from "A Little Nudge" in Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 one-shot (DC, May 2020), script by Marv Wolfman, pencils by Tom Grummett, inks by Scott Hanna, colors by Adriano Lucas, letters by Tom Napolitano
Batman, you're a bad dad, because today's the birthday of your faithful ward, Dick Grayson, aka Robin I! But: only the post-Zero Hour hero. It's November 11 in the Pre-Crisis days and October 24-ish post-Crisis. Geez, Dick, pick one birthday and settle on it!
from World's Finest (1990 series) #3 (DC, October 1990), script by Dave Gibbons, pencils by Steve Rude, inks by Karl Kesel, colors by Steve Oliff, letters by Bill Oakley
Born on this day in the DC Universe (according to their 1976 calendar): the star of probably the longest-running DC comic star who didn't have super-powers (most of the time): Lois Lane!
from Super DC Calendar 1976 (DC, 1975), letters by Ben Oda
Born on this day: Jim James, the triple comics art threat who pencilled, inked, and/or colored books like Legion of Super-Heroes, Superman Family, The Unexpected, Ghost, Dragonlance, Eerie, 1984, House of Mystery, Moon Knight, and lots more!
"DC Profile #70" in World's Finest Comics #268 (DC, April 1982), by Mike W. Barr
from Super DC Calendar 1976 (DC, 1975), letters by Ben Oda
Well, accordin' to the ol' clock on the wallSuper DC Calendar '76, today's the day James Gordon (that's Commissioner Gordon to those of you on this side of the blinking red hotline phone) got his law degree, and excuse me if I'm a little bit skeptical. I mean, you assign those dates at random, SupeCal, but do they really have a basis in canon? Has this date even ever appeared previously in a comic book?
from "The Private Life of Commissioner Gordon" in World's Finest Comics #53 (DC, August 1951), script by David Vern, pencils by Dick Sprang, inks by Charles Paris
Oh! Huh! Well, whaddaya know.
Happy law school graduation anniversary to you, Commissioner Gordon, the finest 122-year-old detective on the force!
Born on this day in 1830: American hat manufacturer, inventor of the ubiquitous wide-brimmed hat worn by cowboys on the range, in movies and TV, and yes, in comics: John B. Stetson!
from "Billy Brand" in from World's Finest Comics #18 (DC, Summer 1945), creators uncredited and unknownS
Happy Birthday, pardner! I tip my little stuffed ten-fluid-ounce hat to you!
from "Along the Trail" in Tim McCoy (1948 series) #18 (Charlton, February 1949); script, pencils, inks, and letters by Mario DeMarco
It's true! Many a cowboy has been saved by throwing a hat at a bull! We will stop and say "Oh, thank you!" and saunter away, proudly wearing our new hats.
"Don't Touch My Hat" by Lyle Lovett (Curb/MCA, 1996), written by Lyle Lovett
from the aptly titled "Green Arrow Sought for Questioning in Murder" in World's Finest Comics #277 (DC, March 1982), script by Mike W. Barr, pencils by Trevor Von Eeden, inks by Rodin Rodriguez, colors by Tom Ziuko, letters by Phil Felix
This is an expanded and updated version of a post originally published March 15, 2012.
Born on this day in 1926: America's only comic book scripter: Bob Haney, co-creator of the Teen Titans, Metamorpho, the Super Sons, Cain, Negative Man, Sgt. Rock, Tula, Vulko and Eclipso, and long-time writer of many DC Comics, including Aquaman, Blackhawk, The Brave and the Bold, Metamorpho, Teen Titans (and the wonderful Teen Titans Lost Annual #1), Unknown Soldier and many more.
Panel from "Wipe the Blood Off My Name!" in World's Finest Comics #223 (May-June 1974), script by Bob Haney, pencils by Dick Dillin, inks by Vince Colletta
Panels from "The Curse of Krypton!" in World's Finest Comics #258 (August-September 1979), script by Denny O'Neil, pencils by José Luis Garcia-López, inks by Dick Giordano, colors by Gene D'Angelo, letters by Ben Oda
Cover of World's Finest Comics #164 (February 1967), pencils by Curt Swan, inks by George Klein, letters by Ira Schnapp
Look out, Genia, Mistress of Malice, in a story that is not called "The Broken Code" but is instead titled "Brainiac's Super Brain-Child!" Well, I've gotta say, that second one has a little more je ne sais quoi to it, doncha think? In any case...look out, Genia! Superman and Batman are going to shoot you with hair dryers!
Panels from "Brainiac's Super Brain-Child" in World's Finest Comics #164 (February 1967), script by Leo Dorfman, pencils by Curt Swan, inks by George Klein
Aw, cool yer jets, Greyson. It's the Silver Age, where nobody ever dies at the hands of a superhero — not even Hitler in the confusingly titled "Aquaman Kills Hitler" in Adventure Comics Annual #2. Instead, she's been banished by whoever is the quicker draw to the exile of their choice! In the original version of this series Wonder Woman also guest-starred and fired a gun that shot Genia into a very liberal all-girl's school on Paradise Island, but they cut that bit out because they were afraid it would upset readers of a nervous disposition... But not me, I can tell ya.
No, instead Superman sends her, via illegal torrenting, into the bottle city of Kandor, where everyone is always incredibly earnest and also dress like Legion of Superheroes cosplayers. Here they will "re-program" her criminal tendencies by drilling into the skull just below the temple, scooping out...oh wait, I forgot she's actually a robot. Yeah, they're actually re-programming her. Which will make her a valuable ally of Superman the next time she appears!
Panels from "Bullet-Hole Club!" in World's Finest Comics #50 (February-March 1951), script by David Vern, pencils by Dick Sprang, inks by Charles Paris
All sung to the tune of that popular '80s hit that probably shouldn't be played today:
If there's any superhero or costumed crimefighter who is more a figurative wasp up the literal nose of Earth-1's NRA, it's Batman. (The NRA fully support Batman's begunnéd protege Red Hood, however.) Does Batman like guns? Well, let's check:
Panels from "The Night of the Shadow!" in Batman #259 (November-December 1974), script by Denny O'Neil, pencils by Irv Novick, inks by Dick Giordano
He does not like guns, Commissioner Gordon I-Am. He does not like them with a silencer, he does not like them when they're quieter. He does not like them shooting his dad, he does not like them, they make him mad.
Panels from "There Is No Hope in Crime Alley!" in Detective Comics #457 (March 1976), script by Denny O'Neil, pencils and figure inks by Dick Giordano, background inks by Terry Austin, letters by Ben Oda
And he doesn't mind telling you about it, either. He's the equivalent of your grandpa telling the same old story about when he had Ben Grimm in the back of his cab. All the crooks know Batman doesn't like guns, and yet they risk hearing about it every time they pick up a gat or a roscoe. And also risk getting beaten to a pulp.
Panels from Batman #607 (November 2002), script by Ed Brubaker and Geoff Johns,
pencils by Scott McDaniel, inks by Andy Owens, colors by Gregory Wright, color separations by Wildstorm FX, letters by John Costanza
To be fair, all the really horrible homicidal criminals (Joker, Penguin, Kite-Man) are pretty pleased that Batman favors his patented "hammers of justice" instead of a gun. Batman was later denied this application from the Gotham Patent Office on the basis that you can't trademark your fists, but that doesn't stop the Caped and Gloved Crusader, no how, no way.
Panels from Legends of the Dark Knight digital comic #6 (July 2012); script by B. Clay Moore; pencils, inks, and colors by Ben Templesmith; letters by Saida Temofonte
Yes but aside from all that small discomfort and mild unpleasantness in Crime Alley on the night of June 26 — don't remember? Check here, and here, and also here to refresh your memory — why does Batman have such a strict personal boycott against guns, which, after all, are just tool not unlike your explosive batarangs shot out of and air compressor gun or maybe missiles fired into a parade commandeered by the Joker? What's better than a gun for senseless comic book violence, Batman?
Panels from "Fugitive from the Stars!" in World's Finest Comics #211 (May 1972), script by Denny O'Neil, pencils by Dick Dillin, inks by Joe Giella
Well, that certainly makes sense! So ergo, the conclusion we should draw from Batman comic books is
Panel from "Batman — Frontier Marshall" in Batman #99 (April 1956), script by Edmond Hamilton, pencils by Sheldon Moldoff, inks by Charles Paris, letters by Pat Gordon
So Batman never has a gun. What this feature presupposes, however...what if he did?
Yes, this month, all month: panels featuring Batman with a gun. Nope, he won't touch 'em, carry 'em, or hold 'em, except for every day in May! You might say April flowers bring May showers...of bullets! And it's true, lots of these are gonna be fake-outs or Batman doubles or hoaxes, dreams, imaginary stories...or comics written and drawn by Neal Adams, but get ready for Batman's Got a Gun by scoping (heh!) out some early examples of the Armed and Dangerous Dark Knight. These events may no longer be canon at hand, but he's certainly carrying a hand cannon! (tee hee)
Splash panels from "The Case of the Ruby Idol" in Detective Comics #35 (January 1940), script by Bill Finger, figure pencils and inks by Bob Kane, background pencils and letters by Sheldon Moldoff
Panels from "Batman vs. the Vampire, Part 2" in Detective Comics #32 (October 1939), script by Gardner F. Fox, figure pencils and inks by Bob Kane, background pencils and letters by Sheldon Moldoff
Panel from "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate" in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939); script by Bill Finger, pencils, inks, and letters by Bob Kane
So put your safety on and check back in every day, firing wildly into my blog, to see that Batman's Got a Gun! To the tune of this '80s classic! Ah, you know you've been humming it under your breath this whole time.
Yes, today it's the arbitrarily-decided-by-this-blog Canonical Birthday of Captain Tootsie, the sugar-soaked superhero rocketed to earth from the planet Fudge-El when all its inhabitants died of diabetes. Happy birthday, Captain Tootsie!
"Captain Tootsie and the Mysterious Plan" from DC comics dated July 1949, by C. C. Beck
So from us and from Rollo, Fatsy, Gub-Gub, Rotund, Cholesterol Cindy, Baby Diabetes and all the Tootsie Roll Kids, Happy birthday, Cap!
Panel from the Johnny Everyman story "The American Dream" in World's Finest Comics #22 (May-June 1946), script by Jack Schiff, pencils and inks by John Daly
from The Boy Commandos story "Brooklyn and Columbus Discover America" in World's Finest Comics #21 (DC, March-April 1946), script by Jack Kirby, pencils by Curt Swan, inks by George Klein
Everybody run
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