Today's Batman 75: Legends of the Dark Knight panel featured Batman comic makers Frank Miller, Jim Lee, Geoff Johns, Neal Adams, and Denny O'Neil, who all got a huge round of applause as they took the stage with no introduction.

John Cunningham moderated the panel, starting by asking why Batman is so popular right now between comics, video games, movies, and TV.Morrison took the question, saying that Batman is a great combination of a vampire and a detective who stops evil and kicks the teeth out of it. O'Neil had no idea that Batman would grow to be what he is today; he talked about the days when comics were thought to be a joke instead of an art form. Miller remarked that Batman became a folk legend and that he is so great because he is the culmination of years of great comics talent focused on one character, also adding that he couldn't have done The Dark Knight Returns without reading Adams and O'Neil's Batman when he was a kid.Lee talked about how adaptable Batman is; with no style guide existing on how to do Batman, creators were allowed to do what they want, and that's what kept him so fresh and vibrant. Miller added that Batman is sexy -- earning a laugh -- he's the good guy who dresses up like bad guys and throws them through windows. Adams said that Batman is all of us, while Superman is as far from us as you can get. O'Neil said that Superman "is a bitch to write for," whereas Batman is easy to get in trouble -- "any death trap will do" -- and so he always loved writing Batman stories because he could put him in genuine human danger, unlike Superman.Talk switched to Robin, with Miller describing him as a bright yellow living target. Speaking of yellow, Miller also said that his greatest achievement was getting rid of the yellow circle around the bat symbol on his chest.Johns said that superheroes are our modern day Greek mythology and Batman is the king among them -- his symbol is one of the most recognizable in the world.Cunningham then read a quote from Snyder's recently published Batman #33 that talked about how Gotham is multigenerational, just like Batman. He then asked the panelists to say why they loved Batman.Johns said he read TDKR and that did it for him. Snyder said as a kid he took the Batman '66 TV show as if it were life and death, but when he read TDKR he realized that Batman could reflect the current world and become many thing. Morrison first saw the Batman '66 TV show, but it was Adams and O'Neil's brilliant work that got him into comics himself. Lee said that TDKR made him become a professional comic artist, and that he recalled geeking out over it the first three times he met Miller, and then he was chastised by Miller when he wanted to bring back the yellow chest oval.Miller said he fell in love on the spot when he read comics where Batman had to track down the Joker, who was committing violent acts. But that faded as Batman grew more bland, and it wasn't until Adams and O'Neil did their work that he knew the character had not only a legacy but a future.To sum it up, Miller said that "Batman is like a very large, multifaceted diamond that you can do anything with and make it work. You can do comedy, you can do campy TV shows, you can do the darkest version of it possible -- it's like that diamond. You can throw it against the walls, you can throw it against the ceiling and it won't break. Everything works."Cunningham then revealed an image courtesy of Johns, Ben Affleck as Batman from the upcoming Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice movie.Morrison said that he loved playing the Batman: Arkham Asylum game because it allowed people to see what it's like to be Batman -- crawling through tight spaces, hallucinating from Scarecrow's fear gas.The panel then opened up questions from the audience. A fan asked what movie interpretations they like the best. Morrison said he loved the Nolan films, but truly he loved all of them, even the Schumacher one.Another fan asked what female Batman character they like and would reinvent if they could. Adams said they were all boring. Johns said that he loves Barbara Gordon -- he almost did an All-Star Batgirl comic -- and that the story of the daughter of Commissioner Gordon becoming a hero is very interesting.Responding to a question about the favorite Batman story they wrote, Snyder said that his favorite is Zero Year because it's an attempt to live in the spirit of Miller's Year One while also incorporating elements introduced by Morrison and Adams. He also relayed a story where Miller told him that he was glad he gave Bruce "a good goddamn haircut."When asked about any anecdotes about Batman creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Miller said that Kane was bewildered by TDKR and his one question was "Why does that woman have Swastikas on her butt?" Morrison said he loved Finger's description of the Joker as a "masterfiend" and that someone should use that as a band name.The cutest little girl ever wearing a cape and a mask then asked them what version of Batman best embraced the spirit of Batman. Adams said he liked three Nolan movies, although the last one wasn't very Batman. He also wants the new filmmakers to make the costume better -- take off the armor, give him something where you can see his muscles, quit making masks that squish their face, and allow them to turn their neck. Miller said that the best way to experience Batman is in the comic books, with Adams adding, "At least we don't do nipples." Miller summed it up with, "The very best Batman is the one you like the best."

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