Detective Comics #301 - What I Saved

 

   (Continuing the series about the comics I saved when I recently sold most of my collection.)

   For modern comics fans, it's not cool to talk favorably about the Batman stories from the late '50s / early '60s.

   Those were "my" Batman stories, the ones I read when I first got interested in comic books, and I held onto a few of those often silly and off kilter - but darned entertaining - comics.

   At the time, Batman wasn't the campy figure from the '66 TV show, or a Dark Detective embittered by the deaths of his parents.

   Instead, he was simply a hero wearing a striking costume, fighting against crime and assorted menaces - including lots of aliens, monsters and strange scientific foes.

   Detective Comics #301 is a good example. In pursuing some crooks at a synthetic gem factory, Batman is exposed to a strange treatment that leaves him glowing red with intense heat and unable to breathe normal air.

   Can't let a little thing like that slow down a crimefighter! He devises a special airship that allows him to keep fighting the bad guys. But when the city is in danger, he puts his life on the line to protect Gotham. 

   You know, like a hero.

   The backup story is truly silly. John Jones, the Manhunter from Mars (better know today as J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter), is shocked when a group of Martian criminals turn up on Earth and start wreaking havoc. J'onn returns to Mars and immediately... runs home and visits his (white-haired) mother and (bald and wrinkled) father! He then discovers an Earthman who's traveled to the red planet and is using fire to take over. 

   None of these stories will ever make "best of" lists, but they're solid little adventures from a simpler time. 

   They may not be cool, but I love 'em!

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Grade: B