Dimensions
152 x 229 x 19mm
Over the sixty years of his existence, Batman has encountered an impressive array of cultural icons and gradually become one himself. He is an international star of comics, graphic novels, television, the movies and the Internet. What is the secret of his enduring appeal?
Pinpointing four key moments in Batman's history, Dr Will Brooker illuminates the struggles over Batman's meaning by shining a light on the cultural issues of the day.
During the Second World War, Batman refused to adapt to the patriotic propaganda of the Second World War. In the mid-1950s, he was accused of corrupting the youth of America by appearing to promote a homosexual lifestyle to his fans.
The sixties' ABC TV series transformed him into a camp pop culture icon. And, in recent years, Batman has been, once again, re-interpreted by his fans in response to the comics and the Warner Brothers franchise of films.
Brooker's tireless research has led him to challenge many of the accepted notions of Batman's development as a character. The result is a book that stands up both as a work of scholarship and as a labor of love - and a book that will provoke debate wherever Batman is studied.
