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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.

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While many Americans are concerned about the weak dollar, few fret over the plight of the one-cent coin. Because a penny no longer buys anything in the marketplace, the zinc-and-copper coin is often used for tossing into a fountain and making a wish. Seldom does a person stop to pick up a penny that has been dropped on a sidewalk.

In the 19th century, however, one cent still had purchasing power. A penny could buy a daily newspaper or a piece of candy. Children often saved coins by placing them in penny banks. The most common were cast-iron figural banks made by foundries that sprang up in America after the Civil War.

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You may think you know Hopalong Cassidy, America’s favorite cowboy who became a television pioneer and cultural icon. But until you read Hopalong Cassidy: An American Legend by Grace Bradley Boyd and Michael Cochran, you won’t have the big picture.

Newly released by Gemstone Publishing, this lavish and lovingly written coffee-table book is an honest look at the life of William Boyd, who resurrected his acting career by becoming Hopalong Cassidy, the straight-shooting good guy dressed in black.

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In the spring of 1938, things were about the change. The flames of World War II were already being fanned in Europe and China when two young partners, a writer and an artist from Ohio, unleashed their new creation onto the public stage. In a few short months this character would indelibly alter the terrain of American – and eventually the world’s – popular culture. Within a few years, he would alter the world, eventually becoming one of – if the not the – best-known character on earth, or anywhere else in the solar system.