Saving lives for 75 years: 'Batman helped me find my voice'

By Henry Hanks, CNN

Updated 2004 GMT (0404 HKT) March 27, 2014

<a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1111493">Matt MacNabb</a> of Omaha, Nebraska, runs the fan site <a href="http://www.legionsofgotham.org" target="_blank">legionsofgotham.org</a>. He is one of many Batman fans who collect all the Batman memorabilia they can get their hands on. With the popular comic book character's 75th birthday on Sunday, click through to take a look at some of these Bat-fans and their collections:
Photos: Hard-core 'Batman' fans celebrate 75 years
Hard-core 'Batman' fans celebrate 75 years – Matt MacNabb of Omaha, Nebraska, runs the fan site legionsofgotham.org. He is one of many Batman fans who collect all the Batman memorabilia they can get their hands on. With the popular comic book character's 75th birthday on Sunday, click through to take a look at some of these Bat-fans and their collections:
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<a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1109535">Andy Seven</a> compares the TV series' debut in 1966 to the Beatles appearing on the "Ed Sullivan Show" a few years before: "The Batman TV series was as close as television will ever get to replicating a pulpy comic book on film with vibrant colors, beautiful women, great gadgets, teen pop culture and some of the wildest villains ever seen on television."
Photos: Hard-core 'Batman' fans celebrate 75 years
Hard-core 'Batman' fans celebrate 75 years – Andy Seven compares the TV series' debut in 1966 to the Beatles appearing on the "Ed Sullivan Show" a few years before: "The Batman TV series was as close as television will ever get to replicating a pulpy comic book on film with vibrant colors, beautiful women, great gadgets, teen pop culture and some of the wildest villains ever seen on television."
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Austin, Texas resident <a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1111420">Eli Vizcaino</a>, seen here dressed as Batman, credits the character with helping him "find his voice." Vizcaino had a speech impediment as a child, and when he read Batman stories aloud as therapy, they freed his imagination.
Photos: Hard-core 'Batman' fans celebrate 75 years
Hard-core 'Batman' fans celebrate 75 years – Austin, Texas resident Eli Vizcaino, seen here dressed as Batman, credits the character with helping him "find his voice." Vizcaino had a speech impediment as a child, and when he read Batman stories aloud as therapy, they freed his imagination.
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Evert Huizing's home in Akkrum, Netherlands, is filled with Batman collectibles, such as these figures of heroes and villains.
Photos: Hard-core 'Batman' fans celebrate 75 years
Hard-core 'Batman' fans celebrate 75 years – Evert Huizing's home in Akkrum, Netherlands, is filled with Batman collectibles, such as these figures of heroes and villains.
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Like so many Batman fans, Huizing says he can identify with the character, who has no real superpowers. "I still can't handle injustice, and I always would like to be Batman when I see injustice happen."
Photos: Hard-core 'Batman' fans celebrate 75 years
Hard-core 'Batman' fans celebrate 75 years – Like so many Batman fans, Huizing says he can identify with the character, who has no real superpowers. "I still can't handle injustice, and I always would like to be Batman when I see injustice happen."
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