Batman: 1971

This year in Bat-history is perhaps best known for introducing Ra's Al Ghul and his daughter Talia. It was also the year Two-Face returned to the Bat-verse (in Batman 234.) Outside of those three stories, things fall pretty neatly into one of two subjects: the generation gap / environmentalism (handled a bit clumsily) and the self-contained supernatural-detective stories (repetitive but fun enough.) 

I'm not spending much time on the editors in these posts; I probably should. I assume anyone who wants to has tracked down any of the thousand and one tributes to or overviews of Julius Schwartz and Murray Boltinoff. And those who haven't simply haven't the interest, or just haven't gotten to it yet. 

WORLD'S FINEST

(issues 202, 207)

Writers: Len Wein, Denny O'Neil. Artist: Dick Dillin

Batman only appears in two World's Finests in 1971. Both of which are fine but not particularly mind-blowing. In the one above, a mummy's return wreaks havoc. In another, Dr. Light attempts to destroy Superman with a bizarre plan that of course goes tits-up.

Beginning in the 60s, Julius Schwartz began removing many of the elements of Mort Weisinger's Superman that he (and many fans) perceived as having become gimmicky. (The super-pets, the abundance of Kryptonite on planet Earth, etc.) In World's Finest #207, he excises the character of the Super-robots, another hallmark of the Weisinger era.

My father grew up with Weisinger's version of the character, and I remember how he blew my mind circa 1984 by rattling off to me all these weird details about gold kryptonite and Kandor and the super-pets. To ten-year-old-me, this was like discovering someone in my immediate family knew Steven Spielberg or something. This more than likely laid the groundwork for my enduring affection for that 1950s/ early 1960s era of Superman. This anecdote * ends on all-too-familiar note: my grandmother threw out a small fortune of my Dad's old Superman comics when he went to Vietnam. (Not that he was all that particular about them as a collection, just in hindsight.)

* I've likely told this one before. I'm terrific at repeating myself. I usually add another $1k onto the value of the disposed.

JLA

(issues 87 - 95)

Writer: Mike Friedrich. Artists: Dick Dillin, Neal Adams

Not the best year in JLA history.

Batman doing his best Crimson King impersonation.

This was an era where fans could routinely get a gig writing freelance by simply writing in repeatedly to the editor, particularly when that editor was Julie Schwartz. If you leaf through the letter's pages in 1971 alone, you see letters from Martin Pasko, Michael Barr, Alan Brennart, Dave Sim, and Bob Rozakis, all of whom (except Sim, to my knowledge) ended up writing Batman stories in the years to come. Another such fan was Mike Friedrich, who Schwartz hired to write first back-ups and then take over JLA.

 Friedrich went on to pen some memorable tales, but this stretch of JLA is pretty bad.

The worst comes in issue #89. As noted in The Comic Book Heroes:

"Nearly every story he wrote for Julie Schwartz was laden with political stances, hip references, and contemporary characterizations, all too obvious. He showed how different the new wave of writers was from the old, seeking to legitimize the passions of his fan days with a seriousness beyond his ability. Gardner Fox once wrote a cute tale around an 18th century novelist Henry Fielding meeting The Atom; (in JLA #89) Friedrich had a dark, tormented genius named Harlequin Ellis help the JLA, ever haunted by "the crash-pounding of his creative soul." 

Not only is the story hijacked by this completely intrusive "Harlequin Eliss" author stand-in, there's this horrific panel above, where a) the fourth wall is pointlessly broken, b) the "mystery" of who Harlequin Ellis is supposed to be is confessed so absurdly, and c) there's even a damn dedication to Harlan Ellison. Like I say, he got better, but even for its anything-goes era, this is just fifty layers of awful.

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD

(issues 93 - 99)

Writers: Denny O'Neil, Bob Haney.
Artists: Neal Adams, Nick Cardy, Bob Brown, Jim Aparo.

 The first thing that jumped out at me about this stretch of stories was how much of a global traveler Batman was in 1971. Nearly every tale takes him far afield of Gotham City and sometimes from continent to continent all in a single story.

The roster of guest stars begins with the House of Mystery, albeit somewhat obliquely:

Oh fine, whatever, Cain.

 

The one with Wildcat is okay  but probably the weakest of the bunch.  Whereas the one with the Teen Titans is really, really Now. Maybe that's "blaaaaow!" as in "whoah, man, blaaaaow!"

Holy Hippies, Batman.

In more than one of these stories, Batman is recruited as an emissary between the establishment and "young dissidents." ("They'll listen to you, Batman!") This particular story recalls the movie Wild in the Streets, something also recalled more recently in LXG Century: 1969 (or perhaps it was Black Dossier, I forget.) I think it's safe to say no one involved in the making of the movie would have predicted it would cast even a flicker of a shadow much less such a long-lived one in the comics world.

Next up:

Hint:

it's Plastic Man.

Sgt. Rock, an issue where people seem to be going out of their way to not say "Batman."

The Phantom Stranger:

Also included in this issue: a reprint of the character's first appearance.

 

And the Flash in a story that put me in mind of Evil Dead 2:

THAT THING IN THE CELLAR... IS NOT MY MOTHER!

It all leads to what was undoubtedly meant as a watershed moment for Bruce Wayne:

The Batman's self-diagnosis turns out to be a bit... optimistic.

BATMAN

(Issues 228 - 237)

Writers: Mike Friedrich, Robert Kanigher, Denny O'Neil, Frank Robbins.
Artists: Neal Adams, Irv Novick, Frank Robbins

 The January and July issues were giant-sized all-reprint issues -

and a few issues appear to have missed shipping. As a result, Batman only published six issues with new stories in 1971. Most of which fall under one of the umbrellas (i.e. the generation gap / supernatural self-contained mysteries.)

"Like -- we give him the business together!" is a line for the ages.

The generation gap is explored (about as convincingly as it is the Beach Boys' "Student Demonstration Time," also released in 1971) in Robin's back-up stories.

And some more supernatural ambiance:

One tale notable for its visual confusion:

The Two-Face tale (issue #234) is probably the best of the lot, and while well before my time it has the distinction of being the first (thanks to that Greatest Batman Stories TPB) Two-Face tale I ever read.

DETECTIVE COMICS

(issues 407 - 418)

Writers: Frank Robbins, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Denny O'Neil.
Artists: Neal Adams, Gil Kane, Bob Brown, Don Heck, Irv Novick

Again, pretty much an even split between haunted houses -

 

and the hippie thing.

Sometimes both at the same time.

Issue #416 features the return of Man-Bat.

While I'm still not the biggest fan of the character, I enjoyed this description (again from The Comic Book Heroes:)

"Man-Bat was much like Ditko and Lee's The Lizard, but he was something new to DC: a morally ambivalent foe. And he provided a very different view of the effects of science from the Schwartz science-heroes of the past."

Speaking of science-heroes from DC's past, among the back-ups is this gem from the Silver Age, begging for a big-screen debut:

Private Eyes of Venus (1957)

The lead stories are unexpectedly outdone by the Batgirl back-ups, which I found pretty zany and with some great art by Don Heck. Batgirl wrangles with Phantom Bullfighters, gets involved in a Zoolander-esque models-as-terrorists conspiracy, and best of all, a Haunted Wigs mystery (shades of Halloween III.)

The fists take the day.

 Batgirl also deals with the growing divide between straight and radical / student and establishment:

He's never come out and said so, but I'd like to think this storyline was what Ice T was on about.

AND THE BEST BATMAN STORY 

OF 1971 WAS...

 

More my favorite, I guess, not "best." A less eccentric choice would be either of the Ra's Al Ghul tales, or the Two-Face one, or Detective Comics 410 where Batman saves the flipper-kid (an issue with intense and atmospheric art, to be sure.) But for my money, it's this team-up with the Phantom Stranger from The Brave and the Bold.

This is the first Batman story illustrated by Jim Aparo but by no means the last. We'll be seeing quite a bit more of him in the posts to come.

The story is more than a little reminiscent of the previous year's The Demon of Gothos Mansion, but who cares?

"Hmmm... That's not the wallet inspector..."

The plot has a lot of strange implications. First, we learn that Batman is godfather to a previously-unknown old friend's young boy. Next, the Batman learns there's something... different about his godson.

 

(This sure happens to Batman a lot.)

 

Things escalate.

SATAN.

To get to the bottom of things, Batman does what anyone would do: he kidnaps his godson and subjects him to three days of horrifying psychological torment.

Worst. Godfather. Ever.

Whereupon he discovers his old friend actually had twins, and it's the other brother who's the emissary of Satan. A few punches to the jaw and swirling mists and apparitions later, case closed. Sorry, kid. Good luck with the PTSD.

All in all, an entertaining if fairly run-of-the-mill (but what a mill!) year for the Batman and friends.