YOUNGSTER WEARS LOVE OF BATMAN FOR ALL TO SEE

Lonnie "Butch" Huffman likes Batman a lot.

"I watch him (Batman) on television," said the five-year-old son of Lonnie and Michelle Huffman of Cape Girardeau. "He's the good guy and always catches the bad guys."

His like of the Caped Crusader should be obvious to all who see the young Huffman this week. Lonnie has a Batman insignia dyed in the back of his hair.

"We call it a salute to Batman," said Mrs. Huffman. "Lonnie has watched a lot of the old black-and-white reruns of Batman on television, and saw the first "Batman" big screen picture. He's hoping to see the new `Batman Returns' movie."

It took about 30 minutes to bleach in the Batman insignia.

"It'll stay in until the hair grows out," said Gene Penny, of Hombre Hair Shop, 1430 N. Kingshighway. "We have a number of methods of doing it."

Penny said a number of youngsters were requesting the Batman insignia, due mostly because of the movie, "Batman Returns" which was released Friday.

"Some Batmen tributes are more lasting than others," said Penny. "For those fans who want to be a Batman fan for a day or two, we use a special hair color which will rinse out in a couple of days.

"We can shave the insignia in, or use bleach," added Penny. "In either case, it will last until the hair grows out."

Penny puts an additional touch to the bleach insignia.

"We use the Batman insignia and place a lightning-like bolt on either side," said Penny. "The lightning flashes really put a dramatic touch to it."

This Batman haircut was not the first for Lonnie.

"He took a liking for Batman a long time ago," said his mother, "He got his first Batman haircut about a year ago."

The Batman cut first became popular when the 1989 movie, "Batman" played in the area.

"It became sort of a fad then," said Penny. "It basically died out until recently when publicity started emerging on the new Batman movie. We've had several requests for the cut during the past week or so."

Special haircuts are nothing new to Penny.

"We have requests for trendy things all the time," said Penny. "During the fall, football players will request that football numbers be cut into the hair. We also receive requests for initials, or lightning bolts.

"In any case it's not something that is permanent," said Penny. "It'll all grow out within three to four weeks."