Batman’s rogue gallery of villains get two more additions in the form of Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Detective Comics #74 (February 1943), created by Don Cameron, who was busy in the DC Universe in 1942 and 1943! Dumfree Tweed and his cousin Deever Tweed look so much alike they are often mistaken for brothers… they […]
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In Batman #16 (February 1943), a third character is introduced to the “Batman Family”: Alfred the Butler. He was created by Don Cameron. Alfred starts out as an overweight aspiring criminologist who stumbles onto Bruce Wayne’s secret identity. Batman and Robin accept Alfred into their lives. Alfred is the beginning of what I will call […]
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Although Batman was first called “the Dark Knight” in Batman #1 (1940), writers for DC were also using the nickname to describe their own heroes, as seen here for the Spectre and Starman from October 1942.
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Detective Comics #66 (June 1942) saw the introduction of another great macabre Batman villain: Two-Face! This origin story features everything: Handsome public defender, angry criminal court scene, acid splash and then a psychotic break into a supervillain with a fascination for the number 2. The only difference from the modern day version is that he […]
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Not to be out-done by Superman’s nesting, Batman #12 (June 1942) continues to deepen the Batman mythos by offering two glimpses into how Bruce Wayne celebrates his mission against crime (which is really an excuse to adventure in tights, at this point): A Hall of Trophies and a detailed glimpse at the secret lair, which […]
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In Detective Comics #60 (December 1941), the Bat-Signal is used for the first time by the Gotham Police to summon Batman.
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Yet another iconic Batman villain makes his debut this year, with The Penguin in Detective Comics #58 (October 1941). Um… he looks like a penguin. He wears a monocle and a top-hat. He uses umbrellas to commit crimes. That’s about all I can really say about him from this story.
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More Fun Comics #73 (September 1941), brought the debut of two new DC characters that are still having adventures to this day, 78 years later, including having adventures on the big and the small screens. Green Arrow, aka Oliver Queen, was created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp. He was a shallow copy of Batman, […]
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In All-Star Comics #7 (August 1941), we finally see an in-story meeting of Batman and Superman. The Justice Society of America decides to raise a million dollars for the world’s war children. At the end of the story, Johnny Thunder wishes in the honorary members of the JSA: Superman, Batman and the Flash, who bring […]
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Batman’s villain gallery continues (by far!) to be the most interesting one of the Golden Age of Comics. In World’s Finest Comics #3 (August 1941), The Scarecrow is introduced. Jonathan Crane, obsessed with fear since childhood, becomes a professor of psychology and an object of ridicule by other professors. His mind twisted, he decides to […]
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