Detective Comics #383

Detective Comics #383 (On Sale: November 28, 1968) has a cover by Irv Novick.

We begin with "The Fortune-Cookie Caper" by Frank Robbins, Bob Brown and Joe Giella. While dining in a Chinese restaurant, Robin accidentally intercepts a coded message inside a fortune cookie. Crooks attack and steal the message, but not before Robin reads it. The message is an old Chinese joke about a prisoner in a bakery. Robin suspects the joke is literal and searches a nearby bakery, while Batman follows another theory.

Batman finds the men who stole the message. They are hijacking a shipment of fortune cookies being used to smuggle pearls into the country. Robin finds the leaders of the pearl smugglers at the bakery, but is captured. Batman rescues him and apprehends the rest of the smugglers.

The back-up Elongated Man story, "Pursuit of the Bugged Bandits," is by Gardner Fox and Sid Greene. Continuing from last issue, the Elongated Man is knocked out while trying to apprehend a gang of jewel thieves. Fortunately young Billy Warner has placed a coin with a transmitter inside the crooks' car. Ralph uses the transmitter to find the getaway car which was stolen by a street gang. He questions the gang members to learn where they got the car. The Elongated Man then finds and apprehends the thieves.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.