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Batman: The Golden Age #3
Batman: The Golden Age Vol. 3 (Detective Comics
This third volume of BATMAN: THE GOLDEN AGE collects some of the most exciting and daring early adventure of the Dark Knight Detective.
Having earned the respect of the police force and the fear of criminals, Batman and Robin patrol the streets of Gotham City, protecting the innocent from returning super-villains such as the Joker, Catwoman and Scarecrow. But now the Dynamic Duo will meet an all-new adversary: the Penguin, the enigmatic master criminal who terrorizes the population of Gotham City with his deeds.
Collects BATMAN #8-11, DETECTIVE COMICS #57-65 and WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #4-6.
Having earned the respect of the police force and the fear of criminals, Batman and Robin patrol the streets of Gotham City, protecting the innocent from returning super-villains such as the Joker, Catwoman and Scarecrow. But now the Dynamic Duo will meet an all-new adversary: the Penguin, the enigmatic master criminal who terrorizes the population of Gotham City with his deeds.
Collects BATMAN #8-11, DETECTIVE COMICS #57-65 and WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #4-6.
385 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 5, 2017
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88 people want to read
About the author
Bill Finger
645 books105 followersWilliam "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
Film and television credits include scripting The Green Slime (1969), Track of the Moon Beast (1976), and three episodes of 77 Sunset Strip.
-Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 9, 2018
After three omnibuses of Golden Age Batman, I'm a bit burned out. Things are getting very weird and absurd, Robin has started punning, and we have scenes like Bruce spanking Dick that I could have happily gone my entire life without seeing. At least three (THREE!) comics in this book use the Hansel and Gretel ploy of leaving a trail of _____ to guide the hero to them. The comics are getting a little tired and weird.
On the other hand, there are some gems here. A great take on A Christmas Carol, "The Secret of Bruce Wayne," and "The Cop Who Hated the Batman" were some highlights that I enjoyed reading. It surprised me how many plots were lifted from these comics written in the early forties to create the show The Animated Series.
Overall I'd say it is worth reading, along with the other two, but with all three in the row I am experiencing some Batman burnout. Also, they've cut out the cute introductions where they used to dramatically discuss how awesome Batman and Robin are. I miss those.
On the other hand, there are some gems here. A great take on A Christmas Carol, "The Secret of Bruce Wayne," and "The Cop Who Hated the Batman" were some highlights that I enjoyed reading. It surprised me how many plots were lifted from these comics written in the early forties to create the show The Animated Series.
Overall I'd say it is worth reading, along with the other two, but with all three in the row I am experiencing some Batman burnout. Also, they've cut out the cute introductions where they used to dramatically discuss how awesome Batman and Robin are. I miss those.
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April 9, 2019…the Batman never refuses to help folks in trouble...
Batman’s Golden Age continues in this third omnibus. We get more pulpy detective tales as well as a few oddball excursions featuring dinosaurs, whales, and squids (it gets weird). I’ll dive right in to observations:
The Bat-Signal makes its first appearance! In Detective Comics 60, the Gotham City Police Department uses it to contact Batman and Robin because Joker is on his latest crime spree. It makes sense that the police installs it once Batman becomes an honorary member of the GCPD. A bright bat against the night sky, it looks essentially like it does today.
Fans at the time must have responded strongly to Joker, because he’s in about a third of the stories here. He does some pretty sadistic things like tying up Robin in a room with burning sulphur, and turning himself in to be killed by the electric chair and later revived so as to clear himself of all charges. He’s obviously emerging as Batman’s premier foe. I have to say, his stories are darker than I thought they’d be for the time.
The most notable baddie other than Joker to make an appearance is Penguin. In the second volume, there was mention of a Penguin Club which I figured was a tease of Penguin and his base of operations. As it turns out, he’s not a nightclub owner but a dapper, sly art collector who slowly makes his way into the upper ranks of the mob (though he later starts a gambling parlor). He’s got the tuxedo, long nose, and arsenal of umbrellas; he really does look like his namesake animal. Unlike Joker and Scarecrow and even Hugo Strange, Penguin seems sane. The only thing I can see separating him from the usual mobsters Batman and Robin fight is his penguin shtick. Still, I’m curious how he develops through the Golden Age and beyond, considering he’s one of Batman most enduring rogues.
A few stories exist outside the usual urban crime genre. Batman and Robin go west to save a ghost town from being continually looted, they stop whales from sinking ships in a Moby Dick-esque conspiracy story, and help reunite a kid with his wrongfully convicted father in time for Christmas.
The Cat is back – or I should say, Cat-Woman. Under the guise of wealthy socialite Marguerite Tone, she stages a scavenger hunt which is secretly an elaborate heist. She’s caught by the Dynamic Duo, whereupon she and Batman kiss. He lets her escape once again, infatuated but torn because of her criminal lifestyle. Catwoman has been one of my favorite Golden Age characters because of her dynamic with Batman. Plus, in this issue and a few earlier ones, she wears an actual cat head mask that’s wacky and awesome.
I’m not sure why, but my favorite story in this collection is “The Strange Case of Professor Radium” from Batman 8. It starts with determined scientist Henry Ross developing a radium serum to revive the dead. Convinced it works, Ross kills himself after leaving instructions for his assistant to revive him. The assistant does so, but Ross accidentally kills him just by touching him. Horrified by his new radium-laced body, he deduces a cure in the form of special drug that can temporarily return his body to normal. Ross desperately robs hospitals for it and fashions a protective suit so that no one else will die from his touch. Unfortunately, he accidentally kills his fiancé and goes insane from guilt. Without ready access to the drug, he’s even more unhinged and murders a few others. Batman and Robin soon lure him out to a shipyard, where, after fighting, he falls into the harbor, his suit sinking him below. This story is similar to other “lab experiment gone wrong” origins. But I found it heartbreaking; Ross seeks a cure for death, but with that very cure, he becomes deadly to others.
I also liked “Payment in Full” from Batman 11, where two childhood friends grow up on either side of the law, only to cross paths as adults. One repays a decades-old debt to the other, effectively altering the future for both men. “The Secret of Bruce Wayne” from World’s Finest Comics 6 stood out as well. A journalist seeks to uncover Batman’s identity while a television network airs fictional programs of Batman and Robin fighting crime that may have something to do with actual crimes being committed.
Batman’s Golden Age continues in this third omnibus. We get more pulpy detective tales as well as a few oddball excursions featuring dinosaurs, whales, and squids (it gets weird). I’ll dive right in to observations:
The Bat-Signal makes its first appearance! In Detective Comics 60, the Gotham City Police Department uses it to contact Batman and Robin because Joker is on his latest crime spree. It makes sense that the police installs it once Batman becomes an honorary member of the GCPD. A bright bat against the night sky, it looks essentially like it does today.
Fans at the time must have responded strongly to Joker, because he’s in about a third of the stories here. He does some pretty sadistic things like tying up Robin in a room with burning sulphur, and turning himself in to be killed by the electric chair and later revived so as to clear himself of all charges. He’s obviously emerging as Batman’s premier foe. I have to say, his stories are darker than I thought they’d be for the time.
The most notable baddie other than Joker to make an appearance is Penguin. In the second volume, there was mention of a Penguin Club which I figured was a tease of Penguin and his base of operations. As it turns out, he’s not a nightclub owner but a dapper, sly art collector who slowly makes his way into the upper ranks of the mob (though he later starts a gambling parlor). He’s got the tuxedo, long nose, and arsenal of umbrellas; he really does look like his namesake animal. Unlike Joker and Scarecrow and even Hugo Strange, Penguin seems sane. The only thing I can see separating him from the usual mobsters Batman and Robin fight is his penguin shtick. Still, I’m curious how he develops through the Golden Age and beyond, considering he’s one of Batman most enduring rogues.
A few stories exist outside the usual urban crime genre. Batman and Robin go west to save a ghost town from being continually looted, they stop whales from sinking ships in a Moby Dick-esque conspiracy story, and help reunite a kid with his wrongfully convicted father in time for Christmas.
The Cat is back – or I should say, Cat-Woman. Under the guise of wealthy socialite Marguerite Tone, she stages a scavenger hunt which is secretly an elaborate heist. She’s caught by the Dynamic Duo, whereupon she and Batman kiss. He lets her escape once again, infatuated but torn because of her criminal lifestyle. Catwoman has been one of my favorite Golden Age characters because of her dynamic with Batman. Plus, in this issue and a few earlier ones, she wears an actual cat head mask that’s wacky and awesome.
I’m not sure why, but my favorite story in this collection is “The Strange Case of Professor Radium” from Batman 8. It starts with determined scientist Henry Ross developing a radium serum to revive the dead. Convinced it works, Ross kills himself after leaving instructions for his assistant to revive him. The assistant does so, but Ross accidentally kills him just by touching him. Horrified by his new radium-laced body, he deduces a cure in the form of special drug that can temporarily return his body to normal. Ross desperately robs hospitals for it and fashions a protective suit so that no one else will die from his touch. Unfortunately, he accidentally kills his fiancé and goes insane from guilt. Without ready access to the drug, he’s even more unhinged and murders a few others. Batman and Robin soon lure him out to a shipyard, where, after fighting, he falls into the harbor, his suit sinking him below. This story is similar to other “lab experiment gone wrong” origins. But I found it heartbreaking; Ross seeks a cure for death, but with that very cure, he becomes deadly to others.
I also liked “Payment in Full” from Batman 11, where two childhood friends grow up on either side of the law, only to cross paths as adults. One repays a decades-old debt to the other, effectively altering the future for both men. “The Secret of Bruce Wayne” from World’s Finest Comics 6 stood out as well. A journalist seeks to uncover Batman’s identity while a television network airs fictional programs of Batman and Robin fighting crime that may have something to do with actual crimes being committed.
May 14, 2020
By this time Batman and Robin were getting out of Gotham more and more. They go out West, down to Miami, and up to ... uh, the Adirondacks? Anyway, they're getting around and having all sorts of adventures: defending a stage coach from bandits, wrestling dinosaurs on an uncharted island, rescuing a damsel in distress from a killer octopus. What kid of the 1940's isn't going to eat this up? This is why I prefer the comics from the Golden Age. I'd rather my Batman have a straight up escapade than an existential crisis.
January 16, 2021
All of my favorite Bat-villains are in this volume; Joker, Catwoman, and Penguin. There is also some golden age weirdness. Batman and Robin head out West, rent a room to sleep (in full uniform,) a rattlesnake finds its way into the room, and Robin "charms" it with a harmonica that was in the room. (Take that Gideons!)
November 9, 2020
Another collection of wonderful comics I thoroughly enjoyed.
July 30, 2022
A Bruce Wayne who would doff the cape and cowl to slip in to Geiger's bookstore for an edition of "Ben-Hur" with the erratum on page 116.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews