A new mainstream
A new mainstream |
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Page 13 of 23  Sandman (DC Comics) Some of the tie-in Bat-tales were better than others. For example, Arkham Asylum (1989) was a lavishly produced graphic novel with outstanding photorealist painted artwork by Dave McKean, and a cynically amusing story by Grant Morrison: it concerned the thin line that separates Batman's mental make-up from that of his foes. Similarly, The Killing Joke (1988), by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland, was a superior take on the origin-story of The Joker, again juxtaposing The Joker's psychosis with that of Batman. Both of these titles were also remarkable for their scenes of explicit violence. Less distinguished Bat-products included: Digital Justice (1990), by Pepe Moreno, a computer-generated romp with cyberpunk references; and Judgement on Gotham (1991), written by John Wagner and Alan Grant, and illustrated with visceral gusto by Simon Bisley, about a punch-up cum team-up between Batman and Judge Dredd. Perhaps the nadir of Batmania came in 1988 when Robin was killed off in the four-part story 'A Death in the Family' in Batman. DC Comics achieved this by inviting a phone-in from fans, who voted on whether he should live or die. The vote went 5,343 to 5,271 in favour of killing him (which pleased the makers of the 1989 movie no end because they had no intention of featuring Robin in the first place): naturally, the character made a comeback soon afterwards." Batman was not the only DC Comics hero. Other newly revised titles included: Green Arrow (1988), Black Orchid (1988), and most impressively, Animal Man (1988), by Grant Morrison and various artists, which chronicled the adventures of a sort of costumed animal rights activist, who uses his animal-like powers to thwart their evil human exploiters. The company also scored a major hit with a graphic-novel version of an old Alan Moore story, now with an added conclusion and colour reproduction: (V for Vendetta 1990), about a more subtle kind of hero, driven by anarchist motivations. Marvel hit back with some revisions of their own. The Punisher had originally debuted in 1974, a story about a trigger-happy villainous ex-Marine. Now, he was revived by writer Mike Baron (ex-of Nexus) as a Dark Knight-style vigilante, and a 'one-man war on crime'. The character appeared in both a regular comic (1987), and a black-and-white magazine (1989): the level of violence in both was remarkable, as was their right-wing politics (The Punisher made Miller's Batman look like a social worker). Eventually, the comic became the inspiration for an 18-certificate movie: a dire, straight-to-video effort, starring Dolph Lundgren.  Sandman (DC Comics) |