Artist Sheldon Moldoff and Batman
co-creator Bill Finger did the honors, and the cover-featured “Lair of the Sea
Fox” was the primary attraction. With his underwater sleds countered by the
Bat-Submarine, the purple-clad Sea Fox was an interesting though limited
villain, confined to the seas and sewers and so forth.
Batman and Robin had by this time
taken to wearing their capes while scuba diving, which was odd, but no odder
than many other things they did, I suppose.
The Dynamic Duo also faced “The
Martian from Gotham City,” actually a confused actor manipulated by criminals.
His disguise should have been pretty easy to see through, given the fact that
he in no way resembled Batman’s Detective
Comics co-star the Martian Manhunter.
The issue also includes what I am
confident is the only Batman story named after a Joanne Woodward movie, “The
Three Faces of Batman.” An experimental device renders the Caped Crusader hors de combat when he hears a siren or
bell. Actually, with Moldoff drawing them, Batman’s “three faces” look pretty
much the same.
The issue included the relatively
new feature of a letter column, and the questions illustrated the fact that
Superman was the era’s dominant hero. Was
Superman ever unable to rescue Batman and Robin? (Yes). Does Alfred know Superman’s secret identity?
(No). Does Batman ever use robot
duplicates like Superman? (Yes).
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