ISO: Lost Batman Comic (and don’t forget about Free Comic Book Day)!

by Jeremy DeFatta

Happy new book day, everyone! Last week marked the 60^th anniversary of the Senate hearings that eventually led to the stifling of comics as a medium, so I’d like to ask for a little help in finding a lost comic book. In its own weird way, I hope this stands as a tribute to all of our losses in terms of what comics could have been for the past few decades. If we find the book I’m seeking, I hope that can stand as a symbol that what is lost in comics can be regained.

Back in the early 90s, my dad bought me my very first issue of a comic featuring Batman. Due to time and typical childhood stupidity, that book is now lost to me, when it should have an honored place in my collection today. I don’t remember a lot about the comic aside from a few art details. Batman had very long ears, as he tended to in early 90s stories.

In the comic, Batman and the Joker are both exposed to something that was likely Bane’s venom chemical or something like it. They both Hulked out and started punching each other around the city. One striking image from the comic is Batman hitting the Joker so hard he actually embeds him in the metal wall of a rooftop water tower. The only other detail I recall is the cover; it showed the Joker’s maniacally grinning face with his hands on either side of it as he tries to press his face through a rough opening in a wall.

During the 90s, as now, there were many, many short-lived Batman titles flitting about the market, so I also cannot be entirely sure which of them this issue came from. It may have been an early issue of Shadow of the Bat, but I can’t be certain. I’ve looked through several databases of Batman cover images and haven’t turned up much.

And that’s what I have. Can anyone reading this help me out, or at least point me in the right direction based on what I’ve listed? You would have my undying gratitude either way.

Let me know your thoughts and findings below. And following the theme of this post, what was your first issue of Batman that you can remember? How did you come to know the character?

My comic picks for this week:

Batman Eternal #4

Batman Beyond Universe #9

Avengers #28

New Avengers #17

Avengers World #5

Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #4

Don’t forget to support your local comic shops, especially this Saturday. Free Comic Book Day has come once more. Go out and enjoy it! (See their Facebook page and homepage for more information about the annual event). Again, I thank you all for your help. Tweet me @quaintjeremy.

images: Batsignal via scifi.stackexchange.com. CCA seal via CBLDF.org.