"Beware the Batman" in 2013! New Animated Series

[Mr. Adventure]

Mind you this is truly just the slightest of teasers but the CG art style seems promising.

I've come to appreciate the different styles and designs that go into cartoons and think people sometimes don't respect these as a collaboration between comics and pop cartoons and shortchange the need and contributions of the animation artists. The end results don't always work for me either but I think it's unfair to expect every show to be a throwback to BTAS or everyday comic book art.

 

[Venardhi]

Hm, it's a "lighter" voice than Conroy's (or Bader's or Greenwood's), higher in tone and younger-sounding. I don't recognize it.

MUCH better than McKenzie's "young Batman" though, thankfully.

I'm not sold on the animation or the attempt at creating new villains without having the foundation of the classic baddies around, but I'm happy to give it a shot.

 

[davejames]

Batman already got a number of great series in BTAS, Batman Beyond, Brave and the Bold, and even The Batman. I don't really see a pressing need for another one right now.

I'd much rather see a new Superman series, considering the last one was the rather generic and simplistic STAS.

 

[Venardhi]

Batman is a proven winner for the last 20 years or so. I don't expect we'll see more than a couple years without a Batman series for another decade or two.

 

[Christopher]

MUCH better than McKenzie's "young Batman" though, thankfully.

I thought McKenzie's version of Batman in the Year One movie worked very well for that particular version of Batman, an aloof, forbidding, half-crazy vigilante. He sounded edgy and dangerous and cold, and reminded me vocally of a cross between Jim Caviezel and Michael Emerson of Person of Interest (the show from The Dark Knight screenwriter Jonathan Nolan). He wouldn't have been a good choice for something where Batman is the figure of audience identification, but in Year One, Gordon is the hero and Batman is more of a remote, mysterious figure, so the more off-putting vocal performance works.

I'm not sold on the animation or the attempt at creating new villains without having the foundation of the classic baddies around, but I'm happy to give it a shot.

The villains mentioned in connection with the show aren't original creations, but character who have been introduced in the comics in recent years and haven't been adapted for animation before. But it's been stated that BtB "won't shy away from featuring some of the more well-known Batman foes."

Oh, and I just read that Kurtwood Smith is playing Lt. James Gordon in the show. Apparently this is a Batman early in his career and still learning, a similar premise to The Batman, though there are obvious differences as well.

Batman already got a number of great series in BTAS, Batman Beyond, Brave and the Bold, and even The Batman. I don't really see a pressing need for another one right now.

I'd much rather see a new Superman series, considering the last one was the rather generic and simplistic STAS.

Well, Batman is more popular and brings in more ratings. As always, the most pressing need for a television network is profit. Cartoon Network profits from having a Batman show on the air, but for whatever reason, they don't want any of their shows to run longer than 65 episodes, so every few years we get a new version of Batman.

Maybe if Snyder's Man of Steel is a hit, it'll create a market for a new Superman show. And Superman's already a supporting character in Young Justice, though some are unsatisfied with his characterization there.

 

[Venardhi]

I'm not sold on the animation or the attempt at creating new villains without having the foundation of the classic baddies around, but I'm happy to give it a shot.

The villains mentioned in connection with the show aren't original creations, but character who have been introduced in the comics in recent years and haven't been adapted for animation before. But it's been stated that BtB "won't shy away from featuring some of the more well-known Batman foes."

Interesting. I vaguely recall Anarky but the rest have slipped me by in my on-again off-again comic habit. I guess if you're going to reinvent villains you may as well pick forgettable ones. One could argue they never caught on for a good reason though.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I like the voice whoever it is, and I don't recognize him either. Awesome that Kurtwood Smith is Jim Gordon. He seems to be the only cast member revealed for the series at this time. I'll be giving this a chance. I'm actually looking forward to it.

 

[Christopher]

I guess if you're going to reinvent villains you may as well pick forgettable ones. One could argue they never caught on for a good reason though.

Some of them are characters who were only introduced a few years ago and just haven't had time to catch on beyond the comics themselves. Professor Pyg, for instance, first appeared five years ago and has been a major recurring character in Grant Morrison's acclaimed run on the Batman titles. He's already made a brief cameo in a Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode.

And even if a character "never caught on for a good reason" in the past, that doesn't mean the character can't be transformed into something special. Keep in mind that Mr. Freeze was an obscure joke villain, mainly remembered from his appearances in the '60s sitcom, until Paul Dini's unforgettable reinvention of the character in B:TAS, which has been the basis for every subsequent portrayal of the character. Not to mention that Two-Face fell into obscurity in the early '50s, but then in 1971 Dennis O'Neill reintroduced the character and he went on to become one of the most important members of Batman's rogues' gallery.

 

[Captain Craig]

^^^
Even Firefly has been upgraded from joke to B-lister in Batman's Rogues thanks largely to the animated portrayals.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I'd much rather see a new Superman series, considering the last one was the rather generic and simplistic STAS.

I think a Catwoman series could be cool but I don't know if the "boys" demo would go for it.

 

[Icemizer]

I like the 3d animation and the sparseness of GL should be mitigated by the roof tops and darkness of Batman.

 

[davejames]

I think a Catwoman series could be cool but I don't know if the "boys" demo would go for it.

Oh I'm sure they would, if she looked the way she did in that recent Catwoman short...

 

[Dick Whitman]

That depends on the age. If its actual young boys I doubt they will care too much...yet.

 

[USS Mariner]

I like the 3d animation and the sparseness of GL should be mitigated by the roof tops and darkness of Batman.

Like GL, "Beware's" CG looks positively AWFUL for a modern TV series, and it has nothing to do with the art design (i.e. character environment design, color palette).

It's the material shaders, or what a layman would ID as "the lighting," though its far more than the brightness of a scene.

Nine times out of 10, the thing that betrays any CG model or background is the shadows and lighting, not actually the density or shape of the mesh. Physical models had/have to deal with this same issue. Scale, believe it or not, is more dependent on lighting rather than fidelity. This is one of the reasons that Jefferies supported the clean lines for the 1701, because any large aircraft or ship loses its details from a distance, but the way it reflects light from the sun and water is entirely different from how a scale, ultra-detailed model does.

In theater, light and shadow play an integral part in terms of mood, theme, and even to establish key info (i.e. blue lighting is a traditional stage short hand for " night", which was abused to death in the heyday of "day-for-night" shots in film.) Proper light and lighting allows an audience to accept a bunch of people and cardboard sets as a night scene in the country, because the lighting lets the brain accept the lack of fidelity because it "feels" right in terms of contrast.

In things like animation and static art, lighting is even more key as it must now communicate physical information from a 2D image, in additional to narrative information. Now, the trick in this realm is not how much info you need to communicate, but what information. On a piece of paper, try to draw a box in shadow with as few pen strokes as possible, and you'll know what I'm talking about.

While the character and set design are clearly from the same people who made B:TAS, S:TAS:, Beyond, Static Shock, and JL/U, the lighting actually makes it look less immerse because of how washed out and blurry things are all the time in GL and Beware. It's hard to explain without visuals, but my art energies are tied up in a comic project, so I can only describe the issue. :/

 

[Christopher]

While the character and set design are clearly from the same people who made B:TAS, S:TAS:, Beyond, Static Shock, and JL/U...

Well, that's technically right (since most animated shows these days have some veterans of those shows on staff), but it should be clarified that Green Lantern and Beware the Batman are not from the same veterans of those shows. GL:TAS is from Bruce Timm (with Avatar: The Last Airbender's Giancarlo Volpe), while Beware is from Glen Murakami (with Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated's Mitch Watson). Murakami is known for the refined "New Look" character designs from The New Batman Adventures, as well as his work on Teen Titans and Ben 10: Alien Force/Ultimate Alien.

So even though both shows are in 3D computer animation, they're not from the same design team, and it's not yet known whether they have any production staffers in common besides executive producer Sam Register.

 

[USS Mariner]

While the character and set design are clearly from the same people who made B:TAS, S:TAS:, Beyond, Static Shock, and JL/U...

Well, that's technically right (since most animated shows these days have some veterans of those shows on staff), but it should be clarified that Green Lantern and Beware the Batman are not from the same veterans of those shows. GL:TAS is from Bruce Timm (with Avatar: The Last Airbender's Giancarlo Volpe), while Beware is from Glen Murakami (with Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated's Mitch Watson). Murakami is known for the refined "New Look" character designs from The New Batman Adventures, as well as his work on Teen Titans and Ben 10: Alien Force/Ultimate Alien.

So even though both shows are in 3D computer animation, they're not from the same design team, and it's not yet known whether they have any production staffers in common besides executive producer Sam Register.

That's right. My mistake.

 

[davejames]

Like GL, "Beware's" CG looks positively AWFUL for a modern TV series, and it has nothing to do with the art design (i.e. character environment design, color palette).

I think GL looks pretty damn good for a Saturday morning cartoon. Obviously the CG isn't quite as sophisticated as what we see on Clone Wars, but there are very few cartoons that have THAT kind of budget.

And the storytelling is strong enough that nothing more is really necessary. The characters are expressive enough, and the simpler cartoony style fits the lighter tone of the show really well, I think.

 

[JD]

Batman already got a number of great series in BTAS, Batman Beyond, Brave and the Bold, and even The Batman. I don't really see a pressing need for another one right now.

I'd much rather see a new Superman series, considering the last one was the rather generic and simplistic STAS.

As much as I like Batman, I have to agree. I'm not that familiar with the characters yet, but from what I've seen of them, I'd rather get a Flash, Green Arrow, or Wonder Woman series.

 

[USS Mariner]

Batman already got a number of great series in BTAS, Batman Beyond, Brave and the Bold, and even The Batman. I don't really see a pressing need for another one right now.

I'd much rather see a new Superman series, considering the last one was the rather generic and simplistic STAS.

As much as I like Batman, I have to agree. I'm not that familiar with the characters yet, but from what I've seen of them, I'd rather get a Flash, Green Arrow, or Wonder Woman series.

The thing is, Brave and the Bold gave us exactly that. Batman's involvement in both the TV show and the original comic allowed the writers to give little-known or not-so-popular characters mass market exposure through the draw of the Batman name. Hell, Batman barely did anything in half of the episodes, not because we didn't want to see him, but there were so many previously-underused characters that turned out to be hits that we all knew would likely never get another look if they were to have their own show.

 

[USS Mariner]

Like GL, "Beware's" CG looks positively AWFUL for a modern TV series, and it has nothing to do with the art design (i.e. character environment design, color palette).

I think GL looks pretty damn good for a Saturday morning cartoon. Obviously the CG isn't quite as sophisticated as what we see on Clone Wars, but there are very few cartoons that have THAT kind of budget.

And the storytelling is strong enough that nothing more is really necessary. The characters are expressive enough, and the simpler cartoony style fits the lighter tone of the show really well, I think.

Shader algorithms don't require money (directly), they require time allocated in preproduction, which is the first to get cut by TPTB because they don't like having projects being worked on outside of a mandated schedule. This is done as a measure against fraud in many fields, but often an extra day in pre-pro can radically change parts of a project.