Batman #260
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeBatman #260 is a key Bronze Age entry in Denny O'Neil's sustained effort to restore the Joker as a genuinely dangerous villain following the definitive reset in Batman #251 — here O'Neil deploys a weaponized variation of Joker Venom that forces Batman to laugh uncontrollably in moments of mortal peril, a narrative device that dramatizes the Joker's psychological hold over his nemesis in a viscerally direct way. The issue is also a notable showcase for Two-Face as a morally ambiguous wild card: it is Two-Face who secretly tips Batman off to the Joker's escape and then aids the hero in battle when his coin lands clean, deepening the Bronze Age characterization of Harvey Dent as a figure balanced between corruption and conscience. As one of the final issues in DC's 100 Page Super Spectacular run on the Batman title, it also represents the editorial ambition of that era — pairing a sharp new O'Neil thriller with decades-spanning Golden and Silver Age reprints under one cover. The story's endurance is confirmed by its selection for the curated trade Batman in the Seventies and its inclusion in The Joker: The Bronze Age Omnibus, where it sits alongside Batman #251 as a pillar of the Clown Prince's Bronze Age canon.
In "This One'll Kill You, Batman!", Batman grows suspicious during a meeting of the Analysts when Kaye claims she didn’t write her latest book—only for a voice to emerge from her brooch, sending a chill through the room. Written by Gardner Fox and illustrated by Chic Stone with inks by Sid Greene, this 1975 DC classic blends psychological tension with the eerie precision of a mystery that’s just beginning to unravel. The cover by Nick Cardy captures the moment’s dread with sharp, shadowed detail.
In "This One'll Kill You, Batman!", the Joker escapes custody with a twisted plan: he infects Batman with a deadly laughing virus that will kill him in three days, then eliminates the only man who could create an antidote—leaving the Dark Knight with no cure and a countdown to his own demise.
In "The Grade A Crimes!", Batman zeroes in on a peculiar pattern: a milkman and his horse-drawn wagon show up at every early-bird robbery. With the city baffled and the trail leading straight to the dairy route, the Dark Knight must unravel how a seemingly innocent delivery service is tied to a string of high-stakes crimes.
In "The Perfect Crime—Slightly Imperfect!" from Batman #260, Jo Kaye’s sudden claim that she didn’t write her new book sends ripples through the Analysts’ meeting—especially when a voice seems to emerge from her brooch. Batman, sensing something’s off, digs into the mystery of the woman who looks like Kaye but might not be her.
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The issue was edited by Julius Schwartz with E. Nelson Bridwell serving as assistant editor, and its credits — script, pencils, and inks — were all confirmed from Schwartz's own editorial records later provided to the Grand Comics Database by DC Comics. It went on sale October 29, 1974, carrying a February 1975 cover date, placing it squarely in the bimonthly 100 Page Super Spectacular window that ran from Batman #254 through #261. The cover was penciled and inked by Nick Cardy (also signed by Cardy), though an earlier indexer attributed partial cover work to Neal Adams; researcher Nick Caputo subsequently found no evidence of Adams's hand on the cover art. The lead story's interior art team of Irv Novick (pencils) and Dick Giordano (inks) was the same pairing O'Neil had used on The Joker #1 the same year, giving the work a consistent visual identity across DC's mid-1970s Batman-adjacent output.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date February 1975; actual on-sale date October 29, 1974 — one of the final issues in the Batman 100 Page Super Spectacular run (Batman #254–261).
- Lead story 'This One'll Kill You, Batman!' (20 pages): script by Denny O'Neil, pencils by Irv Novick, inks by Dick Giordano, letters by Ben Oda, edited by Julius Schwartz.
- Cover art by Nick Cardy (pencils and inks, confirmed from Schwartz's editorial records); a previous indexer credited Neal Adams but researcher Nick Caputo found no corroborating evidence in the art.
- The Joker escapes Arkham Asylum using a variation of his signature venom that compels Batman to laugh uncontrollably during life-threatening situations, leaving him helpless in combat — the Joker then murders one of only two doctors worldwide who can prepare the antidote, forcing Batman to travel to England.
- Two-Face (Harvey Dent) appears as a morally ambiguous ally: he secretly tips Batman to the Joker's escape and aids Batman against other released inmates after the clean side of his coin lands up.
- First appearance of Dr. Rockwell, described as one of only two experts in the world capable of creating an antidote to the Joker's laughing compound.
- The issue's 100-page format includes backup reprints spanning three eras: 'The Grade A Crimes!' from Batman #16 (1943, Golden Age, Dick Sprang/Jack Burnley art); 'The Perfect Crime — Slightly Imperfect!' from Batman #181 (1966, Silver Age, Sheldon Moldoff/Sid Greene art); and a Riddler story from Detective Comics #377.
- The lead story has been reprinted multiple times: The Best of DC #14 (July 1981), the Batman in the Seventies trade paperback (1999/2000), The Joker: His Greatest Jokes (2019), and The Joker: The Bronze Age Omnibus (2019 and 2026 reprint edition).
Full credits
Reprints
↩ Reprints Batman #16 (1943), Batman #27 (1945), Detective Comics #112 (1946), Batman #86 (1954), Gang Busters #48 (1955), Detective Comics #311 (1963), Batman #181 (1966), Detective Comics #377 (1968)
Reprinted in Comic Reader #111 (1974), Batman Classics #66 (1975), Superman #13/1975 (1975), Läderlappen #9/1975 (1975), Batman Album #37 (1979), The Best of DC #14 (1981), Batman in the Seventies #[nn] (2000), The Joker: The Bronze Age Omnibus #[nn] (2019), The Joker: His Greatest Jokes #[nn] (2019), الوطواط [Al-Watwat / The Batman] #125
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