Posted By Dan Greenfield on Mar 6, 2025 | 5 comments

ROBIN WEEK: The Boy Wonder turns 85 — and PAUL KUPPERBERG pays tribute!

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Welcome to ROBIN WEEK! One of the greatest heroes in comics history debuted 85 years ago, on March 6, 1940 — and we’re celebrating with a series of features saluting the Boys, Girls and Teens Wonder. For the complete index of features, click here.

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By PAUL KUPPERBERG

In Star Spangled Comics, kids ruled.

The first issue (October 1941) hit the stands emblazoned with the heroic red, white, and blue figure of the young Star-Spangled Kid and his adult sidekick, Stripesy, created by Jerry Siegel and Howard Sherman. The Kid and Stripsey maintained their Star Spangled residence for seven years, but they were replaced as the cover feature in #7 (April 1942) by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby’s Newsboy Legion, which held the spotlight until SSC #65 (February 1947). That’s when Robin, the Boy Wonder quite literally stepped out from Batman’s shadow on the cover to launch his solo feature.

Robin remained in the book until the end, #130 (July 1952), although he was forced to relinquish the cover first to Tomahawk in #95 (August 1949), and finally to Dr. Terry Thirteen, the Ghost-Breaker with #122 (November 1951).

Win Mortimer

There was no stinting on the newly launched Robin strip, with scripts by co-creator Bill Finger, the most influential Batman writer of the Golden Age, and art by Win Mortimer, then one of National’s top feature and cover artists. I suppose because he was so much in demand on featured characters like Superman and Batman and a multitude of covers, Win was soon replaced, after a few fill-ins by Curt Swan and others, by the very capable Jim Mooney, who carried on till the end.

Robin had been added to Batman’s world to simultaneously soften the character, give him someone to whom he can explain the plot, give the young male readers a character to identify with, and, of course, be taken hostage. Out on his own, the Boy Wonder took the lead and showed he was every bit as capable as his mentor, whether it was at finding clues at the scene of the crime, analyzing them in the lab, or punching out the bad guys who left them. The stories often revolved around other kids who found themselves or loved ones in some sort of peril that Robin helps get them out of.

There was a definite charm to the tales of Batman’s pal — “in Solo Action!” — much like the earlier Superboy series in More Fun Comics by Don Cameron and Joe Shuster. Few writers knew Robin as well as Finger and his stories are fast paced and chock full of his patented patter and gimmicks, from giant props to elaborate schemes and costumes. Alas, less than halfway through the run, Batman began showing up on the covers and in the stories, no doubt to help bolster sales, but the focus remained largely on Robin.

Believe it or not, that leaping, punning kid was introduced 85 years ago today in Detective Comics #38 — March 6, 1940 — in a story scripted by Finger with art by Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson. He’s come a long way since, surviving countless writers and artists and Burt Ward on TV, evolving through the Teen Titans, pretending Chris O’Donnell never happened, and emerging finally as his own man as the adult Nightwing.

Aw, who am I kidding? Robin was always his own man, even when he was still a little kid.

Here then, MY 13 FAVORITE ROBIN SPLASH PAGES FROM STAR SPANGLED COMICS:

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Star Spangled Comics #65 (February 1947). Robin gets the drop on the bad guys! Script by Bill Finger, art by Win Mortimer.

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Star Spangled Comics #70 (July 1947). What’s more fun than a literal wink and nod to the reader? By Don Cameron and Mortimer.

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Star Spangled Comics #73 (October 1947). An enchanting and dynamic splash page. By Finger, and Jack Burnley and Jim Mooney.

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Star Spangled Comics #78 (March 1948). One of Bill Finger’s best uses of a legitimate giant prop! Art by Mooney.

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Star Spangled Comics #85 (October 1948). Brrr! But according to the note on Page 3, “Robin’s arctic costume is interwoven with fine wires that connect to a small but powerful battery in his belt. The radiating heat is well able to protect him from the cold.” By Finger and Mooney.

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Star Spangled Comics #88 (January 1949). The Boy Wonder’s experimentation with autoerotic asphyxiation gets out of hand. Actually, while this scene adorns the cover and the splash, it doesn’t appear anywhere in the story. By Finger and Mooney.

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Star Spangled Comics #92 (May 1949). The Dynamic Duo help a cowardly actor who plays a screen hero overcome his fear and save the day. Hooray for Hollywood! By David Vern and Mooney.

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Star Spangled Comics #97 (October 1949). The Clock was a recurring villain who worked well with giant props like this. Finger and Mooney.

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Star Spangled Comics #102 (March 1950). They oughta be illegal! Writer unknown, art by Mooney.

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Star Spangled Comics #107 (August 1950). You don’t think this could be the result of some sort of misunderstanding, do you? Writer unknown, art by Mooney.

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Star Spangled Comics #116 (May 1951). An elixir of life makes criminal Dante Leonardo invulnerable to harm, a medical miracle that this 14-year-old in tights takes it on himself to destroy. No worries, though. Dante sends Robin a letter informing him that he’s settled elsewhere while he rests from his ordeal… “it’s called Bikini Atoll,” and the story ends with the aforementioned going up in a nuclear mushroom cloud. >Choke!< Holy heavy irony, Batman! By Vern and Mooney.

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Star Spangled Comics #123 (December 1951). I like the pretty colors, OK? By John Broome and Mooney.

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Star Spangled Comics #130 (July 1952). A bad guy’s hand grenade leaves Robin temporarily deafened. Like those darned kids ever listened anyway! By Vern and Mooney.

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MORE

— The Complete ROBIN WEEK Index of Features. Click here.

— ROBIN’s 85-Year History Through 13 CLASSIC COLLECTIBLES. Click here.