November 18, 2012
THE LAW OF SUPERHEROES - The Bat-Blog Book Review
I was recently contacted by a Book Publisher asking me if I would like to do a Book Review on a new book they were coming out with. They told me the title was, "THE LAW OF SUPERHEROES". They also said it contained a lot of examples that featured "Batman" so I might like it. Well, to my relief, I honestly loved it...Yes, the book is a really fun read! This book covers many legal issues that many superheroes would be faced with.
As a little kid, growing up reading a ton of comic books, I always wondered what would happen if Superheroes "were real" and what would happen after some battle where there was a ton of property damage and who would be responsible to pay for it? You remember these stories. Some Giant-Sized Monster would come to Earth and have a huge fight with Superman, or the Incredible Hulk, and they would destroy a few buildings in the process. Hey, who would have to pay for that? Ha Ha!
Well, this book answers that question and many many more. This book is based off a popular blog called "Law and the Multiverse". At that website they are always covering many such legal issues. This new book was written by James Daly and Ryan Davidson, who are both not only major comic book fans, but they're real-life Attorneys as well. The book takes the idea of "What if Superheroes were real and how would they be affected by laws in the United States and abroad?".
For example: Batman works with the Gotham City Police Department, so if he captures the Joker and the Joker confesses to a crime, could the Joker's Attorneys later have the confession ruled inadmissible at trial because he wasn't given a Miranda warning? Or what if a hero kills another, but that second hero comes back from the dead. Would the first still be charged with murder? Can Bruce Wayne patent the Batmobile? Is Superman's use of x-ray vision or super-hearing an invasion of privacy?
The book goes into great depth about many questions like this and answers them in a very serious way. In most of their commentary they use real "Law Book" statutes and even present actual court cases that are similar to the issue. It's all very thought provoking and if you're studying law in school, then it's something you could use to learn more. But, I'd like to stress that even if you're only just a fan of reading comics then you'll enjoy reading this book too.
For more information please be sure to visit LAWANDTHEMULTIVERSE
Posted by Tommy!