EXCLUSIVE! Night of the Reaper!
DC has three fantastic Facsimile Editions headed your way in October and they’re all so groovy they each deserve their own story.
You can click here and here for the others — you’ll definitely want to — but in this one, the Batsignal is shining on the greatest Halloween comics story ever: Batman #237’s Night of the Reaper! by Denny O’Neil, Neal Adams and Dick Giordano.
Dig the solicitation info, which will be released officially by DC later in July:
BATMAN #237 FACSIMILE EDITION
Written by DENNIS O’NEIL and BILL FINGER
Art by NEAL ADAMS, DICK GIORDANO, BOB KANE, and JERRY ROBINSON
Cover by NEAL ADAMS
Foil variant cover by NEAL ADAMS ($6.99 US)
Blank sketch cover ($5.99 US)
$4.99 US | 48 pages
ON SALE 10/9/24
For once, others are wearing superhero costumes as Dick Grayson and friends head to Vermont to attend the annual Rutland Halloween Parade. But when a costumed “Batman” is murdered and the real Robin injured, the real Caped Crusader crashes the party in the “Night of the Reaper!” Featuring cameos, both real and imagined, that are sure to please any Bronze Age comics fans.
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A few thoughts:
— One of the highlights of the 1971 issue is the triptych showing the Rutland Halloween parade. The four Hudson University buddies are (left to right) Bernie Wrightson, Gerry Conway, Dick Grayson and Alan Weiss. There are other cameos in the ish, too. (Wrightson and Harlan Ellison contributed ideas to the story.)
— This is one of the first comics I ever saw on a spinner rack. That cover was truly frightening to a young boy weaned on the Adam West Batman TV show. I’ve written a ton about this issue over the years and you can click here to see what O’Neil and Adams each had to say about it.
— That is one of the all-time great Batman cover logos — both in terms of style and color scheme. I can’t wait for the sketch cover. (I wonder if it will be white or red.) And that foil cover will look especially fab!
— The back-up reprint — The Screaming House by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson — is from 1940’s Detective Comics #37, and is the last solo Batman story before Robin’s arrival.
— Obligatory Price Comparison: An unslabbed, high-grade original Batman #237 recently sold on eBay for about $300.
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MORE
— DEATH OF SUPERGIRL: DC Sets Date For CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #7 Facsimile Edition. Click here.
— HAWKMAN #4: ZATANNA’s First Appearance Slated for FACSIMILE EDITION. Click here.
July 18, 2024
I’m so excited for this one! I think I read this as a reprint a long time ago, and remember it being a perfect Halloween/superhero story. Just recently, I’ve been looking for this on ebay, and at comic shows, but every seller wanted a pretty penny for it, so this couldn’t have come at a better time!
July 18, 2024
Those Rutland, Vermont stories were always fun. 1972 actually had an unofficial DC/Marvel crossover when Steve Englehart, Gerry Conway, Len Wein and his then wife Glynis, wrote themselves into the story.
While the stories were mostly stand alone, there was a running gag about people trying to steal Englehart’s car.
The subplot ran through Amazing Adventures 16, Thor 106 and JLA 103.
July 18, 2024
Wow! This one I’m buying! I got the original in the mid-70s at a used store (most likely for the reprint story) and didn’t read “Night Of The Reaper” for a year or so! My copy is in a crate in my basement. This reprint will be worth having!
July 18, 2024
I love this story. Reread it just a few weeks ago.