DC Comics’ POW!erful Dark Knight franchise

From the pages of his first appearance in Detective Comics no. 27, cover dated May 1939, to last summer’s domestic and international box office champion, The Dark Knight, Batman has evolved well beyond his humble four-color origins to stand as one of the most widely recognized pop culture icons. In 2009, celebrating the character’s seven decades will be the order of business. When he was a boy, millionaire Bruce Wayne’s parents were gunned down by a robber. Instead of living a life of dread, he vowed to instill fear in those who would do evil. He chose the guise of a bat and relentlessly trained himself for fighting crime.

Detective Comics initially didn’t seem like much, and certainly not enough to name the company (“DC”) after. It had started as an anthology title in early 1937 with different characters including Fu Manchu and an early costumed hero, the Crimson Avenger, getting the spotlight. None of the features had caught on in the way that the company’s Action Comics had in 1938 when it introduced Superman, so the editors were open when Bob Kane arrived with Batman.

The character proved to be a hit right out of the gate. The early, pre-Robin adventures of the character first known as “The Bat-Man” were dark, grim and quite violent, according to comics dealer and historian Rob Hughes.

“He waged an all out-war against crime, and was not interested in taking prisoners, rehabilitation or giving these lawbreakers a second chance. He was judge, jury and executioner all in one, meting out frightful retribution to all wrong-doers that were unfortunate enough to cross his path. Whatever the method was – sending a few thugs off rooftops to tumble to their doom via a barrage of berserk punches and kicks, breaking their neck with a fatally powerful kick, or just simply firing a few rounds into them with his .45 automatic – it made no difference,” Hughes wrote in a feature to be released this spring in The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide no. 40.

Quite different than today’s interpretation, early Batman used a gun and shot criminals dead. In addition to demeanor, what immediately set Batman apart from Superman was his distinct lack of superpowers. His skills were the product of peak physical and mental training. He was smart, athletic and determined, but he was far from bulletproof. The fans loved him.

By the spring of 1940 a companion title, Batman, was added, and his famous sidekick, Robin, first appeared in Detective Comics no. 38. By 1943 a daily and Sunday newspaper strip began, and that same year Columbia Pictures offered a 15-chapter serial, The Batman, which starred Lewis Wilson and Douglas Croft as Batman and Robin, respectively. A second serial, Batman and Robin, starred Robert Lowery and John Duncan as the Dynamic Duo, and was released by the studio in 1949.

Beyond the comic books, the earliest Batman collectibles are generally two-dimensional. A paper mask was introduced in 1943 to promote the newspaper strip. The only confirmed variation is for the Philadelphia Record, though it is suspected the piece may have been produced by other papers as well. It brings $2,400 in near mint condition, according to The Official Price Guide To Pop Culture Memorabilia: 150 Years of Characters & Collectibles by Ted Hake.

A second paper mask, having the same design as the original, was issued as a promotional item for the first serial in 1943. A near mint copy of this version would bring $2,250. A Batplane movie promotional item, a glider made of thick paper, was also issued for the serial and brings $3,500 in near mint. Versions exist with different sponsors, but this generally won’t affect the price.

Two other Batman promotional items stand out from this period, and they’re actually two versions of the same piece. In 1943 and again in 1947, the March of Dimes produced a card featuring Batman and Robin on the front as a premium to be sent to those who donated to the fight against Infantile Paralysis. The 1943 version is smaller, but commands $3,300 in near mint, while the larger 1947 version brings $1,100 in the same condition.

A set of color transfers offered in 1944 for 10 cents is the first known nonpremium Batman collectible other than the comics themselves. Featuring 19 transfers including Batman, Robin, the Joker, the Penguin, the Batman logo and more, a near-mint set would fetch $1,500 according to Hake.

The one-sheets from the Batman & Robin serial might earn a seller $2,800 in Near Mint, while the extremely rare three-sheet from the same serial would bring in more than $10,000.

The Caped Crusader first took the airwaves on radio in 1945 with his own show, which continued until 1950. He would, of course, return to the air in the 1960s with a hit television series. To anyone who actually experienced the years 1966-1968 first hand, it will come as no surprise that the first boom in Bat-merchandise occurred during that time.

Batman starred Adam West as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Burt Ward as Dick Grayson/Robin and featured a colorful rogues’ gallery that included Cesar Romero as the Joker, Frank Gorshin as the Riddler, Burgess Meredith as the Penguin, Julie Newmar as Catwoman, Otto Preminger as Mr. Freeze, and Cliff Robertson as Shame. The action was campy, the crime fighting was done with tongue planted firmly in cheek, but audiences took to it immediately.

The first two seasons featured two episodes per week, with the first one generally ending with a cliffhanger. Viewers were urged to tune in at the “Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel” and for a while they certainly did.

In the “Bat-mania” the followed, there was a veritable explosion of merchandise. Buttons, masks, model kits, cereal boxes, utility belts, periscopes, story LP record, print sets, promotional photos, license plates, toy rings, posters, masks, mugs, die-cast toys, glass tumblers, standees, coloring books, watches, trading cards, friction cars, battery-operated cars, PEZ, play sets, and more.

With the exception of the utility belt (a mint/boxed set would run $20,000 or more), one of the watches, and one store display sign, many of the Bat-items from this period are under the $1,000 range in near mint. As with any area of collecting, some items are significantly harder to find than others.

A feature film starring West and Ward and including many of the regular villains (with Lee Meriwether in the role of Catwoman) was released in October 1966. In addition to a few laughs, it left viewers with the memorable line: “Some days you just can’t rid of a bomb.”

It would be a two years before the ABC network felt that way about Batman. A decline in ratings led to the addition of Yvonne Craig as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl and the reduction to one episode per week for the third and final season.

Batman wasn’t gone from television, though. His adventures continue in animated form on The Batman/Superman Hour (1968-1969), with episodes later repackaged as Batman with Robin, the Boy Wonder (and running until 1977). Batman appeared as a main character on The Super Friends (1973-1984) and again went solo with The New Adventures of Batman (1977). In many of these shows, Adam West voiced Bruce Wayne/Batman.

Later animated incarnations included the highly influential Batman: The Animated Series, which ran on Fox from 1992-1997 and morphed into The New Batman Adventures on the WB network from 1997-1999. It spun off an animated feature, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993), and inspired the Batman Beyond and Justice League series. Kevin Conroy was the voice of Batman/Bruce Wayne for all of those series. The Batman debuted in 2004. It was replaced in 2008 by Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

Although the various animated series have spawned a number of toys, the real second boom in Batman collectibles followed the release of the 1989 feature film Batman. Directed by Tim Burton, the film starred Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger. It spawned three sequels Batman Returns (1992, also directed by Burton and with Keaton), Batman Forever (1995, directed by Joel Schumacher with Val Kilmer), and Batman & Robin (1997, Schumacher with George Clooney).

Statues, decals, pinbacks, battery-operated motorcycles, McDonalds Happy Meal toys, cups, cereal, movie photos, trading cards, watches, candy, posters, action figures, beanbag figures, and more flowed from toy and food companies in conjunction with the films. While Batman & Robin was generally viewed as a “franchise killer” by many, eight years later Batman Begins reversed the character’s film fortunes. With more than $370 million in box office receipts, the 2005 film rebooted the franchise again and started with a more serious tone.

It led to a sequel, The Dark Knight, which easily became the movie theater champ of 2008. With $995.6 million in worldwide box office earnings thus far, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com, The Dark Knight is also second on the all-time box office list after Titanic, giving Batman something to hang his cowl on.