Growing up, I always thought that I was the only one who liked comic books and superhero cartoons, which I watched early in the morning before heading to school. On Saturday morning, I would get up, bright eyed and bushy tailed to watch all those comic book superhero shows like Super Friends, Spiderman and His Amazing Friends and Gobots. So it was refreshing to know that there were others just like me who were inspired by the superheroes I watched jumping off the screen. One of those was Michael E. Uslan, which he describes in his recent book “The Boy Who Loved Batman”. Unlike many autobiographies, which drown you in the dreary upbringing of someone’s miserable life as they triumph to become who they become, The Boy Who Loved Batman is filled with boy hood memories of growing up with comic books and what comic books can do for a boy’s imagination. Michael E. Uslan, for those who don’t know, is a Hollywood producer/executive producer responsible for every Batman movie made in the last 20 years. Mr. Uslan has also produced/executive produced several animated shows and movies (Turok, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Swamp Thing, and National Treasure). The bulk of Mr. Uslans films have been comic book related films. Reading The Boy Who Loved Batman delves into the life of Mr. Uslan, growing up in The Garden State, New Jersey collecting comic books through out his adolescent life. Mr. Uslan talks about the vast amount of comic books he and his friends collected going to the neighborhood drug store. Mr. Uslan acclimated himself to one character in particular, Batman. This fascination with the Dark Knight would one day inspire him to bring The Caped Crusader to film. A dream that eventually came true. Mr. Uslan’s family is no Brady Bunch by any means, but it is as close to it as any real family can get to the famed TV bunch. Mr. Uslan takes us to the neighborhood pharmacies like The Deal Soda Shop, Wanamassa Pharmacy and Allenhurst Pharmacy where he would pedal his bike every Wednesday in anticipation of the new comic books arriving. Mr. Uslan also shares stories of how he formed his comic book club with boyhood friend Bobby Klein. In his school years, Mr. Uslan talks about drawing inspiration from his teachers, Mrs. Ellie Stiller and Mrs. Rita A. Friedman, who inspired Mr. Uslan by encouraging his fantasy writing in class. Another story which captivates in The Boy Who Loved Batman is his subsequent meeting with the famed artist/creator Otto Binder, a prolific writer of the 40’s and 50’s who created several iconic characters like Supergirl and Brainiac. Binder also wrote stories for The Marvel Family, and created Mary Marvel, fashioned after his daughter, Mary. This story in particular is an interesting one as Mr. Uslan tells of his first meeting with Mr. Binder, who also happened to live in New Jersey and contacting him for an in-person interview. He would go on to say that he would have his first girl crush on Mr. Binder’s daughter, Mary. (Tragedy would later strike as Mary would pass away in a car accident, which also crushed Mr. Binders will to live)
The Boy Who Loved Batman dives through numerous places in Mr. Uslans life. His times in high school, the college years in Indiana University, where Mr. Uslan talks about his foray into introducing comic books to the world of academics. Before becoming a stall worth in Hollywood, Mr. Uslan was known as “The First College Accredited Professor” to get an accredited course in comic books at a major college institution.

The Boy Who Loved Batman follows Mr. Uslan into his foray and first meetings with DC comics, his life after college and his first meetings in Hollywood, where he would tell some fascinating stories on his first ever producing gig, 1982’s Swamp Thing.
The Boy Who Loved Batman is a great read for anyone inspired to work in the industry of comic books, movies or any vestige of the entertainment world. It’s also a good read for anyone looking to read an inspirational story of a young person following his dreams. It’s also a good book to read, because it’s a good book to read, period. Entertaining, inspirational and down right fun! If you have a chance to read a book, I recommend The Boy Who Loved Batman.

The Boy Who Loved Batman