This book was very interesting. ( )

In The Boy Who Loved Batman: A Memoir, Michael E. Uslan recounts his life from childhood to the events in which he became the producer of all modern Batman films beginning with the 1989 Batman and including the direct-to-video films. He begins with a description of his life growing up in suburban New Jersey and his extensive reading of comic books just as the Silver Age began. His account of the early Comic Cons and his youthful exploits meeting industry insiders like Bill Finger and Otto Binder will make Uslan the envy of fans everywhere, while his description of early fandom offers invaluable insights for comic book historians.

Later, he was the first instructor to teach an accredited course about comic books at the university level. While at Indiana University, Uslan used a program at the College of Arts and Sciences that allowed anyone, faculty or student, to design and propose their own course. He developed one that analyzed comic books as folklore, successfully pitching it to the dean by drawing comparisons between the story of Moses and Superman’s origin. Once the dean approved the course, Uslan worked to ensure it received attention in the press. Both Marvel and DC heard of it, with Stan Lee at Marvel arranging for some guest lecturers to join and Sol Harrison, the VP of DC, flying Uslan out to New York City to offer materials that he might use in his course. This, in turn, led to Uslan gaining access to DC’s disorganized archives, developing educational materials for DC to market, and even working on the Comicmobile, a gimmick Sol Harrison developed to help distribute comics in areas where they were harder to get (pgs. 100-113).

Discussing his desire to return Batman to the dark knight detective from the campy, pop art style of the 1960s show, Uslan writes, “By God, after so many decades fighting in the trenches, and thanks to many people who believed in that same cause, when Batman and years later Batman Begins and The Dark Knight arrived in theatres, I believed I had done just that” (pg. 62). Though it took some work, particularly as the Batman brand was considered weaker following the 1960s television show, Uslan convinced DC to sell him the Batman film rights and committed himself to ensuring the film captured the dark nature of the Batman as he originally appeared and to which Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams were returning him in the 1970s (pgs. 173-189).

Uslan recounts these events with honest humor, dishing on details for his readers and offering a valuable insight into comic book history. As a Chronicle Book, the final product includes beautifully incorporated images with plenty of comic book art, copies of memos, and Uslan’s photographs. The end result is a great insight into comic book fandom, the film industry, and U.S. cultural history. ( )