Kahn reflected of Giordano’s reputation, “No one makes your pencils look better, an artist would say.”

DICK GIORDANO, BATMAN ARTIST

But Dick Giordano was no stranger to solo Batman art, from covers to the occasional interior story.

Terry Austin, who was hired by Giordano in the late summer/early fall of 1974 to begin a threeyear stint as Dick’s background inker and assistant, tells BI, “I thought that Dick’s pencils were a cut above those of Irv Novick, Bob Brown, Dick Dillin, and even the layouts by John Buscema that seemed to be the standard fare we were inking at the time, so I obviously wanted to do a good job for him on the projects that were personal enough for him to pencil, such as Dracula, the Elongated Man, Stephanie Starr, and yes, Batman.”

Let’s take a closer look at a handful of Dick’s Batman contributions as a penciler/inker.

The first time his Batman art really caught my then-much-younger eye was the cover of Batman #247 (Feb. 1973), the Christmas 1972 edition. It was the type of cover you’d expect from editor Schwartz’s office, a grab-ya-by-the-throat “How’s he gonna escape from this?” shocker. In this case, it’s a bomber threatening Gotham City on New Year’s Eve, lording over the captive Batman, who’s tied to the “Happy Deadly New Year!” ball that’s being dropped over the town square.

Nice Day for a Fright Wedding Before we deep-dive into Dick Giordano’s Batman solo art, let’s take a moment to marvel at his inking of Neal Adams.

A shocking She-Bat reveal from Detective Comics #407’s (Jan. 1971) “Marriage: Impossible.” Original art scan courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © DC Comics.

40 • BACK ISSUE • Batmen of the 1970s

MERCHANDISING

ART GALLERY

Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 51

Batmen of the 1970s:

BERNIE WRIGHTSON Gotham Macabre

by J a m e s

Heath Lantz

Bernie Wrightson. The name brings chills up and down the spines of comics fans of all ages.

Throughout his career, acclaimed horror artist Bernie (originally credited as “Berni”) Wrightson offered readers the macabre and eerie. Given that his style brought life to creatures and beings that populated the shadows and the darkness of night, his art fit in perfectly with the world of Batman in the Bronze Age. Wrightson’s stunning images told the stories of 1988’s Batman: The Cult and The Weird, along with covers and interiors for various Bat-comics in the BACK ISSUE era and beyond. Yet, the most memorable comic starring the Bat wasn’t even part of the Caped Crusader’s DC Comics titles. Co-creators Len Wein and Wrightson’s Swamp Thing #7 brought its titular muck-encrusted creature to Gotham City, leading to his first encounter with Batman. BACK ISSUE will shine the Bat-signal on this creepy tome, its effects on the Masked Manhunter’s canon, and Bernie Wrightson’s other Batman material in this article. You’ll anger Swamp Thing if you don’t read this, Batfans.

CAREER MACABRE

At the risk of sounding like a Stephen King novel...

Bernard Albert “Bernie” Wrightson had always had art in his blood. Growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, young Bernie read EC horror comics.

According to Wrightson in an interview with Jon B. Cooke, if a comic cover had been particularly disturbing to him, he’d buy it at the local candy store. Haunt of Fear #27 was one particular issue he read to tatters while hiding it from his mother, who would have torn the book to shreds had she discovered it in the house.

Do You Dare Enter… Gotham City?

Batman hitches a ride on a haunted stagecoach and the Master of the Macabre hitches a ride into the DC Universe on Bernie Wrightson’s chilling cover for Detective Comics #425 (July 1972).

TM & © DC Comics.

Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 59

be Jewish Holocaust survivor Doctor Benjamin Gruener, who sought revenge on Nazi Kurt Schloss. Schloss was the murdered man who had masqueraded as Batman.

Writers Dennis O’Neil and Harlan Ellison and artists Neal Adams and Dick Giordano based “Night of the Reaper!” on Bernie Wrightson’s idea. In addition, Dick Grayson’s friends’ likenesses were based on those of Wrightson, Alan Weiss, and Gerry Conway. O’Neil and Tom Fagan, developer of the annual Rutland Halloween celebration, and a dedicated comic fan, are also characters in the story. According to Wrightson, Batman #237 started at a real-life party Fagan was throwing in Rutland. After some intense celebration, Wrightson, O’Neil, and Weiss were telling scary stories while going for a walk.

Wrightson’s tale apparently affected O’Neil, because the writer’s “Night of the Reaper!” became one of the eeriest adventures of the Batman from the 1970s.

Batman’s dark renaissance of the 1970s was not limited to Detective Comics, Batman, and The Brave and the Bold titles of the time. It carried on into DC books in which the Caped Crusader had guest-starred. Swamp Thing #7 (Nov.–Dec. 1971) is perhaps the best example of this. Searching for Matthew Cable and Abigail, Swamp Thing and his canine sidekick

‘Night of the Bat’ (top) One of the best Batman stories of the 1970s was not published in a Batman comic book: “Night of the Bat” in Swamp Thing #7 (Nov.– Dec. 1973), written by Len Wein and illustrated without equal by the remarkable Bernie Wrightson. (bottom left) Wrightson’s layouts for page 4 of Swamp Thing #7. (bottom right) The lettered, finished artwork for the extraordinary page. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © DC Comics.

Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 61

Batmen of the 1970s:

ALEX TOTH Quality Over Quantity

by D a n

Johnson

Of all the artists that helped define Batman in the Bronze Age, the one who produced the fewest comic book pages featuring the character was Alex Toth. Despite this scarcity of Toth Bat-art, for many people of a certain age, when they think of Batman, they think of Toth’s take on the character.

LEAVING HIS MARK

Before Toth ever drew Batman, he worked on two characters that bear mentioning. The first helped inspire Batman, and that was Johnston McCully’s Zorro. The co-creators of Batman lifted several elements directly from Zorro, including the hero hiding behind the guise of a bored man of wealth to throw suspicion off of himself and having a faithful manservant who acted as an aide and confidant.

Walt Disney’s Zorro television series, which featured Guy Williams as the title character, gained popularity in the late 1950s that rivaled the Batmania that would follow a decade later. Zorro was a merchandising juggernaut during its heyday, and one of the most successful tie-ins was Dell’s Zorro comics. This series featured some of Toth’s most memorable work as he drew the adventures of the masked caballero. Dressed in black and leaping around as he fought villains, one could easily see the Batman in “the Fox’s” place.

On the comics page, Toth gave Zorro grace and energy that just could not be captured on film. [Editor’s note: See BACK ISSUE #138 for more on Zorro’s comic appearances.]

It was akin to the same action that Batman was known for in his comic book adventures. Although Batman took many cues from Zorro, Toth proved the Caped Crusader had some impact on the Fox in return.

GIVE HIM SPACE

The Bronze Age’s Friendliest Batman Alex Toth’s versions of Batman and Robin—and DC’s other heavy hitters—were the “gateway” to comic books for many children of the 1970s who grew up watching Super Friends on Saturday mornings. Limited Collectors’ Edition (LCE) #C-41 (Dec. 1975–Jan. 1976) cover art by Toth, with Superman’s face being a rather notorious Curt Swan/George Klein paste-up.

TM & © DC Comics.

Alex Toth’s ability to present action-packed illustrations with the fewest lines possible and without cluttering his work with unnecessary and distracting details led him to a successful career outside of comics: animation.

In the early 1960s, Toth began working in this industry, which was booming thanks to television. His first work was on Cambria’s Space Angel, and he then settled in at Hanna-Barbera Productions. Toth’s style made him a natural character designer. He was great at giving characters distinctive looks but keeping them as simple as possible to make producing a weekly animated series easier. In addition, his time working in comics made him a perfect storyboard artist.

After the debut of Adam West’s Batman, the television industry was looking for projects to cash in on the popularity Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 67

with a rotating group of artists. Goodwin (Spring 1998), “You know, Alex Toth, Flying would write to accommodate what the artists Tigers, gotta do it! In that case, it’s like me being were excited to draw. a fanboy. To me, having Alex Toth do any kind of Toth’s artwork is amazing throughout the airplane story, it’s a joy for me. If I see a chance story, but the splash page is what really stands to do something like that, I will. He did a really out. The image of Batman swinging fabulous job on it.” towards a biplane with his name In regard to Toth taking on more spelled out in the folds of his Batman stories during the Bronze cape is a beautiful and exciting Age, Goodwin told Cooke, “[Toth] thing to see. Today it is highhad always wanted to do a Batman ly regarded as one of the most story and, in fact, he would occamemorable pieces of Batman sionally still like to do a Batman art from the 1970s, but at the story.” When asked if he hoped to time, Toth was less than pleased work again with Toth at the time with how it turned out. In a of the interview, Goodwin replied, letter he wrote to a fan who “We work at it. He’s a little less asked about the page, Toth said casual about what he does in the he felt the coloring ruined the way of a story now.” artwork, although at the end of archie goodwin TREASURE TROVE the correspondence he says that DC Comics.

Another comic book assignment his flat blacks didn’t help.

Before this Batman story, Goodwin had that Toth took on in this period was drawing worked with Toth on a story for Our Fighting pages for DC’s Limited Collectors’ Edition Forces #146 (Jan. 1974) called “Burma Sky,” #C-41 (Dec. 1975–Jan. 1976), a tabloid-sized about the legendary Flying Tigers. It was this Super Friends treasury edition. This publication story that appeared to put Goodwin in mind featured six original pages by Toth that served to use Toth for “Death Flies the Haunted Sky.” as introductions for reprints of Justice League of As Goodwin recalled in an interview with Jon America stories. Naturally, Batman and Robin are B. Cooke for the first issue of Comic Book Artist featured on these pages.

Archie and Alex Fly High (left) The stunning splash (page 2) to Toth’s signature Batman adventure, “Death Flies the Haunted Sky,” written and edited by Archie Goodwin and appearing in Detective Comics #442 (Aug.– Sept. 1974). That creative combo had recently collaborated on another aerial adventure, (right) “Burma Sky” in Our Fighting Forces #146 (Jan. 1974).

TM & © DC Comics.

Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 69

© Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons.

Batmen of the 1970s:

WALTER SIMONSON Capes, Cowls, and Jaws of Iron

by J e r r y

Smith

Do you remember where you were when you first saw Walter Simonson’s Batman? I do.

It was summer 1974. I was ten years old and my Kentucky family was on a fishing vacation in Minnesota. We stopped in a small Mayberry-type town to get supplies before heading to the lake. I went into the local drug store and beelined straight to the comics rack. There I saw it: Detective Comics #443, with that beautiful back-to-back Batman/Manhunter cover by Jim Aparo.

When I paged through the story inside, nothing prepared me for the sleek, largerthan-life action of the epic Batman/ Manhunter team-up, the finale to Archie Goodwin and Simonson’s “Manhunter” saga. I want to impart to readers who weren’t there (and some who were) the game-changing nature of Walt Simonson’s Batman in the 1970s—and beyond.

Walter Miller Simonson’s first published work for DC Comics hit stands the year before, in 1973’s Weird War Tales #10. “I did have some work before that,” admits Simonson, “but that was my first job where

Walt’s Batman Begins In 1974, Detective Comics readers were saddened to reach the conclusion of the cult fave “Manhunter” back-up scribed by the title’s editor Archie Goodwin, and illustrated by hot newcomer Walter Simonson.

Yet “Gotterdammerung” in Detective #443 (Sept.–Oct. 1974) allowed Simonson to ply his inventive layouts to Batman for the first time as Manhunter met the Darknight Detective in this classic. Walt has since gone on to illustrate Batman special issues and projects for decades. (This is a scan from the Manhunter: The Deluxe Edition.)

TM & © DC Comics.

Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 75

An Instant Batman Master (top) Starting here, on page 1 of “Gotterdammerung,” in nine extraordinary panels Simonson establishes himself as major Batman artist. Presented in both its original and remastered forms.

Do you have a preference? (bottom left) From the moment Goodwin and Simonson first brought Batman and Manhunter together in ’Tec #443, Walt would return to the duo again and again, including fan sketches like one from 1980 (bottom right).

Sketch courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © DC Comics.

Batmen of the 1970s • BACK ISSUE • 77

Batmen of the 1970s:

Santa Frank is Coming to Town

pinguino k / Wikimedia Commons.

FRANK MILLER

by R o g e r

Ash

DC’s Super-Star Holiday Special—officially titled DC Special Series #21 (Apr. 1980)—was an enjoyable special issue. It included five stories showing how the Star of Bethlehem played a part in adventures featuring Jonah Hex, Batman, the House of Mystery, Sgt. Rock, and Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. The issue would IF YOU ENJOYEDtoday THIS PREVIEW, probably be largely forgotten if not CLICK THE LINK TO “Wanted: ORDER THIS for the fact that the Batman story, ISSUE PRINT was OR DIGITAL Santa Claus—Dead or IN Alive!,” penciledFORMAT! by a relative newcomer to comics named Frank Miller. While his name would be linked to the character later in the decade, this was the first time Miller worked on a story starring the Dark Knight.

Miller, like most creators, paid his dues before hitting it big. His early work included a number of short stories for DC in titles including Weird War Tales and Unknown Soldier. He even drew a few of the infamous Hostess ads where the Human Torch and Spider-Man foiled villains’ plans with snack foods [see BACK ISSUE #130— ed.]. His first full story, and first published work at Marvel, was in John Carter, Warlord of Mars #18 (Nov. 1978). This was shortly followed BACK ISSUE #150 by Our oversized 100-PAGE SUPER SPECTACULAR sesquicenPeter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #28–29 tennial edition, featuring BATMEN OF THE 1970s! Exploring (Feb.–Mar. 1979). also work onBROWN, whatDICK the He work of Bronzebegan Age Batman artists BOB IRV NOVICK, FRANK ROBBINS, WALTER was to become GIORDANO, his defining series at Marvel SIMONSON, ALEX TOTH, & BERNIE WRIGHTSON. Plus: revisit with Daredevil #158 (May first 1979).

But stardom FRANK MILLER’s Batman story! was still a few years away when Super-Star Holiday (100-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $12.95 (Digital Edition) $5.99 Special was published. https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_54&products_id=1763 The rest of the creative team on “Wanted: Santa Claus—Dead or Alive!” are writer Dennis O’Neil, inker Steve Mitchell, letterer Ben Oda, colorist Glynis Wein, and editor Len Wein. The big name here is Denny O’Neil, who, along

Merry Christmas, Batman Fans!

Title page from Frank Miller’s first Batman story, “Wanted: Santa Claus—Dead or Alive!”

From DC Special Series #21 (Apr. 1980).

Script by Denny O’Neil, inks by Steve Mitchell.

TM & © DC Comics.

Batmen of the 1970s • BAC K ISSUE • 85