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Bat Boy | |
---|---|
Weekly World News character | |
Created by | Dick Kulpa |
In-universe information | |
Alias | Bat child |
Species | Half-bat, half-human |
Gender | Male |
Family | Herbert Sr. (grandfather) Susan Boy (mother) Ruth Carter Cash Boy (sister) |
Born | 1982 (age 41–42) |
Bat Boy is a fictional creature who made numerous appearances in the American supermarket tabloid Weekly World News, beginning with a front page story in 1992. The character became a pop-culture icon. In 1997, the story of Bat Boy was turned into an Off-Broadway musical, Bat Boy: The Musical .
Weekly World News is a tabloid newspaper that publishes patently fabricated stories which were purported to be factual. Within the pages of the paper, Bat Boy is described as a creature who is "half human and half bat". His pursuers, according to Weekly World News, are scientists and United States government officials; he is frequently captured, then later makes a daring escape. The original scientist who found him was named Dr. Ron Dillon. Another character, Matthew Daemon, S.O.S. (Seeker of Obscure Supernaturals), crossed paths with him in several stories.
Bat Boy was created by former Weekly World News editor Dick Kulpa. Writer Bob Lind was assigned the story six weeks later. [1] He debuted as a cover story on June 23, 1992. The original front-page photo of Bat Boy, showing his grotesque screaming face, was the second-best selling issue in the tabloid's history, and he has since evolved into a pop-culture icon. He became the tabloid's de facto mascot of sorts.
Cartoonist Peter Bagge originally penned the "Adventures of Batboy" for the Weekly World News. According to the cartoon, Bat Boy is currently hitchhiking with a typical American family after resigning from being the President of the United States (and King), has placed Weekly World News columnist Ed Anger under arrest and saying goodbyes to Beyoncé, a half sasquatch (with whom he was romantically involved), and Dr. Ron. In the strip, Bat Boy joins a death metal/thrash metal band as their lead singer. Cartoonist Danielle Corsetto, creator of webcomic Girls with Slingshots , took over from Bagge in 2005 and drew the strip until the WWN ceased publication in 2007.
A musical based on the Bat Boy character premiered at Tim Robbins' Actors Gang Theatre on Halloween, 1997 and has since been produced Off Broadway, in London's West End, and in scores of productions throughout the world. Music and lyrics are by Laurence O'Keefe, with a book by Brian Flemming and Keythe Farley. [2]
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The Weekly World News is a tabloid formerly published in a newspaper format reporting mostly fictional "news" stories in the United States from 1979 to 2007. The paper was renowned for its outlandish cover stories often based on supernatural or paranormal themes and an approach to news that verged on the satirical. Its characteristic black-and-white covers have become pop-culture images widely used in the arts. It ceased print publication in August 2007. The company has a library of 110,000+ articles and 300+ original characters.
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Peter Bagge is an American cartoonist whose best-known work includes the comics Neat Stuff and Hate. His stories often use black humor and exaggerated cartooning to dramatize the reduced expectations of middle-class American youth. He won two Harvey Awards in 1991, one for best cartoonist and one for his work on Hate. In recent decades Bagge has done more fact-based comics, everything from biographies to history to comics journalism. Publishers of Bagge's articles, illustrations, and comics include suck.com, MAD Magazine, toonlet, Discover, and the Weekly World News, with the comic strip Adventures of Batboy. He has expressed his libertarian views in features for Reason.
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Richard Allen Kulpa was an American cartoonist best known for his work for Cracked and Weekly World News.
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