Riddle Me This, Batman! : Essays on the Universe of the Dark Knight

These Essays Examine How Batman Is Both The Canvas On Which Our Cultural Identity Is Painted, And The Eternal Other That Informs Our Own Journeys Of Understanding. Questions Relating To A Wide Range Of Disciplines--philosophy, Literature, Psychology, Pop Culture, And More--are Thoroughly Explored, In A Manner That Will Appeal Both To Scholars And To Fans-- Virtue In Gotham: Aristotle's Batman -- The Dark Knight Errant: Power And Authority In Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns -- Why Adam West Matters: Camp And Classical Virtue -- Dark Knight, White Knight, And The King Of Anarchy -- Introducing A Little Anarchy: The Dark Knight And Power Structures On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown -- Batman's Canon: Hybridity And The Interpretation Of The Superhero -- Seminar On The Burloined Batarang: Batman And Lacan -- Queer Matters In The Dark Knight Returns: Why We Insist On A Sexual Identity For Batman -- The Hero We Read: The Dark Knight, Popular Allegoresis, And Blockbuster Ideology -- Rolling The Boulder In Gotham -- Figuration Of The Superheroic Revolutionary: The Dark Knight Of Negation -- One May Smile, And Smile, And Be A Villain: Grim Humor And The Warrior Ethos -- And Doesn't All The World Love A Clown?: Finding The Joker And The Representation Of His Evil -- Call It (friendo): Flipism And Folklore In No Country For Old Men And The Dark Knight. Edited By Kevin K. Durand And Mary K. Leigh. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. From his first comic-book appearance in 1939 through his many incarnations on the big screen, the archetypal superhero known as The Batman has never been far from the American consciousness. The character shaped the way we read comics and graphic novels, view motion pictures, and analyze the motifs of the Hero, the Anti-Hero and the Villain. He has also captured the scholarly imagination, telling us much about our society and ourselves. These essays examine how Batman is both the canvas on which our cultural identity is painted, and the Eternal Other that informs our own journeys of understanding. Questions relating to a wide range of disciplines--philosophy, literature, psychology, pop culture, and more--are thoroughly and entertainingly explored, in a manner that will appeal both to scholars and to fans of the Caped Crusader alike. These essays examine how Batman is both the canvas on which our cultural identity is painted, and the Eternal Other that informs our own journeys of understanding. Questions relating to a wide range of disciplines - philosophy, literature, psychology, pop culture, and more - are explored in a manner that will appeal both to scholars and to fans of the Caped Crusader alike.