Comics Interview: Dissected #23 – Amazing Heroes #167

Welcome to the latest instalment of our Dissected feature here on Nerdly, where one of our comic gurus, Ian Wells, delves into comics history and looks back at comics press throughout the 80s, 90s and 2000s. This time round he’s looking at Amazing Heroes #167, from June 1989.

This week we’re diving into Amazing Heroes #167 from June 1989 – the Batman 50th Anniversary issue. It’s the first issue of Amazing Heroes I’ve read cover to cover. I do have another one lying around somewhere that I might dissect in the future. It first came onto my radar when I discovered there was an issue focusing on Barry Windsor-Smith’s Weapon X. I haven’t been able to find that one at a price I’m happy with, but watch this space.

So I landed on this issue to put under the microscope, because Batman is timeless. Even if you’re not a comics fan, at some point you’ve watched a Batman cartoon, played with an action figure, or seen a movie. Batman: The Animated Series was a huge influence on me – and many others. There are more good Batman movies than bad ones. When I first got into comics, I already had a solid understanding of the character, but I never felt compelled to chase back issues. Instead, I made an effort to read the classics and keep up with current runs.

To me, Batman: Year One is easily a top-five comic of all time.

There will always be naysayers who claim every Batman story has already been told. Within the constraints of an ongoing title, maybe there’s some truth to that. But every five to ten years, something comes along that genuinely reframes the character. Off the top of my head: The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year 100, and right now, Absolute Batman. Batman isn’t going anywhere – and we should be thankful for that.

Before diving into the Batman-specific content, though, I want to talk about Amazing Heroes itself. In short, it’s dense. I don’t know whether this issue is oversized for the anniversary, but it clocks in at 106 pages. We get three long, sprawling interviews – very much in the style of Comics Interview. There’s also a comprehensive news and reviews section, something Comics Interview didn’t typically offer, plus a substantial non-comics interview with Julie Newmar. I’m not sure whether that kind of adjacent pop culture feature was a regular inclusion.

Even in a Batman-centric issue, three features don’t focus on the Dark Knight at all. For those unfamiliar, Amazing Heroes was a Fantagraphics publication, described as the superhero companion to The Comics Journal. Which makes Fantagraphics either gloriously hypocritical… or extremely smart. Possibly both.

The issue opens with an article by Mike W. Barr examining Bill Finger’s contribution to the Batman mythos. Barr himself wrote Detective Comics (1974–87), then the main Batman title starting in 1980, and also penned the first 32 issues of Batman and the Outsiders. Reading this in 1989 feels jarring now, because we live in a time when Finger’s role is properly acknowledged. Back then, people clearly knew the truth – yet very little had been done.

Finger and Bob Kane had worked together before Batman on a strip called Clip Carson. Kane’s version of events has always been inconsistent. Barr points out that in Steranko’s History of Comics, Kane claimed Finger merely altered the costume. Yet in the 1989/90 Overstreet Price Guide, Kane acknowledged that Finger wrote the first story. Whether intentional or not, the pattern speaks for itself. Kane once said, “Bill is the unsung hero of Batman.” True – though perhaps more unsung than he ever should have been.

Kane saw Batman as a superhero vigilante. Finger envisioned a scientific detective. That creative tension shaped the character we recognise today. There’s also a bitter irony in the fact that Finger, Gardner Fox, and Arnold Drake were fired from DC in the ’60s for attempting to organise a union. Had such protections existed thirty years earlier, comics history might look very different.

Rich Morrissey’s piece on Gardner Fox follows. I’ve always associated Fox with DC’s Silver Age – particularly the JSA and JLA – but I hadn’t fully appreciated how foundational his Batman contributions were. He created the Batarang and the Batplane and introduced early named villains like The Monk and Dr. Death. His reworking of The Riddler influenced the Batman ’66 TV version. Fox’s impact across DC is staggering, and the article does a good job reminding us how much of that legacy still stands.

The news section is a fascinating time capsule. There are rumours that Dick Grayson might return as Robin – a reminder of how comic gossip functioned pre-internet. This issue is dated June 1989. Tim Drake appears in Batman #436 (August 1989) and assumes the Robin mantle in #442 (December 1989). Watching the timeline unfold without instant leaks feels almost quaint.

Elsewhere, Rick Veitch quits Swamp Thing after DC pulls his controversial “crucifixion” storyline – reportedly at the last minute, despite being complete. Those issues are now finally seeing release under DC’s Black Label, which adds another layer of hindsight. Stan Lee appears in a conference report discussing film and television projects. A Daredevil spin-off from The Trial of the Incredible Hulk TV movie is floated. Lee admits he hasn’t seen the Dolph Lundgren Punisher film. Wolverine is mentioned as possibly getting a solo project – though no details are offered. It’s fascinating to see the earliest seeds of ideas that would eventually define pop culture.

Bob Kane receives the expected headline interview – though it’s actually a reprinted ’70s SDCC conversation with Shel Dorf. Kane wasn’t available for a new interview. That absence is felt. It would have been far more interesting to hear his thoughts post-Miller and post-Keaton.

Reading the piece now, Kane comes across as someone very comfortable centring himself in the narrative. There’s a definite Stan Lee quality to the way he redirects praise. Considering the issue opens with a Bill Finger feature, repurposing an older, unchallenging interview feels like a missed opportunity.

Jerry Robinson’s interview is arguably more revealing. He discusses cover design, suggesting he pioneered the symbolic, conceptual cover rather than simply enlarging interior panels. On Batman, he describes a collaborative environment between himself, Finger, and Kane. Notably, Robinson wanted the Joker to be more than another gangster – he aimed for something mythic. The Joker remains the crown jewel of Batman’s rogues’ gallery, so that ambition clearly paid off.

The final major feature spotlights Dick Sprang and Charlie Paris. The tone is looser, almost charmingly unfiltered – including notes about Sprang arriving late and Paris fiddling with an ice cube tray mid-interview. Both artists praise Bill Finger’s scripts, particularly his detailed separation of action and dialogue. Sprang, often associated with elaborate death-trap imagery, reminds readers that those concepts originated with Finger.

Sprang recounts his rapid rise in the industry, his submission to Whitney Ellsworth, and his early rates. He also notes being the first artist to shorten Batman’s cowl ears – a detail I assumed came later. He praises Frank Miller and specifically credits Lyn Varley’s contribution to The Dark Knight Returns, something no one else in the issue mentions.

The issue closes with an overflowing letters section, each page accompanied by Batman-themed fan art. Contributors include Mitch O’Connell, Luc Giard, Al Bigley, and others. There’s a debate over alleged Steranko inks on Master of Kung Fu, with Dan Adkins writing in to clarify. It’s nerdy, obsessive, and exactly what you’d want from a late-’80s comics letters page.

Overall, Amazing Heroes #167 is both a celebration and a correction. It honours Batman while quietly dismantling the simplified origin myth. Bill Finger’s presence runs like a thread through the entire issue. In hindsight, that may be its greatest strength.

Dense, occasionally uneven, but undeniably fascinating – this was well worth putting under the microscope.