Detective Comics #30 - The Return of Doctor Death

Cover Art - Fred Guardineer
Pencils & Inks - Bob Kane
Writer: Gardner F. Fox
Background Pencils & Lettering - Sheldon Moldoff

Doctor Death returns from the grave having escaped the fire that burned down his lair. He has begun threatening the wealthy of the city and demanding killing them if they don't give in to his demands. He is poisoning them with something that makes them appear to be dying of a disease that turns them purple. The Batman gets wind of this and begins staking out the homes of the victims-to-be to catch Doctor Death or his evil Cossack accomplice in the act.

There's nothing really of note in this story. It's a good story and has some good action, but it's really just more of the same. Doctor Death ends up being in disguise and when The Batman takes off his mask, he is hideously burned and disfigured.

A couple of points of interest:

1. The car The Batman is using is still the red one, but it seems to have grown a little longer and is beginning to "morph" into the shape of the Batmobile. It's also referred to for the first time as "his special built high-powered auto."

2. He snaps a guy's neck again and kills him by kicking him.

This was a 10-page story that was published in Detective Comics Number 30 in August of 1939.

Detective Comics #29 - The Batman Meets Doctor Death

Cover Art - Bob Kane
Writer - Gardner Fox
Pencils and Inks - Bob Kane

The evil Doctor Death is introduced to us in this story and reveals his plan to exact tribute from the wealthy of the world or kill them using his "death by pollen extract." But first, he must trick The Batman into meeting with his bodyguard and thugs to clear the way for him to do his evil deeds. This is a pretty simple storyline with no real mystery as to what the villain's motives are. This is the first story written for The Batman by someone other than Bill Finger.

Some interesting things to note in this story are the following:

1. Bruce Wayne keeps his Batman costume in a small chest that appears to be in his study.

2. It's revealed that he carries glass pellets of choking gas in his utility belt.

3. He uses suction cups to climb up walls.

4. The Batman tells the villains that they will tell them who sent them to kill him or he'll kill them.

5. For some strange reason, Doctor Death has pointed ears.

6. Although it appears that Doctor Death burned in his laboratory, it's eluded to that he may have escaped.

This was a 10-page story that was published in Detective Comics Number 29 in July of 1939.

Detective Comics #28 - Frenchy Blake's Jewel Gang

Cover Art - Fred Guardineer
Writer - Bill Finger
Pencils and Inks - Bob Kane
The second Batman story for Detective Comics was another action and mystery story. Nothing really off the wall or groundbreaking yet. It was once again the first story in the 64 page book. It came out in June 1939 and was 10 cents.

The basics of the story are that there is a gang of jewel thieves and The Batman is hot on their trail. They are led by a crime kingpin named Frenchy Blake. Somehow, the police get the idea that The Batman is the head of the gang.

No major changes in the character of The Batman in this one. He throws one thief off the top of a building to his death. He uses a "tough silk rope from his belt" to swing around and catch criminals in this issue. He is still also not wearing any type of gloves. His car of choice is still his unmarked 30s style two-door red car. Also, Bruce Wayne is still referred to as a "bored young socialite." There is still no explanation given as to why he has taken on the role of The Batman. The Batman is still not appreciated by the police or Commissioner Gordon.

Detective Comics #27 - The Case of the Chemical Syndicate

Cover Art - Bob Kane
Writer - Bill Finger
Pencils and Inks - Bob Kane
What a great introduction to The Dark Knight. This shows The Batman in his humble beginnings. No Batcave, No Batmobile, No expensive toys to catch criminals with. It was just the man, the suit, his training, and that's it. Bob Kane and Bill Finger paint Bruce Wayne as a sort of lazy playboy that is constantly complaining about how boring his life is to his friend Commissioner Gordon.

This is pretty much a straight-ahead action and crime mystery story. There's no colorful master criminals or anything like that yet. Basically, someone is knocking off the members of a chemical partnership and at first all signs point to the head honcho's son. Who's committing the murders and why? The Batman will find out!

Points of interest for this issue are that The Batman drives a normal red late 30s style car around that has no specific "Bat" design to it. He doesn't use any type of climbing rope at all. He also shows no remorse at knocking a criminal to his death into a vat of chemicals, stating that it's "A fitting ending for his kind." It's not revealed until the last panel that Bruce Wayne is indeed The Batman.

The first Batman story is only six pages long. It is the first story in the May 1939 issue of Detective Comics, which was number 27. It had 64 pages.

What is this blog all about?

I love The Batman. I love The Spirit. I thought it would be fun to read both the comic book series from the beginning of these characters' runs. From The Spirit's first appearance in the papers to The Batman's first appearance in Detective Comics. Each day, I'll do commentary on a story switching from one day to the next between The Batman and The Spirit. We're going to start with the first appearance of The Batman in Detective Comics number 27, which came out in 1939. Hope you enjoy this. If you do, please "Follow" us and tell your friends about the website. I look forward to hearing from you.