An academic monograph that traces the various ways in which Batman has been interpreted over the years - by wartime film producers, gay teenagers, pop artists, Internet fan communities, and so on. Written from both an academic and a fan's perspective, is examines how a character can be a brand and a myth at the same time. The book draws on substantial research from the DC Comics archives, as well as interviews with DC editors and writers. Also included is a comprehensive Batman iconography, listing examples of how Batman has been used as a reference in other TV shows, movies, and fast food restaurants.
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"Eloquent and reasoned." Popmatters.com
From the Author
The must-have gift for Bat-fans this Christmas
I have loved Batman for as long as I can remember. This is the book I always wanted to read about the Dark Knight: a love-letter and a tribute to his role in my life. BATMAN UNMASKED is the result of three years' dedicated research, including interviews with DC Comics staff and examination of the original comics kept in DC's vaults. It deals with the Batman in all his incarnations, from a detailed analysis of the first ever comic story through Adam West's TV show to Frank Miller's "Dark Knight", Alan Moore's "Killing Joke" and the Burton/Schumacher franchise. This is the only book about Batman you will need - until I write the second edition. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
I have loved Batman for as long as I can remember. This is the book I always wanted to read about the Dark Knight: a love-letter and a tribute to his role in my life. BATMAN UNMASKED is the result of three years' dedicated research, including interviews with DC Comics staff and examination of the original comics kept in DC's vaults. It deals with the Batman in all his incarnations, from a detailed analysis of the first ever comic story through Adam West's TV show to Frank Miller's "Dark Knight", Alan Moore's "Killing Joke" and the Burton/Schumacher franchise. This is the only book about Batman you will need - until I write the second edition. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
This is an academic textbook, a revised version of the author's doctoral thesis. Most comics' fans, I guess, have a rough idea of the history of Batman: wartime crimefighter, 50s SF, 60s camp, 70s social relevance, 80s revisionism, 90s films and animated series. Brooker's survey is chronological, but comes to some interesting new insights - Batman's forays into wartime propaganda were surprisingly rare, the growth of comics fandom was engineered by the publishers themselves. Pride of place, though, is a radical reinterpretation of Seduction of the Innocent, the fifties book that first raised the question of a gay subtext in Batman and Robin's relationship, which comic fans have long equated with the McCarthyite witch-hunts.
There's an interesting analysis of fans and fandom, and how fans who take Batman seriously equate this with a serious Batman, seeing any hint of humour or camp as aberrant. While Brooker demonstrates there are common elements to all Batman tales, there is plenty of room for all manner of interpretations and versions of Batman - Adam West is just as valid as Frank Miller, Brooker's Batman contains multitudes.
Anyone after pictures (not an unreasonable request, given the medium under discussion), go for Les Daniels' 'Complete History' series instead. But this is almost certainly the most intelligent and informative analysis not just of Batman but of the production and reception of comics. There are insights into fan psychology here which ought to make this book a key text in the study of 'fandoms', and the analysis applies as much to other series with a cult following (Doctor Who and Star Wars, for example) as it does to Batman or other superheroes.
The acid test, though, is that it made me want to seek out some of the stories being discussed. It's a labour of love, as well as a rational, balanced analysis. It's an expensive book, it won't be to everyone's taste, but it's an important, informative and entertaining study.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
The thing that struck me most about this book, apart from the fluid writing style, is the sheer amount of detailed research presented and analysed. There is close reference to various media - comics, television and film - as well as important primary texts. Wertham's "Seduction of the Innocent" is of particular note. Even for non Bat fans such as myself, it is fascinating reading. It is interesting to discover just how significant a figure Batman has been in American culture. The book covers a wide span chronologically, from the 1940's through to the late 90's, yet recurrent themes give the work continuity and focus. Brooker offers a refreshing approach to readings of Batman, considering the use of the character as 1940's propaganda, and the much disputed gay readings of the 1950's.
Finally, read the book for Brooker's anecdotes. Ranging from childhood memories as a batfan to the reception he received from the press as a bat academic, these are wonderfully written and give a personal touch to what otherwise is pure scholarly research.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars
9 reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting but flawed study of character
8 April 2006
By Danny McCaslin Jr.
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Will Brooker's "Batman Unmasked" has its moments. Brooker does a great job of giving the character a solid publication background and discussing some of the key issues that have come up in the history of the Batman character. However, he seems to spend a disproportionate ammount of time trying to convince us all that Batman is gay, or, more accurately, that "gay readings" of Batman are not "wrong", or even uncommon.
Well, to be frank, of course they're not "wrong," as you can never be "wrong" in an interpretation of a character. I remember writing a paper in my freshman year comparing the characters of Hamlet, Iago, and Richard III, and concluding that Hamlet could be read as a villain. However, Brooker preemptively tries to pigeonhole everyone who argues against this point as "homophobic" and tries to essentially say that most of the gay subtext of the character in the 40s, 50s, and 60s was intentional. It's one thing to reinterpret a character, it's something completely different to make the assumption that the subtext is intentional.
Brooker spends little time talking about "The Dark Knight Returns," probably the most famous, well-loved, and groundbreaking Batman comic book of the last 25 years, and only mentions it as a counterpoint to the more campy interpretations and as an influence on Tim Burton's 1989 film.
Finally, Brooker spends way too much time quoting from Internet message boards. I guess that's fine for a Culture Studies book, but I think that time may have been better spent reading Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, and Bruno Bettelheim and discussing how The Batman fits into the ideas of authors who have done similar works relating to mythology and fairy-tales.
This wasn't a bad book, but I think it could have been MUCH better.
Well, to be frank, of course they're not "wrong," as you can never be "wrong" in an interpretation of a character. I remember writing a paper in my freshman year comparing the characters of Hamlet, Iago, and Richard III, and concluding that Hamlet could be read as a villain. However, Brooker preemptively tries to pigeonhole everyone who argues against this point as "homophobic" and tries to essentially say that most of the gay subtext of the character in the 40s, 50s, and 60s was intentional. It's one thing to reinterpret a character, it's something completely different to make the assumption that the subtext is intentional.
Brooker spends little time talking about "The Dark Knight Returns," probably the most famous, well-loved, and groundbreaking Batman comic book of the last 25 years, and only mentions it as a counterpoint to the more campy interpretations and as an influence on Tim Burton's 1989 film.
Finally, Brooker spends way too much time quoting from Internet message boards. I guess that's fine for a Culture Studies book, but I think that time may have been better spent reading Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, and Bruno Bettelheim and discussing how The Batman fits into the ideas of authors who have done similar works relating to mythology and fairy-tales.
This wasn't a bad book, but I think it could have been MUCH better.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant. We need more books like this.
29 Jan 2001
By Steven Savage
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
The idea of analyzing Batman as a serious cultural icon may seem laughable - until one realizes that there is some sixty years of history to the character and his companions. Batman has been there through most of the 20th Century, so there's something to analyze.
This is not a pop culture book - this is an analysis of culture. Serious, insightful, footnote-heavy analysis. This is not for the casual comics fan - this is for people who love comics and their culture and want some insight into that culture and that history.
This book analyzes batman in "blocks" of time. From the creation, to the war years, to the 50's, the 60's, the 70's, and beyond. Examples of interpretations, misinterpretations, and historical impact are given, at times in incredible detail (such as panel-by-panel analysis of a comic issue).
Without giving anything away about the book, this analysis looks at how Batman came to be, what themes have endured, and how the times have (and haven't) affected him. Most interestingly, the "dark eras" of the comics Inquisition of the 50's and the controversial pop-interpretation of the 60's are examined in detail - and some startiling revelations and interpretations are made.
The problem with reviewing this book is that I can't do it justice and don't wish to spoil the readers. However, simply, if you care about comics in general or Batman in particular, and like to understand the deep issues of culture, buy it. Buy several - give them to friends. It's worth it.
22 of 27 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Batman Stripped is More Like It!
13 Dec 2000
By Mark Delaney
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Readers searching for a loving, fannish look at Batman would be happier with those books written by Les Daniels or Chip Kidd. Batman Unmasked contains no Batman art, no story reprints, not even a Batman image on the cover. Brooker intends instead to present the reader with a well-researched and documented work that reads rather like a Ph.D thesis. Oddly enough, Brooker devotes well over half the book to discussing what has become little more than a humorous footnote to most Batman fans: the idea, first presented by Frederic Wertham in Seduction of the Innocent, that Batman's relationship with Robin can be read in a homosexual context. As has always been the case, some readers will laugh at the examples provided; others may find offense. More interesting, however, are Brooker's assertions that secondary artists and writers, specifically Jerry Robinson and Gardner Fox, worked on Batman far earlier than previously thought, thus leaving us with the idea that Bob Kane contributed far less to the character's genesis than he has earned credit for. Ultimately, Batman Unmasked will be interesting only to those readers who know what to expect when they buy it.
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