Hollywood Hoosier

Standing amid the glass cases of the Lilly Library -- cases which house some of the 30,000 comic books donated as part of a special exhibition running from now until December 17th -- Michael Uslan finally feels like he is back at home.\nUslan, 54, grew up in Bayonne, New Jersey and was reading comic books as young as 3 years old. Sitting in the chair of the barbershop, Uslan would read old, coverless classics like "Archie" and "Richie Rich," getting sucked into the panels while the barber did his duties. Soon he was reading about superheroes like Superman and Captain Marvel, but it was when he was 8 years old that his older brother Paul would introduce him to a superhero that would change his life forever.\n"I was 8 when I read my first 'Batman' comic book and that's what did it. This was my favorite hero of all time and there was something about a guy who was human -- who had no super powers -- that I could really relate to," Uslan said. "I always had this feeling deep inside, I don't think I ever expressed it, that if I worked out real hard and studied and my dad bought me a cool car, I could do what this guy does."\nNot only did Uslan want to become Batman, he wanted to write "Batman" comic books as well. The idea of a man who had no actual super powers but still fought some of the most fascinating supervillains in the world intrigued him. \nIn 1961, with the help of his friend Barry introducing him to the Fantastic Four, Uslan quickly became a Marvel Comics fanatic. In an issue of Fantastic Four when the F4 fight the "Mad Thinker and his Awesome Android," an ad drew his attention to a fanzine. After subscribing to zines like "Alter-Ego" and "Batmania," Uslan and his friends realized they weren't the only "geeks" in the world obsessed with comic books. And while three years later Uslan found himself at the first-ever comic book convention, there was a place that brought him even greater happiness: the Collingswood Auction flea market. \n"This place had a backdate magazine stand and every Friday night a guy came in from New York with a boxload of old comic books and because they were old, he only charged a nickel for them," Uslan said. "So if anyone wants to know how I amassed a collection of some 50,000 comic books dating back to 1936, the answer is not only did I buy them for 10 or 12 cents off the stands, but I would spend every nickel I could possibly find at that backdate stand." \nUslan's brother Paul was responsible for handing him his first "Batman" comic and also introduced him to Indiana University. "He came here 4 years before I did and I fell in love with this place," Uslan reminisced. "The most beautiful campus in America, clearly." \nWith it's abundance of history classes, well-known creative writing and journalism courses and the fact that he wasn't required to take any math classes, Uslan happily made the trip from New Jersey to Indiana. And on the first day of classes, Michael would meet a girl named Nancy. Despite people who claim you never stay with the first girl you meet in college, Michael and Nancy have now been married for 32 years. He's been told that it's an industry record. \nDuring the early 70s, much like every college campus in America, it was a time of great experimentation. IU was no exception. When the College of Arts and Sciences formed an experimental curriculum department designed to encourage new interests in teaching, Uslan jumped at the chance to teach comic books as "modern mythology" and "contemporary folklore." With a tie-dyed Spider-Man T-shirt, love beads and shoulder-length hair, Uslan entered a room which resembled to him the Justice League of America's secret headquarters. Standing in front of a row of professors and deans, Uslan made what would be the first pitch of his career. \nThe pitch failed.\nConvinced that Uslan had no idea what he was talking about, the dean rejected his theory for a comic book class, but not before allowing Uslan to ask two questions. He asked the dean to recite the story of Moses from the Bible, in which the Hebrew people were being persecuted and a young couple sent their baby boy down the river to avoid being slain. He was raised by the Egyptians and came to understand his heritage. Uslan's second question to the dean was to recite the story of Superman. The planet of Krypton was about to be destroyed and a couple sent their son off in a rocket ship. He is discovered by the Kent family. The professor stopped talking. Uslan's course, the first class to teach comic books in the world, became accredited. \nBy the time Uslan made it back to his house, there was now another thing he had to do. Picking up the telephone, he contacted United Press International in Indianapolis, asked for the reporter who covered education in Indiana and started yelling into the phone. \n"What is wrong with you? How can this be happening and you guys don't even do anything about it?" Uslan yelled. "I am outraged. I hear there is a comic book course being taught at Indiana University. Are they out of their minds? I'm a taxpayer in this state. They're using my money to teach comic books to our kids? This has got to be a communist plot to infiltrate the youth of America!"\nThree days passed before the reporter found out that IU was indeed teaching a course on comic books. Once this came to light, the media blitz began. CBS, NBC, local papers, even Playboy and Penthouse -- everybody wanted the lowdown on Uslan's comic book course. Three weeks later, while his phone was still ringing away with reporters looking for the scoop, Stan Lee, the creative force behind Marvel Comics, called Uslan and asked him how he could help him. Three hours later, DC Comics, which publishes "Batman," called as well. They asked him to write issues of "The Shadow," but it was only a matter of time until the offer came to write "Batman." The dream was finally a reality, but now what was he supposed to do? The answer: turn "Batman" into a motion picture.\n"When I got out of law school, I got a job at United Artists, the only studio based in New York at that time. I became a motion picture production attorney for them because I couldn't get my foot in the door creatively," Uslan said. "I didn't know anybody; I had no relatives, no connections, so I used the law background to open the door."\nWorking on classics such as "Apocalypse Now" and "Raging Bull," Uslan slaved away at line producing and attorney work until the day came in 1979 when he and his partner, Benjamin Melniker, bought the rights to "Batman." They journeyed west, where they pitched the idea of a "Batman" movie to every single studio. \nEvery studio passed. \n"At Columbia Pictures, I pitched my heart out on the dark version of 'Batman' and this silver-haired head of production looked at me, shook his head and said 'Michael, you're out of your mind. "Batman" will never be successful as a movie, because our movie "Annie" didn't do well.' I looked at him and said 'Are you talking about the little red-head girl who sings "Tomorrow"? What does that have to do with "Batman?"' And he said 'Come on Michael, they're both out of the funny pages.'"\nThe 10-year struggle lead to finally landing a successful pitch at Casablanca Records and Filmworks, where Uslan pitched the idea for his dark, serious "Batman." So what about those that said "Batman" wouldn't be successful as a movie? In 1989, "Batman," for which Uslan served as executive producer, made more than $250 million at the box office in the United States alone. \nUslan has served as executive producer on every "Batman" film since, while also working on other projects such as "Constantine," "National Treasure" and plenty more. His next projects look to be some of his favorites, ranging from adapting DC's "Shazam!" and Will Eisner's "The Spirit" for the big screen, and of course, a sequel to the summer box office smash "Batman Begins." \nUslan, who spent last week here in Bloomington lecturing students in telecommunications, film studies and law classes while holding public lectures for all students to attend, encountered a common question: how do you make it in this business?\n"You keep knocking at doors until your knuckles bleed," said Uslan. "And if you fall down, you've got two options: walk away, or dust yourself off, stand up and start knocking again"