What you know about Batman is wrong

As I visit my favorite sites to celebrate Batman day, I often come across posts by "experts" that are riddled with inaccuracies about my favorite fictional hero. 

The one that grinds my gears the most is the idea that "In the early days, Batman used a gun all of the time." While not incorrect, it is also wrong. Let's explore the history of the "gun-wielding" Batman.

Most "experts" use the above image from Detective Comics #35 as their proof of "Batman using a gun all of the time". Let's ignore the fact that this is a splash image that has nothing to do with the story, in that actual story, doesn't even carry, let allow use a gun in the actual issue. As it has nothing to do with the continuity, I think this is a straw man in the "gun-wielding Batman" case.

 

In Detective Comics #31-32, Batman does use a gun - twice - to dispatch the Mad Monk and Dala, who are actually vampires. At the end of the story, Batman fires silver bullets into the creatures. Since the vampires are already dead (undead) does this really count? I think not.

 
On the cover of Detective Comics #33, Batman is shown with a holster on his utility belt but in the actual story, he fires the gun, not to kill anyone, but to detonate a deadly death ray machine.

 

This house ad from DC comics does nothing to dispel the idea of Batman as a gun-wielding vigilante hero.

In Detective Comics #36, the holster is gone, and Batman uses a gun taken from defeated henchmen to fire a shot to draw the attention of the police, who will presumably come to arrest the minions.

We see the most gun play in Batman #1 when Batman fights madmen that Hugo Strange has transformed into monstrous creatures and outfitted with bullet proof outfits. Batman uses his Batplane mounted machine gun to first shoots a truck filled with monsters, causing it to crash and presumably kill everyone inside, including Strange's human henchmen. Then he uses the machine gun to knock another monster off a skyscraper, which it had climbed King Kong-style.

The last golden age story in which Batman shoots a gun, this time to disarm a gunman, is in Batman #4. But the text states that "The Batman never carries or kills with a gun."  

That rule obviously doesn't apply to Robin! In Batman #6, Robin forces the hand of a killer to shoot himself in the head!

Gun-wielding Batman shows up once in the silver age in Detective Comics #327 when Batman takes a gun from a crook to keep him and his accomplices at bay. He never fires the weapon.

The cover of Detective Comics #575 shows Batman wielding a pistol, but I think this is just for shock value, since the character hadn't used a gun in over twenty years. In the story, Batman debates using a gun on Joe Chill, the killer of his parents, but decides against it.

Batman wields a machine gun on the cover of Detective Comics #710 but in the story, he uses a rifle to disarm assassin Gunhawk after being goaded by Deathstroke the Terminator to use the rifle.

 

In the Elseworld story The Dark Knight, Batman fires a machine gun at a mutant who has kidnapped a child. It is presumed by the image that he has killed the kidnapper. But maybe not. Maybe he just wounded her?

Later in the story, he fires a cable from a rifle to swing to Two-Face's helicopter to prevent a bomb from exploding.

Is Dark Knight's Batman a hypocrite. In Dark Knight Triumphant, he snaps a rifle in half, calling it "The weapon of the enemy" and that he "will not use it." He also calls a gun a "coward's weapon" and "a liar's weapon."

In modern stories, Batman knows how to use guns, he just doesn't. His dislike of the weapons prevents him from using them. It is also well established that Batman does not kill. 

Even the Joker, who, between you and me, Batman should have killed decades ago.

 
Although that doesn't stop him from using the grappling hook gun first introduced in the Batman movie (1989). Does this make Batman a "gun-wielding" hero? I think not.

The era of comic books revised

 

I have never liked the "Olympic medal" eras of comics as it breaks down after Bronze. What's after that? Tin? Dumb. It never made sense to me as a) It infers that everything after Golden is inferior when nothing could be further from the truth - from an art and storytelling perspective to the way the books are created and manufactured. b) The metal eras doesn't address what's next after maybe "dark" and that was almost 30 years ago and c) doesn't take into effect too much of the history of comics both in terms of publication content and editorial decisions.

I, myself, have taken some cues from the classifications of genres used in film studies which are: Primitive (or Pioneer), Classic (or Golden), Revisionist, Parody, Post-Modern, Nostalgic and modern (which is used as a sliding scale to whatever is the "current" era). I've applied this to comic books and came up with the following classification system*:

Primitive: 0 - 1935 (Proto-comics to New Fun #1)
Classic (or Golden): 1935 to 1952 (Action Comics #1, Detective Comics #1, etc.)
Revisionist (or Atomic): 1953 -  1970 (with the passing of the Comic Code, Incredible Science Fiction #1, Showcase #4, Fantastic Four #1, ZAP #1, etc.)
Post-Modern (or Super): 1971- 1985 (Green Arrow 85 , Amazing Spider-Man 96, Crisis on Infinite Earths)
Dark: 1986 - 1994 (Watchmen, Batman: The Dark Knight, Spawn )
Nostalgic: 1995 -2000 (Marvels, Astro City, Zero Hour, Starman)
Ultimate (or Marvel): 2001-2010 (Marvel Ultimate, Alias, Wolverine: Origin, Editorial changes at DC)
Post-Revisionist: 2011 - 2015 (Flashpoint, New 52, Marvel NOW!, Ms. Marvel)
Modern: 2016 - present (DC Rebirth, etc.)

Granted I realize that the "edges" of these eras aren't as clear as I'm making them out to be, but ya gotta draw the line somewhere! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this classification system of mine!

* I freely admit that my classification has a bias towards American superhero comics in general and DC published books in particular.

Bedbug shirts return!

It's been awhile since I've offered Bedbug T-shirts but I've created a new store over at SpreadShirt with some old favorite designs. Check them out!

And keep a look out for more new Bedbug designs in 2020!

Bedbug appears in Lucky Shot #1!

Bedbug's latest adventure can be found in Lucky Shot #1!

Lucky Shot #1

Former gangster Michaela Saez balances being a public hero and a single mother as Lucky Shot, the tiny titan of crimefighting! Lucky and her coworker Andromeda work to make the world a better place for humans and superhumans alike, all while learning to get along with each other! By Araujo, Wade, Monsanto, Hebert, Birch, Lozano and Casseday

Head over to Indy Planet to buy your copy today!! 

Bedbug appears in POWERUP board game!

Ramon Redondo Perez is a Spanish designer whose video game inspired board game POWERUP is currently on Kickstarter.

I was immediately charmed by the clever concept (a 2D dungeon-crawl - why didn't I think of that?) and the 16-bit graphics (having been a video game artist earlier in my career) and I backed the game. When Senor Perez discovered I backed the game, he excitedly asked permission to included Bedbug as a character in the MERC expansion.

 

No sooner had I said "yes" than did he produce the card that will feature Bedbug! I must say, Bedbug looks pretty great as a retro-video game character. I wonder if Player One would approve... more likely he'd get jealous!

If you want to buy the game (which is due out this fall) and the MERC expansion with Bedbug, back the game at the DELUXE level.  And many thanks to Ramon for including Bedbug into his awesome POWERUP game!

Bedbug to appear in World Wide Warriors!

My friends over at Red Anvil Press are creating a new comic book called World Wide Warriors! 

In addition to the Mighty Titan, Mantis, Shadowflame and Power House, issues 1 and 2 guest-star none other than Bedbug!

The adventure begins when Buddy and Elvira visit a local science center where they a strange experience that results in trouble!

The art looks absolutely amazing with artist Allan Goldman doing a stunning job! I can't wait for this to come out!

 

Look for World Wide Warriors #1 coming to your local comic shop in the near future!

Shooting Star Comics 15 year anniversary!

Wow! Has it been 15 years already?

The gang at Shooting Star Comics have put together a commemorative website celebrating the anniversary! For those of you wondering, Shooting Star Comics was where Bedbug first debuted! Check it out and join in on the celebration!

http://www.shootingstarcomics.net/

Shooting Star Comics the Fighting Game??!!!

Bedbug vs Scott McCullar's Yellowjacket! Who would win!?

No, this isn't a "real thing" - just something I was fooling around with. Would you want this to exist in real-life? Write a comment!

Happy Free Comic Book Day from Bedbug!

Hey all!

Saturday, May 7th is Free Comic Book Day all across America and to celebrate, I've created a special Bedbug Digital Comic just for you! (and you and you and especially you!)

The comic features Bedbug's first encounter with The Grave Robber, three fact-filled character bios, a cover by Something Terrible's Dean Trippe and special pins-ups by great comic artists including Star Wars' Tom Hodges, Lazerman's Chris Hebert, Scapula's Aidan Casserly and Sonic the Hedgehog's Mike Kazaleh!

UPDATE: Sorry, but now that Free Comic Book Day is over, so is this offer. I hope you had a great Free Comic Book Day and enjoyed the Bedbug Comic!

All the best,
Scott

The 10 best Batman stories you've never read.

Since the creation of the internet, everyone with a computer and a passing knowledge of Batman has posted their "The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Written" lists. Most of them are redundant or just flat-out suck. Their lists all read the same. They always have the "The Dark Knight Returns" (awesome) and "The Killing Joke" (awesome) and "Death in the Family" (not very good) on them. If you are a newbie bat-fan, you might not think there are any other good stories out there.

But there's a reason why Batman has persisted through out the years. There have been scores of great stories written about him and his amazing world. I'm not bragging (well, maybe a little) when I say that I've read every Batman comic story ever printed. And here is my informed list of great Batman stories you might have missed or not seen on any of those other more predictable lists (comics are not listed in any particular order, they are all great):

1. Batman #12 - "Brothers in Crime" by Don Cameron and Jerry Robinson
Batman has a lot of cool collectables in the Batcave. Batman fans might know about the T-Rex robot and the Giant Penny (which is NOT from a Two-Face story btw) and the Red Hood, but do you know about the chain-mail vest? In this classic Golden-Age story, Peter Rafferty is released from prison, but his attempts to go straight are thwarted by the influence of his brothers, who force him back into a life of crime. They plot a crime spree centered around a chain-mail vest and what happens is the stuff great storytelling is made of.

2. Detective Comics #711 - "Knight Out" by Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan
Of course, a comic numbered 7-11 has to start in a convenience store! Batman doesn't make much of an appearance in this Bruce Wayne centered issue, but it shows that no matter what Bruce is doing, he's Batman 24/7. There's one especially great scene where Bruce ID's all of the crooks working as waiters at a swanky party they're about to rob. 

3. Gotham Knights #3 - "Broken Nose" by Paul Pope
The main story is pretty forgettable, but the real star of this issue is the back-up black and white story by the always amazing Paul Pope. Batman gets his nose busted for the first time battling the armored villain, Dr. Mabuse and Pope's description of what it feels like to have a broken nose is dead-on. The ending has a great pay-off too.

4. Secret Origins Special #1 - "When is a door?" by Neil Gaiman and BEM
Published during the rise of the "grim and gritty" trend of the late 80's, the Riddler laments the loss of innocence in Batman comics - something we still have never recovered from. It's touching and funny and a great reward for long-time Batman readers.

5. Detective Comics #571 "Fear for $ale" by Mike Barr and Alan Davis
Over the 75 plus years of Batman comics, there have been dozens of Scarecrow stories where the villain has scared victims to death and tried to discover Batman's greatest fear. In this story buried in the middle of Barr and Davis' amazing run on Detective Comics, Barr flips the script. The Scarecrow is removing fear from those who need it and blackmails them into buying the antidote. When Batman's greatest fear is revealed, it serves as a melancholy harbinger just a few years before DC's 1-800-KillRobin stunt.

6. The Joker: The Devil's Advocate - by Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan
This is the best Joker story you've never read. When Joker is finally sentenced to death, Batman realizes that the clown prince of crime might not actually be responsible for the crime. As the clock ticks down, Batman struggles between seeking justice and upholding the law. A great potboiler with some of the best characterization of the Joker since the Killing Joke.

7. Detective Comics #450 - "The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy" by Elliot S. Maggin and Walt Simonson
Batman is faced with one of his greatest deathtraps when an assassin is hired to recover the caped crusader's cowl. The story is twisty fun and has one of the best punch lines in a Batman comic. The art by a young newcomer (at the time) named Walter Simonson is pretty amazing stuff.

8. Batman Adventures #10 - "The Last R?ddler Story" by Kelley Puckett and Mike Parobeck
Although Bruce Timm/Paul Dini's perfect Batman story "Mad Love" gets all of the attention, many of the issues of Batman Adventures are really good, with incredible art by the late, great Mike Parobeck. When the Riddler encounters a riddle he can't solve, he turns to the next smartest person he knows to solve it - Batman. It's a fun romp featuring appearances by the Bat-editors Denny O'Neil and the late Archie Goodwin.

9. World's Finest (3 issues mini-series from 1992) by Dave Gibbons and Steve Rude
Batman and Superman team up to stop a feud between Joker and Lex Luthor (what? again?) but what makes this story special isn't Gibbons' (the artist of Watchmen) light-hearted writing or Steve Rude's amazingly deft page layouts but the fact that Batman and Superman actually manage to work together again six years after the World's Finest friendship was destroyed forever in Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns (and subsequently in the mainstream comics and the upcoming movie) The story is a nice reminder of what made the Batman/Superman friendship so great to begin with.

10. Green Arrow vol 3. #5 "The Anatomy Lesson" - by Kevin Smith and Phil Hester
While the title of this story is a homage to Alan Moore's classic Swamp Thing story, the homages don't stop there. Batman examines Oliver Queen's unconscious body to prove it is really the Emerald Archer back from the dead and not a clone or a robot. Batman lives up to his title as "World's Greatest Detective" as he cross-references appearances from stories printed in Detective Comics (where Green Arrow was a long-time back-up features) based on his scars and other physical features. It's another love-letter to readers of both Batman and Green Arrow stories and Batman comes off as actually brilliant - something that hasn't been done in years since.

Well, there you have it. The ten best Batman comics you've never read. Happy Batman Day 2015 bat-fans!