Post by Jack Napier on Jul 1, 2007 0:41:26 GMT -5
I had about 60% of this written about until I accidentally clicked something and then couldn't get back to my original message, so bear with me on this inferior write-up.
I had previously opened a thread on the influence of The Shadow (1994) on Batman Begins (2005), but I think a more interesting topic is the influence of the early pulp fiction and comic strip heroes on the Batman comics in general.
A lot of evidence is in Les Daniels's the Complete History of Batman. Several aspects of Batman lore can be traced back to other heroes. Several of them were dark, vigilante-like crimefighters with secret identities.
The secret lair, the grandfather clock entrance, and the faithful servant and ally to the hero stem from Zorro and the 1920 adaptation of the Mark of Zorro. One can say that this influence extends to today, in which The Mark of Zorro (presumably the 1940 Tyrone Powell version) is cited as the film that the Waynes saw before they were murdered. The film, The Mask of Zorro, had to have been a story influence on Batman Beyond, I imagine, with the iconic character growing old and training a young, rebellious successor to fill the role. Not to mention that the waterfall entrance to Zorro's lair in the film is carried over as the waterfall entrance to the Batcave in Batman Begins.
The Phantom Detective of 1933 was a master of disguise with a secret crime lab. He could be summoned by a flashing red light from the top of a tower.
The origin of a bat flying through the window was pretty much from the 1934 character, The Bat, in almost the exact situation of pondering over his new "disguise."
Also a major character in the pulps (not mentioned in detail in Daniels's book) was Doc Savage from 1933. He was a human hero trained throughout his childhood to be adept both physically and mentally who wore a utility belt.
Other characters in the Batman-verse must have been influenced from these early pulp and comic strip characters.
Two-Face, for example, owes much to these characters. The Black Bat in 1939 was once a lawyer, but a criminal threw acid in his face and practically ended his career. The Dick Tracy villain, Haf-and-Haf, was a man whose face was scarred on one side from acid (I'd have to look up the date when he was created, but I'm pretty sure it was around the 1930s. This is not in Daniels's book, but rather in Batman: The Sunday Classics collection from Barnes and Noble).
In fact, Dick Tracy, like Batman, had quite a notable Rogue's Gallery of larger-than-life characters with their gimmicks. The Blank from 1937 was a man without a face. Similar characters who lacked any face appeared as Charles Maire in Detective Comics #34 of 1939 and No-Face in Star Spangled Comics #66 in 1947.
Dick Tracy also had a partner in crime- a kid who Dick Tracy adopted as his son, Junior Tracy. This is most likely an influence on Robin.
Probably the most interesting is The Whisperer, created by Zorro writer Johnston McCulley in 1936. His real name? Commissioner James W. Gordon.
I think perhaps the most influential character for Batman and his universe, though, was The Shadow (going back to my previous topic) from 1931. Dennis O'Neil acknowledged this and went as far as to have The Shadow guest-star in two Batman issues, one of which features The Shadow stopping a crime in front of Thomas and Bruce Wayne. The Grey Ghost in the animated series played a similar role in being Bruce Wayne's childhood hero/influence.
You can read the comics here: www.shadowsanctum.net/comic/comic_gallery-co.html
Like others, The Shadow was a mysterious and dark crimefighter clad in black with a secret identity. In the radio show, The Shadow was, in reality, a wealthy young man named Lamont Cranston who had developed his skills through intense study in science and advanced training "in the Orient." The Shadow also developed an alliance with the police force, with Commissioner Weston and Inspector Cardona. In terms of skills, The Shadow often used his brains and his physicality to stop criminals.
But this is only a little bit of how The Shadow influenced the Golden Age Batman. I recently found this site interviewing editor Anthony Tollin who will soon be printing volumes of The Shadow stories that I think every Batman fan should own:
www.comicmix.com/news/2007/06/25/the-shadow-knows/
The first Batman story of all time as well as Batman's greatest nemesis, for example, owe much to The Shadow universe:
To add to that, I recently read a 1938 pulp called The Murder Master which features a laughing homicidal maniac who announces his crimes over the radio before he commits them. This is basically the plot for Batman #1's first Joker stories in 1940.
According to that site, The Golden Age Batman also shares The Shadow's arsenal: suction cup climbing device, autogiro, and boomerang-like gadget (The Shadow's was yellow, which makes me look at my yellowish/bronzeish Batman Begins batarangs in a different light). Also, The Shadow story, The City of Doom- featuring the recurring villain of Dr. Mocquino/The Voodoo Master- inspired Batman's two stories with Doctor Death, who was Batman's first recurring villain.
Now, 60-70 years later, Batman seems to be the only viable character in today's media (with the possible exception of Zorro). Very few people have heard of The Phantom Detective, The Black Bat, or The Whisperer for example.
I would like to think that the Bat-verse is the ultimate amalgam of the pulp and comic strip stories where these forgotten characters can still live on today.
I had previously opened a thread on the influence of The Shadow (1994) on Batman Begins (2005), but I think a more interesting topic is the influence of the early pulp fiction and comic strip heroes on the Batman comics in general.
A lot of evidence is in Les Daniels's the Complete History of Batman. Several aspects of Batman lore can be traced back to other heroes. Several of them were dark, vigilante-like crimefighters with secret identities.
The secret lair, the grandfather clock entrance, and the faithful servant and ally to the hero stem from Zorro and the 1920 adaptation of the Mark of Zorro. One can say that this influence extends to today, in which The Mark of Zorro (presumably the 1940 Tyrone Powell version) is cited as the film that the Waynes saw before they were murdered. The film, The Mask of Zorro, had to have been a story influence on Batman Beyond, I imagine, with the iconic character growing old and training a young, rebellious successor to fill the role. Not to mention that the waterfall entrance to Zorro's lair in the film is carried over as the waterfall entrance to the Batcave in Batman Begins.
The Phantom Detective of 1933 was a master of disguise with a secret crime lab. He could be summoned by a flashing red light from the top of a tower.
The origin of a bat flying through the window was pretty much from the 1934 character, The Bat, in almost the exact situation of pondering over his new "disguise."
Also a major character in the pulps (not mentioned in detail in Daniels's book) was Doc Savage from 1933. He was a human hero trained throughout his childhood to be adept both physically and mentally who wore a utility belt.
Other characters in the Batman-verse must have been influenced from these early pulp and comic strip characters.
Two-Face, for example, owes much to these characters. The Black Bat in 1939 was once a lawyer, but a criminal threw acid in his face and practically ended his career. The Dick Tracy villain, Haf-and-Haf, was a man whose face was scarred on one side from acid (I'd have to look up the date when he was created, but I'm pretty sure it was around the 1930s. This is not in Daniels's book, but rather in Batman: The Sunday Classics collection from Barnes and Noble).
In fact, Dick Tracy, like Batman, had quite a notable Rogue's Gallery of larger-than-life characters with their gimmicks. The Blank from 1937 was a man without a face. Similar characters who lacked any face appeared as Charles Maire in Detective Comics #34 of 1939 and No-Face in Star Spangled Comics #66 in 1947.
Dick Tracy also had a partner in crime- a kid who Dick Tracy adopted as his son, Junior Tracy. This is most likely an influence on Robin.
Probably the most interesting is The Whisperer, created by Zorro writer Johnston McCulley in 1936. His real name? Commissioner James W. Gordon.
I think perhaps the most influential character for Batman and his universe, though, was The Shadow (going back to my previous topic) from 1931. Dennis O'Neil acknowledged this and went as far as to have The Shadow guest-star in two Batman issues, one of which features The Shadow stopping a crime in front of Thomas and Bruce Wayne. The Grey Ghost in the animated series played a similar role in being Bruce Wayne's childhood hero/influence.
You can read the comics here: www.shadowsanctum.net/comic/comic_gallery-co.html
Like others, The Shadow was a mysterious and dark crimefighter clad in black with a secret identity. In the radio show, The Shadow was, in reality, a wealthy young man named Lamont Cranston who had developed his skills through intense study in science and advanced training "in the Orient." The Shadow also developed an alliance with the police force, with Commissioner Weston and Inspector Cardona. In terms of skills, The Shadow often used his brains and his physicality to stop criminals.
But this is only a little bit of how The Shadow influenced the Golden Age Batman. I recently found this site interviewing editor Anthony Tollin who will soon be printing volumes of The Shadow stories that I think every Batman fan should own:
www.comicmix.com/news/2007/06/25/the-shadow-knows/
The first Batman story of all time as well as Batman's greatest nemesis, for example, owe much to The Shadow universe:
Greenberger: What else will be in the book?
Tollin: The Shadow #9 , our special "Foreshadowing The Batman" volume, reprints "Lingo," one of Walter Gibson's all-time classics which inspired the Batarang, Theodore Tinsley's "Partners of Peril" (the novel that inspired Detective Comics #27's "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate," plus a bonus Tinsley novelette: "The Grim Joker" (featuring a murderous, white-faced crime clown).
Next spring, we'll be releasing a special "Foreshadowing The Joker" volume that will reprint Ted Tinsley's "Death's Harlequin" and the 1940 Shadow radio script, "The Laughing Corpse."
The latter, broadcast six weeks before Batman #1 debuted, featured a chemical that caused victims to laugh themselves to death, quite similar to The Joker's original M.O. "Death's Harlequin" was on sale the same month as Detective Comics#27 (when we can be pretty sure that Bill Finger was paying close attention to The Shadow Magazine) and pitted The Shadow against a murderous clown who like The Joker was a vision of madness:
"The thin lips were drawn away from skull-like teeth. The cheeks were sunken and leathery. Dank black hair lay matted thinly on a baldish scalp the color of old parchment. A living corpse in the costume of a gay Harlequin! With a wide-muzzled gun. And a jeering laugh that made the silence in the room crawl with menace."
Tollin: The Shadow #9 , our special "Foreshadowing The Batman" volume, reprints "Lingo," one of Walter Gibson's all-time classics which inspired the Batarang, Theodore Tinsley's "Partners of Peril" (the novel that inspired Detective Comics #27's "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate," plus a bonus Tinsley novelette: "The Grim Joker" (featuring a murderous, white-faced crime clown).
Next spring, we'll be releasing a special "Foreshadowing The Joker" volume that will reprint Ted Tinsley's "Death's Harlequin" and the 1940 Shadow radio script, "The Laughing Corpse."
The latter, broadcast six weeks before Batman #1 debuted, featured a chemical that caused victims to laugh themselves to death, quite similar to The Joker's original M.O. "Death's Harlequin" was on sale the same month as Detective Comics#27 (when we can be pretty sure that Bill Finger was paying close attention to The Shadow Magazine) and pitted The Shadow against a murderous clown who like The Joker was a vision of madness:
"The thin lips were drawn away from skull-like teeth. The cheeks were sunken and leathery. Dank black hair lay matted thinly on a baldish scalp the color of old parchment. A living corpse in the costume of a gay Harlequin! With a wide-muzzled gun. And a jeering laugh that made the silence in the room crawl with menace."
To add to that, I recently read a 1938 pulp called The Murder Master which features a laughing homicidal maniac who announces his crimes over the radio before he commits them. This is basically the plot for Batman #1's first Joker stories in 1940.
According to that site, The Golden Age Batman also shares The Shadow's arsenal: suction cup climbing device, autogiro, and boomerang-like gadget (The Shadow's was yellow, which makes me look at my yellowish/bronzeish Batman Begins batarangs in a different light). Also, The Shadow story, The City of Doom- featuring the recurring villain of Dr. Mocquino/The Voodoo Master- inspired Batman's two stories with Doctor Death, who was Batman's first recurring villain.
Now, 60-70 years later, Batman seems to be the only viable character in today's media (with the possible exception of Zorro). Very few people have heard of The Phantom Detective, The Black Bat, or The Whisperer for example.
I would like to think that the Bat-verse is the ultimate amalgam of the pulp and comic strip stories where these forgotten characters can still live on today.
