practice. i want to learn how to draw stylised older men, but i feel like my anime inspired roots keep prying through.... to me, this literally looks like an anime girl....
"There and Back Again, in a Grain of Sand", a review of 'The Hobbit' at the National Children's Theatre until 21 May.
WHAT has he got in his pocketses? Bilbo Baggins (Gamelihle Bovana) and Kira Timm (Gollum) in Alan Swerdlow’s production of The Hobbit at the National Children’s Theatre. Photograph by Rebecca Hearfield.
DO YOU REMEMBER building forts with the cushions from your parents’ lounge suites and wearing your bedspread as a cloak and a colander as a helmet as you shouted loud and feral words and regally…
“Pamela Isley loathes and despises all of humanity, singly and as a species. But apparently she loathes and despises you less than everyone else. Quite a lot less.”
oh to be a silly little clown who's so loved and adored by a plant goddess that when she creates a replica to distract foes and keep her love company, that affection and deep rooted love is already so engrained in her veins that even tho she's not Ivy, she can't help but feel that tug that's more human than she could ever possibly be.
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Batman: The Animated Series "Harley & Ivy"
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The Batman Adventures Annual #1 "24 Hours"
Artists: Dan Decarlo, Bruce Timm
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The Batman Adventures #12
Writers: Kelley Puckett
Pencilers: Mike Parobeck
Inkers: Rick Burchett
Colourists: Rick Taylor
Letterers: Tim Harkins
Editors: Scott Peterson & Darren Vincenzo
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Batman: Gotham Adventures #10
Writer: Ty Templeton
Pencils: Rick Burchett
Inks: Terry Beatty
Letters: Tim Harkins
Colors: Lee Loughridge
Editor: Darren Vincenzo
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The Batman Adventures (Vol 1) #23
Writers: Kelley Puckett
Pencilers: Mike Parobeck
Inkers: Rick Burchett
Colourists: Rick Taylor
Letterers: Richard Starkings
Editors: Scott Peterson, Darren Vincenzo
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Batman: The Animated Series "Harley & Ivy"
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The Batman Adventures (Vol 2) #16 "The Flower Girl"
Hardboiled #10-25 (1990-98) cover artwork by Bruce Timm
Interview from Cool Stuff Magazine #1 (1995):
Gary Lovisi: Much of your work is characterized by raw, intense energy and action, or beautiful women in stylish, dangerous settings. Some is obviously influenced by the pulps.
Bruce Timm: I’m big pulp fan, have been since the early 70s, when I started reading Doc Savage and Avenger reprints. I can’t really say how they’ve influenced my artwork much, except when doing pulp-homage stuff like the Bob Price books. But I do sometimes wish I was born decades earlier so I could have worked for some of the old pulps, which was why it was so much fun doing the Price stuff, and the «mock 50s» paperback covers for your Gryphon Books.
The hero pulps — Doc Savage, The Spider, The Shadow, etc — did have a big impact on my approach to the Batman cartoons. It’s something I tried to inject into the show from early on, the atmosphere, danger and illicit excitement, and especially that Norvell Page-type feeling of impending doom — the «doomed city» mood. It’s also why I set the sense in a timeless, 40s-styled world of big cars, padded shoulders, gangsters, shadowy streets, etc. I only wish we’d gone farther with it.
For instance, my original version of Batman himself was actually close to the Shadow: rarely seen close-up, speaking in short, clipped phrases, more mysterious, literally. I wanted to play him cold and remote, almost unhuman. But the network and our various story editors would have none of that! «We need to humanize him», «He needs to have a sense of humor», «We need to more about Bruce Wayne, the person», etc! Whereas I could care less about Bruce Wayne! He’s much more fascinating if you don’t know what he’s thinking, or what drives him.
A few «Shadowy» touches did survive. Batman is rarely seen be the public, almost never on TV. Even when dealing with the police, he’s usually off in shadows conferring with Commissioner Gordon only. And when he’s in the Batcave, he’s almost always in costume. My way of saying he’s Batman, not the other guy, not Bruce Wayne. Like Lamon Cranston, his true, «legal» identity is a facade.
I’ d love to do straight-ahead pulp hero adaptation someday. Doc or The Shadow or The Spider, either in comics or animation, without the senseless updating and over-explaining «character development» like in the Alec Baldwin-Shadow-fiasco-film.
Gary Lovisi: Your stunning covers for my Hardboiled mag are very popular with everyone who sees them. What are your feelings on hardboiled crime-related art?
Bruce Timm: It’s hard, actually, to define «crime-fiction» art. There’s pulp crime-fiction art, and digest crime-fiction art, both of which cross over with paperback crime-fiction art. Basically, I’m a fan of good illustration. Period. Regardless of subject matter. Composition, emotionally intensity, color and lighting effects are what I look for. And pretty girls, of course!
My favorite pulp crime artist is H. J. Ward, hands down. Gorgeous gals in twisty curvy poses, painted in luscious, creamy, wet-on-wet oil technique. My favorite paperback artists include Robert McGinnis, Robert Maguire, and Mitchell Hooks, the usual suspects.
My approach to the Hardboiled covers is different from my earlier «homage» work. When the covers were black and white, I used to experiment with different b&w textures, coquille board, zip-a-tone, xeroxed newsprint, whatever worked. Now that I’m doing them in color, I’m trying to make them as exciting and eye-catching as possible, with loud color, sexy gals, exaggerated action, and simple, graphic, almost cartoony styling.
Which bruce wayne is ur favourite? (ex. Christian Bale, Robert Patterson) and follow up question why? -🐰
bunny, im so glad you asked. how much time do you have
i don't care about robert pattinson, i did not care about the batman (2022). i'm sure i'll do a full analysis once i'm able to establish my credentials as a lifelong batman fan, but there was a lot that fell so short for me.
christian bale was an exceptional bruce wayne, which is arguably as impossible a role to fill as the role of batman is. i loved bale's aloof and smug nature as bruce, his confidence and faults, but i can not stand his portrayal of batman. not only is the suit design egregious and unflattering, whoever helped him develop his bat-voice was a terrible guide. bale did his best, don't get me wrong, truly i can hear him giving his all and shredding his vocal chords in the process, but it was simply awful to listen to. the dark knight (2008) is still a rewatch-worthy movie of course, but batman begins (2005) & the dark knight rises (2012) was not memorable nor revolutionary. they pale in comparison to the middle of the trilogy.
more (and a TDLR at the bottom) under the cut:
i thought michael keaton's portrayal of both bruce and batman in batman (1989) and batman returns (1992) was boring. any personality he may have tried to bring to batman was washed out by tim burton trying to fit so much of... well... tim burton into something that didn't need any more of that injection. don't get me wrong, stylistically it's appealing, but if you told me that keaton just showed up and started acting as michael keaton instead of bruce wayne i'd believe you because there is no clear distinction between the two. the second movie was way more enjoyable to watch but it was because of elements that had... virtually nothing to do with bruce/batman. it was devito's penguin, and pfieffer's catwoman (and her subplot) that held my attention. i think it's definitely a burton movie, which is fine, and his morbid takes on those characters are interesting, but it was not a defining movie for bruce/batman. it honestly could've been better without batman entirely or benched as a side character / the antagonist.
batman forever (1995) is my secret favorite live action portrayal. val kilmer had bale's charisma when it came to bruce wayne, and gave batman a unique personality that i adored. he didn't shred his vocal chords to give batman a deeper voice either, instead gave himself an elegant yet commanding edge that reminded me of what i admired about kevin conroy's batman voice. as campy as it is, i love so much of what they did with this movie. i often think of it as a standalone vs it being actually a part of the "burtonverse." especially because batman & robin (1997) is supposed to be part of that franchise and i cannot tell you a single thing that happened in that movie besides maybe uma thurman.
another secret live-action favorite of mine was the foundational movie of adam west's portrayal in batman: the movie (1966) and i will elaborate on that another time either by someone's solicitation or my own hyperfixation driven wills.
now that the live-action shit is out of the way, let's get to the real winners.
the dcau or "timmverse" (bruce timm) or "diniverse" (paul dini) is the name for the dc animated universe franchise during 1992 - 2006 which includes loads of favorite shows/movies of mine. which leads me to say: my favorite portrayals of bruce wayne and batman of all time, is kevin conroy's from justice league (2001 - 2004) and justice league unlimited (2004 - 2006). those two might not be as solid as a legend like batman: the animated series (1992 - 1995) where conroy made his debut, but they were one of my introductory pieces to his portrayal and are a source of a lot of love and nostalgia that still hold up today as a twenty-one year old vs elementary school when i first discovered them. i stayed up til the AM watching them which i had never done before that (it was 7am). i would rewatch my favorite episodes over and over again which i have never done for any other show.
as many have already agreed, conroy was the definitive voice of batman for decades. his beginnings in the legendary batman: the animated series (1991 - 1995) put him on the map as bruce's most recognizable VA, and he went on to voice him in many adaptations that i also adore. a few examples are batman beyond (1999 - 2001) and the rocksteady arkham video game series (2009 - 2015). not only did he form a dynamic duo with mark hamill's joker (who is also so important for the joker's character, but i can't elaborate on that here without a terrific tangent) which employed one of the most potent examples of chemistry i've ever seen in media, but i would've trusted conroy's expertise on bruce/batman to the ends of the earth. he cared about that character, and he showed it in every faithful adaptation he performed. trustworthy and admirable, conroy is hands down the best batman by far, and did justice to his characterization that defined my love for the character. without conroy who brought him alive, i doubt i'd be into batman as much as i am or for as long as i have.
i knew that writing this post i'd get emotional. it's been a year since conroy's death in november 2022. i still remember the night before the news and how i had coincidentally imagined a world without him, come to find out the very next day that he had passed away. i remember exactly where i was when i found out, i remember exactly what i did after. he had honestly been a part of life through batman for almost the entirety of it. he was the celebrity i always wanted to meet, no one was important enough to me to go through that trouble. but conroy was worth it to me, and i missed out on the chance before he passed away. i heard he was always so personable and so kind, and who could ask for better from batman, you know? god there's so much more i could say, but i dont want to be disrespectful to his family who i'm sure miss him terribly, and are the ones that experienced that loss. in the grand scheme of things, i was nothing to him and that's fine, but i'm just very proud of him.
TDLR the character bruce wayne / batman portrayals in any live action adaptations fell short when it comes to animated adaptations of his character. batman forever (1995) is my favorite live-action movie, but it's nothing compared to my love for the voice acting of kevin conroy's bruce wayne / batman in justice league (2001 - 2004) / justice league unlimited (2004 - 2006).