Even during his camp TV era, Batman’s covers occasionally relied on a spooky vibe. One such was Carmine Infantino’s cover for Batman 189 (Feb. 1967), featuring the revival of the Scarecrow.
Introduced in World’s Finest 3 (The Riddle of the Human Scarecrow, Fall 1941), Jonathan Crane was not so much a mad scientist as a mad teacher.
Selecting a “symbol of poverty and fear combined” as his criminal persona, the Scarecrow hires out as a corporate hitman. Captured by Batman, Crane escapes prison for another crime spree two years later in The Scarecrow Returns (Detective 73, March 1943).
That was the last we saw of the Dynamic Duo’s fearsome foe until 1967, when DC dusted him off for Fright of the Scarecrow!
Writer Gardner Fox’s cool rationalism — often seen in his highly regarded Adam Strange stories — works well in this exploit, enabling Batman to convincingly counteract the frightful situation in which he and Robin find themselves (blinded and trapped in a room with a panther and a leopard). Batman’s advice to Robin about how to handle fear rings true psychologically.
Had this tale been illustrated by Infantino, instead of Sheldon Moldoff doing his faux Infantino, it might have been a minor classic.
Cliff Heeley wrote:
ReplyDeleteThe Scarecrow in this story is the same one as in 1941, just like the Riddler tied to the 1948 appearances when reintroduced.
Clayton Emery wrote:
ReplyDeleteEven then, how many kids had actually seen a real scarecrow?
I replied:
Every year on TV when "The Wizard of Oz" aired. lol.
Bob Doncaster wrote:
ReplyDeleteI’m disappointed no one has said “How about a little fire Scarecrow!” to him.
Mark Engblom wrote:
ReplyDeleteThe Scarecrow is my favorite “B-Tier” Batman villain (behind all the more iconic A-Tier). The reason for that is, I think, Scarecrow seems to be one of the few Batman villains to transcend a physical gimmick to occupy a purely psychological space. What makes him particularly potent is how his use of fear darkly mirrors Bruce Wayne himself, who also chose fear as his modus operandi when he created his Batman guise.
Whitney Weston wrote:
ReplyDeleteI'm disappointed that he isn't better known to followers of the Bat. He deserves to be as well-known as The Penguin, The Riddler, Catwoman — and even The Joker. He did get some attention on the animated series of the 90s, but not much elsewhere outside of comics — and his appearance in "Batman Begins" was something of a disappointment.
ReplyDeleteJohnny Williams wrote:
Dan, let me be honest, but First let me remind everybody that I was a boy back then.
So, I had been a Batman fan almost as long as I’d been a Superman one, which meant Most Of my young life. So, as children can be, I liked what I liked, and I liked my Batman just the way he’d been, aliens, weird transformations, creatures and all. Therefore I didn’t initially respond completely favorably to Batman’s. ‘New Look’. Adding to That, I was a Huge fan of ‘Infantino, but, On The Flash! I felt that his sleek lines, and minimalist landscapes* worked well for Central City, but not for Gotham. So, it took a little time for me, but slowly I did adjust to the changes in The Dark Knight.
Because of what I relate above, some really good to great stories, in retrospect, weren’t ‘fully as appreciated as they deserved to be’ by me upon their first publication. It was only in going back and starting to reread them as a teenager that I began to Really get just how Good some of those stories and artwork were.
So basically, I skipped the book you’re reviewing above when it came out, for the very reasons I set forth. Your essay has me interested and intrigued, non-Infantino art notwithstanding.
* I had those feelings and perceptions even if I couldn’t quite articulate them precisely yet. I was a mere lad. 😊
John Welsh wrote:
ReplyDelete"They think I'm queer" has a totally different meaning now.
Anthony St James wrote:
ReplyDeleteMasterpiece cover. Infantino is my all-time favorite comics artist.
Bruce Kanin wrote:
ReplyDeleteYou mention WORLD'S FINEST #3. I love how those early WFs had new Golden Age solo stories for Batman & Superman (among many other super/non-super characters).
Mark Raymond wrote:
ReplyDeleteMy mom got me that issue for Christmas that year!
Dan Nordquist wrote:
ReplyDeleteI was / am a fan of grotesque villains, and (upon seeing this on the newsstand ) I discovered a new Batman villain. Compare to Daredevil's "Mr. Fear." They did an interesting take on it Nolan's movie.
Keith W. Williams wrote:
ReplyDeleteBatman #189 (Feb '67). A striking Infantino & Giella cover heralded the return of another classic foe who'd been absent from the title since the golden age. Scarecrow quickly established himself as one of my favourite Bat-foes, with his highly effective technique of inducing irrational terror in his opponents via the use of hallucinogenic toxins. The Moldoff & Giella artwork on this issue was a touch camped-up, unfortunately, enhanced with large and prominent sound effects, to bring it more in line with the feel of the TV show, but Gardner Fox's script was sufficiently well-wrought that it largely managed to offset these concerns.