Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes Volume 1 Batman

402 Pages·2016·38.56 MB·English

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COMIC BOOK HEROES

VOLUME

c

I

11.4. 1�lel

Assisted by JAN E T E.

er

LIN COLN

©NPP 1976

MACMILLAN PUBLISHING CO., INC.

NE W

COLLIER

YORK

MACMILLAN

LONDON

PUBLISHERS
7710279

BATMAN is a registered trademark of
National Periodical Publications, Inc.

Copyright © 1976 by Michael L Fleisher
Illustrations identified © NPP are copyrighted by National Periodical Publications. Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying. recording or by any information storage and reo
trieval system, without permission in writing from the
Publisher.

Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
866 Third Avenue, New York, N.Y.
Collier Macmillan Canada, Ltd.

10022

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Fleisher, Michael L.
Encyclopedia of comic book heroes.

CONTENTS: v. 1. Batman.
\. Comic books. strips, etc. - United States ­
Dictionaries. I. Title.
7S·19237
74I.S'909
PN672S.FS
ISBN O·02·S387()()·6

First Printing 1976

Printed in the United States of America
TO

PREAM
The Encyclopedia 0/ Comic Book Heroes began
something of a lark, and ended as a labor of love.

as

In early 1969, I was working as a writer/editor for
the Encyclopaedia Britannica, writing entries for an
encyclopedia that the company intended to market

orcrseas. One afternoon, as a humorous way of relieving the ofllce tedium, one of the other writers composed
a short biography of Clark Kent written in the same
stuny, pedantic style that characterized the biographies
of real people in the encyclopedia we were working on.
"KENT, CLARK,'· it began. "United States journalist
who is secretly Superman . . . . "
As the bogus entry made its way around the room,
the editorial office exploded with laughter. People
laughed because, by using a serious, pseudoscholarly
style in connection with subject matter generally regarded as frivolous, the author had successfully satirized the pomposity of our encyclopedia.
But I saw the Clark Kent entry in a different light.
Already keenly interested in popular culture, I saw it as
treating the comic book mythos as other, more "respectable" bodies of mythic literature have traditionally been treated, as a serious intellectual subjecl. I also

saw that entry as a means of escape from my deadly
dull job at the Britannica.
"Hey! This is a terrific idea," I exclaimed aloud in the

midst of the merriment. "Somebody should do a whole
book of these."
That idea seemed so ridiculous seven years ago that
cI'eryone started laughing all over again, but I was
already out of the room, down the corridor, slamming
that Clark Kent article onto the office copy machine,
beginning to dream up the thousands of other articles I
would write to go along with it.
I should say here and now that I was neither a comic
book fan nor a comic book collector. I had not so much
as glanced sideways at a comic book since the wise old
age of founeen, when, in what seemed at the time a
decision born of maturity and sound judgment, I had
sold my entire collection to a junk lady on Third
Avenue for a penny a magazine.
Nevel"1heless, that night in 1969, using the Xeroxed

Clark Kent article as my inspiration and the classic
comic book stories ,·cprintcd in Jules Fein-er's Tile Great
Comic Book Heroes as sourcc material. I hammered out
a half dozen sample entries and a two-page proposal
for a one·volume encyclopedia of the comics. The
following afternoon, I showed it all to an acquaintance
in publishing, and within four hours he had called me
on the telephone to say that his people loved the idea
and that we had ourselves a deal.
Only then, after the commitment to write the book
had actually been made, did I even begin to ponder the

problem of how 1 was going to gain access to the many
old comics that would be necessary to my research.
Fortunately for me. the major comic book publishers

were all willing to give me access to their extensive files
of back issues. Later, a network of fans and collectors
would help me acquire the various issues published by
companies now defunct.
So it is that, one morning in March 1969, 1 walked

into the offices of National Periodical Publications, Inc.,
publishers of DC Comics, and was introduced 10 Gerda
Gallel. National's librarian, now, retired. Her ring of
keys jangling, Mrs. Gallel led me down a carpeted
executive corridor to the locked door of the DC Comics
Library. She knew that I intended to write a serious
reference guide to the literature of the great comic
book heroes, and she was proud that her precious
library was at last to be used for serious ,·esearch,
rather than merely by client businessmen seeking out
action pictures of super-heroes to laminate onto
T-shirts and beach blankets.
As she swung open the library door and flicked on
the light, I remember that I gasped a little. The library

was only a medium-sized room, but its walls were lined
with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves packed with neatly
bound volumes of back-issue comic books, thousands
upon thousands of them, two copies each of every
single comic book National Periodicals has ever published. I had never imagined there would be so many.
Mrs. Gallcl noticed my surprise, and her eyes twinkled with the slightly mischievous pleasure of a fabulously wealthy connoisseur showing an astounded
visitor through the exquisitely stocked wine cellar.
"You said you wanted to study all the heroes," she
smiled benignly, taking in the entire room with a
sweeping gesture of her arm. "We have dozens of them.
Whe,·e would you like to begin?"
I decided to begin with Batman, because Batman

had been my boyhood favorite. Between the ages of
eight and foul·teen 1 had been a comic book addict, and
from the moment I opened that first bound
Batman stories I knew I was hooked again, transported

despite my adulthood and education into an eerily
garish world of magic and enchantment. On that first
long day of "serious" research, J managed to take notes
on exactly one comic book.
Few fictional characters of any kind, let alone comic
book characters. have enjoyed the kind of hold over
their readers that Balman has exerted for nearly four
decades. His adventures are read by millions of young
people in every state of the United States and in thirtyfive foreign countries. Only one other character in the
history of comic books - Superman - has been published continuously for so long a period. More people

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x

have thrilled to the exploits of Batman than have ever
heard of Hamlet or seen a play by Shakespeare. He is
the world's [OI"cmost fictional detective after Sherlock
Holmes.
Yet the ad"cnturcs of Batman, and the vast populm"
literature of which they are a pari, arc .already all but
lost to us. Destroyed on a massive scale during the
paper drives of the 1940s - "Save your scrap to beat the
Jap!" admonished one of the popular patriotic slogans
appearing in the margins of many comics - and hysterically assailed during the 19505 as a root cause of juvenile delinquency, comic books have been almost universally derided as trash by adults and cherished only
by their children.
In the entire world, not one library, university, or
public or private institution of any kind has taken the
trouble to acquire and preserve a complete set of
Batman's adventurcs for postcrity. Nowhe,"c in the
world is thcm a single research facility where the
complete advcnlures of e\'en one major comic book
hero havc been safely preserved and made available for
study. Reasonable people may debate the valuc of the
comics as art or literalUre, but no one can deny that
they constitute the most widely read body of children's
litcraturc in the history of the world. Perhaps one day,
thcrc will be suflicient serious interest in the comics to
warrant their widesprcad distribution on microfilm to
librarics and universitics, but as of this wriling that day
scems a long way ofT.
The writing of this volumc required that Janel Lincoln and I havc access to a complete file of Batman's
adventures. Such a file is availablc in only onc placcthe corporate library at National Pcriodical Publications, Inc. - and it has been prescrvcd there, along
with complete files of the advcntures of National's
other comic book charactcrs. partially through the
forcsight of the company·s managemcnt, but mainly
th,·ough the efforts of one determined woman.
At the time this project began, Gerda Gallel had been
the guardian of the DC Comics archivcs for twclve
years. During the long years when the comics were
regarded as garbage even by most of their crcators,
when comic books and comic-book artwork were routinely destroycd and discarded by their publishers to
eliminate the expense of storing them, she fought, and
agitated, and cajoled to be allowed to maintain a real
library at National, to be provided with bookshelvcs
and storage space, and to be permilled to lake occasional timc ofT from hcr full-time job as the company
proofreader in order to keep and maintain the library
on her own.

PREI'ACE

Janet Lincoln and I spcnt scven full years working on
The Encyclopedia 0/ Comic Book Heroes. Tn that time,
we e,xamined more than 10,000 comic book stories and
filled approximately 20,000 5" X 8" index cards with

detailed notes on what wc had rcad,
As the years passed, my original one-volume project
expanded to encompass eight volumes, consuming in
the process thirty-one rcams of typing paper and producing, in the end, a completed typewritten manuscript
of morc than two million words. As the project grew in
scope, my original publisher lost interest and eventually withdrew, rind I am deeply grateful that the
Macmillan Publishing Company has taken an interest
in what, from a commercial standpoint, can only be
regarded as a costly and risky project.
The Ba/1/"'" encyclopedia that you hold in your
hands is the first volume of the eight-volume "labor of
love" that J spoke of in my opening sentencc, Other
encyclopedias dealing with literary material, such as
encyclopcdias of Greek mythology or English literature, are able to refer thcir ,·cadcrs to the literature
itself, but, with the exception of the occasional Batman
stories reprintcd in hardcovcr volumes, or the Batman
comics still surviving in valuable private collections - a
copy of Detective Comics No. 27, fOl· examplc, the first
comic book in which Batman ever appeared, currently
brings a price of upwards of 1 ,500 on the collcctors'
market - the stories referred to in this volume arc not
available for cxamination,
For that rcason, the matcrial dealt with in this book
has been covered in excruciating detail, retaining generous portions of thc original dialogue and textual
narrative and em l Jloying a style designed to present the
material clearly while evoking what Jules Fcifl"er has
tcrmed the "florid pre-Iitcracy" of the comics.
As yOll browsc through the pages of this volume,
renewing your acquaintance with such diabolical
masters and mistresses of villainy as the Joker. the
Penguin, and the Calwoman - and perhaps meeting for
thc first time such crafty lesser lights as the Thinker, an
"arch criminal. whose wasted body houses a restless,
writhing brain'· - I hope you too find yourself transported into that world of magic and enchantment I
spoke of eadier. And whether you're a serious student
of sociology or popular culture - or just a stone Balmaniac with the smell of four-color ink in your nostrils
and bits of cheap pulp paper floating like flotsam in
your blood - I hope you havc a real good time there.

New York City, 1976

MICIMEL L. FLI:'ISI-IEI�
Aelm

The author would like to extend his heartfelt thanks to
the management and staff of National Periodical Publications, Inc., publishers of DC Comics, without whose
generous cooperation this volume could not have been
written. In particular, the author would like to thank:
Carmine Infantino, Publisher, for generously extending the hospitality of his organization to the author and
his assistant throughout the seven-year-Iang period
during which The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes
was being researched and written.
Sol Harrison, Vice President-Director of Operations,
for his generous advice, assistance, and support
throughout the project, particularly in connection with
the accumulation and reproduction of illustrative
material.
Bernard Kashdan, Vice President-Business Manager,
for generously granting permission for the use of the
comic book i1lustrations reproduced in this volume.
Gerda Gatte!. Librarian (ret.), whose devotion to the
DC Comics Library, for nearly a quarter century, made
possible the research on which this encyclopedia is
based. For this devotion, and for the many personal
kindnesses extended to the author and his assistant
during the period of their research, the author would
like to extend his special thanks.
Joe Kubert, Editor, and Denny O'Neil, Editor, for
their advice and encouragement.
Joe Orlando, Editor, for his advice and encouragement, and for his generosity in sharing many insights
born of a lifetime in comics.
Julius Schwartz, Editor, for generously sharing his
many insights and anecdotes.
E. Nelson Bridwell, Associate Editor, for sharing with
the author the broad reach of his knowledge.
Milton Snapinn, Head, Export Department, for his
assistance in assembling the back-issue negatives used
to produce many of the illustrations in this volume.
Lois Barker, Export Department, for her ready,
affectionate wit, and for her assistance in assembling
the back-issue negatives used to produce many of the
illustrations in this volume.
Jack Adler, Production Manager, for generously
using his technical expertise to review the illustrations
in this volume to ensure their suitability for reproduction.
Wayne Seelal, Photographer, for giving generously of
his time and technical knowhow to help photograph
the comic book illustrations reproduced in this volume.
Joe Lederici, Morris Waldinger, and Debra Ulrich of
the Production Department, for advising the author in
connection with the retouching of the comic book
illustrations reproduced in this volume.
The author would also like to extend his thanks to the

following individuals, all of whom made significant
contributions toward the preparation of this volume:
Neal Adams, Dick Giordano, and Frank McLaughlin,
artists, and Mike Nolan, comic book fan, collector, and
compiler of comic book indexes, for their encouragement and support, and for their help in pUlling the
author in contact with other individuals who have
made contributions toward the preparation of this
volume.
Murphy Anderson, artist, for his encouragement and
support, for giving generously of his time to retouch
some of the comic book illustrations reproduced in this
volume, and for his generous loan of rare comic books
from his personal collection.
Jerry and Jean Bails, scholars, comic book collectors,
and publishers of The Who's Wllo of American Comic
Books and other publications; Otto Binder, writer; and
Mike Friedrich, writer and comic book publisher, for
their encouragement and support.
Linda Brown, far her generous help in preparing for
publication many of the comic book illustrations reproduced in this volume.
Dagne Crowley, Ethan Roberts, Donald A. Whyte.
and Len Wein, Editor, Magazine Management Company, Inc., Marvel Comics Group, for their generous
loan of rare comic books from their personal coHections.
Carol Fein, formerly secretary to the publisher of
National Periodical Publications, Inc., for the numerous
kindnesses extended to the author and his assistant
during the period of their research.
Mark Hanerfeld, comic book coHectar and former
publisher of The Comic Reader; Don and Margaret
Thompson, authors, comic book collectors, and publishers of Newfangles and other publications; and
Marvin Wolfman, Editor, Magazine Management Company, Inc., Marvel Comics Group, for their encouragement and support, and for their generous loan of rare
comic books from their personal collections.
Earl Hokens, photographer, for giving generously of
his time and technical knowhow to help photograph
the comic book illustrations reproduced in this volume.
Mrs. Everett Larson, Acting Head, Reference Section,
the Library of Congress, for giving unstintingly of her
time to help the author and his assistant locate rare
comic books in the library's archives.
Alan Light, publisher of The Buyer's Guide for Comic
Fandom and other publications, for generously making
space in The Buyer's Guide available to the author to
help him in locating the owners of rare comic book
materials necessary to his research.
William Morse, proprietor of the Adventure Bound
Bookstore, and Phil Seuling, chairman of the New York

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Comic Art Convention and proprietor of Phil Seuling's
Comic Sales. for their generous Joan of rare comic
books from their respective inventories.
Byron Preiss, for his help in acquiring space in comic
book fan publications in order to help the author locate
the owners of rare comic book materials necessary to
his research.
Keithe A. Sales, for giving generously of his time and
expertise to help identify the various aircraft employed
by Batman.
Roy Thomas, Editor, Magazine Management Company, Inc., Marvel Comics Group, and Jean Thomas for
their advice, encouragement, and numerous personal

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

kindnesses, including the generous loan of rare comic
books from their personal collection.
Glynis Wein, Head, Coloring Department. Magazine
Management Company, Inc.. Marvel Comics Group. for
advising the author in connection with the retouching
of the comic book illustrations reproduced in this
volume.
Marc Weinberger. for his friendship. encouragement.
advice. and unstinting support.
In addition, the author would also like to acknowledge all of the gifted men and women who, by their
work in the comics, have enriched the lives of all of us.
pages - it contains detailed accounts of more than

1,000 separate adventures. In add ition, the encyclopedia contains 220 illustrations culled directly from the
comics, including pictures of Batman and Rob in, their

friends and adversaries, elements of their famous
crime-fighting arsenal, and charts and diagrams of such
dh·erse places and items of interest as the batcave, the
batplane, and the bal-signal.
The entries in the Balman encyclopedia are based on

n\\' Tn se Tllis
The Batman encyclopedia is a comprehens ive encyclo­ manhunters as a "weird coin c idence" and citing in ­
stead such d iverse influences as Sherlock Holmes, the
Shadow, Doc Savage, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., and the
bat-costumed villain appearing in a 1926 film version of
Mary Roberts Rinehart's The Bat.
pedic chronicle of the comic book adventures of Batman for the first twenty-seven years of his ongoing
career. Comprised of more than 1,000 entries - assembled in a convenient A-Z format and ranging in length
from a few short l ines to more than 100 printed Batman's alter ego, millionaire socialite Bruce
Wayne, although described in the com ic books as
having been named after his distant cousin Bruce N.
Wayne, was actually named by h is creators after two
historical figures, the fourteenth-century Scot t ish King
Robert the Bruce. and the American Revolutionary War
general "Mad Anthony" Wayne. Batman's young
crime-fight ing ally,Rob in, described in the comic books
as having been named after Rob in Hood and the rob in
redbreast, was actually named after Jerry Robinson, an
early Batman artist.

detailed notes taken by the author and his assistant on
each of the comic books containing Batman's adventures. The entries contain a wealth of detail on the plot
of each adventure, the weapons and equipment employed by Batman and his adversaries, the costumes
worn by the many costumed characters, the major
relationships and themes that emerge from Batman's
collected advenlures, and on every other topic of interest to followers of Batman.
o reference work can serve as a substitute for its
subject, but a conscient ious e ffort has been made to
organize and record within this volume data perta ining
every
to
aspect of Batman's life and adventures.
In study ing the comic books cOnlaining Batman's
advenlures and in writing the enlries in this encyclopedia, the author and his assistant made use of no
outside sources whatever. Only the direct, firsthand
evidence of the comic books themselves was used.
Accordingly, the Bamtan. encyclopedia is a detailed

refe rence guide only to the comic book adventures of
Batman. No information has been recorded here conce rning the appearance of Batman in movies, on tele\"ision, or as a newspaper com ic strip. Indeed, it is in
com c i books that the character originated, and there
that he has achieved his greatest renown.
Similarly, this book contains no informat ion concerning either the literary and artistic genesis of the
character or the various wr iters and artists who have,
since 1939, been creat ively responsible for shaping his

destiny. Such a history deserves to be written, but when
it is, it will probably fill another volume as large as this
one. A few facts, however, bear mentioning:

To the literary historian looking back, Batman's
name and costume would seem to have been inspired

by the Black Bat, a vigilante hero of the pulp magazines
who debuted in a series of popular detective stor ies in
1934. Batman's creators, however, have denied this,

dismissing the similarities between the two bat-caped

Definitions:

Throughout the encycloped ia, the word "text" is used
to des ignate a single comic book story, and the word
"texts" is used to designate two or more comic book
stories, or, occasionally, as a synonym for "chron icles."
The word "chronicles" is used to designate all the texts
which, taken together, compr ise the Batman legend.
The word "chron iclers" is used to designate the artists
and writers who have been collectively responsible for
"recording" Batman's adventures for poster ity.
In comic books, the thoughts and dialogue of the
characters appear printed ins ide roughly ovular shapes
called "word balloons." Other writing, usually narrative
and frequently in the third person, appears at the
opening of each story and above or below some of the
pictures. In the Batman encyclopedia, these fragments

of narrative writing, known as captions, are referred to
as the "narrat ive text" or "textual narrative."

Treatmelll 0/ Events:

In the writ ing of this encyclopedia, certain conventions were employed. Batman and all the other characters appearing in the chron icles were treated as though
they were real people, and the adventures were treated
as though they were actual historical events. The comic
books conta ining the accounts of Batman's exploits
were studied as though they were historical documents
chronicling the lives and adventures of actual persons.
The legend of Batman is elaborate and complex.
Individual comic book sources sometimes differ in
recounting a g iven set of events, and sources can often
be found to support conflicting sets of "facts." In cases
where comic book sources were discrepant with regard
to particular details of Batman's life and career, an

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effort was made 10 reconcile the discrepancies in light
of the total data available. A fact attested to in several
comic books was accorded morc weight than a contradictory fact stated in only one comic book. A statement
made in a comic book concerning a contemporary
event in Batman's life was accorded more weight than
a contradictory statement concerning that same event
made years later in Ihe form of a recollection or flashback. Wherever strong suppon exists in the texts for
opposing sets of facts, the evidence for both is examined in detail in this encyclopedia.

Dati"g:

The events described in any given comic book were
assumed to have taken place on the issue dale of that
comic book, except in those cases where the events
were clearly described as past events or where internal
textual evidence argued persuasively for a different
dating, such as in the case of an adventure taking place
at Christmastime in an issue dated February.
Most comic books bear issue dates of either a single
month or a single season_ A very few have been issued
listing only the issue year. In the case of a comic book
issued on a bimonthly basis, the issue is given a bimonthly dating, e.g., November-December 1957. When
events are described in the encyclopedia as having
occurred in a two-month period, e.g., in NovemberDecember 1957, it is because those events were recorded in a bimonthly comic book.
When an event is described as having taken place
"in" a given month or season, it means that the event is
described in the texts as taking place in the present, i.e..
during the period of the issue date. When an event is
described as having taken place "by" a particular
month or season. it means that the event is described in
the texts as having taken place in the past, prior to the
period of the issue date.
If, for examp.le. the Joker is described as breaking jail
il1 November-December 1957, it means that the Joker is

shown or described as breaking jail in a comic book
dated November-December 1957. If, on the other hand,
the Joker is described as having broken jail by
November-December 1957, it means that the Joker is
shown or described, in a comic book dated NovemberDecember 1957, as having broken out of jail sometime
in the recent past.

Characters wit" Dllal lde",ities:

In the case of characters with dual identities - e.g.,
Bruce Wayne and Batman, or Dick Grayson and
Robin - actions and quotations are attributed in the
encyclopedia to one identity or the other depending on
which role the character is playing at the time he
performs the action being described or recites the
speech being quoted. Batman dressed in his crimefighting costume is referred to as Batman. Batman
dressed in his everyday auire is referred to as Bruce
Wayne. Similarly, Robin dressed in his crime-fighting

How To U S E T H I S Boo K

costume is referred to as Robin. Robin dressed in his
everyday attire is referred to as Dick Grayson.
When Robin is described as saying something and
Bruce Wayne as replying. it means that the text from
which the dialogue is being quoted depicts a costumed
Robin conversing with Bruce Wayne dressed in his
everyday attire. When Robin is described as saying
something and Batman as replying, it means that the
text from which the dialogue is being quoted depicts a
costumed Robin conversing with a costumed Batman.
The distinction is important. In the world of the
chronicles, the fact that Bruce Wayne is Batman is a
closely guarded secret. To their contemporaries. the
mi1lionaire and the crime-fighter are two different
persons. Accordingly, they are often referred to in this
encyclopedia as though they were two different people.
Batman is a member of the Bullet-Hole Club, for
example, but Bruce Wayne is not. Bruce Wayne is a
member of the posh Millionaire's Club, but Batman is
not. Batman always signs his name with his left hand,
while Bruce Wayne always signs with his right.

Entries:

The vast majority of the entries in the Barman
encyclopedia are articles about persons, but there are
also numerous entries on animals, extraterrestrial and
extradimensional aliens, distant planets and alien di·

mensions. aliases, and a host of other subjects.
At approximately 90,000 words, the article on Balman
is the longest and most exhaustive entry in the entire
encyclopedia. It contains a complete account of Bat·
man's origin, an exhaustive inventory of his crimefighting arsenal, a complete month-by-month chronology of the first twenty-seven years of his crime-fighting
career, comprehensive analyses of the major themes
and relationships of the chronicles, and many other
features.
As such, the Batman entry is the hub of this encyclopedia. By reading the month-by-month chronol.
ogy (see BATMAN [section L 2, Developments]) and then
following up the various cross-references, the reader
will eventually come upon every entry in the encyclopedia.
Any character appearing in two or more Batman
stories has been accorded an entry of his own, as have
all the famous historical personages - mcn and women
such as Jules Verne. Leonardo da Vinci, and Cleopatra - with whom Batman has formed associations
during his numerous journeys into the past.
Characters appearing in only one Batman story have
sometimes been accorded entries of their own and
sometimes not, depending on their importance within
the single story in which they appear, their significance
within the overall Batman legend, and other factors.
In general, one character from each story - usually
the villain, but not always - has been chosen to serve
as the vehicle for summarizing the plot of the story. The
roles played by such subsidiary characters as Batwoman, Alfred. and Police Commissioner Gordon are
summarized in their individual entries.