A classic revisited — 50-plus years later…
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UPDATED 10/28/23: This is an annual tradition here at 13th Dimension — an INSIDE LOOK at the greatest Halloween comic ever: 1971’s Batman #237, by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams — with insightful comments by the book’s late creators. Read on — if you dare! And check out this year’s wonderfully warm feature on the Rutland Halloween Parade. Plus, there’s a really cool look at the cover’s spooky color guide. — Dan
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There are a gazillion Halloween-themed comics out there but there’s one that stands above them all: Batman #237 — 1971’s Night of the Reaper! by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams.
It’s probably the first cover I can remember seeing on the spinner rack:
And the story itself is a high point in the celebrated O’Neil-Adams collaboration:
Batman and Robin (and some of Dick Grayson’s very familiar-looking friends) find themselves in Rutland, Vt., for the annual Halloween Parade. A killer dressed as the Grim Reaper stalks the town — and it’s revealed (SPOILER ALERT) that he’s a Holocaust survivor bent on revenge. It’s a story that begins with a lot of atmospheric humor and ends in poignant tragedy.
It’s the best Halloween comic I’ve ever read — and it’s not even close. Adams himself called it “one of Denny’s richest and fullest stories.” And that’s saying something.
I spoke to O’Neil and Adams about Batman #237 separately years ago as I was launching 13th Dimension. Each interview was a part of THE NEAL ADAMS INTERVIEWS and THE DENNY O’NEIL INTERVIEWS, respectively.
I like to highlight those discussions every Halloween, so here they are, once again:
— DENNY O’NEIL Talks About the Genesis of Batman #237. Click here.
— NEAL ADAMS Talks About Creating the Classic Cover. Click here.
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MORE
— For the complete DENNY O’NEIL INTERVIEWS Index of stories, click here.
— For the complete NEAL ADAMS INTERVIEWS Index of stories, click here.
November 1, 2017
O man… dig the floats. Thanks for bringing this memory back. I need to pull the comic out of the files now.
October 30, 2018
Thanks. I have to look for it….nobody got my dime after 69 until burst back with a blam…
October 30, 2018
This very story is reprinted in the new Swamp Thing Halloween Comic available only at WalMart.
October 30, 2018
And it should be reprinted in every Halloween edition…
October 30, 2018
I just read the story! Wow!
Who wants to talk about floats?! I really want to ta;k to somebody about floats…
October 31, 2018
I bought this issue when it came out (I was 13 having been collecting Batman for 5 years) and even did a Super 8 film adaptation of the story a few years later.
October 31, 2018
Do you still have the film?
October 2, 2020
I love them working in Captain America, Havok, and Quicksilver on that float!
October 31, 2020
One of my all-time favorite stand-along Batman stories (along with Night of the Hunter). But, beyond the parade scene, the opening page with Batman impaled on a dead tree in front of an old mansion under the full moon is the page I always remember best. And this story stands out for me because of the Holocaust vengeance plot more than the Rutland Parade – which was also done in “The Avengers” around the same time.
October 31, 2020
Was this the issue that featured Web-Slinger Lad!?
November 1, 2020
great issue, yes. I had a letter published in it which also upped its cherceness for me…or at least…I think I did! Chris Juricich
October 31, 2021
If Marvel and DC ever get back to collaborating on joint publishing projects, they should create a TPB collection of all the various Rutland Halloween stories published over the years: This one, the various ones from the Avengers, plus a couple of JLAs, then Thor, the second Defenders story, the Beast from Amazing Adventures… probably more I’m not aware of.