Paul Levitz returned to write the series with #284. Pat Broderick and Bruce Patterson illustrated the title for a short time before Keith Giffen began on pencils, with Patterson, and then Larry Mahlstedt, on inks. The creative team received enhanced popularity following “The Great Darkness Saga“, which ran from #287; #290–294; and Annual #3, featuring a full assault on the United Planets by Darkseid. Comics historian Les Daniels observed that “Working with artist Keith Giffen, Levitz completed the transformation of Legion into a science-fiction saga of considerable scope and depth.”
The Legion celebrated issue #300 (June 1983) by revisiting the “Adult Legion” storyline through a series of parallel world short stories illustrated by a number of popular Legion artists from previous years. The story served to free up Legion continuity from following the “Adult Legion” edict of previous issues.
Legion of Super-Heroes #294 NM- $8Legion of Super-Heroes #303 NM- $3Legion of Super Heros Annual #3 VF-NM $3Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #316 VF $3
Writer Dennis O’Neil and artist Neal Adams had their first collaboration on Batman on the story “The Secret of the Waiting Graves” in issue #395 (Jan. 1970). The duo, under the direction of Schwartz, would revitalize the character with a series of noteworthy stories reestablishing Batman’s dark, brooding nature and taking the books away from the campy look and feel of the 1966–68 ABCTV series. Comics historian Les Daniels observed that “O’Neil’s interpretation of Batman as a vengeful obsessive-compulsive, which he modestly describes as a return to the roots, was actually an act of creative imagination that has influenced every subsequent version of the Dark Knight.” Adams introduced the Man-Bat with writer Frank Robbins in Detective Comics #400 (June 1970). O’Neil and artist Bob Brown crafted Batman’s first encounter with the League of Assassins in Detective Comics #405 (Nov. 1970) and created Talia al Ghul in issue #411 (May 1971).
After publishing on a monthly schedule throughout its run, Detective Comics became a bi-monthly book from issues #435 (June–July 1973) to #445 (Feb.-March 1975). Issues #438 (Dec. 1973-Jan. 1974) to #445 (Feb.–March 1975) of the series were in the 100 Page Super Spectacular format. O’Neil and artist Dick Giordano created the Batman supporting character Leslie Thompkins in the story “There Is No Hope in Crime Alley” appearing in issue #457 (March 1976). Writer Steve Englehart and artist Marshall Rogers produced an acclaimed run of Batman stories in Detective Comics #471–476 (Aug. 1977 – April 1978), and provided one of the definitive interpretations that influenced the 1989 Batman movie and would be adapted for the 1990s animated series. The Englehart and Rogers pairing, was described in 2009 by comics writer and historian Robert Greenberger as “one of the greatest” creative teams to work on the Batman character. In their story “The Laughing Fish”, the Joker is brazen enough to disfigure fish with a rictus grin, then expects to be granted a federal trademark on them, only to start killing the bureaucrats who try to explain to him that obtaining such a claim on a natural resource is legally impossible. Writer Len Wein and Rogers co-created the third version of the supervillain Clayface in Detective Comics #478 (July–Aug. 1978). The original Katherine Kane also known as “Batwoman” was killed in the lead story in issue #485 (Aug.–Sept. 1979) by the League of Assassins.
By 1964, sales of Batman titles had fallen drastically. Bob Kane noted that, as a result, DC was “planning to kill Batman off altogether”. In response to this, editor Julius Schwartz was assigned to the Batman titles. He presided over drastic changes, beginning with 1964’s Detective Comics #327 (May 1964), which was cover-billed as the “New Look”. Schwartz introduced changes designed to make Batman more contemporary, and to return him to more detective-oriented stories. He brought in artist Carmine Infantino to help overhaul the character. The Batmobile was redesigned, and Batman’s costume was modified to incorporate a yellow ellipse behind the bat-insignia. The space aliens, time travel, and characters of the 1950s such as Batwoman, Ace, and Bat-Mite were retired. Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred was killed off (though his death was quickly reversed) while a new female relative for the Wayne family, Aunt Harriet, came to live with Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson.
Batman #168 CGC 7.0 Off-White to White Pages $129Batman #180 FN+ $45Batman #201 VG- $18Batman #213 VF $89
Boy Commandos spun off into their own title with a ‘Winter 1942’ date. The title sold “over a million copies each month”, and was one of DC’s “three biggest hits” alongside Superman and Batman. Jack Kirby drew around five pages a day of the title, but Jack Liebowitz requested an even faster turn-around – fearing (as happened) that the two would be drafted, as had many other industry professionals. Simon & Kirby hired “inkers, [letterers], colorists, and writers, striving to create a year’s worth of tales” (Boy Commandos was also a quarterly title until Winter, 1945). Among those hired was a young Gil Kane.
Boy Commandos ran until issue #36 (Nov/Dec 1949), and was edited throughout by Jack Schiff. Among the individuals who assisted Simon and Kirby on the title (and its covers) were future-Superman legend Curt Swan, as well as Steve Brodie, Louis Cazeneuve and Carmine Infantino.
Boy Commandos #29 CGC 7.5 Cream to Off-White Pages $225
Knight Terrors is a 2023 DC Comics crossover event written by Joshua Williamson and drawn by Howard Porter. Other creators include Guillem March and Chris Bachalo. The event was announced in February during a ComicsPRO convention on Pittsburgh.
Williamson said: “I love horror comics, and it’s been a blast bringing the energy to Dawn of DC. Knight Terrors showcases the horror side of our heroes as a brand-new villain confronts them with their worst nightmares. It’s a fun and horrific event that brings together all of the heroes and villains of DC, along with some surprises!”
Along with the core 4-issue miniseries there are various 2-issue tie-in miniseries focusing on different characters during the event. These titles replaced the main ongoing series, with many written by the same creatives working on the ongoing series.
In 1993, the success of the three Robin miniseries led to the ongoing Robin series which ran 183 issues until 2009 and helped his transition from sidekick to a superhero in his own right. In 2004 storylines, established DC Comics character Stephanie Brown became the fourth Robin for a short while before the role reverted to Tim Drake. Batman’s son Damian Wayne then succeeds Drake as Robin in the 2009 story arc “Battle for the Cowl“, until his death in 2013 story. Following the 2011 continuity reboot “The New 52“, Tim Drake is revised as having assumed the title Red Robin out of deference to the deceased Jason Todd; Jason Todd, as he exists today, operates as the Red Hood and has been slowly repairing his relationship with Batman; Dick Grayson is Nightwing, and later fakes his death to become an undercover operative; and Stephanie Brown is introduced anew as Spoiler once again in the pages of Batman Eternal (2014).
As part of DC Comics’ DC Rebirth relaunch in June 2016, Action Comics reverted to its original numbering beginning with Action Comics #957, with the series shipping twice-monthly. The series, written by Dan Jurgens, serves as a continuation of the comic book series, Superman: Lois and Clark, which featured the pre-Flashpoint Superman alongside his wife, Lois Lane, and their son, Jonathan Kent.
The 1986 company-wide crossover “Legends” concluded with the formation of a new Justice League. The new team was dubbed “Justice League” then “Justice League International” (JLI) and was given a mandate with less of an American focus. The new series, written by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis with art by Kevin Maguire (and later Adam Hughes), added quirky humor to the team’s stories. In this incarnation, the membership consisted partly of heroes from Earths that, prior to their merging in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, were separate. The Giffen/DeMatteis team worked on Justice League for five years and closed out their run with the “Breakdowns” storyline in 1991 and 1992. The series’ humorous tone and high level of characterization proved very popular.
Justice League #0 NM- $3Justice League #1 VF+ $8Justice League #2 NM- $5Justice League #2 VF+ $3Justice League #3 NM $6Justice League #5 VF+ $4Justice League #6 VF+ $3Justice League #9 NM- $3Justice League #10 NM $4Justice League #11 NM $4Justice League #12 NM $4Justice League #13 NM $4Justice League #16 NM $4Justice League #17 NM- $3Justice League #18 NM $26Justice League #19 NM $14Justice League #20 NM $9Justice League #21 NM $6Justice League #22 NM $4Justice League #23 NM $4Justice League #24 NM $4Justice League #25 NM $4Justice League #26 NM $4Justice League #27 NM $4Justice League #28 NM $4Justice League #29 NM $4Justice League #30 NM- $3Justice League #31 NM $9Justice League #32 NM $5Justice League #33 NM $4Justice League #34 NM $6Justice League #35 NM $4Justice League #36 NM $4Justice League #37 NM $4Justice League #38 NM $4Justice League #39 NM $4Justice League #40 NM $5Justice League #41 NM $4Justice League #42 NM $4Justice League #43 NM $4Justice League #47 NM $4Justice League #48 NM $4Justice League #49 NM $4Justice League #50 NM $4Justice League #51 NM- $3Justice League #52 NM- $3Justice League #53 NM $4Justice League #54 NM $4Justice League #56 NM $5Justice League #57 NM $4Justice League #59 NM $4Justice League #60 NM $4Justice League #61 NM $5Justice League #62 NM $4Justice League #63 NM $4Justice League #64 NM $4Justice League #65 NM $4Justice League #66 NM $4Justice League #67 NM $4Justice League #69 NM $9Justice League #70 NM $4Justice League #71 NM $3Justice League #73 NM $4Justice League #75 NM $4Justice League #76 NM $5Justice League #77 NM- $4Justice League #79 NM $4Justice League #80 NM $4Justice League #81 NM $4Justice League #84 NM $4Justice League #89 NM $4Justice League #92 NM $3Justice League Annual #5 NM $4Justice League Annual #6 NM $4Justice League Annual #7 NM $4
Although it was deemed to be non-canon, Grant Morrison used this story in the 4-issue story “Batman and Son” in 2006. DC Comics published a new printing of Batman: Son of the Demon in 2006 featuring new cover art by Andy Kubert for the first time in standard comic book size with a cover price of $5.99 US, tying in with the “Batman and Son” arc.
Batman Son of the Demon CGC 9.8 White Pages $295Batman Son of the Demon 2006 NM $19
Doorway to Nightmare, introduced in 1978, was the last of the DC “Mystery” line of titles in the 1970s that became the forerunner of Vertigo. It did not have a consistent creative team—the intent was to create writer-artist pairings that had never occurred before, except for the cover art of Michael William Kaluta. Madame Xanadu, the star of the series, was not a host but an active participant, albeit never the main character in her stories.
EHT Comics 