Detective Comics #64
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeDetective Comics #64 (June 1942) is a genuine double-header of Golden Age significance: it marks the debut of the Boy Commandos, the Simon-and-Kirby 'kid gang' team that became one of DC's biggest wartime franchises and helped define an entire comics sub-genre, while simultaneously serving as a turning-point in the Joker's published history. Bill Finger's lead story 'The Joker Walks the Last Mile' puts the Clown Prince of Crime through a legal execution and revival — a narrative device that scholars and historians have identified as the moment the early homicidal Joker began his gradual transformation into the wisecracking prankster who would dominate the character for the next three decades. Together, the two features make this single issue a snapshot of American popular culture pivoting sharply to respond to World War II, with Simon and Kirby's international band of orphaned Allied fighters embodying the era's wartime solidarity in four-color form.
In "The Joker Walk the Last Mile!", the Clown Prince of Crime makes a shocking decision that defies all logic—turning himself in to face execution, not out of remorse, but as part of a twisted plan to reclaim his freedom. Written by Bill Finger and brought to life by Bob Kane’s iconic art, with inks by Jerry Robinson and George Roussos, this 1942 issue marks a bold, surreal turn in the Joker’s early history. The cover, also by Jerry Robinson, captures the eerie stillness of a criminal’s final moments—before the next act begins.
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Joe Simon and Jack Kirby had been recruited away from Timely Comics by DC's Jack Liebowitz toward the end of 1941, riding their Captain America success, but without any specific assignment waiting for them; after revamping Sandman and creating a new Manhunter, they settled on the 'kid gang' as their DC niche. Inspired by British commando units making wartime headlines, they fused that real-world concept with the youth-gang formula they had already used for the Newsboy Legion in Star-Spangled Comics, creating a four-boy international squad — a Frenchman, a Dutchman, an Englishman, and an American known only as 'Brooklyn' — led by adult Captain Rip Carter. The Batman lead story was the work of writer Bill Finger, penciller Bob Kane, and inker Jerry Robinson, with Robinson also providing the cover; the issue was edited by Whitney Ellsworth, with Murray Boltinoff and Mort Weisinger serving as uncredited assistant editors, and carried an on-sale date of April 21, 1942.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance and origin of the Boy Commandos, created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby — the debut story is titled 'The Commandos Are Coming.'
- The Boy Commandos' roster at debut: Brooklyn (American, no surname given), André Chavard (French), Jan Haasan (Dutch), and Alfie Twidgett (English), led by U.S. Army Captain Rip Carter.
- The Batman lead story, 'The Joker Walks the Last Mile,' written by Bill Finger with art by Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson, depicts the Joker voluntarily submitting to execution by electric chair and being secretly revived by his henchmen — widely regarded as a key transitional moment in the Joker's characterization from violent killer toward scheming prankster.
- Cover by Jerry Robinson; edited by Whitney Ellsworth (credited as F. W. Ellsworth), with Murray Boltinoff and Mort Weisinger as uncredited assistant editors.
- The issue also features back-up strips for Crimson Avenger ('The Adventure of the Wild Men'), Bart Regan Spy, Air Wave, and Slam Bradley — making it a seven-feature, 68-page anthology typical of the era.
- The Boy Commandos feature was so popular it spun off into its own quarterly title (Boy Commandos #1, Winter 1942) and also appeared in World's Finest Comics #8–41 (1942–1949).
- The Batman story 'The Joker Walks the Last Mile' has been reprinted in Batman Archives Vol. 2 (1991) and The Joker: A Celebration of 75 Years; the Boy Commandos story 'The Commandos Are Coming' was reprinted in Mister Miracle #8 and Detective Comics: 80 Years of Batman: The Deluxe Edition.
- DC collected the Boy Commandos' Detective Comics run starting with this issue in the hardcover Boy Commandos Vol. 1 (2010), which reprints Detective Comics #64–73, World's Finest Comics #8–9, and Boy Commandos #1–2.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Mister Miracle #8 (1972), Batman Archives #2 (1991), The Batman Chronicles #6 (2008), The Boy Commandos by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby #1 (2011), The Joker: A Celebration of 75 Years #[nn] (2014), Batman: The War Years 1939-1945 #[nn] (2015), Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus #2 (2016), DC Comics Graphic Novel Collection #85 (2016), Batman: The Golden Age #3 (2017), Detective Comics: 80 Years of Batman #[nn] (2019)
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