Friday, July 31, 2009

Batman and the Aliens, 1962

Continuing my post on Batman and the Aliens, we turn to 1962. The New York Mets established the record for most losses in a season with 120. The number one song of the year was Bobby Vinton's Roses Are Red, My Love. The #1 TV show was Wagon Train, and the Green Bay Packers won the NFL Championship against the New York Giants.

In Detective #299 (January 1962) Batman and Robin face four different alien races:


Status: True aliens, three green, one white and all human-sized.

Detective #303 (May 1962) featured this grabber of a splash page:

Status: Fake aliens as part of an amusement park.

In Batman #148, Batman and Robin encounter two aliens with larceny in their minds:



Status: True aliens, human sized and green.

In Detective #305 (July 1962) Batman and Robin become captives of the alien Z-ray:


Status: True alien, orange and human-sized.

In Batman #152, we meet the Martians:



Status: Fake aliens. Batman and Robin fake a journey to Mars to repay an old, aspiring astronaut who once saved Batman's life.

Overall Results:

1962:
Detective #299: True aliens, several, green or white, human-sized.
Detective #303: Fake aliens.
Batman #148: True aliens, green and human-sized
Detective #305: True alien, orange and human-sized
Batman #152: Fake alien.

Three real aliens, two fake aliens.

1963-1964:
Batman #153: True aliens, green.
Batman #153: True aliens, multi-colored.
Batman #156: Fake alien (dream sequence)
Detective #320: No alien visible but implied.
Batman #160: Fake Alien

Two real aliens, two fake, one not seen.