The Caped Crusader. The Dark Knight. The Bat-man. One of the moodiest superheroes ever, with a history longer than the whole Marvel gang put together, Batman hit our cultural consciousness in 1939, and he’s only getting stronger with age.

If you believe that superheroes reflect the times when they were created, DC Comics helped us muster up the courage to get through the ’30s, when America was coping with the Great Depression. Superman, the first DC superstar, came into our lives in 1936. It’s not hard to imagine why people loved him — so many of us felt powerless at that time, and the idea of an all-powerful hero from another planet looking out for us was really appealing.

Batman, DC’s next big star, was almost a reaction to the super-cleancut image of the Man of Steel. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Batman actually started out as a vigilante, motivated by vengeance and not the nicest guy on the block by any means. He became more ethical in his tactics as time went on. As he has evolved, he’s famous for refusing to take a life or use a gun — although he can beat the tar out of any opponent with his mastery of more than a hundred hand-to-hand fighting styles.

More than that, Batman is a great character for the ’30s because he’s super rich. His alter ego is playboy and industrialist Bruce Wayne, one of the wealthiest citizens of fictional Gotham City. Bruce has every possession in the world, but what does that matter? He’s all alone, traumatized as a boy by the murder of his parents, which he saw with his own eyes.

Bruce vows vengeance against all criminals, and as he grows up, he trains himself to an almost superhuman peak of mental and physical fitness, so that he’ll be able to sweep the streets of Gotham free of crime. Like a bat, he’s a loner who comes out at night. Like the Phantom before him, he wears a mask and his eyes behind the mask have no pupils. That thousand-yard stare was enough to mesmerize kids at the comic book racks.

The Bat persona is, let’s just say it, so cool! Over the years, Batman has acquired all the paraphernalia you might expect of a supersmart guy with a world of resources at his fingertips. As an industrialist by day, Bruce is free to develop all kinds of tech for Batman to use as he takes the fight to the underworld of Gotham. There’s the Batcave of course, plus all the transportation: the Batmobile, Batcycle, Batsub, Batplane, Batboat, and so on. Just as awesome are all the accessories in his utility belt, like the Batrope and grappling hook that let Batman swing from tall buildings. The Bat-cuffs immobilize the bad guys once they’re caught. And so on.

But it’s not just the gadgets. His loneliness is a big part of what makes Batman so unforgettable. The only person who share’s Bruce’s secret is his butler, Alfred. There are allies, too. Commissioner Gordon of the Gotham police would love to solve the mystery of Batman’s real identity, but mostly he’s just glad that Batman always shows up in an emergency.

The commissioner’s distress call is one of the most iconic things about the Batman story: It’s a bright yellow beam that shoots up into the night sky, with a pointy black bat shape in the middle. The Bat-signal! Seriously, what could be better?

The villains that Batman faces are just as memorable as he is. Fan favorites are Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, the Penguin, Two-Face, and always and forever, the Joker.

It’s all so much fun that Batman has given us perhaps more popular images than any other superhero. He’s been played in the movies by Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, Christian Bale; and Ben Affleck. He starred in a wonderful campy TV series, where he was played by Adam West, an animated TV series, and even a Lego movie. Soon he’ll take off in the movies all over again, played by Robert Pattinson.

In my opinion, the old Batman comic books from the 30s and 40s were the best. Batman was dark and mysterious and the criminals had a gritty, dangerous feel to them. Rocky the Rat and the Grizzly Bear Gang were inspired by those Batman comics.

But unlike Batman who is an adult, the Superhero named Cockroach is only 11 years old when he faces some of the worst crooks in the city. Be sure to check out “Breakfast of Superheroes” and Cockroach’s newest adventure, “The Secrets of the Superhero’s Ring.” The first is available on Amazon.

Both can be found on my website http://thunderboltstories.com/ where you can advance copies, discounts, and books signed by the author. The second book will come to Amazon in January.