More Ask Doctor K!

I've recently received a letter from my faithful young reader, who asks a question so important that I had to answer it immediately:




Dear Young Reader:

First of all, thank you for the letter. Letter writing is a dying art form, so I'm glad that you are helping to keep it alive. I was very excited to see your letter in the mailbox alongside bills, solicitations for new phone service, and information about local politicians running in the upcoming elections.

Also, I love you a bushel and a peck, too, which, from what I understand, is a significant amount.

I felt that your question was of the utmost importance because it gets at the heart of something very important: that Batman is better than all of us, so he does not need the normal things we need in our day-to-day lives, like keys to start cars.

And by "car," I assume you mean "Batmobile." Though I would guess that Batman could pretty much start any car without a key because he's Batman.

So, let's take a look at what happens here, when the nasty Joker tries to steal the Batmobile and make a getaway:



I included the first panel because that is a pretty awesome kick to the head that Batman delivers, and who doesn't love to see that? That guy is not getting up for a long time.

Then, when the Joker tries to steal the Batmobile, look what happens:



As you can see, the Joker does need a key to start a car, and that is one of the reasons why Batman will always win against the Joker.

In order to show off just how smart he is, Batman reveals to the Joker just how the Batmobile starts without a key:



Notice that Batman's password is "Batman." Little known fact: that is also his ATM code. At first glance, that seems pretty stupid to have your own name be your password, right? (Note to self: change password.) But Batman is really thinking here. A bad guy could break into the Batmobile, and if he figured out that the ignition was controlled by the fake radio, he still wouldn't type in "Batman," because he'd think that Batman wouldn't be stupid enough to use his own name as the password. See how that logic works? Batman is really smart.

Also, Batman doesn't need a radio in his car, mainly because he hates how corporate radio has ruined the medium.

Thanks again for your question, and I would be glad to answer more in the future.

Sincerely,

Doctor K

And I would also like to extend an invitation to all readers out there: if you have or know of young children with pressing questions about superheroes and comic books, please pass them along. I would be happy to answer any that come my way.


(All comic images taken from The Brave and the Bold 111 (Mar. 1974), "Death Has the Last Laugh," written by Bob Haney and drawn by Jim Aparo.)

Merry Christmas!

Nothing says "Merry Christmas" quite like a Jim Aparo cover featuring Batman punching Blockbuster right in the sternum:


In the story, Batman stops by Gotham PD to offer the officers on duty some special holiday cheer:


Also, it's important to note:

Batman knows exactly what you want for Christmas.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

(From Batman 309, story by Len Wein, art by John Calnan and Frank McLaughlin)

Jim Aparo's James Bond!

A reader named Ed, who came to my blog doing a search on Cary Bates, recently sent me an email asking me if I knew anything about a proposed James Bond comic series that Bates had pitched to DC in the late 70s, with Jim Aparo on art.

I had to admit that I never heard of this project, but I was immediately intrigued. Such a comic, had it existed, would surely be the single greatest comic series of all time (though its existence may just have been too awesome for this world to handle). At this time, both Bates and Aparo were at their creative peaks. In the mid-70s, Cary Bates had been hired by Cubby Broccoli to write an early script for the Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, though that script was rejected, along with many others in that film's chaotic pre-production history. Clearly, Bates was well-situated to write this series.

Also, as detailed by Marty Pasko in a recent Word Balloon interview (which is great, by the way), DC long owned the license to James Bond, though they did nothing with it other than the weak Dr. No adaptation that appeared in Showcase. It's interesting to note, then, that at least someone was trying to do something with that license at DC.

Ed mentioned that his source for this story was an article in the 70s and 80s fanzine, The Comic Reader, which had been created by Paul Levitz and Paul Kupperberg. After I sent out some queries to my fellow comic bloggers, the amazing Mike Sterling was able to get a scan of Aparo's cover image that accompanied the original proposal. This image originally appeared in The Comic Reader 180 (June 1980), though Mike informs me that the image is the only item in the issue related to the Bates/Aparo Bond series. Perhaps the article appears in an earlier issue.

Aparo's Bond looks like a cross between Aparo's Bruce Wayne and Sean Connery, which is exactly as it should be.

I'm now curious to find out more about this series, especially why DC didn't move forward with it. Anybody out there with more information on this, please let me know.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Before I head into the kitchen to make some kick-ass sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes, I just want to give a shout out to the things I'm thankful for.

There's this:

This:

And, of course, this:

And, lest I forget, all of my friends, family, and readers.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday Night Fights: The Return of Aparo Style

It's Friday night: time for another edition of Bahlactus's Friday Night Fights! If you're watching WWE Smackdown! tonight, and you look real carefully at the crowd, you just might see Chris Sims and me cheering from the stands. We're pretty easy to spot: I'm wearing a bright green shirt, and Sims is the only one cheering for Finlay in a stadium full of Batista fans.

Tonight's Friday Night Fight comes from The Brave and the Bold 152, courtesy of Bob Haney and Jim Aparo, and it features one of the fightingest covers in Aparo's career.

In this issue, Batman fights a lederhosen-clad pack of thugs, while Atom punches a bag of gold (Atom hates that gold!).

The story is titled "Death Has a Golden Grab." I'm not quite sure what a "golden grab" is, but I did pay $10 for one in Singapore once. I don't remember anything about it, though, and the next day, I woke up in a pool of my own sick, and, for a week, I could only sit on an inflatable sheepskin pillow.

Nothing in the world makes me happier than watching Batman and the Atom beat on a bunch of guys in lederhosen, so let's take a closer look.




That guy's nose is now smelling the back of his throat.


Batman and Atom double-team on an uppercut!

Heed the call of Bahlactus!

Friday Night Fights: Brother vs. Brother Aparo Style!

"Friday Night Fights: Jim Aparo Style" continues as Aquaman fights his half-brother, Ocean Master (from Adventure Comics 444--story by Paul Levitz and Gerry Conway, art by Jim Aparo). And it looks like Ocean Master has the upper hand!

Now that's some grip!

Ooh! Ocean Master takes him down by the throat!

"Orm, I believe you had mussels in garlic sauce for lunch. And those mussels were my friends!"

And Aquaman gets free to land one right on the jaw! But is Ocean Master down for the count?

No! Aquaman takes one right in the shrimp basket!

Bahlactus has spoken!

Friday Night Fights: Aparo Style!

Now that I started my own blog, one of the things I've been looking forward to is participating in Bahlactus's "Friday Night Fights" meme. So, I thought I'd kick things off Jim Aparo Style!

The first rule of Aparo Style: when fighting two or more guys, use one of them to beat on the others:

Aquaman obliterates the heads of two Atlantean guards in Adventure Comics 444

Batman makes one guy hit another in the junk in Brave and the Bold 132

Batman contributes to the early retirement of several of Gotham's Finest in Detective Comics 444

Hold on a second! I'm going to need a call from referee Chris Sims--do we have a combo here?