Detective Comics #45

(November 1940)

Announcing the New Superman Krypto-Raygun (Table of Contents: 1) (Expand) /

Daisy Manufacturing Company / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

The Case of the Laughing Death! (Table of Contents: 2)

Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder / comic story / 13 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Finger

Pencils

Bob Kane (signed)

Inks

Bob Kane (signed); Jerry Robinson; George Roussos (backgrounds)

Colors

?

Letters

George Roussos

Genre

superhero

Characters

Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Robin [Dick Grayson]; museum caretaker; District Attorney Carter (death); The Joker [also as A. Rekoj] (villain); Joker's gang (villains)

Synopsis

The Joker returns to polish off his enemies, starting with the D.A., then sets his sights on a $500,000 green jade Buddha.

Reprints

• in Batman Archives (DC, 1990 series) #1 ([July] 1990)
• in DC Archiv Edition (Dino Verlag, 1998 series) #3 - Batman 1
• in The Batman Chronicles (DC, 2005 series) #2 ([November] 2006)
• in Batman: The War Years 1939-1945 (Chartwell Books, 2015 series) (2015)
• in Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus (DC, 2015 series) #1 (2015 [January 2016])
• in Batman: The Golden Age (DC, 2016 series) #1 ([October] 2016)

Keywords

Batplane

Indexer Notes

George Roussos background inker credit verified by Roussos.

Again! (Table of Contents: 3) (Expand) /

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

[Glover Green] (Table of Contents: 4)

Spy / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Jerry Siegel

Pencils

Ed Moore

Inks

Ed Moore

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

adventure; spy

Characters

Bart Regan; Glover Green (villain)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 5) (Expand) /

American Specialty Co. / advertisement / 0.5 page (report information)

The Voice of the City by O. Henry (Table of Contents: 6)

Book Review / text article / 0.5 page (report information)

Script

Josette Frank ?

Letters

?

Genre

non-fiction

Indexer Notes

Writer credit added by Craig Delich.

[The Lady Cabdriver] (Table of Contents: 7)

Larry Steele, Private Detective / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Irwin Hasen ?

Inks

Irwin Hasen ?

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

detective-mystery

Characters

Larry Steele; Slug Malone; Monk Albee (villain)

Indexer Notes

The art has not been definitely confirmed as Hasen, but his in-line work is clearly evident: angular faces and a large preponderance of facial denotation. If, indeed, this is Hasen, it would be his first work for DC Comics.

[The Agita-Pulverizo Ray] (Table of Contents: 8)

The Crimson Avenger / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Jack Lehti (signed)

Pencils

Jack Lehti (signed)

Inks

Jack Lehti (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

The Crimson Avenger [Lee Travis] (with cape); Professor Crawford

[The Bowling Bowl Bombers] (Table of Contents: 9)

Speed Saunders, Ace Investigator / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Ed Winiarski (signed as Fran Miller)

Inks

Ed Winiarski (signed as Fran Miller)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

detective-mystery

Characters

Speed Saunders

Open Evidence (Table of Contents: 10)

text story / 1.67 pages (report information)

Script

Clem Gordon (credited) (house name)

Pencils

Fred Ray (credited as Fray)

Inks

Fred Ray (credited as Fray)

Colors

?

Letters

typeset

Genre

adventure

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 11) (Expand) /

advertisement / 0.33 page (report information)

[The Airplane Murder] (Table of Contents: 12)

Steve Malone, District Attorney / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Don Lynch (signed)

Inks

Don Lynch (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

detective-mystery

Characters

Steve Malone; Kay Hogan (death)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 13) (Expand) /

Detective Stamp Page / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

New! (Table of Contents: 14) (Expand) /

Superman / promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.5 page (report information)

Boys! Hear Your Own Voice! (Table of Contents: 15) (Expand) /

Home Recording Co. / advertisement / 0.5 page (report information)

Murder at the Polo Games (Table of Contents: 16)

Young America's Hero, Cliff Crosby / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Chad Grothkopf

Pencils

Chad Grothkopf

Inks

Chad Grothkopf

Colors

?

Letters

Chad Grothkopf

Genre

adventure

Characters

Cliff Crosby

[The Charity Racket] (Table of Contents: 17)

Slam Bradley / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Jerry Siegel (signed)

Pencils

Howard Sherman (signed)

Inks

Howard Sherman (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

Howard Sherman

Genre

detective-mystery

Characters

Slam Bradley; Shorty Morgan; Janet Pierce

Here It Is -- Better Than Ever! (Table of Contents: 18) (Expand) /

All-Star Comics / promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.5 page (report information)

Now on Sale (Table of Contents: 19) (Expand) /

New York World's Fair Comics / promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.5 page (report information)

Be a Cowboy! (Table of Contents: 20) (Expand) /

Daisy Air Rifles / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 21) (Expand) /

Baby Ruth / advertisement / 1 page (report information)