August 11, 2012

BOOK REVIEW - Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight by Travis Langley


OK, My life has been pretty hectic lately but I have set aside the time to read this brand-new BATMAN Book and I think you should too. I'm talking about "Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight" by Travis Langley. Now, you're probably thinking this is one of those horrible pop-psychology books that seem to be a new trend in book publishing. This is NOT one of those books! You know what I'm talking about. There's a glut of new books where they mash-up something popular ( Twilight, Dr. Who, etc..) with "Philosophy or Economics" or something that sounds interesting. This is not the case here. This is a serious book done by a true Batman Fan who also understands the real-life theories of Psychology. I mean, this guy teaches Psychology at a major University!

The basic premise of the book is he takes the Dark Knight and his list of Villains and then creates "File Cases" on each character. Along the way he not only deals with Comic Book ( and TV/Movie ) History but also critically analyzes each person. I mean, he treats them as real patients & tries to break down what mental illness they might have that makes them who they are. It's pretty interesting, because if you love the Batman Universe then it's kinda fun. Also, if you have an interest in learning about real psychological analysis then those things are explained in great detail. I found the book to be both very entertaining AND educational.

Another bonus to the book is that there is a Foreword written by Michael Uslan ( Executive Producer of all the recent Batman Films ) and an Introduction by Dennis O'Neil ( Legendary Batman Writer & Comic Book Editor ). On a personal note, I'm a huge "Denny" Fan so that was a real treat.



2 comments:

Dr. Theda said...

That is just it ....I know the psychology of the broken minds of Batman's Villains...( Harvey Dent was the hardest to fully understand....) Thus with my "fragmented personality disorder" We can have "discussions" ( often debates and even arguments) while "talking over a topic or two" I can view the same topic from the perspective of others at the same time.... Ain't Multiple_personality disorder "Fun"....

Unknown said...

That sounds like an awesome book, Batman with out Psychology is nonsense, with depth of Psychological understanding present in the writing we get deep and awesome Batman stories, villains and conundrums, like the recent Night of The Owls