#hardcover #nonfiction #batman #nerdculture

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

South Carolina

Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture

A witty, intelligent cultural history from NPR book critic Glen Weldon explains Batman's rises and falls throughout the ages--and what his story tells us about ourselves.

Since his creation, Batman has been many things: a two-fisted detective; a planet-hopping gadabout; a campy Pop-art sensation; a pointy-eared master spy; and a grim and gritty ninja of the urban night. For more than three quarters of a century, he has cycled from a figure of darkness to one of lightness and back again; he's a bat-shaped Rorschach inkblot who takes on the various meanings our changing culture projects onto him. How we perceive Batman's character, whether he's delivering dire threats in a raspy Christian Bale growl or trading blithely homoerotic double-entendres with partner Robin on the comics page, speaks to who we are and how we wish to be seen by the world. It's this endlessly mutable quality that has made him so enduring.

And it's Batman's fundamental nerdiness--his gadgets, his obsession, his oath, even his lack of superpowers--that uniquely resonates with his fans who feel a fiercely protective love for the character. Today, fueled by the internet, that breed of passion for elements of popular culture is everywhere. Which is what makes Batman the perfect lens through which to understand geek culture, its current popularity, and social significance.

In The Caped Crusade, with humor and insight, Glen Weldon, book critic for NPR and author of Superman: The Unauthorized Biography, lays out Batman's seventy-eight-year cultural history and shows how he has helped make us who we are today and why his legacy remains so strong.

The Caped Crusade

0f28cf04-9830-4b16-af7f-902a98c16140-1

Glen Weldon

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Illinois

"A roaring getaway car of guilty pleasures" (The New York Times Book Review), Glen Weldon's The Caped Crusade is a fascinating, critically acclaimed chronicle of the rises and falls of one of the world's most iconic superheroes and the fans who love him--now with a new afterword.

Since his debut in Detective Comics #27, Batman has been many things: a two-fisted detective; a planet-hopping gadabout; a campy Pop Art sensation; a pointy-eared master spy; and a grim ninja of the urban night. Yet, despite these endless transformations, he remains one of our most revered cultural icons. In this "smart, witty, and engrossing" (The Wall Street Journal) cultural critique, NPR contributor and book critic Glen Weldon provides "a sharp, deeply knowledgeable, and often funny look at the cultural history of Batman and his fandom" (Chicago Tribune) to discover why it is that we can't get enough of the Dark Knight.

For nearly a century, Batman has cycled through eras of dark melodrama and light comedy and back again. How we perceive his character, whether he's delivering dire threats in a raspy Christian Bale growl or trading blithely homoerotic double entendres with Robin the Boy Wonder, speaks to who we are and how we wish to be seen by the world. It's this endless adaptability that has made him so lasting, and ultimately human.

But it's also Batman's fundamental nerdiness that uniquely resonates with his fans and makes them fiercely protective of him. As Weldon charts the evolution of Gotham's Guardian from Bob Kane and Bill Finger's hyphenated hero to Christopher Nolan's post-9/11 Dark Knight, he reveals how this symbol of justice has made us who we are today and why his legacy remains so strong. The result is "possibly the most erudite and well-researched fanboy manifesto ever" (Booklist). Well-researched, insightful, and engaging, The Caped Crusade, with a new afterword by the author, has something for everyone: "If you're a Bat-neophyte, this is an accessible introduction; if you're a dyed-in-the-Latex Bat-nerd, this is a colorfully rendered magical history tour redolent with nostalgia" (The Washington Post).

Category - Non Fiction / Social Science

Format - Hardcover

Condition - Fair

Listed - 2 years ago

Views - 14

Ships From - South Carolina

Est. Publication Date - Mar 2016

The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture

ISBN: 9781476756691

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Category - Non Fiction / Social Science

Format - Hardcover

Condition - Fair

Listed - 2 years ago

Views - 14

Ships From - South Carolina

Est. Publication Date - Mar 2016

The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture

ISBN: 9781476756691

Publisher Description

The Caped Crusade

By:

$4.00 $5.00

Meet the seller

Discover more

The Caped Crusade

By: Glen Weldon

Pango Buyer Protection

More from this seller

Additional titles by Glen Weldon

'The Caped Crusade' readers also enjoyed:

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