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

[greggbray]

Great job all!  Looks terrific. 

[Silver Nemesis]

It seems Burton also consulted Brian Bolland when he was making Batman 89.

No, but I did meet him before he made the film. He was at Pinewood Studios in London and he asked me to come over and meet him. Apparently he'd read and liked The Killing Joke (take a look at his comment on the Deluxe Edition). He asked me to do some production sketches for the film. He wanted my opinion about the Joker and how he should look. I seem to remember telling him he should look like Conrad Veidt in the '20s silent film "The Man Who Laughs" and that he should have prosthetics to create the grin. He wanted me to start right away. I said that I had some things for 2000 AD that I had to do first. He said he'd be working on Batman 2 by then! So, I didn't end up working for Tim Burton on Batman. I thought Jack Nicholson looked terrible.

http://www.comicsbulletin.com/interviews/4688/komiksowa-warszawa-festival-a-conversation-with-brian-bolland/

So, the list of comic creators Burton & co consulted for the movie now includes:

•   Bob Kane
•   Steve Englehart
•   Marshall Rogers
•   Alan Moore
•   Brian Bolland

Anyone else?

[The Laughing Fish]

I thought Jack Nicholson looked terrible.

[/quote]
Did he mean that Nicholson looked terrible as he intended the Joker to look like, or did he mean that the makeup job was poor? Because if it's the latter...  .

[Silver Nemesis]

I think he meant the overall look (costume design, make up, etc) was terrible.

[The Laughing Fish]

I think he meant the overall look (costume design, make up, etc) was terrible.

Hence my roll-eye comment at the end of my last post. Which I'll do it again at Bolland's comment... .

[DocLathropBrown]

Unfortunately, all people will take away from this is "See? Jack was lame!" instead of "See? Tim actually consulted many comics people to do justice to the character."

[BatmAngelus]

^ Sadly true.

I can't speak for Bolland, but his comment reminds me of how the fandom these days talks about how Nicholson was "too fat" for Joker, which I find ridiculous.  For one thing, maybe it's just me, but Jack doesn't look overweight at all in the film. 

For another, I think those critics expect him to look like the Neal Adams/Brian Bolland style Joker and Jack, even in his younger days in Chinatown, never had that kind of face.  His facial structure just isn't angular enough.

He does, however, look damn close to the Dick Sprang Joker in the movie, as pointed out in our feature:
http://www.batman-online.com/features/2008/7/19/comic-influences-on-tim-burtons-batman-1989/3

But since the Dick Sprang Joker belonged to the lighter era of Batman, I guess it doesn't count

[gordonblu]

Jack wasn't fat, but the vest wasn't very complimentary to his physique (I go through the same), if he had worn a vest closer in look to the comics (with the pointed edges) it would have worked better.

[thecolorsblend]

^ Right you are. Compare the Joker scenes to Napier's. Napier doesn't look chubby (or at least not overly so). Interesting the difference costuming can make.

[The Laughing Fish]

This is nothing more of a coincidence, but anyway, I remember reading Detective Comics #504 (1981), and there is a scene where the Joker escapes by a parachute while performing a robbery and cries out "Sometimes, I [just] kill myself" - nearly identical to Nicholson Joker's last words as he attempts to escape the cathedral by helicopter.



Of course, this can be dismissed as banal to point out. But on the other hand, you might be able to argue the Joker enjoys laughing at his own twisted sense of humour, being the egomaniac that he is.