Week 4

This week I chose to read Batman (#1) 1940. I chose this as my reading because it was the earliest issue of Batman I ever came across. After doing some research, I found its actually the first issue to introduce the other now known and loved members of the Batman world, including many of its villains. The very first published appearance Batman ever made was just one year prior!

As I read this comic, I was actually surprised at the visuals of the comic. To me, Batman was always a dark, brooding character portrayed with dark, de-saturated colors that would quietly solved mysteries in the shadows and stealthily take out the bad guys. I got a totally different vibe as I read through this comic. The colors, although it used the typical high contrast black shading method commonly seen in comics that might give it a darker feel, are actually very vivid and saturated. Even Batman himself behaved and felt different that I was used to. He ended almost every sentence with an exclamation mark, giving him a much more outgoing and energetic vibe, compared to the much more reserved, pessimistic atmosphere the current known Batman gives off. His actions weren’t very stealthy or ninja-like at all, and almost moved like an amateur combatant, very stiff. This could, however, be due to the art style or skill level at the time, as I don’t see any reason showing that the time difference explains the art difference in terms of the skill of the artist determining the line work and gesture of the poses.