Batman
The first Batman story, "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate", was published in "Detective Comics" #27 (May 1939). Finger said, "Batman was originally written in the style of the pulps", and this influence was evident with Batman showing little remorse over killing or maiming criminals. Batman proved a hit character, and he received his own solo title in 1940 while continuing to star in "Detective Comics". By that time, Detective Comics was the top-selling and most influential publisher in the industry; Batman and the company's other major hero, Superman, were the cornerstones of the company's success. The two characters were featured side-by-side as the stars of "World's Finest Comics", which was originally titled "World's Best Comics" when it debuted in fall 1940. Creators including Jerry Robinson and Dick Sprang also worked on the strips during this period.
Batman in film
"Batman" was a 15-chapter serial film released in 1943 by Columbia Pictures and was the first appearance of the comic book character on film. The serial starred Lewis Wilson as Batman and Douglas Croft as Robin. Being a World War II era production, the movie serial like many of this period was used as war-time propaganda and had an anti-Japanese bent with J. Carrol Naish playing the Japanese villain, an original character named Dr. Daka. Rounding out the cast were Shirley Patterson as Linda Page (Bruce Wayne's love interest), and William Austin as Alfred. The plot is based on Batman, a US government agent, attempting to defeat the Japanese agent Dr. Daka, at the height of World War II.