Tuesday, November 21, 2017

365 Days of Defiance, Day 325: War! (Huh!) What Is It Good For? Smashin' Nazis! Say it again!

Batman's going to war!
Each native bat will grab a gat
And run away to war!
At last we’re going to...
Feet will beat along the street to...
War!
Batman's going to war!
At last Batman's going to war
It seems that Batman's going to war!
At last the Batman's going to war!
He's going to war!
This is a fact we can’t ignore
He's going to war!
This is a fact we can’t ignore!
Batman's going to war!


Is there anyone in any doubt about where Batman is going?

Meanwhile, in the war...



Panels from "The Two Futures" in Batman (1940 series) #15 (February-March 1943), script by Bill Finger, pencils and figure inks by Jack Burnley, background inks by Ray Burnley, letters by Betty Bentley

Well, everything seems to be going swimmingly for the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder, and I'm sure they'll beat the Nazis and



WHAT THE HECK COMIC BOOK?!? Batman and Robin are executed by a Nazi firing squad? I'm sure they escape in the very next panel! Let's look.



















Oh heck. They don't. Yeeeeeesh. Um, could this be a dream, or a hoax, or an Imaginary Story?...No. No, it is not.

It's actually just a thought experiment suggested by some gloomy-outlooked professors at an unnamed university (but you can totally tell it's Metropolis University, those horse-asses). They've projected that America will lose the war, but Batman rightly ain't havin' none of that. ("Yeah!" says Robin. "And me too!") Batman points out that with the military, industrial, financial, and moral support of the armed forces teamed-up with the citizens of America in the most important Brave and the Bold of them all, we are going to win this war!



Moral of the story is: with the industrial might of the United States, we can beat the Axis! So hand in your scrap metal, donate your old comic books (eeeeeeek) and buy bond where you work or bank! Batman does it, and don't you want to be cool like Batman is? (Also, defeat Nazis.)

Also:


PSA ad in Batman (1940 series) #15 (February-March 1943), script and art by Dr. Seuss

3 comments:

Bradley Walker said...

Uh, how is a "thought experiment" different from an "imaginary story"?

Dave said...

That old woman is named Martha? Does that mean Batman tried to kill Granddad there until he realized who he was married to?

Blam said...

"Give us as many as this money will buy!"
"Okayyy..."
"I'm rich! Simple arithmetic is for plebes!"