Celebrate The Cowl: Origin Of The Girl Who Loves Batman

So somehow I developed a craving for Batman books. While researching the origins of the character I realized that this year is Bats 75th birthday! So Celebrate The Cowl was born. This May I will be sharing with you a variety of reviews. From Graphic Novels, to junior novelizations, animation and live wction films. I will be exploring all things Batman related!

Shortly after getting the above event image made, DC Comics released the 75th anniversary logo  they will be using in all their Bat themed events this year:

Holy Fortuitous Synchronicity, Batman!

For This first week of Celebrate The Cowl I will be focusing on the origins of The Batman and my own path to loving the man in black.

For me it all began with the Batman TV Show: Prior to finding the reruns of this show I had very little connection to the world of Superheroes. Batman was what lead me to the Super Friends Cartoon and eventually the comics books and movies.

Though once universally panned, fans response to the TV has changed dramatically over the years. There is a strong nostalgia for the characters and situations from the show that is crossing over into new comics and toys:

 

As a 12 year old the campiness of the show never registered. It was like watching a cartoon come to life. The batman show also gave me my first sense that women could be heroes and masters of crime. I was still a few years from meeting Lt. Uhura ,so seeing Julie Newmar, Yvonne Joyce Craig, and Earth Kitt holding their own with the boys had a lasting effect on me.  

From there is was a short hop to the Super Friends cartoons :

And finally to Tim Burtons epic Batman film.

I have always felt that  Superman, at his best  is what humans should aspire to, while Batman was a reflection of what the human spirit can accomplish. Batman resonates with our human responses. He pushes himself to the edge to honor a vow born of pain. Batman is that part of us that gets angry, the part of us that just wont let go of that one thing that holds us back from emotional growth. 

Bruce has decided that his life will be dedicated to making sure no one else experiences what he has, or walk with the pain  he feels every day. It’s a strange combination of ego, hubris and  human reasoning, and it leaves him open to making very human mistakes.It also gives him the strength to triumph in impossible situations. So through out the month I will share with you all I love about Batman. He is the triple threat with popular story arcs in film, television and books. Even with 75 years of history behind him there is still so much more to be explored and enjoyed.