Just Another Batman Blog

I just finished an excellent 3 part podcast about rats. The Radiolab talked all about New York City rats, the history of people's perception of rats, rat control, rats as pets, etc. We have been studying rats and rat behavior for quite some time. Rats can remember, make decisions, and have pattern recognition. They also display empathy. While it has been inconclusive whether they can pass the mirror test, recognizing themselves in a mirror, they do show abstract and emotional intelligence. This includes responding to their own name, learning tricks, and learning how to find things, like drugs, and cadavers. In fact, cadaver rats are cheaper to train than dogs and have a better success rate. The downside, rats have a lifespan of 12-24 months. Most wild rats don't survive past a year with a 95% mortality rate.  On the other side, rats have a terrible reputation in urban areas. They reproduce at a high rate. Five litters a year per female can produce around seven pups each totalin...

   Comics as a medium have always reflected the time period in which they are created, like all other artforms, really. In the 1940s, comicbook heroes were pitted against fascist Nazi adversaries. In DC Comics this included Doctor Poison, The Baroness, Captain Nazi, and a pelethora of Nazi soldiers, generals, and of course Hitler himself. However, as time goes on, American sentiments change. Nazis are still a favorite villain. Even alternate versions of our heroes have had Nazification treatments. I've written about Nazi Batman before. The deeper into the Cold War we get though, comic book villains shift from Nazis and Fascists to Communists, and Soviet spies.  Aside from breaking up a Nazi spy ring in Batman #14, the caped crusader seemed to stay out of international conflicts. But, as the real Cold War goes on, Batman's storylines expand out of Gotham and into other spaces. By the 1980s, Batman is ready to move from Nazi spy rings, to Soviet spy rings. In 1988, late in...

  Blockbuster is not a very compelling character on his own. A lot of this character and his themes are better used on other characters. However, I did bring him up in my first post ever , and just never got around to writing about him. So, here it is, the Blockbuster post.  Created by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino, Blockbuster's first appearance is in Detective Comics # 345, in 1965. One of many scientist Batman villains, Mark Desmond is a chemist who develops a serum to boost his physical attributes. Predictably, the experiment goes horribly wrong, and Mark Desmond turns himself into a giant, rage filled monster with limited intelligence. His Blockbuster persona is manipulated by his brother, Roland Desmond. The two brothers go on a crime spree, and are eventually stopped by Batman and Robin.  After this initial appearance, Blockbuster returns a few times, butts heads with Solomon Grundy , is manipulated by the Outsider, and then turns anti-hero and rescues trapped ...