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ow pages
1st new look Batman; Infantino begins (5/64); COMIC BOOK IMPACT rating of 7 (CBI)
By the mid-1960s, Batman was nearly done for. After three decades of fighting off homicidal clowns, sexy jewel thieves, scarred former friends, and waddling bird enthusiasts, the Caped Crusader was about to be done in by the twin scourges of 1950s/early 1960s anti-comics frenzy and the most dreaded villain of all, plummeting sales. As a result, DC gave editor Julius Schwartz and dependable freelancer Carmine Infantino an ultimatum: you guys have six months to fix this mess, or the Dark Knight gets it.

Going for broke, Schwartz and Infantino, together with Batscribes Gardner Fox and John Broome, combined the character's pre-Robin attitude and punchiness with the then-new pop art sensibility that was transforming the look of American and English advertising art. The result was an instant success. Combined with the concurrent Batman TV series and the cult following gathering in Hollywood and college campuses for the original Batman serial, the character was given a stay of execution. This opening salvo in the battle to save the Bat is one of the most cherished and famous of all Silver Age DC keys, its pop-art sequential cover with stark white background announcing forcefully to all that a new Batman was in town, and he was taking no prisoners.