The Batman Family (1975) [smokebogey] [h33t]

Batman Family ran for 20 issues between 10/75 and 10/78, going through a few format changes on the way. According to an editorial response on the letters' page of issue 3, the new story in issue 1 was originally planned as a one-shot in the First Issue Special series. However, the decision was made to give Batgirl and Robin their own title and thus was born Batman Family.

Although the first temptation might be to dismiss this series as part of DC's long-running strategy of Batman overkill, I'm going to defend it as worthwhile as a quirky fun series for the new stories and a great chance to pick up reprints in an era when Archives didn’t exist and the 100 page reprint spectaculars had shuffled off the publishing coil.

stories reprinted in Batman Family included:

1) Batman getting "Swamp Fever" which would cause him to collapse at some unknown time in the next week requiring Batgirl and Robin to follow him around to be there when he collapsed because they didn’t want to just tell him - that would have been too easy. And the best way to make sure you always have your eye on Batman? Have Batgirl and Robin form a team so that a jealous Batman will follow them around;
2) Robin telling Batman that Robin and Batgirl "go together like ham and eggs" -- or hot dogs and mustard (is that phallic too?);
3) The story behind the time Aunt Harriet found her way into the Batcave; and
4) The time a crook kidnapped Alfred because the crook had been inducted into the Millionaire Mobster Club and he wanted a butler?

I was feeling lazy (lazier than usual actually, since I try to always steal), and plagarized every word above from this website. Go give him some page views or something as a way of saying thanks on my behalf.

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The Batman Family (1975) [smokebogey] [h33t]