Paul Keinzle and Shawn M. Myers graciously invited me to join them, with guest Jim Beard, for the latest episode of their podcast, Batman Family Reunion at the Fire and Water Podcast Network. In this episode, we discuss The Batman Family #15 (DC Comics, December 1977).
The Batman Family was a DC Comics series that ran for twenty issues from 1975 to 1978. It focused on Batman’s supporting cast, mainly Robin and Batgirl. Silver- and Golden-Age reprints featuring obscure and forgotten characters rounded out the early issues.
Why I was invited:
Before I became a professional comic book writer, I was briefly and sporadically a comic book letter column contributor! In those days, young comic book writers-to-be caught the attention of editor Julius Schwartz by contributing letters of comments to his titles. That may have been my motivation for picking up my pen.
In 1977 I was moved to write a ‘sternly worded letter’ concerning the treatment of Robin the Teen Wonder in the then-current Batman comics.
Robin was perceived as having outgrown his ‘Boy Wonder’ status, and was packed off to college to have adventures apart from his mentor, Batman. In my mind the move was only partially successful. The character of Batman worked well as a solo act, but Robin on his own seemed like half a team.
Not only did my letter appear in issue #12 of Batman Family, but my ‘rather unorthodox suggestions’ sparked many reader responses. Rebuttals and reinforcements appeared three issues later, on an extra, dedicated letters page in BF #15.
If I ever thought that my comic work would one day warrant scrutiny on the Internet, I surely never imagined that my Batman Family letter would garner attention as a subject of discussion in a podcast.
The BatFam issue under discussion, including ads and letters pages, can be read HERE.
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Convention appearance queries – Info here!
Art commissions – contact me at craig@craigboldman.com .
Also see my caricatures page!
Thanks for appearing on our show, Craig! You were an awesome guest!