The Dark Knight Departs, Part Two

Ty Templeton is a Canadian cartoonist who was intimately involved with the Batman Animated comic books from the first issue of Batman:The Animated Series to the twelfth issue of Gotham Adventures, the most current "animated-style" comic in the series. He's a terrific storyteller, and a great example of a comic book professional who is both accessible to fans and maintains exceptionally high standards for his work. While Mr. Templeton is not the only writer-artist to work on the series, he is probably the single DC comics writer-artist most identified with the comic. After these excerpts from my interview, I'll discuss why the Batman Animated comics are so good, and how they differ from the animated series - and most comic-book adaptations. As a side note, the latter half of this page contains a few illustrations, so please be patient while they download.

TY: That's more of a compliment than a question, but I'll try to answer it anyway. The best way to avoid pitfalls is to be aware of them.  When I was asked to write the book, I was a fan, just like you, and hated to see those tepid storyboard rehashes, just like you.  Since most writing is 10% inspiration, (the idea) and 90% perspiration, (plugging up plot holes and getting it to flow, etc.) the trick is to spend the perspiration time making sure it's not tepid and rehashy.  If any writer reads his/her own scripts objectively, he'll see the scenes that are dull and wordy, or tepid...and remove them or rewrite them.  All of us writers are prone to stories that don't work, or scenes that stink, I write them all the time, heck you should read the first drafts of any issue that you ended up liking...believe me you'd be amazed at how bad they stink....  I think what makes the scripting on the published version of the book work well, is that I'm able to recognize and notice the lousy stuff on the second or third draft and get rid of it.

DAN:  Paul Dini et al have obviously redefined Bob Kane's characters a lot and I'm assuming you have some strict guidelines in scripting for the new takes of Batman, Batgirl, etc so that your version doesn't clash with the TV version. Could you comment on the ease or difficulty of fitting your story ideas and concepts into Dini et al's over-riding concept of what Batman should be like?

TY: The funny thing is, I don't really have strict guidelines, at least not ones I don't impose upon myself. DCs not guideline heavy about the animated books (as is evidenced by the atrocious ADVENTURES IN THE DCU that they never should have published last year.) The two editor's I've had on this book (Peterson at first, and now Vincenzo) are not as attached to the TV show as I am.  Often they haven't seen episodes, or didn't like a part of the TVcontinuity...they're both DC guys, and are attached to the version of the Batman they also work on in the other DC Batman books.  The guy who's really guarding the TV continuity around the office is me.  (In fact, if you look at the issues of Batman adventures written by writers other than Dini or myself, you'll notice they have large continuity glitches...especially in their Catwoman, Harley or Clayface issues.)

I don't have trouble "fitting in" with the Dini/ Timm/ WB version of Batman, cause it's about my favorite version since O'Neil/Adams or Robbins/Novick back in the seventies.  I'm pretty darn lucky to not only get to work on Batman, but to get work on a version of Batman that seems "right" to me.

DAN:  Your comic, like the TV series, is enjoyed both by kids and adults. Is this tricky for that reason or is your secret that you don't dumb down plots for children? I remember the issue in which Batgirl met Talia for the first time - you went into more detail about college life (having labs and T.A.s) than one would expect from a comic with a large proportion of children readers.

TY: I suppose the trick is not to dumb it down.  I think I mentioned once that Robert Heinlein, the sf writer, mentioned the best way to write for kids is to write the best story you know how, and take out all the references to sex and taxes, cause kids won't get either....

That's the advice I live by.

Another reason why I enjoy the Batman Animated comics is their price. I've been to quite a few comics conventions and the price for most back issues of the series is amazingly cheap. I've bought back issues for as little as a quarter apiece and, aside from new issues on the newsstand, have never paid more than the original cover price. These are overlooked treasures that are affordable to collect. There aren't many comics I can say that about! DC occassionally repackages these issues as trade paperbacks, which aren't as good a value as the original comics but might be all that you can find at your local comics store. Despite the popularity of the animated series, DC never really publicized these comics very well, and (if sales figures are any indication) many fans might be unaware that these comics exist at all.

Well, now you know. Go out and get a few back issues!

A subtler reason for enjoying the comics comes from the relaxed standards of the Comics Code Authority in relation to Fox's Broadcast Standards and Practices. Fox's guidelines for the series were frequently bizarre (Paul Dini and Bruce Timm have shared several anecdotes in various magazines,in which Fox insisted that handguns be replaced with machine guns, and where slaps in the face were changed to kicks) but there were a core group of situations which were off-limits by definition. These were summarized by Bruce Timm in a humorous drawing published in at least one animation magazine. There could be no drug references, onscreen use of alcohol or smoking, depictions of religion, breaking glass, nudity, children in jeopardy,or murder. It's a credit to the writers that many viewers are probably totally unaware that none of these restrictions existed. Unfortunately, some of Batman's greatest mysteries in the comics were murder mysteries. Indeed, there is no crime that Batman despises more than murder. Fox's stipulation, understandable though it is, robbed Batman: The Animated Series from some potentially gripping storylines.

The animated comics are not subject to the same limitations, and some of Ty Templeton's stories examine many of the topics prohibited by Broadcast Standards and Practices.

The first issue of Gotham Adventures, for example, revolves around a businessman and philanthropist whose son has been murdered by the Joker. Realizing that the Joker will never be sentenced to death, the businessman takes out a contract on the Joker's life. The story climaxes with Batman forcing the businessman to grapple with his decision to kill, and to allow the law to deal with the Joker instead. It's a powerful story, well worth anyone's time - but would have been impossible as an episode of the animated series. The same is true for the fourth issue of the same series, in which Catwoman kidnaps the head of a cosmetics company because the company abuses cats in their testing labs. While no overly disturbing graphics are shown, some of the cats have clearly been blinded in the course of research. It's hard to imagine this story being shown on TV as well.

Perhaps the best example of what I am getting at is in the ninth issue. (You can click on the graphic on the right to see the page in greater detal in a new window). Batman and Batgirl are tracking the League of Assassins across Tibet. Batgirl (who is a police officer in the animated continuity) finds a handgun in one of the assassin's bags and decides to take it along as a weapon. Batman disagrees, and tells her why in a page-long conversation. The layout is first-rate, with the panels on the upper portion of the page gradually zooming into the Batman's face. We see less of Batgirl after the first panel, and in the last panel we see that she has rejected Batman's advice and turns away from him. Notice how subtle yet expressive the body language is (courtesy of illustrator Rick Burchett). Also, notice how simple and nonpretentious Batman's speech is. His story is told simply and clearly, without the often florid vocaubulary that plagues other modern comic books. This is an anti-gun speech, and while there are some who might resent Mr. Templeton's insertion of a soapbox into the story, there can be no denying that the speech is moving - and is appropriate because it is delivered within character.

Scott Peterson, Ty Templeton's successor in Gotham Adventures, also writes some fine stories, even if these are more exclusively child-oriented than Templeton's ever were, and there are certainly other writers on the various animated comics (including Paul Dini) who do fantastic work. Hillary J. Bader, in particular, does a great job in the Batman Adventures:The Lost Years miniseries that bridges the gap between Batman and Robin Adventures and Gotham Adventures.  I recommend all of these comic books to anyone who would like to enjoy a few issues without having to worry about multi-issue story arcs or confusing and unexplained plot twists that depend upon encyclopedic knowledge of the character's history.

However, a word about the short-lived comic series Adventures in the DCU - avoid these comics unless you are a die-hard fan of Bruce Timm-style character designs. The storylines and dialogue are often amazingly simplified for children - something that Ty Templeton never did - and the artwork, while pleasing, is often generic. A worse offense is the writers' lack of fidelity to the characterizations of the lead characters. In issue 18, during an animated style Justice League story, Batman advocates using a nuclear weapon against a powerful sentient android named Amazo. No, you didn't misread the previous paragraph. And - nice as it is to know that Batman has faith in Green Lantern's powers - it is very disturbing that Steve Vance's story not only suggests that limited-use nuclear weaponry is a good thing but credits the idea to the Batman. Reread Ty Templeton's beautifully succinct recapitulation of the Waynes' murder, and you're realize that Batman is a hero who doesn't want anyone to die. Nuclear weapons, even moreso than handguns, are created solely to kill human beings.

Like all the DC "animated" comics, the various Batman Animated comics suffer from the stigma of being children's books. Such is the criticism offered by fanboys who will do anything to convince their peers that comic-books are an adult artform. I'm old enough to remember when children were the predominant consumers of comic books, and comics were in far better financial and artistic shape back then. There is absolutely nothing wrong with creating entertainment for children. Furthermore, back in the "good old days" when comics were sold on newsstands, most of the best selling comics appealled to multiple age groups. In a better world, the Batman Animated comics would not only enjoy a much wider audience than they have today, but they would be readily available in Archie Digest style formats so younger kids can catch up on their adventures without having to hunt down old issues.

In the third (and final) section of this essay, I'll examine Batman Beyond. It's definitely the most controversial of the four Dini-Timm superhero series, and probably the most popular since the original Batman Animated Series aired in the early 1990s. To read this installment, click here.