"Batman - Created By Bob Kane"

For years, those words were the creator byline for Batman. The Dark Knight Detective had one creator, everyone knew that, because that one creator gladly took credit for the creation of the World's Greatest* Detective. He went so far as to have it be his gravestone. But Bob didn't work alone, a fact that contemporary readers are now familiar with, as all issues of Batman and Detective Comics make it clear that Bob Kane created Batman with Bill Finger. Rik Worth takes a deeper look at the lives, careers, and fallings out of two high school kids from The Bronx. A worthwhile read for those who knew nothing of the man responsible for Batman not being a Da Vinci-esque bird and for those who have seen the Hulu documentary alike.






*The true World's Greatest Detective is Detective Chimp. Even Batman admits that.

I enjoyed this retrospective take on a very popular character who, by many points, was central to the stories that made a young reader out of me. Rik Worth includes history, as well as a focus on the relationships and materials that formed the Batman character. I enjoyed this book as a fan and as a scholar interested in writing more about popular characters.

So as a huge Batman fan I knew I needed to be a reviewer for this novel.

Here are my thoughts:
It was an interesting read, many areas flew off the page and it was fascinating to hear the back story of the men who created my favorite super hero, and then there were the parts that dragged. Thankfully for any true Batman fan you will like me be able to push through the slow parts and really dive into the story.

The writer does a great job of taking what is probably one of the most controversial stories about the 1930s Golden Age of superhero comics, and telling the story in a way that captures what is already known while also providing unexpected new facts. Definitely worth reading.