While Batmainia triggered by the 1966 TV series had an effect on the published character, it was short-lived, as readers were quite energized in sending letters to Batman & Detective criticizing any trace of the TV series in those books (a couple of months ago, I reprinted a few in the "There, I Said It" thread), and sure enough, the serious, more grounded Irv Novick and Frank Robbins era took the Bat title out of the late 1960s, leaving any trace of Adam West & Burt Ward in the world of TV syndication and the Filmation cartoons The Batman/Superman Hour (CBS, 1968-69) and The Adventures of Batman (CBS, 1969-70).

While Novick and Robbins were on a roll, Adams, O'Neill and Giordano's take on the Bat-universe carried that forward to become one of the great revolutions / transformations of an established character in the medium's history, which made fan and industry insiders take a look at something that had no trace of the "POW!", "THWACK!" and "ZOWIE!" of that short-lived image detour of the TV series. All one needs to do is read the letters pages of Batman and Detective of the Novick-Adams period to see many of their fans were high school and college age fans, often showing praise on a character that was in a class all his own, which separated Batman from the then-usual negative-for-DC vs. Marvel comparisons.

While this effect would not last in terms of sales on a consistent basis, Carmine Infantino (as recalled in The Amazing World of Infantino book)has stated that in 1974--the year before Batman Family's debut, DC had raised the creative stakes to match Marvel--

Infantino: "1974 had been a huge success for DC. I was the toast of the town, receiving thank-yous and congratulations..."

Infantino: "With rare exceptions, like the super-hero boom of the early '40s and the Batman boom of the mid '60s, the comic book business tends to make more money on licensing of characters for film, TV, toys, etc., than it does in publishing. If I remember correctly, we did about $800,000 in publishing alone in '74. I had brought the company up from being creamed by Marvel to being dead even with them."

So, for all of Marvel's successful monthlies, and experiments in black and white magazines in that first half of the 1970s, DC came to fight and successfully went toe-to-toe with Marvel. This is an important detail because Batman's books had been a part of that success, and again, while this was not a "boom year" period for any publisher, Batman had a new life beginning in the late 60s, while DC had their own innovations that were imitated (DC was a true pioneer in titles that added--or padded monthlies with their Golden Age back-catalogue with the 80-Page Giants of the 60s) and as the tabloid, or "treasury edition" books (the latter a title used by Marvel) were another way to sell old material, DC was arguably the first to package the idea of old titles and #1st appearance issues being some honored legend of the medium in their Famous First Editions line. Batman titles were always sell-outs in that format, whether it reprinted Golden Age of recent Adams stories.

By the time Batman Family rolled around, one has to remember that Bat-characters were still very popular in the culture, whether in print or licensing. Batman and his allies had become as high-profile as Superman, but it was not anchored by the image 1966 TV series, or the then-recent debut of The Super Friends on ABC. Paring Robin and Batgirl--who had already proven to be interesting back-up features in Detective for several years up to that point--was a logical choice; they were not necessarily strong enough to headline solo titles, but together, they were an exploration/continuation of all things great about Batman's evolving corner of the DC universe.

That said, I do vividly remember buying several issues of Batman Family, but I felt it did not quite live up to the solo stories from Detective. Perhaps times had changed, and that mystery edge of DET-Batgirl, or the maturing of college-age Robin were not as in vogue or a focus by 1975, and that's why I was a here-and-there follower of the title. It was interesting...but not as eye-opening as the late 60s/early 70s stories, but your thread is serving as a fun ride back into this period of the characters.

Your only support for this idea is Infantino tooting his own horn. 'Tec was on the verge of being cancelled, and the 1966 television series was absolutely still carrying a massive impact on popular culture. I grew up in the mid 1980s, and the West/Ward television series still managed to be my first impression of the property, just as the Linda Carter Wonder Woman series continued to be most people's primary perception of Wonder Woman until Gal Gadot came around.

Batman Family #5 (June 1976)



"The Princess and the Vagabond!"

Script: Elliot S! Maggin; Cary Bates
Pencils: Curt Swan
Inks: Vince Colletta
Colors: ?
Letters: ?

grade: D+


Fans looking for a Batgirl and Robin team-up have now bought four double-sized issues of Batman Family, yet received only two such team-ups, both containing forgettable plots and only one truly memorable moment each. But this cover boldly promises another long-awaited team-up, choc full of chemistry. Heck, even the title page boldly promises what we've all been waiting for:


(Did they just kick through a concrete exterior wall?)


...and yet the story within tells two separate stories in parallel, our new dymanic duo teaming up for exactly two pages at the end:



during which they pretty much reenact the cover we already saw before having paid the 50 cents, only with less gusto.

And there will be no kiss, nor mutual discovery of secret identities in the final panels this time around. Instead, in this outing's obligatory will-they/won't-they moment, Maggin seeks to charm us and make our hearts skip a beat by giving us...pervy Robin:



The conflict is over, so what could he possibly mean by, "kinda gets you ready for some real action, yes--?" Yikes.

Enigmatically, Bob Rozakis later weighs in again on DC's concerns over a 25 year old and a teenager experiencing mutual romantic attraction:



I'm starting to suspect from what we saw above that they'll have Dick crushing on Babs, and Babs keeping him at arm's length. We won't find out for another two issues though, as Rozakis also promises we will only be getting these team-ups every other issue from here on out:



Were I buying this title in 1976, shelling out 50 cents an issue, I definitely would have dumped this title at this point. Too little pay-off for that much investment.


And having Curt Swan on the book is an..."interesting" choice this time around. When Swan wants to, he can churn out some pretty modern looking material, but there is a stilted, throwback feel to much of this issue



...except when Swan is trying to give us cheesecake panels



which are becoming shockingly frequent in this title.


And, perhaps because of Swan's involvement, we have Clark Kent intermittently narrating this story for reasons I don't understand:



He doesn't actually tell us anything we need to know, nor does he contribute to the story in any meaningful way. He just sort of takes up space.



Minor Details:

- The book drops from 68 pages to 52 pages with this issue.

- Robin's lassoing skills continue to shatter the suspension of disbelief that otherwise works throughout these stories:



Dude just threw a lasso around an entire tower. Still more believable than the Washington monument.


- Whereas last issue's solo Robin story had him reunited with his old supporting cast, this one makes clear efforts to give him a new/different friend we haven't seen before:



I'm curious whether he'll be with Jack or Lori in next issue's solo story.



Plot synopsis: Dick and his friend are giving a Russian (though the country is never outright said) dissident writer a tour of New York and then DC, Babs is giving an Eastern European princess a tour of DC at the same time, and a covert agency named Maze is trying to take them both down. Cue Robin and Batgirl to save the day.




Backup reprint features for this issue include the following:

- "Ace, the Bat-Hound"!(from Batman #92)
- "The Signs of the Signalman" (from Batman #124)

Batman Family #6 (August 1976)



We're back to dual solo stories this issue, and yet it's a little more rewarding than when this was last attempted with issue #4. Rozakis print a series of letter excerpts, all asking for more of this,



so it's safe to assume this will be the new normal every other issue. Hopefully, we'll at least continue to see these solo outings grow in quality over time.



Batgirl: "Valley of the Copper Moon!"

Script: Elliot S! Maggin
Pencils: José Delbo
Inks: Vince Colletta
Colors: ?
Letters: ?

grade: B-


We've moved away from Batgirl teaming up with Daddy, and now see a story told more on her terms, as a congresswoman with her own new supporting cast, fighting crime as an extension of her day job fighting injustice.



LOVE seeing a congressperson turn away a campaign contribution, but I doubt they'll bother to explain how Babs is going to run a re-election campaign without some dirty money.


And, speaking of a new supporting cast, we meet two members in this issue who (it's suggested) may prove important down the road.



Congressman Matthew represents the bureaucratic status quo, serving his own interests and constantly underestimating Babs as a woman, while Senator Robert Cleary seems to genuinely respect Babs' knowledge and strength, and is clearly pining for her from afar as well:




I like the dynamic and hope Maggin will continue to work with this trio. And I also like the big reveal at the end of this story, that the council-member/spokesperson for the Tribe Babs is working to protect from overzealous industrialists is actually on the take:



While we have action and a costumed hero, this is truly a story about Washington for once, and I really respect that. Not thoroughly engaging throughout, but we've come a long way from the ghost of Benedict Arnold.


Important Details:

- 1st appearances of Congressman Mathew and Senator Robert Cleary


Minor Details:

- This story marks Batgirl's second time working with the Matituck tribe. I honestly have no recollection of the first time, but it definitely happened somewhere in her Detective Comics backup stories.

- Maggin and suspension of disbelief once again. Does Babs change clothes this quickly by shouting "Shazam!" or something:





Robin: "The Joker's Daughter!"

Script: Bob Rozakis
Pencils: Irv Novick
Inks: Frank McLaughlin
Colors: ?
Letters: ?

grade: C+

It's been nearly two decades since I last read Rozakis' Teen Titans, and yet I clearly remember my absolute least favorite aspect of that era being the Joker's Daughter, who makes her first appearance here:



I'm curious whether Rozakis was already planning to make her a member of the Teen Titans when he first introduced her here (his relaunch of the Titans is only three months away), or whether he was just trying to set up a costumed antagonist for Robin's future solo adventures:



I definitely prefer her in that capacity. While she doesn't hold a candle to the other members of the Rozakis Teen Titans, she makes a great contrast from the grounded, real-world villains Robin generally takes down in his solo adventures. Babs can fight real world bad guys, and it works as an extension of her work as a congresswoman, but Robin can't exactly take down strict professors, test-cheaters, and unfair test questions each issue. He needs a more traditional antagonist.

That being said, what was the point of this first meeting with "The Joker's Daughter"? She only pretended she committed a crime, seemingly just to get in this first meeting with Robin. I can't decide if I find that intriguing or if that's just poor writing.

The only other thing this story has going for it is a clear nod to Agatha Christy (especially when Robin mentions using his "little gray cells"), though the mystery of what happened to her final manuscript is a pretty stupid one:




All told, while it was great to see Robin facing an actual costumed villain and trying to solve an actual mystery, both fell short in the end.


Minor Details:

- Whereas the Batgirl and Robin teamup stories never make use of Robin's supporting cast (and last issue went so far as to give him a new friend), Rozakis clearly isn't done with the old supporting cast when it comes to these solo adventures:





Backup reprint features for this issue include the following:

- Alfred: "In the Soup!" (from Batman #32)
- "Curious Crime Capers" (cartoon from Batman #152)
- "The New Crimes of the Mad Hatter" (from Batman #161)

I agree with Mark McIntyre. Shorter stories usually aren't as good as long ones, especially when that short, and I like the idea of alternating Batgirl-Robin team-ups with solo stories, so that it doesn't get too stale.