Batman #238
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeBatman #238 is the eighth entry in DC's landmark 100-Page Super Spectacular reprint initiative, a format conceived by editor E. Nelson Bridwell to bring decades of DC's vast back-catalogue to a new generation of readers under one cover at fifty cents. Its greatest historical weight comes from its inclusion of a complete reprint of the Doom Patrol's debut from My Greatest Adventure #80 (1963), making it one of the earliest and most widely distributed vehicles through which Bronze Age readers first encountered the Arnold Drake–Bob Haney–Bruno Premiani creation of Robotman, Elasti-Girl, Negative Man, and the Chief. The wraparound cover by Neal Adams — assembling Batman alongside Aquaman, the Doom Patrol, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Plastic Man, and Sargon the Sorcerer — is itself a document of how DC understood and marketed its own history at the dawn of the Bronze Age.
In "Chapter 2: The Challenge of the Timeless Commander," the Doom Patrol is called to safeguard an alien spaceship carrying a dangerous super-weapon, only to face a mysterious machine that defies their understanding. As General Immortus watches from the shadows, the team must confront the unknown—before the weapon's power is unleashed.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The DC 100-Page Super Spectacular format was E. Nelson Bridwell's solution to the collapse of DC's Eighty-Page Giant line, which had been cut from 80 pages to 64 pages by rising paper costs in 1968–69; Bridwell pitched the new 100-page, fifty-cent package as a way to monetize the company's archive while the Giant format wound down. For Batman #238, Bridwell assembled the issue as editor, selecting reprints spanning Golden Age Batman stories, Silver Age Doom Patrol, Legion of Super-Heroes, Aquaman, Plastic Man, and Sargon the Sorcerer tales, then commissioned Neal Adams — then DC's most prolific cover artist, responsible for close to 400 covers since 1967 — to produce a wraparound cover showcasing the featured heroes. The issue went on sale November 4, 1971, with a January 1972 cover date, published by National Periodical Publications. One story in the issue, 'Danger in the Totem's Eye!' (a Sargon the Sorcerer tale), was technically an unpublished Golden Age story that had been intended for Flash Comics #105 before that series was cancelled — making it the sole original content in the book.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: January 1972 (on-sale date November 4, 1971); published by National Periodical Publications (DC Comics); also designated DC 100-Page Super Spectacular #DC-8.
- 100 pages in length at a cover price of fifty cents; the wraparound format included no outside advertising, all editorial content.
- Cover art by Neal Adams, a full wraparound design depicting Batman, Aquaman, Plastic Man, the Doom Patrol, the Legion of Super-Heroes, and Sargon the Sorcerer; the inside back cover featured a character key identifying every hero on the cover.
- Reprints the complete origin of the Doom Patrol from My Greatest Adventure #80 (June 1963), scripted by Arnold Drake (plot) and Bob Haney (script), with art by Bruno Premiani — the first appearance of Robotman (Cliff Steele), Elasti-Girl (Rita Farr), Negative Man (Larry Trainor), the Chief, and villain General Immortus.
- Also reprints 'The Masterminds of Crime!' from Batman #70, with art by Curt Swan; a Plastic Man story from Police Comics #14 by Jack Cole; an Aquaman story from Adventure Comics #276; and a Legion of Super-Heroes story ('The Legion of Super-Outlaws!') from Adventure Comics #324.
- Contains 'Danger in the Totem's Eye!' — a Sargon the Sorcerer story that had been prepared for the unpublished Flash Comics #105 before that series was cancelled, making it technically the only story in the issue never previously printed.
- Edited by E. Nelson Bridwell, whose encyclopedic knowledge of DC's publishing history drove the entire Super Spectacular concept; Bridwell also contributed the character key printed on the inside covers.
- The Doom Patrol origin reprinted here has since been collected in Doom Patrol Archives Vol. 1, Showcase Presents: The Doom Patrol Vol. 1, and Doom Patrol: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1, confirming its enduring status as a key text in DC's Silver Age mythology.
Full credits
Reprints
↩ Reprints Police Comics #14 (1942), Sensation Comics #57 (1946), Batman #70 (1952), Batman #75 (1953), Adventure Comics #276 (1960), My Greatest Adventure #80 (1963), Adventure Comics #324 (1964)
Reprinted in Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams #3 (2006), Batman: Demoniske møter [Alle Tiders Superhelter] #[nn] (2006), Batman Collection: Neal Adams #3 (2009), Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams #3 (2013), Showcase Presents: Batman #6 (2016), Batman by Neal Adams Omnibus #[nn] (2016), Batman by Neal Adams #3 (2020)
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