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Detective Comics (1937-2011)
Detective Comics (1937-2011) #473
Batman and Robin are outlawed by the city council but continue to operate to foil a grand theft by the Penguin.
18 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 2, 1977
About the author
Steve Englehart
1,374 books101 followersSee also John Harkness.
Steve Englehart went to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. After a stint in the Army, he moved to New York and began to write for Marvel Comics. That led to long runs on Captain America, The Hulk, The Avengers, Dr. Strange, and a dozen other titles. Midway through that period he moved to California (where he remains), and met and married his wife Terry.
He was finally hired away from Marvel by DC Comics, to be their lead writer and revamp their core characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern). He did, but he also wrote a solo Batman series (immediately dubbed the "definitive" version) that later became Warner Brothers' first Batman film (the good one).
After that he left comics for a time, traveled in Europe for a year, wrote a novel (The Point Man™), and came back to design video games for Atari (E.T., Garfield). But he still liked comics, so he created Coyote™, which within its first year was rated one of America's ten best series. Other projects he owned (Scorpio Rose™, The Djinn™) were mixed with company series (Green Lantern [with Joe Staton], Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four). Meanwhile, he continued his game design for Activision, Electronic Arts, Sega, and Brøderbund.
And once he and Terry had their two sons, Alex and Eric, he naturally told them stories. Rustle's Christmas Adventure was first devised for them. He went on to add a run of mid-grade books to his bibliography, including the DNAgers™ adventure series, and Countdown to Flight, a biography of the Wright brothers selected by NASA as the basis for their school curriculum on the invention of the airplane.
In 1992 Steve was asked to co-create a comics pantheon called the Ultraverse. One of his contributions, The Night Man, became not only a successful comics series, but also a television show. That led to more Hollywood work, including animated series such as Street Fighter, GI Joe, and Team Atlantis for Disney.
Steve Englehart went to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. After a stint in the Army, he moved to New York and began to write for Marvel Comics. That led to long runs on Captain America, The Hulk, The Avengers, Dr. Strange, and a dozen other titles. Midway through that period he moved to California (where he remains), and met and married his wife Terry.
He was finally hired away from Marvel by DC Comics, to be their lead writer and revamp their core characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern). He did, but he also wrote a solo Batman series (immediately dubbed the "definitive" version) that later became Warner Brothers' first Batman film (the good one).
After that he left comics for a time, traveled in Europe for a year, wrote a novel (The Point Man™), and came back to design video games for Atari (E.T., Garfield). But he still liked comics, so he created Coyote™, which within its first year was rated one of America's ten best series. Other projects he owned (Scorpio Rose™, The Djinn™) were mixed with company series (Green Lantern [with Joe Staton], Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four). Meanwhile, he continued his game design for Activision, Electronic Arts, Sega, and Brøderbund.
And once he and Terry had their two sons, Alex and Eric, he naturally told them stories. Rustle's Christmas Adventure was first devised for them. He went on to add a run of mid-grade books to his bibliography, including the DNAgers™ adventure series, and Countdown to Flight, a biography of the Wright brothers selected by NASA as the basis for their school curriculum on the invention of the airplane.
In 1992 Steve was asked to co-create a comics pantheon called the Ultraverse. One of his contributions, The Night Man, became not only a successful comics series, but also a television show. That led to more Hollywood work, including animated series such as Street Fighter, GI Joe, and Team Atlantis for Disney.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 4, 2026
(A-) 81% | Very Good
Notes: Neither harsh nor dark, a daylight lark, quite Batman '66—not campy though—as capers go and gimmicks in the mix.
*Progress update
Notes: Neither harsh nor dark, a daylight lark, quite Batman '66—not campy though—as capers go and gimmicks in the mix.
*Progress update
August 11, 2025
”The Malay Penguin” starts with Hugo Strange being thrown into the river in a barrel.
Batman & Robin swoop down. The art is excellent. These thugs are more afraid of Rupert Thorne than of Batman though and as the police are on their way, Batman & Robin leave.
At the theater where Hugo arranged for a last auction for Batman’s identity only the Penguin shows up.
The next day Batman and Robin confronts an exhibitor of a jeweled Malay Penguin with the fact that the Penguin just broke out of jail. The Reed is sure their security is quite enough.
”Dick, I hate people who know they know it all!”
Bruce and Dick go visit Silver St. Cloud in the hospital.
Wonderful editor here (Julius Schwartz), giving footnotes for previous events and even nothing when a villain appeared in another comic! Oh, the bygone days of no crossover events!
Later B and R are watching the museum and see the Penguin. They start to beat on him but Penguin escapes with a helicopter umbrella. Like you do.
Elsewhere Dr. Bell is meeting with Rupert and shocked - shocked I tell you - that Rupert’s plan included the murder of Hugo. Rupert is starting to see the ghost of Hugo Strange though.
Soon the alarm goes off at the Reed galleries. It appears to be a false alarm caused but the noise of the new musical rehearsing next door. B and R visit the show and ask who is backing the musical. The director doesn’t know.
”I figure he’s one of those publicity shy billionaires — ”
Later that night Dick notices geese flying in the form of the Penguin’s profile and dropping something all across the city. I’ll just leave you with that.
What they are dropping is $20 gold coins and a note to the Batman. Dick is excited that they’ve figured out Penguin’s plan. But Bruce says he’s wrong.
They rush to the airport and Batman boards a flight to see the Penguin in a seat.
I’m not convinced this is a definitive take on the Batman but I’ll admit it’s pretty good. The art is fantastic, the stories are kind of classic. Even the Penguin is more clever than usual in this one.
3 stars because this is what should be average.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews