For the first time in five years, the origin story of Robin the Boy Wonder, is re-told in Batman #32 (October 1945). The story recounts how his parents were murdered and the criminals brought to justice, but it also focuses on how Dick Grayson worked hard to transform himself from circus acrobat into detective sidekick.
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In Detective Comics #105 (September 1945), we get a little more information about Bruce Wayne’s business dealings, when the treasurer of his new motor company absconds with $3M, causing Bruce to have to sell everything he owns to pay back investors. Of course by the end of the story, the treasurer has been found and […]
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In Batman #26 (October 1944), a story was featured about a man taking up the mantle of Batman and inspiring the next generation to fight for their independence from Saturn invaders… It featured a twist in that the man who becomes the Batman from the Year 3000 is actually a direct descendant of Bruce Wayne.
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In Batman #25 (August 1944), the Joker and the Penguin team up for the first time to try and foil Batman and Robin. By this time, Batman definitely had the most interesting rogues gallery of villains, so this team-up must have been pretty interesting to see!
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Alfred the Butler becomes the first non-sidekick supporting character to get his own stories in Batman #22 (February 1944). Mostly focusing on Alfred’s bumbling attempts to be a successful detective, Alfred’s stories came long before Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen got their supporting stories in Superman comics.
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In Batman #21 (December 1943), we find the first instance of a comic referencing a minor event in its continuity from a previous month in a footnote. In fairness, the thinning of Alfred the Butler was an atypical event in comic history at this point, since the goal was to generally keep the same formula […]
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Speaking of continuity problems in the DC universe, the writers of Batman comic book wanted Alfred to resemble the actor who played him in the Batman serial, William Austin. So they sent Alfred away on vacation, where he went to a health resort and slimmed down and grew a mustache.
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Bruce Wayne loses ward-ship over Dick Grayson for the first time in Batman #20 (October 1943), a recurring story idea that comes up in later years. Dick’s shifty Uncle George and Aunt Clara come to claim him, take Bruce to court claiming his playboy ways are a bad influence, and then use the opportunity to […]
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Speaking of split personalities, Harvey Kent aka Two-Face is cured of his split personality in Detective Comics #80 (August 1943). Harvey reforms, wins his girl back, and has plastic surgery to fix the disfigurement. Like almost all comic “transformations”, this is mostly a temporary one, though I believe this is Two-Face’s last appearance in the […]
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Sometimes the art in Batman varied throughout mid 1943, as seen in this panel from Batman #18 (June 1943). Up to this point, the “house style” for Batman has been very close to the Bob Kane style, but it seems like Jerry Robinson felt the need to provide his own stamp on the Batman look. […]
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