My Christmas gift to myself last year was Batman #17, a 1943 comic. The cover shows Batman and Robin riding a bald eagle, urging the reader to keep it flying by buying war bonds and stamps.
As a Batman fan, I’ve always been drawn to the World War II war bond covers--I’m not totally sure why. They don’t feature the elements usually associated with the Dark Knight. There are no dark alleys, bizarre aliens or maniacal clowns. I guess they’re just a simple reminder of Batman’s national significance, only a few years after his creation.
It was already the crown jewel of my comics collection, but it will have a whole new dimension of meaning to me now, in the age of coronavirus. Some have objected to comparing the outbreak to World War II, but I don’t know how else to think about it. It’s the only other time in our cultural memory that the U.S. government has asked its citizens to make such extraordinary sacrifices to serve a common cause and defeat a global threat.
