You shall talk now, Dala, you witch! I thought you an accomplice of your evil master who calls himself the Monk. So you are vampires!! 
- — Batman
Detective Comics #32 is an issue of the series Detective Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of October, 1939. It was published on August 30, 1939.
Synopsis for "Batman Versus the Vampire, Part 2"
Continuing onward from Paris, the Batman pursues his enemy the Monk into Hungary. On a winding road thru the Carlathian Mountains, he hijacks a speeding carriage using choking gas and kidnaps the woman inside. Traveling in his Batgyro, he takes this woman back to his hotel. The woman introduces herself as Dala. Batman has her sleep in the same room as his other guest, Bruce Wayne's fiancee Julie Madison. In the middle of the night, Dala sleepwalks out of the room. Batman realizes that she has fresh blood on her lips. Dala snaps out of her trance and hits Batman with a statue, then escapes. Batman realizes that Dala is a vampire, and she bit Julie. Batman chases Dala and makes her talk about the Monk. Dala insists that she will only tell Batman about the Monk if he promises to kill him, as she hates the Monk too.
Batman and Dala leave to pursue the Monk. Batman tells Julie that she must stay, and resist any psychic urge to return to the Monk. As Batman approaches the villain's castle by air, the Batgyro is caught in a silver net, and dragged into the castle. The Monk hypnotically overpowers Batman, and forces him to march to his doom. Dala suggests that the Monk telepathically summon Julie, to make his revenge against Batman perfect. Some time later, Julie arrives, on foot, and the Monk threatens to turn her into a werewolf such as himself. Batman is lowered into a pit of wolves that the Monk summons from the forest. It is too deep for him to get out using his silk rope. The wolves attack and Batman is able to subdue them with choking gas. Finally he escapes by using his batarang to throw the rope onto a pillar. The castle is asleep, and Batman checks that Julie is okay. Using a candle, he melts a silver statue into two silver bullets. Batman loads the silver bullets into the gun he carries with him at all times. He finds Dala and the Monk sleeping in their coffins, and shoots them both to death. The spell on Julie is broken, and they are able to safely return to America.
Appearing in "Batman Versus the Vampire, Part 2"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- The Monk (Dies)
Other Characters:
- Dala (First appearance; dies)
Locations:
- Hungary
- Lost Mountains of Cathala
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Bart Regan, Spy: "Sabotage"
Secret agents of a hostile foreign power attempt some sabotage against the U.S. Navy. Bart Regan finds out about it and takes them down.
Look at how sad this is making Batman. You did this.
Appearing in Bart Regan, Spy: "Sabotage"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Sally Norris (Mentioned only)
Antagonists:
- Spies
Other Characters:
- Stephen Retjen (Single appearance; dies)
Synopsis for Buck Marshall, Range Detective: "The Last Act"
A cattleman is buying cattle with counterfeit money. Buck Marshall figures it out and shuts him down.
Appearing in Buck Marshall, Range Detective: "The Last Act"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Lawes (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Jensen (Single appearance)
- Sam Hill (Single appearance)
Locations:
- American Old West
- Sage City
- Sage City
Synopsis for Larry Steele, Private Detective: "Doris Dumont"
Appearing in Larry Steele, Private Detective: "Doris Dumont"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Count Vichini (Single appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Doris Dumont (Single appearance)
- Mr. Dumont (Single appearance)
Synopsis for Speed Saunders, Ace Investigator: "The Skull-Face Cult"
Appearing in Speed Saunders, Ace Investigator: "The Skull-Face Cult"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Skull-Face Cult (Single appearance)
- Skull-Face (Single appearance; dies)
- Sam (Single appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Pierre (Appears only as a corpse)
Locations:
Synopsis for Cosmo, the Phantom of Disguise: "The Governor Assassinated"
Appearing in Cosmo, the Phantom of Disguise: "The Governor Assassinated"
Featured Characters:
- Cosmo, the Phantom of Disguise
Supporting Characters:
- Captain Grey
Antagonists:
- "Red" Dorgans's brother and gang (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Judge Farrell
Items:
- "ice bullets"
Synopsis for Bruce Nelson: "Rosemary Blaine"
Appearing in Bruce Nelson: "Rosemary Blaine"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Lee
Antagonists:
- Couchi (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Rosemary Blaine (Single appearance)
- Captain George Wilson
- Cassidy
Synopsis for Slam Bradley: "The Wrong Guy"
A hotelier plays an elaborate practical joke on Slam.
Appearing in Slam Bradley: "The Wrong Guy"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Other Characters:
- Cyrus Painter (Single appearance)
- Rita Stanton (Single appearance)
Locations:
Notes
- Published by Detective Comics, Inc.
- "Batman Versus the Vampire (Part II)" is reprinted in the following issues:
- "Batman Versus the Vampire" was re-imagined by writer/artist Matt Wagner for the 2006-07 limited series Batman and the Mad Monk.
- Batman does not appear (except for his portrait above the title) on this issue's cover. From Detective Comics #27 to #35, Batman appeared only on the odd-numbered covers.
- Throughout this story, writer Gardner Fox consistently conflates vampires with werewolves. This may be due to the fact that some vampires exhibit characteristics similar to that of werewolf (or the Monk may have simply been, in life, a werewolf, before becoming a vampire).
- Either way, Batman shoots these monsters, Monk and Dala, with a gun, while they're sleeping, as the character's hatred of guns and taking life had not yet been introduced.
- Also appearing in this issue of Detective Comics was:
- "Vanishing Gems" (text story) by Gardner Fox.
Trivia
- This issue concludes the first-ever continued Batman story, and it was published out of sequence. Batman's next chronological appearance is in Detective Comics #31; this story follows the one in Detective Comics #30.
- The hood of the Monk is later spotted in the Batcave's Trophy Room, along with other trophies in Detective Comics #676.
- Batman gets his first blunt-instrument head trauma, when Dala head-konks him unconscious with a statuette.
- The Batgyro is first referred to as the Batplane in this issue.
- Last issue for Joe Shuster art on Slam Bradley.
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
Look at how sad this is making Batman. You did this.