With “Bat Boy Lives,” David Perel and the editors of the Weekly World News have produced the essential tome for those who always suspected that “Pizza was served at the Last Supper!” “Karl Marx was one of the Marx Brothers!” and “Bat Boy captured Saddam!”
These headlines all appeared in the Weekly World News, a publication that is either A) an outrageous spoof of tabloid culture or B) the ultimate news source on alien abductions, bizarre mutations and, of course, Bat Boy, the big-eyed, big-eared creature who emerged from a West Virginia cave in 1992 to become WWN’s mascot and the subject of an off-Broadway musical.
Perel, executive vice president of WWN, emerged from his own cave to answer questions about the new book:
Q. At WWN, you’ve written about Bigfoot hookers, Elvis clones and extraterrestrial freaks, but none had the breakout popularity of Bat Boy. What’s the secret of the little guy’s success?
A. Bat Boy is a misfit, a social outcast, a living being who looks different from the rest of us and is shunned, yet only wants to be accepted … Wait, I think I just described myself. … His quest to fit in has made him one of our most popular characters.
Q. When he first appeared in 1992, Bat Boy was 2 feet tall, but later he was listed as 3 feet tall. How big is he going to get? Will he be Bat Man some day?
A. Yes, we are going to start calling him Bat Man. Wait. Sorry, that was D.C. Comics on the phone. No, we will always call him Bat Boy because he will never lose his youthful enthusiasm.
Q. Is it true that WWN was first to report that Elvis was still alive? How did you get that story before any other media?
A. We had an investigative team circling the globe to find him. We don’t waste time covering trivial subjects, like world affairs.
Q. Many of your stories involve cloning, Elvis sightings, aliens or large, hairy monsters. Do you have specific reporters assigned to each of these beats?
A. Yes, we have two reporters assigned to the clone beat. It’s hard to tell them apart.
Q. Last year, WWN ran a story headlined, “Trendy New Delicacy: Mermaid Sushi!” Have you tried it? Does it taste like chicken?
A. More like Florida lobster tails, flavorful yet a little tough.
