top of page

Detective Comics #60


December 24, 1941

"Case of the Costume-Clad Killers"


The Joker is back once again in a story with an interesting title for a Christmas Eve release as the United States has just entered World War II. Interesting history note, the White House Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony took place on the south lawn; it would be the last until 1945.


The story opens with a group of men dressed as soldiers getting into the U.S. Armory. They steal a cache of weapons which they use the next day to rob a bank dressed as police officers. They are sadistic as one of them appears to shoot a bank guard for no reason other than "This guy looked hungry, so I fed him some lead." Shortly after, they set fire to a rug factory and then dressed as firemen, they steal the most expensive ones, using the confusion to make their escape.


And if the news in the papers doesn't grab Bruce's attention, the Batsignal, shining in the sky for the first time, does. Wow, reading these next panels reminds me of the Batman 66 show. They get the call via Batsignal, make the change, hop in the Batmobile and then arrive at Gordon's office. There, Batman's suspicions of this being a Joker plot are confirmed with his usual calling card carrying a clue about snow not stopping him. Batman deduces his next target will be the post office.



The two interrupt the heist in progress and beat up Joker and his gang while making post office puns. Joker and his men escape in a mail truck with the Batmobile in pursuit. Joker is able to stop them by tossing money out to kids in the street who block the Batmobile's progress.


Joker proceeds to go on a crime spree, getting away with each daring crime with his men in various uniforms. Batman plants a story of a diamond in the paper that gets the Joker's attention, still playing into his love of shiny jewels. And the story planting is another 66 ploy.


The diamond is to arrive by yacht, so Joker and his men dress as coast guards and take a boat out. They are surprised by Batman and Robin, but Joker gets the drop on Robin and tosses him overboard. Batman is quickly captured as he is distracted by the sight. Robin manages to swim to the rear of the coast guard patrol boat and hide as he passes out.

Meanwhile, Batman does not put up much of a struggle as Joker ties him to a hoisting mechanism and lights the rope that has him hoisted over the water. When the rope burns, the tied Batman will drop into the water and drown. What he doesn't know is that Robin is alive and has come to. But Robin doesn't see Batman's plight. He follows Joker from the pier to his hideout. He tries to contact Batman, but his radio has been damaged.


Batman snaps out of it as he drops into the water. He maneuvers himself to the boat's propellers and uses one to cut his ropes. And then in a weird bit of bad plotting, Batman quotes something the Joker never said and deduces where the hideout is, a costume shop.


There, he finds the Joker and his crew. Robin, who disguised in the clothes of Little Bo Peep, jumps into the fray. They take down Joker's men, but Joker takes himself down when he is clobbered by his own returning boomerang.

This has all the beats of a 66 episode and would have been perfect, right down to Joker's clues and the deathtrap. It will be interesting to see what other issues could have worked in the 66 format that so many said ruined Batman.


What's next? Stay tuned, Citizens!



Featured Posts
Recent Posts
Archive
Search By Tags
Follow Us
  • Facebook Basic Square
  • Twitter Basic Square
  • Google+ Basic Square
bottom of page