BATMAN
March 30, 2007 – 10:00 pm
BATMAN
Batman made his debut in May, 1939 in Detective Comics #27 in a story called “The Case of The Chemical Syndicateâ€. Artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger are the co-creators of Batman although only Bob is officially recognized as the creator of Batman. Kane gave up any sort of ownership in Batman by signing an agreement which among other things mentioned that all comics would mention him as the creator Batman while Finger never got any mention or any monetary benefit for creating Batman.
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Bruce Wayne is a billionaire industrialist living in the Gotham city. He witnessed murder of his parents when he was in his teens and that gave him the inspiration to fight back crime in his own unique way. Bruce used the financial resources he had at his disposal to train his intellect by studying criminology, to train his body like an athlete and to get high tech weapons and vehicles to fight crime. Bruce decided to dress himself as a “bat man†when he himself is startled by a bat outside his window. Since then Bruce Wayne became known as “Batman†in his disguise. He decides to dress as a bat in order to instill fear in the hearts of coward and superstitious criminals. The major difference between Batman and Superman and for that matter most of other superheroes is that he does not have any special super powers and is mortal.
When Batman came out he was a big hit and the sales of “Detective Comics†soared so high that Batman was given his own title in 1940. In the next few comic strips Batman evolved in the artistic sense. Batman’s jaw was more pronounced and the ears were lengthened. In “Detective Comics # 29†(July 1939) Batman’s utility belt was introduced and the first Bat-themed vehicle was shown in # 31 released in September 1939. The character’s origin was revealed in # 33 released in November 1939. In “Detective Comics # 38†released in 1940, Robin was introduced as Batman’s kid sidekick. His name was an inspiration from Robin Hood. Robin was introduced as the need for a character was felt with whom Batman could talk freely.
Batman teams up with Superman for first time and learns his secret identity in #76 Superman story “The Mightiest Team in the World†which was released in June 1952. After the success of this story, “World’s Finest Comics†started featuring both Batman and Superman together. This series ran successfully till it’s cancellation in 1986. In the series Superman and Batman are shown as allies and jointly fight evil. Batman continued to be published even when interest of public started waning in 1950’s. Batman becomes a member of Justice League of America debuting in “The Brave and the Bold†# 28 released in February 1960.
When the sales of Batman comics fell in 1964, to boost sagging sales changes were made to make Batman more contemporary. With the help of artist Carmine Infantino Batman’s equipment, The Batmobile and his costume was redesigned. “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns†was a financial success when released in 1986. In it a 50 year old Batman comes out of retirement. A 900 number was created for readers in 1988 by DC comics so that readers can call and vote to decide the fate of Jason Todd, the second Robin. By a margin of 28 votes the decision went in favor of Jason’s death.
Writer Jeph Loeb and artist Jim Lee collaborated in 2003 to bring out a 12 issue series on Batman. The series became # 1 on Diamond Comic Distributors sales chart for the first time since “Batman # 500†which was released in 1993. Currently Lee is working on “All-Star Batman and Robin†along with Frank Miller which debuted in 2005. Batman also featured in “Identity Crisis†(2005) and “Infinite Crisis†(2006).
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