In a delightful decision somewhere at DC Comics, it was decided to reprint key Silver Age comics as facsimile editions. Detective Comics #359 is one of these facsimiles.
When I say ‘delightful’, I say it on my own behalf, as I used to own the original 1967 comic being reprinted. And low and behold, I can read it again, this many years later, as if I still had the original. And for just $4. The ‘facsimile’ reprints the entire book; the ads for the 1960’s car racing track, the letter pages, the house ads that announce new 1960’s comics, it’s all there, the complete original comic book.
Detective Comics 359 is the origin of Batgirl. Written by Gardner Fox and John Broome, the art has Carmine Infantino written all over its layouts, its long horizontal panels, its figure positioning. Sid Greene inks the first story. And her first story is so much fun. There is a lot jammed into its pages. There is a story compression going on; lots of expository speech, lots of signposts along the way, but heaps of groovy 1960’s Bat action too! Okay, some of the male attitudes are a bit condescending toward Babs Gordon. But read the story in a historical context and enjoy.
The backup story, Elongated Man “The Riddle of the Sleepytime Taxi”, is a charmer too. It’s all fun hero adventure, from the somewhat more innocent times of the ’60s. Art is by Murphy Anderson, who also inked Infantino’s fab front cover! ‘Check’ it out!
DC Comics, Detective Comics #359 Facsimile edition, 32 pages of retro content. Rated Teen, but really, kids used to read this stuff. I did.
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