Batman #4

(Winter 1941)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 1) (Expand) /

Johnson Smith & Company / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder (Table of Contents: 2)

Batman and Robin / illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Bob Kane (signed)

Inks

Jerry Robinson; George Roussos (backgrounds)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Robin [Dick Grayson]; The Joker; Clayface [Basil Karlo]

Reprints

• in Batman: The Dark Knight Archives (DC, 1992 series) #1 ([July] 1992)
• in Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus (DC, 2015 series) #1 (2015 [January 2016])
• in Batman: The Golden Age (DC, 2016 series) #2 ([April] 2017)

Indexer Notes

Inks credits verified by Robinson and Roussos.

Collage of 6 panels from various stories and center montage of Batman and Robin.

The Case of the Joker's Crime Circus! (Table of Contents: 3)

Batman and Robin / comic story / 13 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Finger

Pencils

Bob Kane (signed)

Inks

Jerry Robinson; George Roussos (backgrounds)

Colors

?

Letters

George Roussos

Feature Logo

Batman with Robin - The Boy Wonder [30's face, spotlight]

Genre

superhero

Characters

Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Robin [Dick Grayson]; C. R. Darcey; Mr. Morganbilt; The Joker (villain); the Crime Circus (villains)

Synopsis

The Joker organizes a crime circus that performs at the homes of wealthy patrons to size up the joint, then later robs them.

Reprints

• in Limited Collectors' Edition (DC, 1972 series) #C-25 ([April-May] 1974)
• in The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told (Warner Books, 1989 series) (1989)
• in The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told (DC, 1988 series) (1988 [February 1989])
• in The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told (DC, 1989 series) ([August] 1989)
• in Stacked Deck: The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told (Longmeadow Press, 1990 series) ([November] 1990)
• in Batman: The Dark Knight Archives (DC, 1992 series) #1 ([July] 1992)
• in The Batman Chronicles (DC, 2005 series) #3 ([July] 2007)
• in Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus (DC, 2015 series) #1 (2015 [January 2016])
• in Batman: The Golden Age (DC, 2016 series) #2 ([April] 2017)

Keywords

Gotham City; Gotham City Gazette

Indexer Notes

Inker credit verified by Robinson; background inker credit verified by Roussos.

Every Month! (Table of Contents: 4) (Expand) /

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

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

Oddities... / cartoon / 0.5 page (report information)

Script

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Pencils

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Inks

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

First Line of Dialogue or Text

There is a desert in New England...

Genre

non-fiction

Here You Are, Fans! (Table of Contents: 6) (Expand) /

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

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

False Alarms / cartoon / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Lou Paige (signed as G. Paige)

Inks

Lou Paige (signed as G. Paige)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Louisville, Ky. -- A motorist, whose car was on fire, drove...

Genre

humor

Keywords

Bridgeport; Haverhill; Milton Park; North Tonawanda

Blackbeard's Crew and the Yacht Society (Table of Contents: 8)

Batman and Robin / comic story / 13 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Finger

Pencils

Bob Kane (signed)

Inks

Jerry Robinson; George Roussos (backgrounds)

Colors

?

Letters

George Roussos

Feature Logo

Batman with Robin - The Boy Wonder [30's face]

Genre

superhero

Characters

Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Robin [Dick Grayson]; Mr. Horn; Stanley (Horn's Secretary); Elaine; Mr. Cowden; Henry; un-named Yacht Captain (death); Blackbeard [Thatch] (villain, introduction)

Synopsis

When an exclusive yacht is taken over by a band of pirates led by the immortal Blackbeard himself, the Batman and Robin come aboard to swab the decks with them.

Reprints

• in Batman: The Dark Knight Archives (DC, 1992 series) #1 ([July] 1992)
• in The Batman Chronicles (DC, 2005 series) #3 ([July] 2007)
• in Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus (DC, 2015 series) #1 (2015 [January 2016])
• in Batman: The Golden Age (DC, 2016 series) #2 ([April] 2017)

Keywords

Batplane

Indexer Notes

Inks credits verified by Robinson and Roussos; letters credit verified by Roussos.

Here's What You've Been Waiting For - All Star No. 4! (Table of Contents: 9) (Expand) /

All-Star Comics / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

[Public Enemy No. 1] (Table of Contents: 10)

Batman and Robin / comic story / 13 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Finger

Pencils

Bob Kane (signed)

Inks

Jerry Robinson; George Roussos (backgrounds)

Colors

?

Letters

George Roussos

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Along with the glitter of wealth they sought, men...

Feature Logo

Batman with Robin - The Boy Wonder [30's face]

Genre

superhero

Characters

Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Robin [Dick Grayson]; Jimmy "Red" McCoy (villain, introduction, death), "Big" Costello (villain, introduction, death)

Synopsis

Batman must contend with Jimmy McCoy, a young bully who claws his way up through the ranks until he becomes the overlord of crime, but ends up being deserted by his mob, hunted by the Police and killed in a gutter.

Reprints

• in Batman: The Dark Knight Archives (DC, 1992 series) #1 ([July] 1992)
• in The Batman Chronicles (DC, 2005 series) #3 ([July] 2007)
• in Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus (DC, 2015 series) #1 (2015 [January 2016])
• in Batman: The Golden Age (DC, 2016 series) #2 ([April] 2017)

Keywords

Authenticated News; Daily Times; New York City; Penguin Club; Tribune

Indexer Notes

Inker credit verified by Robinson, background inker and colorist credits verified by Roussos.

Oddity: many panels in this story display Batman without the bat on his chest.

Panel 7 on page 11 has a partial name on a business window: "Jerry", possibly for Jerry Robinson.

Colossal! Terrific! Stupendous! (Table of Contents: 11) (Expand) /

World's Best Comics / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Code of the Glove (Table of Contents: 12)

text story / 1.5 pages (report information)

Script

Clem Gordon (credited) (house name)

Pencils

Raymond Perry

Inks

Raymond Perry

Colors

?

Letters

typeset

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Billy Summers studied the notice on the post office bulletin board.

Genre

adventure

Characters

Billy Summers; Mike Casey; Joe Dolan; James Rollin

Keywords

Acme Institute

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

statement of ownership / 0.5 page (report information)

Script

?

Letters

typeset

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 14)

Ginger Snap / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Bob Kane (signed as Lou Reed)

Pencils

Bob Kane (signed as Lou Reed)

Inks

Bob Kane (signed as Lou Reed)

Colors

?

Letters

Bob Kane ?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Oh Ginger!

Genre

humor; children

Characters

Ginger Snap; Wilbur

Synopsis

Ginger and Wilbur go for a boat ride, but the boat sinks a mile out. Ginger then finds a novel way of making it back to shore.

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

[Touchdown for Justice] (Table of Contents: 15)

Batman and Robin / comic story / 13 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Finger

Pencils

Bob Kane (signed)

Inks

Jerry Robinson; George Roussos (backgrounds)

Colors

?

Letters

George Roussos

First Line of Dialogue or Text

As a group of thugs attack a man, suddenly the air is...

Feature Logo

Batman with Robin - The Boy Wonder [30's face]

Genre

superhero

Characters

Batman [Bruce Wayne] [also as Stockton]; Robin [Dick Grayson]; Tim Bannon (Coach of the Panthers); Stockton; Stacy (villain, introduction); Stacy's mob (villains, introduction for all, all die)

Synopsis

The Caped Crusader doubles as a star football player, who has been kidnapped in order that his team will lose and criminals will gain big time from the bets they have made.

Reprints

• in Batman: The Dark Knight Archives (DC, 1992 series) #1 ([July] 1992)
• in The Batman Chronicles (DC, 2005 series) #3 ([July] 2007)
• in Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus (DC, 2015 series) #1 (2015 [January 2016])
• in Batman: The Golden Age (DC, 2016 series) #2 ([April] 2017)

Keywords

football

Indexer Notes

Inker credit verified by Robinson, background inker and colorist credits verified by Roussos.

The splash to this story became the cover for Batman #5, except that the bat on Batman's chest, evident on the splash, was not found on the cover.

Jerry Robinson's first name appears on page 1, panel 2, on a sport shop.

The "Roussos Bar" appears on page 9, in panel 3.

Batman uses a gun in this story.

Entrance into the Wayne home was accomplished by Batman entering the barn, lifting a trap door, and going down into a tunnel, and traveling through the tunnel to steps that emerged to a secret panel in the home.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 16) (Expand) /

Home Recording Co. / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

The "Big Six" Comic Magazines Still Lead the Field! (Table of Contents: 17) (Expand) /

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

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 18) (Expand) /

Lancaster County Seed Co. / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 19) (Expand) /

Daisy Air Rifles / Daisy B-B Guns / advertisement / 1 page (report information)