The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books, the Silver Age is considered to cover the period from 1956 to 1970, and was succeeded by the Bronze Age. [1] Feiffer, Jules (1965). The Great Comic Book Heroes. Dial Press. pp.22–23. Reissued, Fantagraphics Books (2003). ISBN 978-1-56097-501-4 For quite some time the changes instigated by Julius Schwartz (in Showcase #4, October 1956) which rippled out in the last years of that decade to affect all of National/DC Comics’ superhero characters generally passed by Batman and Robin. Fans buying Batman, Detective Comics, World’s Finest Comics and latterly Justice League of America would read adventures that – in look and tone – were largely unchanged from the safely anodyne fantasies that had turned the Dark Knight into a mystery-solving, alien-fighting costumed Boy Scout just as the 1940s turned into the 1950s. The darkening of the Batman continued in the 90s.Many of the major Batman storylines since the 1990s have been inter-title crossovers that run for a number of issues. In 1993, DC published both " The Death Of Superman" storyline and " Batman: Knightfall". Showcase #94–96; The Superman Family #191–193; New Teen Titans #13–15; DC Comics Presents #52, Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #7–9; Teen Titans Spotlight #9; Secret Origins Annual #1; Doom Patrol (vol. 2) #1–18, Annual #1; Doom Patrol and Suicide Squad Special #1; Superman #20; material from New Teen Titans #10; Invasion! #2–3

Batman's characteristic utility belt was introduced in Detective Comics #29 (July 1939), followed by the boomerang-like batarang and the first bat-themed vehicle, the Batplane, in #31 (September 1939). The Batman TV show premiered on January 12 th 1966 and ran for three seasons (120 episodes in total), airing twice weekly for the first two. It was a monumental, world-wide hit and sparked a wave of trendy imitation. The resulting media hysteria and fan frenzy generated an insane amount of Bat-awareness, no end of spin-offs and merchandise – including a movie – and introduced us all to the phenomenon of overkill. a b c Nash, Eric (February 12, 2004). "Julius Schwartz, 88, Editor Who Revived Superhero Genre in Comic Books". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012 . Retrieved 2008-09-23. In the wake of these changes, publishers began introducing superhero stories again, a change that began with the introduction of a new version of DC Comics' The Flash in Showcase #4 (October 1956). In response to strong demand, DC began publishing more superhero titles including Justice League of America, which prompted Marvel Comics to follow suit beginning with The Fantastic Four #1. The 1994 company-wide crossover Zero Hour changes aspects of DC continuity once again, including those of Batman. Noteworthy among these changes is that the general populace and the criminal element now consider Batman an urban legend rather than a known force. Also, the Waynes' killer is never caught or identified, effectively removing Joe Chill from continuity.

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When Clark Met Bruce: A Tale from the Days of Smallville" from Superman/Batman Secret Files and Origins 2003 As evidenced by the cover below, Batwoman does make her debut in Detective Comics #233 and competes with the dynamic duo a few times over the course of the collection. From there, fans get to meet multiple versions of Batman including: The Batman Puppet, Batman Jones, The Phantom Batman, The Armored Batman, Mogo: The Bat-Ape, Batman: Superman of Planet X, Batman’s Robot Twin, The First Batman (Bruce’s father), The Outlaw Batman, The Rainbow Batman, The Giant Batman, and The Alien Batman. a b c Janulewicz, Tom (February 1, 2000). "Gil Kane, Space-Age Comic Book Artist, Dies". Space.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009.

St.Louis, Hervé (October 9, 2005). "Is DC Comics Spearheading a New Age in Super Hero Comics?". Comic Book Bin. Archived from the original on July 16, 2010 . Retrieved 2008-07-15. The first Batman story, " The Case Of The Chemical Syndicate," was published in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). The Golden Age of Batman is collected in brilliant omnibus format! Collecting classic stories from the issues of Batman #86-100 and Detective Comics #211-232—this collection is a can't miss for Batman fans! The Question Omnibus by Dennis O'Neil and Denys Cowan Vol. 2Hardcover – November 21, 2023The iconic tales of Batman from the classic Silver Age collected for the first time in this incredible omnibus! When the television show was a success, I was asked to be campy, and of course when the show faded, so did the comic books." Comics historian Peter Sanderson compares the 1960s DC to a large Hollywood studio, and argues that after having reinvented the superhero archetype, DC by the latter part of the decade was suffering from a creative drought. The audience for comics was no longer just children, and Sanderson sees the 1960s Marvel as the comic equivalent of the French New Wave, developing new methods of storytelling that drew in and retained readers who were in their teens and older and thus influencing the comics writers and artists of the future. [25] Other publishers [ edit ] Batman proved a hit character and received his own solo title in 1940, while continuing to star in Detective Comics. By that time, National Publications(the comic book division that would become DC Comics)was the top-selling and most influential publisher in the industry. Batman and the company's other major hero, Superman, were the cornerstones of the company's success.