The History of Batman
Batman has been around for nearly seven decades and is a major element of the superhero genre.
Creation
Batman was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, inspired by an early drawing of a "Bat-Man" by Kane. In 1938, after coming off the success of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's Superman character, National Comics (precusor to DC) enlisted all writers to create new characters for their core audience. It was Finger who came up with the origin story and overall look for the character after seeing Kane's first rough designs. In his 1989 autobiography Batman and Me, Kane acknowledged Finger's contributions and stated:
Early years
Golden age
Batman made his first appearance in a [...] mystery story published in ''Detective Comics.
Although this was his first appearance, it was implied that he had been ACTIVE for a while earlier.In his early adventures, Batman was shown to be ruthless, grim, and prone to carrying firearms to deal with criminals. Years later, director Tim Burton would us these early stories as a major influence for his 1989 film Batman. The amount of violence was toned down with the introduction of Robin into the comic.
Later years
Silver age
In the early 1960s, editor Julius Shwartz removed the science fiction and silly elements from the comic book, and this resulted in a "New Look" Batman and more serious stories.
References
¹ "The Case of The Chemical Syndicate", Detective Comics #27 (May 1939)
External links
- [http://www.dccomics.com/heroes_and_villains??hv=origin_stories/ Batman's Origin]