13 COVERS! Unless it’s the occasional “slice of Gotham” story, Batman these days only fights his city’s most notorious, horrific villains — a larger-than-life figure dueling other larger-than-life figures. The idea of having a Big Time Bad Guy every time out dates to the 1966 Batman TV show, with its villain-of-the week formula. For years before that, however, the Caped Crusader battled a litany of colorless thugs and malefactors, mixed in with the Joker, Penguin and Catwoman stories. But those fedora-wearing mobsters weren’t pushovers: They frequently got the jump on our heroes, even if, in the end, the Dynamic Duo always prevailed. The everyday crook made something of a comeback once Batmania ended, but by the mid-’70s, the Darknight Detective was increasingly menaced again by his colorful rogues gallery, as well as costumed pretenders. Today, almost every Batman story tries to be an opera of epic proportions, with the gunsels and gangsters generally relegated to cannon fodder. But let’s return to the Golden Age, when Batman and Robin were as likely (if not more so) to fight random gangsters as they were the likes of the Scarecrow or Two-Face — even on the front of the book. Dig these 13 COVERS, from 1939 to 1949: — MORE — HOLY POP-TARTS! WAYNE BORING’s Rare Foray Into BATMAN. Click here. — CINCO DE MAYO: Dig These 13 Muy Bueno NEAL ADAMS MEXICAN BATMAN COVERS. Click...
Old-time radio shows and their comics connections… By PETER BOSCH Drop your TV remote! It’s me, the Fun Pharaoh of Four Color Radio! I’m ready to take you all again in the Wayback Machine to the days when radio ruled the airwaves. This month, get ready for an adrenaline-charged ride in the Black Beauty with the two greatest racket busters of their time (predating Batman and Robin by three years!) — the Green Hornet and Kato! In 1935, George W. Trendle, the owner of WXYZ radio in Detroit, wanted a follow-up to the station’s great success, The Lone Ranger. Except, this time, he wanted the criminals that the hero would face to be the worst of our modern-day society — dirty politicians, racketeers, and crooked businessmen who preyed upon the public. For this, he turned to the creator of the Lone Ranger, Fran Striker. As most fans know, there was a great similarity between the two masked heroes. Neither used their weapons to kill anyone. Both had sidekicks (Tonto and Kato), and where the Ranger had Silver, the Hornet had the snazzy Black Beauty. And let’s not forget how the Lone Ranger was so often mistaken for a bad guy because he wore a mask. On the other hand, the Green Hornet deliberately made people think he was a criminal, as bad as the rest, in order to get within their shady enterprises and expose them to the police. And, oh yes, they were related — but that fact didn’t come out for a number of years. The Green Hornet radio program had its 90th anniversary this year, with it airing originally on January 31, 1936, on WXYZ radio and a few other Michigan stations. In the promotional newspaper ad (above) for the premiere broadcast, you are going to notice three things right away. The first is that the show aired at 10:30 pm. This would quickly change to 7:30 pm, twice a week. The second item is the title of the show — The Adventures of the Hornet. That also quickly changed because Trendle wanted to copyright it but he discovered “the Hornet” could not be registered; a very rushed conference with station employees came up with “the Green Hornet” — and that worked. The last item — do you see how Michael Axford got bold billing BEFORE...
An ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: Jazzy John took over Amazing Spider-Man art duties 60 years ago…
Old-time radio shows and their comics connections…
