Detective Comics #261
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeDetective Comics #261 (November 1958) marks the first appearance of Doctor Double X — Simon Ecks — a Batman villain whose central gimmick, separating one's own personality into a superpowered energy duplicate, gave DC one of its more conceptually offbeat Silver Age antagonists. The issue also showcases the anthology format that defined the era, pairing that Batman lead with a Martian Manhunter story riffing on a then-current science-fiction film, demonstrating how DC's Silver Age titles actively absorbed pop-culture touchstones from movies and pulp fiction. Sitting squarely in editor Jack Schiff's tenure over the Batman titles, the issue exemplifies the science-fiction-inflected storytelling direction that characterized late-1950s Batman before Julius Schwartz's 'New Look' revamp in 1964. As a package, it offers a snapshot of the Batman anthology in full swing, with backup features for Roy Raymond and the Martian Manhunter rounding out a representative example of how Detective Comics operated as a multi-hero vehicle during this transitional period.
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The Batman lead story, 'The Amazing Dr. Double X!', was written by Dave Wood and drawn by Sheldon Moldoff, working under the long-running Batman editorial stewardship of Jack Schiff, who oversaw the titles from 1942 to 1964 and was known for steering Batman into increasingly science-fiction-tinged territory during this period. Bob Kane received a creator credit consistent with his contractual arrangement at DC, while Moldoff — one of Kane's primary ghost artists at the time — produced the interior art. The cover was penciled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye, with lettering by Ira Schnapp; the book's additional interior contributors included Ruben Moreira, Joe Certa, Charles Paris, and writer Jack Miller for the backup features.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Doctor Double X (Simon Ecks), a Batman villain who can project a superpowered energy duplicate of himself — along with his alter-ego designation Dr. X — both of whom debut in this issue.
- Lead Batman story 'The Amazing Dr. Double X!' was written by Dave Wood and penciled by Sheldon Moldoff, with inking by Charles Paris; Bob Kane received a creator credit per his standard DC contractual arrangement.
- Cover art was penciled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye, with lettering by Ira Schnapp.
- Editor: Jack Schiff, who edited the Batman family of titles at DC from 1942 to 1964.
- The Martian Manhunter backup story, 'The Midget Manhunter!', features John Jones/J'onn J'onzz battling a criminal with a shrinking ray, with the story noted as tying in to the then-current science-fiction film The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957).
- The issue is a three-feature anthology: Batman (lead), Roy Raymond in 'The Modern Sorcerer' (art: Ruben Moreira), and Martian Manhunter (art: Joe Certa and Jack Miller), plus a one-page 'Casey the Cop' humor strip by Henry Boltinoff.
- Doctor Double X's next appearance following this debut came in Detective Comics #316.
- Both major stories have been reprinted: the Batman lead in Batman Family #7, and the Martian Manhunter story in Showcase Presents: Martian Manhunter Vol. 1.
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Reprints
↩ Reprints Star Spangled Comics #79 (1948), World's Finest Comics #73 (1954)
Reprinted in The Hundred Comic Monthly #31 (1959), Super Adventure Comic #114 (1959), Batman Annual #1962 (1961), Big Boss #56 (1961), The Batman Family #7 (1976), Big Boss #30 (1976), Showcase Presents: Martian Manhunter #1 (2007), Bumper Batcomic #5
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