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#443
Detective Comics, #442

Published: August-September 1974

Cover

Detective Comics #442

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Issue Contents:
Death Flies the Haunted Sky!
1 page superhero
Characters
  • Batman [Bruce Wayne]
  • Eve Dancer
  • Robin [Dick Grayson] (head shot)
  • Hawkman [Carter Hall] (head shot)
  • Manhunter [Paul Kirk] (head shot)
  • Doctor Fate [Kent Nelson] (head shot)
  • The Guardian [Jim Harper] (head shot)
Credits
Story Notes

Colors credit provided by Anthony Tollin.

Karate (1)
Story 1 1 page

"Judo-Jiu-Jitsu-Savate the total defense system"

Story Notes

Ad for martial arts training information on the inside front cover.

Detective Comics / Contents
Story 2 1 page

"The Batman in "Death Flies the Haunted Sky!" -- page 4"

Characters
  • Batman [Bruce Wayne]
Credits
Death Flies the Haunted Sky
Story 3 11 pages superhero

"Earlier, a flash storm had shattered this Spring evening in Gotham!"

Characters
  • Batman [Bruce Wayne]
  • Eve Dancer
  • Mason Terrell
  • Doug Garth
  • Rick Halstrom
  • Ben Dancer
  • Benjy Dancer
Credits
Story Notes

With due homage to Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson, George Roussos, and Neal Adams.

The House Where Time Stood Still
Story 4 12 pages superhero

"The old house huddles in its weed-grown yard... an enigma from the past..."

Storyline

Citizens are very concerned that the Presby brothers haven't been seen in over 25 years, so the boys and the Guardian investigate, only to learn that they locked themselves in their home to avoid contact with World War 1 and now World War 2. However, that plays right into the hands of a couple of Nazi spies who intend to use their home as a secret Nazi radio station to contact submarines.

Characters
  • The Guardian [Jim Harper]
  • The Newsboy Legion [Tommy Tompkins
  • Big Words [Anthony Rodriguez]
  • Gabby [Jonathan Gabrielli]
  • Scrapper [Patrick MacGuire]]
  • Hector Presby
  • Julius Presby
  • August (villain, Nazi spy)
  • Karl (villain, Nazi spy)
Credits
Story Notes

Re-colored from the original printing in Star Spangled Comics (1941 series) #21 (June 1943).

The Magic Mirror Mystery!
Story 5 11 pages superhero

"Do you like "locked room mysteries"-- in which a crime takes place that is "impossible"?"

Storyline

Hawkman tricks a thief into confessing to an "impossible" robbery.

Characters
  • Hawkman [Katar Hol]
  • Hawkgirl [Shayera Hol]
  • Commissioner George Emmett
  • Robert Sorel
  • "Scoops" Handley
  • Harry Winsor
  • Pete
Credits
Coming Super-Attractions!
Story 6 0 pages
Story Notes

House ad for Superman (DC, 1938 series) #279.

The Huntress of the Highway!
Story 7 7 pages superhero

"The highway was haunted! How else could one explain the trucks that traveled on it... to nowhere!"

Storyline

Black Canary must help Larry in his quest to discover why trucks keep disappearing on the Franklin Turnpike.

Characters
  • Black Canary [Dinah Drake]
  • Larry Lance (introduction, boyfriend, private detective)
Credits
Story Notes

1st solo appearance of the Black Canary.

The Robbery That Never Happened!
Story 8 10 pages superhero

"It was a hundred-dollar bill!"

Characters
  • Elongated Man [Ralph Dibny]
  • Sue Dibny
  • Richard Bell
Credits
Rush This Coupon Now!

Featuring Muscle Fighter IV

Story 9 1 page
Storyline

Ad for new muscle building program.

Characters
  • Robert Nailon
Story Notes

The ad is between pages 6 and 7 of the Elongated Man story.

Vanishing Village!
Story 10 11 pages superhero

"Crooks disappear! Well, that's nothing new!"

Storyline

Batman and Robin are surprised to learn that an abandoned village in Florida, patterned after a Turkish village named Alhambra, has vanished, which is also the home of many a master criminal who has also disappeared.

Characters
  • Batman [Bruce Wayne
  • also as Knuckles Donegan]
  • Robin [Dick Grayson]
  • Alfred Pennyworth
  • Knuckles Donegan (villain, introduction)
  • Weasel (villain, introduction)
  • Slick (villain, introduction)
Credits
Story Notes

Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder

Story 11 1 page

"Thanks to some scheduling changes, we're down to one page for letters this issue."

Characters
  • Batman
Credits
Story Notes

Letter of comment from Antone Perry.

Murder in Baranga Marsh (1)
Story 12 10 pages superhero

"Hidden in the marshes south of the Baranga River stands an old stone house."

Storyline

A mad man invents a sound system that kills people at a distance and Dr. Fate sets out to halt the senseless murders that have already occurred.

Characters
  • Doctor Fate [Kent Nelson]
  • Inza Kramer
  • Serge Roltavich
  • The Master (villain, introduction, death)
  • Nasha (villain)
Credits
Story Notes

Oddity: in the first few panels, Kent Nelson wears the golden cape of Dr. Fate.

Chapter 6: To Duel the Master
Story 13 9 pages superhero

"Japan! Around the hot springs of the Matsue area, many resorts have grown since World War II."

Storyline

Tracking Dr. Mykros back to Sanctuary, Manhunter must battle his teacher, Asano Nitobe.

Characters
  • Manhunter [Paul Kirk]
  • Christine St. Clair
  • The Council [Dr. Anatol Mykros
  • Asano Nitobe
  • Christine's father]
Credits
Story Notes

Alan Kupperberg is the credited letterer of this story in Manhunter: The Special Edition (1999), where this story is reprinted. The Simonson lettering credit is per Archie Goodwin on page 97 of Detective Comics #443 (October-November 1974).

The Insult That Made a Man Out of "Mac"
Story 14 1 page teen

"Hey! Quit kicking that sand in our faces!"

Characters
  • Mac
Story Notes

Inside back cover comics ad.

If You Want Your Dad To Give You a Daisy B-B Gun, Give Yourself This Free Booklet
Story 15 1 page

"Get yourself a copy of “The Air Rifle Marksman” by Daisy and learn the sacred code of the Daisy Rifleman."

Story Notes

Ad for Daisy B-B Guns. Color and sepia tone ad on back cover.