Separated at Mirth: Robin Hauls Ascot!

Sure, they've met before... in both animation and comics...

But, ya gotta wonder if Robin (in his secret identity as Dick Grayson) may have met Scooby-Doo's Freddy (in his not-so-secret identity as Fred Jones) before even that!

For this, we turn to the Robin back-up story in BATMAN # 231 (DC Comics, Cover Date: May, 1971)...

...Where Master Dick appears to be emulating the fashion sense of Master Fred! 

Rock that ascot, Dick! 

Since both Dick Grayson and Fred Jones are noted crime-busters and mystery-solvers, perhaps, rather than "Separated at Mirth", we should regards this as an example of "Divided at Detecting"!

Of course, I could be all wet about this, and he probably just took a few fashion tips from Master Bruce!   

An "Ongoing" Mystery... At Last!

To kick off 2024, let's hit the ground running with some great news...

...Although I'll expect Shaggy and Scooby to do most of the "running" - and occasionally "hitting the ground", for that matter!  

THE WAIT IS OVER! THE HIATUS HAS PASSED! 

WHY, EVEN THE WAIT FOR THE HIATUS TO PASS IS OVER!!!

After TWO 12-Issue limited series starting in 2021 and 2022 respectively, one of the best and woefully underrated comic titles out there is FINALLY BACK AS AN ONGOING SERIES!!!

Of course, I'm referring to the one... the only (...unless you count the previous two such series)... THE BATMAN & SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES with its THIRD issue #1 from DC Comics, released on January 02, 2024!  ...Talk about celebrating a new year!  

And back it is, with its most iconic team of writer Sholly Fisch and artist Dario Brizuela - who've been bringing Batman and Scooby together since SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP #1 back in late 2023!

And have alternated over the runs of THE BATMAN & SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES Series 1...

...And Series 2!

And now it's back... EVERY MONTH (unless Warner Bros. Discovery cancels it because they've lost too much money on executive compensation, streaming overexpansion supplanting reliable-and-always-there-for-you physical media, and an almost endless list of bad decisions that have made this mega-merger a joke)!  

I sometimes lament my no longer doing my monthly comic reviews, as I did for SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP, but, in their place I've indexed (with the level of detail I'm noted for) every issue of THE BATMAN & SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES at GCD.  Not exactly a substitute, but worthy as my contribution, among the contributions of so many other dedicated individuals, toward making the Grand Comics Database THE best comics indexing and information site there is!  

Series 1 HERE!

Series 2 HERE!

New Series 3 HERE! 

Go take a peek at all of the great issues of THE BATMAN & SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES to be found there. If you haven't read them all before, perhaps you will after this!  

You won't regret it!  Now, I can start looking forward to reading and indexing the next issue... Same Bat-Scoob Time, same Bat-Scoob channel! 

Uncover Batman's Mystery Casebook with Sholly Fisch!

It's the World's Greatest Detective and the World's Greatest Comic Book Writer (...well, ONE OF the latter in MY view, anyway) together again for ONE historic meeting... ONE day only... SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4th... when the old tower clock strikes NOON! 

And, while Batman *might* just limit his appearance to the printed page (...or, maybe he'll show up silently behind you - ya NEVER CAN TELL with him), SHOLLY FISCH will be there to meet, greet, and sign copies of his new graphic novel, BATMAN'S MYSTERY CASEBOOK!

Sholly describes the book as "a collection of Encyclopedia Brown/Minute Mysteries-style solve-it-yourself mysteries that let you match wits with the World's Greatest Detective." 

So, if you're anywhere around the northeast (or, even if you're not), consider coming down (or up, depending on your location) to...

A&S Comics

563 Cedar Lane

Teaneck, NJ 07666

...at 12 NOON!  If Batman isn't there, you can always match wits with Sholly Fisch - a gentleman of considerable wit himself!    

Remember, for us New York/New Jersey Metro area/northeasterners, it's much closer than San Diego, and far easier to get into than the Javitz Center - and, frankly, not really that much further away!

I made the NYC-traversing trip from Long Island for a previous such "Sholl-event" for the late and VERY lamented SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP'S 50th and final issue and, December weather and conditions permitting, I expect to do so again.  So, you might even be able to "match wits" with me as well... provided I remember to take them along.  

Hopefully, I'll see you there!

PS: Don't forget to check out the SECOND SERIES of THE BATMAN & SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES, presently on its second issue (of 12).  #1 pictured below.

There, you can match wits with Batman, the Scooby Gang, and Sholly Fisch... and perhaps learn something new about TURKEY... the nation, not the bird!  

You can read my index for the issue at Grand Comics Database HERE!

The Return of /Son of / The Sequel to "Learn Comics Writing from Sholly Fisch!"

In my opinion, as both a fan and as a professional comic book writer, Sholly Fisch is, without doubt, my favorite comics writer actively working today!  

Could anyone else have written the comic above?  

Or those below?  

I don't THINK so!  

And that's just one small corner of the overall comics landscape that he navigates so well!  

This Blog stands as a testament to that navigation... Just take THIS LINK and see!  

Sholly Fisch routinely taps into that "Something Special" that I can barely reach - on good days, with effort - and only if the stars and planets are properly aligned, in a month with no "R" in it, and when the date is divisible by 20040402 with no remainder!   

And NOW, you can... Learn Comics Writing from Sholly Fisch! 

...And through the respected Kubert School, no less!  Online, in the COVID-free comfort of your own home!  Here's some detail from the Kubert School web site...

 

“For more than 30 years, Sholly Fisch has prowled the night as an award-winning, Eisner-nominated writer, whose 400+ credits run the gamut from Superman to Star Wars to Scooby-Doo, and from Clive Barker’s Hellraiser to Looney Tunes.  By day, Sholly has helped produce dozens of educational TV series, digital games, and magazines for kids, including Sesame Street, Cyberchase, The Magic School Bus Rides Again, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That, and lots of things you've probably never heard of. 

“In this 6-week class, Sholly will introduce the mechanics of writing, storytelling, and creating characters for comics in various genres, while students create and share stories of their own.  Not to mention offering practical advice about breaking in (and staying in), working with artists and editors, and what to do when things go wrong.”

Class runs six weeks, 6:00-8:00 PM ET, Tuesday evenings. Begins July 12, 2022! 

...And, if such a thing could be considered an "extra added incentive", I will be attending this session!  I'm already registered, and looking forward to the experience!  So, who wants to join me? ...And Scooby and Batman?    

I don't guarantee they will be there, but stranger things have happened!

 

 Like THIS, for instance! 

Don't let all those Robins beat you to it! Check it out today! 

 

https://www.kubertschool.edu/art-programs/online-studies.html

A Gag I Shared with Dana!

As you all know, my dear friend Dana Gabbard passed away January 11, 2022, at the age of 59, as I posted HERE!  I miss him all the time, and want to share just another of the many jokes and gags we had between us.   

Since becoming friends in the early 1980s, Dana and I had countless discussions about the state of the comic book industry... the few things we thought were good and/or improving - and the greater number of things we thought were bad and/or getting worse. 

One of the worst things either of us could imagine was the rise of CGC!  

CGC, for those not in the know, was the first entity to "professionally grade and entomb in plastic" comic books that were (and are) thought to be valuable!  Some imitators have followed in this abominable practice, but CGC was the first and remains the best known.  

The fundamental problem we had with this misguided concept is that we both felt that COMIC BOOKS OUGHT TO BE READ AND ENJOYED, not salted away like some form of "newsprint currency"!  

Every comic book that undergoes this process will NEVER BE READ AGAIN!  

Well, maybe not EVERY one... says this traditionalist contrarian.  

You see, I got me some of them there "imprisoned comics" (because I couldn't find any copies that weren't "imprisoned") and set them FREE!  

WHY? ...BECAUSE I WANTED TO *READ* THEM, THAT'S WHY! 

I fully intend to detail that experience in another post (let's hope I actually follow through on that, because it was a real hoot to crack open those "clear flat coffins" like plastic walnuts), but what does one do with a busted-open CGC slab?  

Well, there's where the joke with Dana comes in... 

As you know, Dana was the publisher of a pioneering American Disney comic book fanzine called "The Duckburg Times"...

...And, just to show Dana how important it was, I gave him a peek at what a copy would look like, if it were slabbed by CGC!  

He got a great big kick out of this!  So much so that I turned it into a trilogy!

One of the comics I worked on...

MICKEY MOUSE (IDW) #6!

...And for a great writer - and a great guy, Sholly Fisch...

SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP #50! 

And, of course, the basis for the gag, the liberated comic basking in the fresh air of my comic room!

I gave Dana a great laugh that day - as he and I have both done for decades - and I hope I've given all of you one as well! 

Learn Comics Writing from Sholly Fisch!

 

In my opinion, as both a fan and as a professional comic book writer, Sholly Fisch is, without doubt, my favorite comics writer actively working today!  

Could anyone else have written the comic above?  

Or those below?  

I don't THINK so!  

And that's just one small corner of the overall comics landscape that he navigates so well!  

This Blog stands as a testament to that navigation... Just take THIS LINK and see!  

Sholly Fisch routinely taps into that "Something Special" that I can barely reach - on good days, with effort - and only if the stars and planets are properly aligned, in a month with no "R" in it, and when the date is divisible by 20040402 with no remainder!   

And NOW, you can... Learn Comics Writing from Sholly Fisch! 

...And through the respected Kubert School, no less!  Online, in the PPE-free comfort of your own home!  Here's some detail from the Kubert School web site...

“For more than 30 years, Sholly Fisch has prowled the night as an award-winning, Eisner-nominated writer, whose 400+ credits run the gamut from Superman to Star Wars to Scooby-Doo, and from Clive Barker’s Hellraiser to Looney Tunes.  By day, Sholly has helped produce dozens of educational TV series, digital games, and magazines for kids, including Sesame Street, Cyberchase, The Magic School Bus Rides Again, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That, and lots of things you've probably never heard of. 

“In this 6-week class, Sholly will introduce the mechanics of writing, storytelling, and creating characters for comics in various genres, while students create and share stories of their own.  Not to mention offering practical advice about breaking in (and staying in), working with artists and editors, and what to do when things go wrong.”

Class runs six weeks, 6:00-7:30 PM ET, Tuesday evenings. Begins November 17, 2020! 

Don't let all those Robins beat you to it! Check it out today! 

 

https://www.kubertschool.edu/art-programs/online-studies.html

Looong Comics Review: BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD (Second Series) # 14

THE HOLIDAYS AREN'T OVER UNTIL I SAY THEY ARE!

Don't look at your calendar!  Don't check your phone-like-computing-device-with-both-still-and-motion-picture-camera!  Don't even ask your most trusted friend... I mean a REAL friend not one of those "Insta-Book-Tweet-Gram-Face" type friends!

Once you begin reading anything at this site, you enter a world where (just like the old OUTER LIMITS TV show) *I* control everything you see and hear!  ...Okay, maybe just SEE, unless I link to something with sound!  And that remains in force until you break the connection, and go read some other Blog... and why would you ever want to do that? 

So, when I say THE HOLIDAYS AREN'T OVER UNTIL I SAY THEY ARE! ... Well, THE HOLIDAYS AREN'T OVER UNTIL I SAY THEY ARE!  ...Okay?  Fine! 

We've just celebrated Christmas with DC Comics' THE THREE MOUSEKETEERS in THIS POST...

...Now, we celebrate Chanukah with Batman and Ragman in this wonderful issue! 

As we used to say in the old APA and fanzine days (...and now say, once again): The Issue At Hand is: BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD (Second Series) # 14 (DC Comics, Cover Date: February, 2012)! 

This comic is based on the superb animated series BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD, which we posted about HERE, HERE, and HERE to cite just a few!   The comic, especially when in the very capable hands of writer Sholly Fisch - who masterminded such issues of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP like THIS - was easily the show's equal!  Here's just one reason why...

The animated series would open on a teaser of Batman teaming-up with another DC hero, before moving into the "main story".  It would also pull the most obscure characters out of DC Comics lore for these team-ups.  So imagine my sheer joy, when I opened the issue - and, on page one saw THIS! 

YESSS!  It's CRAZY QUILT!  CRAZY QUILT, whom I first encountered in this comic!  (...And have rarely, if ever, seen since!) 

DETECTIVE COMICS # 535 (Cover Date: February, 1984)

And he's brought Doctor Spectro (from Captain Atom) and Rainbow Raider (from The Flash) with him... to... to... um... hold Gotham City for ransom... or they'll turn all the snow from white to pastel colors... so, so... um... Gotham will never have another "White Christmas"?   (At right: Crazy Quilt in animation!) 

Batman finishes-off this color-centric crime cartel so quickly that there isn't even anything for Blue Beetle to do... but watch the opening title/theme sequence, that would occur here, if this were the show instead of a comic!  

Then, after the team-up-teaser and theme, we would get to the main story... 

"Small Miracles" 20 pages. Written by Sholly Fisch, Pencils by Rick Burchett, and Inks by Dan Davis.  (Click to enlarge any and all images!) 

A rabbi from a poor section of Gotham tries to pawn his heirloom watch to help raise funds for the community's Chanukah celebration.  The pawn shop proprietor is Rory Regan, who operates as the street-level hero known as "Ragman".  

We learn a little of Rory Regan's background before the conversation is cut short by a call for help, prompting Rory to take action as Ragman. 

As the robber is taken away, Batman shows up - as silently and mysteriously as ever.  You know he's probably been watching the whole thing.  

And he gets quite the earful from Ragman! 

WOW!  Anyone else thinking Denny O' Neil and Neal Adams' GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW right now?  

Very well done by Sholly Fisch, especially in the context of  "a children's comic book" (quotes quite intentional)!  ...But, I was interrupting a great exchange between Ragman and Batman...

And, for those of us playing "Six Degrees of Scooby-Doo", there are even greedy land developers praying on this forgotten sector of Gotham...

...With a business name that would add Alfred Hitchcock to those "Six Degrees of Scooby-Doo"...

...If this comic didn't do it first!  

...But, enough of that!  

You can almost feel those words sting Bruce Wayne, from inside his bat-suit!  But, before he can reply...

Since we don't so spoilers, now is usually the time we leave you on a cliffhanger - and urge you to buy the book if you don't have it, or re-read it if you do!  

But in this case, we'll skip slightly ahead and present this wonderful sequence that begins with Ragman asking the rabbi why he stays in this community...

The rabbi goes on to call Ragman a "miracle"...

I was so impressed with this issue that I asked Esther to read it!  She is not a comics fan (...but I love everything else about her), and she barely reads my own stuff - so, for me to do this is an indication of just how moved I was! 

She, too, was very impressed.  And she doesn't impress as easily as I do - not by a long-shot!  

So, here's to Sholly Fisch - and Rick Burchett, and Dan Davis (though, as a writer, I tend to "weight things" in that direction first - sorry, artists) for a superb holiday effort that entertains AND teaches (...or reinforces that which we should already know)!

BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD (Second Series) # 14 should be available wherever fine back-issue comics are sold.    

You still have time to get a copy and read it (...or re-read it again and again) because...

THE HOLIDAYS AREN'T OVER UNTIL I SAY THEY ARE!

BONUS GCD LINK:  I may start a new TIAH tradition with this!  As a bonus, I'll provide a link for the issue being discussed or reviewed to its index at Grand Comics Database!  

I didn't write this one, but it nicely sums things up in significantly fewer words than I would!   Go to it HERE! 

And, since THE HOLIDAYS AREN'T OVER UNTIL I SAY THEY ARE, expect at least one more looong holiday-themed comics review to come - even if it comes early in the new year!