Batman
Batman is a fictional superhero first appearing in Detective Comics in May, 1939. The creation of artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, Batman remains one of the most famous and recognizable of the superhero genre, resulting in the creation of several television series, motion pictures, and graphic novels. The original comics are highly-prized by collectors and routinely fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars on the auction block.
Comics lore
The man who was to become Batman is Bruce Wayne, a Gotham City multi-millionaire who inherited his wealth from his father, a prominent doctor and philanthropist named Thomas Wayne. A trip to the movies with the family ended in tragedy: Thomas and his wife are murdered by a common thug in front of Bruce, who's childhood is effectively ended at the age of eight. Growing up in the care of his father's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, he inherits a fortune, his father's business and philanthropic empire, and a seething anger directed at the criminal world. Realizing that criminals are superstitious as well as cowardly, he goes after them one by one, costumed as a bat.
References
- Kane, Bob (with Tom Andrae). Batman & Me, Eclipse Books, Forestville, California (1989).
- Goulart, Ron. Comic Book Encyclopedia, Harper Entertainment, New York (2004).