Book 25. The
Caped Crusade, by Glen Weldon. Unabridged audio.
This book
takes a look at Batman’s popularity throughout the character’s first 75 years
of history. The author looks at Batman’s history in comics, TV, & movies,
using aspects of this history to comment on larger societal themes. The regular
changes in Batman’s approach over the years, from dark to light and back again,
are analyzed to see if his story has can tell us something about ourselves.
The book
is thorough, looking at every aspect of what Batman has been over the years: a pulp-inspired
detective; a planet-hopping hero a campy Pop-art sensation; and a grim and dark
ninja of the urban night. The comprehensiveness of the book helps it move
briskly, as there is not enough time to dwell too long on one aspect of Batman
before the next one comes.
As a “comic
book guy,” I was glad that Weldon included as much (probably more) about the
comic book aspects of Batman as he did the movies and TV shows. Discussions of
the important roles played by Bill Finger, Carmine Infantino, Dennis O’Neill, and Frank
Miller are all included. The excellent animated series, created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, is also covered in depth.
Weldon does a good job keeping the book light and breezy, despite its semi-academic purpose. Even if one is familiar with most of the underlying material, there are plenty of opportunities to learn a few new things.
Note: The author
does the narrating for the audio version of this book, and he does an excellent
job providing a range of voices for many of the people who appear in the book,
including Grant Morrison, Chris Nolan, Christian Bale, and a generic “comic
book fan.”
Source:
public library
Strength for the Journey, by Diana Butler
Bass, pages 47 – 85.
