Detective Comics #500 [Direct]

(March 1981)

Detective Comics (Table of Contents: 1)

table of contents / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Jim Aparo (signed)

Inks

Jim Aparo (signed)

Colors

Anthony Tollin; Adrienne Roy ? (see notes)

Letters

typeset

Characters

Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Robin [Dick Grayson]

Indexer Notes

Contents page with illustration on inside front cover. Colorist added per comments by Anthony Tollin on Facebook on June 26, 2019: "I'm pretty certain that I colored this page. If not, [my] late wife Adrienne Roy colored it, but I'm pretty certain it was colored by yours truly (who also co-colored the cover with my late boss and mentor, Jack Adler)."

To Kill a Legend (Table of Contents: 2)

Batman / comic story / 19 pages (report information)

Script

Alan Brennert

Pencils

Dick Giordano

Inks

Dick Giordano

Colors

Adrienne Roy

Letters

John Costanza

Job Number

J-6870

Genre

superhero

Characters

Batman [Bruce Wayne] (of Earth-One, featured); Batman [Bruce Wayne] (of Earth-Two, flashback); Joe Chill (dream); The Phantom Stranger; Robin [Dick Grayson]; Martha Wayne (dream); Thomas Wayne (dream); Joe Chill (alternate Earth, death); Lieutenant James Gordon (alternate Earth); Barbara Kean (alternate Earth); Lew Moxon (alternate Earth); Bruce Wayne (alternate Earth); Martha Wayne (alternate Earth); Thomas Wayne (alternate Earth)

Reprints

• in Batman Sonderausgabe (Egmont Ehapa, 1981 series) #1 (1981)
• in Batman collection Le Justicier (Sage - Sagédition, 1982 series) #1 - Rendez-vous à Paris ! (avril 1982) [Alternance de noir et blanc et de couleurs [Color pages alternate with black and white pages]]
• in The Best of DC (DC, 1979 series) #23 (April 1982)
• in Gigant (Semic, 1977 series) #4/1983 (uke 24 1983)
• in The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told (DC, 1988 series) ([December] 1988)
• in The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told (Warner Books, 1989 series) #[nn] ([June] 1989)
• in The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told (DC, 1989 series) #[1] (1988 [August 1989])
• in Batman in the Eighties (DC, 2004 series) ([November] 2004)
• in Tales of the Batman: Alan Brennert (DC, 2016 series) ([September] 2016)
• in Detective Comics: Batman 80th Anniversary Giant (DC, 2019 series) #1 (2019)
• in Detective Comics: 80 Years of Batman (DC, 2019 series) ([May] 2019)

Keywords

alternate Earths; Crime Alley; Earth-One

Indexer Notes

This story takes place on June 21st, mostly on an alternate Earth where young Bruce Wayne's parents are about to be murdered by Joe Chill. The Earth-One Batman's parents were murdered on June 26, exactly 20 years earlier, when Bruce was 8 years old. As Batman explains, the difference in dates is due to the five leap days that occurred during those two decades.

Fans have assigned this alternate Earth the designation "Earth-Five", however that name is not official.

The "Too Many Cooks..." Caper! (Table of Contents: 3)

Slam Bradley / comic story / 13 pages (report information)

Script

Len Wein

Pencils

Jim Aparo

Inks

Jim Aparo

Colors

Tatjana Wood

Letters

Jim Aparo

Job Number

J-7087

Genre

detective-mystery

Characters

Jason Bard; Slam Bradley (featured); Captain Mark Compass; The Human Target [Christopher Chance]; Mysto [Rick Carter]; Roy Raymond; Pow-Wow Smith; Victor Dominion (villain, death); Archie Evergreen (death);

Reprints

• in DC Through the '80s: The End of Eras (DC, 2021 series) (2020 [February 2021])

Indexer Notes

With lots of cameos and guest-stars in this anniversary issue.

Once Upon a Time... (Table of Contents: 4)

Batman / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Len Wein; Charles Schulz (credited as Snoopy)

Pencils

Walter Simonson

Inks

Walter Simonson

Colors

?

Letters

?

Job Number

J-7176

Genre

superhero

Characters

Batman [Bruce Wayne]

Reprints

• in Stålmannen (Semic, 1976 series) #13/1981
which is reprinted
• in Batman (SatellitFörlaget, 1989 series) #10/1990 (december 1990)
• in Supermann (Semic, 1977 series) #11/1981 (uke 45 1981)
• in Tales of the Batman: Len Wein (DC, 2014 series) (2014 [February 2015])
• in DC Through the '80s: The End of Eras (DC, 2021 series) (2020 [February 2021])

Indexer Notes

Text is from a number of Peanuts strips published in 1970.

The Final Mystery of Edgar Allan Poe! (Table of Contents: 5)

The Elongated Man / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Mike W. Barr

Pencils

José Luis García-López

Inks

José Luis García-López

Colors

Tatjana Wood

Letters

John Costanza

Job Number

J-6992

Genre

superhero

Characters

Sue Dibny; The Elongated Man [Ralph Dibny] (featured); Edgar Allan Poe (flashback); Edwin Allman Pohe; Marcia Douglas; Steve Billman

Reprints

• in Faucon Noir (Arédit-Artima, 1977 series) #24 (mars 1982) [N&B [B&W]]

The Batman Encounters - Gray Face (Table of Contents: 6)

Batman / text story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Walter Gibson

Pencils

Tom Yeates

Inks

Tom Yeates

Colors

?

Letters

?

Job Number

J-7170

Genre

superhero

Characters

Batman [Bruce Wayne] (featured); Commissioner James Gordon; Gray Face (villain)

Indexer Notes

Text story with small illustrations.

The Strange Death of Doctor Erdel (Table of Contents: 7)

Hawkman / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Paul Levitz

Pencils

Joe Kubert

Inks

Joe Kubert

Colors

Tatjana Wood

Letters

Adam Kubert

Editing

Len Wein (guest editor)

Job Number

J-7060

Genre

superhero

Characters

Hawkgirl [Shayera Thal / Shiera Hall] (featured); Hawkman [Katar Hol / Carter Hall] (featured); Martian Manhunter [J'Onn J'Onzz] (cameo, origin recap); Professor Mark Erdel (in flashback); Fred Schneider (cameo, also in flashback); Anna Erdel (in flashback, Prof. Erdel's niece)

Synopsis

The Hawks solve The Strange Death of Dr. Erdel.

Reprints

• in Flash (Arédit-Artima, 1970 series) #57 (décembre 1982) [N&B et recadré [B&W and reframed]]
• in Spécial USA (Albin Michel, 1985 series) #19 (mars 1986)

Indexer Notes

Title taken from contents page. Also listed in last panel of story.

What Happens When a Batman Dies? (Table of Contents: 8)

Batman; Deadman / comic story / 22 pages (report information)

Script

Cary Bates

Pencils

Carmine Infantino

Inks

Bob Smith

Colors

Adrienne Roy

Letters

John Costanza

Job Number

J-6876

Genre

superhero

Characters

Batman [Bruce Wayne] (featured); Deadman [Boston Brand] (featured); Commissioner James Gordon; Robin [Dick Grayson]

Reprints

• in Batman Sonderausgabe (Egmont Ehapa, 1981 series) #1 (1981)
• in Tales of the Batman: Carmine Infantino (DC, 2014 series) ([July] 2014)
• in Deadman Omnibus (DC, 2020 series) (2020 [February 2021])

The Guest List (Table of Contents: 9)

text article / 1 page (report information)

Script

Paul Levitz

Pencils

Dick Giordano; Joe Kubert; Carmine Infantino; Walter Simonson; Tom Yeates; José Luis García-López

Inks

Dick Giordano; Joe Kubert; Walter Simonson; Tom Yeates; José Luis García-López; Bob Smith

Colors

?

Letters

?

Indexer Notes

Reproduction of cover in various states of completion, plus text about the characters. On inside back cover.