Bob Kane: Creator of Batman
Bob Kane created one of the most innovative characters in comic book history, and one that ranks among the most well known American pop culture icons - Batman!
Bob Kane and Peter Pupp
Robert Kahn (Bob Kane) was born on October 24, in New York City.Bob Kane had a desire to be an artist from an early age. He sold some of his drawings while still in school. Upon graduation from high school he went to work for Max Fleischer Studios whose most well known characters were Popeye and Betty Boop. His first foray into the comics industry was as a contributor was to "Wow, What A Magazine" in 1936.
In 1937, he went to work for Eisner & Iger, a company that produced comics on demand for publishers. Kane's big character there a funny animal (a genre of comics popular at the time) called "Peter Pupp."
"Batman debuted in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). He was an instant hit with comic book fans."
Kane Goes To Work for DC Comics
Kane began working at DC Comics in 1939, the same year Superman was introduced. Superman was instant hit and and the entire industry rode the wave. DC Comics was looking for other super heroes, and Bob Kane gave them Batman.In a July 31, 1989, People Magazine interview, Kane said that he first begin thinking at age 18 about a character resembling Batman. He got the inspiration from three characters. The first was Douglas Fairbanks movie portrayal of Zorro, Leonardo da Vinci's drawings of a "man on a sled like contraption with huge bat wings," and a silent mystery movie called "The Bat."
Unlike the creators of Superman, Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster, Bob Kane kept his copyright to the Batman character. This was a very smart move, uncommon for the times.
Bob Kane Was a Very Good Businessman
In 1943, Kane ceased working on Batman comic books, and began penciling the daily Batman newspaper comic strip. In 1946, the DC quit producing the strip and Kane returned the Batman comic books. He never told DC that he had hired ghost's artists to do his work for him. If Bob Kane was a good artist, but he was a great businessman. And just as Batman will be around forever, so will his creator.Bob Kane died on November 3, 1998.
Check Out My Batman Autographs Lens
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Batman - Autographs from the 1960's TV Series
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Batman, starring Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin the Boy Wonder, premiered on Wednesday night, Jan 12, 1966 on ABC. The next day kids tied towels around their necks for capes and and their parents were laughing about it at work. Batman was...
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Trading Batman Comics Under the Shade Tree
Batman was a big part of my childhood. I remember reading Batman comics under the shade tree in our front yard. A trip to town would mean checking out the racks for new Batman comic, and best of all at 12 cents each a kid could actually buy them with his own money.A few years later Adam West and Burt Ward showed up on TV as the Caped Crusader and the Robin, the Boy Wonder. Twice a week! Even adults were loving Batman.
I'm not buying the comics now, but see all the movies and have two Bob Kane autographed Batman lithographs on my hobby room wall.
Batman has been with me a long time, and I have no doubt that he will be with me for the rest of my life.
