Comic book characters are an important part of American culture.  Throughout the 20th century, children and life-long fans read and collected comic books with their favorite heroes and marveled at their superhuman feats.  Perhaps one of the most famous and successful comic book characters is Batman.

On this day, April 25th, in 1939, DC Comics publishes Detective Comics #27, introducing the Batman character.  The concept of Batman was developed by Bob Kane after the success of Superman sent DC comics on the search for the next popular comic hero.  The story of Batman follows protagonist Bruce Wayne, a millionaire philanthropist who dedicated his life to fighting crime after the tragic loss of his parents.  Batman became its own comic book in 1940 and introduced popular characters such as Robin, the Joker, the Penguin, Two-Face and Catwoman. DC comics has continued to grapple with different interpretations of the Batman character and as a result there have been numerous Batman comic book eras, including: the golden Age, The Silver Age, Modern Batman and the New 52 Launch.

Batman has been one of the most popular and successful characters in comic book history.  Several Batman films have been created with the most recent film, The Dark Night, grossing over $1 billion worldwide.  In addition, the comic book hero has spawned a large market for action figures, clothing, collector’s items and memorabilia.