The Further Adventures of Li’l Bruce Wayne

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From Wikipedia:

Often disregarded as part of any continuity, Li’l Bruce Wayne was a long-running series of light-hearted comic books aimed at children, detailing the life of a young, fantastically wealthy Bruce Wayne (known in the series as “The Happiest Kid On Earth”) in the years before the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne and his subsequent transformation into Batman

The series was originally created by Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson to fill a gap in DC‘s publishing schedule after the cancellation of More Fun Comics in 1946, and ran through the majority of the Silver Age despite being regarded by editors and fans alike as being “extremely depressing” [citation needed] and is usually left out of any discussion of the character. It is notable, however, as being the first published comic book work of writer/artist Frank Miller.

 

 

 

 

Truly, a forgotten treasure.

41 thoughts on “The Further Adventures of Li’l Bruce Wayne”

  1. I’d like to point out that Miller has frequently refuted the claims that this is his first published work, stating that his very early stint with Dell’s Twilight Zone comic served as a debut, but the fact is that “Miller Franklin”‘s art carried many elements that we’d later associate with the Sin City creator, including “cinematic” on-page presentations, heavy use of shadow and light, and facial expressions that leaned toward the grotesque.

  2. By the third one, I was laughing uncontrollably. Li’l Bruce Wayne is quite possibly the greatest fake comicbook I’ve ever heard of.

  6. In 2007, Grant Morrison announced that the Li’l Bruce Wayne adventures would be reincorporated into the Batman mythos during his tenure on the Batman monthly. Elements of the Li’l Bruce Wayne storyline had previously been introduced piecemeal by other writers, most notably by writer Jeph Loeb in his collaboration with artist Jim Lee in 2002’s Hush arc, where Li’l Bruce’s pal Tommy, a precocious, soft spoken and kind hearted boy, was re-introduced as an adult as a bandage wrapped, psychotic supervillain with a propensity for quoting Aristotle.

  8. That might be the single greatest/most horrible think you’ve ever done…

    …next time you get sick, just post one of these and I’ll be happy for a week.

  14. Either Li’l Bruce Wayne is not so little, or he has just subdued himself a pygmy bank robber.

  18. We should lobby for Chris’ Invincible Super Wiki. Can you imagine other articles about the forgotten, the damned, the shamed of comics? What about a Kick to face article detailing its long tradition and significance? A Cheer-exploitation category?

  19. The little touches are what puts it over the top. The backwards-numbering of the series to end on #1, the fact that the final issue isn’t Code-Approved…that’s what separates a merely hilarious joke from an extremely hilarious sign that something’s seriously deeply wrong with you Chris. Seek help, you hilarious mofo.

  20. Whoops, my mistake. Didn’t see the Code seal on the last one. Maybe you’re just hilarious after all, sir.

  23. Remember the Marvel rip-off of this series, Plucky Matt Murdock?

    I think it was the last book Harold Gray wrote before hippies made his head explode.

  24. Man, this is brilliant. I totally bought it outright. This is as good as MGK’s ‘plagiarized’ riff the other week. I just love that last cover, too.

    Well done indeed.

  29. The spinoff titles featuring Alfred, Ace, coniving Selina, etc. are very hard to find, as most ran for less than 12 issues over the years. Some fans argue that Li’l Brucie’s ghost was Jasper The Smiling Spirit, but DC officially denies this.
    One of the first comicbook theme park rides was based on this comic, located in the Bronx at what is now Coop City. Ads can be found in the comics. More bizarre are the photos of a Brucie mascot appearing at various Junior Achievement events.

  30. Looking at these again, I see that the issue numbers are actually going BACKWARDS. Oh Countdown was there nothing you didn’t steal from DC’s “Li’l” line?

  32. Since the nice details were brought up, you might want to change the “R” on the gun case to a “W.”

  35. My brother would like to know if you have any covers from the companion series, Spectre the Friendly Ghost.

  37. I used to love these comics as a kid, but I never – duh! – made the connection until I saw this post!

    I stopped reading it before the last issue, so I found #1 on BitTorrent, and it is awesomely disturbing, but it’s a perfect ending to LBW’s childhood adventures.

    I don’t know who the artist is, but the six-and-a-third-page fold-out center spread of L’il Brucie’s parents dying, with the whole cast of characters gathered around them (even L’il Jonn Jonzz!) is so perfect, I printed it out poster-size and hung it in my studio.

    I’d forgotten how many great supporting players this cast had, and how few of them made it into the “adult” comics. Let’s lobby DiDio to bring L’i Brucie’s robot maid into the post-Final Crisis DCU!