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World War II Batman
(lemmus.org)
I was trying to work out what the "anniversary" was and found this discussion of the cover:
Batman issue No. 12 was published by DC Comics in August and September 1942 and sold for 10 cents. The yellow cover shows Batman and Robin in a Jeep, with a speech bubble from Batman saying "War savings bonds and stamps keep 'em rolling!"
This anniversary issue features the stories: "Brothers in Crime," "The Wizard of Words," "The Thrill to Conquer," and "Around the Clock with Batman."
Batman made his comic debut in Detective Comics No. 27 in 1939 before receiving his own self-titled line of comic books in 1942.
https://www.si.edu/object/batman-no-12%3Anmah_1446360
But wikipedia claims:
The character, created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, first appeared in Detective Comics #27 (cover dated May 1939). Batman proved to be so popular that a self-titled ongoing comic book series began publication with a cover date of spring 1940.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_%28comic_book%29
So it looks like:
- the Smithsonian has the launch year of the Batman comic wrong,
- August/September is neither the anniversary of the first appearance of the Batman character or the launch of the Batman comic.
Does anyone know what ~~the anniversary is~~ anniversary they were celebrating with this issue?
Edit: clarifying my question.