Batman: The Dailies 1943-1946 by Bob Kane

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


While Batman has had a long career in comic books, he also had a much lesser known turn in the comic strips from 1943-46.

The Batman Comic Strip appeared for a small newspaper syndicate and was wrought with challenges. This book collects all the daily strips (with the Sunday strips being in another book.)

For my money, the first six strips are fantastic. They feature great stories that are packed with mystery, action, and poignant moments. In one strip, Batman is shot and lies near death's door in his battle against racketeers. In another, Batman and Robin are seemingly rescued by a private detective but there's more to this story than meets the eye. Then there's Batman and Robin travelling to take on a small town corrupt official who hires a Peter Lorre lookalike as a hitman. And of course, the Joker shows up (the only regular Batman rogue to appear in the Daily Strips) with a series of symbol crimes. There has to be nothing better than seeing the Batman and the Joker duke it out day after day, week after week.

The latter strips are much more of a mixed bag. The writing was still generally okay but we went days and sometimes weeks at a time without seeing Batman and Robin in costume. There was the "Karen Drew Mystery" which saw neither Batman nor Robin in costume for it's five week run. Another strip I counted and there were 50 daily strips run during one series with Batman or Robin only showing up in costume in three.

This isn't to say there weren't highlights. In the wake of a World War II housing shortage, Batman and Robin took on "their toughest assignment"...finding someone an apartment. Great comedy. And then there was "The Warning with the Lamp" with one of the most amusing characters with great lines such as, "Dash My Shoelaces." "Affair with Death" was also a fairly robust story. However, mostly middling storylines seemed to dominate the last sixty percent of the book.

However none of this should reflect on Joe Desris who lovingly compiled these strips from a thorough search of newspaper and interviews with Batman creators. Who truly made it happen. I also appreciated how he wrote a great commentary which provided plenty of historical context. If you're a fan of the Batman, you owe it to yourself to pick up this volume either used or through your local library.



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