Detective Comics #32
Detective Comics #32 closes out the very first continued Batman story in comics history — a two-part horror-pulp adventure begun in issue #31 — making it the conclusion of a genuine narrative experiment for the medium in 1939. The issue contains one of the earliest and most consequential displays of Batman's pre-Code character: he melts down a silver statue to fashion bullets and then shoots two sleeping vampires dead, a scene that threw into sharp relief just how dramatically the character's 'no-killing, no-guns' code would eventually reshape him. The Monk, Batman's second costumed super-villain and the lead antagonist across both parts, set a template for the fantastical, supernatural foes the Dark Knight would keep encountering, and the story's pulpy atmosphere — Gothic Eastern Europe, vampire mythology, a damsel under hypnotic thrall — proved durable enough to inspire writers and artists for decades. The Batarang (here still spelled 'Baterang') is also deployed for the first time as a grappling tool in this issue, establishing the core technique of attaching a silken rope to objects that would define Batman's movement through Gotham for generations.
In "Batman vs. the Vampire, Part 2," Batman—still in his early days—finds himself in Hungary with Julie, chasing a mysterious vampire who offers a chilling proposition: reveal the location of the Monk’s hideout in exchange for the Dark Knight’s promise to eliminate him. Written by Gardner Fox and brought to life by Bob Kane’s definitive art and inks, this 1939 classic blends gothic suspense with the fledgling hero’s growing resolve. The cover by Fred Guardineer captures the eerie tension with a striking, shadowed image of the Caped Crusader in a moonlit confrontation.
In "Batman vs. the Vampire, Part 2," Batman tracks a mysterious vampire through the fog-laced streets of Hungary, where he’s joined by Julie. When the vampire offers a chilling proposition—reveal the location of the Monk’s hideout in exchange for Batman’s promise to kill him—the Dark Knight must weigh the cost of a deal that could end a deadly threat… or unleash something far worse.
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The story 'Batman Versus the Vampire, Part Two' was written by Gardner Fox — who would later co-create The Flash, Hawkman, and the Justice Society — and illustrated by Bob Kane (pencils and inks) with Sheldon Moldoff handling backgrounds and lettering; Moldoff was a frequent Kane ghost artist who would go on to design Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, and Ace the Bat-Hound. The issue carries an October 1939 cover date but was actually published on August 30, 1939, according to DC Database records — an out-of-sequence production quirk noted across multiple sources. Batman did not appear on the cover of this issue; per a pattern that held from Detective Comics #27 through #35, Batman was featured only on the odd-numbered covers, so issue #32 showed a police scene instead.
Trivia · 12 facts
- Cover date: October 1939; actual publication date: August 30, 1939 (published out of sequence, per DC Database).
- Presents 'Batman Versus the Vampire, Part Two' — the conclusion of the first-ever continued (multi-part) Batman storyline, spanning Detective Comics #31–32.
- Batman's sixth published appearance overall.
- Batman uses a firearm to kill the Monk and Dala by shooting them with self-made silver bullets while they sleep in their coffins — a pivotal scene demonstrating the character had not yet developed his 'no guns, no killing' code.
- First issue in which the Baterang (later spelled Batarang) is used as a grappling tool, combined with a silken cord latched onto a pillar — the functional precursor to Batman's signature rope-and-hook technique.
- First use of the name 'Batplane' for Batman's aircraft, which was still physically drawn as the Batgyro autogyro introduced in issue #31.
- Dala, the female vampire accomplice of the Monk, appears and is killed in this issue; she is considered the first female Batman villain in publication history.
- Script for the Batman feature by Gardner Fox; pencils by Bob Kane with backgrounds by Sheldon Moldoff; inks by Bob Kane. The Slam Bradley backup, scripted by Jerry Siegel and drawn by Joe Shuster, marks Shuster's final Golden Age contribution to that feature. Other anthology features in the issue include Speed Saunders ('The Skull-Face Cult'), Buck Marshall ('The Last Act'), Larry Steele, Cosmo, Bruce Nelson, Bart Regan (Spy), and Slam Bradley.
- The Batman feature was reprinted in 100-Page Super Spectacular #DC-14 (February 1973), in The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told (1988 hardcover), in the Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 1, and in international editions including an Eaglemoss DC Comics Graphic Novel Collection volume (2016) and a French Urban Comics edition (2017).
- The story was reimagined by writer-artist Matt Wagner in the six-issue limited series Batman and the Mad Monk (2006–07), a Post-Crisis retelling that also modernized Dala and Julie Madison.
- The Monk's hood was later displayed as a trophy in the Batcave, depicted in Detective Comics #676.
- The Monk did not return in a new story until Gerry Conway revived the character — and Dala — beginning in Detective Comics #511–515 (1982).
Cast · 12 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in 100-Page Super Spectacular #DC-14 (1973), The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told #[nn] (1988), The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told #[nn] (1989), The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told #[1] (1989), Batman Archives #1 (1990), DC Archiv Edition #3 (1999), The Batman Chronicles #1 (2005), Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus #1 (2016), Batman: The Golden Age #1 (2016), DC Comics Graphic Novel Collection #92 (2016), Batman et les monstres #[nn] (2017)
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