I remember clearly, way back when I was a kid, when one of my neighborhood pals, George Riley, was telling me about the Batman 200th Smash Issue! Now, the gang each had our area of expertise back then: I was the Batman guy, Joe was the Fantastic Four guy, Hans was the Iron Man guy, my brother Colin was the Western comics guy, my other brother, Chris, would become The Flash guy, and George was the War comics guy.
Why was he, the War comics guy, telling me, the Batman guy, about Batman #200? And why was it a Smash Issue?
I’ve never really figured it out. I think that Smash Issue, in ‘60s DC parlance, just meant anniversary issue. But I’m still not sure.
I am sure that I love anniversary issues. It’s great to be celebrating With Further Ado #400. Whoof-that’s a big number. What a joy it’s been to write these. I hope you’ve been enjoying reading them.
So, for the With Further Ado “Smash Column” (it’s not really an “issue”) let’s celebrate by showing a few other 400 issues. As usual, I have a few thoughts on them:
Action Comics #400 has a wonderfully creepy Neal Adams cover, but I’m not sure it was designed specifically to be an anniversary cover.
Likewise Adventure Comics #400. Supergirl is now, all these years, more popular than ever, but this cover, showcasing a beaten Supergirl, seems “off” for an anniversary issue too.
Detective Comics #400 has that gorgeous Man-Bat cover. What a beauty.
And while Batman #400 might seem a little dated, with a Sienkiewicz cover, I think it still stand up nicely.
The 400th issues of Fantastic Four and Amazing Spider-Man each had gimmick covers. And Avengers #400 focuses on an era we all are betting off forgetting, I’m afraid.
Thor #400 has a straightforward cover, but there’s a real gem inside. Our pal John Workman, primarily known as an ace letterer, offered up a full-page Sif illustration. It’s gloriously inked by Joe Sinnott. In fact, it’s all around glorious. What talented guy John Workman is! 
Recently, my pal George Riley, who’s now mayor of his town, sent me a bunch of War and Western comics he had stumbled across. What a nice gesture, right? I wonder if he kept a copy of that Batman 200th Smash issue for himself?
