REVIEW #39: GOLDEN OLDIES - "The Joker's Crime Costumes" (Batman #63)
Writer: ostensibly Bob Kane
Artists: Dick Sprang and Charles Paris
Colourist: Greg Theakston
Yet another delightful trip back to the olden days in the form of this story - The Joker's Crime Costumes!
I always feel like if I read a Joker story breaking into giggles every few panels, then things are going pretty well. This story definitely incurs in me a case of the incurable giggles, though the reasons why are a fair bit different to why I might be giggling through a well-written contemporary Joker story.
From bad puns, chronic narrative alliteration, corny dialogue and outrageous scenarios, this is a classic silver-age Batman story, and a beautiful example of the style and of the many foundations laid down in the early years that ultimately led to the Joker being the character he is today.
There is a certain note of exhilaration in the execution of these old stories, as though their sheer lack of restraint endowed utter joy to their creation. Forget about being 'realistic' or 'convincing' or 'dramatic'. Who cares about serious issues or inner torture or the pursuit of dark vengeance? Let's just stop crime, beat up some thugs and HAVE FUN!
Batman wasn't as concerned about privacy back then as he is now and so he's loaned out a bunch of his costumes to a charity show. We get to see such stellar examples of his inventiveness like “the gold costume” (purpose unspecified, perhaps just to rub his unchallenged wealth in greedy mobsters' faces?) and “the futuristic costume” (defined by a helmet and breathing apparatus, because nothing exemplifies 'the future' like a glass dome with some tubing) with onlookers marvelling that it's no wonder “crooks can't win”.
And amongst the admirers is the Joker - who is apparently sufficiently disgused by a pair of sunglasses, because it's Gotham after all, and no one blinks twice at the sight of a tall, thin chalk-white man wearing a purple suit - who bemoans the fact that he is “typed” and comes to the conclusion he needs to shake things up a bit - by adopting costumes of his own. For CRIME, of course! He then congratulates himself on this innovation, calling himself a rascal before cutting away to a frankly hilarious couple of panels of Bats and the Boy Wonder doing acrobatics because they have “to keep in trim - especially since the Joker escaped from jail!”
Because the Joker has always posed such a serious physical threat! Or maybe they plan to distract him with a death-defying spectacle of cirquestral stunts?
At any rate, the Joker's crime costumes, in my humble opinion, demonstrate greater ingenuity than Batman's - the Joker dons the costumes of famous comedic characters from history and commits a crime in some way related to that character. The relations between crime and character are often tenuous and reliant upon the worst possible puns, but the important thing is the Joker is having a hell of a time doing it and we can have a hell of a time watching Batman and Robin “deduce” his diabolical scheme, whilst pondering with expressions of grave concern - “WHICH CHARACTER'S COSTUME WILL HE WEAR NEXT!?!?” Oh, the humanity!
The panels in which Batman figures out the Joker's next clue only to earnestly, intently recite the “Simple Simon” rhyme before cutting to “Exposition Hall” have the tears rolling down my cheeks.
People often talk about the 'innocence' of these old stories, and yeah, sure there's an innocence to them I guess, in so far as they didn't deal with the dark and gritty subjects of today's comics, they were free from the sex and violence and crude humour. But people shouldn't mistake the innocence of the material for innocence of the creators, or the readers. The 'wholesomeness' of the material was conscious decision, further imposed by the CCA. In fact, that such a thing as the CCA (Comics Code Authority) existed indicates that there was a perceived “need” to impose standards of content - because yes, sex and drugs and violence and ugliness existed at the time.
Comics didn't deal with these things because people didn't WANT them to deal with these things. Comics were pure escapism in every glorious, ridiculous, playful aspect. I think this is worth remembering before dismissing the old stories out of hand. I'm grateful for the full spectrum of storytelling style that has existed in comics throughout their history. There's value in all of them and while I love our contemporary stories as well, there is great pleasure in going back to these old ones - the 'source material'. Just dive in and enjoy! :)
Artists: Dick Sprang and Charles Paris
Colourist: Greg Theakston
Yet another delightful trip back to the olden days in the form of this story - The Joker's Crime Costumes!
I always feel like if I read a Joker story breaking into giggles every few panels, then things are going pretty well. This story definitely incurs in me a case of the incurable giggles, though the reasons why are a fair bit different to why I might be giggling through a well-written contemporary Joker story.
From bad puns, chronic narrative alliteration, corny dialogue and outrageous scenarios, this is a classic silver-age Batman story, and a beautiful example of the style and of the many foundations laid down in the early years that ultimately led to the Joker being the character he is today.
There is a certain note of exhilaration in the execution of these old stories, as though their sheer lack of restraint endowed utter joy to their creation. Forget about being 'realistic' or 'convincing' or 'dramatic'. Who cares about serious issues or inner torture or the pursuit of dark vengeance? Let's just stop crime, beat up some thugs and HAVE FUN!
Batman wasn't as concerned about privacy back then as he is now and so he's loaned out a bunch of his costumes to a charity show. We get to see such stellar examples of his inventiveness like “the gold costume” (purpose unspecified, perhaps just to rub his unchallenged wealth in greedy mobsters' faces?) and “the futuristic costume” (defined by a helmet and breathing apparatus, because nothing exemplifies 'the future' like a glass dome with some tubing) with onlookers marvelling that it's no wonder “crooks can't win”.
And amongst the admirers is the Joker - who is apparently sufficiently disgused by a pair of sunglasses, because it's Gotham after all, and no one blinks twice at the sight of a tall, thin chalk-white man wearing a purple suit - who bemoans the fact that he is “typed” and comes to the conclusion he needs to shake things up a bit - by adopting costumes of his own. For CRIME, of course! He then congratulates himself on this innovation, calling himself a rascal before cutting away to a frankly hilarious couple of panels of Bats and the Boy Wonder doing acrobatics because they have “to keep in trim - especially since the Joker escaped from jail!”
Because the Joker has always posed such a serious physical threat! Or maybe they plan to distract him with a death-defying spectacle of cirquestral stunts?
At any rate, the Joker's crime costumes, in my humble opinion, demonstrate greater ingenuity than Batman's - the Joker dons the costumes of famous comedic characters from history and commits a crime in some way related to that character. The relations between crime and character are often tenuous and reliant upon the worst possible puns, but the important thing is the Joker is having a hell of a time doing it and we can have a hell of a time watching Batman and Robin “deduce” his diabolical scheme, whilst pondering with expressions of grave concern - “WHICH CHARACTER'S COSTUME WILL HE WEAR NEXT!?!?” Oh, the humanity!
The panels in which Batman figures out the Joker's next clue only to earnestly, intently recite the “Simple Simon” rhyme before cutting to “Exposition Hall” have the tears rolling down my cheeks.
People often talk about the 'innocence' of these old stories, and yeah, sure there's an innocence to them I guess, in so far as they didn't deal with the dark and gritty subjects of today's comics, they were free from the sex and violence and crude humour. But people shouldn't mistake the innocence of the material for innocence of the creators, or the readers. The 'wholesomeness' of the material was conscious decision, further imposed by the CCA. In fact, that such a thing as the CCA (Comics Code Authority) existed indicates that there was a perceived “need” to impose standards of content - because yes, sex and drugs and violence and ugliness existed at the time.
Comics didn't deal with these things because people didn't WANT them to deal with these things. Comics were pure escapism in every glorious, ridiculous, playful aspect. I think this is worth remembering before dismissing the old stories out of hand. I'm grateful for the full spectrum of storytelling style that has existed in comics throughout their history. There's value in all of them and while I love our contemporary stories as well, there is great pleasure in going back to these old ones - the 'source material'. Just dive in and enjoy! :)