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Batman the focus of art exhibit
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Published: June 26, 2009
CONCORD — Michael Eury is used to being around dust and digging up history. As the executive director for Historic Cabarrus Association, which manages The Concord Museum and The Cabarrus County Veterans Museum, he is always learning and educating others about famous county figures, such as Warren Coleman.
But there is another well-known person he is interested in.
Eury just released "The Batcave Companion," a book he co-wrote with Michael Kronenberg, a designer in Chapel Hill, about the comic book character Batman throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
Tonight, he will discuss his new book and sell a limited number of copies at a discounted price as a part of the "Art of Batman" display for the Downtown Concord Art Walk. The display will also have Batman artwork, advertisements, toys and comic books, which Eury has collected for years.
"Between my job with Historic Cabarrus and this, I pretty much exist in the past," Eury said.
In his house in Concord, Eury has comic book pages framed, collectibles of Batman, Spiderman and others, and even has the packaging for ice cream and an orange drink with Batman on it.
The ice cream package has Batman and Cabarrus Creamery on it, which Eury calls a double collectible for him.
This fascination with comics and Batman is nothing new.
"Every kid in (the late 1960s) in America loved Batman," Eury said. "He was the SpongeBob (SquarePants) of that generation."
Eury was no different. In fact, when he was younger, he used to buy comic books in Concord and was fascinated by Batman.
As he grew older, his younger brother read the Batman comics, so Eury continued to keep up with the character around the time Batman became a darker and more interesting character.
It is this era that Eury writes about in his new book.
"The Batcave Companion" covers the character from 1964 through 1979 and two major phases.
"The book starts with 1964 because at that point, Batman was on the cusp of cancellation," Eury said.
Writers and artists made changes to the hero, including a slicker Batmobile, an updated costume and more crime, Eury said. Not only did sales increase, but two years later, the television show with Adam West began, and soon after, there was a movie.
By the end of the 1960s, the show was off the air and sales were falling again, so the creators took Batman back to his roots, Eury said. This was the "creature of the night" phase, as Eury calls it.
"These are the two most defining moments for Batman, the mass popularization and the gritty Batman in the 1970s that continues today," Eury said.
He has written eight other books about various superheroes and edited a few comics about Batman, but this is the first book about the character. Eury's career in comics began long before his work with the Historic Cabarrus Association.
Eury began working as an editor and writer for DC Comics in 1989. After three years, Eury moved to Portland, Ore., to work for Dark Horse Comics as an editor and writer.
He left the comic business in the late 1990s, but Eury still edits Back Issue, a bimonthly comics magazine, and published his first book on the superhero action figure, Captain Action, in 2002.
During his years in the comic business, Eury has written or edited other characters, including Superman, The Mask and The Flintstones, but there is just something about Batman.
"He's not really a superhero," Eury said. "He's mortal. He's a guy whose life was changed by a traumatic event and made himself into a better human being. It's inspirational."
Eury said he can relate to wanting to give back to the community and enjoys doing so with Historic Cabarrus. After working on the book with Kronenberg for about two and a half years, he is looking forward to combining two of his passions at the Art Walk tonight.
And while he says he will not dress like Batman to attract a crowd, Eury expects that the character's popularity will take care of that.
Noelle Rhodes Scott, executive director for Cabarrus Arts Council, agreed.
"I think it will bring in new people who may have never considered going to the museum," Scott said. "That's part of the new angles Michael is bringing to Historic Cabarrus."
The Downtown Concord Art Walk will take place today from 6 to 9 p.m. The "Art of Batman" will be on display for one night only at Concord Museum.
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