Worst. Cover. Ever. (part 5)

This week's big loser is the cover of Detective Comics #279 (1960), a glittering treasure-trove of wrongness.

First, the visuals (Batman fans, you should probably be sitting down for this):

Items desperately crying out for commentary:

1. First of all, the dreadful character design of the "weird creatures".  If the intent was to strike fear into the reader, Rosie the Robot's taller sister and a bright pink cat-cow hybrid aren't cutting it.


2. At a time like this, should Batman's primary concern really be the sanctity of their secret identities... or should he...oh, I don't know...be trading the test tube for a Bat-Bazooka?  Besides, if Tall-Rosie and the Pink Cow know their secret identities, who are they going to tell?  A terrified press corps running for their lives? A shrieking Commissioner Gordon hurling his emptied service revolver at them?  Who?


3. How exactly would these creatures "stalk" Batman of all people?  Park outside Wayne manor in a non-descript car wearing sunglasses while reading the newspaper?   


4. Admittedly, it was a tough assignment to help Batman weather the raging sci-fi fad of the late 50's and early 60's, but I can't be the only one to see just how far afield the Batman books had strayed from their dark, gothic beginnings.  Covers like this emphasize how truly lost the character had become during this loopy era, forcing Batman into situations that were equal parts hilarious and humiliating.

 

Comments

[Loren]

AND, these creatures look to be fairly large and I would think that they would be making a lot of noise (given the speed at which they look like they're travelling). Shouldn't Batman have heard them coming? Actually, forget that...shouldn't Batman have had a security alarm of some sort on the Batcave? I say Batman deserves to be stalked if he isn't smart enough to have security alarms! Pink brain creatures...have your field day!

[Mark Engblom]

Good points, Loren. In fact, all of these questions make me actually want to READ the durn-blasted thing just to find out how all this craziness "went down", as they used to say back in the 'hood. Looks like it's "mission accomplished" for whomever designed that cockimayme cover, in that they've got me hooked!

[Loren]

If you do read it, you'll have to share your findings and whether we can trust that the Silver Age Batman was really one of the world's greatest detectives. :)

[DrMindbender]

The thing that bothers me the most about this era, and this used to bug me even as a kid is how large Bob Kane (or ghost associate/employee) drew the heads and how small he drew hands...argh!

[Damian]

5. Batman seems to be bending the test tube

[Eklectic1]

A giant image of Humpty Dumpty (an award received by Batman and Robin for solving some crime) actually appears in this story. This should give you a clue as to its general merits. The target audience for this story seems to be about six years old.