Detective Comics #38

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The table includes 6 guide observations and 1 catalog references. These are reference values, not guaranteed sale proceeds.

Graded population

CGC records 168 graded copies for Detective Comics #38 (1940). Population is the number recorded by this grading source, not the total print run or all surviving copies.

Batman and "Robin the Boy Wonder"

When the owner of a traveling circus, named Mr. Haly), is confronted by thugs, they ask Mr. Haly to pay a "fine," but He refuses and as a result, his bestselling attraction, the Flying Graysons, are killed "accidentally" while performing that night. The Graysons' young son, Dick), overhears an incriminating conversation between Blade, the killer, and his employer Boss Zucco). Dick plans to call the police, but Batman), who has attended the show as the millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne, takes in Dick Grayson, instead of immediately pursuing the thugs and also tells Dick that his parents were killed by a criminal too. Batman trains Dick, already an excellent acrobat, how to become a crime-fighter. When a period of training is over, Dick is given a red, green, and yellow costume and adopts the identity of Robin, the Boy Wonder.

Dick debuts as Batman's sidekick, and the Dynamic Duo hunt down the extortion gang, and their leader, Boss Zucco. Zucco's new plan is to demolish a skyscraper construction site (the Canin Building), but Robin and Batman defeat the gang in a dangerous battle on the high girders, during which Robin uses a sling to knock one thug off a steel beam and kicks a second gunman off another girder. Zucco is recorded by Robin in the act of pushing Blade to his death and this evidence is given to the police, leading to Zucco's conviction for murder. In the end, Robin vows to be Batman's partner against crime. | Appearing1 = **Featured Characters:** * Batman) **Supporting Characters:** * Robin) Robin **Antagonists:** * Boss Zucco) ** Zucco's bodyguards and enforcers: Blade , others two more die **Other Characters:** * Flying Graysons ** John Grayson) ** Mary Grayson) * Mister Haley) **Locations:** * United States of America ** New Jersey *** Gotham City **** Wayne Manor **** Haley's Circus **Items:** * Utility Belt * Robin's Slingshot

| Writer2_1 = Jerry Siegel | Penciler2_1 = Maurice Kashuba | Inker2_1 = Maurice Kashuba | StoryTitle2 = Bart Regan, Spy: "The Electrical Assassin" | Synopsis2 = An insane electrical scientist develops a machine that can hit targets with lightning. Bart Regan puts him out of action, and the War Department takes control of the lightning machine. | Appearing2 = **Featured Characters:** * Bart Regan) **Supporting Characters:** * Bart's Boss * Secret Service Forensic Scientist **Antagonists:** * Carter, the Electrical Assassin (wears a monocle) * Nell Johnson * gunman **Other Characters:** * Senator Clayton * Chick Cavenaugh, Secret Service * cab driver **Locations:** * Washington, D.C. ** U.S. Secret Service Headquarters ** Bart's Apartment ** Carter Laboratories **Items:** * Carter's Lightning Machine **Vehicles:** * Bart's Sedan * Carter's Limousine

| Writer3_1 = | Penciler3_1 = Ken Ernst | Inker3_1 = Ken Ernst | StoryTitle3 = Red Logan: "Dr. Hydkil" | Synopsis3 = In London, Dr. Hydkil is insanely seeking to use the blood of living people to resurrect the dead, and commits a series of murders which are made to appear like vampire attacks. Red Logan investigates, and puts an end to Hydkil's menace. | Appearing3 = **Featured Characters:** * Red Logan) **Supporting Characters:** * Ivan * Inspector Enright **Antagonists:** * Dr. Hydkil ** Gluko, assistant **Other Characters:** * Officer Simpson * Officer Mitchell * Archie, at the *Times Courier* * Prominent London Surgeon ** Receptionist * Cab Driver **Locations:** * London ** Enright's flat ** London Daily Mail Building *** "Times-Courier" office ** lodging house ** old and deserted part of town *** Hydkil's Residence

| Writer4_1 = Jack Lehti | Penciler4_1 = Jack Lehti | Inker4_1 = Jack Lehti | StoryTitle4 = The Crimson Avenger: "The Phoney Jewel Robbery" | Synopsis4 = Some gem thieves and some insurance fraudsters co-operate to defraud an insurance company out of a lot of money. The Crimson Avenger finds out about this racket, and corners the gang in their own hideout. He gets his gas gun knocked out of his hands, but out-fist-fights the gang, then gases them, carries them away, and dumps them on the sidewalk in front of a police station. | Appearing4 = **Featured Characters:** * Crimson Avenger) **Supporting Characters:** * Wing) * Mac, Ace Reporter **Antagonists:** * Mr. Duprey (wears a monocle) * Mrs. Duprey * Joe Scalponi ** "Gimpy" Malone, thug ** Mike, thug **Other Characters:** * Meadows, Dupre's butler * Police Chief * Officer Mike **Locations:** * New York City ** Opera House ** Globe-Leader, newspaper office ** Duprey Mansion ** Police Station * Scalponi's Country Hideout **Vehicles:** * Travis' Limousine

| Writer5_1 = Gardner Fox | Penciler5_1 = Fred Guardineer | Inker5_1 = Fred Guardineer | Letterer5_1 = Fred Guardineer | StoryTitle5 = Speed Saunders: "The Kidnaped Singer" | Synopsis5 = | Appearing5 = **Featured Characters:** * Speed Saunders) **Antagonists:** * "Lora de Thiessi's fiance" aka "The Gull" {imposter} **Other Characters:** * Lora de Thiessi, Torch Singer ** her maid * Speed's Theatre Date * Jim, theatre worker * Marie, theatre worker * Police Captain * Jim, Airport Manager / Pilot * Charter Pilot **Locations:** * New York City ** Social Theatre ** Police Headquarters ** Miss de Thiessi's residence * New York City Area ** The Hangforth Dunes ** West Beach Airport **Vehicles:** * Miss de Thiessi's big black car * Jim's pursuit plane * Chartered passenger plane

| Writer6_1 = | Penciler6_1 = Don Lynch | Inker6_1 = Don Lynch | StoryTitle6 = Steve Malone: "The Gambler's Protector" | Synopsis6 = A gang of gambling racketeers are being protected by corrupt city officials, including the Police Commissioner, until District Attorney Steve Malone takes them down. | Appearing6 = **Featured Characters:** * Steve Malone) **Supporting Characters:** * Happy, assistant **Antagonists:** * Butch Smaltz, Racket Boss ** his gang: Spot, others * Police Commissioner **Other Characters:** * Police Chief Runyon **Locations:** * Police HQ * City Harbor **Vehicles:** * Commissioner's Yacht ** Yacht's Launch

| Writer7_1 = Chad Grothkopf | Penciler7_1 = Chad Grothkopf | Inker7_1 = Chad Grothkopf | Letterer7_1 = Chad Grothkopf | StoryTitle7 = Cliff Crosby: "At the Arctic Circle" | Synopsis7 = Cliff Crosby and Dr. Broussard go exploring in the Arctic Circle. They encounter a traveling tribe of African people, who have got a serum that protects them from the cold. The tribe is led by a usurper, who has forced them to migrate to this location, for a reason that is never stated. Cliff fights a cobra, and a pair of polar bears, the neck of one of which he breaks with his bare hands. Cliff also helps sort out a tribal problem about who is the rightful king of the tribe. Everybody parts on friendly terms. Crosby and Broussard return to the U.S. via dog sled. | Appearing7 = **Featured Characters:** * Cliff Crosby) **Antagonists:** * Sabu, usurper * Sengi, executioner * more knife men **Other Characters:** * Dr. Broussard * Aga, Rightful King * tribe of Africans **Animals:** * two brown polar bears * one cobra * one dog sled team **Locations:** * Arctic Circle ** Aga's Tribe's Mountain *** "Safe House" Castle **Vehicles:** * Broussard's airplane abandoned, crashed **Items:** * African cold-resistance serum

| Writer8_1 = Jerry Siegel | Penciler8_1 = Dennis Neville | Inker8_1 = Dennis Neville | StoryTitle8 = Slam Bradley: "The Big Fire" | Synopsis8 = While on their way to a wrestling match, Slam Bradley and Shorty Morgan overhear a police radio call which leads them to an apartment building fire. There they encounter the building's janitor, valiantly rescuing residents, and dash inside to look for more of them. Shorty has some bad luck rescuing one frightened tot, and they both are trapped inside a very large refrigerator. Slam looks for him, and finds them just in time. But then they hear young crippled Tommy Crane on an upper floor; he can't jump so Slam and Shorty do a ladder-climbing, rope-swinging, window-smashing, skylight-climbing rescue, and along the way they find some evidence indicating how the fire got started. Also, Slam gets his hands cut up quite badly on some broken glass. After all the residents are rescued, based on the evidence from upstairs, Slam accuses the janitor of starting the fire; the janitor pulls a gun on him, confirming that suspicion, but Slam and Shorty take him down and turn him over to the police. Afterward, the grateful firemen rush Slam and Shorty to the wrestling match, in a firetruck. | Appearing8 = **Featured Characters:** * Slam Bradley) **Supporting Characters:** * Shorty Morgan) **Antagonists:** * Janitor **Other Characters:** * Tommy Crane * other apartment residents * firemen and policemen **Locations:** * New York City ** 607 Blackmer Street ** Diner, nearby

| Notes = * Published monthly by Detective Comics, Inc. * This issue is reprinted in its entirety in: ** Millennium Edition: Detective Comics Vol 1 38 ** Facsimile Edition: Detective Comics Vol 1 38. * **Batman**: ** "**Robin the Boy Wonder**" is reprinted in: *** Batman Archives Vol 1 (Collected) *** Batman: From the 30's to the 70's (Collected) *** Batman Chronicles Vol 1 (Collected) *** Secret Origins Vol 1 7 *** Robin, the Boy Wonder: A Celebration of 75 Years (Collected) *** Detective Comics: 80 Years of Batman: The Deluxe Edition (Collected) *** Detective Comics: Batman 80th Anniversary Giant Vol 1 1 *** Robin: 80 Years of the Boy Wonder: The Deluxe Edition (Collected) ** Aspects of the Robin costume and even his name are drawn from Jerry Robinson's childhood favorite hero, Robin Hood. ** Three thugs are knocked off a tall building, apparently to their deaths, by Robin, in the story's final battle. ** Robin's debut story was later adapted on the episode Robin's Reckoning_Episode%3A_Robin's_Reckoning%2C_Part_I) from Batman: The Animated Series). His origins were also adapted in the movie Batman Forever). ** Robin appears next in Detective Comics Vol 1 39, then in Batman Vol 1 1. ** Batman appeared last in Detective Comics Vol 1 37, and appears next in Detective Comics Vol 1 39, then in Batman Vol 1 1. * **Cliff Crosby** gets head-konked unconscious with a blunt weapon. ** Cliff kills two brown polar bears, one with a thrown icicle and one with a wrestling hold. He later kills a cobra with a slammed door. ** The story never does explain why that whole tribe of Africans marched to the Arctic. It was Sabu's idea, and he's dead. ** King Aga gives Cliff Crosby a copy of the secret formula for living in Arctic conditions. This formula is never seen or mentioned again. * First issue of Detective Comics for **Red Logan** by Ken Ernst. This feature had earlier appeared in More Fun Comics, and would run until Detective Comics Vol 1 43. * First issue for Dennis Neville art on **Slam Bradley.** ** The 2nd panel of the 1st page has a police radio call for "Radio-Car K-7." This was the vehicle typically assigned to NYPD officers Sandy Keene) and Larry Trent) of New York's famous Radio Squad), currently appearing monthly in More Fun Comics, by Jerry Siegel and Chad Grothkopf. This would seem to establish New York City as Slam and Shorty's base of operations; earlier in this series they lived and worked in Cleveland, Ohio. * The title of the **Speed Saunders** story, as published, was "*The Kidnaped Singer*," so even though that's wrong, it's accurate. ** Speed and his date, whose name we're not told, are formally attired in tuxedo and evening gown, at the Social Theatre. Whoever she is, she routinely interviews entertainers, seemingly professionally. ** Speed has a hunch, says so, asks the Police Captain for permission to take charge of the kidnap investigation, and receives it, just like that. ** Speed jumps from one moving airplane to another in mid-air. * **Steve Malone** gets head-konked unconscious, with a belaying pin. * Also appearing in this issue of *Detective Comics* were: ** Detective Stamp Page: "Phono-Post Stamps" (text article) ** Detective Comics Monthly Book Review No. 1: *Kidnapped* by Robert Louis Stevenson (text article) ** *"Uncle Otto"* ** "The Case of the Vanishing Train" (text story), by John Randall ** "Six Big Headline Features for the "Big Six" Comic Magazines!" (full page ad, same copy and art as last month's ad, for the current issues of Action, Adventure, All-American, Detective, Flash, and More Fun Comics)

| Trivia = * **Bart Regan** kills the fleeing sniper, shooting him so he falls off a building. Also the lightning machine is definitely turned over to the War Department. * It's a tough month for bears in Adventure AND Detective Comics this month, with Hourman and Cotton Carver killing one bear apiece, and now Cliff Crosby killing two more. * This same month, over in Adventure Comics, Cotton Carver is also in the Arctic. | Recommended = | Links =

Creative credits

Writers: Bill Finger, Jerry Siegel, Jack Lehti, Gardner Fox, Chad Grothkopf, Jerry Siegel

Interior art: Bob Kane, Maurice Kashuba, Ken Ernst, Jack Lehti, Fred Guardineer, Don Lynch, Chad Grothkopf, Dennis Neville

Source records & attribution

Panel Profits keeps each source identity attached to its edition record.

COMICBASE: comicbase:342912

COMICBASE: comicbase:342913

GCD: 754

PANEL PROFITS: 2316822