Detective Comics #103

July 20, 1945

"Trouble, Incorporated"

Here's a story I can connect with on some levels. We open with Dean Gray being forced to retire from Gotham University. The students though will miss the man as he gave them the best advice. It bothers him too, so he decides to open a shop where he dispenses his advice to all. The only thing is, he collects no fee.

And when the criminal Sam Slick hears about it, he plans to take advantage of Gray's advice. The next day, Bruce and Dick see Slick and his men, dressed in Egyptian garb, take a taxi. They quickly change and follow them to a movie studio where one of the assistants had gone to Gray for advice on clearly a bad check he cashed hoping it would be covered by gems he was planning to steal from the set.

Slick and his men take the gems and manage to get away by toppling a large prop onto Batman and Robin. They visit the assistant when he is not on set during the robbery. They find him unconscious, not being able to come out of it for some time, so that the two have to work without his help. They do find a note pointing to Gray's business.

It wasn't just the cartoons that forgot to put an emblem on.

They get to Gray's office, but follow a man who exits from it. They see him being jumped by some of Slick's men who get away without their prey when Batman intervenes. They return to Gray's office and he has no clue what the two are talking about. They find the office next door is empty and Batman comes to the conclusion that Slick rented the office and listened via the old drinking glass trick, based on the imprints on the wall.

They speak with the man who was jumped and he tells them about his brother who is hiding out with a sachet of hot money. Slick's men got the address from his wallet, but he remembers, so Batman and Robin go to investigate. The story quickly wraps up as the two are captured as is Gray who went to find out what Slick was up to. His Civil War gat is taken from him and it explodes when Slick tries to use it on Batman. This distraction allows the two to round up the gang.

I really liked this story as you didn't know until the end if Gray was truly involved in this or not. My only issue was quick wrap up on the last page after the story played out so well.

What's next? We're checking in with World's Finest to see if it continues to live up to that name, Citizens!