Mountain Comics #4 – Batman #317

MOUNTAIN COMICS #4 - BATMAN #317

Fellow Network All-Star Chris Franklin joins Rob to talk about another beloved Mountain Comic, "The 1,001 Clue Caper" by Len Wein, Irv Novick, and Frank McLaughlin from BATMAN #317! (Nov. 1979)

Check out images from this comic by clicking here!

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17 responses to “Mountain Comics #4 – Batman #317

  1. Thanks for throwing the spotlight on The Riddler! I was always glad when he turned up (thanks largely to my fondness for Gorshin). That is one great cover and reminds me of Batman #362 by Ed Hannigan from a few years later. I recently reread the Riddler/King Tut storyline from Batman Confidential #26-28 (2007) with all that glorious JLGL art. Lots of fun!

    Finally, have you guys ever seen a picture of Frank Gorshin”s gravesite? Not to sound morbid, but it’s a perfect tribute to him and his most famous character:

    https://www.pinterest.com/pin/502995852103416414

    1. Wow, that Gorshin monument is very fitting! Although I believe Gorshin, like many of his fellow Bat-rogues, was a bit befuddled why so much of his career was often overlooked for what was basically an occasional job over a two year period. So it’s kind of odd that the marker of his final resting place fits that character so well!

      Chris

    2. That video with the favourite Riddler covers, Chuck, who did that? The sibilant, nigh-robotic voice, the horror movie music box track… creepy!

      This was a fun story featuring the Ridder but not a great Riddler story, as you say, the riddle-fu was not great. Still, I’ll take this guy over the murdererous horror in the current Batman comics.

      I never did get any guns showing up in my USA ballast comics, though there was this bag of white dust that once fell out of s copy of Little Lotta… I assumed it was a Free Gift and passed it on to the little girl down the street. Hyperactive wee soul… she used to be so quiet.

      1. I wish I knew who that is. He’s done a bunch of Bat-themed videos on YouTube. It’s indeed informative & I almost didn’t post it due to his voice. It does have a nightmare fuel quality. I can imagine hearing that voice threatening James Bond.

  2. The book was on the shelf August 9, 1979 the very day I turned four
    Thank you for having Chris Franklin on the show I thought I was not going to get to hear him a lot due to the baby he’s one of my favorite and he makes a great special guest I’m just starting to get into this episode and I hope I get to hear him do his Batman Voice

    1. Thanks Danny! Very nice of you to say. Of course I was just joking about Ryan’s baby boy putting me out of work. Too bad I made the same joke two days in a row! I assure you, yesterday’s F&W and today’s FW Presents were recorded several days apart!

      But, keep your eyes peeled for the Bat-signal here on Fire and Water…there may be some ‘casting about sooner than you might think!

      Chris

  3. I’ve been a regular follower of Knightcast, so I’m used to enjoying the Fire & Water Network’s take on post-Crisis Batman. I’ve also been a regular follower of Michael Bailey’s Overlooked Dark Knight podcast, enjoying that show’s take on late Bronze Age Batman.

    So just a couple days ago Bailey talked about 1987 Batman on his show, and now Fire & Water has Chris Franklin talking about late Bronze Age Dark Knight. Has the world gone mad? Will dogs and cats live in sin? Will orange-skinned game show hosts become president?

    Seriously, another great episode. Keep following that joy!

  4. I had the chance to buy The Riddler’s first appearance in DETECTIVE for cheap back when I was a teen. This was pre-internet, so I didn’t know it WAS his first appearance. This was just before 1989 movie so if I had picked it up, it’d probably be worth a house by now. Stupid kid!

  5. The Hulk issue at least had talk of the mountain dropped on Hulk’s head in Secret Wars. Where was the mountain in this one? Is that not what Mountain Comics are all about?!

    When are you covering Doom Force #1, Rob? Now THAT’S a mountain comic!

  6. Always love hearing about mountain comics, Rob. Also love hearing the really old Poconos vacation commercial in the introduction.

    I was more familiar with the “All you have to bring is your love of everything” Mt. Airy Lodge that aired throughout the mid-1980s and early 1990s and because I have no shame, allow me to plug a post I wrote about it back in 2012: http://popcultureaffidavit.com/2012/03/17/all-you-have-to-bring-is-your-love-of-everything/

    Love the show, Rob!

    -Tom

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