TITLE: Batman issue #161
YEAR: February 1964
COMPANY: DC National Comics
Created by Bob Kane
Penciler: Sheldon Moldoff
Inker: Charles Paris
Letterer: Stan Starkman
Edited by Jack Schiff
This is probably the oldest “Batman” issue I have in my entire collection and got it used with scribbles all over the cover.
But I’m always open to reading “Batman” classics because the stories are so different than the “Batman” stories we read today, which are darker and Gotham has literally become a hellhole.
In this issue, Batman and Robin are going after Mad Hatter (who escaped from prison) who has hats that make him jump 50 feet in the air, hats that can blind a person, hats that have special devices that are so totally 007!
And each time, he manages to escape and foil Batman. But Batman is able to figure out a possibly scheme that the Mad Hatter has planned for future thefts and sure enough, Batman is able to bust the hard to catch thief.
While the second storyline features the irritating Bat-Mite, who wants to prove his favorite superhero that he can one-up him by picking people out in the street and using his powers to make them a superhero. And as always, Bat-Mite is a bit on the naive side and picks anyone to become a hero, may they be weaklings or brutes and he picks the wrong time to meddle into Batman and Robin’s plans, as they try to catch a bad guy.
But overall, these two stories were no doubt family friendly stories that captivated young readers and even today, they are fun to read. Granted, a bit cheesy, but still fun.
While I felt this issue made the Mad Hatter way more innovative, Bat-Mite continues to be an irritating character that works well for the animated series, but for the comic books, I’ve often found the character (along with Mr. Mxyzptlk) to be irritating.