The bronze age changes that didn't stick

[DC Classics]

He moved into the penthouse because Dick graduated high school and left for college. And Bruce decided it was time for a change and get back to the "old days". IRL, of course, it was part of an effort to change the tone/status quo of Batman and probably to further distance it from tv show (which was already happening - the cover date for the issue he moved in was Dec. 1939). There was some very un-campy stuff then. And more "realistic" stories and just part of the general silver-to-bronze shift. Definitely in the letters pages you'll see people who think the comic is sort of going back to golden age roots (not really true, IMO, but opinions vary).
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Bruce actually donated the Manor when he left. It was the past and they moving towards the future. But then they revisited the old Batcave a couple times and, after a decade, moved back in. I don't have that issue. May try to hunt up panels, though. It was a 1980s issue, so Dick had dropped out of college...maybe they didn't have enough bedrooms in the penthouse? :P

They finally moved back into the Wayne Mansion in Batman #248 (1982) "Shadow Play" written by "Gallopin" Gerry Conway, with art by "Gentleman" Gene Colan and inks by "Santa" Klaus Janson, under the editorial of "Dandy" Dick Giordano.

[Tzigone]

At least Julia was around for quite some time in the comics (according to dc wikia she had 42 appearances).

True. Not a change I liked (well, actually I dislike it in the modern sense where Bruce raised Alfred moreso than in the pre-COIE sense), but she did have some staying power.

They finally moved back into the Wayne Mansion in Batman #248 (1982) "Shadow Play" written by "Gallopin" Gerry Conway, with art by "Gentleman" Gene Colan.

Thanks for the info.

[bat39]

Side note: I know when they moved back in the 1980s, it was Bruce's ancestral home. I know in some golden age stories he was said to have bought it as an adult. Does anyone know for sure what the first issue to treat as his parents' home was?

I'd quite like to know that as well. I've long assumed it was in Year One, but its possible that it was established earlier.

The earliest Golden Age stories never really specified where Bruce Wayne lived. It was a couple of years before I think it was established as a mansion, and longer before it became known as 'Wayne Manor.. And it was only by the mid-1940's that the concept of the Batcave, as we know it, was fully established.

But even pre-Crisis, a lot of origin retellings and flashbacks backdated the classic Wayne Manor/Batcave setup to Batman's early years. The Untold Legend of Batman had Bruce bring Dick to the Batcave after his parent's murder (in the original story it was to whatever nondescript residence/headquarters Bruce was living at). So I'm guessing its possible that they retconned Wayne Manor into being Bruce's ancestral home pretty early on.

Didn't they move the Batcave back to the Manor in Rises?

They did.

At least Julia was around for quite some time in the comics (according to dc wikia she had 42 appearances).

Well, Julia has popped up again in the comics, rebooted. And she recently appeared in the Batwoman series too!

[Tzigone]

I'd quite like to know that as well. I've long assumed it was in Year One, but its possible that it was established earlier.

While I haven't read the issue, I presumed that when Bruce called it his ancestral home in 1982, that meant his parents lived there, too. Could be wrong, though.

But even pre-Crisis, a lot of origin retellings and flashbacks backdated the classic Wayne Manor/Batcave setup to Batman's early years. The Untold Legend of Batman had Bruce bring Dick to the Batcave after his parent's murder (in the original story it was to whatever nondescript residence/headquarters Bruce was living at). So I'm guessing its possible that they retconned Wayne Manor into being Bruce's ancestral home pretty early on.

I remember an issue that showed Bruce buying the place (in flashback) as an adult. Looks like Detective Comics 205 (1954) is what I'm thinking of. "The Origin of the Batcave"
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[Jim Kelly]

To me the actual end of the classic Batman is when Julius Schwartz leaves off editing Batman comics--his final issue is BATMAN 309 (March 1979), on sale December 14, 1978.

Even though Schwartz set up the alternate Earth-Two version of Batman, on his Earth-One virtually everything from 1939 onward was included in that Batman's continuity. There are several Batman stories where they do deep dives into the past and attempt to be faithful to those original tales--there might be times when they forgot some details, but it wasn't for want of trying.

On the other hand, other editors that took over Batman were not so committed to that pre-existing continuity. The likes of Paul Levitz, Dick Giordano and Len Wein, plus earlier editors like Murray Boltinoff and Al Milgrom, would play fast and loose with continuity. THE UNTOLD LEGEND OF THE BATMAN, edited by Levitz, is an example of this, where they used some of the previous stories but then ignored other big points.

[bat39]

To me the actual end of the classic Batman is when Julius Schwartz leaves off editing Batman comics--his final issue is BATMAN 309 (March 1979), on sale December 14, 1978.

Even though Schwartz set up the alternate Earth-Two version of Batman, on his Earth-One virtually everything from 1939 onward was included in that Batman's continuity. There are several Batman stories where they do deep dives into the past and attempt to be faithful to those original tales--there might be times when they forgot some details, but it wasn't for want of trying.

On the other hand, other editors that took over Batman were not so committed to that pre-existing continuity. The likes of Paul Levitz, Dick Giordano and Len Wein, plus earlier editors like Murray Boltinoff and Al Milgrom, would play fast and loose with continuity. THE UNTOLD LEGEND OF THE BATMAN, edited by Levitz, is an example of this, where they used some of the previous stories but then ignored other big points.

That's interesting.

As far as I'm aware, the only significant divergences Untold Legend took with previously established continuity was Batman wearing the New Look costume in his early career, and the cirumstances of his first meeting with Jim Gordon (which IMO is one of the best versions of the beginning of their partnership EVER!)