Just imagine…
There are certain single issues that we come back to time and again at 13th Dimension, and one of them is 1963’s Batman #156, home of the classic Robin Dies at Dawn, by Bill Finger, Sheldon Moldoff and Charles Paris:
Bill Morrison once did an Earth-Two version, Jim Beard sang its praises earlier this year, and DC itself released a Facsimile Edition in July.
Now, cartoonist Karl Heitmueller Jr., an old 13th Dimension pal who does the “Prince Street News” feature for Back Issue magazine, has put his own spin on it — commissioned by retired BI editor Michael Eury!
Dig this:
“I commissioned it because I’ve always had a soft spot for the Silver Age Robin, the BOY Wonder (and his grown-up Earth-Two counterpart), since Robin was as omnipresent as Batman during the ’60s Batmania that roped me into this crazy world in the first place,” Michael sez. “Robin Dies at Dawn is a dramatic, iconic cover image, one that deeply affected me when I first saw it as a small boy, when the story was reprinted in the 80-page Giant Batman #185. When DC reprinted Robin Dies At Dawn as a Facsimile, it was their sketch-cover variant that sparked my idea to reverse the heroes’ roles as a gag. I tossed the idea to Karl, whose ‘Prince Street News’ comic strips in Back Issue were great faves of mine, and Karl hit it out of the park!”
That he did.
—
MORE
— 1963’s ROBIN DIES AT DAWN: One of the Greatest Boy Wonder Stories Ever. Click here.
— ROBIN DIES AT DAWN: Dig This Homage With an EARTH-TWO Twist! Click here.
— ROBIN DIES AT DAWN: Batman Classic to Be Re-Released as a FACSIMILE EDITION. Click here.
September 26, 2026
For a brief moment I thought this was going to be an article about Batman issue 674, “Batman Dies At Dawn”.
Which also pays homage to the classic Batman 156. Though instead of flipping the circumstances, Batman 674 builds upon the original as if all those events were an attack on Bruce Wayne’s psyche. All these years later Bruce has been living with a hypnotic trigger buried deep within his mind. And now he has fallen before Michael Lane. One of three Gotham City Police officers who had been trained to become Batman replacements in case Batman ever died. But all three went mad, and now want to destroy the original Batman.
Sorry. Tangent, I know. But I just love that story.
September 26, 2026
Jajajaja está bueno. Estilo Kallen
September 26, 2026
Okay okay. I am not as big of a DC fan as I am with Marvel, but Batman has always been my favorite character (besides Red Hood. I used to play him all the time when I played Injustice 2).
So, when I saw the title for this blog, I tapped it, preparing myself for the waterworks. And to my surprise, not a tear was shed (thank goodness for that, too. I was sitting right next to my dog while reading. If you express any strong emotions around him, he’ll either bark at you ’til he can’t no more or make this weird sound that sounds like cruel laughter (funny thing is, he’s named after a well-known Marvel hero himself. You’ll have to guess because I’ll never tell until there’s a close enough guess)).
What was I writing about again? Oh yeah—hilarious job in the artwork. The grunting and panting in the speech bubble makes a moment that is supposed to seem sad and dreary terribly funny compared to the original one.
(Bet, you can’t guess my dog’s name…)
September 26, 2026
I have this original issue and always loved the dramatic cover. Sadly, the story within is somewhat of a copout but I will always love the dramatic and poignant cover.
September 27, 2026
But a very brilliant copout, though.
I always found what they did really engaging. Though I must confess, I’m looking at the story with the added lens of The Black Casebook.
“I must put away my Batman costume and retire from crime fighting”