Sunday, January 14, 2007

On this week's Sunday Funnies, we remember Bat-mite. As we mentioned yesterday on Cartoon Saturday, Bat-mite appeared in animated form in the 1977 cartoon The New Adventures of Batman. By the time he appeared in the cartoon, Bat-Mite had long vanished from the regular pages of Batman's comics, which had gotten far more "serious" in the 60's and 70's (but not as "serious" as they'd get in the ensuing decades).

Bat-Mite was a short, playful imp who had two defining traits: first, he was capable of magic, and second, he was Batman's biggest fan. So donning a comedically ill-fitting replica of Batman's costume, Bat-Mite regularly started popping into Batman's life, usually causing him annoyance more than anything else. While he was a trouble-maker, his goal was more to provide worthy challenges for Batman to beat than to do any real harm.



The item depicted is Detective Comics 289 from 1961, which features a cover appearance by Bat-Mite.