Sorry about the delay in this post, after helping people move this past weekend, my schedule for posting became a little off set. I do hope to be back on schedule with this coming weekend.
In the last post in this series, I shared that Batman began in 1939, and Robin joined the Bat one year later. But what kept Batman so popular? Was there any time that the series was in limbo? The following information is according to Film School Rejects: Batman continued to enjoy strong sales through the 1950s and changed with the times, bringing new characters and gadgets into the fold… The caped crusader also enlisted in The Justice League in [the early 1960s] and moved away from his pulpy violent roots… Large part due to the increased scrutiny on the implications of imitative behavior from children reading comics, and then the introduction of the Comics Code Authority in 1954, Batman become a progressively sillier character, moving further and further from his dark roots. By 1964, sales of the character had declined so severely that he faced a fate worse than death – cancellation.
Reading that paragraph I am glad that in the recent movie adaptations of Batman he is not portrayed as a silly character. I think the Batman movies of the 1990s did a decent job at doing that. I think Christian Bale would have looked a little weird trying to play Batman as a silly superhero. I will get back to origins story now.
What happened in the 1960s that brought back the popularity of the Caped Crusader? All I want to say at the moment is this: Mayor West (for any Family Guy fans out there).
Next time: What impact did Adam West’s Batman have on the success or failure of the Batman story?
Below is a passage from Greg Boyd’s The Myth Of A Christian Nation that I found interesting.
“… If we are to take America back for God, it must have once belonged to God, but it’s not clear when this golden Christian age was.
“Were these God-glorifying years before, during, or after Europeans “discovered” America and carried out the doctrine of “manifest destiny” – the belief that God (or, for some, nature) had destined white Christians to conquer the native inhabitants and steal their land? Were the God-glorifying years the ones in which whites massacred these natives by the millions, broke just about every covenant they ever made with them, and then forced survivors onto isolated reservations? Was the golden age before, during, or after white Christians loaded five to six million Africans on cargo ships to bring them to their newfound country, enslaving the three million or so who actually survived the brutal trip? Was it during the two centuries when Americans acquired remarkable wealth by the sweat and blood of their slaves? Was this the time when we were truly “one nation under God,” the blessed time that so many evangelicals seem to want to take our nation back to?
“Maybe someone would suggest that the golden age occurred after the Civil war, when blacks were finally freed. That doesn’t quite work either, however, for the virtual apartheid that followed under Jim Crow laws – along with the ongoing violence, injustices, and dishonesty toward Native Americans and other nonwhites up into the early twentieth century – was harldy “God-glorfying.” (In this light, it should come as no surprise to find that few Christian Native Americans, African-Americans or other nonwhites join in the chorus that we need to “Take America Back for God.”)
“If we look at historical relaity rather than pious verbiage, it’s obvious that America never really “belonged to God…”
In the true spirit of the record breaking opening of The Dark Knight, I want to start my comic book series on Batman. It seems a little crazy, but in all honesty, I know a limited amount about the caped crusader.
This particular post is not really in depth or anything, but it is at least a start. Next week I hope to get a little more into the start of Batman, but a little vague generalities will be best I suppose.
In 1939, the Bat-Man appeared in Detectives Comics #27. The original idea was for a detective that utilized firearms, and he was not completely opposed to killing or wounding criminals. The fate of Bruce Wayne’s parents was revealed later in that same year. Although it was against Bob Kane’s wishes (Kane is one of the creators of Batman), Robin was introduced into the picture in 1940. The initial plan for Robin was for him to be a boy sidekick for Batman, a person that the Batman could talk with while on the case.
For the coming decades Batman would rise and fall in popularity, with Frank Miller helping with the rise with The Dark Knight Returns and Christopher Nolan bringing more attention with Batman Begins.
A Satirical Look At The Obamas
As you can tell from the image that recently graced the cover of The New Yorker, they like satire. Unfortunately, this time it seems to have backfired a little bit. Obama’s campaign has expressed that they do not appreciate the picture at all. In an interesting change of events, McCains’ camp says that Obama has all the right in the world to be mad.
Even though it is suppose to be a satire… I still find it rather rude. What happened to even just the “golden rule” of treat others how you want to be treated? Would The New Yorker appreciate it if another magazine made a satirical comment about them?
Below is what I could find on Wikipedia about what it takes to become a citizen of the United States. I was doing some research for an upcoming blog post and I wanted to share what I found out:
To become a naturalized United States citizen, one must be at least eighteen years of age at the time of filing, a legal permanent resident of the United States, and have had a status of a legal permanent resident in the United States for five years less 90 days before they apply (this requirement is reduced to three years less 90 days if they (a) acquired legal permanent resident status (b) have been married to and living with a citizen for the past three years and (c) the spouse has been a US citizen for at least three years prior to the applicant applying for naturalization.) They must have been physically present for at least 30 months of 60 months prior to the date of filing their application. Also during those 60 months if the legal permanent resident was outside of the U.S. for a continuous period of 6 months or more they are disqualified from naturalizing (certain exceptions apply for those continuous periods of six months to 1 year). They must be a “person of good moral character”, and must pass a test on United States history and government. Most applicants must also have a working knowledge of the English language. There are exceptions, introduced in 1990, for long-resident older applicants and those with mental or physical disabilities. This requirement for an ability to read, write, and speak English is not regarded as being too difficult, since the test requires that applicants read and write in English.
The more and more I look forward to the debut of Dark Knight, the more and more I realize that I have a limited knowledge of comic books and graphic novels. With that said, I am going to try and post once a week on something related to that subject. It may seem a little weird, and you may know a majority of the information that I share, but I want to educate myself as best I can.
This shall be fun!
Below are some random quotes from Batman Begins that I enjoy:
Lucius Fox: Well, what is it today? More spelunking?
Bruce Wayne: No. Today it’s BASE-jumping.
Lucius Fox: BASE-jumping. That like parachuting?
Bruce Wayne: Kinda.
~-*-~
Henri Ducard: Men fear most what they cannot see.
~-*-~
Alfred Pennyworth: When you told me your grand plan for saving Gotham, the only thing that stopped me from calling the men in white coats was when you said that it wasn’t about thrill-seeking.
Bruce Wayne: It’s not.
Alfred Pennyworth: What would you call *that*?
[points to a TV news report showing a helicopter shot of the Batmobile being chased down the freeway by police cars]
Bruce Wayne: [as he fixes his tie] Damn good television.
~-*-~
Henri Ducard: Your compassion is a weakness your enemies will not share.
Bruce Wayne: That’s why it’s so important. It separates us from them.
~-*-~
Bruce Wayne: Gotham isn’t beyond saving.
~-*-~
Alfred Pennyworth: Why do we fall, sir? So that we might learn to pick ourselves up.
~-*-~
Rachel Dawes: What chance does Gotham have when the good people do nothing?
~-*-~
Henri Ducard: What are you seeking?
Bruce Wayne: I seek the means to fight injustice, to turn fear against those who prey on the fearful.
~-*-~
[Bruce is refusing to demonstrate his commitment to justice by executing a criminal]
Ra’s Al Ghul: You cannot lead these men unless you are prepared to do what is necessary to defeat evil.
Bruce Wayne: And where would I be leading these men?
Ra’s Al Ghul: Gotham. As Gotham’s favored son you will be ideally placed to strike at the heart of criminality.
Bruce Wayne: How?
Ra’s Al Ghul: Gotham’s time has come. Like Constantinople or Rome before it the city has become a breeding ground for suffering and injustice. It is beyond saving and must be allowed to die. This is the most important function of the League of Shadows. It is one we’ve performed for centuries. Gotham… must be destroyed.
~-~-~
What great passages will come from Dark Knight? We shall find out in less than a week!
Here is a question that I have about the Bible: What did Satan mean when he told Jesus, ‘I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish‘ (Luke 4:6b, NASB) when talking about the kingdoms of this world?
Maybe it is just me that thinks this, but does not God have domain over all the kingdoms already?
