SCOTT SHAW! SATURDAYS Meets JOKER WEEK…
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Welcome to JOKER WEEK! One of the greatest characters in comics history debuted 85 years ago, in Batman #1, on April 24, 1940 — and we’re celebrating with a series of features saluting the Clown Prince of Crime, just like we did with CATWOMAN WEEK. For the complete index of JOKER WEEK features, click here.
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By SCOTT SHAW!
This is one of those Oddball Comics that begs the question, “Did the editor of this comic even glance at the cover of Batman #145?” Joker Junior looks like he’s having a great time. The Joker apparently can’t afford enough green hair dye for all of his hair… and why is he staring at Batman’s knees, while the new Caped Crusader’s dodging a bat, a visual pun? And then there’s those “II” insignias that look like bling, back when that was merely a sound effect.
Editor/writer Jack Schiff (1909-1999) was hired by DC in 1942. He co-created Starman, Tommy Tomorrow, Lady Blackhawk, Ultra the Multi-Alien, and the Batsignal, but Schiff is best known for editing Batman and Detective Comics, starting in 1942. In 1958, he became involved in a legal dispute with the great Jack Kirby over his Sky Masters syndicated comic strip. Schiff won the resulting lawsuit. (Boo!!!)
In 1964, DC’s upper management removed Schiff as editor of Batman and Detective Comics due to low sales, replaced him with Julius Schwartz, and reassigned him to edit Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space. Schiff’s final editing credit for DC appeared in Strange Adventures #203 (August 1967.)
He had a good career but was far from inventive. Schiff particularly imitated many of the characters of Mort Weisinger’s Superman stories for his Batman stories. Mort had Mr. Myxzptlk, so Jack came up with Bat-Mite. Mort had Krypto, so Jack brought in Bat-Hound. And so forth.
Now, comics’ first “Imaginary Story” was in Superman #19, (December 1942.) Superman, Matinee Idol! was written by Jerry Siegel, laid out by Joe Shuster, penciled by Ed Dobrotka, and inked by John Sikela. Stories like this (as well as a few morbid ones) would occasionally pop up in Superman’s comics during WWII, but weren’t used during the 50s. However, in 1960, Mort Weisinger revived the concept. The first Silver Age “Imaginary Story” is Mr. and Mrs. Clark (Superman) Kent! from Lois Lane #19 (August 1960).
“Imaginary Stories” began to pop up throughout Mort’s line of Super-titles, including the first Death of Superman, an Oddball classic. When I was 8 years old and wondering “Aren’t all comic book stories imaginary?” these non-canon tales were making money for DC.
So when Schiff’s Batman and Detective Comics sales numbers began to droop, it’s clear that he needed a gimmick that had worked so well for Weisinger. Instead of “Imaginary Stories,” Schiff had another non-canon concept. If it didn’t work, he could always blame Bruce Wayne’s butler, because here was “Alfred’s Tales of the Future,” supposedly the adventures of “Batman II” and “Robin II” – written by Alfred Pennyworth!
The first such stories appeared in 1960’s Batman #131 and #135.
Batman #145. Story written by Bill Finger, art by Sheldon Moldoff.
But with Batman #145 — out in late 1961 but with a February 1962 pubdate — with only 10 pages to reestablish the concept and introduce the “Son of the Joker,” this story doesn’t have much room to be memorable, satisfying or even goofy. Basically, the Joker hires a young thug to pose as his son, the original Batman figures out the ruse and rescues Batman II (Dick Grayson) and Robin II (Bruce Wayne Jr.). The end.
Here’s a list of the other “Alfred’s Tales of the Future” stories:
– Batman #154 “Danger Strikes Four!” (March 1963.)
– Batman #159 “The Boyhood of Bruce Wayne Jr.” (November 1963.)
– Batman #163 “Bat-Girl – Batwoman II!” (May 1964.)
Years later, these stories were re-conceived to exist on a parallel Earth. That sounds like an imaginary story, if you ask me.
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MORE
— ODDBALL COMICS: 1967’s CHARLTON PREMIERE #2. Click here.
— ODDBALL COMICS: 1970’s The Close Shaves of Pauline Peril. Click here.
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For over half a century, SCOTT SHAW! has been a pro cartoonist/writer/designer of comic books, animation, advertising and toys. He is also a historian of all forms of cartooning. Scott has worked on many underground comix and mainstream comic books, including: Fear and Laughter (Kitchen Sink); Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie); Simpsons Comics (Bongo); Weird Tales of the Ramones (Rhino); and his co-creation with Roy Thomas, Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew! (DC).
Scott also worked on numerous animated cartoons, including producing/directing John Candy’s Camp Candy (NBC/DIC/Saban); Martin Short’s The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley (NBC/Hanna-Barbera Productions); Garfield and Friends (CBS/Film Roman); and the Emmy-winning Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies (CBS/Marvel Productions), among many others. As senior art director for the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency, Scott worked on dozens of commercials for Post Pebbles cereals with the Flintstones. He also designed a line of Hanna-Barbera action figures for McFarlane Toys.
Scott was one of the comics fans who organized the first San Diego Comic-Con, where he has become known for performing his hilarious Oddball Comics Live! slide shows.
Need funny cartoons for any and all media? Click here! Scott does commissions!
April 26, 2025
Oh I remember reading the reprints!
April 26, 2025
I very much remember “The Son of the Joker,” as it was reprinted in Batman # 254 (c. 1973 – 1974): a 100-page Super Spectacular that thematically looked at Batman through past decades–the 40s, 50s, and 60s (beginning the reprinting of the Outsider story) and the “Swinging Seventies.” (the main story with Man-Bat, as drawn by Irv Novick, as Dan was just rightfully highlighting the artist),
“The Son of the Joker” featured Batman in the future.
I was intrigued and puzzled by the story as a kid–as the more “primitive” art meant it was an “older” story (esp. to a kid of 10), yet its republishing was current with Bob Haney’s introduction of the Super Sons. It took me a while to figure out it was all coincidental without any real connection.
April 27, 2025
“He had a good career but was far from inventive.”
Perhaps, but Schiff deserves a lot of credit for how good Golden Age Batman was. Reading through the Omnibuses, I noticed that the general quality of the stories improved the year he came onboard and stayed high through the mid-50s. Later on he might have felt pressure from the higher-ups, and even Weisinger himself, to copy some of the elements that made Superman the number one-selling comic of the late-50s.
“Schiff won the resulting lawsuit. (Boo!!!)”
I realize that Kirby is basically treated as a God these days, so anyone who crosses his path must get booed, but it’s worth pointing out pretty much every person who worked at DC in the 40s (and who lived long enough to be interviewed), spoke very highly of Schiff. He was regarded as an honorable man (and far more humane than some of the company’s other editors).
April 29, 2025
Yeah, there’s no disputing Kirby’s talents, but the never ending parade of “any time Kirby didn’t get his way is because some terrible person took advantage of him” stories gets tiresome. People can have differing interests and competing opinions in business without one person being “right” and the other “wrong.”
April 30, 2025
I knew Jack Kirby quite well, a genuine mensch. Why you two are comparing him with an obscure editor is a mystery to me, but I don’t appreciate it.
April 30, 2025
I never had the honor to meet Jack. But I have always been a fan of his talent/vision. Unlike others like Ditko who I enjoyed growing up but waned in my support of only to comeback around to appreciating immensely as a much older fan. That all said, if I was going to take one side, I’m going to default to Kirby’s side. I have read too many accounts (see TwoMorrows material at a minimum) of the nature of the comic publishing field. I don’t know what the reason behind it all was. Maybe it was because most talent worked from home and away from the daily 8-5 of the office. I just don’t know. But from the treatment of Siegel and Shuster to Englehart in the ‘80s…..creators just don’t get the credit or the $$$ they deserve. And I say all that and I must admit I’m not aware of the story behind this afore mentioned lawsuit.
April 30, 2025
Like most people, I didn’t know Kirby personally, but what I’ve read about the case, including deposition transcript excerpts reproduced in Jack Kirby Collector #15 (available online), I can see why he lost it.
Generally, if there’s a written contract, under the “parole evidence” rule, agreements made outside of the contract are inadmissible in court. In order to admit such evidence, the party seeking to do so bears the burden of showing fraud, undue influence, duress or mistake.
Here, Kirby clearly wanted to argue duress. Unfortunately, his deposition testimony, at least the parties reproduced in Jack Kirby Collector 15, could be viewed by a neutral third party as vague, argumentative or even evasive instead of (as Scott S! probably would argue) justifiably combative (Note: I’m not saying Kirby was actually being evasive, just that one might read it that way). As such, and given the burden of proof fell to Kirby to make the case for duress, I can understand why that claim failed.
Ironically, Jack’s “menschiness” and , by then, long career in comics might have undercut an argument that anyone, including Schiff, could exert undue influence on him at this point in his life In fact, the court seems to acknowledge that, by 1958, Kirby was an experienced professional and therefore not easily the victim of duress but, rather, “the best judge of the worth of [Schiff’s] contact and of the business opportunity afforded him, and the price he wished to pay for them.”
Granted, another judge or jury might have viewed the evidence differently. But at the end of the day, I can see why this one ruled for Schiff and that it wasn’t unreasonable to do so.