NF

Weldon (of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour) charts the evolution of the Batman: 20th century’s most popular superhero. Throughout, Weldon tries to determine Batman’s role in catalyzing what’s now considered “nerd culture.” Beginning with the character’s origins as a quick-and-dirty Shadow rip-off and continuing through the alternately beloved and despised 1966 TV series to the movies of Chris Nolan and the present day, Weldon provides a concise history of the Dark Knight that is accessible, insightful, and often quite humorous. It's interesting to note too, that 30 years ago, in 1989, Tim Burton's Batman basically revolutionized Hollywood by introduced the profitable super-hero action flick. Burton's Batman ushered in three sequels (all discussed in Weldon's books)...which as Geldon notes, were pretty corny but still presented a "version" of Batman. I felt that since we are celebrating this cultural milestone of the premiere of the modern superhero movie franchise this year, reading Weldon's book was aptly timed.
Batman is a bit this and that: playboy, philanthropist, detective, maniac, martial arts master, brooding loner, insert identity here_______, and while this is partially intriguing, the real reason he has endured is because we can identify with him. Batman is a symbol. Nolan got that right. He is a symbol of triumph, victory, overcoming fears and suffering, of justice, and mercy.

Recommended for anyone who loves: Batman, comics, humor, history.

FYI: I listened to the audiobook & it was phenomenal. ( )

I consider myself a pretty sizable Batman fan. I've seen all of the movies...well, all of the good ones, anyway; I consider myself above Batman vs. Superman. But I'm not much of a comic geek. I find comic books nearly impenetrable with the layers upon layers of necessary backstory. Which is why a history of the lives and times of the batman and how they fit among the surrounding cultural milieu was pretty interesting to me. I found bits overly pedantic, or a little unmoored from the greater history, and there were times that I wished Weldon would offer more speculation as to why, for instance, there's been a huge resurgence of super-hero culture, but overall, I appreciated this serious and thorough take on one of the biggest cultural icons of American history. ( )

Okay, I finished this, and it was really interesting if a little depressing. The audiobook is read by the author and he did a great job with really entertaining voices. I liked the in depth look at a specific slice of nerd culture and all the bat facts (so fun!). It was all the bits about the insular nature of fandom and trolls that were kind of depressing and reminded me that as much as I love comics there will always be guys in fandom who are the worst.
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I'm, like, 80% of the way through the audiobook and it just returned itself and I had to go back on the hold list so WHO KNOWS when I'll finish this bah OverDrive is a nuisance. ( )

In The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture, Glen Weldon argues, “For the last three decades, the American superhero has been trapped in a perpetual age of adolescence, with fans and creators peevishly avowing that these spandex-clad fantasy characters created to entertain children must now be taken seriously, by which they mean they should be mired in joyless nihilism: badass. It was Batman and his fans who brought this benighted era about, and there are hopeful signs that Batman and his fans may soon be responsible for ending it” (pg. 7). Of the character’s origins and first year of publication, Weldon writes, “It’s the raw-element Batman of this one brief year that continues to cast the longest shadow over the character, more than three-quarters of a century later” (pg. 21). The violence was such that DC used Robin to allay parent groups fears.

Turning to the 1950s and 1960s, Weldon writes of the comic book moral panic, “Fredric Wertham’s book and Senate testimony arrived precisely at a historical moment when, according to historian Chris York, ‘a cultural emphasis on the nuclear family and a containment approach to both foreign and domestic affairs fueled a homophobic fire’ that spread through all levels of society” (pg. 50). Though Wertham cherry-picked his examples, the Lavender Scare ensured they would be taken seriously. Further, these fears about Batman’s sexuality were further flamed by the 1960s television series starring Adam West and Burt Ward. While fans bemoaned the show’s campiness, psychologists feared that it glorified violence (pg. 72).

The stories of the late ’60s through mid-1980s saw what Weldon terms comics’ Great Inward Turn, with an examination of what made characters unique. Writers like Denny O’Neil and artists like Neal Adams could begin to redefine characters while publishers took advantage of new venues for sales. Weldon writes, “Publishers realized that these stores, known as the ‘direct market,’ provided them with better feedback that allowed them to tailor their print runs more precisely. Miniseries, one-shots, and prestige formats with higher-quality paper stock were now possible – and could be priced higher for the eager collector” (pg. 124). Stories from Alan Moore like The Killing Joke and Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns began to further redefine the character and what comics could do using the format. Meanwhile, Tim Burton’s film series garnered mainstream appeal beyond the usual comic book fanbase.

Discussing the backlash that followed Joel Schumacher’s films and how it exemplified nerd culture, Weldon writes, “Nerd culture is often open and inclusive, when it is powered by the desire to seek out others who share common interests and enthusiasms. But nerdish passion is strong and unmindful; its very nature is to obliterate dispassion, nuance, ambiguity, and push human experience to either edge of a binary extreme: My thing is the best. Your thing is the worst” (pg. 216-217). Christopher Nolan’s films helped to revitalize the character again while Grant Morrison deconstructed Batman in the comics. Following the rise of the New 52 and Morrison’s departure, the writer challenged fan’s preconceived notions of that Batman. Weldon writes, “In the May 2012 issue of Playboy magazine, just as he set out wrapping up his story lines, Morrison offered a parting shot to the hard-core Bat-nerds who were only too happy to see him go. ‘Gayness,’ he said, ‘is built into Batman. I’m not using gay in the pejorative sense, but Batman is very, very gay. There’s just no denying it’” (pg. 277). The resurgence in interest for the Adam West version of Batman shows a new acceptance for queering the character, even as fan culture continues to involve a level of toxicity (see Tom King’s need for a bodyguard at San Diego Comic Con 2018).

Weldon’s book is excellently researched, tracing the entire course of Batman’s history up through 2016. He writes primarily for a popular or undergraduate audience, with both literary theory and comics minutia to appeal to both. ( )