Comic Book Influences on Tim Burton's Batman (1989)

[BatmAngelus]

Now a feature

http://www.batman-online.com/features/2008/7/19/comic-influences-on-tim-burtons-batman-1989

[BurtonBatman]

I have frequented the "influences" thread at BOF, which deserves a sticky by the way, many times looking at how similar shots in B89 and DC #27-37 are.    Its amazing how they read like story boards.  Thank you, BatmAngelus, as well as thecolorsblend, and Evil Twin for showing that the most recent Batfilms are not the only ones that have been "true" to the comics  .    

@BatmAngelus:  Would it be possible to add frames from The Killing Joke to the above? The Joker Origin seems to fit.  And are any of the above from Strange Apparitions? Also, it would be very interesting to see similiar threads with BB and TDK, here and at BOF .

 

[BurtonBatman]

And are any of the above from Strange Apparitions?  

Posted too soon.  You answered my question preemptively .

[BatmAngelus]

In re-reading my post, I see that I didn't actually cite what comics those were.  Oops.
Anyways, yes, the two photos of Joker on the television are from Strange Apparitions's Laughing Fish story.  I will fix my post to credit it.

Would it be possible to add frames from The Killing Joke to the above? And are any of the above from Strange Apparitions? Also, it would be very interesting to see similiar threads with BB and TDK, here and at BOF .  

I'm sure that I, or someone else, could dig up a few similarities in visuals between The Killing Joke and the film as well.  
While I know that the comic was influential on Burton, I don't really see a lot of it in the movie, aside from a few similarities that could be coincidences (i.e. the chemical bath origin, the Batcomputer with multiple screens, a shot of Batman on the rooftop next to the Bat-Signal, the Batmobile rushing into the Joker's hideout).  I'll be happy to be proven wrong, though.

As for BB, I did the same with Begins at the DC Comments forum.  I can transfer it over to here, too.  And I'm sure there will be stuff from The Dark Knight...

[ZUPERZERO]

Great Post!!!, i knew detective comics 27 and others and have found some of this, other scene is in both Batman 89 and Detective 27 is Comissioner Gordon in Wayne Manor (at the begining of both adventures) i will try to put the images too

this post proves how close to the Original Batman is to Burton's Batman

[BurtonBatman]

Michael Uslan in the intro for Batman In The Fifties: Apparently, the Batmobile of 1950 "would also be the primary influence for genius production designer Anton Furst, who imagineered the 1989 Batmobile for the first Batman feature, winning an Oscar for his creative efforts."
The Batmobile of 1950 gave the car its trademark "long" look as well as the flaming afterburner in the back of the vehicle that probably gave Furst the influence.

This is interesting.  When I was rereading my Batman Chronicles #1 recently, I noticed that the red "high powered" car Batman uses in DC#30 in part 2 of the Hugo Strange arc looked similar  to the B89/BR Batmobile in that it was long.  I thought that must have been the primary influence, but I guess not. 

I'm sure that I, or someone else, could dig up a few similarities in visuals between The Killing Joke and the film as well.  
While I know that the comic was influential on Burton, I don't really see a lot of it in the movie, aside from a few similarities that could be coincidences (i.e. the chemical bath origin, the Batcomputer with multiple screens, a shot of Batman on the rooftop next to the Bat-Signal, the Batmobile rushing into the Joker's hideout).  I'll be happy to be proven wrong, though.

Could you elaborate on what you mean by "coincidences?"  Are you saying that the Joker origin scenes in B89 could have had more direct influences by other sources?  I would consider the Joker frames you mentioned pretty direct influences.  What's the difference?

As for BB, I did the same with Begins at the DC Comments forum.  I can transfer it over to here, too.  And I'm sure there will be stuff from The Dark Knight...

Please do 

[BatmAngelus]

This thread has a sticky now.  Cool.

Could you elaborate on what you mean by "coincidences?"  Are you saying that the Joker origin scenes in B89 could have had more direct influences by other sources?  I would consider the Joker frames you mentioned pretty direct influences.  What's the difference?

By coincidences, I mean that the similarities may not mean that they are entirely from The Killing Joke.
For example, the shot of Batman on the rooftop looking at the Bat-Signal- I would think that this is a pretty standard shot in Batman comics.  Plus, the composition and pose for Batman is different than the shot in the last frame of the film.
Same goes for the Batcomputer with multiple screens and the Batmobile storming through Joker's hideout- which I think may have been pretty common in the comics.  I could be wrong though.

As for the chemical bath origin, as you probably know, 1951's The Man Behind The Red Hood had the same origin.  The biggest difference is that The Red Hood/pre-Joker was a criminal whom Batman was tracking, much like Jack Napier. 
I find that story more likely to have influenced Sam Hamm because his first draft of the script, which features the same origin as the movie, is dated 1987 whereas The Killing Joke did not come out until 1988, making The Man Behind The Red Hood story his only reference for writing those scenes.

[BurtonBatman]

By coincidences, I mean that the similarities may not mean that they are entirely from The Killing Joke.
For example, the shot of Batman on the rooftop looking at the Bat-Signal- I would think that this is a pretty standard shot in Batman comics.  Plus, the composition and pose for Batman is different than the shot in the last frame of the film.
Same goes for the Batcomputer with multiple screens and the Batmobile storming through Joker's hideout- which I think may have been pretty common in the comics.  I could be wrong though.

Gotcha.

As for the chemical bath origin, as you probably know, 1951's The Man Behind The Red Hood had the same origin.  The biggest difference is that The Red Hood/pre-Joker was a criminal whom Batman was tracking, much like Jack Napier. 
I find that story more likely to have influenced Sam Hamm because his first draft of the script, which features the same origin as the movie, is dated 1987 whereas The Killing Joke did not come out until 1988, making The Man Behind The Red Hood story his only reference for writing those scenes.

No, I did not know about the Man Behind the Red Hood, thanks again for the history lesson.  B89 brought me to Batman and only in the last year or two have I delved into comics, so I have a bit of catchup to do  .  And your point regarding TKJ and when it came out makes perfect sense.

This thread truly deserves a sticky.  Perhaps you and your cohorts should write a book delving into the comic influences of all the Batfilms .

[Joker81]

Batmaneglus, brilliant, just brilliant!

I really enjoyed reading that. you know your sh1t, lol excuse the language.

Good to see some Batman 89 comparisons to the comics after hearing so much rubbish about how its not true to the comics from anti 89 fans.

[thecolorsblend]

I'm glad that my images have been recycled here.  When this thread first popped up on BOF, I didn't realize just how extensively B89 mined the comics for inspiration.  It's a lot more subtle than the Nolan franchise but there's a ton of it there if you look for it.

Good one, Batmangelus.