Originally posted on Facebook on Saturday, December 7, 2024.

Batman was my favorite "comic book" character growing up.

I say "comic book" character because I mainly read the novels.

I was drawn by a truthfulness in this fiction that, up unto that point in my 10 year old experience, seemingly wasn't being said out loud.

Darkness created Batman—not just crime but the inequalities and injustices surrounding wealth that give rise to it. In a way, he was a victim of his own wrongdoing. As a crime-fighter, he was literally fighting his own demons.

It was surprising to find how his conflict resonated so deeply. There's things we do, not for the thing itself but because of the pain that something's caused that we're not sure how to live without (and how culpable we are for it). This is why, I suppose, Batman never killed criminals.

Lots of people dismiss them, but comics are much deeper than super-powers and fighting. They are art in every way.