Review Fix Exclusive: Joseph McCabe Talks ‘100 Things Batman Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die’

Review Fix chats with author Joseph McCabe, who lets us know what inspired his new book, ‘100 Things Batman Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.’

Review Fix: Why do you think Batman has endured for so long?

Joseph McCabe: Batman’s popularity is the result of several things. He’s got a cool costume that artists love to draw; the best rogues gallery in comics (including the greatest archnemesis ever, the Joker); and of course he’s often considered the most relatable superhero, since he has no superpowers, just his will, his wealth, and his intellect. But he was also the first comic-book superhero to have a psyche. It’s hard not to be moved by his motivation to fight crime and injustice, and the fact that he suffered the worst thing that could ever happen to a child — witnessing the murder of his own parents — and turned into a force for good so that no one else would suffer as he did. That’s something that’s as inspiring today as it was the day it was conceived by Batman co-creator Bill Finger.

Review Fix: What inspired this book?

McCabe: I’ve spent the last seventeen years working as an entertainment reporter for numerous magazines and websites,, specializing in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Naturally, comics is a medium that’s close to my heart. My publisher Triumph Books first reached out to me to see if I’d like to do a book on Superman, which became 100 Things Superman Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. After writing about the Man of Steel, I knew I had to write about the Dark Knight. Superman and Batman are like my two dads. Each has been there for me when I’ve needed him at different times in my life.

Review Fix: What was the research process like?

McCabe: There’s a mixed blessing to writing a book like 100 Things Batman Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. While it can be grueling to write one hundred chapters, each on a separate topic, if there’s a variety to those topics it prevents the work from getting repetitive. Fortunately, Batman’s world is so vast and well realized it offers plenty of material to write about. Also, the interviews I’d done with numerous Batman writers, artists, actors, and filmmakers throughout my career gave me a solid foundation on which to build. The book wound up featuring approximately three dozen of those interviews.

Review Fix: Was it difficult to edit?

McCabe: On my end, the editing was really only tricky when trying to keep the book as up to date as possible during the writing process. Batman’s world is constantly evolving. For example, when I finished the book, he’d proposed marriage to Catwoman. But after I submitted the complete manuscript, she accepted his proposal… Triumph Books, however, has told me that at over four hundred pages this is the longest such book they’ve published. So the burden on them of copy-editing was greater than usual, resulting in a number of staffers pitching in as they were working on other projects. I’m forever grateful to editorial director Adam Motin and his team.

Review Fix: What did you learn that you didn’t know about Batman through this?

McCabe: The sheer number of reasons why people love him! As I was saying about his longevity… Many artists love drawing his costume. They find it offers more opportunity for self-expression than those of other superheroes. Other people really respond to Batman’s relationship with the Joker, and how they represent the twin forces of order and chaos. Still others are mystery lovers, and they appreciate the fact that he’s the World’s Greatest Detective. But his ability to rise above his loss, his pain, and his fear, and instead use it to help others, is a great source of inspiration. As Superman says in Mark Waid and Alex Ross’s Kingdom Come, “More than anyone in the world, when you scratch everything else away from Batman, you’re left with someone who doesn’t want to see anybody die.”

Review Fix: What do you want people to get out of this book?

McCabe: I’d love to see this book contribute to the appreciation of Batman’s place in comic book history. For many decades, it was fashionable to sweep prior incarnations of Batman under the rug as DC Comics sought to popularize each successive version of the Dark Knight. But in recent years, thanks to things like Grant Morrison’s run on Batman (which sought to incorporate every past comic version into a continuous whole), TV’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold (smart, meta, and wonderful, it’s the most underrated screen incarnation of the character ever), and The LEGO Batman Movie, fans and publisher alike have at long last come to accept that most every version of the character is equally valid. He is, as Christian Bale’s Dark Knight says, whatever Gotham needs him to be.

And of course I’d love to see the book help further the long overdue recognition that creator Bill Finger has begun receiving in recent years, as well as that of other Batman legends like Jerry Robinson (the co-creator of Robin and the Joker), Dick Sprang (the finest Golden Age Batman artist and the co-creator of the Riddler), Carmine Infantino (the co-creator of the Barbara Gordon Batgirl and Poison Ivy), and Neal Adams and Denny O’Neil (the creators of Ra’s Al Ghul).

Review Fix: What’s next?

McCabe: I’m developing a couple of books that should appeal to those who like 100 Things Batman Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, as well as those who read my previous books. Hopefully, I can announce something soon!

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

McCabe: I’ll be signing copies of the book at four locations over the next few weeks: Showcase Comics in Bryn Mawr, PA (just outside of Philadelphia) on October 18th from 5 – 8 PM; The Santa Barbara Public Central Library in Santa Barbara, CA on October 21st from 1 – 2 PM; Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles, CA on November 1st from 6 – 9 PM; and Barnes & Noble in Burbank, CA on November 3rd, from 7 – 9 PM. I’ll be announcing additional signing dates on my Facebook page (@JosephMcCabeAuthor), which features plenty of photos from signings and conventions along with images that didn’t quite make it into the book, and on Twitter (@JMaCabre).