50 Years Ago -- The Rawhide Kid!

In December 1971, a lesser-know Marvel hero tackled racism in Rawhide Kid #94.

Written and drawn by Larry Lieber (yes, Stan Lee’s kid brother and a fine comic book creator in his own right), the Rawhide Kid is little known outside comic book historian circles, but the series was popular for Marvel for many decades. The Rawhide Kid sprung to life in the mid-1950s when Marvel was called Atlas and a young editor named Stan Lee needed to find exciting (yet wholesome) heroes in the wake of the national hysteria regarding comic book indecency, including nationally-televised Senate hearings on the subject.

The singing cowboy actors, like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, were perfect for comic books. They presented a generally wholesome image, but could mix it up with fistfights and gunfights, thus providing some action. And, people never seemed to get tired of celebrating America’s (complicated) history of the West.

The Rawhide Kid #94

Larry Lieber talked to Roy Thomas about his motivation for writing Rawhide Kid, explaining, “I wanted people to cry as if they were watching High Noon.” A famous 1952 film starring Gary Cooper, High Noon won a handful of Academy Awards and was selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Film Registry.

Like so many of Marvel’s famous superheroes, Marshal Will Kane (Cooper) has to choose between upholding his honor and fulfilling his duty to others or putting his personal happiness first. Fitting that such a conflicted character was Lieber’s inspiration and that his mental map was of a film, considering how cinematic Lee and others viewed Marvel comic books.

In Rawhide Kid #94, the cover is misleading, because the Kid actually helps Rafe Larsen the Black gunfighter shown shooting at him. After solving the mystery of a frame job against Larsen, the Rawhide Kid helps him to freedom, but Larsen knows that he will continue to confront racism, no matter the small town and “the next passle of haters!” Although Lieber and Marvel should be lauded for putting a Black character on its cover (rare in those days), race is treated simplistically with tried-and-true tropes, like the Kid stating: “Every man, white or black, is entitled to his day in court!” All the Whites in the story (except the hero) are trying to kill Larsen, but he is still berated for not trusting any of them.

We can’t go back in time to fully understand the historical context of why Lieber would pull his punches on race and racism, but from contemporary eyes, it seems he could have been more provocative.

On a separate note…I wonder if a Rawhide Kid MCU film will someday make its way to the screen…

New Podcast -- John Updike: American Writer, American Life

Over the course of his six-decade career stretching from the 1950s to 2000s, great American writer and novelist John Updike received praise from countless critics, including Christopher Hitchens, who called his scope “rather breathtaking,” and from Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times, who said that Updike “established himself as a major and enduring critical voice; indeed, as the preeminent critic of his generation.”

This Anchor podcast tackles many of the most urgent questions facing literature and pop culture in contemporary America and where culture goes from here. Some episodes will feature interviews with readers, critics, scholars, academics, and other interested in the life and times of John Updike.

Sometimes the show will be funny, other times, sad, but across the board, it will be informative as we interrogate, examine, and analyze the great American author John Updike.

Click on the URL to listen to “John Updike: American Writer, American Life”

"Tristate True Crime" on "Cincy Lifestyle" and WCPO

“Tristate True Crime” on WCPO’s Cincy Lifestyle

Join cultural historian Bob Batchelor as he presents “Tristate True Crime” bi-monthly on WCPO’s Cincy Lifestyle, airing weekdays at 10 a.m. The segment by the award-winning author airs on Tuesdays.

Batchelor’s first segment — The Rookwood Mad Man — debuted on February 23, 2021. The episode featured a 1888 true crime mystery at Cincinnati’s famous Rookwood Pottery, the art studio that birthed art pottery in the United States.

Please share with other true crime, mystery, history fans! And, look for future episodes on WCPO 9's Cincy Lifestyle!

STAN LEE'S 98TH BIRTHDAY ON DECEMBER 28

STAN LEE’S 98TH BIRTHDAY DECEMBER 28

Marvel Icon; Saved Comic Books, Lived the American Dream; “Excelsior”

Cincinnati, December 26, 2020 – Marvel icon Stan Lee would have celebrated his 98th birthday on December 28. Although he passed away two years ago, his legacy has far-reaching consequences, from bringing comic books to a new generation of readers in the early 1960s to co-creating some of popular culture’s most enduring characters.

Storytelling

The superheroes that Lee and his co-creators brought to life in Marvel comic books are at the heart of contemporary storytelling. Lee created a narrative foundation that has fueled pop culture for nearly six decades. By establishing the voice of Marvel superheroes and shepherding the comic books to life as the head of Marvel, Lee cemented his place in American history. 

History and context are important in helping people comprehend their worlds. New comic book readers and ardent filmgoers who turn out in droves to see Marvel Universe films should grasp how these influences impact their worldviews.

“Superman launched comic book superheroes, but Spider-Man made them human,” explains Bob Batchelor, cultural historian and Stan Lee biographer. “This nerdy teenager from Queens was full of complexities and angst, just like the rest of us. But, he still abided by Stan Lee’s immortal line: With great power, there also must also come -- great responsibility.”  

Legacy

Stan Lee became one of America’s foremost creative icons. He transformed popular culture by introducing generations of readers to flawed heroes who also dealt with life’s everyday challenges in the familiar New York City setting. Lee did not invent the imperfect hero, one could argue that such heroes had been around since Homer’s time and even before, but Lee delivered the concept to a generation of readers hungry for something new.

The Fantastic Four transformed the kinds of stories comic books could tell. Spider-Man, however, brought the idea home to a global audience. Lee told an interviewer that he had two incredibly instinctive objectives: introduce a superhero “terribly realistic” and one “with whom the reader could relate.”

While the nerd-to-hero storyline seems like it must have sprung from the earth fully formed, Lee gave readers a new way of looking at what it meant to be a hero and spun the notion of who might be heroic in a way that spoke to the rapidly expanding number of comic book buyers.

Spider-Man’s popularity revealed the attraction to the idea of a tainted hero, but at the same time, the character hit the newsstands at the perfect time, ranging from the growing Baby Boomer generation to the optimism of John F. Kennedy’s Camelot, this confluence of events resulting in a new age for comic books. Stan Lee tells the whole story of Lee’s life, which also helps us understand our own culture and times.

In addition, generations of artists, writers, actors, and other creatives have been inspired, moved, or encouraged by the Marvel Universe Lee voiced and helped birth.

Comic Books

Why comic books (still) matter for today’s readers:

1.    Advance their critical thinking abilities

2.   Provide contextual information (history, emotions, politics, beliefs)

3.   Build language skills

4.   Develop visual acuity

5.   Enhance creativity

6.   Spark imagination

7.   Help organize ideas

8.   Identify emotional and developmental concepts

9.   Enrich belief systems: re race, tolerance, empathy, and compassion

10.  Create world views

About Bob Batchelor 

Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers), 264 Pages, • Hardback • September 2017 • $22.95 • Paperback • December 2018 • $16.95 • eBook • September 2017 • $16.00

Bob Batchelor is a cultural historian and biographer. He has published books on Stan Lee, Bob Dylan, The Great Gatsby, Mad Men, and John Updike. Bob’s new book Rookwood: The Rediscovery and Revival of an American Icon, An Illustrated History explores the company’s rich history from its 1880 founding to the current day, mixing 300 images with a vibrant narrative. The book provides a perceptive examination of Rookwood’s 140-year legacy as an American icon.

The Bourbon King: The Life and Crimes of George Remus, Prohibition’s Evil Genius won the 2020 Independent Book Award for Historical Biography. Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel was a finalist for the 2018 Ohioana Book Award for Nonfiction.

Bob’s books have been translated into a dozen languages and his work has appeared in Time magazine. He has appeared as an on-air commentator for The National Geographic Channel, PBS NewsHour, and NPR.

Bob earned his doctorate in English Literature from the University of South Florida. He has taught at universities in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, as well as Vienna, Austria. Bob lives in Cincinnati with his wife Suzette and their teenage daughters.

 

 

 

THE BOURBON KING NAMED 2020 BEST HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY

THE BOURBON KING NAMED 2020 BEST HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY

Cultural Historian Bob Batchelor Wins Independent Press Award® for true crime biography of George Remus, America’s 1920s “Bootleg King”

Cincinnati, May 4, 2020 – Love, murder, political intrigue, mountains of cash, and rivers of bourbon! The Bourbon King: The Life and Crimes of George Remus, Prohibition’s Evil Genius (Diversion Books) by cultural historian and biographer Bob Batchelor is a grand spectacle and lens into the dark heart of Prohibition. As one Jazz Age journalist put it, “Remus was to bootlegging what Rockefeller was to oil.”

Batchelor breathes life into the largest bootlegging operation in America—greater than that of Al Capone—and a man considered the best criminal defense lawyer of his era. Remus bought an empire of distilleries on Kentucky’s “Bourbon Trail” (making billions of dollars in today’s money) and used his other profession, as a pharmacist, to profit from legal loopholes. He spent millions bribing officials in the Harding Administration.

Remus created a roaring lifestyle that epitomized the Jazz Age over which he ruled. F. Scott Fitzgerald used Remus as one of the models for Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby (celebrating its 95th anniversary this year). That is, before he came crashing down in one of the most sensational true crime murder cases in American history: a cheating wife, the dastardly G-man who seduced her and put Remus in jail, and the plunder of a Bourbon Empire. Remus later murdered his wife in cold-blood and then shocked a nation winning his freedom based on a condition he invented—temporary maniacal insanity.

The Independent Press Award is an international book competition judged by experts from different functions within the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, book cover designers, and professional copywriters. Selected award winners and distinguished favorites are based on overall excellence.

In 2020, the Independent Press Award had entries worldwide. Participating authors and publishers reside in countries such as Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, India, Ireland, Portugal, Sweden, and others. Books submitted included writers located in cities such as Austin to Memphis to Santa Cruz; from Copenhagen to Mumbai; from Albuquerque to Staten Island; from Boise to Honolulu, and others.

“We are thrilled to announce the winners and distinguished favorites in our annual 2020 Independent Press Award. This year included a myriad of excellent independently published books. It is clear that independents are prospering in every corner of the earth. We are so proud to be highlighting key titles representing global independent publishing,” said IPA Awards sponsor Gabrielle Olczak.

 For more information please visit independentpressaward.com; and to see this year's list of IPA Winners and Distinguished Favorites, please visit the website pages:

2020 WINNERS: 

https://www.independentpressaward.com/2020winners

​2020 DISTINGUISHED FAVORITES:

https://www.independentpressaward.com/2020distinguishedfavorites

 

ABOUT BOB BATCHELOR

Bob Batchelor is a critically acclaimed, bestselling cultural historian and biographer. He has published widely on American culture and literature. In addition to The Bourbon King: The Life and Crimes of George Remus, Prohibition's Evil Genius (Diversion), Bob wrote Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel, the first full-scale biography of the Marvel legend. He has also written books on Bob Dylan, Mad Men, John Updike, and The Great Gatsby, among others. His next book is Rookwood: The Rediscovery and Revival of an American Icon--An Illustrated History (September 8, 2020, Rockport/Quarto)

Bob graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor's degree in history, philosophy, and political science. He earned an M.A. at Kent State University under the tutelage of the eminent historian Lawrence S. Kaplan. His doctorate is in English Literature from the University of South Florida, where he studied with Phillip Sipiora. He has taught at universities in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, as well as Vienna, Austria. Bob lives in Cincinnati with his wife Suzette and their teenage daughters.

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