Slam Bradley
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Slam Bradley is a fictional character in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (who also created Superman), the character is a hard bitten, tough private detective who loves beautiful dames, stiff drinks and the odd fistfight now and then.
He 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.
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 so Bradley's adventures continued despite Batman's debut in #27, through World War II and beyond, finally ending in Detective Comics #152 (October, 1949). By that point DC was engaged in a legal battle with Siegel and Shuster over the rights to Superman and it has been suggested that this is a possible cause of the strip's demise, as the publisher may not have wanted to open itself up to further litigation from the creators. The feature was replaced by Roy Raymond, TV Detective.
Bradley would not make another significant appearance for over 40 years and his sidekick Morgan disappeared completely, never to appear again.
Slam finally returned in Detective Comics #582 (the 50th anniversary issue), teaming up with Batman, Robin, Elongated Man, and someone who may or may not have been Sherlock Holmes.
He later appeared in the Superman titles in the 1990s, working for the Metropolis Police Department. However, this incarnation of the character made little impact and 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 finally returned to Detective Comics when writer Ed Brubaker and artist Darwyn Cooke revived the character in the 4-part serial "Trail of the Catwoman" which ran in the back of Detective Comics #759-762. In the story Bradley was hired to investigate the death of Selina Kyle and in the process fell afoul of the Batman.
This current incarnation of the character has indicated that he is a former police officer who had always worked in Gotham City, (contradicting his previous Cleveland, New York and Metropolis settings). He has been portrayed as a man in his late 50s or early 60s, which is apparently inconsistent with his original 1930s and 1940s appearances, although one may assume that his history changed with the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
After Detective Comics #762 Bradley became a supporting cast member in the 2001 Catwoman ongoing series. In that series the character has had a brief romantic relationship with Kyle and revealed that he has a son on the Gotham City Police Department: Slam "Sam" Bradley Jr. It should be noted that Slam "Sam" Bradley and Selina Kyle engaged in a romantic relationship that produced Helena Kyle, Selina's new daughter, thus making "Slam" Bradley Sr. the grandfather of Selina's daughter.
Bradley Sr. recently starred in Darwyn Cooke's Solo #5.
The character also appeared in Cooke's 2003/2004 DC: The New Frontier series which was set in the late-1950s. In the series Bradley was shown working as a police detective partnered with Detective John Jones.
