Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Mining for Gold(en): "The Adventure of the Houdini-Whodunit!"

What's happening, Groove-ophiles? Ready for some more Michael Golden goodness? Dynamite, 'cause here it comes! Believe it or don't, beneath that glitzy Jim Aparo cover lies Michael Golden's first full-length Batman job. He'd later do a few excellent Batman stories in Batman Family, plus the famous "I Now Pronounce You Batman and Wife" from DC Special Series #15, but this is where it all started. Besides the groovy Golden art, Gerry Conway's story is far-out, as well. I love stories that showcase the Batman's detective or escape-artist skills--and this story does both, baby! Plus, it hit the spinner racks in October, 1977, so the timing was perfect to do a tribute to the great Harry Houdini, don'tcha think? Okay, enough with the rappin'! Let's get on wit da story! From Batman #295, here's "The Adventure of the Houdini Whodunit!"
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , ,

7 comments:

  1. Edo BosnarApril 7, 2009 at 5:06 AM

    I finally have to de-lurk here to say - great blog! Esp. with posts like these. Love, love, love Michael Golden's work from this period (late '70s/early '80s). A pity that except for Micronauts (for an all-too-short 12 issues), he never really "settled down" with any series with which he could be identified...
    By the way, the issue is actually Batman #295, not 205...

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Groovy AgentApril 7, 2009 at 9:42 AM

    Thanks for the kudos--and correction--Edo! (Don'cha just love typos?)

    I agree whole-heartedly with ya about Golden. I would have loved it (as I'm sure would have many fans) if he'd stuck with Batman (those Batman Family stories he did with P. Craig Russell are amazing!). I think he was so in demand for cover art that it didn't leave him much time for anything more than specials and one-shots. Except for the Nam and Bucky O'Hare, I can't think of anything else he did that could be called a regular series. Is there anything else?

    ReplyDelete
  3. KeithApril 7, 2009 at 9:43 AM

    Great blog post. All of yours are. I don't know much about comics. I'm trying to learn more about the comics of the past and today.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Groovy AgentApril 7, 2009 at 10:03 AM

    Thanks, Keith! I hope I'm doing my part in your comicbook education. I don't know though, man, if you become too well-versed in comics, that knowledge, added to your knowledge of cool and chicks (as displayed on your far-out blogs), you might be able to take over the world! Need an assistant...?

    ReplyDelete
  5. MoniqueApril 7, 2009 at 1:36 PM

    Thank you for posting this. Old school detective work and Houdinishness - two of my favorite things!

    Love your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  6. inkdestroyedmybrushApril 7, 2009 at 6:34 PM

    that really was a great time to be a batman fan, althought the coming DC imposion would mess all of it up. You could actually get golden, roger starlin, russell, and nasser all doing batman stories with in less than a years time.. and good stories too. The batman spectacular with golden, nasser and rogers may be the best batman book of all time page for page.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Edo BosnarApril 8, 2009 at 4:27 AM

    Yes, it would have definitely been cool if Golden had stuck with Batman on a regular basis; another tantalizing "would have been" is Mr. Miracle at around the same time: the series folded just as late, great Steve Gerber and Golden (talk about a dream team!) were getting warmed up.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin
Special thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics and Grand Comics Database for being such fantastic resources for covers, dates, creator info, etc. Thou art treasures true!


Note to "The Man": All images are presumed copyright by the respective copyright holders and are presented here as fair use under applicable laws, man! If you hold the copyright to a work I've posted and would like me to remove it, just drop me an e-mail and it's gone, baby, gone.


All other commentary and insanity copyright GroovyAge, Ltd.

As for the rest of ya, the purpose of this blog is to (re)introduce you to the great comics of the 1970s. If you like what you see, do what I do--go to a comics shop, bookstore, e-Bay or whatever and BUY YOUR OWN!