Anyone remember the Superman Family / Batman Family comics?

[caj]

I enjoyed seeing these characters interact in stories. I wish books like this would come back.

[MajorHoy]

I enjoyed seeing these characters interact in stories. I wish books like this would come back.

Both started out as books with one new story plus various reprint stories to fill out the issues.


Superman Family started with issue #164, taking over the numbering of Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen.

It went to all new material starting with issue #182.

Batman Family started at issue #1, and it also had reprint material included at first.

It went to all new material with issue #11, then it increased to a "Dollar Comic" starting with issue #17. But that didn't last long; #20 was the last issue. After that, it was folded into Detective Comics.

[Comic-Reader Lad]

Batman Family started at issue #1, and it also had reprint material included at first.

It went to all new material with issue #11, then it increased to a "Dollar Comic" starting with issue #17. But that didn't last long; #20 was the last issue. After that, it was folded into Detective Comics.

It should be noted that the Batgirl-Robin story by Mike Grell from Batman Family #1 was originally scheduled to be an issue of First Issue Special, but was given its own comic instead with FIS's cancellation.

That's likely why Batman Family #2 was an all-reprint issue and new stories didn't resume until BatFam 3.

[Dr. Poison]

I remember and LOVED them especially the stories featuring the Earth 2 Superman, Batgirl, and Huntress.

[MajorHoy]

I remember and LOVED them especially the stories featuring the Earth 2 Superman, Batgirl, and Huntress.

I'm not sure how you put that . . . from Earth-2/Earth-Two, there was the "Mr. & Mrs. Superman" feature in Superman Family, as well as the Huntress (the daughter of Earth-2/Earth-Two's Batman and Catwoman) feature in the last four issues of Batman Family, but Batgirl was on the main DC Earth (Earth-1/Earth-One back then).

[LifeIsILL]

Yes, the Lena Luthor portrayed in Superman Family comics is better than the show, and actually made sense when she went all evil.

[Toreador]

I think I still have those two issues in the first post. I remember the Robin stories that took place while he was in college (New Carthage or something like that). He fought Catwoman Jr. in one story (revealed to be Duela Dent later on after several other identities of pretending to be daughters of other Batman villains).

[Green Lantern wannabe]

I collected them, and I still have them, wrapped on protective plastic. And there were also the $1 comics (a premium at that time), which were also good.

And, yes, I wish they'd bring those back.

[hotroddii]

I LOVED the look of Batgirl from that era ... what happened!?

[JLH]

SUPERMAN FAMILY 166 (a 100-pager) was one of the first comics I bought/read and it instantly became a must-have title. I recently started re-reading SUPERMAN, ACTION COMICS, SUPERMAN FAMILY (and eventually DC COMICS PRESENTS) starting in the mid-70s and am nearing SF #200. As goofy as the stories often are, I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying them.


As for BATMAN FAMILY, Barbara and Dick became two of my favorite characters in those pages and I recall being incredibly disappointed when shortly after going all-new like SF, the title was cancelled, "inserted" into DETECTIVE COMICS, and then disappeared as a concept altogether. It'll be a couple years before I can start hitting the old Batman titles in my collection but I really look forward to revisiting BF. I'm sure the stories are far from classic but I'm also pretty sure I'll have a good time re-reading them.

[caj]

I still have this issue somewhere at my parents' house.

[Air Wave]

BATMAN FAMILY was the first comic book I really looked forward to every month. I think my first issue was #8.

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[Air Wave]

This is when Barbara Gordon was a member of Congress dating a college student. Interesting.

[Marilee]

This is when Barbara Gordon was a member of Congress dating a college student. Interesting.

Barbara and Dick were not dating in the Batman Family comics. Dick did have an "older woman" crush on her, but he was dating for a number of the issues Lori Elton. In fact, in the Batman Family 5-star cover shown above (#17 I believe) there was a whole initial first story where Lori's ex-boyfriend came back and Dick had to rescue her from him (it also had the first meeting between the E1 Batman and Robin, and the E-2 Huntress... Let's just say it was a bit of a cute meeting). Also, in that issue, it was revealed that Congresswoman Barbara was dating a Senator.

So, yes, the series had a lot of team-ups between Dick and Barbara, and she teased him (since she knew he had a bit of a crush on her), they were never dating in it.

[MajorHoy]

I LOVED the look of Batgirl from that era ... what happened!?