Never meet your heroes.
You’re bound to be disappointed.
Isn’t that what we are told?
But years ago, while working for the Fishrag That Shall Not Be Named, I got the chance to interview Kevin Conroy.
Continue reading “Forever Our Dark Knight”Tag: Batman
‘Batman: The Long Halloween – Part One’ isn’t much to celebrate
The newest DC Universe film “Batman: The Long Halloween – Part One” dares to take on one of the most beloved Batman stories in recent years.
It’s not a miscarriage of justice. But it’s no triumph either.
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Brace Yourself for the Billion Dollar Debut of Bat-Girl!
It just had to happen.
Batman gained a female counterpart in 1956 in Batwoman, just in time to head off these freaky academics who were convinced Batman and Robin were P-Town buddies.
Readers had to wait five years for the next obvious addition to the Bat-Family.
In “Bat-Girl!” in “Batman” No. 139, cover date April 1961, written by Bill Finger and drawn by Sheldon Moldoff, the Bat-Family has been cornered by those dastardly fiends, the Cobra Gang.
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That Time Batman Fought His Dottiest Foe Ever
When it comes to rogues, no hero can match Batman.
Among his greatest, most dastardly opponents, the Dark Knight has faced:
– that harlequin of hate, the Joker.
– Ra’s al Ghul, the head of the League of Assassins.
– Bane, the breaker of bones.
– and, of course, Mr. Polka-Dot.
Uh. Wait. What now who now when now?
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Batwoman Forever
Can a woman have a Bat-career?
That was the question DC Comics struggled with in the 1950s.
The Dark Knight’s first and best female companion debuted in “Detective Comics” No. 233, cover date July 1956, in the story “Batwoman.”
Trapeze artist, motorcycle rider and heiress Kathy Kane donned cape and cowl to fight crime like her idol. Her career seemingly ended after her first mission when Batman discovered her secret identity. He warned her that if he could do it, criminals could do it as well, jeopardizing her life.
Never mind that he is the World’s Greatest Detective and not the average Gotham crook or that he could have helped Batwoman shore up her security. No, she had to know her place.
And Batwoman agreed she would retire.
Thankfully, that’s not the whole story. Even in the 1950s, Batwoman proved to be too popular to sit at home. So DC had to settle this story hole it had dug.
Mark Perigard 