Batman was created in 1939 as a dark vigilante waging his own personal war against the criminal underworld. The comics built on the pulp detective fiction that was popular at the time, and were heavily influenced by The Scarlet Pimpernel, Zorro, and other masked heroes. In the post-war years, Batman was softened so that he would appeal more to children. Despite still selling well, Batman faced obstacles in the 1950s. The industry itself struggled to hold on to the adult readers it captivated in the 1930s […]