GOTHAM VS METROPOLIS: HEROES THROUGH PANELS
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GOTHAM VS METROPOLIS: HEROES THROUGH PANELS
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GOTHAM VS METROPOLIS: HEROES THROUGH PANELS TEXT AND THE CITY ESSAY READINGS IN CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURAL THEORY
MUHAMMAD TALHA MUFTEE S1473672 MSC ARCHITECTURAL AND URBAN DESIGN UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
GOTHAM VS METROPOLIS: HEROES THROUGH PANELS Modern comics have always relied on depiction of various cities and urban contexts in order to tell stories visually. The kind of cities that are portrayed establish the narrative basis of the characters, hence the cities are not mere backdrops but dynamic interpretations of larger urban context. These fictional cities rely on specific readings of real cities and since comics as a spatial medium, the cities also help in design of comics allowing us to experience the urban landscape not by just reading text but moving inside and around the spatial elements of comics. My essay will try to closely study instances of spatial readings of parallel yet opposing narratives derived from the same urban context namely two prominent comic book icons Batman and Superman and their cities Gotham and Metropolis. In July 1938, National Comics (or Detective Comics) in New York published the first magazine called Action Comics, its cover featured the iconic fictional superhero Superman lifting a car. This marked the national debut of the character initially created by comic writers Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster and the start of what was later known to be the Golden Age of American comic books. Not only Superman gained popularity among young readers quickly, it ushered in an age of the American superhero archetypes with flash costumes, superpowers and alter egos. Around the same time, Detective Comics also published the series called Detective Comics; the 27th issue of the series printed in May 1939 introduced readers to The Batman (created by Bob Kane and writer Billfinger). (Jones, 2005) Ever since their initial publications, Batman and Superman have witnessed changes in details by various contributing authors. The major fictional origin stories and the differences between the two have stayed intact over the years however. Superman, whose real name is Kal-El and was born on the planet known as Krypton, was sent to Earth as a baby by his parents to save him from the planet’s annihilation. On Earth, he was raised up as Clark Kent (his alter ego) and due to his
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Kryptonian DNA possessed superhuman powers (DC, 2015). Batman on the other hand, is not described as someone possessing superhuman powers, but rather he was born as Bruce Wayne in the fictional city of Gotham where at a young age, he was witness to the gruesome murder of his parents and consequently he decided to avenge their deaths by training himself mentally, physically and using the wealth left behind by his parents, fight crime as the Batman. While Superman strives to be the symbol of hope for the people, Batman wishes to manipulate the criminals by use of various psychological warfare tactics. (DC, 2015) The split doesn’t end with their personalities and abilities but it is vastly reflected in the way comic book writers and artists approach the subject matter, especially the way their respective cities are portrayed in the comics and used as narrative devices. Considering the fact that both the fictional cities Gotham and Metropolis are based on the actual city of New York. The city Metropolis was featured in the Superman storyline when it was first printed in Action Comics #16 (September 1939), while the newspaper strips that came before the comic series specified Superman’s city as the real American city Cleveland. According to an interview of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1983 (published in Nemo # 2 initially and reprinted in the Comics Values Monthly magazine in 1992), the name of Metropolis was inspired from the 1927 German sciencefiction film Metropolis. However, in comic book Superman #2 (1992), the city of Superman was placed in the New York state of USA (MacDonald & Sanderson, 2006). Similar to New York, Metropolis is a large global city consisting of boroughs. The major fictional landmark of Metropolis is the Daily Planet building, having similar status in the storylines as the Empire State Building in New York. The fictional city of Gotham where Batman lives and patrols was first introduced in 1940
GOTHAM VS METROPOLIS: HEROES THROUGH PANELS with the release of Batman #4 before which it was usually stated or understood that Batman was based in New York. The name Gotham originally refers to a village in Nottinghamshire, UK and the fictional tales associated with Gotham. Thought to be first published in 1540, 'The Merry Tales of the Mad Men of Gotham' told how the villagers of Gotham acted as if they were insane, when King John was travelling through the area. The word “Gotham” as a nickname for New York was first put forward as means to mock the New York culture and political dynamics by American author Washington Irving in his periodical Salmagundi in 1807. By 1940s it was a common name for New York to the extent that when writer Bill Finger, in search for a suitable fictional city name, flipped through the pages of the New York City phonebook, he came across the name “Gotham Jewellers” and decided to call Batman’s city as the city of Gotham. The link between Gotham and tales of insanity were referred back to much later after the initial issues of the Batman comics. (Steranko, 1971) The fictional cities even though derived from the same real city of New York in USA, are different compared to one another in almost every way. Even with years of alternative storylines, different writers, artists and teams producing works for both Batman and Superman, the two fictional derivatives of New York have always maintained their distance with one another. Superman’s Metropolis, like the German science fiction film, a city with a promise of advancements, a city of the future, with its progressive architecture and promise of hope and stability. Always depicted with the sun shining over blue skies, beautiful landscapes and a promising society. A superhero that the people love and support, who is a guardian always looking forward to cooperate with the authorities and the justice system. An outsider from outer space who has found his new home on this planet. On the other hand, Batman’s Gotham City, a dark, gloomy neo-gothic architectural setting
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with streets and alleys filled with criminal activities, the kind of streets that gave birth to Batman when little Bruce Wayne saw his own parents being shot down in cold blood all for some cash and pearls. The tragedy fuelled by the social class difference and a justice system so corrupt that the only resolve left is for a young boy to commit his life to fighting crime. A city always seemingly dangerous even in daylight, sees Batman as a parasitic entity who needs to stop taking law into its own hands. Always in a conflict with authorities and the public nevertheless, fighting the city, for the city. (Uricchio, 2010) The contrasting images of New York in comics have also been acknowledge by comic writers. For example, Dennis O’Neil who has been a Batman writer and editor has said: "Batman's Gotham City is Manhattan below 14th Street at eleven minutes past midnight on the coldest night in November, and Metropolis is Manhattan between 14th and 100th Streets on the brightest, sunniest July day of the year”. (O'Neil, 1994) While Frank Miller, who is famous for his works such as the Sin City graphic novel, production of the movie 300 and various major Batman titles including Batman: The Dark Knight Returns has also stated that Superman’s Metropolis is the daytime version of New York City while Batman’s Gotham is New York at night. (MacDonald & Sanderson, 2006) These cities when viewed in comics, are not just text or images, rather they are spatially and temporally juxtaposed sequences, of panels (frames) and gutters (spaces between panels). The differing techniques of representation allow for New York to either become Gotham or Metropolis depending on the vantage point taken by the readers. The protagonists Batman and Superman, then in their respective storylines and spaces become our interface of interaction with New York City. So when as a reader, we are navigating across and through panels, we are not simply viewing
GOTHAM VS METROPOLIS: HEROES THROUGH PANELS the protagonists placed within their cities but also the cities placed within their mode of thinking, giving rise to a chiasmic relationship between the hero viewing the city and the reader bearing witness to the city viewing the hero. To study this phenomenon up close, I chose two important publications for both Superman and Batman. In 2011, DC Comics had decided to re-launch their entire series of superhero comic books. This allows us easy access to starting issues of Superman and Batman, with the revised versions of their respective cities. Even though DC Comics publishes several different series at the same for both characters (for example Batman Detective Comics, Batman: The Dark Knight, Batman and Robin are all regular monthly publications featuring Batman), we shall limit ourselves to the first volumes of the main title series Batman and Superman. A volume by DC Comics is printed as a collection of issues spanning several months but with the same theme or story, similar to reading all episodes of a storyline or part of an overarching mythos. The first volume for Batman is Batman: The Court of Owls which narrates a story of Batman in the present era of Gotham stumbling upon and going against a secret society of Gotham City elites who have been in control of the city for many centuries by carefully plotting assassinations of influential figures of the city including Bruce Wayne’s ancestors. While Superman’s first volume is titled Superman: What Price of Tomorrow which is a story of Superman defending Metropolis against a highly advanced alien invasion while Metropolis’s major journalistic publication “The Daily Planet” is going through a shift in leadership signalling a progressive but alarming era for the city of Metropolis.
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As tools of analysis I shall be referring to Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics which is an attempt at deconstructing the art of comics and coming up with a comprehensive theory of storytelling through a “Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence”. In our readings of Gotham and Metropolis, not only the juxtaposition of panels within each volume will be important to look at but the protagonists as framing devices will help us read New York City as a contrast between Gotham and Metropolis.
The introduction to both volumes present the readers with a view of each city with a monologue trying to describe Gotham and Metropolis. Right from the start, the contrast in mood is established through choice of colour palettes. Even though both views of Gotham and Metropolis are during night time, the Daily Planet Building shown in the first page of Superman: What Price of Tomorrow?, emits a radiant glow with pigeons flying in front of the globe monument, the most prominent landmark of Metropolis. While Batman introduces Gotham to the readers in Batman: The Court of Owls, what we see is a dark gloomy view of an alley, littered and infested with rats (instead of the delightful pigeons of
GOTHAM VS METROPOLIS: HEROES THROUGH PANELS Metropolis), the only glow in sight far off in the distant, a makeshift fire to warm the few homeless citizens surrounding it. The initial panels in both stories have a difference in height as well. In metropolis, the reader is placed high above, towering over the city, slowly moving away, taking it all in, talking about progression, evolution of Metropolis, its survival. A very gradual and smooth shift in view contains a sense of pride. While in Gotham, we are left alone in the dark streets and corners, as if left to survive on our own in a harsh environment, dark towering buildings with the words “Dammed” and “Cursed” on the panels as Batman is recalling the different words people have used to describe the city. Each consecutive panel abruptly shifts its location. Now on a rooftop with smog around us, and now trapped behind a large frame, unsure of our whereabouts. “Bedlam”, “Murderous” are the only texts found adding in to the sense of helplessness. Few pages in we get to see more of each city and our protagonists as well. And already we find Batman in close combat with many of his foes at once. The gutters on the pages in black,
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like the shadows and Batman’s cape and cowl. Disruptive and aggressive movements are translated into panels scattered about in size and depth of sight. Panels alternate between his stance of fight and strikes on faces and bodies of the villains. The angles of panels keep changing rapidly within the showcasing Batman’s ability to situate his foes in every direction like a 3 dimensional sonar scan of a bat. All the panels are punctuated with thoughts of Batman regarding Gotham. The panels are up close and personal, at around the eye level for Batman’s movements are on foot. He does possess the ability to fly as Superman who right now in Metropolis hovers above the demolition of the Daily Planet building, ushering in a new age for Metropolis. The frames are wide, contemplative, and steady like the silent almost motionless hovering of Superman. Placing the reader above the scene of demolition. Metropolis is presented to us as a series of perspectives and panoramas. The view of the guardian.
The costumes of both characters in relation to the gutters of the comic book pages enhance their positioning within the urban contexts. Superman’s red and blue costume, against white gutters and vibrantly coloured panels reveal his presence, as if not only wanting to be seen by Metropolis but Metropolis wanting to be seen too against the white gutters with prominently outlined panels. It does not shy away from the readers, each panel tries to highlight details in the landscape. Monumental buildings emitting light and highlighting the nightlife of its citizens while Superman in sight making sure that everyone is safe. While Batman’s gutters are pitch black and Gotham in shades of greys. Unlike Superman, Batman needs to work in the background, silently operating from the shadows and blending with the city. Gotham (with its prominent signs of deterioration) bleeds through the panels and into the gutter along with Batman, trying to hide from the readers, deceiving us while we are struggling to locate ourselves in the panels.
GOTHAM VS METROPOLIS: HEROES THROUGH PANELS The panels left to read for use are simply the grey skies. Batman’s abilities and extensive knowledge of the urbanity of Gotham allow him to navigate carefully at the level of panels and gutters, exposing himself and Gotham to the readers when he knows is safe. It is the inability of the reader to fully grasp the city of Gotham without being in danger of the unknown.
The only time we see Gotham almost as vibrant as Metropolis is through the eyes and panels illustrating Batman’s alter ego Bruce Wayne. But Bruce Wayne belonging to the elite class of Gotham, a millionaire and key figure hoping to improve Gotham, can only frame Gotham as a city of hope in parties with fellow members of the elite class. The panels share the colour palette of every day Metropolis and for a moment or two the gutters turn white, Bruce Wayne safe in his mansion hosting a grand party while trying keep up the dreams that perhaps one day, the panels and gutters of Gotham won’t be much different compared to Metropolis. “…a better, brighter Gotham is one dream away.” (Snyder, 2012) The panel layout is stable and linear, going from left to right and top to bottom without the reader being lost spatially or temporally similar to the opening pages of Superman’s comic book, a welcoming and relatively peaceful part of Gotham. But this does not last long and we are pushed back into the dark cold spaces of Gotham. The inter-panel transitions
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shift from the steady “moment-to-moment” or “subject-to-subject” transitions to at times, “non-sequitur” something as noted by Scott McCloud primarily an Eastern transition style adapted into Western comics to disrupt linear sequences of panels. (McCloud, 1994) Similar to how for a few moments, Gotham started to behave similar to Metropolis, we see a similar shift in Metropolis as well. In Superman: What Price of Tomorrow? , we find ourselves facing disrupted panels with black gutters, introducing a claustrophobic feeling we get while moving the panels of Gotham. This part in the story is where Superman is under control of the alien invaders and acting against the interest of the city. Asserting a more dominating fascist role, from the hopeful watchful guardian, these panels are now the extension of a false god, of fear and uncertainty for the city. Fortunately just a temporary shift in the panels, but it entertains the possibility of Metropolis losing all that it stood for, if its primary guardian was to be corrupted. During these two instances, we see an overlap of the urban landscape of panels and exchange of atmosphere between the uncertain Gotham and reassuring Metropolis. The reassuring, linear and relatively stable storytelling mechanisms in Superman’s comics are also enforced partly by panels showcasing the viewpoints of the journalists and various media outlets. These panels stand out from the pages by their prominent blue tints depicting TV screens, camera viewfinders, computer screens, mobile phones. Even when in combat against aliens, these types of panels help establish stability by providing multiple views of the same incident, the city is in constant watch by not just Superman but by the information producers and consumers as well. The city of Metropolis is a city with an established network of transparency and information exchange, so that we are reminded constantly reminded while traversing the panels of the city that besides Superman, the city itself is watching over us, making sure that we are informed of our
GOTHAM VS METROPOLIS: HEROES THROUGH PANELS surroundings, ensuring the rights and safety of every passer-by and reader. The only screens we see in Batman’s Gotham are those situated in the “Batcave” beneath Wayne Manor from where Batman maintains surveillance of the city when not patrolling.
Both volumes even end on contrasting notes too, in Superman’s story we see the crisis resolved. The hero who just saved the city, is being cheered on my news groups and Superman flies down to greet his fellow citizens. A moment of rejoice for Metropolis, for it survives yet another catastrophe. The city is shown the background of one of the concluding panels (the panels in very simple layouts almost resting and static) glowing in daylight. The iconic Daily Planet building, the symbol of progressive nature of Metropolis comes into view yet again. While in the last pages of Batman’s story, the panels and
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gutters are even darker than before; the secret society Court of Owls is launching a wide scale attack on Gotham against a bloody red skyline of a gloomy Gotham beneath. The reader is left longing for hope promised when Bruce Wayne claimed that Gotham will change for the better. The protagonist of Gotham’s demise is seen looking defeated, no rejoice of Metropolis here. Instead the closing remarks in the final black and red panels sum up the feelings of betrayal sensed by the readers through Batman. New York, as a juxtaposition between day and night, between crime in dark alleys and monuments heralding prosperity leads to two sequential graphic narratives in the form of relationships between Batman and his Gotham, and Superman with his city of Metropolis. The contrasting pairs are not only reflected in the stories themselves but also how we the reader, navigate through these parts of New York City, reading it while navigating spatially through panels and gutters. The paths of spatial readings deployed in these comic books are reflective of the urban discourse and present to us an alternative representation of cities within what Scott McCloud states is a “mono-sensory visual medium”. (McCloud, 1994)
GOTHAM VS METROPOLIS: HEROES THROUGH PANELS
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BIBLIOGRAPHY DC, 2015. DC Comics Batman. [Online] Available at: http://www.dccomics.com/characters/batman [Accessed 2015]. DC, 2015. DC Comics Superman. [Online] Available at: http://www.dccomics.com/characters/superman [Accessed 2015]. Jones, G., 2005. Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book. illustrated ed. s.l.:Basic Books. MacDonald, H. & Sanderson, P., 2006. New York Is Comics Country. Publishers Weekly, 253(5 01/30/2006). McCloud, S., 1994. Understanding Comics. illustrated, reprint ed. s.l.:HarperCollins. O'Neil, D., 1994. Batman: knightfall. s.l.:Bantam Books. Perez, G., 2013. Superman: What price tomorrow?. s.l.:DC Comics. Snyder, S., 2012. Batman: The Court of Owls. s.l.:DC Comics. Steranko, J., 1971. The Steranko History of the Comics, Volume 1. illustrated ed. s.l.:Crown Publishing Group. Uricchio, W., 2010. The Batman's Gotham City: Story, Ideology, Performance. In: J. Ahrens & A. Meteling, eds. Comics and the City: Urban Space in Print, Picture and Sequence. s.l.:A&C Black, pp. 119-132. IMAGES All images are illustrations by Talha Muftee.