Detective Comics #56
August 22, 1941
"The Stone Idol"
A while back, I commented on how it was a shame we didn't get a continuation of Bruce and Dick's road trip vacation as they wondered what would happen at their next stop - which never happened. And now we have them on the road again. But there is something to it as it was a year ago, August 1940 (Detective Comics #43), when they went on vacation and here we are in August of 1941 and they are back on the road.
They stop in the remains of Ghost Gulch City, a once prosperous town thanks to a silver mine that was then tapped dry. The folks who still live there, remember the past. One, named Mad Mack, speaks of the Stone Idol and how it will fall. Bruce and Dick get rooms and settle in for the night as the storm rages.
The Stone Idol is a figure that sits atop the mountain overlooking the town. And sure enough as a truck tries to make its way up the road, lightning strikes the Idol, sending it crashing down, apparently crushing the truck.
The next morning, the people gather and are shocked as the Idol comes to life and speaks, warning the people to leave the town. When the mayor challenges the Idol, there is a flash of light and it returns to its stone position. Mack warns the mayor not to anger the Idol.
It's enough though for the townsfolk who pack their things and prepare to leave despite the mayor's begging to stay. The Idol enters the town along with a group of others. Batman and Robin then enter the scene.
The two get into a fight with the Idol and his servants. There has been a tendency the last couple of issues, which I like, to have a page length panel when Batman and Robin are fighting. When it becomes too much for the gang, there is a flash of light and the Stone Idol is the only thing that remains. Batman and Robin also disappear, leaving a frightened town who are easily talked into sacrificing the mayor to the Idol because he dared to speak out.
They toss the mayor off a cliff, but Batman swings in and saves him. The Idol comes back to life and grabs Robin. Another flash of light and Robin disappears with the Stone Idol remaining. Batman examines the statue and finds it is made of stone.
Now, I do not understand the next bit. Batman and the Mayor upend the Stone Idol, sending it over the cliff. But in doing that, Batman discovers a cavern at the bottom. He goes to explore and discovers another Stone Idol statue and an elevator that goes up to the top of the cliff.
Batman is jumped by a couple of men he is able to take out. He finds Robin with a gun pointed at him, but Robin is able to startle the gunman. The gunman, in kind, clubs Robin. This enrages Batman and right out of the 66 show, he races to him, unaware of the danger of an approaching ore car that knocks him over.
The car races towards the knocked out Robin. Batman manages to snag him in time and then the two leap from the car as it's about to crash.
The Stone Idol then attacks Batman and in the fight, the Idol knocks into a supporting beam, sending the mine down around them. Batman and Robin grab another ore car and use it to shield them from the falling ceiling. They then dig their way out of the rubble.
They find Mad Mack who was caught in the collapse and is dying. He admits he rigged the whole thing with a traveling circus crew when he discovered a vein of silver in the mine that belongs to the whole town. He felt since he discovered the vein, he should not have to share.
