Soul of the Dark Knight: Batman as Mythic Figure in Comics and Film

There are precious few books that truly get to the heart of comic book literary theory. Of those, few touch on the mythical elements of Batman, or true Batman theory and history that informs and entertains while leaving aside any agendas. Of the dozens on books on Batman, my personal top 5 are those books that are highly entertaining to read, thoroughly well researched and factually accurate, and full of genuine criticism and readable theory, from people who really know the character without being stuffy pompous types, who actually have something to say and don't just regurgitate the work of other authors.Best Batman theory and history books:Batman: The Complete History by Les DanielsImproving the Foundations: Batman Begins from Comics to Screen by Julian DariusSuperhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre by Peter CooganSoul of the Dark Knight: Batman as Mythic Figure in Comics and Film by Alex M. Wainer75 Years of DC Comics by Paul LevitzFor Batman and superhero theorists I also recommend you read the works of Carl Jung: The Portable Jung, Man and His Symbols and Joseph Campbell's: The Hero With a Thousand Faces, The Power of Myth, The Hero's Journey. All of those books are here at Amazon, some of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell's works you can find in the public domain for free at Archive.orgAlso of note is Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics and Reinventing Comics.Alex M. Wainer draws on the complete history of the Batman character across comics and all media, with a focus on the core comic book series, his particular ideas focusing on the mythical elements of the character, he does not just reiterate the ideas of Jung and Campbell, but adds his own ideas into the mix, making for a refreshing read of a character whose depths are rarely explored outside of the comics themselves.Alex adds and combines his ideas with other theorists such as Northrop Frye and Scott McCloud, with significant commentary on McCloud's scale of realism to abstraction in comic art.I found some sections a little repetitive in the proposal and commentary of the mythopoeic scale applying to character of Batman, incorporating the ideas of Jung, Campbell, McCloud and Frye. However overall the reasoning and theory is very solid, the majority of the book is very informal and entertaining to read, managing to transcend the usual boredom of thesis style arguments and literary theory in general.No, this is no stuffy text, but a book that comes alive in your hands with scholarly wisdom that shows years of hard work and referencing for accuracy, while simultaneously showing the passion of a true Bat-Fan who loves the character.Few fans are able to be true theorists and look at the object of their devotion with critical eyes, but Alex Wainer pulls it off in style, leaving the reader better educated for having read this excellent book. The contents/chapter are outlined below for your convenience:1. Myth and the Mythic2. “I shall become a bat!” Batman’s History, Personality and Legend3. Mythic Characteristics in Batman4. Comics Art and Batman5. Adapting Batman and the Mythic into Film6. Adapting Batman, Part 1: Batman in Film and Other Media7. Adapting Batman, Part 2: The Christopher Nolan Batman Trilogy8. The Comics Medium as a Means of Evoking the Mythic*Appendix: Charting the Mythic in Mass MediaAs far as pure Batman theory, with a focus specifically on the character as a Mythic Figure, this book is unparalled. No other publication (yet) goes into the depth of this particular angle of the worlds most popular and iconic fictional character. Batman's enduring appeal is second perhaps only to Superman, but if you want psychological depth and mythical exploration, then Batman stand alone, and this is one of best Batman theory books you will ever have the joy of reading.I'm not just saying that to be a suck-up, I've been reading Batman comics for over 25 years, and also write articles about the character on my blog every week, as well as reading every Batman theory book I can get my hands on.This book is overdue, but with 2014 being Batman's 75th anniversary, his status as the dark knight, the caped crusader, as legend and myth is firmly established in the pop-culture pantheon, and he has never been more popular.Batman had been around since before I was born, and he'll be here after I'm dust, fighting his never ending war on crime, the constant vigil of the Guardian of Gotham, and one of literature's most inspiring mythic figures. A self-willed man who turned himself into an idea, a living shadow who embodies facing your own fears and living life on your own terms. His stories will thrill fans young and old alike in decades to come.

I've been attempting to read this since February 2021 and failing miserably. Perhaps it would be more interesting if I had more interest in the various Batman movies, but don't because everything except the Nolanverse seems to be just ok at best and eye-gougingly terrible at worst. I wouldn't have even picked up this book if I'd realized it was solely about the movies, rather than Batman media in general or comics specifically, either one of which would give a more accurate reading of the character's mythology in my opinion. When I mentioned to someone that I was dreading trying to force myself to finish out the book out of loyalty to its premise, they pointed out that the book probably wasn't worth wasting my time with if that was how I thought about it, and they're right. As of November 2021, after ten months of trying to read something that sounded fascinating upon starting and turned out to be anything but, I'm DNFing this.