Batman (1940-2011) #3

Batman (1940-2011)

by Bill Finger, Stan Aschmeier (Illustrator), Henry Boltinoff (Illustrator)

Catwoman dons her classic costume for the very first time plus “The Strange Case of the Diabolical Puppet Master” and “The Ugliest Man in the World”!

Genres: Comics, Batman, Dc Comics, Comic Book, Graphic Novels, Fiction

68 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 31, 1940

About the author

William "Bill" Finger was an American comic strip and comic book writer best known as the uncredited co-creator, with Bob Kane, of the DC Comics character Batman, as well as the co-architect of the series' development. In later years, Kane acknowledged Finger as "a contributing force" in the character's creation. Comics historian Ron Goulart, in Comic Book Encyclopedia, refers to Batman as the "creation of artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger", and a DC Comics press release in 2007 about colleague Jerry Robinson states that in 1939, "Kane, along with writer Bill Finger, had just created Batman for [DC predecessor] National Comics".

Film and television credits include scripting The Green Slime (1969), Track of the Moon Beast (1976), and three episodes of 77 Sunset Strip.

-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Tawfek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading early batman stories take me back to when i was a kid, didn't read batman then as we didn't have him but read similar stories.
The cat woman mask is funny i wonder when she will get her new look.
Each issue features 4 new stories.
I have come up with a plan to read this along side x men, as to not get bored by either of them.

[Brian Garthoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Batman 3 is here and Selina Kyle is wearing a cat head for a mask, kissing and shoving Batman to get away. But the highlight of the issue is a story about the ugliest man in the world raising an ugly horde of men to commit crime against the remaining handsome society. Please, give me more wars waged in the name of anti-beauty!

[Davidus1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Multiple stories from a different era. I love reading the old ones and imagine the world they were written in. Different times.

[cauldronofevil · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can never really have too much good Batman. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how strong these early issues are. I wonder how long it will be until the aliens show up?

I really like the titles all being ‘the case of…’ and I’m sorry that stopped.

”The Case of the Diabolical Puppet Master” starts with Batman enforcing a polite society for as soon as he sees one guy shoving another he leaps into action.

”There seemed to be plenty of walking space!”

They fight. A nearby car lets out three men one of whom saps Batman. Then they all get away.

Questioning the shoved man he finds out he is a famous scientist with a formula for atomic energy. Luckily he was only injured with a slight scratch in the ruckus.

Later Bruce Wayne recognizes two men from the scuffle who are running a puppet show. As Bruce watches the show Robin is backstage with his bat-stethoscope listening to the performers. The puppeteers are reporting to their master.

”Dr. Craig tonight… the Voss rifle to-morrow night!”

”Tonight we shall see if the ‘thought’ serum works!”

That night Dr. Craig hears a voice in his head and hands his atomic formula over to the men who show up at his door. But Batman intervenes and grabs the formula!

These were the days when a formula for atomic energy could fit on one rolled up page.

Batman fights the men. Breaking valuable pottery in the doctor’s house.

The men run off and Batman takes Craig to his laboratory. Robin tries everything but can’t get him out of the hypnosis.

”Perhaps a slight electric shock might do it!”

Medicine had a ways to go as well.

The puppet master sends out his men to gather recruits for stealing the Voss rifle - a new gun for the army.

”I’m sorry, I must have a pin sticking out of my suit!”

The page layouts are surprisingly creative. I always thought old comics were uniformly 9 panels but these differ, often with circular panels.

As the puppet master waves the hypnotic spell that brings a horde of puppet hoodlums under his sway, Batman & Robin race along an underground passage beneath Wayne’s home.

The Voss gun is being shipped by the Metropolis Limited, so the duo go to a deserted barn to get the batplane.

The train is stopped. Luckily the hoodlums had tear gas bombs. Robin is dangled from the plane to kick men off the train.

Setting the controls which enable the batplane to remain stationary Batman joins the fight. Batman is scratched during the fight.

Since the hoodlums throw tear gas, Batman & Robin rush to the dangling ladder of the batplane. The plane releases pellets which neutralize the gas. With the tear gas gone, the army men fight off the puppet master’s men.

The puppet master fashions a puppet of the Batman.

”See how pretty he dances for me!”

The puppet master has never actually seen the Batman…

Later the Batman uses a glass cutter to rob a jewelry store. As he stuffs jewelry in a bag the police show up. They fight. Batman jumps through a thick glass window and runs away.

Robin seeing Batman coming home thinks he’s gone after the puppet master without him.

”Say, what have you got in the bag?”

AND ROBIN GETS HIS FIRST BAT-SLAP!

”My best friend and he hit me?”

Robin realizes the Batman has been hypnotized and belts him unconscious.

”Another classic! I wonder if we ever see the Puppet Master again! Looks like some pretty good science. And honestly he seems a little more interesting than Mad Hatter!

A good 4, plus 1 for the slap! 5 stars

”The Ugliest Man in the World” starts with Batman jumping into an uneven fight one night on patrol. Four against one. After Batman steps in the four run away and jump into a car, firing machine guns behind them.

Detective McGonigle explains that he was trying to stop them from setting fire to the museum. Then he tries to arrest Batman, but Batman escapes.

After being teased at the police station, McGonigle vows to find out who Batman is.

The next night Bruce Wayne has dinner with his friend Harvey Dodge and Dodge’s friend Larry Larrimore.

After dinner they are idly chatting and smoking when Larry starts feeling ill and his face changes shape.

”Until, in place of the once young, intelligent looking man there is now a coarse, ugly person with an aged, idiotic face.”

A doctor can find nothing to explain this.

”And the days to follow see victims of what the newspapers excitedly call the ‘Ghastly Change’ ”

There is also a rash of ugly people destroying works of beauty. When the police try to catch them they jump into a car and evade pursuit. Again and again the ugly horde strikes.

“Beautiful Statue Destroyed”
“Museum Bombed!!”
“Paintings Burned”
“Bathing Beauty Queen Killed!”

While meeting with Commissioner Gordon, Bruce Wayne meets detective McGonigle who swears its the same group that tried to burn down a museum when he almost caught the Batman.

Elsewhere a group of incredibly ugly men meet with their Leader.

”A man who is undoubtedly the ugliest man in the world…”

The Leader proclaims they will destroy all beauty and make them kneel to us! We, the ugly, rule! We shall rule all! Goodbye beauty!

It’s the third day in a row of cold (58º) and rain. A Gotham city day.

Later Bruce Wayne reads in the newspaper that fearing an invasion, Boravia has sent a great art treasure to the United States for safekeeping. It will be unloaded at pier 3 tonight.

Batman & Robin make a date with death at pier 3! They arrive as an ugly horde is fighting with the guards. They fight.

Detective McGonigle appears with a gun and scares the horde off. They escape in their ugly-mobile. McGonigle once again tries and fails to arrest the Batman.

Batman & Robin quickly try to get in their car and chase the horde but it disappears. Over the radio they hear a Dr. Ekhart has discovered a cure for the Ugly stick! They realize his life will be in danger from whoever is behind the ‘Ghastly Change’.

Racing to Ekhart’s house they find an ugly gang attacking Ekhart. They fight, but quickly decide to flee. Batman follows them to a private dwelling. But as he sneaks up to the house he is ambushed and knocked out. When he wakes up, he is tied to a pole and sees two others chained to a wall. John and Mrs. Tyler.

The Leader comes into the room and it’s Larrimore! He takes off a rubber mask and it is the ugliest man in the world. The Leader decides to tell his origin story. It started with a college fraternity hazing.

”It’s a needle filled with a lot of drugs I mixed together haphazardly. I’ll pretend to inject it into Carlson!”

It’s a familiar story. Carlons is made ugly in a few days. His fiance rejects him and the guy who injected him marries her.

Once again, Batman’s radioactive tires help Robin - that wonderboy of wonderboys - find him.

Bruce Wayne later explains that Carlson’s mixture cause a disease called Myxedema or Cretinism so there was a real science lesson to go along with this story.

Don’t try this at home and I don’t recommend looking at the images with those links!

So kids, uh, don’t force drugs on other kids!

5 stars

”The Crime School for Boys!!” starts with Batman swooping down on men looting a warehouse. They fight. After Batman kicks a guy off the roof they run and a roof-top chase ensues. They do not get away.

”That guy gets around like a monkey!”

Batman starts to question the last guy standing, and realizes that he’s only a boy.

With terrible fashion sense.

They both hear a police whistle. Batman lets the kid go and follows him. The kid goes into a slum where there is a deserted warehouse. Batman sees a man named ‘Pockets’ teach a group of young kids how to pickpocket.

At home Bruce explains to Dick that he didn’t bust up the ring because the boys would still admire the criminals.

Bruce rents an old barn in the slum section to turn into a gymnasium for underprivileged kids.

A few days later there is a new kid in town. The boys there decide to have some fun wid him.
Okay, was the ‘Jughead’ hat ever really a thing? I’ve only seen it in comics.
After Dick trounces the gang they admire him and ask where he loin all that stuff. Dick say he learned at a local gymnasium.

Soon the kids are learning sports and sportsmanship.

”As the time passes, the boys grow more adept and more honest at sports… but only at sports!”

The boys tell Dick about Crime School. Big Boy Daniels is gonna be there tonight. He’s going to take the two best pupils into the mob.

At Big Boy’s headquarters Batman overhears the two jobs scheduled for tonight. On one robbery Batman busts in and beats all the adult criminals and tells the kid that he’d better not see him hanging around with these rats or they’ll get what these guys got. The boy swears they’ll stick to the straight and narrow.

For all the fights I’m pretty impressed that they are different every time!

Batman does the same thing at the second crime. Batman then calls Big Boy and tells him to close the Crime School that ‘Pockets’ runs for him. Big Boy figures that ‘Pockets’ must have ratted him out to Batman and goes to the Crime School and shoots him. Of course, Batman is there and dares Big Boy to face him without a gun. Or he is yellow! They fight. Batman wins. The kids are impressed.

So Big Boy and his gang pull guns. Dick Grayson riles up the kid about Big Boy being a coward and not fighting fair. So the kids jump into the fight.

These were the days when pulling ears could win a fight.

”Yes, but it’s up to other cities to do the same. Build more playgrounds, gymnasiums - encourage youngsters to join school and church organizations. Do this and we will wipe out crime!”

Well, it was fun. A little too naive but I cant help wishing Bruce were right. 3 stars

”The Batman vs the Cat-Woman” starts with one of many horrible fashion choices made by The Cat.

A wealthy couple has just come home from a party in the Great City and is putting her jewelry in their safe. The Cat sneaks in and robs them at gunpoint.

The newspapers run with the story.

”Imagine being made a fool of by a mere girl!”

Commissioner Gordon assigns his best detective - McGonigle on the case.

The Batman comes across a man being stabbed by three others and jumps in overreacting with rage.

”You rotten killer!”

They fight. Batman wins. He asks the victim why they did this to him, and he mentions a diamond syndicate before he dies. Then one of the killers pistol whips Batman into unconsciousness. And tells him to mind his own business.

The flatfoot McGonigle approaches and the men drive away.

Batman wakes up in handcuffs, which don’t stop him from hitting McGonigle.

In the newspaper the next day while having his morning pipe Bruce reads that the victim was the diamond syndicate’s secretary and wanted to warn them of something. He visits Commissioner Gordon as he is on his way to speak to the diamond syndicate.

They don’t understand why he was killed oh and by the way, we’re getting a shipment of diamonds in that we will display on professional models we’ve hired tomorrow night in our salon. Gordon assures them that the police will guard the salon. They are assured.

The Cat, lounging at home with her Cat-head on, already reads about the event and plans to be there.

The diamond show goes off without a hitch until the last model produces a flash bomb out of her purse and runs off with a million dollars in diamonds. In the elevator she puts on her cat masks and when she gets to the ground floor she runs past the police, straight into the arms of gangsters who throw her in a car and hold her at gunpoint.

”What’s the idea?”
”You dames always talk too much! Shut up!”

But unnoticed, Robin is following in a powerful little racer.

Bruce Wayne slips out of the salon to change into costume and goes to the office of Darrel of the diamond syndicate who is waiting for a cab. Darrel pulls a gun on him so Batman punches him. From his utility belt, the Batman assembles parts that form a tiny wireless set. He calls Robin who also has a wireless built in the hollow of his belt buckle.

Batman meets Robin at the house the crooks took the Cat. Batman shoves Darrel through the front door where he sees his partner holding a gun on the Cat. They both hired the Cat to steal the diamonds but Hoffer decided Darrel and the Cat would be taking too much of a cut! Before Hoffer can shoot Darrel Batman & Robin attack them all.

Batman, please stop cracking wise! You’re ruining your image.

After freeing the Cat she tries to scratch Hoffer’s eyes out for trying to double cross her.

Hoffer is confident that without proof, it’ll just be Batman’s word against his. Until Robin shows his wrist-watch camera where he has filmed evidence of Hoffer’s crimes.

To thank Batman for saving her life she plants a kiss on him, then shoves him aside and runs out the door! They try to follow but she steals the gangsters car and escapes. Robin is flummoxed.

”But it’s too bad a crook like that has to get away, even if she is a girl!”

Later Batman drops the diamonds off to McGonigle with a note telling him where the crooks are tied up. Sorry he couldn’t deliver the Cat too!

The Cat has her own thoughts about Batman.

Another cracking good story! 5 stars

The last page is text.

”The Batman Says:”

”I think Robin and I make it pretty clear that WE HATE CRIME AND CRIMINALS!”

He goes on to explain that there is no place in this country for lawbreakers (except the White House) and that Crime Doesn’t Pay (except that it does - that’s why people do it) and that every crook gets what’s coming in the end (except the Jan 6th Insurrectionists and most tax dodgers) and that the police are there to guard the honest from those who are not (and kill and jail people of color regardless).

Robin adds:
”….and what the BATMAN says goes DOUBLE for me!”

Sigh. Well I appreciate the naiveté this was written with it also disturbs me that so many people - some of my friends - would believe this sincerely. Even those that themselves cheat and lie. And they would never get the hypocrisy.

Of course, this is the same Batman who is being pursued by the police in every issue! Because he is a CRIMINAL!

Anyway, real life isn’t what these comics (or these reviews) are for. If you want a very fun escape, this issue comes out as a 5 star issue, very highly recommended.

[Arianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

"His features become bloated, moronic... His eyes become watery... His nose grows thick, with wide nostrils... Until, in place od the once young, intelligent looking man there is now a coarse, ugly person with an aged, idiotic face".
It might be because I'm reading these comics late at night but this story about the ugliest man in the world took me out, these old comics have a way with words.
Reading the last story I was really intrigued by Robin using a wristwatch camera. I did a bit of research and apparently this is completely plausible technology for the time period (it would have been possible as early as the late 19th century), which blew my mind.

[Etienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than volume two. Sure there is still a lot of casual mobsters, but seeing Catwoman and can of an early draft of the Puppets Master or the Ventriloquist was interesting. And of course the evolution from early comic to today is always part of the fun in that reading those early Batman issues. A good one!

[Lser · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best arts from 1940 comics.
The first stories are not so good but just wait for the last story...
Batman vs the Cat-Woman!
This is one of the best batman stories in the 40s which has more character and more things batman focuses at the same time while being helped by Robin.
8/10

[Craig Schorling · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun collection of adventures for Batman and Robin. The first story with the Puppeteer was the best. Seeing Catwoman in her ridiculous mask was fun too. The story about the boys school for criminals was a bit too campy but a product of the era.

[LyricTrotter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read.I was intrigued by the development of Cat Woman.Its fascinating to do a mental contrast between current representations and when it all started in the good ol' days.

[TrashKat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice little set of stories. Nothing super impressive, but we do get our first look at the Cat's costume!

[Denim Datta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Issue #003 of Batman Volume 1. It contains 4 stories :

"The Strange Case of the Diabolical Puppet Master"
"The Ugliest Man in the World"
"The Crime School for Boys"
"The Batman vs. the Cat-Woman"

[james craddock jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was great!!#!

It is that good. Everyone should read it. I hope to read the next one. Batman is one of the best comics.

[Dannuel Delizo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ugliest Man in the world wasn't smart enough to think of curing himself. It was pretty easy. Instead, he started the Ugly Horde. Ugh.

[Hamad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wonder if for a dark character as the batman is , is it okay for him to say funny things when he hits criminals ? What was bob thinking there ?