Batman: The Silver Age of Newspaper Comics Vol. 2

This week our friends over at 13thDimension.com are running a contest to give away a copy of IDW's Batman: The Silver Age of Newspaper Comics Vol. 2. This era of the Batman newspaper strip featured Aquaman in a major arc, which was a lot of fun. Head on over and there and enter, Aqua-Fans--and even if you don't win, make sure you pick up the book!

Batman & Aquaman's Wild Go-Go Adventures

Back in 2008, I posted a complete run of the 1968 Batman newspaper strip that featured Aquaman in a guest role, thanks to the generosity and determination of a couple of very diligent F.O.A.M. members.

Last year, John Schwirian (of The Aquaman Chronicles fanzine) asked me to write an article for his publication giving a rundown of the Aquaman storyline, which I was happy to do.

Since John just published a new issue of TAC (#19), it occurred to me that many Shrine readers have probably never seen it (despite the obvious cross-pollination of audiences), so I thought I'd post it here (with some slight editing by the obsessive author). Take it away Batman, Aquaman, and a mysterious girl named Penelope:

One of the nicest things about putting together The Aquaman Shrine is that I come into contact with Aqua Fans all over the world, who are eager to share their love of the oft-put-upon character.

Frequently, these Aqua Fans will introduce me to some piece of Aquamanus Obscurus that I had never seen before, giving me an even greater understanding of just how much the character has permeated the culture, all without the help of a nationwide TV series or movie franchise. And one of these wonderful discoveries was Aquaman's two separate turns as a guest-star in the 1960s Batman newspaper strip.

The 1960s Batman newspaper strip (officially titled Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder) debuted on May 29, 1966 and ran as a daily strip until 1972, with the Sundays ceasing in 1969. It was written mostly by Whit Ellsworth, and then handed off to DC stalwart E.Nelson Bridwell for the rest of its run. Three separate artists--Sheldon Moldoff, Joe Giella, and Al Plastino--handed the artistic chores over the strip's six years (or, if you believe the signature plastered on every strip, Bob Kane drew every single panel of it for all six years).

Unlike the TV show that was the inspiration (financial inspiration, at least) for a new Batman newspaper strip, Batman (as most syndicates called it) did not reflect that show's campy, uber-hip "mod" style; instead, it was a fairly straightforward series of Batman adventures, leaning more heavily on the daily goings-on of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson.

One way, though, that the strip outdid its TV counterpart was it use of other stars from the DC Universe.

Aquaman first appeared in the strip in March, 1968, and guest-starred in a daily story line that ran until April, 1968. Two baddies plan to blow up an island that Batman is on, and when they set the plan in motion, it is Aquaman--in his Aqua Cave--that notices trouble on the ocean floor:

This story also guest-stars a mysteriously-weakened Superman, who teams with Robin, to send a radio signal to Aquaman trying to clue the Sea King as to Batman's whereabouts.

Batman makes it off the island on his own, but then finds himself surrounded by a school of sharks. Luckily Aquaman finds him, tells the sharks to beat it, and gives Bats a ride to safety--literally:

Aquaman played a much more substantial role when he guest-starred in a story line that began on August 16, 1968 (obviously as a "tribute" to the birth of this particular Aquaman fan, which would occur exactly three years to the day later).

A beautiful woman is found dangling precariously over the Gotham River. When the police tell her to climb off of her swing to safety, she refuses, saying only two people can make her do it--Batman or Aquaman:

Commissioner Gordon calls for Batman, who tells Robin he's going on this case alone, since "...oddly enough, it isn't Batman they really want--it's Aquaman!" Someone thinks a lot of himself!

Batman tries to rescue the girl, but they plunge into the chilly Gotham River. As the current carries them out to sea, she tells Bats that if they swim beneath the waves, they can reach the shore. They do, but before Batman can get a word in, she insists they run away from the police!

They make their way to her car, which she had waiting, proving to Batman she had this whole thing planned. She agrees, and says she needed to meet Batman to help her meet Aquaman (kind of like an pre-internet version of Facebook), since he is the only one who can find her father!

Her father is the improbably named Dr. Archimedes Candy, the "world-famous oceanographer." Batman realizes this woman is Penelope Candy, who the newspapers call "a mad-cap debutante." The Brave and The Bold: Batman and Paris Hilton!

Penelope tells Batman her father walked into the sea ten days ago and has not returned. Batman, using those world famous detective skills, breaks it to her that, you know, he's probably dead. But Penelope has news for the Dark Knight Detective:

Turns out Dr. Candy came up with a formula that, if ingested, extracts oxygen from water, which allows people to breath underwater for long periods of time! To prove that it works, both Penelope and Batman take a swing, and Batman is floored to see that it does what Penelope promised.

But of course, like the people who created the electric car or Dr. Alec Holland learned, any time you come up with an industry-changing invention, there's a group of nogoodniks who try to either kill you, steal it, or both. In this case, someone was threatening Penelope's life, and told Dr. Candy to meet them on a submarine(!) and give them the formula, or his daughter would die.

Batman tells Robin to send out a short-wave radio signal (I guess there is no Justice League in the strip's continuity) to try and contact Aquaman. But Aquaman is, er, a little busy right now:

Meanwhile, on the sub "The Sea Wolf", turns out its international smugglers who are blackmailing Dr. Candy, and they are frustrated when Dr. Candy collapses, moaning something about only knowing "half the formula."

Batman and Penelope find the sub (that was easy, luckily the ocean isn't all that big), but are detected by the smugglers, and sucked into the sub's airlock.

Turns out the formula works too well, and anyone that uses it must return to the water in an hour, just like Aquaman does. The head of the smugglers (a real mustache-twirling evil guy named Wolf) says he neither believes nor cares about this small detail, he wants that formula!

Wolf moves the sub further out to sea, and Robin sends the morse code signal again. It is communicated from dolphin to dolphin, across the sea, until it finally reaches Aquaman.

Batman, holed up in a small room with the Candys, figures out that he can shoot himself out of a nearby torpedo tube. Meanwhile, Aquaman races across the ocean depths towards the Dr. Candy's lab. I like this particular daily a lot, since it's all Aquaman:

Batman and Penelope shoot themselves out of the torpedo tubes, and head to shore to get help. But they are quickly winded from lack of oxygen--which they need to get from water. Batman eventually finds a stream of fresh water, and even though Dr. Candy is still imprisoned and the villains are getting away, Batman and Penelope have time to frolic:

They then make their way to a road, get a lift, and tell the local Navy office that they need their equipment to find the Sea Wolf. They do, and the Navy says that if the Sea Wolf doesn't surrender, they will sink it, whether Dr. Candy is aboard or not.

As Batman and Aquaman finally cross paths at Dr. Candy's lab, Wolf is less than pleased to learn that Batman has filled the nose of the sub with water, making the sub too heavy to return topside. Wolf, who still thinks Batman is aboard, is startled--"He's willing to perish to defeat us!" Batman plays to win.

Batman gives Aquaman the sub's location, and its a race against time as he tries to tell the Navy that the sub isn't refusing the Navy's commands--it can't rise!

He then uses his telepathic powers to have his finny friends (a group of whales) swim under the sub and force it to the surface. Wolf swears revenge on the Sea King:

...yeah, yeah, we've heard that before, and from scarier bad guys than you.

Batman thanks Aquaman for the help, and they part, forever ending Aquaman's involvement with the strip. Thanks Aquaman!


Overall, a pretty decent adventure, and even though it takes Aquaman a while to get in on the action, he's the one who saves the day, mostly while Batman is running around goofing off with Penelope Candy (whose BFF is Cheryl Blossom).

Since this story line did run in the Sundays at the time, we also got to see Aquaman in color, always a nice thing. Too bad this didn't lead to an all-Aquaman newspaper strip!

Before I sign off, I must give credit to Aqua Fans extraordinaire John Helfenstein and Colin Smith, who provided me with scans of all the strips, (the dailies and the Sundays, respectively) culled from many different newspapers. Without their dogged, obsessive determination, I would have never had the chance to see these wonderful strips and share them with other Aqua Fans. Thanks guys!

British Newspaper Strips, Part 4 - 1968

For today, we have the final installment of comic strip selections from Smash!, a British weekly comic that reprinted--in order--the late 1960s Batman newspaper strip.

Generously sent to me by F.O.A.M. member Phil Rushton, I like posting these (even though the strips themselves are the same as the American ones I posted back in 2007-2008) because of the additional little frills Smash! added to the strips.

In this instance, the editors of Smash! actually gave Superman and Aquaman a sort of equal co-billing with their host, as you can see in the first panel:

...too bad Aquaman didn't get to hang out and have coffee with Clark, Bruce, and Duck back in Wayne Manor!

Thanks again Phil!

British Newspaper Strips, Part 3 - 1968

For today, we've got another installment of comic strip selections from Smash!, a British weekly comic that reprinted--in order--the late 1960s Batman newspaper strip.

Generously sent to me by F.O.A.M. member Phil Rushton, I like posting these (even though the strips themselves are the same as the American ones I posted back in 2007-2008) because of the additional little frills Smash! added to the strips, like the Batman TV show-esque purple prose kicking off the following installment:

...now that's a cliffhanger!

More to come, and thanks again Phil!
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Aquaman, in addition to "his" cameo In Final Crisis #7, makes another appearance in a DC comic released this week. Here he is kicking off the new Brave and the Bold book:

The book then moves onto the main story, a team-up between Bats and Power Girl, by writer Matt Wayne and artists Andy Suriano and Dan Davis.

Thankfully, the book is preserving one of my favorite elements of the show, starting off with a "teaser" team-up starring a different hero than the one who will appear in the main part of the show.


And don't forget! Aquaman makes a return appearance to Brave and the Bold tonight @ 8pm! (We will have a look at the episode on Monday, 2/2)

British Newspaper Strips, Part 2 - 1968

A while back, I posted selections from Smash!, a British weekly comic that reprinted--in order--the late 1960s Batman newspaper strip.

They were generously sent to me by F.O.A.M. member Phil Rushton, and even though they were reprinting the same strips I had run over many consecutive weekends (from an American newspaper) I liked running these too, because the Smash! editors added little bits here and there which I thought were charming, and highlighted how differently some of this material appeared in other countries.

So here's another set of strips, and right at the top, guest stars Superman and Aquaman get a nice big mention:

...I love this stuff, even though I've already seen it.

More to come, and thanks again Phil!

British Newspaper Strips, Part 1 - 1968

Smash! was a British weekly comic that reprinted--in order--the late 1960s Batman newspaper strip.

This logo and several strips from the sequence that guest-starred both Aquaman and Superman were sent to me by newest F.O.A.M. member Phil Rushton.

The strips are of course identical to their American counterparts, but Smash! (and another weekly, confusingly titled Smash! & Pow!) added fun little bits to them, in the manner of a sort of omniscient narrator.

So I'm going to be posting a few days worth of strips here over the next few weeks, since seeing Aquaman In Other Lands is one of my favorite things to put up here on the Shrine.

Here are the strips directly proceeding the Aquaman/Superman storyline, plus an original ad:

...those are four very diverse pieces of stock art. More to come soon!

Thanks Phil, welcome to F.O.A.M.!

Batman Daily Newspaper Strip II, Post Script, Part 2 - 1968

The last of our Batman newspaper strip-related posts is another color Sunday, courtesy F.O.A.M. Colin Smith.

This Sunday, though, is from the first set of Aquaman guest-appearances that was a much shorter sequence than the one we just wrapped up last weekend. This first storyline also guest-starred Superman, who of course hogged most of the action for himself, the big bully.

This Sunday features the Dynamic Duo plus their two guest-stars, making for quite a colorful strip. Click here to see it, and thanks Colin!

Batman Daily Newspaper Strip II, Post Script, Part 1 - 1968

As promised, this weekend I'm running two Batman daily newspaper strip-related items, both submitted from the hallowed ranks of F.O.A.M.!

Today's post features the original art by Al Plastino for three of strips, courtesy newest F.O.A.Mer Cindy Healy. Cindy owns the originals (lucky gal!), and she was kind enough to send scans of them so we can see how crisp and clean Plastino's work was.

Click here to see the strips, and thanks Cindy!

Batman Daily Newspaper Strip II, Part 15 - 1968

Today's batch of Batman newspaper dailies is the final(*sniff*) set of the storyline guest-starring Aquaman.

This has been enormous fun, reading these strips and presenting them here. And they attracted quite an audience, so I know I wasn't alone in my enjoyment.

Extra special thanks to F.O.A.M. members Jon Helfenstein, for the astounding legwork in collecting all these strips, and to Colin Smith, for sending me some of the color Sundays. Thanks fellas!

And we're not quite done yet! We have two more Batman daily newspaper strip-related posts for next weekend, sort of a post script to all this. And one of them involves yet another F.O.A.M. member!

So until then, enjoy the wrap-up, and click here for Part 15!

Batman Daily Newspaper Strip II, Part 14 - 1968

Today's set of Batman newspaper dailies is an Aquaman tour de force--he appears in every strip and gets to show off his AquaPowers!

And like last week, this is a double F.O.A.M. special--the dailies are, as always, from Jon Helfenstein, but we also have the color Sunday from Colin Smith, making a complete week's worth of strips! Thanks fellas!

Click here for Part 14!

Batman Daily Newspaper Strip II, Part 13 - 1968

Today's post of Batman newspaper dailies is a double F.O.A.M. special--the dailies are, as always, from Jon Helfenstein, but we also have the color Sunday from Colin Smith, making a complete week's worth of strips! Thanks fellas!

Click here for Part 13!

Batman Daily Newspaper Strip II, Part 12 - 1968

We take a break from all the exciting action in the Batman newspaper storyline to spend some time with Alfred and Master Grayson.

Click here for Part 12!

Batman Daily Newspaper Strip II, Part 11 - 1968

The next set of Batman newspaper dailies. No Aquaman this time around, but lots of Batman and Penny frolicking...this is getting weird.

Click here for Part 11!

Batman Daily Newspaper Strip II, Part 10 - 1968

The next set of Batman newspaper dailies. Aquaman and Batman almost connect up this time...so close!

Click here for Part 10!

Batman Daily Newspaper Strip II, Part 9 - 1968

Here we have a complete run, as in the dailies plus the color Sunday!

These are the dailies that directly follow the Sunday I posted way back when, so I put it in place along with the rest of them for a smoother reading experience.

Click here for Part 9!

Batman Daily Newspaper Strip II, Part 8 - 1968

More of the Batman daily comic strips--Aquaman gets to talk to his finny friends, plus we have a very unusual spot for one of the Plastino/Ellsworth credit boxes!

Click here for Part 8!

Batman Daily Newspaper Strip II, Part 7 - 1968

More of the Batman daily comic strips--this set featuring a lot of evil-guy mustache-twirling. Ah, they don't make bad guys like this anymore!

Click here for Part 7!

Batman Daily Newspaper Strip II, Part 6 - 1968

More of the Batman daily comic strips--featuring one of the weirdest Aquaman panels, ever. See if you can spot it!

Click here for Part 6!

Batman Daily Newspaper Strip II, Part 5 - 1968

More of the Batman daily comic strips--Aquaman shows up!

Click here for Part 5!

The World's Greatest Superheroes Ad - 1978

This awesomely fantabulous ad comes from newest F.O.A.M. member Colin Smith, promoting the World's Greatest Superheroes newspaper strip!

I had never seen this ad before, and even though I was never that big a fan of artist George Tuska's superhero work, this poster is so well composed and dynamic that I find it irresistible.

I love that it includes characters you didn't see much on merchandising, like The Atom(hey Damian!), Elongated Man, Black Canary, and Black Lightning, and gives little bullet-point descriptions of each of them(sorry I don't have a larger, more readable version). And of course no ad featuring the stars of the DCU would be complete without the King of the Seven Seas!

Colin sent this and some other really fun stuff, so he's earned his certificate big-time! Thanks Colin!