I’ve mentioned this comic in the past. I even did a mini-review thanks to the reprint as part of DC Retroactive. However, I feel the need to give it a proper full review just as I did the other comic I reviewed from the three-pack of comics that were my first comics. At some point I should also do the issue of Peter Parker: The Amazing Spider-Man for the sake of completeness, but I didn’t know what was going on back then, thus it didn’t serve as the doorway that the two DC comics (further aided by all the DC live-action shows and cartoons airing around that time) did. At least Justice League Of America explained the Shark’s origins. Peter Parker went on and on about Gwen Stacy and Professor Miles Warren and back then I had zero idea who they were, or the villain Carrion (granted neither did Spidey) or White Tiger and Darter, so I was too confused to get into it. Maybe reading the previous issue or issues of the arc would have helped but I don’t know. Today I know enough that I’ll never know for sure.
I keep hearing that Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns is the story that brought Batman out of the Adam West/Burt Ward series and into darker stories. This is incorrect. What it did is join Watchmen in the darkening of comics in general and DC specifically. Batman moving away from the West/Ward show (which mirrored the Silver Age comics of the time) happened during the Bronze Age of comics, which is where I first got into comics. The Bronze Age of comics (as opposed to the Bronze Age of history) had a good balance of darker and lighter tales, and this is when Batman became more serious, without getting into things like Professor Pyg turning kids into dolls or the Joker wearing his own face as a mask. (Seriously, what the hell, guys? Tell me Rebirth is undoing that bit of nightmare stupidity!)
In the story we’re looking at today, Batman moved out of the Batcave to get closer to Gotham after Dick left for college. He operates out of a penthouse apartment in his building at this point, with loyal Alfred still at his side. I’m not sure how this helped exactly but I need more issues from the period. It’s around this Age that the theme of Batman dealing with mentally unhinged criminals begins, although there are none of his regular rogues gallery in this issue. Mr. Freeze is teased for next issue but there’s no sign of anyone you expect here. These were days when Batman didn’t just battle supervillains but in this issue solved a serial killing of Gotham City’s homeless. I wish there were more Batman stories like this. Now it seems to be a huge war that sets Gotham ablaze, as if the Bat-Writers wants to ensure we don’t want to live in Gotham while in stories of this time crime was no worse than New York City, the biggest inspiration for Gotham City. It’s just sometimes the crooks wear costumes, life-saving suits, or acid-bleached skin with green hair.
My copy is missing the cover. It’s that heavily read.
Batman #307
DC Comics (January, 1979)
For the record, my copy was put out by Whitman. THE JLA comic I mentioned also has the Whitman logo in place of the DC logo. I don’t know the history.
WRITER: Len Wein
ARTISTS: John Calnan & Dick Giordano
COLORST: Glynis Wein (Len’s wife at the time)
LETTERER: Ben Oda
EDITOR: Julius Schwartz
For this review I’m using that reprint from DC Retroactive: Batman – The 70s I mentioned earlier because as the caption says the comic I own is heavily read and a bit damaged for it.
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