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PEOPLE & ARTS Monday 1 april 2019

Batman fan Sen. Patrick Leahy writes comic book’s foreword

By WILSON RING crime fighting and in the tury and Leahy recalls a
Associated Press process helped people, discussion on copyright is-
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — mostly children, cope with sues with officials from DC
Vermont U.S. Senator Pat- unsettling times in the world Comics. Someone made a
rick Leahy has spent much of the 1940s and 1950s. reference to Batman and
of his adult life crusading “We saw the Batman as a Leahy corrected a refer-
for the issues that are im- hero who could protect ence to an early Batman is-
portant to him and now us from forces that we sue, down to the page. The
he’s helping to commemo- couldn’t control — but that officials from DC checked
rate the 80th birthday of his he could,” Leahy wrote in their archives and Leahy
childhood hero, Batman, the foreword to the book, was right.
the caped crusader, who “80 Years of Batman,” that That led to a foreword by
Leahy credits with helping came out March 13. “He Leahy for an earlier Batman
him win a ban on the ex- had been seared by un- anthology. Leahy asked
port of land mines. speakable tragedy when them for help in getting
For more than two de- his parents were mur- Congress to pass the land
cades, the Vermont Demo- dered before his eyes. His mine ban.
crat has sprinkled his fasci- war against evil focused “They loved the idea,” Lea-
nation with the superhero This Thursday, March 28, 2019, photo provided by Sen. Patrick on protecting others from hy said.
who has no superpowers Leahy, D-Vt., shows Leahy in a mirror and the 80th anniversary tragedy.” When the vote came up in
into his work in the United edition of a book commemorating the superhero Batman. In an interview with The As- the Senate, copies of the
States Senate, including Associated Press sociated Press, Leahy said Batman land mine edition,
working with DC Comics first appeared in the De- roles in five Batman movies, he began reading Batman “Death of Innocence,”
to produce a 1996 Bat- tective Comics edition wrote the foreword to the comic books when he was were placed on the desks
man issue that highlighted released March 30, 1939. anniversary edition. a child in the early 1940s. of all of Leahy’s Senate
the dangers of land mines, Earlier this year DC Com- In the foreword, Leahy, One local comic-book sell- colleagues. Initially Leahy
which Leahy credits with ics published an 80th Anni- who was born a year af- er in his hometown of Mont- felt he had the support of
helping the Senate pass versary coffee-table book ter the first Batman comic pelier even knew to tap on at best seven or eight col-
one of a series of anti-land and on Wednesday DC was released in 1939, said the window of her store to leagues.
mine measures he has released the 1,000th issue Batman, a millionaire who let the young Leahy know “It was one of those rare
worked on over the years. Batman comic book issue. turned into a fully human the latest edition had ar- things, all 100 senators
Saturday is the 80th anni- Leahy, who turns 79 on superhero after his parents rived as he walked by. voted for the ban,” Leahy
versary of when Batman Sunday and has had small were murdered, turned to Fast forward half a cen- said.q