Fri 20 Oct 2023
Comic Book Stories I’m Reading: BATMAN AND ROBIN “The Riddler.â€
Posted by Steve under Comic Books I'm Reading[8] Comments
BATMAN AND ROBIN “The Riddler.†First published in Detective Comics #140, October 1948. Facsimile edition: DC Comics, December 2023. Writer: Bill Finger. Penciler: Dick Sprang.
I don’t know how many facsimile editions such as this that DC Comics has published – and if anyone can tell me where/how to find out, I’d really like to know – but let me tell you right now and up front, I think it’s a great idea, and I hope they’re making a lot of money at it.
As far as I can tell, there’s only a couple of tiny places in the reprint edition of Detective Comics #140 differs from the original. One’s the price, as indicated on the front cover. In 1948, it was Ten Cents. Here and now in 2023, it’s $4.99. Taking inflation into account, I think today’s price is an out-and-out bargain.
The other difference is the indicia – the small fine print at the bottom of the first page that describes the publishing info for the comic, all nicely updated for the newer version. The paper and coloring seems nicer too, but the only way to be certain about that is to go back to 1948 and buy a copy fresh off the newsstand, You’d need a time travel machine to start with, and then a slim Mercury (?) dime. (I’ll furnish the dime.)
The reason for reprinting this particular issue didn’t make any big impression at the time, I’m sure, but it was the very first appearance of one of Batman’s favorite longstanding villains – well, a favorite of Batman’s fans, but perhaps not Batman himself – the Riddler. The latter’s real name was Edward Nigma (I’ll let you work that one out for yourself), and as this story relates it, the soon-to-be villain grew up as a schoolboy who loved puzzles of all kinds – well, so did I, but young Nigma cheated at doing them.
When older, he became one of those guys who constantly challenged Batman to decipher a riddle or rebus which when unclued would tell the latter where and when the former’s next robbery or holdup would take place.
All of the Riddler’s storylines were clever and a lot of fun to read. The artwork is still cartoony – but not overpoweringly so. I would like to think that both scriptwriter Bill Finger and artist Dick Sprang are in a comic book Hall of Fame. If not, they should be.
Other stories in this issue:
Robotman: “Robotman’s Double Trouble”
Slam Bradley: “Dog for a Day”
Boy Commandos: “The Dictator from Alcatraz”
October 20th, 2023 at 7:54 pm
More info on DC facsimile editions here:
https://www.dc.com/search?q=facsimile
October 20th, 2023 at 8:46 pm
Thanks for the link, Jee Jay, but if I’m reading it right, most if not all of these are from 2020. I’m also disappointed that so few are from the “Golden Age” of comics. Those from the 50s annd 60s and later I’ve already owned at one time or another (though I don’t any more).
October 20th, 2023 at 9:09 pm
Here’s a site with listings that appears to be complete. Some I’d be interested in obtaining, purely to read. Those from the early 40s and before are too crude, those from the 50s and later I’ve already owned and can easily pass on.
https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Facsimile_Edition_Vol_1
Facsimile Edition: Batman #232 (first issue)
Facsimile Edition: House of Secrets #92
Facsimile Edition: Batman #181
Facsimile Edition: Batman #251
Facsimile Edition: Green Lantern (Volume 2) #85
Facsimile Edition: Crisis on Infinite Earths #8
Facsimile Edition: Detective Comics #359
Facsimile Edition: Green Lantern (Volume 2) #1
Facsimile Edition: The Flash #123
Facsimile Edition: Mystery in Space #75
Facsimile Edition: Detective Comics #38
Facsimile Edition: The Brave and the Bold #28
Facsimile Edition: DC Super-Stars #17
Facsimile Edition: Detective Comics #475
Facsimile Edition: Wonder Woman (Volume 2) #1
Facsimile Edition: The Sandman (Volume 2) #1
Facsimile Edition: Detective Comics #27
Facsimile Edition: Action Comics #1
Facsimile Edition: Superman #1
Facsimile Edition: The Marvel Family #1
Facsimile Edition: Wonder Woman #204
Facsimile Edition: Static #1
Facsimile Edition: Whiz Comics #2
Facsimile Edition: Batman #357
Facsimile Edition: Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1
Facsimile Edition: My Greatest Adventure #80
Facsimile Edition: The Omega Men #3
Facsimile Edition: Batman #1
Facsimile Edition: Detective Comics #58
Facsimile Edition: The Flash #105
Facsimile Edition: Detective Comics #140
October 21st, 2023 at 12:31 am
Slam Bradley was a private eye created by Siegel and Shuster before some guy in a red cape and blue long johns.
Batman in the Golden Age took one note from Dick Tracy, there was quite a lpt of detection, some scientific. Some of the Riddler’s Riddles over the series were fairly clever.
October 21st, 2023 at 1:02 am
Clever, yes. Very much so. From this issue, the clue, once deciphered, sends Batman to a banquet. Wrong. The robbery was being carried out by flooding a bank with water.
Bank-wet.
Well, I liked it.
October 21st, 2023 at 2:01 am
I thought I was going to like the Slam Bradley story in this issue more than I did. To help catch a gang of crooks in this one, Bradley’s sidekick Shorty Morgan dresses up in a dog suit. Worse, the gang of crooks is so dumb they don’t catch on. A perfect tale for someone the age i was in 1948, but I was still reading Felix the Cat.
October 21st, 2023 at 3:51 pm
The San Diego Comic-con instituted The Bill Finger Award some years ago to honor forgotten or under appreciated writers both living and dead. I’m not sure if there is a like award for artists
October 21st, 2023 at 4:51 pm
Thanks, Brian, and off to Google. Here’s a list of recipients:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Finger_Award_for_Excellence_in_Comic_Book_Writing
More Googling followed, and I came up with a list of artists in what’s called the Will Eisner Hall of Fame.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Will_Eisner_Award_Hall_of_Fame_inductees
And yes, Dick Sprang is on the list.