You're Just a Freak ... Like Me.

Day 1 | My 'Dark' Obsession Returns Vol. 1

In just 11 short days, the "Dark Knight" will be upon us. It isn't possible to be more excited about this movie. It just isn't. It's going to be like hitting a walk-off home run, losing your virginity and finding a fifty-dollar bill all rolled into one — for nerds. So, starting today, you could theoretically claim that I've gone bat-guano insane. Or, I've just been overcome with hype. Regardless, to span the time from this very moment that you are reading this to 12:01 a.m. on July 18th, I'll be exploring the good, the bad and the bad-ass about the Batman. Enjoy.

***

I'm not your traditional comic-book nerd.

I didn't have every comic ever. I wasn't a die-hard collector.

I didn't go to a lot of trade shows or cons.

To make matters worse, I sold just about every comic I ever owned to pay off a cable bill in college and haven't really restocked my collection ever since. (Though I do still have Cable #1, Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One," a smattering of Sin City and the Rise of the Phoenix saga. And thanks to my friend Neil, I now have Wanted.)

If that destroys my comic-cred, then, fine, so be it.

I was just a guy who liked reading some comics. And I was still at one point a total nerd.

I didn't have much of a chance of avoiding it. As a child of a comic-book aficionado, I had a few lying around. Mostly Spidey and Superman and the wholesome stuff that everyone has read.

I was never hooked though.

Good guys weren't gonna cut it.

Spidey never did it for me. Superman was lame.

I wasn't into Captain America, Aqua Man, Daredevil, Silver Surfer or Thor.

Oh, and I absolutely hated the Fantastic Four.

But, at 8, I discovered the first of my many obsessions. The Batman.

My first encounter wasn't in book form, though it would grow into that. No, it was watching reruns of the campy Adam West/Burt Ward TV show. (To this day I will defend that show to the death. It was absolutely, unequivocally awesome.)

As a little kid, this was all I needed in my world. (During a month-long visit to my grandparents in Seattle, the show was broadcast FIVE times a day — three consecutively at breakfast and an hour-block mid-afternoon. I'm not sure watching 2 1/2 hours of television was exactly what my grandparents wanted me to be doing, but I wasn't missing that show.)

In 1989, I still had only a passing dalliance with Batman. My awareness not stretching much further than "POW!" and Cesar Romero putting the Joker paint on over his mustache. But then I went with my friend Tom Hale and his dad to see Tim Burton's "Batman" at a midnight showing.

I was hooked. The journey was complete. I was a bat-geek. A bat-stalker.

I've been a little bit obsessed ever since. But only just a little.

I've seen every movie multiple times (yes, even "Batman & Robin" — though my collection was entirely VHS and I haven't updated yet).

Then I dove headfirst into the comics. I hit the store nearly every week. Traded books back and forth with my neighbor Jason. (Who may still have my Arkham Asylum, I was never sure where that went. Do you have it Jason?)

I started out mild, rehashing some of the classic comics that played closely to Bob Kane's archetype — which is to say it was pulp, but not "Pulp Fiction." It wasn't until Frank Miller's versions that I realized how dark it could be — and how I enjoyed that darkness.

And for me, it slowly became "the darker the better." Epitomized by one of my favorite mash-ups ever: "Batman vs. Dracula: Red Rain." It was brilliant, it was evil, it was bloody as hell.

I loved it.

It was also the dawn of my love of the anti-hero. (Hence, my favorite comics/movies/novels to date are littered with anti-heroes: Cable, "Fight Club," Wolverine, Batman and Snake Plissken.)

And it was the dawn of the biggest drain on my money as a teenager: Graphic novels.

I've spent more money on graphic novels than I have on every birthday gift I've given my wife over the last 11 years combined. 

Over those 11 years, though, I've stayed away from a lot of my nerd wants. It's been tough, but I've avoided a lot of high-priced trade books and flights of nerd fancy.

So, it only makes sense that of course I'm going to dive back into that pool again. Sneaking around and plucking a few graphic novels to back-fill my collection, hoping my wife won't notice — nor read this.

You think I can convince Christopher Nolan to finance my divorce?

***

You wanna help: If you've got something you love about the winged crusader, I'd love to hear it. And then I'll print them and take credit for it. Oh, wait. No, I'll give you credit. I swear. I know that you're as jacked as I am about this flick. So, send me a note and tell me why your psyched or what your essential Bat-books are.

It's not too late to catch up on the comics: Start strong with Frank Miller's "Year One." It's genius. It's awesome. My favorite comic of all time.

Useless Bat-Trivia: Originally planned as the pilot film for the TV series, the 1966 "Batman" movie was instead produced between the show's first and second seasons. The producers took advantage of the larger budget to have a number of new Bat-gadgets constructed, such as the BatBoat.

Who's Line Is It — Porn or Batman?: "That's right, Dick. I want them so much, I can taste it." *

Quote This: "I don't know who he is behind that mask of his, but I do know when we need him ... and we need him now!" Commissioner Gordon (Neil Hamilton) in the TV series.

Today's Bat-Villain: Scarecrow, Real name: Jonathan Crane.

He first appeared in the comic "World's Finest Comics #3" in 1941), then was a regular villain in "Batman: The Animated Series" and his only movie appearance, thankfully as Schumacher would've ruined it, was in "Batman Begins" where he was played by Cillian Murphy. The Scarecrow feasts on phobias. Is only slightly less awesome than Joker. Slightly.

:: Read more

Holy Bat-Tube Batman!: Of course, let's start with the reason I'm on this journey: "The Dark Knight." This was, I believe, the first trailer to come out. It was definitely the first one I saw. The one where Heath Ledger creeps you the flip out.

* Porn or Batman answer: That's a completely harmless line uttered by George Clooney in the abysmal "Batman and Robin." Pervert.