Read for the Art - Detective Comics Walt Simonson

Going through boxes of comics is proving to be a blast! Here's an issue of Detective Comics from 1975 that I came across. Mid '70's comics can be hit or miss, this one is a definite hit.

The cover looked familiar but I couldn't remember reading the comic.

Elliot S. Maggin tells a good story but it's Walt Simonson on art that blew me away.

Walt Simonson has had an extremely impressive comic career. I enjoyed his work on books like Thor, Fantastic Four, X-Factor, and Orion as writer and artist. This particular comic showcases some of his early art style. He had started out drawing a Manhunter back-up story in previous issues of Detective Comics. What he's done in this issue looks really dynamic and completely different from his later work.

I picked a few examples I thought really stood out and that tell the story pretty well too.

Batman crouched, cape blowing, and menacing. Just the way I like him.

Poor Mr. Harcourt, he unfortunately happens to know the wrong person - Jeremy Wormwood, the shooter in an assassination attempt on a senator.

Living the life of a rich playboy must be hard, but Bruce Wayne lives it well. Surrounding himself with beautiful women, entertaining with a carefree attitude - until the Batman is needed.

Loved this panel of Bruce transforming into Batman! There is a movement and motion to it. Also hearing the young lady getting upset and storming out - too funny.

Batman arrives at Father Knickbocker's Wax Museum. This plays out slightly different than the cover shows. The wax figures in the story are pretty nondescript and featureless. Batman is of course prepared and escapes the waxy death-trap.

Wormwood meets with Harcourt to give him the cape and cowl and collect his fee. Thinking he's in the company of a friend, Jeremy Wormwood admits that mob boss Mike Carley had ordered the hit on the senator. That's all Batman needs to hear before leaping into action.

This would make an amazing poster.

Now, if I saw Batman coming at me I would stop, drop and ball. Wormwood chooses to stand and fight at first, using only a switch blade. You're toast dude, this is the Batman.

What a great page design, with the bat in the middle - "Beware this avenging creature of the night!"

I think it also shows Batman at his most badass-edness - Awesome!

With his confession to Mr. Harcourt, secretly Batman in disguise, caught on tape the comic concludes with Woodworm being arrested by Commissioner Gordon and the GCPD.

Batman's cape and cowl hanging on the chair was a great visual ending to the book too. Even without being in the room Batman's presence is felt. 

As I said at the beginning, the art on this issue was fantastic. I have always enjoyed Walt Simonson's work, but this really took it to another level. Something else that I thought was really cool about the 4 panel fight scene, it has Walt's signature and date of 2-14-75. It kind of provides a time-line into the making of the comic. The comic is cover dated August, but it was probably published 3 months earlier in May. I love things like that.

Detective Comics #450

Writer: Elliot S. Maggin

Artist: Walt Simonson

August 1975