Alfred Pennyworth was created by the writers of the 1943 Batman serial—Victor McLeod, Leslie Swabacker, and Harry Fraser—and that DC Comics asked Don Cameron to write the first Alfred story, which was released earlier to the serial's airing. In Alfred's first appearance, he was overweight and clean-shaven; however, when the 1943 "Batman" serial was released, William Austin, the actor who played Alfred, was trim and sported a thin moustache. DC editors wanted the comic Alfred to resemble his cinematic counterpart, so in "Detective Comics" #83 (January 1944), Alfred vacationed at a health resort, where he slimmed down and grew a mustache. This
Alfred Pennyworth lost his right leg in the process. It is also implied that both he and Thomas are keeping a traumatic secret. Discharged back to his home in London, Alfred received a gift from Thomas in the form of a very expensive prosthetic leg. He later traveled to Gotham City to visit his friend and found himself arriving on the night of a campaign party for Thomas' bid at the mayoral office. Afraid for his friend after hearing of the death threats on his life, Alfred tried to talk Thomas out of going to the movies with his wife and son,