A Brief History of the Batman Bump

Right now, right this very minute, many of you are thinking about whether you should bother to get turned away from all the sold-out theaters showing The Dark Knight over the next few days. But you might not be thinking about how many presidential campaigns have relied on the Caped Crusader and his imagery to reach voters in the form of campaign posters.

Most notably, there's John McCain's latest campaign poster:

But we all remember this bloat-fest from the 90s:

And these days, this charming relic can only be found in musty attics next to Whipped Cream and Other Delights by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass: