The first milestone issue of the Batman flagship title!
BY PETER BOSCH
An offbeat anniversary in the history of Batman is upon us: Exactly 70 years ago (on April 17, 1956) the Batman series celebrated its 100th issue. Well, it celebrated at least by showing off on its front six great covers from the series’ then-16 year run.
Batman #100 cover (June 1956, DC) with inserts of classic images. (Top row, left to right – Batman #1, #23, and #25. Bottom row, left to right – Batman #47, #48, and #61.)
Unfortunately, the inside didn’t quite play up the benchmark to the degree the cover did. No retelling of the Dynamic Duo’s individual origins, and no appearance from any of their infamous rogues gallery. However, it did include tales that were examples of the period — and entertaining ones at that.
NOTE: Art for all interior pages below by Sheldon Moldoff (pencils) and Charles Paris (inks).
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The lead story is indeed appropriate for the issue: “Batmantown, U.S.A.” The Dark Knight is honored by the renaming of a small town after him — though the burg does it just for monetary reasons. It doesn’t take long for Batman to discover that criminals are already at work taking advantage of the new name. The script (by an undetermined author) turns amusing when Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson (in disguise) show up and apply to play Batman and Robin in the city’s upcoming festivities, and then intentionally bungle their acrobatic moves.
“The Hunters of Gotham City,” the second story of the issue (writer also unconfirmed), features Batman and Robin out to capture an escaped shipload of animals running loose in Gotham City, while also trying to uncover the criminal behind the move and their motive.
The final Batman tale in the issue, “The Great Batman Contest” (written by Bill Finger), involves a competition that invites inventive youths to come up with a new weapon to aid Batman in his crime-fighting activities.
All the inventions are turned over to the Caped Crusader to determine the winner — and “the Bat-Cave is piled high with scores of unusual entries.” (You really have to wonder how Batman was able to cart them there without being seen. Did the citizens of Gotham just turn their backs politely so they wouldn’t notice the line of trucks heading toward the secret Bat-Cave? Did Batman assign Wayne Manor as the send-to address on the contest forms because they were such good friends?)
The inventions are a varied lot, from a flashlight projector equipped with an encyclopedia on criminology, to a Batmobile cannon catapult, to a plastic inflatable Batboat, to suction-cup shoes for walking up the sides of buildings. (Oh, no, you don’t! No taking away from one of the best gags of the 1966 Batman TV series!) The winning entry, though, is a Bat-kite, of all things, with a camera attached underneath it for aerial photography.
And, thus, the 100th issue – which also contained “Pete the Cop” and “Binky” single-page features – comes to a close. But future anniversaries of the Batman title would continue to appear — including these, which leaned a lot more heavily into Bat-lore:
Covers for Batman #200 (Mar. 1968. Neal Adams art); #300 (June 1978. Dick Giordano art); #400 (Oct. 1986. Bill Sienkiewicz art); #500 (Oct. 1993. Joe Quesada pencils and Kevin Nowlan inks); #600 (Apr. 2002, Scott McDaniel art); and #700 (Aug. 2010. David Finch pencils and Scott Williams inks).
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MORE
— SHELDON MOLDOFF Gave More to BATMAN Than You Think. Click here.
— The Innovations From 1940’s BATMAN #1 That Are With Us to This Very Day. Click here.
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13th Dimension contributor-at-large PETER BOSCH’s first book, American TV Comic Books: 1940s-1980s – From the Small Screen to the Printed Page, was published by TwoMorrows. (You can buy it here.) A sequel, American Movie Comic Books: 1930s-1970s — From the Silver Screen to the Printed Page, is out now. (Buy it here.) Peter has written articles and conducted celebrity interviews for various magazines and newspapers. He lives in Hollywood.
