Detective Comics Vol 1 70

Detective Comics Vol 1 #70 Published Released December, 1942 October 22, 1942 Issue Details Pages 68 Original Price 0.10 Cover Artists Jerry Robinson Publisher DC Comics Indicia Publisher Detective Comics, Inc. Brand/Imprint A Superman DC Publication Batman: "The Man Who Could Read Minds" Writers Don Cameron Pencilers Bob Kane Inkers Jerry Robinson George Roussos Letterers Ira Schnapp Editors Whitney Ellsworth "Slam Bradley: "X Marked the Spot at the Tee"" Pencilers Howard Sherman Inkers Howard Sherman Letterers Howard Sherman Editors Whitney Ellsworth "Crimson Avenger: "The Mystery of the Musical Muggs"" Writers Joe Samachson Pencilers Jack Lehti Inkers Charles Paris Letterers Charles Paris Editors Whitney Ellsworth "Bart Regan, Spy: "The Man Who Looted Lives"" Pencilers Chuck Winter Inkers Chuck Winter Editors Whitney Ellsworth "Air Wave: "Who Rubbed Out the Editor?"" Writers Murray Boltinoff Pencilers Harris Levy Inkers Charles Paris Editors Murray Boltinoff "Boy Commandos: "Fury Rides a Taxicab"" Writers Jack Kirby Pencilers Jack Kirby Inkers Joe Simon Editors Whitney Ellsworth Previous Issue Next Issue Detective Comics #69 Detective Comics #71

You made one mistake when you killed Elson. You planted the mark of "The Keen Arrow" on him ... forgetting that Elson was the artist who drew that character! He couldn't have murdered himself!

-- Air Wave

Appearing in Batman: "The Man Who Could Read Minds"

Featured Characters:

•  Batman 

Supporting Characters:

• Robin

Adversaries:

• Carlo (Only appearance; dies)

Other Characters:

• Old Pete Jorgen (Single appearance)

Locations:

• Earth-Two
  • Gotham City
  • Miser's Isle

Items:

• Batrope

Vehicles:

• Batplane
  
  

Synopsis for Batman: "The Man Who Could Read Minds"

(adapted from plot summary at dcindexes.com and from Bat To The Beginning)
Carlo, a stage show "mind reader", is involved in an car accident. He undergoes an emergency operation which is interrupted by a power outage, causing a surgical accident gives him the ability to really read minds. He then begins using this power for criminal gain. Batman tries to stop him, but Carlo reads Batman’s mind and learns that Bruce Wayne is Batman, and sends him a message, via a bat flying through Bruce Wayne's window, describing his next planned crime, on Miser's Island. Despite the imminent exposure of their secret identities, the Dynamic Duo fly there to thwart the theft. Carlos uses his telepathic tactical advantage to get the drop on his enemies. He throws Robin in a bathysphere and drops him to the bottom of the ocean with the oxygen valve turned off, and traps Batman in a room with moveable walls. We never find out why the miser, Old Pete Jorgen, had this kind of booby trap in his house, but Batman escapes from it, and when he gets out he finds Carlos questioning Old Pete behind bullet-proof glass, which he cuts through by using his diamond studded platinum Bat-logo shaped police badge, that we've never seen before and aren't expecting to see again either, and he saves Old Pete, plus by lip-reading he finds out about Robin's situation, and dives to accomplish that rescue also, with an acetylene torch. They get back to shore and there's Carlos, paying attention to them but not to Old Pete, who just plain shoots him dead. Batman calls in the Coast Guard using a nearby lighthouse as a bat-signal.

Appearing in Slam Bradley: "X Marked the Spot at the Tee"

Featured Characters:

• Slam Bradley

Supporting Characters:

• Shorty Morgan

Adversaries:

• The Junior Fuehrer (impersonates German golfer Dr. Grunt)
• Heinrich and Hans (Nazi spies)

Other Characters:

• Taylor (an amateur golf champ) (Death)
• Amos Blimper (president of the refugee bank)

Locations:

• Unknown

Items:

• Unknown

Vehicles:

• Unknown
  
  

Synopsis for Slam Bradley: "X Marked the Spot at the Tee"

Slam and Shorty are interrupted on the golf course by two champion golfers. Taylor the amateur champ is struck dead by a gunshot while teeing off. Slam investigates the case and finds that Taylor's golf club was actually a gun which fires when it struck the ball. He determines that Taylor's opponent Dr. Grunt from Germany is an impostor, who killed the golfer to protect his secret. The impostor is actually the head of a Nazi spy ring, which Slam and Shorty smash.

Appearing in Crimson Avenger: "The Mystery of the Musical Muggs"

Featured Characters:

• Crimson Avenger

Supporting Characters:

• Wing

Adversaries:

• Mickey the Mugg (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

• Unknown

Locations:

• Earth-Two

Items:

• Unknown

Vehicles:

• Unknown
  
  

Synopsis for Crimson Avenger: "The Mystery of the Musical Muggs"

• Synopsis not yet written.
  
  

Appearing in Bart Regan, Spy: "The Man Who Looted Lives"

Featured Characters:

• Bart Regan

Supporting Characters:

• Unknown

Adversaries:

• Unknown

Other Characters:

• Unknown

Locations:

• Unknown

Items:

• Unknown

Vehicles:

• Unknown
  
  

Synopsis for Bart Regan, Spy: "The Man Who Looted Lives"

• Synopsis not yet written.
  
  

Appearing in Air Wave: "Who Rubbed Out the Editor?"

Featured Characters:

• Air Wave

Supporting Characters:

• Static (Parrot)

Adversaries:

• Duke the secretary

Other Characters:

• Editor Murray Boltinoff
• Duke (Single appearance)
• Elsom, sometimes "Elson" (Single appearance) (Death)
• Blake (Single appearance)
• Angelo (Single appearance)

Locations:

• Earth-Two
  • Gotham City
    • Kolossal Komics publishing office, "high up in downtown Gotham"

Items:

• Unknown

Vehicles:

• Unknown
  
  

Synopsis for Air Wave: "Who Rubbed Out the Editor?"

Three wealthy men are murdered and robbed by an unknown criminal who leaves misleading notes at the crime scenes, crediting "Keen Arrow," "Showerman," and "the Sunburned Kid" with the crimes. District Attorney Larry Jordan visits Kolossal Komics to question Editor Murray; no sooner do they step out of the room than three high-strung cartoonists (Elsom, Blake, & Angelo) start fist-fighting among themselves and accusing each other of framing them. Amidst this confusion, in another room, Editor Murray gets stabbed to death with a steel pen. Police are called in. Jordan is stymied, all four suspects (3 artists plus Murray's secretary Duke) have stories that hold up. Everyone is released. Jordan returns that night as Air Wave, with his parrot Static, and stealthily breaks into the office. A masked intruder is there, who throws a steel pen at him, misses, and flees. Air Wave knocks a giant stack of comic books down onto himself and by the time he struggles free the mystery man is gone and he finds a dead cartoonist, Elson, with an arrow in his chest and a mocking note from Keen Arrow. Also a typewriter has been stolen. Using his weird radio powers, Air Wave broadcasts a message to every typewriter in the city, warning that Air Wave is on the case. This has some amusing results in some places but more importantly it frightens the murderer fleeing with the incriminating typewriter, who blurts out panicky remarks, which Air Wave, using his unusual super powers, is able to hear and to trace to their source (at Market and Front Streets). Harnessing electrical energy from the Earth, via his sensitive radio aerial, Air Wave attains amazing speed on his electrical skates, and quickly overtakes the fleeing felon, who is quickly subdued by teamwork between Air Wave and Static the very smart parrot. The killer turns out to be Duke the secretary and the murder weapon turns out to be the typewriter which was rigged with a steel-dart-hurling spring.

Appearing in Boy Commandos: "Fury Rides a Taxicab"

Featured Characters:

• Boy Commandos
  • Alfy
  • Andre
  • Brooklyn
  • Jan

Supporting Characters:

• Rip Carter

Adversaries:

• Unknown

Other Characters:

• Hack Hogan (Single appearance)

Locations:

• Unknown

Items:

• Unknown

Vehicles:

• Unknown
  
  

Synopsis for Boy Commandos: "Fury Rides a Taxicab"

• Synopsis not yet written.

Notes

• "The Man Who Could Read Minds" is reprinted in Batman Archives #2.

See Also

• Write your own review of this comic!
• Discuss Detective Comics Vol 1 70 on the forums
• Images from Detective Comics Vol 1 70

Links and References

• Detective Comics #70 index entry
• Detective Comics #70 Air Wave: "Who Rubbed Out the Editor?" story online
• Detective Comics #70 Batman spoilers

Footnotes

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