Batman #183
Batman #183 delivers Poison Ivy's second-ever appearance just two issues after her debut, cementing her as a genuine recurring threat rather than a one-off novelty — a distinction that mattered enormously for a Silver Age villain's long-term survival in the rogues gallery. The lead story, 'A Touch of Poison Ivy!', directly continues the cliffhanger of Batman #181, establishing the two-issue arc as Poison Ivy's Silver Age foundation before she largely vanished from Bat-titles for over a decade. The Grand Comics Database notably flags this issue as the point at which 'camp style stories in the fashion of the TV series begin,' making it a visible marker of the Batman comic absorbing the cultural shockwave of the Adam West television show, even if that judgment remains debated among historians. The second story's reference to the Batusi — a pop-culture touchstone of the 1966 Batmania craze — further situates this issue at the hinge between Julius Schwartz's disciplined 'New Look' era and the looser, TV-inflected tone that followed.
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The issue was published on June 2, 1966 (cover-dated August 1966) under editor Julius Schwartz, whose own editorial records — later provided to the Grand Comics Database by DC Comics — confirm the true creative credits: script by Robert Kanigher, pencils by Sheldon Moldoff, and inks by Joe Giella, though the interior art was bylined to Bob Kane per the standard ghost-work arrangement of the era. Kanigher also wrote the debut issue, Batman #181, making him the sole architect of Poison Ivy's original two-part Silver Age story; the cover was penciled by Carmine Infantino and inked by Joe Giella. The second story, 'Batman's Baffling Turnabout!', was scripted by Gardner Fox with the same Moldoff-Giella art team.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Second appearance of Poison Ivy (Pamela Isley), two issues after her debut in Batman #181 (June 1966).
- Lead story 'A Touch of Poison Ivy!' is a direct sequel to Batman #181's 'Beware of — Poison Ivy!', continuing the storyline of Batman still under Ivy's spell while she orchestrates her escape from prison.
- The second story, 'Batman's Baffling Turnabout!' (script by Gardner Fox), contains a reference to the Batusi — one of the earliest documented instances of the Batman comic directly incorporating a pop-culture element from the Adam West TV series.
- Cover and story art credited to Bob Kane on the indicia, but Julius Schwartz's editorial records (provided to DC Comics) confirm pencils were actually by Sheldon Moldoff, with inks by Joe Giella.
- Editor Julius Schwartz; cover by Carmine Infantino (pencils) and Joe Giella (inks); letters by Gaspar Saladino.
- Following this issue, Poison Ivy made no further appearances in a Batman-title until Batman #291 in 1977, though she did surface in other DC books (including Lois Lane, Justice League of America, and Secret Society of Super-Villains) in the intervening years.
- Both stories — 'A Touch of Poison Ivy!' and 'Batman's Baffling Turnabout!' — were reprinted in Showcase Presents: Batman Vol. 2 (2007).
- The cover of this issue was homaged by artist Adam Hughes in DC Comics Presents: Batman #1 (2004) as part of a tribute to Julius Schwartz, with the Batman '66 TV show logo replaced by the logo from the animated series The Batman.
Cast · 6 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
While chasing crooks into a warehouse, Batman falls through a trapdoor and is captured while one of the crooks impersonates the Caped Crusader. A tell-tale clue alerts Robin that this is an impostor and he deals appropriately with the situation to find the real crime fighter.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).