Slam Bradley
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| Slam Bradley | |
 Cover to Solo #5. Art by Darwyn Cooke. |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #1 (March, 1937) |
| Created by | Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Samuel Emerson Bradley |
| Team affiliations | Gotham City Police Department |
| Abilities | Extremely good bar-fighter known to take down several opponents at once. |
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 long before Batman would make the title his home.
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[edit] Fictional character biography
Originally operating out of Cleveland, then later in New York City, 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. It was the 500th issue. Bradley(with graying sideburns)assisted in "The Too Many Crooks...Caper! About a fellow retiring detective's murder;the story featured other D.C.detectives,such as Jason Bard,Pow-Wow-Smith,Roy Raymond T.V.detective,the Human Target and Mysto the Magician detective.
Slam returned in Detective Comics #572 (the 50th anniversary issue), teaming up with Batman, Robin, Elongated Man, and someone resembling 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.
Slam's brother Biff appeared in Tim Truman's 1998 The 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 has had a brief romantic relationship with Kyle, and reveals that he has a son, Sam Bradley Jr., on the Gotham City Police Department. Sam 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.
[edit] In other media
Bradley appears in the direct-to-video animated film Justice League: The New Frontier, based on Cooke's New Frontier.
[edit] References
- The Grand Comic-Book Database
- Don Markstein's Toonepedia article on Slam Bradley
- Article on Slam, along with some information on Biff Bradley
[edit] External links
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