Source: goldenagecomics.com

4. 1001 Umbrellas of the Penguin

Batman Newspaper Strips (1946)

The Batman newspaper strips are an underrated piece of Batman ephemera so I'm glad they are represented here.

In this story, The Penguin is breaking into a post office when Batman and Robin catch him. They see that he was stealing one piece of mail, addressed to Oswald Cobblepot. That's right, it was this newspaper strip that established Penguin's real name for the first time! Neat! The letter is from Penguin's Aunt, Miranda Cobblepot, who is coming to visit.

Penguin laments that his aunt will find out that dear Nephew Oswald is a criminal and Batman and Robin pity him. So they pretend to be Oswald's personal friends escorting him and his aunt around the city. But seeing Batman and Robin hangin' with the Penguin makes his gang panic, assuming Cobblepot has turned government stooge. So they try to kill him and Penguin, Aunt Miranda, Batman, and Robin have to fight them off. This story is delightful. It's very silly but every panel is amazing.

One of the Greatest Batman Stories of All Time?: Yes. This fully deserves to be in this collection. It's great.