Batman 13 March 1960

[clavierankh]

I was reading Batman 130 March 1960. The first story was called Batman's Deadly Birthday. Gotham City is celebrating Batman's birthday, actually the anniversary of his first case. They are raising funds for charity but a mobster (never named) is stealing the funds. In one caper a ground sprinkling system is used to steal a silver calf full of money from the dairyman's association. Later Batman and Robin go on top of a giant cake made of steel and wood. The mobster sawed of the top and filled it with three feet of plaster to hold the duo while he co mits his next crime. Batman and Robin escape through a trap door in the cake and capture the mobster.

Apparently Batman's anniversary is a mash up of a couple of comic book stories.

[Jim Akin]

Very cool discovery!

[BiffPow]

I think I remember reading somewhere that they got some of the storyline ideas from Batman comics.

[Jim Akin]

I think I remember reading somewhere that they got some of the storyline ideas from Batman comics.

Many of the early episodes are lifted from comics. Though never acknowledged in the show credits, many of those comics sources are well documented. DC Comics even published a bunch of the source stories in a compilation titled Batman: The TV stories. The linked page lists the stories and the Batman episodes they inspired, but those don't include Batman #130 or Batman's Anniversary/A Riddling Controversy.

I thought I'd read all the comics stories that had inspired TV episodes, yet this is the first I've heard of a comics story with a giant booby trapped cake. It's fun to discover (rediscover?) a new comics-to-TV connection.

[JimmyVale]

I think I remember reading somewhere that they got some of the storyline ideas from Batman comics.

Many of the early episodes are lifted from comics. Though never acknowledged in the show credits, many of those comics sources are well documented. DC Comics even published a bunch of the source stories in a compilation titled Batman: The TV stories. The linked page lists the stories and the Batman episodes they inspired, but those don't include Batman #130 or Batman's Anniversary/A Riddling Controversy.

I thought I'd read all the comics stories that had inspired TV episodes, yet this is the first I've heard of a comics story with a giant booby trapped cake. It's fun to discover (rediscover?) a new comics-to-TV connection.

Thanks for the link!

I got on Amazon and ordered those stories!

[clavierankh]

Reading these old comics I've discovered stories that were either adapted to or adapted from episodes of The Adventures Of Superman.

In one story a man in a diving suit is shot in front of Commissioner Gordon's office. The investigation leads Batman to counterfeiters.
Clearly Perry White's Scoop.

In another Dick Grayson is house sitting for a friend while Bruce is out of town. He is visited by a lady in black in an effort to make people disbelieve him if sees a robbery to be pulled off nearby. This is Lady In Black in which a house sitting Olson is visited by a by a mysterious woman to discredit him.

Batman, Robin, and Batwoman break up a robbery ring that uses a night club and a mind reading act. On TAS this was the episode Man Who Could Read Minds.

Finally Batman captures a criminal and a doctor who try to convince other crooks that they can change there faces and fingerprints for a price. The Man In The Lead Mask.

Converted Batman stories makes some sense because so many TAS stories were about breaking up criminal rings and not stories that requires a lot of use of super powers that were running in Superman and Action at the time.

[Therin of Andor]

Hardcover of "Batman: the TV Stories", comics which inspired episodes of "Batman '66": featuring the Riddler, the Joker, Mad Hatter, Mr Zero (Mr Freeze in the TV series and beyond), the Penguin, Eivol Ekdal and Carnado (Zelda in the series), and "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!" (ie. Batgirl vs Killer Moth).


"Batman: The TV Stories" - and ad for "Batman meets Archie" by Ian McLean, on Flickr

Apart from "The TV Stories", which I found in hardcover (above), there is also a story called "The Menace of False Face" (in November 1967's "Batman" #198, a "80-page Giant") with the comment, "You've seen him battle Batman on TV! Now read the story of the first clash..." Quite an easy find on eBay. The story was originally in February 1958's "Batman #113", but that issue might be more rare?


False Face in the comics by Ian McLean, on Flickr

In 2020, DC Comics also released a facsimile edition of "Detective Comics" issue #359, "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!" This character was created just before Yvonne Craig began appearing as this new Batgirl in the 1960s "Batman" TV series, and there was some crosstalk by both sets of creators, IIRC. In both this comic and the presentation reel made to introduce Batgirl to TV executives, the villain was Killer Moth. (The facsimile comes complete with readers' letters, vintage ads and a backup story with The Elongated Man.)


Detective Comics Batgirl issue by Ian McLean, on Flickr

When Season Three was airing, Australia got a b/w comic strip of Batgirl's arrival in Gotham, serialised in one of our Sunday newspapers. Not quite the same as the comic.

[Larry A.]

Any chance of showing some of the Sunday newspaper strips, Ian?

[Therin of Andor]

Any chance of showing some of the Sunday newspaper strips, Ian?

Several samples are online:
https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypie ... ce=1651629

Australia didn't have colour in the comics section then, so ours were b/w. When the story finished, it was replaced by "Hägar the Horrible".

[Larry A.]

WOW, Ian,
That is one nice story. Have they been reissued in book form that I could buy?

Thanks!

[Therin of Andor]

That is one nice story. Have they been reissued in book form that I could buy?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_(comic_strip)

My first hardcover volume had to go straight into storage when it arrived - but a quick riffle at the time of purchase, I didn't find the Batgirl intro strips that I remembered, but supposedly everything is there. The confusion might be that I was only seeing the Sunday strips (in b/w) each week. Not so sure that I had access to the b/w dailies?

These are the hardcover reprints:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Batman-Silver ... 1613778457
("The first volume, reprinting all B&W dailies and color Sundays from 1966 and 1967, features an all-star list of Batman and Robin characters, including Catwoman, the Penguin, the Joker, Poison Ivy, and Batgirl!")

https://www.amazon.com.au/Batman-Dailie ... 1631401211
("Will Batman and Robin survive the double dealings of Madame Zodiac, not to mention the redoubtable Blue Max? If so, can the Caped Crusader then survive being trapped on an island with an atomic time bomb beneath him? Can his friend Superman save him when the Man of Steel might not be able to save himself? Can Aquaman come to rescue them both?") Volume 2 does have Batgirl in a story. The book has a few pages of examples of originally-intended facial likenesses (see below) for the strips published in Volume 1.

https://www.amazon.com.au/Batman-Silver ... 631402633/
("This final volume of the Silver Age Batman newspaper strips features a veritable Who's Who of Gotham City and beyond- Superman, Green Arrow, The Penguin, Joker, Mad Hatter, Riddler, Scarecrow, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Two-Face, Catwoman, Batgirl, Killer Moth, Poison Ivy, and Black Canary, plus the introduction of the mysterious Man-Bat!")

Update! I just found my Volume 2 and Volume 3 on hand. Volume 2 has examples of originally-intended facial likenesses for Alan Napier, Neil Hamilton and Stafford Repp. These frames had to be replaced at the approval stage for use in newspapers! As with other media, TV Alfred usually lost his glasses and TV Gordon gained some. And certain words had to change: "O'Hara" became "Chief", and "Bat-poles" became "Bat-ropes"?


Batgirl in the dailies and Sunday strips by Ian McLean, on Flickr


Batman Dailies and Sundays by Ian McLean, on Flickr


TV's Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara by Ian McLean, on Flickr


TV's Alfred Pennyworth by Ian McLean, on Flickr


Comic book Alfred and Robin by Ian McLean, on Flickr


TV's Batcave and Batpoles and Batmobile by Ian McLean, on Flickr

[Larry A.]

Thank You, Ian, my Friend! Cheers!