OK, so we have a villain here that was created just for the newspaper. I'll get to that in a moment, but first I have to say I love the idea of face masks sewn into the brim of hats so that when one is ready to rob a bank, you simply drop the face mask into place. Surprised this never caught on. Add to this, the loot bags being rigged with tear gas, allowing our crooks the chance to get away when Batman and Robin approach, and you already have the makings of an interesting story.And then there's the Gopher. Now, he can't exactly dig underground, but he lives in the sewers, which is where the crooks escape to. Although I do have to ask the question, the Gopher has everything planned, including how to handle the odd sanitation man who stumbles upon their hideout, but what sanitation person comes down into the sewers dressed in a suit and tie?
I will say, I'm not happy with some of the shortcuts taken in the story, for example when Batman gets free of his straight-jacket (wonder if that actually works), it's the end of one Sunday installment. The next week, we are simply told Batman frees Robin. It's interesting how some of these Sunday stories drag on and could have been much simpler in their story telling approach and then others, like this, cut to the chase a little too easily.
Overall, I liked this one. It's a shame the Gopher dies as he would have had a grand escape from jail - underground, of course. What's next, Citizens? We're on to Detective Comics as it begins its next one hundred issues.
