The Forgotten Batman: "Into the Den of the Death-Dealers!" by O'Neil, Brown, and Giordano

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Yesterday was actually "Batman Day", the official 75th anniversary of our fave Caped Crusader, but since it was Black and White Wednesday, we put our part of the Bat-celebration off 'til today. (Think Alfred will notice?) 

Yeah, it's no secret around here how much Ol' Groove loves The Batman (he's the reason I got into comics, don'tcha know), so the fact that The Darknight Detective is celebrating seventy-five years is mucho important to moi! I've picked an important episode of The Batman's life, his first meeting with Talia, daughter of Ra's Al Ghul, mother of Damien Wayne! Naturally this classic is written by Denny O'Neil and inked by Dick Giordano--two of the most important post-Batman TV show creators--but instead of being penciled by Neal Adams (who did contribute the cover) or Irv Novick, it's penciled by the ever-underrated Bob Brown, who does a fabamundo job! So happy anniversary, Batman! From Detective Comics #411 (March 1971),lets  follow The Batman..."Into the Den of the Death-Dealers!"

Groove's Faves: "Bat-Murderer!" by Wein and Aparo

What it is, Groove-ophiles! Ol' Groove is in the mood to share one of his all-time fave stories. But first...

When Archie Goodwin ended his tenure as editor of Detective Comics and Julie Schwartz returned to that coveted seat, most of us Bat-fans figured we'd be back to Bat-business as usual. Little did we know what the Dean of DC Editors had in store for us: Len Wein. Jim Aparo. Talia. Batman wanted by the police. Grim. Gritty. Excellent writing. Masterful artwork. Young Groove and his compadres were floored by Detective Comics #444...

Bet you're floored, too, huh?

Mining for Gold(en): "I Now Pronounce You Batman and Wife!"

Michael Golden drew one of the best versions of the Batman ever, don'tcha think? The only problem is he didn't draw nearly enough Batman stories. The stories he did draw, though, were always special. Want proof? Here's a little-seen bit of Batman lore that is nearly forgotten but ranks high on the list of events that have greatly impacted the Darknight Detective's life. In the middle of the Batman Spectacular (DC Special Series #15) that blew us away in the torrid Summer of '78, there sits the ever-lovin' marriage of the Batman to Ra's al Gul's daughter Talia. Can you dig it? That new Robin running around in the Bat-titles, Damian? That's Batman and Talia's son. See why this story is so important? (I was tempted to do this as a "Secret Origins" featuring Damian post--aren't ya glad I didn't?)

One more bit of coolness before we get to the story: when he wrote this tale, writer Denny O'Neil (who, remember, helped create Ra's and Talia) actually considered it to be his Batman swan-song . Check out this quote (from Wizard Universe):

"There's a story I ended with Batman giving up," he recalls. "I think the last shot is of him in the daylight with his back to the reader having broken up with Talia. Of course I knew that Batman would be back next month, but I thought that I was probably done with the character, and that was my farewell to this thing I'd been involved with so long and intensely. And [editor] Julie [Schwartz] rewrote that caption to indicate this was not the end. But I thought that was the end of my Batman. Little did I know, it was just the beginning."

Of course ya know that O'Neil's association with the Gotham Goliath didn't end with "I Now Pronounce You Batman and Wife!". O'Neil would write a few more Batman stories (Detective Comics issues 480-491) before moving to Marvel (where he would edit, among other things, Frank Miller's Daredevil). It would only be a matter of time before O'Neil would find himself back at DC, and there he would spend about a decade-and-a-half guiding and editing the further adventures of the Batman and his co-horts (including Year One, Death In the Family, Knightfall, and many more memorable storylines).

But hey, we're here to celebrate Michael Golden's awesome Bat-artistry, aren't we? This time the Golden One is inked by one of the Batman's definitive inkers, Dick Giordano. Enjoy!