You get a lot of complaints out of us oldtimers about how BATMAN comics went camp when the TV series was a runaway hit. What seldom gets mentioned, however, is that this was, in fact, a golden age of sorts for Bat-covers! Here, for example, are two of my all-time favorites. The insides were back to being ghosted by Sheldon Moldoff pretty much around this time but Carmine Infantino could still be called in for knock-em-dead covers for both BATMAN and DETECTIVE COMICS! I never realized it until tonight but these two unusually creative ones (retailers were supposedly not happy about the BATMAN one due to the logo being toward the bottom where it would be unseen on racks of 
the day) came out within a week of one another...forty years ago.
the day) came out within a week of one another...forty years ago. 
I missed the "Joker House" cover of
ReplyDeleteDetective Comics, but when I saw
the Batman cover featuring the Blockbuster SMASHING the stone wall
Bat logo, I HAD to have it. And I
scraped the 12 cents together to
buy it immediately.
I went through a similar experience
when I spotted the striking cover
of Detective Comics #352 in the
store display. I didn't have the
cash on hand, so resolved to go
back the next day and purchase it
before all the copies sold out!
A sudden overnight Green Bay snowstorm did not disuade me, but
I neglected to tell my parents that
I was biking through snow to the
local Stop 'N' Go.
I arrived, muscles aching from my
strenuous ride. To my relief, all
copies of that desired issue were
still on sale!
I returned, my brothers squealed on me, and my parents scratched
their heads in wonderment at my
strange behavior...and I carried
my comic book treasure to my room
to read and read it again.
What a fanatic I was/am!
Great story.
ReplyDeleteBought both of those at the newstand as a kid.
A big part of my 60's memories are all those wonderul Infantino Batman and Flash covers.
Carmine Infantino was a fantastic cover artist back in the day.
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