One of, for me personally at least, the most influential Batman graphic novels in Gotham By Gaslight.
The story, then part of the Elseworld stories – where characters familiar are put in eras, times or places unfamiliar, it sees Bruce Wayne putting on the suit as notorious murderer Jack the Ripper comes to Gotham:
Originally published in 1989, Gotham by Gaslight tells the “What if” story of a 19th century Caped Crusader who comes face to face with the Butcher of Whitechapel. It’s Batman vs. Jack the Ripper written by Brian Augustyn and illustrated by none other than the creator of Hellboy, Mike Mignola.
I remember the book coming out the same year as the first big screen outing and it was just as important to my then fledgling nerdom.
The case of the Ripper was always one of interest to me, Batman was my all-time favourite hero and the art of Mike Mignola, pre-Hellboy, was a revelation to me.
Ad now it seems that it’s set to be the next DC Animated movie.
The upcoming Batman and Harley Quinn animated movie will debut at SDCC but the artwork for the box (below) has revealed that the NEXT movie from the studio will be Gotham By Gaslight!
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We can only hope that Warners/DC give this the full Year One/Dark Knight Returns treatment because I think I’ll die happy if I get to see Mignola’s iconic art come to life…
In Batman and Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Jason Woodrue (a.k.a. The Floronic Man) embark on an ecological quest to save the planet – and, unfortunately, eliminate most of humankind along the way. To save humanity, Batman and Nightwing are forced to enlist Harley Quinn to catch Poison Ivy, Harley’s BFF and frequent partner-in-crime. But Batman’s patience is put to the test by the unpredictable and untrustworthy Harley during the twists and turns the reluctant companions face during their bumpy road trip. The result is a thrill ride of action, adventure and comedy no Batman fan has seen before.
Batman and Harley Quinn will be available on Digital HD August 15 followed by the Blu-Ray and DVD release on August 29.
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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