Detective Comics #27: Eight Murder Mysteries in One

Written by: Rebecca Davenport

What is Detective Comics #27?

Another Detective Comics issue to be talked about! Have you missed reading the spoilers of the issue even though this one has been out there for such a long time? Detective Comics #27 is an issue of Detective Comics that was published on March 30, 1939. 86 years ago, what an old issue! Most of you have probably not read this edition (to be fair, most of us were probably not born yet), so here it comes!

List of Stories in Detective Comics #27

We’re back to the time where Detective Comics has a lot of series in their one comic book. This time, it includes these stories:

The Bat-Man: The Case of the Chemical Syndicate
Speed Saunders: Killers of Kurdistan
Buck Marshall: Bullet Bluff
Bart Regan, Spy: The Mysterious Murders
The Crimson Avenger: Murder on the Oceanic Line Docks
Death On The Airwaves
Bruce Nelson: The New Orleans Mardi Gras Murders, Part 1
The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu (Part 11 of 12)
Cosmo, the Phantom of Disguise: Illegal Aliens
Slam Bradley: The Murderer on Vacation

Not gonna lie, these are a LOT of stories for one edition!

Synopsis of Detective Comics #27

Let’s focus on the Batman story first, shall we? At first, Bruce Wayne was with Commissioner James Gordon when the police officer got a phone call about a murder report. He went to the crime scene while asking Bruce to come along. The victim was a chemical manufacturer called Lambert. Lambert’s son was found at the crime scene, but he insisted that he was innocent. He told the police what he knew: how he saw someone break in and murder his father, and how his father had three business associates that might be related to this case. These three associates were Alfred Stryker, Paul Rogers, and Steve Crane.

Soon enough, Gordon got a phone call from Crane who asked for police protection. Apparently, he received a death threat. Gordon rushed into Crane’s house, while Bruce Wayne went home (to be fair, he’s unrelated to this case anyway). However, the police were too late. Crane was already killed, and the gunman stole a piece of paper from Crane’s room. This gunman escaped through the window and encountered Batman on the roof. Batman managed to defeat the gunman and snatch the paper from him. Gordon arrived just when Batman left, so the police weren’t able to capture him.

Another associate, Rogers, paid a visit to the other associate, Stryker, after the news of Lambert’s murder was broadcast on radio. However, Stryker’s assistant, Jennings, tied Rogers up and tried to kill him. Fortunately, Batman was there to stop him from doing so. Eventually, Stryker came in and tried to kill Rogers, but Batman was able to stop that too. After that, Batman explained to Rogers about the secret contract that Stryker made with the three gentlemen. In this contract, Stryker had to pay these three men until he obtained the business, Apex Chemical Corporation. Stryker got tired of waiting and decided to kill his partners so that he didn’t have to pay.

Batman saved the day and was gone once more. At the end of the story, it was revealed that Batman was actually Bruce Wayne–or Bruce Wayne was actually Batman? Either way, this was the first revelation of Bruce Wayne being Batman.

As for the other nine stories, let’s just sum them up nicely! Most of these stories are murder mysteries (Speed Saunders, Buck Marshall, Bart Regan, Crimson Avenger, Bruce Nelson, Slam Bradley, and Death on the Airwaves). However, these two have different stories. Cosmo is about a smuggling ring case at sea, while Fu Manchu’s story is even more complicated. There is an investigation going on, and in this edition, a woman fainted because she saw two green eyes by the window. Very mysterious…

Detective Comics #27 Characters

Of course, we have our good guys as the protagonists over here: Batman, Speed Saunders, Buck Marshall, Bart Regan, Crimson Avenger, Bruce Nelson, Slam Bradley, and Cosmo. Meanwhile, the antagonists are: Alfred Stryker, Kurdistan Killers, Jack Stark, Frank, Mike Moran, Fu Manchu (the only one making it to the title), Ring Smugglers, and Blackjack Benson. There are some other antagonists as well! Also, let us not forget some of the supporting characters, but mainly: Commissioner James Gordon!

Detective Comics #27 Locations

The Batman story is normally set in Gotham, but in this story, it’s most likely in New York City. Crimson Avenger’s story is also in NYC. Buck Marshall’s story is in the American Old West, Bart Regan’s is in Washington DC, Death On The Airwaves is at Studio A of the Federal Broadcasting System, Bruce Nelson’s is in New Orleans, Fu Manchu’s is in Nan Yang, Cosmo’s is in Shanghai, and Slam Bradley’s is in Switzerland.

The Contributors of Detective Comics #27

Detective Comics #27 was brought to you by these dedicated people:

Executive Editor: Vincent Sullivan
Cover Artist: Bob Kane
Writers: Bill Finger, Homer Fleming, Jerry Siegel, Jim Chambers, Paul Dean, Tom Hickey, Sax Rohmer, Sven Elven
Penciler: Bill Finger, Fred Guardineer, Homer Fleming, Joe Shuster, Jim Chambers, Tom Hickey, Leo O'Mealia, Sven Elven
Inker: Bill Finger, Fred Guardineer, Homer Fleming, Joe Shuster, Jim Chambers, Tom Hickey, Leo O'Mealia, Sven Elven
Letterer: Bill Finger
Editor: Vincent Sullivan

What an interesting article about Detective Comics #27! What do you think about this edition? Share with us in the comments about your experiences and thoughts to earn a Limited Edition Comic Book Pack for your collection!