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Detective Comics Vol 1 37

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"Batman: "The Screaming House"": While driving around near Gotham City, Batman hears screams coming from an old abandoned house and decides to go take a look. Inside the house, a man named Joey is being tortured by thugs. Batman knocks out some thugs but then Joey bet


Quote1.png Don't you think that fellow might catch cold with his chest exposed like that? Quote2.png
— Batman

Detective Comics #37 is an issue of the series Detective Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of March, 1940.

Synopsis for Batman: "The Screaming House"

While driving around near Gotham City, Batman hears screams coming from an old abandoned house and decides to go take a look. Inside the house, a man named Joey is being tortured by thugs. Batman knocks out some thugs but then Joey betrays him and knocks out Batman, and then kills the rest of the thugs.

When Batman awakes, he follows Joey to man called Turg, and confronts him along with his gang. Batman discovers that Turg and his gang are planning to destroy an incoming vessel, as they are spies for another country and Joey was a U.S. espionage agent. After a good deal of waterfront chasing and fighting, Batman prevents the thugs from destroying the ship and defeats the gang. Batman then finds clues that lead him to the leader of the gang, Count Grutt, who is actually Elias Turg. Batman battles Turg once more, with swords, and the criminal ends up fatally impaled on his own blade.

Appearing in Batman: "The Screaming House"

Featured Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Count Grutt (Elias Turg) (Only appearance; dies)
  • Carl (Single appearance)
  • Al (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Joey, Federal agent (Only appearance; dies)

Locations:

Items:

Vehicles:


Synopsis for Bart Regan, Spy: "The Ring of Death"

Ligoni, leader of the "Ring of Death," uses bombs to murder some government officials. Bart Regan, Spy, goes undercover to investigate, and busts him.

Appearing in Bart Regan, Spy: "The Ring of Death"

Featured Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Ligoni (Single appearance)
    • Ring of Death
  • Jim Lacey (Single appearance)

Synopsis for Cosmo, the Phantom of Disguise: "Mutiny on the Sea Swan"

A gang of hijackers plots to steal a ship, bound for England, by faking an emergency and causing an evacuation, then taking over. Their scheme is to divert the ship to an unnamed enemy nation, and sell it. Cosmo, the Phantom of Disguise, foils their plan.

Appearing in Cosmo, the Phantom of Disguise: "Mutiny on the Sea Swan"

Featured Characters:

  • Cosmo, the Phantom of Disguise (Final appearance)

Antagonists:

  • Mister Abrams (Single appearance)
  • Boroff (Single appearance)
  • Tom Barowsky (Single appearance)
  • Aleck Corigah (Single appearance)
  • Alex (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Barker (Single appearance)

Locations:

Vehicles:

  • Steamship

Synopsis for The Crimson Avenger: "Laura Burlingame's been Kidnapped"

J.N. Worthy and his gang kidnap Laura Burlingame, the daughter of his former business partner. He then dupes the parents into sending him, with the ransom money, to act as go-between with the gang. Lee Travis finds out about it, and soon the Crimson Avenger is on hand to witness the meet-up, then trail the gang back to their hide-out. Crimson gets the girl to safety then returns to wait around for the gang boss to show up. He takes down all of them, then departs, just ahead of the arriving police, who still seek to arrest the elusive vigilante.

Appearing in The Crimson Avenger: "Laura Burlingame's been Kidnapped"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • J. N. Worthy (Single appearance)
    • his gang of Kidnappers

Other Characters:

  • Laura Burlingame (Single appearance)
  • Laura's parents (Single appearance)

Locations:

Synopsis for Speed Saunders: "The Crime Roundup"

Speed Saunders gets ambushed, doused with whiskey, thrown in an alley, and framed as a drunkard. He gets demoted. He goes to war against the frame-hangers, visiting and busting up many criminals, in many parts of town. Eventually he gets his reputation cleared, and in the process sends a large number of punks to jail.

Appearing in Speed Saunders: "The Crime Roundup"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Patsy Ross (Single appearance)

Antagonists:

  • Limpy Lee (Single appearance)
  • Joe Forrest (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Mayor Smith (Single appearance)
  • Hogan (Single appearance)
  • Guss Rolling (Single appearance)

Locations:

Synopsis for Steve Malone: "Miss Cooper is Kidnapped"

Three creeps, Trigger, Spats, and Joe, kidnap Miss Cooper, and Steve Malone rescues her and defeats them.

Appearing in Steve Malone: "Miss Cooper is Kidnapped"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Happy
  • Ed (Single appearance)

Antagonists:

  • Trigger (Single appearance)
  • Spats (Single appearance)
  • Joe (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Harold S. Cooper (Single appearance)
  • Miss Cooper (Single appearance)

Synopsis for Cliff Crosby: "Judge Carson is Kidnapped"

Cliff Crosby and his reporter friend Teddy Jenson look into the abduction of a judge, who is being sold by a slave ring in South America.

Cliff gets captured himself, and the judge gets thrown to a giant octopus. Cliff fights the octopus, then wears its corpse on his head, to frighten the slavers. He defeats them and rescues the judge.

Appearing in Cliff Crosby: "Judge Carson is Kidnapped"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Teddy Jenson (First appearance)

Antagonists:

  • "Buck" Dawson (Single appearance)
    • henchmen
    • Giant Octopus

Other Characters:

  • Judge Carson (Single appearance)

Locations:

Synopsis for Slam Bradley: "A Dynamite Gift"


Appearing in Slam Bradley: "A Dynamite Gift"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • "Chip" Grant (Only appearance; dies)
  • Murphy (Single appearance)
  • "Blade" Roscoe

Other Characters:

  • Jean Kennedy (Single appearance)
  • Dynamite -horse (Single appearance)
  • Stevens (Single appearance)

Locations:

Notes

  • Published by Detective Comics, Inc.
  • Batman:"The Screaming House" is reprinted in Batman #237, Batman Archives Vol 1, and Batman Chronicles Vol 1.
    • In Batman Chronicles Vol 1, The Screaming House is called The Spies.
    • The last panel of this issue's Batman story promotes the tag for the next month's issue, which is for Batman vs The Monster Men. However, that story was instead published in Batman #1, and the next Detective Comics issue features the introduction of Robin, the Boy Wonder.
    • Count Grutt wears a monocle.
    • Batman is knocked out by blows to the head (Joey's club attack, and a heavy bag of grain dropped onto him) for the 3rd and 4th times, this issue.[1][2]
    • Batman grapples Count Grutt onto the point of a sword that's stuck through a wooden door, fatally. This may have been retconned out of Earth-Two history. It is never mentioned again.
  • First issue for Cliff Crosby by Chad Grothkopf.
  • This issue the Crimson Avenger returns, with Jim Chambers still writing it, and art by Harry Lucey. This feature has been absent since Detective Comics #29.
  • Last issue for Cosmo, the Phantom of Disguise, by Sven Elven.
  • Last issue for Mart Bailey art on Slam Bradley.
  • Also appearing in this issue of Detective Comics were:



See Also

Recommended Reading

Links and References

  1. ↑ Detective Comics #32
  2. ↑ Detective Comics #33
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Look at how sad this is making Batman. You did this.

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