Re: Could this have inspired the Joker?

>Originator: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Ken Arromdee)
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>I was driving along (on a rather long Thanksgiving road trip) and listening
>to some old radio programs... and I heard something rather strange.
>
>The "Shadow" episode dated March 10 1940, "The Laughing Corpse" features a
>killer whose poison causes his victims to laugh themselves to death.
>
>Batman #1, with the first Joker story, is dated Spring 1940, though I don't
>know how far in advance the actual date was when compared to the cover date.
>
>I wonder if I discovered something.  Would the dates here allow this story
>to have inspired the Joker?

Probably the other way around.  With a Spring cover date, the issue was
probably on the shelf by January or early February. And that's just the lead
time for distribution.

Bill Finger had to have gotten scripts to Kane and the other artists with
enough time for them to draw and ink the issue!

Even given the rapid pace artists churned out pages back then (and Bill
Finger's notorious procrastination as a writer-- I've heard he once had to be
literally chained to his chair in order to get him to finish typing out the
story so the artists could finally get to work!).. given all that-- it doesn't
seem likely the radio show could've inspired the plot point for Batman #1.

Actually-- the reverse is far more likely the case.  The old radio shows went
on weekly, with one technical/dress rehearsal (and not much else) before the
show was performed live.

Since cast and crew had to get started on the next week's episode a day or so
after the first last one aired, the writers didn't have much time to polish
their scripts.

It's far more likely the Shadow writer "borrowed" the plot point from Batman...
which is nice to see.. especially given the blatant "swiping" that went on
among the early comic book writers and artists.

Thanks for letting us know about the early Shadow program, though. I'd never
heard of that episode, and I'll add it to my list of things to look out for!

Bugbeaudaddy