TO THE BATPOLES podcast #91: BATMANIA pt 1: Comics Fans Connect

[bat-rss]

BATMANIA was a well-made fanzine that was started by Columbia, MO, fireman Biljo White in 1964, concurrent with the introduction of New Look Batman by DC. Reading it revealed so many interesting things about the Batman fandom of the sixties that we can't cram it all into one episode!

So this time, in part one of our examination of BATMANIA, we (gasp!) set the TV show aside and focus on explaining just what was in this publication, who the now-famous (among comics fans) names were that appeared among its membership, how these deadly earnest fans reacted to the New Look, and how the zine chronicles the gradual realization that Bob Kane had had considerably less to do with the creation of Batman in 1939, and with the subsequent writing and drawing of the strip, than everyone had thought.

PLUS: Music from two versions of an '80s Batman video game, the Little Old Lady from Pasedena in an unexpected place, some iTunes reviews that are going straight to our heads, and your mail!

http://tothebatpoles.libsyn.com/091-bat ... ns-connect

[High C]

An unusual but interesting episode of the podcast. It is fascinating how fans banded together before the internet and message boards.

I also got a feel for why comic book fans are so passionate about Batman. It's been said thousands of times, but the feeling is palpable here. Batman is 'their' character in a way super-powered heroes and heroines cannot be.

I also was amazed at, as Paul said, the mental gymnastics some fans would go through to claim that Bob Kane still was drawing the comic. Amazing. I guess sometimes people just want to believe no matter what all the facts point to.

[BATWINGED HORNET]

This week, the brothers drive the podcast around season three like the Batmobile screeching out of the Batcave...

Paul, I tend to agree that BillJo did seem like he wanted to branch out with non-Batman content; in 1964, comics, or superhero comics--were rapidly expanding with interesting choices, so why not cover those subjects? I would understand an explosion of demand of all-Batman content after the TV series debut, but just writing about Batman pre-TV series is too obsessive...and frankly, much of the then-previous decades content was awful.

Art: I had to eye roll about any fans complaining about Infantino's Batman not being--what amounted to--the lantern-jawed, barrel-chested circus strongman look seen during the 50s, and the Batmobile? Who was driving some giant "daddy tank" in 1964? By the early 60s, the 40s-50s Batmobile was already as style dinosaur in a world of real auto advances such as the 1963 Corvette Stingray (spit window), and other historic vehicles, so how-exactly--would the 40s-50s Batmobile play as the advanced car for a superhero?

Regarding comic preservation, in the 60's I believe there were hard folders sold that held at least a year's worth of issues by the spine. For example, Warren publishing (Famous Monsters of Filmland, Creepy, Eerie, etc.) offered hard cases for that purpose, indicating that there was an interest in keeping magazines in mint condition as early as the 60s.

[Dan E Kool]

It's great that these magazines still exist as a window into what Batman fans were thinking and saying before the TV show came around - particularly in regards to their ignorance about Bill Finger and Bob Kane's shenanigans. Of course, it's now common knowledge just how important Finger was for the development of the character (and the lengths to which Kane would go to take the credit) but it's great that this history is preserved, that we can practically see it unfold the way that Batfans experienced it as it happened.

As was mentioned in the podcast, Batman wasn't the big name in comics then that he is today. It's my understanding that, in many ways, the TV show saved the character. It'll be interesting to see how the fans reacted to Semple's characterization of Batman for the show, and whether their conservative preferences for how Batman "should" be portrayed were tempered by the fact that their favorite character was actually getting a color TV show and mainstream exposure. ...

Who am I kidding. They hated it. Nerds gonna rage!

[mwilbury]

Thanks for another entertaining podcast. I've been meaning to dig into these old 'zines but never gotten around to it. Looking forward to part two with your coverage of the high/lowlights.

[High C]

FWIW, I just noticed that Dozier corresponded with none other than Biljo White on Nov. 16 and 22, 1965, per the listing of his personal papers. I don't know what he said in those missives, but it's interesting that there was communication. It had to be about the series, I would think.