In the early 1990s, after completing my first book I was eager to take a break from the world of divorce and custody research in which I had immersed myself for many years. To shift gears I gave myself a fun assignment. I researched and then wrote about the link between Batman and childhood trauma.
I presented my ideas at some psychoanalytic conferences and then let the work languish for more than twenty years. Until January 1, 2014. Having just wrapped up a two-year project working on the most difficult, and possibly most important, scientific article of my career, I greeted the new year with a sense of confidence and freedom. Knowing that May 2014 marks the 75th anniversary of Batman’s first appearance, I decided that this would be a good time to dust off my file and try to get it published. I sent it to The Atlantic on January 2. On January 3rd the article was accepted. I am very pleased to announce its publication today.
Batman’s origin, we know, springs from a trauma in Bruce Wayne’s childhood. I had a hunch that a trauma in Bob Kane’s life inspired the artist’s creation of a traumatized Dark Knight. See if you think my hunch was correct. Read the essay at The Atlantic
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