Batman 239 (1940)

Batman 239

Still one of the best Batman Christmas stories ever written Silent Night, Deadly Night is courtesy of Denny O’Neil with a cover from Neal Adams and interior art by Irv Novick.

O’Neil was responsible for putting a little reality back in the world of Gotham. After comic books were neutered by the Comics Code Authority, Batman limped through the 1950s solving crimes with backdrops of oversized everyday items, fighting aliens (not the green card kind) and enjoying a revival of sorts via his questionable celebrity garnered from his weekly twice prime-time appearance in “living color.”

As dusk was allowed to settle on Batman again, the full nightfall was just outside the Batcave as, most notably, O’Neil, Adams and Novick moved the Caped Crusader into the shadows.

Issue 239 is the first Christmas issue for Batman in decades and he makes full use of the holiday stopping a down-on-his-luck uncle from making the worst mistake of his life.

Fans were treated to a flashback in Batman’s career with a reprint of issue 15, The Loneliest Men in the World, which has already been discussed on the web site.