Cover: Jim Starlin

Detective Comics #503

Jun 1981 · DC · 0.50 USD

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“The 6 Days of the Scarecrow”

★ 1st appearance — Hamilton Hill

About this Issue

Detective Comics #503 marks the debut of Hamilton Hill, the corrupt Mayor of Gotham City whose secret alliance with crime boss Rupert Thorne would fuel some of the most politically charged Batman stories of the early 1980s — including Gordon's forced removal from the commissioner's office. The issue also signals the true start of Gerry Conway's cohesive run on the title: whereas his earlier contributions read as self-contained fill-ins, this installment introduces running soap-opera subplots that would carry through years of Batman and Detective Comics stories. The Scarecrow-as-political-saboteur premise, in which the villain's fear pheromone turns Batman's own presence into a weapon against him, represents a psychologically inventive use of the character that prefigures later fear-toxin storytelling. The issue has remained a touchstone of the Bronze Age Batman era, reprinted multiple times specifically in Scarecrow-focused collections.

In "The 6 Days of the Scarecrow," Batman faces a chilling new threat when Scarecrow unleashes a pheromone that instills paralyzing fear of him in everyone nearby. With his usual methods compromised, Batman enlists Robin and Batgirl to uncover the source before the city descends into panic. Written by Gerry Conway and illustrated by Don Newton, with inks by Dan Adkins, colors by Adrienne Roy, and letters by Ben Oda, this 1981 classic features a striking cover by Jim Starlin.

writer Gerry Conway · artist Don Newton · inker Dan Adkins · colorist Adrienne Roy · letterer Ben Oda · cover Jim Starlin

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (Fine) $4

CGC 9.8 · 13 in census $113*

CGC 9.6 · 12 in census $33*

CGC 9.4 · 4 in census $20*

CGC 9.2 · 3 in census $20*

CGC 9.0 · 3 in census $20*

CGC 8.5 · 2 in census $20*

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CGC 8.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 7.5 none in existence

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CGC 6.5 none in existence

CGC 6.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 5.5 none in existence

CGC 5.0 · 1 in census $20*

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F/VF $6 FN/VF $7.49 VF $7.49 VF $7.99 VERY FINE $7.99 VG $8 Newsstand $8.46 FN $9

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History

The story 'The 6 Days of the Scarecrow' was written by Gerry Conway, penciled by Don Newton, and inked by Dan Adkins, with Paul Levitz serving as editor — an unusual circumstance given that Levitz also contributed the letters page copy to this very issue. Perhaps most distinctive in production terms is that Jim Starlin's cover was completed before Conway wrote the script: according to the letters page of Detective Comics #502, the interior story was developed in reverse order, with Conway constructing his plot around Starlin's already-finished cover image. The cover itself — depicting a scarecrow-dressed Batman flanked by Robin and Batgirl — was striking enough that at least one later reviewer initially mistook it for Brian Bolland's work.

Trivia · 8 facts

Cover date: June 1981 (on sale spring 1981); published by DC Comics as part of Detective Comics Vol. 1.
Lead story title: 'The 6 Days of the Scarecrow' — a done-in-one tale spanning six in-story days as Scarecrow's fear pheromone slowly drives Batman toward madness.
First appearance of Hamilton Hill, the corrupt Mayor of Gotham City, created by Gerry Conway and Don Newton; Hill would go on to become one of the central antagonists of the early-1980s Batman titles through his secret partnership with crime boss Rupert Thorne.
Also features the first appearances of Big Fredo (a Gotham crime boss), Betty Lunden (owner of Lunden Chemical, supplier to Scarecrow), and Sharon (a GCPD secretary).
Creative team: script by Gerry Conway; pencils by Don Newton; inks by Dan Adkins; cover by Jim Starlin; colors by Adrienne Roy; letters by Ben Oda; edited by Paul Levitz.
Unusual production: the Starlin cover was created before Conway wrote the script — the story was developed to fit the pre-existing cover art, as confirmed by the letters page of the preceding issue.
Scarecrow's plan involves injecting Batman with a chemical fear aura that causes everyone near him to experience overwhelming terror, effectively isolating him and forcing Robin and Batgirl to conduct the investigation in his place.
The story has been reprinted in Batman: Scarecrow Tales (DC, 2005), Batman Arkham: Scarecrow (DC, 2016), and Tales of the Batman: Gerry Conway Vol. 1 (DC, 2017); it was also translated and reprinted in German (Batman Taschenbuch #14, 1981), French (Batman Poche #43, 1982), and Serbian (Eks almanah #424, 1984) editions.