2014 marks the 75th anniversary of "The Dark Knight," "The Caped Crusader," "The World's Greatest Detective"--Batman!

Feel free to sing along...

Created by Bob Kane and Bil Finger in 1939, Batman debuted in Detective Comics #27 and the world was introduced to one of the more interesting and complicated fictional characters to ever be written and illustrated. Millionaire Bruce Wayne was just a kid when he watched his parents get gunned down during a mugging in Gotham City. The crime would define and consume his life, as he dedicated himself to becoming the world’s greatest weapon against crime and protector of the innocent. It's a very dark and dramatic backstory to say the least, not unlike a Shakespearean tragedy, but also unfortunately relatable to the violence we see every day on the news and in the world around us.

Through the years the character has gone through many changes: from a gothic noir crime fighter who used guns against his foes, to campy superhero fighting Day-glo clad villains, to gritty and tortured anti-hero in a world gone mad. The one constant though and what I think has always made Batman a character that people keep going back to time and time again over the past 75 years is that he doesn’t need superpowers to be a superhero. Batman only has brains and brawn at his disposal (well, and some pretty cool Bat-gadgets) to solve crimes and fight against evil forces. He's just a human being but when he puts on that cape and cowl, you are rooting for him to save the day and believe that just one person can make a difference. Cancer survivor Miles Scott, who got to be "Batkid" in San Francisco this past November as part of the Make-a-Wish foundation is proof of that.

Here's how fans are celebrating across the world:

• DC Entertainment is declaring 2014 the "Year of the Bat" with lots of cool events, a new weekly comic book series, animated shorts, and the long-awaited home video release of the Batman ’66 television series (not going to lie, I am SUPER excited about that last bit of news!).
   
• Comic Book Resources has curated their choices for the 75 Greatest Batman Covers of All-Time.
   
• Check out this Top 10 of Batman's Greatest Moments from his comic book adventures (DC Comics YouTube channel has many other Batman 75 videos for your viewing please as well).

• If that's not enough, read up on some of these little known facts and trivia about Batman.
   
• Take a visual trip through the past 75 years of Batman logos with this animated timeline:

Courtesy of DC Entertainment; GIF by Joseph C. Lin—TIME
 

Browse the search topic "Batman" in our online catalog for all the Bat-books and graphic novels, Bat-ebooks, Bat-DVDs, and Bat-inspired music and soundtracks from our collections; all for FREE with your library card!

What is your favorite Batman incarnation: comics, television, or movies?