I never knew this. Before there video games, there were comic books.

Obvious, right?

What I mean is, before video games were around to take the blame for the destruction of our youth, there were comic books.

I learned this from an interesting slide show on the early history of Batman.

I also learned that Batman, from his earliest incarnation, reflected the idea of the perfectibility of man — that through hard work, discipline and education, a man could achieve great powers.

I also learned that Batman may have been gay, with an interest in young boys.

And that was where Batman really ran afoul of the moralizers of the post-war era, and why there is a Batgirl.

The Batman I grew up with is nothing like the original Batman, but the original Batman has more in common with the recent movies.

The latest DVD: Batman Begins [HD DVD]