The Classics
Though I’m not entirely sure as to the age bracket that Elf Blood appeals to, I’m reasonably sure that the majority of you readers are of sufficient age to remember watching the absolutely fantastic Batman: The Animated Series during the 90s. Well, I was feeling a little nostalgic and so I started watching it again, myself, and having not seen the series since I was a child, I was absolutely gobsmacked by how high the quality of both the writing and the animation was; Not only was everything rendered in the most beautiful, dark, noir-esque style that I have ever seen nor that has been accomplished since, the best part of the entire series was the tragedy and sympathy with which many of the villains were represented. I almost wept as I watched the Two-Face two-parter again; How could a show that was nominally created for children tackle the pain and conflict of having multiple personalities with the level of emotion and greyness of morality that BTAS did?
BTAS was definitely one of my main inspirations as a child; It sparked my interest in noir drama, which I retain to this day and try to work in my own creations wherever possible. What I love about the show is that now, as an adult and a creator, I have a whole new appreciation for the complexity and sheer brilliance of a show that could just as easily have been a standard, toyetic saturday-morning drivelspout.
In fact, it still inspires me to this day. On the backburner of my mind, I’ve been working on a series combining witches, gritty cop drama and the naive optimism of university (I’ll explain it later, just run with it for now). I hadn’t found a medium through which I could effectively tell this story; Comics, I felt would lack the ability to introduce slow, contemplative pacing interspersed with high-octane action without being dull or seemingly pretentions. Stage, magic would be difficult to represent and the whole thing would probably look quite absurd. Live-Action (Let’s just say that I would somehow be able to get it done in Live Action) would be quite nice, but I’m reasonably sure budget restraints would restrict the show somewhat.
When I started watching BTAS again, it hit me: Perhaps animation would be a viable route? BTAS showed that a visually and dramatically dark series could be done; With advances in technology being as they are, perhaps I would be able to assemble a small team of animators and voice actors to produce a short pilot for submission purposes? And even the dramatic style of BTAS has begun to work its way in; Where before the story would have been about witches fighting monsters, it seems increasingly banal in the face of the complex villains and other antagonists I’m concocting to try and match the genius of Dini, Timm and their team.
I have seen further by standing on the shoulders of giants: Just need to be sure that I’m not copying their work directly! But I’m sure that won’t be a problem. In the meantime, I’ve got plenty of comic work to be getting on with! Enjoy today’s Elf Blood!
M.
P.S. Mark Hammill is the DEFINITIVE Joker performance. End. Of.
Yes, Mark Hammill voiced the best villains. Anyone else see Castle in the Sky?
The Ghibli one? Or another one? Reminds me, I must watch more Miyazaki. His works have a certain… Innocence that mine sorely lacks.
I have watched it
hmmm, watched it with my eldest when that first came out…iswas good. Still like the Hobbit that was done in the late 70’s. Dark? heh, redfined black for me.
Sounds like something I should give a crack, then! If I can find time for it in between projects 😛 Who was the director?
I also appear to have cut my thumb while preparing praline truffles, and hitting the space bar has notified me of this. So take note, if you have a thumb injury, use a graphics tablet! Apparently it doesn’t hurt so much!