THE ESCAPIST SERIAL That Should Have Been (Or, How I Was Once Mistaken For a Nazi)
MORRISON MONDAYS!
WHAT IF the 1949 BATMAN and ROBIN SERIAL Posters Were Drawn by DICK SPRANG?
A MORRISON MONDAYS anniversary salute!
MORRISON MONDAYS meets BATMAN ’66 WEEK! — Welcome to BATMAN ’66 WEEK, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the beloved TV show starring Adam West! All week, we’ll be presenting daily tributes and features, leading up to Jan. 12 — the premiere date itself — when we’ll roll out a brand-new TOP 13 BATMAN ’66 EPISODE COUNTDOWN, voted upon by a panel of the most knowledgeable Bat-experts around. Click here for the COMPLETE INDEX. — Dan — By BILL MORRISON One of the most prized items in my Batman collection is an original production script by Lorenzo Semple Jr. from the two-part, pilot episode of the 1966 Batman TV series. The script is a revised draft, dated September 3, 1965, a little over six weeks before shooting began on October 20. Simply titled “Batman Pilot Script,” the titles “Hi Diddle Riddle”/”Smack in the Middle” had not yet been assigned to the episodes. For years, I’ve thought about watching the episodes while following along with the script to see what things may have changed between this draft and the final aired version of the pilot. And in recognition of BATMAN ’66 WEEK, this column has given me the excuse to do just that. Much of what changed is merely lines that were trimmed or cut altogether. There are too many to list, and frankly many are not all that interesting. Most seem to have been altered or eliminated to shorten running time, or to follow the general visual storytelling rule of “show, don’t tell.” But here are a few somewhat interesting examples. In the first-ever “Bat-climb,” Batman chides Robin about not being able to solve one of the Riddler’s clues due to the Boy Wonder having his mind on a cute girl that waved to him on their way to the Peale Art Gallery. In the aired version, Robin just responds “Aw, come on, Batman!” but in this draft, the Dynamic Duo’s exchange goes on a bit further. And here, when Commissioner Gordon patches the Riddler into the Batphone, allowing Batman to talk to the captured Boy Wonder, Robin has a line that was cut in which he teases Batman for falling for Molly’s orange juice trap at the What a Way to Go-Go nightclub. Also of note on this page is Scene 118, which describes Batman as being “half asleep,”...
MORRISON MONDAYS! By BILL MORRISON When Matt Groening’s epic sci-fi comedy Futurama returned (the first time) it was in the form of four direct-to-DVD movies. The last of these was 2009’s Into the Wild Green Yonder, for which I drew the cover. While the film was in production, I was approached by Futurama showrunner David X. Cohen to create an animated sequence for a bonus DVD feature. I told David that, although I helped to visually develop the show and worked on the first four seasons as Art Director, I wasn’t really an animator. David explained that the art I produced would be prop art and wouldn’t actually be animated for the feature. It just had to look like it could be. Oh, and it had to be drawn on a roll of toilet paper. Okaaay… challenge accepted! David supplied the roll, and I started drawing. As mentioned, I’m not an animator, so I found a rough animated sequence of Bender drinking a mug of beer and light-boxed it, one drawing per sheet, onto the toilet paper. The hard part was finding a pen that wouldn’t bleed into the loose fibers of the paper. I also had to be very careful not to tear the fragile sheets with the tip of the pen. The success of the DVD movies, now considered Futurama’s fifth season, sparked a return of broadcast episodes on Comedy Central in 2010. I attended a table read for an early Season 6 episode and was surprised and delighted when David Cohen presented me with my toilet paper drawings in a frame and proclaimed it “The world’s first toilet paper animation!” Whether it actually is the first, I have no idea. But then, why wouldn’t it be? You can see how my “animation” was used in the complete bonus feature, titled “How We Make Futurama So Good,” featuring the voice of Amy Wong, Lauren Tom: — Want more MORRISON MONDAYS? Come back next week! Want a commission? See below! — MORE — BATGIRL’S FIRST CHRISTMAS: Batman and Robin Give the IDEAL Gift. Click here. — Dig These 13 Eye-Poppin’ Classic POPEYE Toys. Click here. — Eisner winner BILL MORRISON has been working in comics and publishing since 1993 when he co-founded Bongo Entertainment with Matt Groening, Cindy Vance and Steve Vance. At Bongo, and later as Executive Editor of Mad Magazine, he...
MORRISON MONDAYS!
A MORRISON MONDAYS anniversary salute!
