In 1972, Crown/Harmony published Batman from the 30s to the 70s, a collection of Batman reprints.
A few years later, while on a Sunday trip ‘up West’ with my
parents, I came across a paperback copy of this collection in an Athena shop on
Piccadilly Circus. I begged my parents to buy it for me, and I read that book
cover to cover - countless times - immersing myself in Batman stories that ran
the gamut from Golden Age simplicity to early Bronze Age sophistication. There
was one story in particular, however, that entranced me: “Prisoners of Three
Worlds” guest-starring Batwoman and Bat-Girl.
The story was reprinted from Batman #153, a comic from 1962 that I don’t own. However, due to
the miracle of digital comics, I am able to read this story again while my beat
up copy of the book remains packed away in a box somewhere in the cellar.
There was one reason in particular that I found this story
so memorable:
Aww..isn’t that sweet?
Long after I’d forgotten the plot of this story, those two panels
stayed with me for the next 40 odd years. The plot, now that I’ve reread it, is
beyond bizarre. Written by Bill Finger, with art by Sheldon Moldoff and Charles
Paris, has Batman and Robin, and Batwoman and Bat-GirL, while out on patrol,
come across an alien stealing silver. While attempting to stop him, Robin and
Bat-Girl are transported to the alien’s dimension, while Batman and Batwoman
have their life force sucked out of them and transported to the same dimension.
In that other dimension, Robin and Bat-Girl help quell a
coup, and the life-forces of Batman and Batwoman battle a strange race of bird people.
Needless to say, all the heroes make it back to earth and put an end to the
alien’s plot. Then this happens:
What a chump!
The story reads like some sort of fever dream, so it’s no
wonder Grant Morrison put this story back into Batman’s continuity, during his iconic
run early this century, as an example of his writer’s conceit that all of Batman’s continuity
happened. Apparently it was down to Batman’s experiments with sensory
deprivation.
I can’t honestly say this is a great comic, but I’ll forgive
it a lot for the nostalgia it so wonderfully evokes.
Bee-Boy awarded this comic 2 stings
