DETECTIVE COMICS #44, October 1940.
“The Land Behind The Light”
Cover Artists: Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson, George Roussos.
Although most Batman fans remember the 1950s as a strange time – Batman was donning a bewildering variety of outfits as aliens and other bizarre menaces replaced the usual street-level criminals – and of course it only became odder in the campy 1960s. But here in 1940, Batman and Robin find themselves in the fourth dimension, caught in the middle of a war between giants and dwarfs. Just as everything seems hopeless, Dick Grayson wakes up. That’s right, the entire story is nothing but a nightmare, and although this counts as the first science fiction-themed Batman story, it’s not technically “real.”
Many thanks for the expert commentary provided for our 2018 Vintage DC Comics Desktop Calendar (above) goes to Dr. Arnold Blumberg. Doc is an educator, publisher, author, comic and pop culture historian, and former museum curator. He was the editor of The Overstreet Comic Book Price guide and teaches courses in everything from comics to zombies to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Find him on Twitter @DoctoroftheDead.
