“BATMAN VS. THE VAMPIRE, PART 1”

LOOK AT THIS COVER!

My absolute favorite 30s Batman issue. Things have escalated so quickly from stolen contracts, jewel thievery, and extortion schemes in previous issues to literally everything going on here:

HYPNOSIS! (AND THE BAT-FIANCEE!)

Also fantastic: the gloriously delirious yellows of the cityscape.

WEREWOLVES???

THE MONK WITH HIS FREAKY BURNING EYES!

GIANT APES!

DEADLY TORTURE CHAMBERS!

(spoilers: it’s a pit full of snakes!)

CREEPY CASTLES!

THE MONK WITH HIS FREAKY GREEN HANDS!

(Like Doctor Death, The Monk would be revived on Earth-1 in 1982 by Gerry Conway.)

WEREWOLVES??? At very least, werewolf-baiting!

Really, what DOESN’T this issue have?

In four issues, Batman is already threatening to jump into the full-on supernatural. It is important to note that the title of this story is BATMAN VS. THE VAMPIRE!

However, aside from his hypnotism, the only thing implying the Monk’s vampirism in this issue is his attacking Batman on a a sea voyage, like his cinematic counterparts did in 1922 and 1931.

I’m not a Dracula EXPERT but some vampires seem to either keep or turn into weird giant animals. Maybe The Monk’s thing is killer apes. Okay, that’s cool – he’s got a Murders in the Rue Morgue. They can’t all be Dracula’s Mantis.

Maybe there are other famous killer monks in film history, but this guy mostly reminds me of the monk-related subset of German krimis like The Black Abbott and The Sinister Monk…

or The College Girl Murders.

Also, Batman lives in New York in this one.

And there is some TRULY fine fan service for the ‘Batman driving his little car’ enthusiasts among us (aka ME).

There’s lots of other weird little details, like how Bruce hangs his cape and cowl on one of the posters of his bed in his nearly empty bedroom. Men really live like this, etc!

Also, this issue is a two-parter and things get even weirder in the next one! Just in time for Halloween! This would have permanently melted my mind if I was a morbid little child in 1939.

Best issue so far!!!

Originally tweeted by Weird Batman of the Golden Age (@GoldenAgeBats) on June 8, 2022.