COMICS HISTORY | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture

Apr22

An Idea for DC FINEST: Englehart and Rogers’ DARK DETECTIVE — Including the Unfinished THIRD PART

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Apr 22, 2024

An Idea for DC FINEST: Englehart and Rogers’ DARK DETECTIVE — Including the Unfinished THIRD PART

A BIRTHDAY SALUTE to Englehart — and a wish for a definitive collection of one of Batman’s greatest stories… Some years back, we posted an INSIDE LOOK at the never-completed third part of Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers’ so-called Dark Detective trilogy. In a nutshell, Englehart — who was born 77 years ago, on April 22, 1947 — envisioned that his original 1977 Detective Comics run with Rogers, Terry Austin and Walt Simonson be called Dark Detective and that its follow-up 2005 miniseries, actually titled Dark Detective, be dubbed Dark Detective II instead. And Dark Detective III? That was a project that was begun but never finished because of Rogers’ death in 2007. You can click here to read all the details — it’s well worth it — but in the recently published, Batman-focused Back Issue #150, there’s a letter from a fan named Wade AuCoin in which he describes self-publishing the six issues of Dark Detective III, using the unfinished art, the completed scripts and Rogers’ 1981 Batman Portfolio. Dig this: Wade’s onto something here. DC should find a way to publish Dark Detective III. “My most fervent dream would (be) to have Terry Austin ink the first issue of Dark Detective III, but I don’t know if that will ever be possible,” Wade told me. “My wish and Steve’s is that DC would print these stories in some way. I am not looking to make any money from this, but I’m sure the powers-that-be at DC would think that Issues #2-6 of Dark Detective III would sell better if they were drawn by well-known artists.” Each subsequent issue could be drawn by a different artist, in tribute to Rogers, Wade said. He suggested Simonson, Trevor Von Eeden, Michael Golden, Joe Staton and Jim Starlin. If it could only be one artist, he would choose noted Rogers buff Kelley Jones. A wonderful idea but I think it’s unlikely DC would publish Dark Detective III on its own. But what it could do is make it part of the soon-to-launch DC Finest line, which seems perfect for this sort of thing. Imagine this: DC Finest: Batman — Dark Detective, including Detective Comics #469-476; Dark Detective #1-6; the art from Rogers’ 1981 Batman Portfolio; and all the art Rogers did finish for the third part of the trilogy, as well...

Apr22

MORRISON MONDAYS: The Million Dollar Debut of… BAT LADY?!

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Apr 22, 2024

MORRISON MONDAYS: The Million Dollar Debut of… BAT LADY?!

Bill’s fabulous riff on Martin and Lewis’ Artists and Models, in time for Shirley MacLaine’s 90th birthday… By BILL MORRISON Like my 13th Dimension cohort, Paul Kupperberg, I am an unabashed Jerry Lewis fan! I especially love to collect Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis film posters and comic books, and one day several years ago I did one of my regular eBay searches for “Martin and Lewis Comic Book” and got a huge surprise. Someone was selling an original, painted Bat Lady prop-art cover from the 1955 Frank Tashlin film Artists and Models, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis! It seemed that no other fans had yet discovered this rare piece of movie memorabilia, and I snapped it up immediately! Then, some years later, I saw three Bat Lady prop-art pages from the film come up in a Hollywood memorabilia auction. I cast my bid and miraculously I was the high bidder! A bit about Artists and Models for those who haven’t seen it: In the film, Jerry Lewis’ character, Eugene Fullstack, is an aspiring writer of children’s books who is obsessed with The Bat Lady comic book. Dean Martin’s character, Rick Todd, is a fine artist who is equally obsessed with attractive comic book artist Abigail Parker (Dorothy Malone) who draws The Bat Lady comic. Shirley MacLaine (in her second film role) plays Parker’s roommate, Bessie Sparrowbush, who models for her friend in costume as the Bat Lady. For comic fans and historians, the film is a must-see, if only for the fact that it deals with the famous 1954 US Senate Subcommittee hearings on the relationship between comic books and juvenile delinquency in key scenes. These are the hearings that panicked certain comic book publishers and led to the self-governing Comics Code Authority. (Coincidentally, those hearings were 70 years ago this week, and MacLaine turns 90 on Wednesday, April 24.) Also, it’s arguable that DC Comics’ Batwoman or even Batgirl may not exist without this film. Batwoman premiered in Detective Comics #233 in May of 1956, a mere seven months after the release of Artists and Models in November 1955. It’s quite possible that DC executives were spooked by the screen appearance of a female version of Batman and moved quickly to establish their own feminine bat-character. Animation fans will recognize the name of the film’s director,...

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