On one hand, the editors were trying to attract readers with spooky covers like Fright of the Scarecrow! (Batman 189, Feb 1967), Mystery of the Missing Manhunters (Batman 184, Sept. 1966) and Death Knocks Three Times! (Batman 180, May 1966).
On the other hand, they were pandering to the success of the Adam West TV show with campy covers like Batman’s Baffling Turnabout (Batman 193, August 1966), in which the Masked Manhunter seemingly refuses to fight crime because he’s too busy watching himself on television.
And then there was that guy who had a pencil eraser for a head (Batman 188, Dec. 1966)
“To paraphrase Robin, ‘How camp can you get?’” wrote reader Stephen Harell of Kansas City. “I knew and appreciated the difference between the campy caricatures of B&R on the TV screen and the ‘real’ B&R of your usually fine magazine … until you threw us ‘The Eraser Who Tried to Rub Out Batman!’ The story was aptly named. Any more stories like that, and it may rub out Batman!”
Actually, the Eraser — complete with a rubber head mask, a vertically striped yellow suit and pointed “pencil lead” shoes — wasn’t quite as absurd as the cover implied.
Written by Robert Kanigher and drawn by Sheldon Moldoff, the story introduced a criminal mastermind who erased all evidence at crime scenes.
Disguising himself as an organ grinder, Batman discovers that the Eraser is really Lenny Fiasco — his old college roommate!
Oddly enough, over at Marvel Comics, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had earlier created their own villainous Eraser — this one an alien who sent people into another dimension until Giant-Man stopped him (Tales to Astonish 49, Nov. 1963).
When writers and editors start coming up with plot ideas based on the things they see lying on the desk in front of them, they probably need to take a breather.
Nelson Fox wrote;
ReplyDeleteGreat analysis of an era when Batman was trying to find himself. No longer with science fiction aliens but not yet the real Dark Knight Detective either.
David Rutman wrote:
ReplyDeleteThat's why there were so many comics featuring a giant hand. And don't get me started on Paste-Pot Pete...
Marc Gagnon wrote:
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! My knowledge of this bat-era is limited - was Carmine Infantino's dramatic "New Look" Batman a reaction to the campy Adam West show, or coincidentally unrelated? Seems like Batman was being pulled in a million directions at the time.
Bob Doncaster wrote:
ReplyDeleteSo many #2 jokes to make here.
Betty Wing wrote:
ReplyDeleteMy friend and i back then were laughing at how pointy Robin's shoes were - they'd have poked him in the behind...
J David Spurlock wrote:
ReplyDeleteCarmine's job was to dreamed up interesting covers that would grab attention/sell. The editors would THEN have writers come up with a story to go with/explain the cover. This whole Eraser concept was likely one more of so many Infantino concepts that started with a cover design.
Paul Zuckerman wrote:
ReplyDeleteYou know, I remember the cover, but I don't remember the story much. Kanigher had started to write for Batman in 1966 turning out a number of stories that either seemed out of kilter or were killer. And, in doing so, he created Poison Ivy, in a story that appears to be very campish!
Vincent Sartain wrote:
ReplyDeleteA lot of the old JLA covers likewise featured outlandish, "menacing" bad guys; Eraser might have fit in better over there than in the Batman comics.
Tom Harrington wrote:
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, I liked the design. But he can’t go around all the time with his toes pointed like that.
Paul Truster wrote:
ReplyDeleteAt least we were spared Captain White-Out.
Bill Cash wrote:
ReplyDeleteThe yellow Bat symbol has always been my favorite logo since it was used in both the 89 movie and the 90s cartoon when I was growing up and hated when they did away with it. It is as you said iconic and represents the franchise as a whole.