Slam Bradley
Encyclopedia
Samuel Emerson "Slam" Bradley is a fictional character
that has appeared in various comic book
series published by DC Comics
. He is a private detective who exists in DC's main shared universe
, known as the DC Universe
. Created by Jerry Siegel
and Joe Shuster
(who also created Superman
), the character is a hard bitten, tough private eye who loves beautiful dames, stiff drinks and the odd fistfight now and then. Slam was one of the first stars of Detective Comics
, debuting in #1 (March, 1937) a year before Superman
first appeared and two years before Batman
would make the title his home.
, Slam and his sidekick "Shorty" Morgan often had humorous, fight filled adventures, often going undercover in various professions to catch their man.
Detective was originally an anthology
comic; Bradley's adventures continued despite Batman's debut in #27, through World War II
and beyond, finally ending in Detective Comics #152 (October, 1949). The feature was replaced by Roy Raymond, TV Detective.
Bradley would not make another significant appearance for over 32 years and his sidekick Morgan disappeared completely.
Slam Bradley's first appearance after his run in Detective Comics ended in 1949 was in Detective Comics 500, cover-dated March 1981. Bradley (with graying sideburns) assisted in "The Too Many Cooks...Caper!", about a fellow retiring detective's murder; the story featured other DC detectives, such as Jason Bard
; Pow-Wow Smith; Roy Raymond, TV detective; the Human Target
; and Mysto
, Magician detective.
Slam returned in Detective Comics #572 (the 50th anniversary issue), teaming up with Batman, Robin, Elongated Man, and Sherlock Holmes.
He later appeared in the Superman titles in the 1990s, working for the Metropolis
Police Department. However, this incarnation of the character was short lived. When an older Slam Bradley re-appeared in Detective Comics, it was explained that the Metropolis character was Slam Bradley Jr.
Slam's brother Biff appeared in Tim Truman's 1998 Guns of the Dragon miniseries
, which was set in the 1920s. In that story, Bradley teamed up with older versions of Bat Lash
and Enemy Ace
for an adventure on Dinosaur Island
. Originally, Slam was slated to appear, but another editor had plans for Slam. Hence, his heretofore unknown brother Biff was substituted. At the end of the series, Biff sacrifices his life to stop the villainous Vandal Savage
, although Savage would return many times later.
In 2001, Bradley returned to Detective Comics when writer Ed Brubaker
and artist Darwyn Cooke
revived the character in the four-part serial "Trail of the Catwoman
" which ran in Detective Comics #759-762. Bradley investigates the death of Selina Kyle and in the process runs afoul of the Batman. The current incarnation of the character is a former police officer
in his late 50s who has always worked in Gotham City
, (contradicting the previous Cleveland, New York and Metropolis settings).
After Detective Comics #762, Bradley became a supporting cast member in the Catwoman ongoing series. He reveals that he has a son, Sam Bradley Jr., on the Gotham City Police Department
. Sam Jr. and Selina Kyle engaged in a romantic relationship that produced Helena Kyle, Selina's daughter, thus making "Slam" Bradley the grandfather of Catwoman's daughter.
The character appears in Cooke's 2003/2004 DC: The New Frontier
as a private investigator working alongside Detective John Jones
.
Slam appears in Darwyn Cooke's Solo
#5.
Slam made his most recent appearance in a flashback in the story arc "Heart of Hush", where he was the primary detective in the murder of Thomas Elliot's father.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
that has appeared in various comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. He is a private detective who exists in DC's main shared universe
Shared universe
A shared universe is a fictional universe to which more than one writer contributes. Work set in a shared universe share characters and other elements with varying degrees of consistency. Shared universes are contrasted with collaborative writing, in which multiple authors work on a single story....
, known as the DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
. Created by Jerry Siegel
Jerry Siegel
Jerome "Jerry" Siegel , who also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter, Jerry Ess, and Herbert S...
and Joe Shuster
Joe Shuster
Joseph "Joe" Shuster was a Canadian-born American comic book artist. He was best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with writer Jerry Siegel, first published in Action Comics #1...
(who also created Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
), the character is a hard bitten, tough private eye who loves beautiful dames, stiff drinks and the odd fistfight now and then. Slam was one of the first stars of Detective Comics
Detective Comics
Detective Comics is an American comic book series published monthly by DC Comics since 1937, best known for introducing the iconic superhero Batman in Detective Comics #27 . It is, along with Action Comics, the book that launched with the debut of Superman, one of the medium's signature series, and...
, debuting in #1 (March, 1937) a year before Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
first appeared and two years before Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
would make the title his home.
Fictional character biography
Originally operating out of Cleveland, then later in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Slam and his sidekick "Shorty" Morgan often had humorous, fight filled adventures, often going undercover in various professions to catch their man.
Detective was originally an anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
comic; Bradley's adventures continued despite Batman's debut in #27, through World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and beyond, finally ending in Detective Comics #152 (October, 1949). The feature was replaced by Roy Raymond, TV Detective.
Bradley would not make another significant appearance for over 32 years and his sidekick Morgan disappeared completely.
Slam Bradley's first appearance after his run in Detective Comics ended in 1949 was in Detective Comics 500, cover-dated March 1981. Bradley (with graying sideburns) assisted in "The Too Many Cooks...Caper!", about a fellow retiring detective's murder; the story featured other DC detectives, such as Jason Bard
Jason Bard
Jason Bard is a fictional character in the DC Universe. He first appeared in Detective Comics #392, which was published in 1969. He appeared in several back-up stories throughout the 1970s and 1980s in Detective Comics.-Pre-Crisis:...
; Pow-Wow Smith; Roy Raymond, TV detective; the Human Target
Human Target
The Human Target is the name of two fictional comic book characters that have appeared in books published by DC Comics. The first is Fred Venable, who appears in Detective Comics #201 , by Edmond Hamilton and Sheldon Moldoff....
; and Mysto
Mysto
Mysto, Magician Detective is a fictional character in the DC Universe. He first appeared in Detective Comics #203 .-Publication history:...
, Magician detective.
Slam returned in Detective Comics #572 (the 50th anniversary issue), teaming up with Batman, Robin, Elongated Man, and Sherlock Holmes.
He later appeared in the Superman titles in the 1990s, working for the Metropolis
Metropolis (comics)
Metropolis is a fictional city that appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and is the home of Superman. Metropolis first appeared by name in Action Comics #16 ....
Police Department. However, this incarnation of the character was short lived. When an older Slam Bradley re-appeared in Detective Comics, it was explained that the Metropolis character was Slam Bradley Jr.
Slam's brother Biff appeared in Tim Truman's 1998 Guns of the Dragon miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
, which was set in the 1920s. In that story, Bradley teamed up with older versions of Bat Lash
Bat Lash
Bartholomew "Bat" Alouysius Lash is a fictional Western character in the DC Universe. A self-professed pacifist, ladies' man, and gambler, Bat Lash's adventures have been published by DC Comics since 1968.-Character origin:...
and Enemy Ace
Enemy Ace
Enemy Ace is DC Comics property about the adventures of a skilled but troubled German anti-hero and flying ace in World War I and World War II, Hans von Hammer, known to the world as "The Hammer of Hell."-Overview:...
for an adventure on Dinosaur Island
Dinosaur Island
Dinosaur Island is an island that has appeared in various comic book series published by DC Comics. The island is not the same "Dinosaur Island" that appeared in Batman #35...
. Originally, Slam was slated to appear, but another editor had plans for Slam. Hence, his heretofore unknown brother Biff was substituted. At the end of the series, Biff sacrifices his life to stop the villainous Vandal Savage
Vandal Savage
Vandal Savage is a fictional character, a supervillain published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Green Lantern vol. 1 #10 , and was created by Alfred Bester and Martin Nodell....
, although Savage would return many times later.
In 2001, Bradley returned to Detective Comics when writer Ed Brubaker
Ed Brubaker
Ed Brubaker is an Eisner Award-winning comic book writer and cartoonist. Brubaker first early comics work was primarily in the crime fiction genre with works such as Lowlife, The Fall, Sandman Presents: Dead Boy Detectives and Scene of the Crime...
and artist Darwyn Cooke
Darwyn Cooke
Darwyn Cooke is an Eisner Award-winning comic book writer, artist, cartoonist and animator, best known for his work on the comic books Catwoman, DC: The New Frontier, The Spirit and Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter.-Career:...
revived the character in the four-part serial "Trail of the Catwoman
Catwoman
Catwoman is a fictional character associated with DC Comics' Batman franchise. Historically a supervillain, the character was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, partially inspired by Kane's cousin, Ruth Steel...
" which ran in Detective Comics #759-762. Bradley investigates the death of Selina Kyle and in the process runs afoul of the Batman. The current incarnation of the character is a former police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
in his late 50s who has always worked in Gotham City
Gotham City
Gotham City is a fictional U.S. city appearing in DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4 . Gotham City is strongly inspired by Trenton, Ontario's history, location, atmosphere, and various architectural styles...
, (contradicting the previous Cleveland, New York and Metropolis settings).
After Detective Comics #762, Bradley became a supporting cast member in the Catwoman ongoing series. He reveals that he has a son, Sam Bradley Jr., on the Gotham City Police Department
Gotham City Police Department
The Gotham City Police Department is a fictional police department servicing Gotham City, as depicted in comic books published by DC Comics, in particular those tied into the Batman books.-History of GCPD:...
. Sam Jr. and Selina Kyle engaged in a romantic relationship that produced Helena Kyle, Selina's daughter, thus making "Slam" Bradley the grandfather of Catwoman's daughter.
The character appears in Cooke's 2003/2004 DC: The New Frontier
DC: The New Frontier
DC: The New Frontier is an Eisner, Harvey, and Shuster Award-winning six-issue comic book limited series written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke, published by DC Comics in 2003-2004. It was then collected into two trade paperback volumes from 2004–2005 and then an Absolute Edition in 2006...
as a private investigator working alongside Detective John Jones
Martian Manhunter
The Martian Manhunter is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in publications published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #225...
.
Slam appears in Darwyn Cooke's Solo
Solo (comics)
Solo is an American comic book series that was published bimonthly by DC Comics, beginning in October 2004. Each issue has 48 pages plus covers, with no ads.Solo was canceled in 2006; in total, twelve issues appeared.-Overview:...
#5.
Slam made his most recent appearance in a flashback in the story arc "Heart of Hush", where he was the primary detective in the murder of Thomas Elliot's father.
Film
- "Slam" Bradley appears in the direct-to-video animated film Justice League: The New Frontier voiced by Jim MeskimenJim MeskimenJim Ross Meskimen is an American comedian and actor, perhaps best known for his work on the improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway? and as the voice of President George W. Bush and other politicians for the internet Jib Jab animated shorts...
. In this he appears as the Martian Manhunter's detective partner and helps him save a young boy.