The Year of the Bat

And so closes the first month of the "new" year. I am frustratingly disadvantaged and behind on my goals.

This is but one facet of the intricate jewel that will be 2017, but...

I declared back in November that 2017 would be The Year of the Bat.

Everyone knows Batman is my favorite superhero, and that I know a lot about him and his Rogues Gallery of villains. But I must confess something. I am not really a comic book expert. I mean, for Star Wars, I definitely am. My supposed expertise with Batman is largely a misconception because I have seen some old cartoons and have read a lot. I have read a lot about Batman, but not a lot of Batman.

This year, I am going to become the Batman expert I should be. The one I always wanted to be, but never made the time for. Not the comic book expert Gotham deserves, but the one it needs. Or the other way around.

I am almost halfway through Batman: The Animated Series, which, to my credit, I have seen a lot of back in the 90s. I have also watched Batman: Year One and Gotham Knight, the latter of which I had already seen when it first came out. I also have The Killing Joke, The Dark Knight Returns Parts 1 & 2, Under the Red Hood, and Son of Batman, which apparently starts a trilogy, followed by Batman vs. Robin and then Bad Blood. There are a few others in my Amazon wish list that I haven't gotten yet. But those are in a stack next to my computer, waiting for me.

Once I have watched all of the animated films, then I will start on the comics themselves. Really, the only thing stopping me is the price. Comic books add up!

Some of the recommended starting points have already been adapted for animated films, mentioned above, so they are bumped in priority. As of this moment, though subject to change, I am thinking of starting with the Knightfall arc, and then maybe Hush. There are so many to mention, I could go on, but those are the two that are whispering in my ear to purchase first.

Then, when I have learned enough, and with the aid of various encyclopedias, I will revisit my outline. It must have been about ten years ago now that I first spitballed the idea of my own version, which I was going to call Gotham City. I still have the outline, along with emails about it, stuffed into a Word file, but that's going to be heavily revised one day. Possibly even for NaNoWriMo this year?

I have been listening to the video game soundtrack Batman: Arkham Knight. I don't have the others in that series, but this one is great. It is clearly informed by the Hans Zimmer scores, while still being its own thing with a blend of different orchestration styles than Zimmer's. Because Batman is a multimedia affair, I am using all the soundtracks to fuel my focus.

"Catching up" on all things Batman could easily take all year, but I would eventually branch out to the entire Justice League. Man, there's a ton of stuff in the DC Universe, but I would love to hear your recommendations. Just don't expect me to buy a Flash or Green Lantern comic any time soon, because I'm booked solid for 2017!

My Bat-reputation is secure. It's by far the easiest of my 2017 goals to attain, so I am well on my way: a year of immersion in comics, cartoons, and lore--The Year of the Bat. No promises for NaNoWriMo, however.