If you're following me you may have guessed I'm reading a lot of classic #Batman lately, and it's brought me to wonder-- what's your instinctive mental image of Batman?

I have a crackpot theory that we each have our own mental stereotype of #Batman based on how he was portrayed when we were each about 13 years old.

So, who's your Batman? (1st of 2)

Who's your Batman? (2nd of 2)

The reason I ask, other than curiosity, is that Batman is, I believe, a cultural archetype that can represent many different things, reflecting the era in which he's operating. For example, even though I love the work that's followed Frank Miller's reinterpretation in 1986...

..."my" version of Batman will always be the "New Look" Batman developed by Julie Schwartz, France Herron, Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino. (No diss intended to Shelly Moldoff, but his contribution was negligible.)

The "New Look" Batman was (for its time) a "mature", "intellectual" Batman who (supposedly) solved crimes through his detective skills and wits. He was approachable, stern, fatherly. His relationship with Robin was idealized parental. The crimes he solved were "believeable."

(You'll notice there are lots of "quotes" above-- indicating of course that all those characterizations were according to the standards of the era. Hardly any of them would hold up today, but at the time, they were all true.)

Here's the thing, though: while I can look back critically at the "New Look" Batman stories and see all their flaws, I still find them immensely entertaining in a way I don't find the objectively *much* better written stories by O'Neil and Adams that followed.

And while I appreciate Miller's Dark Knight revision of the Batman archetype, and particularly enjoyed Morrison and Snyder's runs that followed decades later (as well as Tom King's new classic era)...none appeal as much to me as the cheesy "New Look" stories.

Why? I believe it's because of what someone once described as "The Golden Age" effect. (The person in question has been identified as various individuals so I won't credit anyone in particular.)

When asked what era he identified as the "Golden Age of Science Fiction", this person supposedly said, "The Golden Age of Science Fiction is Thirteen."

Obviously what he meant is that each of us has our own Golden Age, when pop culture imprints itself on our personalities, and that age is about the age we hit puberty and begin developing our full sense of ourselves as individuals.

I was twelve when the "New Look" Batman arrived. I was twelve when Lee and Ditko hit their stride on Spider-Man; twelve when I fully discovered science fiction; twelve when James Bond became an icon; twelve when I discovered girls and got my first crush.

So that's my theory. Your Batman is the Batman you were reading when you hit puberty. Am I right? Let me know.