Detective Comics #342 has a cover date of August 1965.
It's available on Comixology and DC Universe, with the story only being reprinted in
Showcase Presents The Elongated Man. "The Bandits and the Baroness" was written by Gardner Fox with art by Carmine Infantino with inking by Sid Greene and Julius Schwartz as editor.
On the letter page, Guy H. Lillian III of Walnut Creek, California comments on "
The Case of the Curious Compass."
The Elongated Man's latest romp was fairly silly, but I couldn't have cared less as I watched Gardner Fox's great little melodrama unfold. Even though I guess right off who the villain was in "The Case of the Curious Compass," I still enjoyed the elastic action so much that I rated the story a solid "plus"! I really got a kick out of page 7, panel 6... and the look on the crook's face as he realizes that the hand slithering out of the hand is the hand of fate... which will soon "rock the boat" in a highly spectacular and fatal (for the gangsters) manner!
Pretty sure he meant "urn" that Ralph's hand was slithering out of. Ben Creisler of Crescent City, California says that the story "urned" an A.
On the splash page, we now have Ralph taking on no less than six men in a car. He's taking the key and the men are about to open fire. It looks more interesting than it reads. The text tells us of six suspicious figures named Ralph Dibny, an heirloom and a baron and a baroness at a new hotel out west.
As Ralph and Sue arrive and check into a hotel, they're given odd looks by the assistant manager and front desk staff. It's mentioned that the hotel is part of a chain called "Mansion," which isn't a current one, if it ever was. The panel shows it being the "Mansion Sierra." Given the last couple stories, this might be near Texas or New Mexico.
Checking the sign in book, Ralph sees the last six sign ins are all named Ralph Dibny, just like him. Well, Ralph's nose gets to twitching and he sets out to meet the other Dibnys. They all claim to have never met before, and were all invited to spend the weekend at the hotel.
As Sue dresses for dinner, Ralph is puzzling over the case in his hotel room in his costume, as you do. The hotel room gets a phone call which Ralph answers, and a voice tells him to go to a certain address at 8PM that night. He bails on Sue who's going to a gala dinner and arrives at the address, but can't spot anyone. Stepping inside the door, the door locks behind him, seemingly trapping him inside, but as he's who he is, he manages to escape via the mail slot.
Back at the hotel, Sue can't help but watch the Baron and Baroness Dervich and admire the Baroness' pearl necklace. Suddenly, a gas is released into the room, making everyone pass out. When they come to, the Baroness' pearls are missing. As the police are called, the other six "Ralph Dibnys" panic and hurry out to a car to make a getaway.
Ralph is returning to the hotel and manages to stretch his arm to grab the ignition key of the getaway car. They try to fire at him, but he knocks the guns out of their hands. One of the men has a spare, but Ralph activates the car's convertible top and blocks the fire.
This action scene by Infantino isn't especially dynamic with many distant scenes and the night time coloring spoiling most of the art. And I guess the red background in the last panel is supposed to look dynamic as it's the end of the fight scene. Can't help but be reminded of the Adam West Batman television series there.
As Ralph turns the men over to the police, it's quickly discovered that, of course, none of them are actually named Ralph Dibny, and they're a band of criminals who were going to rob the Baroness. The play of them all being named "Ralph Dibny" was a ruse when they discovered Ralph was actually coming. They wanted to throw him off the trail as they tried to steal the Baroness' jewelry, but the missing pearls weren't found.
Telling Sue all this, she reveals an observation she made while she was at the gala dinner. She noticed that before everyone had passed out, it appeared that the Baroness was drinking water, a strange choice for an aristocrat at a gala. However, after she recovered from the gas, she noticed that the Baroness' goblet contained a bubbling liquid. With this clue, Ralph decides to spy on the Baron and Baroness.
I didn't have much to remark on here, but I absolutely loved seeing Ralph and Sue confer on a case together. Sue's love for extravagance proves to bring about an important clue, and seeing Ralph making eye contact with her was great. This is what I want to see from these and future Ralph and Sue stories, not Sue just sitting the case out.
When Ralph overhears the Baron telling the Baroness to get the pearls, he surprises them and quickly ties them up with his arm. It's also in this page that Infantino draws Ralph looking great and stretchy.
After turning over the Baron and Baroness to the police, Ralph catches up with Sue and reveals that the Baroness had simply hidden her pearls and wore an imitation string to dinner. The imitation dissolved in water, so she held her breath so no one would see her disposing of the pearls in her glass, causing the water to bubble.
The action scenes were lacking and frankly, Ralph going after the Baron and Baroness was more exciting than Ralph going after the crooks. But Sue being integral to the plot made the ending so much more satisfying. Too often Sue is of little consequence in these stories, sometimes not even appearing. That they not only worked her into the plot but also made it fit with her character is just so
good.
Next time, Ralph meets up with Batman and Robin again.
