Background

Dr. Travis Langley is a Wikipedia sysop and a Henderson State University distinguished professor of psychology^[1] who teaches courses on mental illness, social behavior, criminal justice, and mass media, including a course titled Batman. He received his B.A. from Hendrix College and then his M.S. and Ph.D. from Tulane University,^[2] all in psychology. During graduate school, he was an undefeated three-day champion on the Wheel of Fortune game show even though none of the puzzles they gave him were about psychology or superheroes.^[3][4] According to the British Psychological Society, Travis Langley became one of the ten most followed psychologists on Twitter.^[5] In 2021, the American Psychological Association identified him as a thought leader in the field of psychology, and he delivered a keynote address for the organization's annual conference.^[6][7]

He authored the book Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight and is the editor and lead writer for his Popular Culture Psychology book series.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).^[8] Psychology Today carries his blog, "Beyond Heroes and Villains." In addition to writing chapters and supplemental material for other authors' and editors' books, Langley co-authored an in-character psychological analysis of Vampirella for Dynamite Comics' trade paperback collection Vampirella Vol. 1: Seduction of the Innocent, to accompany a story written by Christopher Priest and illustrated by Ergün Gündüz.^[9][10] The New York Times, London Evening Standard, Wall Street Journal, Saturday Evening Post, New York Magazine, Wired,^[11] NBC, MTV, and hundreds of other outlets have interviewed him on psychology, heroism, and popular culture.

At fan conventions such as San Diego Comic-Con, WonderCon, New York Comic Con, GalaxyCon, and Fan Expo events such as MegaCon, he regularly conducts panels on a range of topics including psychology, media, and heroism. Panelists include comics scholars such as Will Brooker,^[12] Peter Coogan,^[13] and Bat-Films executive producer Michael Uslan.^[14] Comic book creators and other media professionals on these panels include the following examples.

• Comic book creators:
  • Artists, e.g., Neal Adams,^[15] Greg Capullo,^[16][17] Denys Cowan,^[18] Mike Grell, Michael Lark, Steve Leialoha,^[19] Jerry Robinson,^[20] Jim Steranko.^[21]
  • Editors (most also known for their writing), e.g., Danny Fingeroth,^[22] Dennis O'Neil,^[23][24] Bob Schreck,^[25] Len Wein^[26][27].
  • Writers, e.g., Brian Michael Bendis,^[28] D. G. Chichester,^[29] Devin Grayson,^[30] Steve Englehart,^[31][32] Kyle Higgins, Tony Isabella, Elliot S! Maggin, Don McGregor,^[33] Ann Nocenti, Christopher Priest,^[34] Tim Seeley, Gail Simone,^[35] Louise Simonson,^[28] Scott Snyder,^[36] Mark Waid,^[37] Marv Wolfman.^[38]
• Television writers/producers Christine Boylan (The Punisher, Leverage), Jonathan Butler (The Flash), Jane Espenson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Once Upon a Time), Adam Glass (Supernatural, The Equalizer), Deric A. Hughes (Arrow, Quantum Leap), Jose Molina (Firefly, Agent Carter), Kristi Korzec (Superman & Lois), Ray Utarnachitt (DC's Legends of Tomorrow), Greg Weisman (Gargoyles, Young Justice).^{[39][40][41][42]}
• Novelists Greg Bear,^[43] David Brin,^[44] Jonathan Maberry,^[45][46][47] Larry Niven.^[48]
• Actors Ruth Connell,^[49] Anthony Michael Hall,^[50][51] Lee Meriwether,^{[52][53][54][55]} Rachel Miner,^[56] Brandon Routh,^[57] Adam West.^[58][59] (See also moderation list below.)
• Non-fiction authors, reality television performers, and journalists.

He has also moderated convention sessions for celebrities such as Amy Acker,^[60] Sean Astin, Scott Bakula,^[61] Billy Boyd,^[62] Dean Cain,^[63][64] Emma Caulfield,^[65] Kevin Conroy,^[66][67] Grey DeLisle,^[68] Robert Englund,^[69] Jason David Frank,^[70][71] Christian Kane,^[72] Evanna Lynch,^[73] Kevin Sorbo,^[74] Sir Patrick Stewart,^[75] George Wendt,^[76] Billy West, Henry Winkler.^[77]

Family

His mother read comic books to him, which motivated him to learn to read. Looking through his baby book, his father saw that one of Travis's earliest words really was "Batman."

Travis and his wife, Rebecca, met during their college freshman year. She is a therapist. Their older son, Alex Langley, also teaches psychology.^[78] Alex has authored five books and a graphic novel; co-authored 100 Greatest Graphic Novels: The Good, the Bad, the Epic; and co-edited Spider-Man Psychology: Untangling Webs.^[79] Their younger son, Nicholas, teaches university art classes and has previously illustrated three books, created art for a graphic novel, and written and drawn the official Dig Dug webcomic.^[80][81]

Books

As sole author

• Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight, with foreword by Batman/The Dark Knight executive producer Michael Uslan and introduction by comic book writer/editor Dennis O'Neil. Originally published by John Wiley & Sons (May, 2012). ISBN 978-1118167656
  • 2nd edition (February, 2022), plus reintroduction by Michael Uslan. Turner, Wiley. ISBN 978-1684428564
    • review excerpts: http://www.travislangley.info/?p=178

As editor and lead writer, Popular Culture Psychology series

Series review excerpts: https://www.travislangley.info/?p=845

From Turner Publishing:

• Stranger Things Psychology: Life Upside Down (February, 2023). Published by Turner's Wiley imprint. ISBN 978-1684429097
• Spider-Man Psychology: Untangling Webs, co-edited by Alex Langley with foreword by Danny Fingeroth (May, 2023). Published by Turner's Wiley imprint. ISBN-13 978-1684429332
• Doctor Who Psychology: Times Change, 2nd edition (November, 2023), with foreword by Doctor Who companion Katy Manning. ISBN-13 978-1684429844
• The Handmaid's Tale Psychology: Seeing Off Red, edited with Wind Goodfriend (in press for October, 2024). ISBN-13 9781684420421

From Sterling Publishing:

• The Walking Dead Psychology: Psych of the Living Dead, with foreword by Night of the Living Dead co-creator John A. Russo (August, 2015). ISBN 978-1454917052
• Star Wars Psychology: Dark Side of the Mind, with foreword by Carrie Goldman and a chapter by The Empire Strikes Back novelist Donald F. Glut (October, 2015). ISBN 978-1454917366
  • review excerpts: https://www.travislangley.info/?p=594
• Captain America vs. Iron Man: Freedom, Security, Psychology, with foreword by Stan Lee (May, 2016). ISBN 978-1454917120
• Game of Thrones Psychology: The Mind is Dark and Full of Terrors, with foreword by podcaster Kyle Maddock (June, 2016). ISBN 978-1454918400
• Doctor Who Psychology: A Madman with a Box, with foreword by Doctor Who companion Katy Manning (November, 2016). ISBN 978-1454920014
• Wonder Woman Psychology: Lassoing the Truth, co-edited by Mara Wood with foreword by Trina Robbins and a memoir by Elizabeth Holloway Marston (April, 2017). ISBN 978-1454923435
• Star Trek Psychology: The Mental Frontier, with foreword by Chris Gore (May, 2017). ISBN 978-1454918424
• Supernatural Psychology: Roads Less Traveled, co-edited by Lynn Zubernis with foreword by Jonathan Maberry and introduction by Supernatural actor Mark Pellegrino (October, 2017). ISBN 978-1454926610
• Daredevil Psychology: The Devil You Know, with foreword by Stan Lee (June, 2018). ISBN 978-1454930112
• Westworld Psychology: Violent Delights, co-edited by Wind Goodfriend with foreword by Fallout creator Tim Cain (November, 2018). ISBN 978-1454932413
• Black Panther Psychology: Hidden Kingdoms, co-edited by Alex Simmons with foreword by Killmonger creator Don McGregor (June, 2019). ISBN 978-1454934004
• The Joker Psychology: Evil Clowns and the Women Who Love Them, with foreword by The Dark Knight/Joker executive producer Michael Uslan (September, 2019). ISBN 978-1454935421

Translations:

• ЗВЕЗДНЫЕ ВОЙНЫ. ПСИХОЛОГИЯ КИНОВСЕЛЕННОЙ. Moscow, Russia: Eksmo. [Star Wars Psychology in Russian, 2016.] ISBN 978-5699881499
• Psicología de Star Wars. Anzures, Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico: Endiciones B. [Star Wars Psychology in Spanish, 2016.] ISBN 978-6075290300
• Psicología de The Walking Dead. Anzures, Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico: Endiciones B. [The Walking Dead Psychology in Spanish, 2016.] ISBN 978-6074809220
• 權力遊戲的極限生存法則. Tainin City, Tainin, Taiwan: ACME. [Game of Thrones Psychology in Complex (Traditional) Chinese, 2017.] AISN B07P3WQ2VT
• 陰屍路的黑暗療癒. Tainin City, Tainin, Taiwan: ACME. [The Walking Dead Psychology in Complex (Traditional) Chinese, 2017.] ISBN 9789869354936
• A Psicologia da Mulher-Maravilha. São Paulo, Brazil: Única Editora, Editora Gente. [Wonder Woman Psychology in Portuguese, 2018.] ISBN 978-8594900326
• Игра престолов и психология: Душа темна и полна ужасов. Moscow, Russia: Alpina. [Game of Thrones Psychology: The Mind is Dark and Full of Terrors in Russian, 2019.] ASIN B07QDZG49N
• Джокер. Безумный король преступного мира. Russia: Peter Press. [The Joker Psychology: Evil Clowns and the Women Who Love Them in Russian, 2022.] EAN 9785446116065
• Бэтмен и психология. Moscow, Russia: Издательство АСТ. [Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight in Russian, 2022]. ISBN 978-5-17-147626-7
• Other Chinese translations to be announced.

Film appearances

Langley appears as an expert interviewee in documentary films.

• Phoenix Comicon Film Festival Best Documentary winner^[82] Comic Book Literacy^[83] (2008).
• ReedPOP's Fandom Film Festival selection^[84] Legends of the Knight^[85] (2013).
• Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics narrated by Christopher Lee^[86][87] (2013).
• Batman & Bill (2017).
• Superheroes Decoded, part 1, "American Legends" narrated by Kevin Conroy (2017).
• AMC Visionaries: Robert Kirkman's Secret History of Comics, episode 1-2, "The Truth about Wonder Woman" narrated by Keri Russell (2017).
  • Video extra: Seduction of the Innocent (2017).
• Geek, and You Shall Find (2019).
• The Man from Boggy Creek: The Independent Spirit of Charles B. Pierce^[88] (2021).
• Pharma Bro (2021).
• Trust the Fungus: From Bob-Omb to Cult Classic and others in post-production.

Note

Although I've have fun posting this information in article-like format, I actually put it here in order to declare my areas of potential conflict of interest.

From Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight, 1st edition, p. 303:

While wikis are tricky, they're still valuable sources for helping find back issues and a great starting point for discovering additional resources, so we must thank the many volunteers who, often anonymously, edit.... Wikipedia's WikiProject Comics helped the hunt in ways they may never know.

Wikipedia articles mentioning or citing by name (Travis Langley, T. Langley)

• Batman
• Batman & Bill
• Civil War (comics)
• Comics Arts Conference
• David A. Verhaagen
• Harley Quinn
• Iron Man 3
• Janina Scarlet
• Joker (character)
• Liam Gerrard
• Marian Breland Bailey
• MegaCon
• Ménage à trois
• Mental disorder
• Michael E. Uslan
• Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics