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I said: I think it was because Superman was rapidly expanding its cast, and was still DC's most popular series, supporting a half dozen spinoff titles. Batman was not selling well in the late 50s/early 60s, so the editors thought theyd try whatever was working well for Superman.
thats actually DC's official explanation. I was just reading a recent DC trade paperback called Batman in the Fifties, and in one of the text pieces they say exactly that
but I can think of two or three other explanations
trademark establishment. all these comics companies are aggressive about establishing trademarks for new characters even if they dont use them much, and sue each other for perceived trademark infringements. DC trademarked the name Superwoman very early on, without creating such a character. Every couple years Lois Lane will temporarily gain superpowers, either in a dream or due to magic or kryptonite, and call herself Superwoman, then go back to normal at the story's end. Early in the 1940s, a rival company had a character called Roy the Superboy. As soon as that company (Archie actually) quit publishing that character, DC introduced Superboy: the Adventures of superman when he was a boy. Not sure why there was a sudden need to trademark Batwoman in 1956, but despite her disappearing in 1964 she's still round today and had a recent TV series, so theyre actively maintaining that trademark..
the Comics Code: CatWoman disappeared from Batman when the Comics Code was introduced. CatWomans design had been getting kinkier through the early 50s, with her costume now including a slitskirt, stilletoes, and a cat-of-nine-tails whip. and there was the moral ambiguity of Batman's attraction to a sexy criminal. Now the whipwielding badgirl was gone, and instead we had the unambiguously good girl character Batwoman as the principle female character in the series. Which relates to...
the moral panic over comics that lead to that code, specifically the allegations Batman and Robin were gay. in the early 50s there were boycotts, bookburnings, and a senate inquiry into the comic book problem. a whole vast topic in itself. a psychiatrist called Frederick Wertham wrote a book called Seduction of the Innocent, fueling much of the outrage, and in it he claimed Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson living together with their butler was a homosexual fantasy. a year after the Comics Code was imposed, suddenly Batman had a new female counterpart. Then a couple years later so did Robin. (of course all that blushing and stammering does nothing to prove they actually like girls) see this webpage I found that argues that exact cause and effect. (ironically, the modern day version of Kathy Kane is a lesbian)
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Glad you’re enjoying it, gents. This really is an outstanding tale and it will go on way into the New Year.
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THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH - Deviation Four - Point Pleasant - Part Two
Mark your calendar for next Thursday to read more of this fascinating tale.
Making us wait 😡
😁
Again. 😟
sorry to interrupt again, but I'm still thinking about why was there a BatWoman?
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sir miles said: I do find it strange that they kept adding Bat-characters 😵💫
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I said: I think it was because Superman was rapidly expanding its cast, and was still DC's most popular series, supporting a half dozen spinoff titles. Batman was not selling well in the late 50s/early 60s, so the editors thought theyd try whatever was working well for Superman.
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thats actually DC's official explanation. I was just reading a recent DC trade paperback called Batman in the Fifties, and in one of the text pieces they say exactly that
but I can think of two or three other explanations
More fascinating background, thanks, Caractacus 🍸
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DANGER GIRL (1998) Part Thirteen
More tomorrow…
Looking forward to it 👏🏻👏🏻