It is a bright Wednesday morning in October, 1966. The latest issue of The Erotic Adventures of The Batman has just hit the newsstands and fans of Bruce Wayne’s alter ego could be forgiven for thinking that they are in the grip of deja vu. The number on the cover is 42 – the very same number that graced the cover of the previous issue.
Later it emerges that DC have elected to reuse the number 42 as a means of cutting production costs. What initially looks to be an unpopular and confusing gambit pays off when it is revealed that sales of #42 have soared to one and a half times what the book ordinarily sells, only to halve again upon the belated release of #43.
Maybe this brief flicker in popularity can be attributed to Brent Michael’s striking cover, featuring Batman and Robin securely fastened to a giant bomb, with The Caped Crusader’s thoughts writ large in a think-bubble overhead: “Just 30 seconds left on the clock and the only way to stop the bomb going off is to rape the Boy Wonder!”
Does Batman inflict an act of brutal underage sodomy upon his teenage ward? Maybe he finds another way to free himself and diffuse the bomb? If you want to find out then head on over to Ebay and check out my latest auction. Join the bidders or click on ‘Buy it now’ for the bargain price of $600.
Sales figures and cover art aside, Issue 42 of The Erotic Adventures of Batman is noteworthy in that it marks the first appearance of ‘Batogram Tokens’. In an accompanying one page strip, Batman invites readers to collect and then send off 50 tokens in exchange for a Batogram – in essence a violent beating delivered to an enemy or rival by an actor dressed in a Batman costume.
I caught up with Earl Hiatt who was then a commissioning editor at DC and asked him: What was rationale behind this offer?
Earl Hiatt: “We knew that our readers weren’t the toughest kids in the world and we wanted to give something back to them. In the 1960s there was really only one way out for a kid who was being bullied. That was to send off to Charles Atlas for something that would make him the hero of the beach. Lets face it, Charles Atlas or no Charles Atlas, there were always going to be wieners out there who were going to have sand kicked in their faces. With the introduction of Batogram Tokens we were giving those kids a choice. They could take the Charles Atlas bodybuilding route. Or they could clip fifty tokens from special issues of DC comics and promotional packs of gum, and get Batman to administer a beating on their behalf.”
Wondrous Platinum Owl: “Is it true that DC initially toyed with the idea of employing out of work vagrants to fill the Batman costumes?”
Earl Hiatt: “We tried it, but the bums we hired were psychotic and unpredictable. We had a certain image to protect. No one wants to be beaten by a bearded Batman who smells of cheap rum. It was Laurie Carmichael (Crossover coordinator for DC comics) who suggested hiring construction workers to play the role. Their line of work meant that they already had the appropriate muscular physique. Plus a lot of those guys were pretty handy with their fists.”
Wondrous Platinum Owl: “It seems that no one was safe from a beating.”
Earl Hiatt: “Nixon received regular beat downs throughout his term in office. Sometimes as many as 15 a week. The record, I believe, was 53 in a seven day period, with Nixon being beaten to a bloody, unconscious pulp on 19 separate occasions. The secret service couldn’t do a thing about it. Who’s going to risk going toe-to-toe with the Batman. You’ll get fucked up.”
Wondrous Platinum Owl: “What was it about Nixon that made people want to hurt him like that?”
Earl Hiatt: “Well I guess a lot of Americans hated Nixon. I read that Castro used to instruct his agents to buy copies of DC comics, so he was probably indirectly responsible for some of the beatings.”
Wondrous Platinum Owl: “Batograms proved to be really popular. At their peak in 1977, there were over 50,000 separate assaults resulting in 23 deaths, over 30,000 injuries requiring hospital treatment and 1537 permanently disabling injuries. Over 300 children were confined to wheelchairs. That must have been a proud moment for you.”
Earl Hiatt: “Batman never kicked more ass than in 1977. And bear in mind it wasn’t villains like The Penguin or The Joker he was beating on. These were ordinary hardworking American citizens and their children. Kids were coming into class sporting black eyes and broken arms because Batman had jumped them on the way to school. In many ways it was the character’s finest hour.”
Wondrous Platinum Owl: “And yet the following year public opinion turned against you. One of your Batmen was lured to a porno cinema on Times Square, where he was shot and killed. The following day there were celebrations and street parties.”
Earl Hiatt: “After the shooting it started to get dangerous. There wasn’t the same respect for the character that there used to be. People were wising up and were even prepared to fight back. Some of our Batmen began turning up for work with baseball bats and knives. Once you get into a situation where Batman is stabbing his victims like some no-mark street punk, it’s time to hang up the cape and call it a day.”
Wondrous Platinum Owl: “Batogram tokens made their last appearance in The Bi-Curious Tales of Superman #7. That didn’t put an end to the beatings did it?”
Earl Hiatt: “Heh, we forgot to place an expiration date on the tokens. To this day DC are still required by law to honour requests for Batograms! There seem to be plenty of collectors out there who don’t mind clipping holes in their vintage comics just so someone, somewhere can get a beating, courtesy of The Dark Knight.”
Wondrous Platinum Owl: “So who is Batman beating on these days?”
Earl Hiatt: “Paul Levitz. He still gets regularly beatings. My god, Batman wails on him like a red-headed stepchild.”
NEXT: Gail Simone marries Superman!
