The Best TV Show Never Made - Gotham Central

Imagine a television series that took place in Gotham City. Oh wait, that already happened. It was called Birds of Prey and focused on Oracle, Black Canary and Huntress. It came and went quietly. But imagine that it was done RIGHT, by making it in the Chris Nolan age where realism, grit and epic storytelling were the main themes.

Gotham Central started off as an experiment in 2003 by the best crime writers in the comics genre - Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka, two guys who know how to write genuine detective stories as well as police procedurals. Their idea was to do crime stories set in the city of Batman but with the costumed freaks firmly in the background. The main characters were formerly supporting ones themselves - Maggie Sawyer who previously was the head of Metropolis' Major Crimes Unit now transferred to Gotham, Crispus Allen from Detective Comics and the animated DVD Batman: Gotham Knight, Renee Montoya from Bruce Timm's Batman Animated and Marcus Driver, an entirely new character. Their stories focused on solid police procedurals that sometimes involved supervillains, sometimes not - and Batman's presence (if not the man himself) shadowing in the background. Many of the characters, of which there are almost 20 officers, look down upon their supposed need to always contact Batman to solve their cases. And while most refuse to accept his help when they hedge their own abilities to solve crimes, they do understand his necessity in taking down some of the supervillains when their own firepower isn't enough.

So combining top-notch storytelling and clever cameos by Batman and his Rogues Gallery (plus some cameos from the Titans and Flash's Rogues), what do you get? Eisner and Harvey Award attention in the first year for writing, series and inking. You had serious DC character development unmatched in other series, Montoya (who most of us remember as the plucky detective alongside Harvey Bullock and Jim Gordon in the DCAU) becomes a lesbian and starts her path into leaving the GCPD and turning into the next Question, and Crispus Allen is on his way into becoming the next Spectre. And it was a thrill to see how seemingly regular crimes ended up involving characters like The Joker, Mad Hatter, Two Face or Catwoman. Or vice versa, where you would think costume freaks are involved but you are not sure. Maybe not.

But funny enough, the series was a commercial failure. It was like a critically acclaimed art house movie that wins top honors at all the film festivals and yet never finds its audience. It ran for 40 issues before the writers could no longer justify its existence despite continually racking up awards.

And end footnote was that, ironically, TV execs at Warner Bros (owners of DC and producers of the Nolan films) LOVED the comic series. Although they were nonplussed with Birds of Prey's failure, their confidence in the quality of writing and character development (imagine Hill Street Blues or CSI, but with Batman in it!) would make it a reality if not for the fact that there is a moratorium on all Batman TV shows as long as the film saga will keep going. So we got that.

Evil Portrayed - the Finance Industry

The global finance industry is not exactly seen in a good light right now - what with millions of people unemployed and retirement plans up in smoke. Yet Wall Street plutocrat fatcats are raking in the bonuses once again while the masses can't even afford enough food to eat. But it's curious to see how the comic industry treats them. While its no doubt that they are treated as big as bastards as criminal lawyers, there are two treatments that stick out for their ingeniousness.

ARKHAM ASYLUM: LIVING HELL

Arkham Asylum is well-known as the home for the criminally insane in Gotham City, where Batman tends to send his murderous Rogues Gallery after he's spoiled their nefarious plans. In one case, a man named Warren White (a metaphor for Alan Stanford or Bernie Madoff but preceding them by several years) thinks he's successfully manipulated the legal system but getting himself declared mentally incompetent for running the worst fraud in financial history. At first the judge is outraged at the result then he smiles. For in Gotham, a madman gets sent to Arkham, which is far far worse than any conventional prison. White was better off in a maximum security pen when compared to sharing quarters with Two-Face, Poison Ivy, the Joker and the Scarecrow. He goes from a normal guy who you almost feel sorry for (almost, until Madoff and Stanford became news) who is regarded as "the worst man I've ever met" - even by the outraged Joker! (For you can kill people. but you can't fuck with their retirement plans.) White goes through every degradation, torture, psychological horror and abuse by his fellow prisoners until his mind snaps after he suffers piecemeal crippling physical debilitations. Over a period of six issues in this limited series, we see him slowly and painfully transform into Great White Shark, a new freakish entry into Batman's Rogues Gallery. Awesome.

G.I. JOE: ORIGIN

A clever retcon story written by Larry Hama, the writer of the original Marvel series, that shows how the original team of Duke, Scarlett, Snake Eyes, Heavy Duty, Breaker, Rock and Roll and Stalker were pulled together by Hawk on a small mission in Las Vegas. Written in the post-Jason Bourne era so it's smart, technical and leaves few plot holes - as today's military comics now have readers who are as informed as most real tacticians. Breaker and Scarlett actually act and speak like real communications and intelligence operatives, Stalker speaks pure special forces lingo and professionalism is the name of the game. This particular pre-Cobra mission has them pursue a terrorist with links in the government but whose doctrine and methods are unified with the nut-case right wing militias of Montana and Idaho. So basically G.I. Joe (although technically, that codename has yet to be formulated so they are known as "The Unit") is up against red-neck yokels with machine guns but led by paramilitary hardcases. I'm going to do a big spoiler here but the end challenge for Duke and his team is a choice left by the terrorists - they have only enough time to shut off one weapon of mass destruction, either a) mass toxins that will be released into the atmosphere, killing millions of people, or b) an email that will be sent to every major bank and financial institution in the world that contains the Gaussian copula function, the mathematical formula used to model huge complex risks and widely blamed for the financial subprime crisis. (The terrorists' profit motive being based on crashing the worldwide financial markets and shorting it). The Joes understand both of the risks but as history has shown, they obviously opt to stop the toxins instead to halt an instant kill rather than a slow one. It's quite funny and interesting to see how the financial world was actually being manipulated by a terrorist action, full well knowing the end result while the fatcats themselves are just pawns for evil.

Simon Bisley does The Bible

Okaaaayyy, so you have the book that is the fundamental cornerstone of two major religions, of which thus speaketh the Word of God to the throngs of man and brings understanding of God's kingdom to the masses - and who better to illustrate it than an iron-pumping heavy metal listening tattooed monster like Simon Bisley?

Mr. Bisley is probably better known for crafting beautiful yet arcane (and admittedly pagan) paintings for the adult-oriented Heavy Metal and Judge Dread/Batman crossover special Judgement Over Gotham. On par with Alex Ross and Dave McKean for translating comic images via acrylic rather than by pencil, Bisley is actually the perfect choice for such a project. I mean, who else knows Christian and demonic images better than a death-metal freak?

Analyzing the DC Universe Original Animated Movies

Since most, if not all, of these were direct to DVD (and hence an automatic stigma gets attached to that), a lot of these didn't receive a lot of publicity when they came out. Which is a shame, as critical response has been amazing - in fact a lot better than most of the animated movies which actually make it to the theatre. I would guess DC does it for cost reasons, DVD sales can be pretty brisk as is, and the marketing budgets needed to launch a movie are cost-prohibitive. But at any case, let's take a closer look at the DC Originals.

1. Justice League: The New Frontier. Based on Darwyn Cooke's graphic novel, this is a storyline that takes place in the McCarthy era. The JSA has been broken up and heroes are not well-received by the government and the people. It's about the rise of the JLA as told through mainly Green Lantern (Hal Jordan version) and the Martian Manhunter. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are secondary characters. The Flash (Barry Allen version), Will Magnus, Kyle Morgan (Challengers of the Unknown), Rick Flagg, The Atom, Green Arrow, King Faraday, and Adam Strange also make appearances. There are plenty of villainous cameos and the main villain is The Center, otherwise known as Dinosaur Island. Some great writing here, and even if you're not a big fan of the Silver Age of comics, this is still impressive. Rating PG-13.

Comparison: animated series such as The Superfriends, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited.

How does it stack up? It's on par with the latter two series although the era that its set in adds a definite Cold War feel on par with the Watchmen. With no live movie to compare to (not including that 1970s crap with Ed McMahon), this is now the standard. The artwork is wonderfully done in a Max Fleischer-style, and feels right for a Justice Society-timeframe look. Voice-wise, I just didn't buy into Jeremy Sisto as Bruce Wayne.

Best parts: David Boreanaz as Hal Jordan and Neil Patrick Harris as Barry Allen. The speech by John F Kennedy at the end to a montage of everything coming in the JLA history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_League:_The_New_Frontier

2. Superman: Doomsday. Based on the Death of Superman series that was a ploy to rise profits on the Superman title when things weren't going so well for DC, with the character of Doomsday being a pure plot device rather than a real foil with any justifications for wiping out the Man of Steel. This movie adaptation streamlined that narrative and eliminates many of the new characters like Cyborg Superman (Hank Henshaw), John Henry Irons, Eradicator and Connor Kent. Instead they are all replaced by Bizarro, which kind of makes sense when you think about it.

How does it stack up? In truth, the only animated comparison is the Justice League episode Hereafter, which itself took elements of the Funeral for a Friend storyline from the comics. I suppose the only thing that can be compared to it is the Superman Returns live movie by Brian Singer. And if we're going to do it that way, then the animated movie actually wins. Superman Returns had far too many flaws to bring it to bear.

Best parts: James Marsters as Lex Luthor, and Adam Baldwin as Superman. I would think that Tim Daly and Clancy Brown would have been better, but Marsters and Baldwin were serviceable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman:_Doomsday

3. Batman: Gotham Knight. This was a companion DVD in preparation to the theatrical release of Nolan's Dark Knight. It was six different films done by six different Japanese animation companies, much in the same way as the Animatrix. In fact, the same companies that worked on the Animatrix were the contributors to Gotham Knight. These stories are set between Batman Begins and Dark Knight or during the training period before Bruce Wayne discovers the League of Shadows in Bhutan. Some deal with pain, others with his tenuous relationship with the Gotham City Police Force, others how the public perceive him. There are appearances by the Scarecrow, Crispus Allen, Killer Croc and Deadshot.

How does it stack up? In reality, the closest two things to compare this to is the Animatrix, and Gotham Knight is easily more compelling. The other, unfortunately, is the Batman Animated Series by Bruce Timm, which had already set the standard for all DC animated efforts for now going almost 15 years. True that Gotham Knight is better animation, but the Timm-verse series has the history, the writing, and the pedigree behind it. Lastly, we have to compare this to the Dark Knight movie itself - and unfortunately it will be a very long time before any cartoon is going to knock that movie off its top pedestal. Not even close.

Best parts: the animation is stunning, pure and simple. However, the voice acting is so-so, with some overuse by Corey Burton for Jonathan Crane. But thankfully, Kevin Conroy of Timm-verse Batman lends his voice as Bruce Wayne and putting it bluntly, he IS the voice of Batman, easily making Christian Bale's voice sound like a geriatric's ulcer come alive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_Gotham_Knight

4. Wonder Woman. Directed by Lauren Montgomery, this shows the introduction of Diana, princess of Themyscira to the modern world in the background of a war between the Greek gods. Her delving into our world is merely a subploy by the god of war, Ares, to regain his powers and change the balance of power in Olympus. Now that's all well and good, but really, this is actually the first successful portrayal of Wonder Woman in a feature film ever. Excellent writing, tons of humor, mythical bloodshed, decapitations, rendered limbs and awesome voice acting. This is actually the best of the DCAU Original Movies bunch.

How does it stack up? Compared to what? The TV show with Linda Carter? Her role as a supporting character in the Justice League Timm-verse series? There is nothing to compare this to. This is the new standard for Wonder Woman!

Best parts: the voice acting. All of it. From Keri Russell as Diana, to Nathan Fillion as Steve Trevor, to Virginia Madsen as Hippolyta, to Alfred Molina as Ares and Rosario Dawson as Artemis. They knock this one out of the ballpark.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Woman_(film)

5. Green Lantern: First Flight. This shows the introduction of Hal Jordan to the Green Lantern Corps. How he got his ring is shown in the first five minutes (and frankly, Justice League: The New Frontier did a better job of it) so they scoot through that to show the Guardians of Oa, the GLC and Sinestro. Basically, it is Hal Jordan versus Sinestro with some politicking up front and in your face. We all know Hal Jordan will win this, its actually a question of how he is going to do it. There are appearances by Kilowog, Arisia, Ganthet, Boodikka, Carol Ferris, Tomar Re, Kanjar Ro and the Weaponers of Qward.

How does it stack up? Again, similar to Wonder Woman, there is nothing to compare this to... except, perversely, Justice League: The New Frontier in terms of the portrayal of Hal Jordan. And in reality, David Boreanaz did a better job than Christopher Meloni. But as is, with no other Green Lantern films, series, etc to compare to... it is the new standard. I heard that there is a movie in the works with the over-exposed Ryan Reynolds in the running as Jordan (although he would be better as Kyle Rayner) we have to wait and see.

Best parts: in terms of sequences - the running battle between the GLC and Kanjar Ro's gang. Brutal and sequentially brilliant. And the meeting between Sinestro and the Weaponers of Qward, casual, terse and pretty funny. Victor Garber's voice as Sinestro was spot on. Much much better than Ted Levine in the Timm-verse series.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Lantern:_First_Flight

Upcoming this year, Batman/Superman: Public Enemies. Based on the DC Comics opening narrative for World' Finest.

Gotham City

Gotham City is a beast, the dark sister city of bright and beautiful Metropolis, which is probably why people just love the dark deco monstrosity that it is. Did you know that in the Tim Burton movie, Vancouver BC's map was used as the geographic layout of the city? Throughout history, everyone has had a take on what the city should look like. It's an architect's dream and a civic planner's nightmare. Here's some takes by Anton Furst, Chris Nolan, DC Comics and DCAU

Try walking through Castro in one of these

Personally, I like the Adam West version the best. I actually saw someone wear it at a Halloween party and couldn't stop laughing. It may have been that I was completely drunk at the time but he had the required paunch to pull it off.

You have your Tim Burton version, your Justice League Unlimited version, your Christian Bale version but nothing screams authenticity like the Adam West version. I mean, at least it shows off your real muscles, or lack thereof.

The many incarnations of Batman via Warren Ellis' Planetary

This is the first post of the Spacetime Dossier, and what better way to herald the birth of a fairly ambitious blog than to focus on the history of Batman from his different visual incarnations! You may ask why I find this interesting - in truth, I love comic book/sci fi/fantasy history and can talk shit with comic book shop staff for hours on topics as arcane as...well, arcane as comic book topics can get. So the goal of this blog is to visually chart the incarnations of a fantasy icon,cultural figure or just outright oddity as it jumps through the myriad of incarnations through history or media.

One of the best visual representatives is how Batman has looked throughout the ages - and a special edition of Planetary by Warren Ellis has the intrepid "Archeologists of the Impossible" tracking the secret history of their world (kind of like mixing the X-Files with the Fantastic Four) going to their Gotham City to track down a wanted fugitive with quantum shaping powers. Now in their world, there is no Batman. But thanks to the out-of-control abilities of their quarry, they find themselves facing different versions of Bruce Wayne as how different writers and artists have interpreted him over the last 50 years or so. You can't help but smile at the current version of Batman that you would see written by 1) Grant Morrison or Jeph Loeb, grim, intolerant and paranoid, 2) fascist and monstrously brutal a la Frank Miller's The Dark Night Returns, 3) the patient and lawful Batman of Neal Adams of the 1970s, the one comic book geeks probably remember the most fondly, 4) the gun-welding original version by the creator of Batman, Bob Kane, and even 5) Adam West, complete with pudge and Anti-Female Villain Spray. Lastly, I think the artist (John Cassaday) decided to throw in his own version of Batman, as is his right.

I'll do a follow-up of how people interpret Batman in real life in terms of what Batman costumes there are out there another day. But in the meantime, if you want to read this story, it's a real catch, the writing is top-notch (come on, it's written by Warren Ellis!) and it's full title is Planetary/Batman: Night on Earth