Crime on the Half-Shell

Joe Jibbs captains a ship that harvests oysters and he really, really wants his son to one day carry on the family business. Unfortunately, his son turns out to be a daughter.

But young Josephine (Jo) turns out to be a good sailer. When her Dad is blinded in an accident, she takes over the business and makes a good go of it. But a band of crooks, led by a guy named Blackhand, is robbing oyster ships and selling the products on the black market.

This is the story we find in Detective Comics #113 (July 1946).  It's a fun story, with several unique points to it that help it stand out from other stories of that era.

First, there's Blackhand. This is his only appearance, but I think he could have made an effective if minor member of Batman's regular Rogue's Gallery. He's smart and ruthless--and has a unique physical appearance because his right hand is permanently burned black. He once stuck it in a fire along with the hand of the cop to whom he was handcuffed. When the cop fainted first, Blackhand got the cuff keys and escaped. Ouch.

After some initial shenanigans, Batman and Robin become members of Jo's crew while they wait for the crooks to attack. What I find interesting is that Bill Finger's script supplies us with what I assume is accurate information about the oyster industy. I actually know nothing about oyster fishing in 1946, but the story has that ambiance of accuracy we run into in fiction from time to time. Of course, it's possible that I'm just being fooled, but I think Finger knew something about oyster fishing or he did a little research.

Also, when the bad guys do attack, one of them grabs the wheel of Jo's boat and deliberately performs a manuever that will knock Batman off the boat with the swinging boom. Artist Dick Sprang uses a panel to give us a diagram detailing exactly what happened.

Somebody was doing some research. Or faking it really good. I'm not enough of a sailor to pick out any inaccuracies.

Anyway, Jo is captured and held for ransom. But she out-Batmans Batman by first fooling Blackhand into thinking a pearl that had been mounted on a ring was found in one of the oysters. Then she pokes a series of holes in the ransom note that her dad can read a Braille. These two tricks together allow the Dynamic Duo to track her down and rescue her.

It's really too bad Jo Jibbs never made a return appearance either. She looks like she would have fit in as a regular member of the Bat Family.

That's it for now. Next week, it's back to the Wild West to revisit Max Brand's hero Silvertip.