As of late filmmaker and avowed fanboy Kevin Smith has been spending less time behind the camera and more time in front of a microphone, presiding over a podcast empire including shows where he talks about having sex with his wife to shows where he talks about having sex with his wife in front of a live studio audience. We're not so hot on them, but his Dark Knight-themed show Fatman On Batman is essential for any fans of the Caped Crusader. Each week Smith talks to an iconic Batman creator - from writer Grant Morrison to animation maven Bruce Timm to legendary artist Neal Adams - in a long-form chat that's by turns informative, amusing and entertaining. There's 72 episodes so far, which is more than enough to be getting on with.
42. But Stay Away From The Widening Gyre
Just because somebody's a fan of something doesn't mean they should be let anywhere near it, however. In between films and talking about sex with his wife Smith has also found the time to pen some comic books. Some of them have been very good - his Daredevil and Green Arrow arcs spring to mind. Some of them, however, are the worst funnybooks we've ever set our eyes on, with The Widening Gyre - his still unfinished Batman miniseries - being the worst offender. Unless you wanna see the Caped Crusader get high, get laid, and wet his pants all in one issue. Which you don't. Trust us.
41. Draw Some Batgirl Fan Art
Along with Gotham Academy, Arkham Manor and Grayson, one of the other big shake ups in the Batman comic book universe has been the news of Batgirl's new creative team and direction. Out goes writer Gail Simone and her...not great New 52 stories, and in come writers Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher and artist Babs Tarr, whose redesign of Barbara Gordon's costume has already inspired a metric tonne (which is actually heavier when it's on the internet) of fan art. if you're in any way creatively inclined, why not spend your day adding to the sketches of Batgirl's cool new duds?
40. Go To Six Flags
Imagine a whole Batman-themed amusement park. Wouldn't that be something? A full scale recreation of Wayne Manor and the Bat Cave, rides based on any number of the Dark Knight's rogues gallery, totally inappropriate photo opportunities for parents and their kids having a great day out...bless. We're not there yet, sadly, but you can satiate your hunger for roller coasters and vigilante justice with Batman: The Ride, a thrilling/terrifying attraction at Six Flags parks across America. Just maybe don't look up the "Incidents" section of the ride's Wikipedia article before you board.
39. Build A Bat-Signal
Right, so you've already got the Bat Cave and Suit sorted, there's only one key element left to construct: the Bat Signal. How else are the elected crime fighters of your city meant to call on you for help/how else is your mum going to call you down for your dinner (delete as applicable)? You could even go all out and commission an actual spotlight of the sort seen in the films! Or just cut the Bat symbol out of some black paper and stick it on a torch. Either or.
38. Check Out Some Fan Films
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP0hCT-FyFY Whilst we've seen some pretty good silver screen iterations of the Batman at this point, some of the most faithful and creative adaptations have come from amatuer filmmakers and fans with a creative streak. We're long-time admirers of Sandy Collora's Batman: Dead End (seen above) and follow-up World's Finest, which teamed the Dark Knight up with the Man Of Steel. There's loads of stuff online, and most of it pretty good! If you want something completely different, FYI, there's always the CollegeHumor Badman series...
37. Be Impatient About Arkham Knight
It feels like we've been waiting forever for this, and we're going to be waiting for a while still. Rocksteady farmed out development of Arkham Origins, the latest in their series of Batman games, to a different studio in order for them to work in the first next generation installment, Arkham Knight. Everything we've seen - and we've seen a lot - of the game so far has us drooling, but the release date is still a shaky 2015. If you're as impatient as us, you could probably get a good morning out of going over all the screenshots, videos and articles released about Arkham Knight so far.
36. Compare 75 Years Of Costumes
Whilst some things never change - the origin story, the secret identity, the psychosis - in the Batman mythos, there's one part of the character that seems to be totally in flux: the costume. Seriously. Bruce Wayne's like a nervous kid before a first date, trying on multiple outfits and never quite deciding on which he prefers. There's plenty of places online to find complete lists of Batman's various get ups, including an infographic dedicated solely to how his mask has evolved over the past 75 years. Man, Bats, just choose one and stick with it.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
