Batman at Eighty Caped Crusader Celebrates Eighth Decade

Batman at Eighty

Art courtesy of DC comics.

Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, the DC Comics hero, Batman, made his first appearance in Detective Comics #27 in 1939. Batman proved to be such a smash hit that he was given his very own comic series, Batman, in 1940. In 1941, the two biggest stars of DC Comics, Batman and Superman, teamed up in World’s Finest Comics. By 1960, Batman and Superman were joined by Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Wonder Woman in Justice League of America. By the mid 1980s Batman was at the forefront of a shift in comic books to a more sophisticated form of storytelling aimed at adults.

This exhibit pulls from Burns Library’s vast collection of comic books and shows how depictions of the caped crusader changed throughout the Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Modern ages of comic books while celebrating publishing milestones of several titles including 2019’s 80th anniversary of Batman’s creation.