Detective Comics #104
- John S. Drew
- Jul 2, 2024
- 2 min read
August 22, 1945
"The Battle of the Billboards"
One of the things I love about reading these comics is how they manage to weave a story about things we take for granted now, but seemed fairly new and innovative back then. Remember all the stories of computers gone haywire when they came into prominence? Nowadays, doing such a story would seem silly, but the concerns of such devices were played upon in stories back then. The same holds true with this piece on the eye-catching billboards advertising virtually anything.
We open the story with a group of crooks finding it hard to make a buck. One of them is retiring as he inhereted his uncle's billboard business. But that gives another an idea as he makes his pitch to the heir, "Itchy".
They come up with the equivalent of a blackmailing racket, but in terms of the law, it really isn't. They post advertising about former criminals trying to go straight and then sell the space in order to have the information taken down. It's not a bad little racket and there's nothing Batman and Robin can do when they try to stop it.
The two decide to take the law into their own hands and wreck the signs that are put up in the days that follow. It is technically illegal, destruction of private property, but even the police aren't willing to do anything about it. Even when they are caught dead to rights by the men, Batman is able to get away with the help of the police.
With the empasse established, Batman decides to fight fire with fire. They place a giant billboard with the records of the three men for all to see. The people of Gotham basically run them out of town, with Batman giving them the warning to never return.
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