What is Fan History? • What are Fan History's goals? • What are Fan History's rules?

From Fan History Wiki

[edit] Introduction

This section needs more information.

[edit] Canon

This section needs more information.

[edit] Batman in Animation

The Batman Animation Timeline, Courtesy of Legions of Gotham

2005

• Justice League Unlimited - Cartoon Network

2004

• The Batman

2003

• Teen Titans - Cartoon Network

2001

• Justice League

1999

• Batman Beyond - Kids WB!

1997

• The Superman/Batman Adventures

a re-packaging of old Superfriends & Filmation cartoons shown on the USA Network.

1994

• Batman: The Animated Series - Fox

1985 - 1986

• SuperFriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show - Hanna Barbera

1983 - 1984

• The Best of the SuperFriends (re-runs)

- Hanna Barbera

1981 - 1982

• The SuperFriends Hour (7 min. shorts) - Hanna Barbera

• Batman and the Super 7 - filmation

1979

• Challenge of the SuperFriends - Hanna Barbera

1977

• The New Adventures of Batman - filmation

• The Batman-Tarzan Adventure Hour - filmation

1976

• Super Friends - Hanna Barbera

1972

• The New Scooby-Doo Movies - Hanna Barbera

featured Batman and Robin in two of the "movies"

1969

• Sesame Street - 5 educational segments featuring Batman, Joker and Penguin

1968

• Batman/Superman Hour - filmation

aka the Adventures of Batman [with Robin the Boy Wonder]

[edit] Terminology

Below is a list of terms and their definitions that are used in this fan community.

This section needs more information.

[edit] Timeline

Below is a partial timeline of events that took place in this fan community.

[edit] 1963

• In 1963, "The story goes that editor Jack Schiff threw up his hands in dismay, claiming he had tried every type of cover imaginable to attract readers, to no avail. He retreated to the safe haven of the DC mystery books, happily relinquishing the editorial chores of Batman and Detective Comics to fellow editor Julius Schwartz." [1]

[edit] 1964

This article or section may relies too heavily on quotes. Please improve the article by rewriting heavily quoted sections.

• "In July 1964, Bill J. "Biljo" White launched the first fanzine devoted exclusively to one costumed character, coining the term Batmania for its title-no doubt inspired by the Beatlemania that had swept the U.S. earlier in the year. Some might understandably have felt that assigning the term "mania" to anything relating to Batman at this point in time was the sheerest wishful thinking." [2]
• In July 1964, Batman-ians, an informal organization of Batman fans, was created by Bill J. "Biljo" White. [3]

[edit] 1965

• In September 1965, the Batman fanzine CAPA-Alpha #12 was published. It had an article by Jerry Bails called "If the Truth Be Known, or, A Finger in Every Plot!" The article would cause a lot fall out in the Batman fandom. [4] "The K-a article was probably the first anywhere to publicly state that "Bill is the man who first put words in the mouth of the Guardian of Gotham."" [5]
• "The news of the upcoming Batman television show hit 1965 comicdom like a bolt of lightning." [6]

[edit] 1966

• Comic book fans created a lot of rumors based on their own speculation regarding the show "and on January 12th, 1966, fans across the country gathered at their TVs (often visiting friends who owned color sets, which were not yet commonplace) to see "Hi Diddle Diddle," their first glimpse of Batman's amazing foray into prime time."" [7]
• Batmania "had burgeoned to over 750 by mid-1966 and showed no signs of abating." [8]

[edit] 1967

• Bob Kane wrote a response to "If the Truth Be Known, or, A Finger in Every Plot!" in the 1967 fanzine, Batmania Annual. [9]
• "With the 1967 Batmania Annual (#17)," [10] Biljo White took a break from publishing the zine. [11]

[edit] 1978

• Batmania Annual #23 was published by Rich Morrissey in 1978. It was the last edition of Batmania Annual published under that name. [12]
• In 1978, DC withdrew its permission to use Batmania Annual was the title for the zine. The zine was renamed Behind the Clock, "an allusion to the entrance to the Batcave." [13]

[edit] 1988

• In 1988, there was backlash by Batman fans over the casting of Michael Keaton as Batman. [14] "“Replace Keaton” petitions were sent to Warner Bros. and boycotts of the film were threatened. Bat-fanboys everywhere were convinced -- I mean totally convinced -- that there was no way Keaton would successfully pull off a dark and serious Batman." [15]

[edit] 1998

• The fansite BATMAN ON FILM was created in June 1998 as JettD60's BATMAN 5 Page. [16]
• On July 31, 1998, Sequential Tart, an influential comic book fandom site, was created. [17]

[edit] 1999

• On October 18, 1999, Death Comes To Gotham by MPhage became the first Batman story published on FanFiction.Net. [18][19]

[edit] 2000

• On September 30, 2000, JettD60's BATMAN 5 Page changed their name to BATMAN ON FILM. [20][21]

[edit] 2001

• On May 21, 2001, Ode an eine Katze by Felicia Mondkind became the first German language Batman story published on FanFiction.Net. [22][23]
• On July 29, 2001, the LiveJournal community batman_fans was created. [24]

[edit] 2003

• On February 7, 2003, the Blurty community comics was created. [25]
• On April 25, 2003, the LiveJournal community a_thousandwords was founded. [26]
• On July 5, 2003, the LiveJournal community batfic was founded. [27]
• On July 23, 2003, the LiveJournal community beta_search was founded. [28] It was created so people could find beta readers. Fan fiction communities represented by this community included this one.
• On July 28, 2003, the Blurty community comicbooklovers was created. [29]
• On August 9, 2003, O Anarquia by Clio Trismegista became the first Portuguese language Batman story published on FanFiction.Net. [30][31]
• On August 26, 2003, Visitas Nocturnas by Edeiel Snape-Black became the first Spanish language Batman story published on FanFiction.Net. [32][33]
• In August, 2003, the Legions of Gotham website was created by Matt MacNabb. [34]

[edit] 2004

• In 2004, on-line fan fiction awards were being given in this fan fiction community this year. Among the awards available for Batman comic writers were the Damn Fine Awards given by the Bludhaven mailing list.

[edit] 2005

• On June 21, 2005, Batman Lost by tib20011 became the first French language Batman story published on FanFiction.Net. [35][36]
• On June 21, 2005, the LiveJournal community gotham_fiction was founded. [37]
• On October 10, 2005, the InsaneJournal community arkham was created. [38]

[edit] 2006

• On March 4, 2006, an English language article about the latest Batman movie, Dark Knight, was created on Wikipedia. [39]
• On March 23, 2006, the LiveJournal community dc_ficfinders was founded. [40]

[edit] 2007

This article or section may relies too heavily on quotes. Please improve the article by rewriting heavily quoted sections.

• On March 17, 2007, Huckster: A Pairing List Challenge by kanedax became the first Batman story published on FanLib. [41][42]
• "March 18, 2007 - A Showfax, Inc user finds casting sides that likely pertain to The Dark Knight." [43]
• "April 1, 2007 - A second batch of casting sides is found at Showfax, but their authenticity is questioned. One of the sides has a hidden message: "See you in December."" [44]
• "May 11, 2007 - Thedarkknight.warnerbros.com, the movie's official site, opens." [45]
• "May 17, 2007 - Clicking on the batsymbol on Thedarkknight.warnerbros.com links to Ibelieveinharveydent.com, a Harvey Dent campaign website." [46]
• "May 18, 2007 - An employee in a comic book store in Southern California reported that defaced Joker cards have appeared in the shop, with "I believe in Harvey Dent too! Hahahaha!" rubber-stamped all over them." [47]
• "May 19, 2007 - Ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com is found, leading to the first game in the ARG. A defaced image of a Harvey Dent poster is shown, as well as a prompt asking people to submit their email addresses. After enough people register, the Dent poster is replaced with the first official picture of Heath Ledger as the Joker. " [48]
• "May 21, 2007 - Ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com is replaced with a "Page not found" error containing the hidden message "See you in December."" [49]
• From July 24 to July 27, 2007 at the San Diego Comic-Con, " fanboys absolutely flipped out! Ledger’s casting was the talk of Comic Con (bad marketing for the upcoming THE DARK KNIGHT, eh?) with many a fan cursing Chris Nolan and his Joker choice to hell! Doctors saw a rise in carpal tunnel syndrome due to fans posting their displeasure of Ledger’s casting on internet message boards. " [50]
• "July 26, 2007 - At the San Diego Comic-Con, "Jokerized" $1 bills are found that lead to Whysoserious.com, a page advertising for jobs as Joker henchmen. The page includes coordinates to a location near the convention center and a countdown clock set to go off the next morning at 10am." [51]
• "July 27, 2007 - Hundreds gather at the time and place listed on Whysoserious.com. At 10am, a phone number is written in the sky, launching the game. Collaborating with friends online, the assembled crowd (now wearing Joker face paint) is sent on a scavenger hunt throughout the city. After solving all the clues, a fan was selected to be abducted and killed in place of the Joker. The participants at San Diego were given clown masks as a reward, while online players were rewarded with the first teaser trailer for The Dark Knight." [52]
• "July 30, 2007 - Whysoserious.com is shut down and replaced with Rent-a-clown.com, a clown rental company whose "employees" are the fans from Whysoserious.com. The page contains the message "made you look" hidden in its source code." [53]
• On August 4, 2007, the InsaneJournal community r_o_gotham was created. [54]
• On August 9, 2007, the Dick Grayson JournalFen community we_love_dick was created. [55]
• "October 17, 2007 - Whysoserious.com is reactivated, with a Halloween theme - a single pumpkin lit by a candle, with the mouth carved in the shape of a bat. The pumpkin carving resembled the jack-o-lantern from the graphic novel "The Long Halloween" by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale." [56]
• "October 31, 2007 - After watching the pumpkin rot (only on the left-hand side, a metaphor for Two-Face and a second reference to "The Long Halloween") and the candle burn out over the course of a few weeks, at the stroke of midnight Whysoserious.com updates with a workbench linked with 49 locations." [57]
• "November 1, 2007 - The community uploaded images of 49 different letters onto the Whysoserious.com website, spelling out the message "the only sensible way to live in this world is without rules". Clicking on the solution played a clip of the Joker saying "Tonight, you're going to break your one rule," followed by a new image of the Joker. Clicking on the image led to a new website, RorysDeathKiss.com, challenging participants to take photographs in clown make-up by major national landmarks in groups." [58]
• "November 18, 2007 - At midnight, the end of the deadline for photo submissions, Rorysdeathkiss.com was updated with a new note indicating that all who had submitted a photo would receive something in the mail shortly after Thanksgiving." [59]
• "November 21, 2007 - Community members who uploaded photo submissions to the Rorysdeathkiss website receive copies of The Gotham Times. This reveals the websites Thegothamtimes.com, Wearetheanswer.org, and the email humanresources@whysoserious.com.
• "November 23, 2007 - More websites are found in the Gotham Times: Thehahahatimes.com, Gothamnationalbank.com, Gothampolice.com, Gothamcityrail.com, Rememberinggina.org and Whysoserious.com/Personalityprofile." [60]
• "November 27, 2007 - A new clue was sent to participants who emailed humanresources@whysoserious.com, revealing Whysoserious.com/mausoleum." [61]
• "November 27, 2007 - More websites are up and running. Calling the Gotham Cab company Gothamcab.com at 1-877-530-2227 and entering extension 6773 will play a hidden message, leading to Bettyshouseofpies.com." [62]
• "November 30, 2007 - Participants who submitted a phone number with their tip to Wearetheanswer.org are receiving a threatening phone call from a corrupted police sympathizer. He divulged the existence of an important document, which was then found on Gothampolice.com/secureinternaldocuments. Other viral sites led to the revelation that a GPD wiretap was going to occur at Bettyshouseofpies.com on December 1 at 3PM EST. In addition, a note was found on pg4 of Thehahahatimes.com, leading the participant to a new puzzle, Whysoserious.com/theperfectgetaway. By finding a hidden message formed by the streets of Gotham City, particpants discovered Whysoserious.com/outoftime." [63]
• "December 1, 2007 - A GPD wiretap operation headed by Gotham Internal Affairs officer Glenn Barhyte at Betty's House of Pies is streamed live at GPDIAD.com at 3 PM EST. The clip depicts police arresting Karl Breitup and Jason McCree, the two corrupt officers who fled the scene of Gina Tortericci's murder. (A Zshare mp3 file of the 2 minutes when the conversation starts up in the pie shop)" [64]
• "December 3, 2007 - A new email was received by participants from humanresources@whysoserious.com, leading to Whysoserious.com/Steprightup. A timer on the page counts down to 12 PM EST on December 4. " [65]
• "December 4, 2007 - A carnival-themed scavenger hunt was revealed at Whysoserious.com/Steprightup, urging participants to pick up a package at 22 different addresses around the country. After location of the packages (which turned out to be cakes with cell phones inside), two rewards were found at Whysoserious.com/Steprightup/Pairofjokers: the teaser poster for The Dark Knight and a registration page for free IMAX movie tickets, for select participants to view the short prologue that will be attached to IMAX screenings of "I Am Legend." A new email was also sent out from Wearetheanswer.org, essentially letting partipants know not to expect anything new from that side of the viral marketing until the New Year. A new audio file was also released on Gpdiad.com, featuring a confession from Jason McCree after the sting operation at Betty's House of Pies." [66]
• "December 6 and 7, 2007 - Free screening dates for The Dark Knight's IMAX prologue, for registered participants as part of the their first "caper" with the Joker. Copies of The Gotham Times are also given out at several of these screenings.
• "December 9, 2007 - A new story is posted on Rememberinggina.org. Any connections to additional new viral sites have yet to be established." [67]
• "December 14, 2007 - Atasteforthetheatrical.com is found by decoding a message on a TDK poster. The site hints at the release of a new trailer." [68]
• "December 16, 2007 - The first theatrical trailer becomes available for downloading on Atasteforthetheatrical.com." [69]

[edit] 2008

This article or section may relies too heavily on quotes. Please improve the article by rewriting heavily quoted sections.

• "January 14, 2008 - Participants with cell phones from the cake hunt receive text messages from humanresources@whysoserious.com." [70]
• On January 21, 2008, the InsaneJournal community gotham_gazette was created. [71]
• "January 24, 2008 - 2 days after actor Heath Ledger's (The Joker) sudden passing, a small black ribbon is added to Whysoserious.com." [72]
• "January 30, 2008 - The Joker cell phones from the cake hunt have their accounts renewed until March 29, 2008, indicating that the Joker games will continue sometime in the future.
• "February 29, 2008 - Ibelieveinharveydent.com is updated to allow participants to submit contact information, presumably as a starting point for a Harvey Dent-related game." [73]
• "March 7, 2008 - Ibelieveinharveydent.com is changed to a campaign effort page. Participants are encouraged to print out and display/distribute flyers and submit photos/video of their efforts. Deadline for submission is March 26 at noon (presumably EST). Those who had submitted their phone numbers on the previous version of the site received a phone call from 000-000-0000, describing Harvey Dent's crusade and advertising the website (downlaod and listen to the message here (wav))." [74]

[edit] Kerfluffles

[edit] Replace Keaton

In 1988, there was a large fight in the fandom over the decision to cast Michael Keaton was Batman. [75] "“Replace Keaton” petitions were sent to Warner Bros. and boycotts of the film were threatened. Bat-fanboys everywhere were convinced -- I mean totally convinced -- that there was no way Keaton would successfully pull off a dark and serious Batman." [76]

[edit] Conventions

There have been a number of conventions in which people connected to Batman attended or where Batman fans gathered. Below is a partial list of such conventions.

• SpyFest, August 2003, included guests Yvonne Craig [77]
• The Hollywood Collector Show, January 2004, included guests Adam West [78]
• E3 Expo, May 2005, display of the Batman Begins Batmobile [79]
• San Diego Comic-Con, July 2005 [80]
• The Hollywood Collector Show, January 2006, included guests Julie Newmar [81]
• The Hollywood Collector Show, April 2006 [82]
• San Diego Comic-Con, July 2006 [83]
• Comic Con International 2007, July 2007 [84]

[edit] Fan Fiction

There was an active fan fiction community in 1989, based on the movie that had been released that year.

[edit] Awards

• In 2000, on-line fan fiction awards were being given in this fan fiction community this year. Among the awards available for Batman writers were the Damn Fine Awards given by the Bludhaven mailing list. Categories for stories for this award included best Robin story and best vignette.

[edit] 2001

• In 2001, on-line fan fiction awards were being given in this fan fiction community this year. Among the awards available for Batman writers were the Damn Fine Awards given by the Bludhaven mailing list. Categories for stories for this award included best Robin story, best one shot, best Batman story, best miscellaneous story and best vignette. Another award given out in this fan fiction community this year was the Darth Yoshi Award. Categories included best fan fiction series.

[edit] 2002

• In 2002, on-line fan fiction awards were being given in this fan fiction community this year. Among the awards available for Batman comic writers were the Damn Fine Awards given by the Bludhaven mailing list. Categories for stories for this award included best one-shot, best romance, best original villain, best Robin story and best comedy.

[edit] Influential Fan Fiction

• Cat Tales Series
• The CATverse

[edit] Fan Films

There have been a few fan films made featuring Batman. Batman: Dead End was a 2003 fan film made by Sandy Collora. The film was shown at the San Diego Con in 2003 and featured Clark Bartram as Batman. [85]

[edit] Fandom Members

• BiteMeTechie
• Bright Nova
• Chris Dee
• Matt MacNabb

[edit] Fandom Size

[edit] March 2008

As of March 8, 2008, there were 440 fans on FanPop. [86]

[edit] External Links

• Batman: FanPop
• Legions of Gotham
• Batman: Yesterday, Today, & Beyond
• The World's Finest
• Batman On Film
• ComicsBulletin

[edit] See also

• Batman fanzines

[edit] Sources

Below is a partial list of articles and academic sources to help you continue to learn about this community.

• Bacon-Smith, Camille and Tyrone Yarbrough. "Batman: the Ethnography." The Many Lives of the Batman: Critical Approaches to a Superhero and his Media. Roberta Pearson and William Uricchio, eds. New York: Routledge Press, 1991.
• Brown, Jeffrey A. "Comic Book Fandom and Cultural Capital." Journal of Popular Culture 30 (1997): 13-31.
• Marsh, Jackie (1999). Batman and Batwoman go to School: popular culture in the literacy curriculum. International Journal of Early Years Education, 7 (2), 117-131. Retrieved March 08, 2008, from http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/0966976990070201
• Parsons, Patrick. "Batman and his Audience: The Dialectic of Culture." The Many Lives of the Batman: Critical Approaches to a Superhero and his Media. Roberta Pearson and William Uricchio, eds. New York: Routledge Press, 1991.