Week Four: The Comic Book

To begin to explore the nature of early comic books, I turned to a classic that I never really got into, for whatever reason-- the Legend of Batman/Batman #1, by Bob Kane. It makes sense that it hits all the marks that classic comic books tend to; one of the first of these qualities that struck me was the use of color. Bright, saturated colors are used consistently throughout the comic, and the color blue is present in nearly every panel, whether used sparsely or not. Perhaps this is meant to bring everything back to our protagonist, Batman, as the main color used to render him in his costume-- and even outside of it-- is a rich, bright blue.

Another notable quality about Batman is the way the story seems to draw so heavily on earlier Pulp fiction works. The presence of gangsters, violent criminals, etc., and a sense of self imposed vigilante justice are consistent themes in Batman that were also used often in Pulp works. Specifically I'm seeing influences from characters like Dick Tracy from earlier comic strips, and Zorro, a known Pulp fiction hero. Aesthetically the similarities between Zorro and Batman are there; they both sport masks that cover the top half of their faces, long dark capes, and generally favor the color black. In regards to character, we see that Zorro and Batman are characters with dual identities, their own secret hideouts, and are largely self made; Zorro trained himself as a swordsman and Batman as a master scientist. Batman also "trains his body to physical perfection".