Secret Origins #39 [Newsstand]

(April 1989)

The Secret Origin of Man-Bat (Table of Contents: 1)

Man-Bat / comic story / 19 pages (report information)

Script

Jan Strnad (credited)

Pencils

Kevin Nowlan (credited) (art)

Inks

Kevin Nowlan (credited) (art)

Colors

Kevin Nowlan

Letters

Kevin Nowlan

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Good Lord!

Genre

superhero

Characters

Man-Bat [Kirk Langstrom]; Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Francine Langstrom; Alfred Pennyworth; Thomas Wayne (flashback; cameo); Martha Wayne (flashback; cameo)

Synopsis

Kirk Langstrom experiments on himself and turns into Man-Bat.

Reprints

• in Batman (Juniorpress, 1984 series) #40 (week 26 1991)
• in Batman Arkham: Man-Bat (DC, 2017 series) ([March] 2017)

Indexer Notes

A significantly amplified version of the origin from Detective Comics (DC, 1937 series) #400.

Batman's Past Is Catching Up With Him (Table of Contents: 2) (Expand) /

Batman / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

The Myth of the Creation (Table of Contents: 3)

Animal Man / comic story / 19 pages (report information)

Script

Grant Morrison (credited)

Pencils

Tom Grummett (credited)

Inks

Doug Hazlewood (credited)

Colors

Helen Vesik (credited)

Letters

Janice Chiang (credited)

Job Number

G-4657

First Line of Dialogue or Text

The reveille, when it sounded, was both unforeseen and loud.

Genre

superhero

Characters

Animal Man [Buddy Baker]; Ellen Baker; Cliff Baker; Maxine Baker

Synopsis

As Buddy tries to regain his powers, aliens review his history.

Reprints

• in DC 2000 (Editora Abril, 1990 series) #16 (Abril 1991)
• in Animal Man: Origin of the Species (DC, 2002 series) ([September] 2002)
• in Animal Man de Grant Morrison (Planeta DeAgostini, 2011 series) (Marzo 2011)
• in The Animal Man Omnibus (DC, 2013 series) ([September] 2013)
• in Homem-Animal (Panini Brasil, 2015 series) #2 - Origem das Espécies ([Março] 2016)
• in Animal Man by Grant Morrison 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (DC, 2018 series) #1 (2018 [February 2019])
• in Animal Man by Grant Morrison (DC, 2020 series) #1 ([April] 2020)

Indexer Notes

Leads into Animal Man (DC, 1987 series) #10. This begins to show the dichotomy between the post- and pre-Crisis Animal Man as the fabric of reality begins to unravel.

A Retro-Future Gangster Epic (Table of Contents: 4) (Expand) /

Skreemer / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

DC Annuals 1989 (Table of Contents: 5) (Expand) /

DC Comics / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

The Janus Directive (Table of Contents: 6) (Expand) /

promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 7)

Secret Admirers / letters page / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Mark Waid

Letters

typeset

Job Number

L-3565

First Line of Dialogue or Text

The question as posed on the cover of Strange Adventures #180...

Indexer Notes

Includes letters from Jacob Gilber, Charles J. Sperling and Norma McQuaid.