Your favorite Gotham?

[El Payaso]

For me it isn't ... they still mix up enough other shots, along with sets to make it a creation onto it's own. Plus, Year One artist described his opening shots of the elevated train and filth to be lifted and based on Chicago itself and it's elevated train. They even give a nod to it by Gordon being a transfer from the Chicago Police Department.

Alex Ross, one of the best comic book artists of all-time, from Chicago as well, CLEARLY in his brillaint "War on Crime" graphic has his Gotham based on Chicago very obviously as well. His Gotham is potrayed as a modern metropolis.

And there are other arrtists who draw Gotham differently than Chicago. What's the deal with Year One and Ross specifically?

I prefer my Batman more grounded in actual real world horrors, and enviornment.

Real life ghettos, and slums, or China Towns in REAL cities, when driving by at night, or being in them ... I can very much appreciate the intimidating nature of the surroundings, and can cathartically envision a real Batman prowling the roof tops at night.

The comics prefer it grounded in fantasy sometimes. Anything specially wrong with it?

Real life ghettos, and slums, or China Towns in REAL cities, when driving by at night, or being in them ... I can very much appreciate the intimidating nature of the surroundings, and can cathartically envision a real Batman prowling the roof tops at night.

They are MUCH more horrifying to me than excessive, and overdesigned city scapes with German values, as opposed to American architexture.

A normal city horrifies people but one with big statues and ghastly buildings does not.

Like I said, and to respectfully disagree with Paul Dini ... when Batman himself is an EXTENSION of the art design of Gotham, and if Gotham is too "freak-ish" like in itself ... a Batman being inside of it is well ... kind of normal.

Did German expressionism made horrifying characters any less scary?
Did Dr. Caligari or Frankenstein monster look normal because the environment was as horrifying as the were?Absolutely not.

In a real urban enviornment, the image of a Batman is more POWERFUL as it stands out, and you can recognize the symbol that he stands for in a much more empowering way.

In a real urban enviornment, the image of a Batman could be easily seen as absurd.

 

[GothamAlleys]

And even in making the films timeless, he ultimately failed at that too considering we see 80's vehicles, 80's style dress at certain times (B89 - Bruce's FUGLY Bill Cosby sweater, Mock Turtle Neck and Jeans), and of course ... the PRINCE music, and not truly giving the Joker his own theme, but rather basing his appearances off Prince music. MAJOR face palm.

The timelessness thing is an inaccurate description that came from the fanbase. The movie is specifically set in 1989, just in a different reality where historical events of 1947 and its look and fashion still takes place

Anyway, I dont really have a preference over artistic dark Gotham or a regular city. It depends on the kind of a story. The industrial 40s Gotham fit the bizarro world of the Burton movies to a T, the colorful crayola toy set fits Schumacher movies and real glass and steel city fits perfectly with Nolan realistic vision

 

[TX85]

^Very true!

 

[AlphaWolf]

And there are other arrtists who draw Gotham differently than Chicago. What's the deal with Year One and Ross specifically?

Did you read my post? The reason I brought those two HALLMARK Batman stories into question, was to talk about their visual depictions of Gotham City being EERILY similar to real urban cities, specifically Chicago.

Mentioning it was to negate the statements made by several people in this thread that Nolan's Gotham in BEGINS and TDK is too much like a normal city, un-imaginative, or too "Chicago" ... it's been depicted like that numerous times before as an actual believable enviornment.

The comics prefer it grounded in fantasy sometimes. Anything specially wrong with it?

Did I say otherwise?

A normal city horrifies people but one with big statues and ghastly buildings does not.

Did I say otherwise? Once again, READ. I said for myself, and used words like "I" to describe what I prefer in my Gotham City.

I don't prefer it looking like something out of a fantasy novel, or a elseworld version of Germany as opposed to a gritty, slum, crime infested, real steel and real building and working American city.

BTW, for you Gothic hounds. BEGINS has Batman standing surveying the city, post his first appearance on an ACTUAL piece of Gothic architexture, at the Chicago judicial building.

Did German expressionism made horrifying characters any less scary?

Did I say otherwise?

If you're referencing Returns, no I didn't find Devito in all his midget glory, and hammy over the top performance to be all that threatning. Had nothing to do with the German Expressionism.

That did nothing for me. It just once again let me know its an elseworld fantasy tale. And FOR ME ... the more raw, real and gritty something is presented to me, the more I believe it, thus more likely to fear it.

In a real urban enviornment, the image of a Batman could be easily seen as absurd.

Of course. Thankfully even in broad day light on the steps of city hall, as presented as say ... TDK Rises trailer, the Batman still doesn't look goofy.

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

Alpha Wolf where did you come from and when is your vacation over?

 

[Macphisto]

Whenever I think of Gotham, I think of the opening of Sam Hamm's B89 script:

The city of Tomorrow: stark angles, creeping shadows,
dense, crowded, airless, a random tangle of steel and
concrete, self-generating, almost subterranean in its
aspect... as if hell had erupted through the sidewalks and
kept on growing. A dangling fat moon shines overhead, ready
to burst.

Amid the chrome and glass sits a dark and ornate Gothic
anomaly: old City Cathedral, once grand, now abandoned --
long since boarded up and scheduled for demolition.

On the rooftop far above us, STONE GARGOYLES gaze down from
their shadowy, windswept perches, keeping monstrous watch
over the distant streets below, sightless guardians of the
Gotham night.

One of them is moving.

'....as if hell had erupted through the sidewalks and kept on growing.' Seriously, how awesome is that?

 

[Cain]

'....as if hell had erupted through the sidewalks and kept on growing.' Seriously, how awesome is that?

The movie did a great job at depicting that too. Like I said before a large appeal of that movie to me as a 6 yr old back in 1989? Gotham City and how similar it looked to where I live. I grew up in uptown Manhattan (Washington heights) during the Dinkins as mayor era. The crack epidemic ridden days of late 1980's and early 1990's NYC. I saw things first hand that I never should've at that age and wish there was a Batman around to have had done something about (nowadays that neighborhood finally has more than 1 precinct).

Hookers on the streets by abandoned theaters everywhere from all the way up at the Bronx down Harlem and further down to times square, dark alleyways filled with danger in the form of thieves and vagrants and just overall grime was something I always inadvertently witnessed in everyday life growing up in the city. The first scene of that movie completely captured the idea of someone like Batman ever existing in the real world to me. I will always love Burton's movie for that. That's why that Gotham always worked best for me it's like how Miller described Gotham. To paraphrase it was something like "It's 70's new york after dark".

 

[hafizbat]

What did you guys think of the Arkham City style? I thought it was nearly perfect, as with everything in that franchise. I also LOVE the red skies in BTAS. It may not be realistic and it wouldn't work in a live movie, I still will always imagine Gotham with a red sky.

 

[TX85]

AC could be great as a bad part of town on film,Not sure about the red skies But I think BTAS's Gotham could be done perfectly on film!!

Use BTAS as a template/Film in SF(I've always thought SF would be a perfect place to film IF trying to do TAS version)/and places from the comics as sets&stuff!!!

 

[nogap87]

Arkham City reminded me of Forever's Gotham with most of the lights off.

 

[TX85]

Arkham City reminded me of Forever's Gotham with most of the lights off.

Ain't that kinda a good thing?I mean most people's main complaint about BF and B&R's Gothams is the neon&other extremely colorful lighting!

 

[nogap87]

Ain't that kinda a good thing?I mean most people's main complaint about BF and B&R's Gothams is the neon&other extremely colorful lighting!

I wasn't complaining. I'm one of the two people who voted for Forever's Gotham being their favorite.

 

[TX85]

Oh my bad lol,I wasn't saying you were and I was simply asking,Forever and B&R's were my favorite as a kid and now I prefer others much more But I don't think they are so horrible!!!

 

[nogap87]

Oh my bad lol,I wasn't saying you were and I was simply asking,Forever and B&R's were my favorite as a kid and now I prefer others much more But I don't think they are so horrible!!!

No worries. I look forward to seeing what Rocksteady does with the city if/when they include it in their next Batman game.

 

[akfj]

AC could be great as a bad part of town on film,Not sure about the red skies But I think BTAS's Gotham could be done perfectly on film!!

The red skies at night were only featured on The New Batman Adventures series. Batman: The Animated Series had a regular black sky at night.

 

[Marx]

Tim Burton's Gotham City is definitely my favorite. It really is a toss-up between B89 and BR for me.

 

[DaveMoral]

Arkham City reminded me of Forever's Gotham with most of the lights off.

Oddly enough the description of AC being like Forever Gotham with the lights out is prettt much Burton's Gotham.

 

[Comics N' Toons]

I think B89 (and possibly Returns) conveyed the Gotham City of the books the best. Everytime I watch it, I think about Batman in the 70's and 80's when the true masters of the medium were at the helm (Denny O'neil, Gerry Conway, Len Wein, Frank Robbins etc.)

It looked like a real city but had the comic book feel without going over the top