- Title: Batman #323
- Comic Vine: link
- Writer: Len Wein
- Artist: Irv Novick
Flashback Friday pulls back the page to 1980s comics and my introduction to one of my favorite Bat-villains of all time. I can trace my love of comics back to what I still consider the best birthday present I’ve ever received when my father gave me a stack of comic books on my birthday. There was Green Lantern, the Flash, Captain America, Iron Man, Superman, Spider-Man, the one true Captain Marvel, Justice League, Daredevil, X-Men, and Batman. And one of those Batman comics was Batman #323.
The opening chapter of a two-part story offering both a twist and and cliffhanger which, long before the Internet, would take me years to track down and read its conclusion, the story by writer Len Wein and artist Irv Novick started with Batman confronting a retired Selina Kyle about the robbery of the Egyptian Cat-God exhibit at the Riverside Museum. Proclaiming her innocence, Selina flees the scene and later turns up in Bruce Wayne’s office as Catwoman only to find no help from either man in her life.
Batman #323 wasn’t the only Batman comic in that stack, but it did stand out. Featuring a cover by Dick Giordano, the comic offered a nice introduction to Batman exploring his complicated relationship with Catwoman (who even retired showed she was no one to trifle with) and offer several trappings of the Bat mythos including some Batman detective work in the Batcave, the favorite Batmobile of my childhood, and the definitive Batman costume of the 1970s and 1980s which puts all others to shame.
Starting to believe her innocence, both Batman and Selina each separately investigate the robbery leading them both to a boobytrapped warehouse on the Gotham waterfront where they fall into the clutches of the villain behind the robbery: Catman. In the grand scheme of things, Catman is hardly one of Batman’s biggest adversaries. Nevertheless, Catman is able to get the upper-hand on both Batman and Catwoman, besting them both and leaving me to wonder (for years) just who this Catman was. And so I can credit this single comic book with making me fall for not one, not two, but three characters in a single issue making me a lifetime fan of Batman, Catwoman, and, yes, unapologetically, Catman.
[DC, $.40]