The 21st appearance of The Batman took place in the October 1940 issue of Detective Comics issue 44. The cover has nothing to do with the issue as was often the case back in the golden age of comics.
Detective Comics issue 44 was a fantasy story straight from a dream that Dick Grayson had after falling asleep while reading a book. The Batman stories have changed substantially from his early appearances. The introduction of Robin and marketing toward younger children have greatly changed the stories. This is essentially a fairy tale with Batman and Robin as characters.
In Robin’s dream, it appears that Batman and Robin are investigating a haunted house, but as it turns out, the story is not scary nor creepy but, instead, a fantasy story despite the 13 Bleak Street address suggesting otherwise. They are met by a creepy man who is ranting about something called “The Fourth Dimension”. He then activates a portal which all three run through and end up in a land of giants.
The first fantasy being that Batman and Robin meet in the 4th dimension is an orange giant.
Batman and Robin also battle giant cats, crocodiles, and navigate a world they are too small for. Very reminiscent of future Ant Man stories by Marvel.
Finally, we are shown, to no great surprise, that Dick Grayson dreamed the entire story once Bruce Wayne comes home. He discovers that Dick Grayson had fallen asleep reading a book called Giants and Dwarfs in Myth and Fable.
It is interesting that it has now been sometime since Batman has killed anyone which only goes to show just how much Robin has changed Batman since his introduction. Up until now Batman has directly killed 16 people.
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The Batman Timeline and Chronology:
03-30-1939: 1st Appearance of The Batman & Commissioner Gordon. Detective Comics issue 27.
06-1939: Batman swings from building to building with a rope for the first time. Detective Comics issue 28.
07-1939: The Utility Belt is used for the first time.
09-1939: Fiancée Julie Madison is introduced. First Bat-Copter / Bat-Plane
10-1939: Batman uses a gun to kill The Monk.
11-1939: Batman kills Dr. Kruger by causing his plane to crash after knocking him out with gas. Origin of Batman.
12-1939: Batman is depicted holding a smoking gun. Commissioner Gordon returns.
02-1940: First appearance of Prof. Hugo Strange.
04-1940: First appearance of Robin (Dick Grayson). Robin kills a mobster.
04-1940: First appearance of the Joker and Catwoman (AKA: The Cat).
06-1940: First appearance of Clayface.
Batman Kill Count: 16
Robin Kill Count: 1
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