ABSTRACT
Comic books are one of the many forms of mass media that create and recreate images of the archetypal "mentally ill criminal". Batman comics continuously create and recreate connections between mental instability and dangerous criminality through various villains and settings. This chapter explores comic books as historically situated social and cultural products and discusses the role of mental illness in Batman comics. In the 1970s, comic books began to tackle a wider assortment of social issues following the political turbulence of the civil rights and antiwar movements. Fourteen Batman collected stories, or graphic novels, met the criteria of being a top seller for three or more years between 2010 and 2015. The chapter explores four primary themes that emerged from these stories: sexual obsession, the escalation of pathological criminology over time, the futility of treatment measures, and inability of prisons to control mentally ill prisoners.
