Why Does Batman Carry Shark Repellent?

Why Does Batman Carry Shark Repellent? by Brian Cronin, 2012. 288 pages. Published by Plume. Source: Publisher.

Outrageous, fascinating and bizarre facts from every corner of the comic book universeWhat comic book artist was the recipient of an on-stage thank you from Paul McCartney and an on-air apology from Johnny Carson? What superhero got his powers by being bitten by a mongoose? What popular NPR host was forever immortalized as a "bad boyfriend" in a notable comic book? In Why Does Batman Carry Shark Repellent?, author Brian Cronin will answer those questions and more by revealing the most obscure, wacky and surprising facts about comics—from the characters and creators, to the TV shows, movies and merch. Cronin has teamed up with some of the top comic book writers and artists of today to present 100 trivia lists, including:· Nine Celebrities That Guest-Starred in Comic Books…without Their Permission
· Seven Bands That Got Their Names from Comics
· Ten Crazy Items Found on Batman’s Utility Belt
· Five Comic Book Inventions That Eventually Became Real
· Five Stupidest Superhero Origins
· And much, much more!
From Batman to Spiderman, Aquaman to the X-Men, each list in Why Does Batman Carry Shark Repellent? will entertain and inform whether you’re a hardcore geek or a casual fan.

While Why Does Batman Carry Shark Repellent? was exceptionally good, I am finding it quite hard to explain why it was just so good.

After reading Why Does Batman Carry Shark Repellent? I was surprised to see that I actually knew quite a bit of the information in it, as well, as a good chunk of the names that contributed to the list and shared their thoughts and favorites.

I bet y'all are wondering, how on earth could a book lists and facts be interesting. Well, the answer to that question would be that Why Does Batman Carry Shark Repellent? has a smattering of information that covers a broad spectrum within the world of comics, and that it's delivered in short, yet at times hilarious snippets makes it hard to resist. As I and my sisters (who kept stealing my book) can attest to.

Definitely one thing that you'll learn from this book is that (just about) anything goes and that there is little that comic book writers and artist will not try when it comes to telling their story. That  craziness that tends to happen in comics is part of the reason that I love them so much, besides who doesn't like reading about people with super powers or who are wicked smart.
The thing I truly enjoyed learning about the most in this book would have to be the little story quirks to characters like Batman, Superman, and a few others. But the one that left me smirking would have to be the list about Superman's abilities because some of them were just flat out crazy and outrageous.
While this was truly an enjoyable read, there was just one list in the book that I just did not like, nor need to know about. And that would ave to be "Five Most Awkward Sex Scenes in Comic Book Movies", talk about TMI. The titles of that list made me skip it.  is the only true drawback to this book, but of course skipping it will not detract any from your ability to enjoy the rest of Why Does Batman Carry Shark Repellent?

Now I am off to start watching all the movies that Stan Lee has made a cameo in...again. Because I can.

Final Verdict: A must read for comic fans and for those who want to see what the big deal with comics is all about.

Why Does Batman Carry Shark repellent? earns 4 out of 5 pineapples.