How the Superhero Rose in the East

One of the original street paintings of the Golden Bat

I came home to find a package of Christmas presents I’d ordered from Edward R. Hamilton, including one for myself — Eric P. Nash’s Manga Kamishibai: The Art of Japanese Paper Theatre.

Street performers painted and performed comic-book-like adventures in Japanese cities, selling roasted potatoes and chestnuts to the kids who thrilled to them. The exploits of characters like the extraterrestrial Prince of Gamma and the Golden Bat were featured.

Wearing a skull mask and a flowing red cape, the Golden Bat flew to the rescue from his lonely arctic fortress and used his  superstrength to fight weird menaces like dinosaurs, giant robots and space aliens.

But this character debuted in 1931, seven years before the appearance of Superman. “Perhaps as a product of some collective unconscious,” the author suggests.

That fascinates me. Were superheroes not invented, but inevitable?