The Thought Balloon - Read Up On Comics

Batman #343
"A Dagger so Deadly..."
(19 pages)

Detective Comics #510
"Head-Hunt by a Mad Hatter"
(19 pages)

Brave & the Bold #182
"Interlude on Earth-Two"
(19 pages)

World's Finest #275
"Summer Nights Winter Days!"
(14 pages)

Cover - Gene Colan,
Dick Giordano
Story - Gerry Conway
Art - Gene Colan
Inks - Klaus Janson
Colours - Adrienne Roy
Lettering - John Costanza
Editor - Dick Giordano

Backup: Robin

Cover - Gene Colan,
Dick Giordano
Story - Gerry Conway
Art - Gene Colan
Inks - Klaus Janson
Colours - Klaus Janson
Lettering - Ben Oda
Editor - Dick Giordano

Backup: Batgirl

Cover - Jim Aparo
Story - Alan Brennert
Art - Jim Aparo
Inks - Jim Aparo
Colours - Carl Gafford
Lettering - Jim Aparo
Editor - Dick Giordano

Backup: Nemesis

Cover - Ross Andru,
Dick Giordano
Story - Paul Kupperberg
Art - Rich Buckler
Inks - Frank McLaughlin
Colours - Michele Wolfman
Lettering - John Costanza
Editor - Len Wein

Dollar Comic, 52 pgs, 5 features

However, whilst all of these changes in one way or another reflected the reality of individuals as well as fictional characters and publication anniversaries coming and going, one change instituted by DC Comics in 1982 clearly fell outside of what could be labelled the normal way of things with any comic book publisher.

Following a couple of issues of Detective Comics and Batman which carried over subplots from one title to the other and which featured a growing number of editorial references to events which featured in the other title, DC was ready to turn Detective Comics and Batman into virtually one comic book by running complete storylines from one title into the other.

This experiment was kicked off right at the start of 1982 in Batman #345 (cover date March 1982), which ran the first part of a story featuring the reappearance of Batman's very first true villain, Doctor Death, which then wrapped up in Detective Comics #512, available that same month but two weeks later.

This schedule was ran throughout 1982 with the exception of May and November, when both Detective Comics #514 / Batman #347 and then later on Detective Comics #520 / Batman #353 carried stand-alone stories; the one month break for the May publication slot gave DC some time to analyze the first wave of reader and sales feedbacks before continuing with this formula.

This procedure effectively created a single and fortnightly Batman book, with Batman on sale on the second Wednesday of a month and Detective Comics on the fourth. Whilst this running in parallel did not ultimately require readers to buy both books (there would usually be a brief recap of what had happened in the preceding issue of the other title), reading only one of the two titles could make the storyline become slightly "jumpy" at times. Overall, however, DC - and above all writer Gerry Conway - did an excellent job on what was most certainly not an easy project.

In-house ad from Detective Comics #515

Conway was the writer's helm throughout the year, scripting all issues of Batman and Detective Comics with the sole exception of the May 1982 output when Len Wein (Detective Comics #514) and Robin Snyder (Batman #347) pitched in as Batman editor Dick Giordano assessed readers' first (and mostly positive) reactions to the ongoing title crossovers and the project took a one issue break.

Artwork throughout 1982 mostly switched between Don Newton and Gene Colan on both Batman and Detective Comics, with Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Trevor von Eden and veteran penciller Irv Novick all in charge of one issue each.

The villains featured in 1982 included a few classics (the Joker, Two-Face, the Mad Hatter and Professor Hugo Strange), some new takes on very early Batman antagonists (Doctor Death, the Monk, and Deadshot) as well as some B list villains such as Catman, along with a few new introductions such as Mirage. Guest star appearances included the Human Target, Dr Thirteen and, last but not least, Catwoman.

Sales for the two Batman flagship titles had taken the same downward route since 1970 as most other comic books, regardless of publisher and feature character. According to the statement of ownership circulation report, Batman sold an average of 110,994 copies and Detective Comics 85,049 copies a month in 1982.

In spite of some ups and downs over the years, it was the continuation of an ongoing downward spiral - however, sales would shoot up in the late 1980s due to the Batman motion pictures.

As pointed out, the Darknight Detective not only appeared in Batman and Detective Comics but also in his own monthly team-up title Brave and the Bold as well as the (also monthly) Batman/Superman crossover title World's Finest throughout 1982. Also a member of the Justice League, Batman's appearances in that title were limited to cameo appearances throughout 1982.

Other things going on at DC in 1982: an in-house ad featured in Detective Comics #518

JANUARY 1982

Best of DC #20

Three years earlier, in 1979, DC Comics had made another attempt at compensating falling sales in their traditional market outlets (basically newsagents and small stores which carried spinner racks) by getting their comics into supermarkets. Throughout the 1970s DC, along with other major comic book publishers, sought to tap into this lucrative market with comicpacks, i.e. sealed plastic bags which contained three or two comic books, and that formula had proven very successful for some years.

But now more and more stores moved magazines to the checkout lines, and if DC wanted to stay in this market segment, they had to come up with a smaller physical size of their product. The answer to this requirement was the Digest, pioneered for US comic books by Gold Key in the 1960s but used widely in Europe for comic book content since the 1950s.

"The format was made popular by the Reader's Digest, which first appeared in February 1922, though at that time the word "digest" meant that the magazine was presenting a selection of material from a wide range of other sources and thus making it "digestible" to the reader. The word referred to the content, not the size, but that original meaning has long since been superseded." (Clute & Langford, 2015)

Usually measuring approximately 17 cm × 10 cm (6-3/4 x 4 inches) the format was made popular by (and is associated most with) Archie Comics.

DC launched two lines of initially bi-monthly and later monthly "blue ribbon" digests in 1979, Best of DC Digest and DC Special Digest, the second of which also carried issues with reprint material from War or Horror titles. Both carried a "blue ribbon" attached to the DC bullet logo on their covers and offered readers 100 pages priced at 95¢ (which would increase to $1.25 later in the year 1982).

Best of DC #20 (cover by Ross Andru & Dick Giordano) featured the following reprints from World's Finest:
- "Vengeance of the Tomb-Thing" from World's Finest Comics #202 by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin & Joe Giella (1971)
- "A Matter of Light and Death" from World's Finest Comics #207 by Len Wein, Dick Dillin & Joe Giella (1971)
- "Fugitive From the Stars" from World's Finest Comics #211 by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin & Joe Giella (1972)
- "Peril of the Planet Smashers" from World's Finest Comics #208 by Len Wein, Dick Dillin & Joe Giella (1971)

In-house ad featured in Detective Comics #510

FEBRUARY 1982

In-house ad featured in Detective Comics #511

MARCH 1982

Best of DC #22

"Christmas with the Super-Heroes"

- "The Seal Men's War on Santa Claus" by Michael Fleisher, Jack Kirby & Mike Royer
from Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2 (1978)
- "Robin's (Very) White Christmas!" by Bob Rozakis, Jose Delbo & Vince Colletta
from Batman Family #4 (1976)
- "The TT's Swingin' Christmas Carol!" by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy
from Teen Titans #13 (1968)
- "Merry Christmas" by Denny O'Neil, Irv Novick and Dick Giordano
from Batman #247 (1973)
- "Freddy Freeman's Christmas!"
from Captain Marvel Jr. #46 (1947)
- "A Christmas Peril!" by Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson
from Batman #27 (1945)
- "The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus!" by Len Wein, Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano
from JLA #110 (1974)

Cover: Rick Buckler & Dick Giordano

APRIL 1982

Best of DC #23

"Year's Best Comic Stories"

All 1981 reprints

- Detective Comics starring Batman: "To Kill a Legend" by Alan Brennert, Dick Giordano, & Adrienne Roy
- World's Finest Comics starring Shazam: "Sivana's Nobel" by E. Nelson Bridwell, Don Newton & Dan Adkins
- New Teen Titans: "A Day in the Lives" by Marv Wolfman, George Perez & Romeo Tanghal
- House of Mystery: "Piper at the Gates of Hell" by J.M. DeMatteiis, Dan Spiegle & John Costanza
- Tales of the Green Lantern Corps: "The Triumph" by Len Wein, Mike W. Barr, Joe Stanton & Frank McLaughlin
- DC Comics Presents: "Whatever Happened to the Crimson Avenger?" by Len Wein, Alex Saviuk & Dennis Jensen
- Detective Comics presents Tales of Gotham City: "The Pursuit of Joy" by Mike W. Barr & Dan Spiegle
- Action Comics featuring Superman: "The Dying Day of Lois and Lana" by Cary Bates, Curt Swan & F. Chiaramonte

Cover by George Perez & Dick Giordano
priced at $1.25 rather than the usual 95¢

MAY 1982

JUNE 1982

JULY 1982

Best of DC #26

"The Brave and the Bold"

- "Batman Presents the Brave and the Bold" by Jim Aparo, Mike W. Barr, Trevor von Eeden & Larry Mahlstedt
- Batman and Deadman in "You Can't Hide From a Deadman" by Bob Haney & Neal Adams (1969)
- Robin Hood in "Three Arrows Against Doom" by Russ Heath (1957)
- Suicide Squad in "Menace of the Mirage People" by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru & Mike Esposito (1961)
- Viking Prince in "Threat of the Ice King" by Bob Kanigher & Joe Kubert (1958)
- Silent Knight in "The Sword in the Lake" by Bob Kanigher and Irv Novick (1959)
- Cave Carson in "Secret Beneath the Earth" by Bruno Premiani. Christie Madison (1960)

Cover by Jim Aparo

AUGUST 1982

SEPTEMBER 1982

OCTOBER 1982

Batman Annual #8
"The Messiah of the Crimson Sun"
(41 pages)

Cover - Trevor von Eeden
Story - Mike W. Barr
Art - Trevor von Eeden
Inks -Trevor von Eeden
Colours - Lynn Varley
Lettering - John Costanza
Editor - Dick Giordano

On sale 22 June 1982
Originally launched in 1961 the previous annual (#7) was published in Summer 1964
The next Annual would not be published until 1985
The last Batman Annual to date (#28) was published in February 2011

NOVEMBER 1982

Best of DC #30

"Detective Comics"

- "The Stage is Set...for Murder!" by Denny O'Neil, Irv Novick & Dick Giordano from Detective Comics #425 (1972)
- "The Assassin-Express Contract!" by Len Wein, C. Infantino & D. Giordano from Action Comics #419 (1972)
- "The Magical Mystery Mirror" by Mike Barr & Ernie Chan from Detective Comics #444 (1975)
- "The Riddle of the Unseen Man!" drawn by Ruben Moreira from Detective Comics #201 (1953)
- "A Burial for Batgirl!" by Denny O'Neil, Gil Kane & Vince Colletta from Detective Comics #400 (1970)
- "Midnight is the Dying Hour!" by Denny O'Neil, Gil Kane & Vince Colletta from Detective Comics #401 (1970)
- "Three Feats of Peril!" drawn by Leonard Starr from Detective Comics #209 (1954)
- "The Case of the Dead-on Target!" by Frank Robbins from Detective Comics #435 (1973)
- "The Man with 20 Lives" by Jack Miller & Joe Certa from Detective Comics #227 (1956)
- "The Ocean Pest!" by Otto Binder & Joe Certa from Detective Comics #222 (1955)
- "Wanted for Murder One, the Batman" by Denny O'Neil, Irv Novick & Dick Giordano from Batman #225 (1970)

Cover by Jim Aparo

DECEMBER 1982

Some have dubbed Gerry Conway's combined plotlines and stories in Batman and Detective Comics all throughout 1982 the "Marvelization" of the Batman Universe, which in terms of handling continuity certainly was the case. And readers of DC comics got even more of the "Marvel treatment" of their favourite characters in that year.

Marvel and DC Comics had first collaborated on a joint project involving superhero characters from both their universes in January 1976 with the much acclaimed Superman vs The Amazing Spider-Man, and a similarly high-profile joint venture hit the newsstands in early 1982 when Marvel and DC had Chris Claremont’s Uncanny X-Men team up with Marv Wolfman’s New Teen Titans - two of the most popular titles of the early 1980s with obvious similarities between them.

Officially titled Marvel and DC Present Featuring The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans #1, it was written by Chris Claremont, pencilled by Walt Simonson and inked by Terry Austin, making it more of a Marvel effort.

From the corridors of the DC Comics offices, the following comic titles debuted with a 1982 cover date: Arion Lord of Atlantis, Atari Force, Camelot 3000, Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew, Firestorm (Vol 2), Masters of the Universe, Night Force (reuniting Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan), Phantom Zone, Supergirl (Vol 2), Swamp Thing (Vol 2), Swordquest and Tales of the New Teen Titans.

Of these, Phantom Zone, Swordquest and Tales of the New Teen Titans were also cancelled in 1982, the very same year they were launched, along with the following, sometimes long-standing and classic DC titles: Charlton Bullseye (Vol 2), Fightin' 5, Ghosts, Secrets of Haunted House, Superman Family, Unexpected and Unknown Soldier.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CLUTE John & David LANGFORD (eds) (2015) "Digest", in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

BATMAN and all related elements are the property of DC Comics, Inc. TM and © DC Comics, Inc.,
a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.

The illustrations presented here are copyright material. Their reproduction for the review and research purposes of this website is considered fair use as set out by the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. par. 107.

uploaded to the web 10 May 2018