Superman en Batman #7/1967
Superman en Batman #7/1967 is a representative artifact of the first wave of Dutch-language DC Comics publishing, bringing Silver Age American superhero stories to Netherlands readers during the height of the Batman television craze. As part of Vanderhout & Co.'s groundbreaking Dutch reprint programme — the first sustained effort to translate DC's Superman and Batman material into Dutch — the issue helped introduce an entire generation of Benelux readers to characters like Lex Luthor, the Penguin, Batman, and Robin in their native language. While it holds no first-appearance significance of its own, it sits squarely within the international cultural diffusion of the Silver Age DC universe, demonstrating how American superhero comics travelled through European reprint markets in the 1960s.
In "Superman's huwelijksbiljet," a daring chase unfolds as criminals believe they've escaped the police by crossing the tracks just before a train arrives—only for Superschildpad to intervene, flying the police car over the oncoming train to keep the pursuit alive. Written, drawn, and inked by Henry Boltinoff, this 1967 Dutch comic blends slapstick suspense with classic superhero flair, while the cover by Win Mortimer and Stan Kaye captures the moment in bold, dynamic lines.
In "De Kryptoniet Man!", Lex Luthor unleashes a liquid kryptonite serum that renders Superman powerless within his reach, forcing the Man of Steel to craft a lead suit for protection. But when Luthor reveals he can turn lead into glass, Superman must outthink him in a battle of wits and science.
Het fantoom van de Batgrot! unfolds as Batman grapples with a series of eerie thefts within the Bat-Cave itself—each time, a completed case trophy vanishes, only to be replaced by a different object, right under his nose. With the secrecy of his sanctuary seemingly breached, Batman must unravel the mystery before the identity of the Bat-Cave is exposed to the likes of the Society of Magicians, the Joker, the Pinguin, and the masked villain Pardu and his partners, who may be behind the phantom intrusions.
When criminals think they've shaken the police by crossing the tracks just before a train arrives, Superschildpad swoops in—flying the police car right over the oncoming train to keep the chase alive.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Vanderhout & Co. of Utrecht began publishing Dutch Superman comics in 1965 under the title Superman – De man van staal, retitling the series Superman en Batman from 1966 onward and releasing it on a monthly schedule. In 1967 and 1968 the issue numbering reset at the start of each calendar year, making #7/1967 the seventh instalment of the 1967 run rather than a series-wide seventh issue. The covers across the Vanderhout run were frequently constructed by redrawing or reworking panels taken directly from the interior stories, adapting them into standalone cover compositions rather than reproducing original American cover art.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published July 1967 by Vanderhout & Co., Utrecht, as part of the Dutch-language Superman en Batman monthly reprint anthology (series active 1965–1971).
- Issue number '7/1967' reflects a year-reset numbering system used in 1967 and 1968; from 1969 onward the series used continuous numbering.
- Contains a Dutch-language reprint of a story from Action Comics #249 (DC, 1958), featuring Superman versus Lex Luthor, who weaponises a liquid kryptonite serum to neutralise the Man of Steel.
- Also contains a Dutch-language reprint of a Batman story from Batman #99 (DC, 1956), featuring Batman (Bruce Wayne), Robin (Dick Grayson), Commissioner Gordon, and the Penguin (Oswald Cobblepot) in an egg-and-bird-themed crime caper; pencils on the Batman #99 source story are credited to Win Mortimer.
- The same two source stories were reprinted simultaneously in the German Superman series published by Egmont Ehapa (#14/1967), reflecting coordinated European DC reprint licensing in the period.
- Cover art for this series was typically adapted or redrawn from interior story panels rather than translated from original American cover artwork.
- The indexed cast — including Alfred Pennyworth, Clark Kent/Superman, Dick Grayson/Robin, Jimmy Olsen, Lana Lang, Lex Luthor, Perry White, the Penguin, Superboy, and Bruce Wayne/Batman — reflects the broad Silver Age DC supporting-character roster carried across the anthology's stories.
- After Vanderhout ceased publication around 1970, the Belgian publisher Interpresse continued the series for a further 20 issues through 1971.
Cast · 13 characters
Full credits
Reprints
↩ Reprints Batman #99 (1956), Action Comics #249 (1959), Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #61 (1965), Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #90 (1966)
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