When did the comics become "campy"?

[Malone]

When Batman was first introduced into comics he was a pretty serious character. What I mean is, there was adult content. The villains would kill people, sometimes in very gruesome ways, like the Joker and his laughing gas, for instance. Heck, even Batman killed people. However, when did they tone-down the comics, how many appearences did the Joker have before he became a practical joker (no pun intended), and when did the comics become serious again? Thanks in advance.

 

[CConn]

I'm not a 100% sure myself, but I think it seriously got bad after WW2 and Batman and Robin started fighting aliens and genetically-enhanced apes, and that sorta stuff.

 

[Fledermaus]

In the 1950's science fiction ruled, so they incorporated it into Batman. The 'camp' aspect of Batman has generally been considered to have occurred during or after the f**king show in the 60's. It's widely considered that Denny O'Neil taking over the Bat-titles in the late 70's early 80's (I think) and Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" in 1986 brought Batman back to his gritty roots.

 

[Cobblepot]

The CCA was created in 1954, thus Batman became a campy do gooder.

 

[Fried Gold]

Wasn't it in response to Seduction of the Innocent?

 

[Cobblepot]

Yeah it was.

 

[Bat-Hombre]

Batman (as a character) was never "campy", just the stories he was put in. It startet with the Silver Age and ended with the Bronze Age.

 

[Joker]

Batman (as a character) was never "campy",

you've obviously never read the stories from the 50's-early 70's

 

[Bat-Hombre]

you've obviously never read the stories from the 50's-early 70's

I have, my friend (this is where i got my name from). Characters like the Joker, space aliens and all this had been campy, but not batman.

 

[The Joker]

Characters like the Joker, space aliens and all this had been campy, but not batman.

LOL! Of course Batman was campy.

What do you think Adam West's Batman is based off??

 

[Bat-Hombre]

LOL! Of course Batman was campy.

What do you think Adam West's Batman is based off??

Adam West's Batman was intended to be campy and was a kind of parody. It was the show that influenced the batman comics for about 5 years (and not the other way) but they weren't really like the show.

 

[The Joker]

Adam West's Batman was intended to be campy and was a kind of parody. It was the show that influenced the batman comics for about 5 years (and not the other way) but they weren't really like the show.

Yes, they were like the show. Bat phone, bat gadgets, heck the comics even had a dog with a bat mask named Ace. I've seen the show recreate issues practically word for word, scene for scene in their episodes.

The Penguin's first episode for example, where he opens the umbrella factory, is taken from Batman #169. They took practically every single thing from that comic, from the exploding umbrellas being given out to the public, to Batman and Robin finding the giant umbrella in the middle of Gotham square, to confronting Penguin but having no evidence to arrest him etc.

Batman was campy back in the day. He chatted his head off to everyone, paraded around in daylight, spouted corny lines to the villains.

That was one of the great things about the 60's Batman show. As camp as it was, it was loyal to the comics of that time. Probably one of the reasons why it's loved so much.

 

[Infinity9999x]

Yes, they were like the show. Bat phone, bat gadgets, heck the comics even had a dog with a bat mask named Ace. I've seen the show recreate issues practically word for word, scene for scene in their episodes.

The Penguin's first episode for example, where he opens the umbrella factory, is taken from Batman #169. They took practically every single thing from that comic, from the exploding umbrellas being given out to the public, to Batman and Robin finding the giant umbrella in the middle of Gotham square, to confronting Penguin but having no evidence to arrest him etc.

Batman was campy back in the day. He chatted his head off to everyone, paraded around in daylight, spouted corny lines to the villains.

That was one of the great things about the 60's Batman show. As camp as it was, it was loyal to the comics of that time. Probably one of the reasons why it's loved so much.

Exactaly. The Joker's utility belt was one taken almost word for word I think. Batman was very campy in those old comics, heck, just look at the cover of that old issue where Batman's grinning like an idiot and Robin is motioning him and Superman to come and swim in a lake full of young boys.

 

[Fledermaus]

I wouldn't exactly call that campy.

 

[batmaluco]

I wouldn't exactly call that campy.

^

 

[The Joker]

 

[Non-Powered]

A century ago, "The Yellow Kid," the first comic strip ever created, was decidedly campy. In 1925, the Buck Rogers science-fiction serial certainly had its share of camp.

As for superhero comics, one could argue that the seeds of camp were in place early on, with the creation of Wonder Woman (who was designed in part to be a de facto pin-up girl for the G.I.'s), the introduction of Superman's super-allergy to kryptonite, and the decision to give Batman a teenage groupie. (I realize that the 1954 "Seduction" book declared that Wonder Woman was a lesbian, that the dynamic duo were a gay couple, and that superheroes and horror/adventure comics were inherently evil, but that's another matter).

Things really jumped the shark, though, with introduction of Batmite and red kryptonite (look, Superman has four arms and a dragon's head--oh, wait, it's a dream) were pretty strong signs of comic camp.

 

[Nepenthes]

Wonder Woman (who was designed in part to be a de facto pin-up girl for the G.I.'s)

Wonder Woman was created by a child psychologist to be positive role model for little girls. His wife was co-creator.

The guy also invented a prototype polygraph machine (!) and was convinced that women are inherently more honest than men. Okay but where did the lasso idea come from?...ask his wife (ha ha)


Back on topic: comics in general became campier when the companies realised that they were in fact marketing themselves to children. The older audience that used to read comics (like Detective comics) had began to read dime thrillers and so on.