TreasuryCast #65 – Batman

TREASURYCAST #65 - BATMAN

Rob is joined by the hosts of BATMAN FAMILY REUNION, Paul Kien and Shawn M. Myers, to discuss LIMITED COLLECTORS' EDITION #C44 starring...who else? Batman!

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19 responses to “TreasuryCast #65 – Batman

  1. What a fun cross promotion for Batman Family Reunion. Mind, this seems a bit of a mishmash so far as treasuries go – no great villains or landmarks, and the nearest to a proper theme being ‘Cleaning Ladies’.

    I love Jerry Robinson and Dick Sprang, but they don’t much benefit for the bigger format. Those New Look Batman stories were nice looking but a bit dull, while that Denny and Neal story was underwhelming (wasn’t that just covered somewhere recently?). Model cities, though? This Is What We Want!

    So, will Batman Family Reunion be changing its name to Thongs and Thighs?

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    1. Martin – you maligned Twinkies on another comment thread, but have now more than made up for it with your podcast idea!

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        1. Wow Martin! I love Super Team Family! We will have to make Super Team Family Feud a reality! Maybe an overview of the Atom story on FW Presents! I only wish I had thought of it! And after that, we can do Superman Family Ties!

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    2. Mart, the Adams and O’Neil story was covered in Knightcast #28 (oh, how quickly they forget…Chris and Ryan who?). It was followed by snide commentary on the absurdity of the death trap and pedantic commentary on the Judi fall Batman employed to save himself. I know, ’cause I was the snideliest and most pedantic, but in my defense, Liz Anne and others joined in!

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  2. Thank you all for a very enjoyable episode about what sounds to be a fair-to-middlin’ Batman treasury. Of course, a mediocre Batman treasury is still pretty good, so I don’t want that to sound like a complaint!. I especially enjoyed the synopses, the masterfully integrated plugs, and the discussions of the art. I’ll pay more attention to Dick Sprang’s work next time I see it. I tend to take the pre-Néw Look artists for granted.

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  3. Great episode gents! That Wally Fax cover was also reused on a DC digest, so it got around! I’ve always loved it, and the Infantino/Anderson original it’s based on.

    That classic rooftop image of Batman and Robin by Infantino and Anderson originated in a double-paged pin-up that ran in Detective Comics #352 (June 1966) and was issued later that year with a set of poster/pin-ups that were available in stores and via mail order through DC. The image of Batman and Robin in the Batmobile was created for that set I believe. I’ve always heard it (and the rest of the pin-ups in that series) was by both Infantino and Anderson, but there’s a lot of confusion on how much Infantino drew of some of the licensed images, like the Captain Action Batman costume box and the Colorforms packaging.

    The evolution of the Wayne Foundation is interesting. It started out as the Alfred Foundation after Alfred died in Detective Comics #327. When he got better later (cuz comics), it was changed to the Wayne Foundation. When Bruce first moved out of Wayne Manor in Batman #210, the Wayne Foundation Building was a non-descript hi-rise with a penthouse. Austin’s redesign here would stick, but a short while later during Steve Engelhart’s early issues on Detective, he and Walt Simonson would reveal Batman recreated a new Batcave below, and moved much of the equipment and trophies from the original.

    Mego’s playset was indeed called the Wayne Foundation but it’s more or less a mutli-level Batcave. Early prototypes show that they were actually going to recreate the look of the penthouse roof, but they abandonned it.

    Sorry to go on so long, but talking about classic Batman is like breathing air for me! Keep up the great work at the Family Reunion, Paul and Shawn!

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    1. Oh, and I think Paul is right. The basic body of that Batman on the back cover looks very Curt Swan. The production department seemed to get a lot of work on these treasuries, so maybe a Junior Woodchuck took a Swan figure and redrew it. It seems familiar…

      Chris

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  4. Holy cow — I think I owned a copy of this!

    Quick background refresher: comics reading began at a young age back in the 70s, with more focus on the DC / Marvel universes in the 80s. Prior to that it included Richie Rich [ Hi Rob! 😉 ], Peanuts, newspapers, etc. But our comics came from mixed sources: legit imported comics, semi-legit (?) printed comics by National Bookstore which seemingly ignored the intellectual property laws — but it was the Philippines in the 70s and early 80s so no one cared, and surprisingly comic books that flowed in through the U.S. military bases.

    I remember reading this one, and thought nothing much about the differences in art, just like some more than others. I was just blown away by the stories and storytelling. It was also a matter of the rarity of superhero / SF / Fantasy stuff — anything I could find was super-valuable! Really enjoyed this trip down memory lane.

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  5. Man, listening to this today was like a soothing salve for my soul after the past few – rather rough – days.
    And to me, this was additionally an extra special episode of Treasury Cast – just like episode 44, in which you covered #C-45 – because this was one I had back in the day (and I already told the story about how I got them in the comments to the aforementioned episode). Here I’ll just add that I absolutely love that cover, because it evokes such strong memories. To me, it’s just one of the most iconic Batman images ever – so when a digest was released a few years later with the same cover art, I snapped it off of the rack faster than a mongoose going after a cobra.
    And speaking of digests, I still read mine (the few that I have), but I do the same thing as, well, Shawn or Mike, I forgot who said it: I take off my glasses and put to the book closer to my face.
    As for the actual content of this book, I have to say that the only story that really left a lasting imprint in my mind is the last one with the Neal Adams art. That and the Wayne Foundation illustration and schematics. Neither the image gallery nor your fine story summaries helped jog my memory. But it was a great conversation anyway.
    Great job, everyone.

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    1. It’s funny how often people have problems with the digests, didn’t the DC Production Department actually tweak the size of the balloons to make them bigger? Or is that a myth I’ve picked up?

  6. So sorry for the double post on the images page.

    I am in love with the image of the New Wayne Foundation Building. Talk about swinging for the fences! I love classic comic book buildings and despite this being my introduction to what the building looked like, the New WFB is already one of my favorites. I’ve always enjoyed stories where the hero had a cool & iconic place to hang out. I knew there was a time where Bruce was away from the Manor/Cave but I haven’t read many of the penthouse stories (snicker) and as far as I can recall had only ever seen interior shots of Bruce Wayne’s penthouse. Thanks for introducing me to such an iconic, and perhaps a little silly looking, landmark.

  7. First of all, I am in the same boat with Rob, Paul, and Shawn. I cannot read my DC digests anymore! They sit there, mocking my eyes. Damn them!

    My favorite part of this Batman Treasury is the Wayne Foundation Building. Gaze upon this awesome 1970’s architectural cocaine fever dream of a building! Who wouldn’t want to be employed there? If you work in some of the higher floors, you could climb through the tree to the other side of the offices. A major hazard would be that the first floor lobby must be littered with bird corpses, having slammed into office windows after leaving their nests in the giant tree. And Bruce’s bachelor pad looks like the Millennium Falcon topped with a lemon twist. Plus, the yard just ends. No fence or wall. Just some trees and a flat ledge. How many of Bruce’s romantic conquests became street pizza after wandering the grounds a bit too far while he sneaks out to save the city? Incredible! Terry Austin deserves The Pritzker Architecture Prize for this.

    Another great feature is the splash page Batman and Robin vs. the Glass Bottom Boat Ride. And of course, Batman and Robin peeling out in the one of my favorite Batmobile designs to cruise for swingin’ babes. All in all, a great treasury.

    As always, Rob, I’m going to bug you about covering Spider-Man Vs. The Hulk At The Winter Olympics!

  8. Like many who have already responded, I, too, have the digest with the same painting as its cover. As I recall, that digest also reprints the Wayne Foundation illustration. I love The Wayne Foundation Building! It is an instantly recognizable building in comics. What does the Daily Bugle building look like? Or even the Daily Planet (Galaxy Communications) building? All we care about The Baxter Building is the top five floors. Would you recognize Dr. Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum if you couldn’t see that window? The mansions Wayne, Avengers, and Xavier vary from artist to artist. The Wayne Foundation Building stands apart. It is no less bizarre than any other comparable tower from the 1970, and much more attractive, IMHO, than any Brutalist structure of that era. There are buildings, even now, that may have one name but two or more towers. Each with their own entrance. It’s unlikely that one company would lease office space in both, unless they wanted to keep some divisions separate. You work in tower #1 and want to hang out with a colleague in #2? Take the elevator down to the lobby and go up a different elevator! I see that as a good excuse to stay away from the desk a little longer!
    The penthouse is also instantly recognizable, and cool besides! Bruce was ahead of his time, he has a green roof! I like to imagine the moat as a recirculating irrigation system for the foliage up there. I want this treasury just to look at Austin’s drawing really big!

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