I posted this back on July 2 of this year.
Jeff of Earth-J said:
THE BATMAN FAMILY: In anticipation of the upcoming release of the Silver Age Batman Omnibus, I gathered together from various sources (Batman in the Fifties, Batman: the Annuals v2, Batman from the '30s through the '70s, DC's Greatest Imaginary Stories v2) all of the stories featuring Ace the Bat-Hound, Bat-Woman, Bat-Girl and Bruce Wayne, Jr. I have in my collection. (But not Bat-Mite! I hate Bat-Mite!)
Some will point out that the the stories of Batman II (Dick Grayson) and Robin II (Bruce Wayne, Jr.) are "imaginary," but who's to say? I prefer to think of all the stories I mentioned as taking place in the same reality, and there is some precedence for that. Within DC continuity, Gardner Fox is said to have dreamed the Earth-2 stories which were published on Earth-1. I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility imagination that Alfred wasn't actually channeling future reality somehow in his "fictional" stories.
Read in the proper order, "The Marriage of Batman and Batwoman" (Batman #122, March 1959) and "The Boyhood of Bruce Wayne, Jr." (Batman #159, November 1963) serve as a prefect transition between the "real" and the "imaginary." By the time the series comes to an end in "Bat-Girl--Bat-Woman II!" (Batman #163, May 1964), Batman was on the cusp of the "New Look" era, anyway, and these characters were never (well, hardly ever) to be seen again (and, yes, I include the pre-New Look Batman and Robin when I say that).
Batman: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1 finally shipped this week, nearly six months late (it was originally solicited for July 6), but nevertheless a joy to behold. Whereas my early reading project merely hit the highlights, the omnibus showcases the stories of Bat-Woman, Bat-Girl and (last but not least) Ace the Bat-Hound in context. Well, not all of them. Although it opens with the introduction of Kathy Kane/Bat-Woman, it misses the debut of Ace (from Batman #92). Also, it doesn't even get to the introduction of Bat-Girl, but that's what volume two is for. Don't keep us waiting too long, DC!
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