- Title: Batman #317
- Comic Vine: link
- Writer: Len Wein
- Artist: Irv Novick
Having escaped prison, the Riddler sends Batman a book of 1,001 riddles as a clue to his next series of crimes which start with the theft of a truck full of live chickens only to later release the chickens in order to steal a pallet of magazines.
After Robin makes a trip to the prison to talk with Riddler’s former cellmate injured in the escape, Batman puts two and two together and he and Robin catch the criminal at the docks attempting to sell guns secretly stored in those boxes of magazines.
Batman #317 isn’t the strongest Riddler story (although the villain does get to drop a riddle or two before being captured by the Caped Crusaders), but it does give us both villain and heroes in their classic look (beautifully captured in the cover by Dick Giordano). In terms of ongoing storylines, the issue also features panels of Bruce mending fences with Selina Kyle (who he was dating at the time) and Lucious Fox fretting over his meeting with Gregorian Falstaff.
[DC, 40¢]