Over in his blog, my pal Bob Greenberger has his comments about Gotham, the show that wants to be for Batman what Smallville was for Superman. You can take a moment to go there and check it out. I'll wait.
I'm sure there are things in the show that annoy or anger regular fans of the Batman comics being published today. What those fans don't realize is that the show's producers really don't care about making the 50,000 of them (if there still are that many) happy. They are aiming at the millions of people who have seen the movies.
So the rather heavy-handed introductions of Oswald Cobblepot (who walks like a penguin) and Selina ("Call me Cat") Kyle are for movie fans to be able to point to and say, "Hey, I know who that person is going to become." More astute ones will also recognize Ed Nigma, Harvey Dent, and Ivy. But they have no frame of reference for characters like Harvey Bullock and Renee Montoya, so however they are played in the show, well, that's who they are.
That's not to say there aren't some Easter eggs for the longtime comics fans. For example, the waste treatment plant that is to be built near Arkham Asylum. Somewhere down the road, a two-bit criminal calling himself the Red Hood -- or perhaps just some nondescript member of a criminal gang -- is going to fall into the toxic waste there.
All that said, Gotham is much more like the early years of Dick Tracy than a superhero adventure. Gangsters who are just a bit over the top. Crimes that are too outlandish for CSI or NCIS or even Criminal Minds. And a hero who sometimes has to fight the system in order to do his job.
And if you're going to do a series about a city that grows up to be Batman's home town, it's probably the way to go.
This may not be the right post. I'm Mike Bond and I was a huge reader of comic books during the 70's, 80's and 90's. I was reading some of my old comics and I saw your name in the Daily Planet Feature. I always like those and I actually wish that it hadn't been ended. I don't regularly collect comics now. I just think the direction is too dark as well as being too expensive.
ReplyDeleteAt one point I had close to 3000 comics. I gave most of them away to my nephews who love comics. My 12 year old nephew, Connor, had his own comic book publish. http://mlatcomics.com/krc/ is the link to an event that he recently did.
I kept about 1500 of my favorite series. The original Justice League (I have almost all the issues), All-Star Squadron, the Nam, the Teen Titans series that was done by Marv Wolfman, the Shadow, Legion of super heroes, Batman Adventures. A lot to say the least.
I just wanted to thank you for your work on the daily planet. And I do have a question for you. Well at least one right now. In Justice League 100, it’s the annual crossover for JLA-JSA, no one remembers the Seven Soldiers of Victory since they were thrown back in time with their battle with the Nebula Man. However, Green Arrow of Old earth 1 says he has never heard of them. Yet in JLA 78-79, Green Arrow meets the Vigilante, who was a member of the Seven Soldiers. I’m not sure if that was a mistake or what. Again thank you.
Hello Mr Rozakis. With no clear altenative to contacting you, I humbly post here:
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your work at DC for many years, from Answer Man to 'mazing man. In a remarkable reversal of the usual story, I uncovered a complete stash of 'mazing man issues--NOT thrown out by my mom--whilst cleaning out old boxes (at the behest of that other mortal enemy of comics, the Wife).
I hope it wouldn't be entirely inappropriate to ask (nay, beg) for an autograph on at least one of those great books? (I'm partial to either #1 or the Frank Miller cover--of which I as a fan was possibly almost as proud as you must've been at the time--but I'll leave that decision up to you, assuming you'd deign to comply.)
I'm in Merrick, not far from your workplace, so it would be entirely feasible from my end. I appreciate your indulgence, and whatever the answer is, it sincerely won't affect my persistent enjoyment of your stellar work. Excelsior! [oops, wrong publisher, but I get my drift] Thanks!
Contact me at BobRo32@aol.com and we will see what we can work out.
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