| All Batman and DC Universe characters and merchandise are property of Warner Brothers, Dc Comics, or their subsidiaries and licensors. This site is for fan and educational purposes only. Legions of Gotham and all information, logos, pictures and features are property of Matt MacNabb (c) 2003-2008 |
| All Batman and DC Universe characters and merchandise are property of Warner Brothers, Dc Comics, or their subsidiaries and licensors. This site is for fan and educational purposes only. Legions of Gotham and all information, logos, pictures and features are property of Matt MacNabb (c) 2003-2008 |
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| "Thank you to the Legions of Gotham post-ers, and I hope you enjoy the show and look forward to your reactions." --James Tucker, Supervising Producer & Lead Character Designer for Brave & the Bold |
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| Welcome to our EXCLUSIVE interview with James Tucker. James is Supervising Producer and lead Character Designer for the upcoming Batman: The Brave and the Bold Cartoon. James was kind enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to chat with Legions of Gotham regarding this new show.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOG: Whose idea was it to develop a show like Brave and the Bold, that harkens back to a much lighter-hearted version of Batman and the Dc Universe? Were you approached for the project, or was this something that you had a big hand in the intial development of? JAMES TUCKER: I was finishing up the last season of Legion of Superheroes and Sam Register came to me and pitched the idea of yet another Batman show. At first, I was very reluctant but then he told me it was going to be based on The Brave and The Bold comic book from the 70s which was the first Batman comic book I ever read and so I said yes and agreed to develop it with him and my story editor from Legion (of Superheroes), the very talented Michael Jelenic. So in short, Sam Register brought the idea to me to develop so you could say I had a big hand in the development of it. I designed the basic look of the show which is heavily influenced by the comic books of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. LOG: Brave and the Bold features a number of characters, both heroes and villains, that may seem rather obscure to many fans of Dc Animation. And there is a distinct lack of Batman villains involved. Why the departure from the mold of the past 15 years or so? JT: I went into this not wanting to do just another Batman show. If Sam had presented it to me as just continuing what had already been done so well before, then I would have probably said ‘not interested’. But The Brave and The Bold was always considered the ‘strange’ Batman book, meaning it didn’t dwell on his usual cast of characters and put him in strange locals and situations that you wouldn’t normally find him in. Now, that’s not to say that characters from his regular supporting cast won’t appear, but when they do it will be an event rather than just a status quo appearance. To me, Batman is a character we all know so well, and there’s so much available of him in the media that we really had to go to show him in a different light than he’s been seen since the 80’s at least. LOG: The show features a mish-mash of character designs, from the new Blue Beetle all the way to a golden age Green Arrow. Was that a conscious decision to involve various eras, or was that just a personal preference of the character designer? JT: Well I’m the primary character designer on this show with the much needed talents of Lynell Forstall and Mike Manley filling out the rest of the design duties. My idea was never to do a strictly period show, meaning this show isn’t set in the 00’s, or the 50’s or 60’s. It’s influenced by classic mid century comic book art, but it’s not set in the mid-century so yes, it was a conscious decision and my personal preference. Any DC character is open to be used, no matter what era. I know a lot of people were taken aback by our use of the current Blue Beetle, but I think he’s a great character and brings a lot to the show. We basically picked characters we thought would be interesting to the broadest base of viewers possible, and Jaime is a great character to use as the neophyte hero that Batman takes under his wing, so to speak. LOG: You were involved in shows from New Batman Adventures to Batman Beyond to Justice League, Teen Titans and Legion of Super Heroes. Which show that you worked on was your favorite experience, and why? JT: Well, to be honest, I only story boarded on part one of the Doom Patrol episode of Teen Titans, and was in the very very very early stages of development with Glen Murakami before going back into Justice League Unlimited. So that hardly qualifies as ‘worked on’ really, but I get your point. My favorite experience besides working on The Brave and The Bold, which has been my dream project, was of course working on Justice League Unlimited. Working with Bruce, Dwayne, Matt and Stan to craft stories was pure magic. It was like being four cooks in a kitchen throwing ingredients into a pot which Bruce would then season and stir- the best possible way to work, in my opinion. Legion will always be something that holds a special place in my heart because it was my first time as a sole producer and there was a learning curve to getting it the way I wanted. LOG: What can we, as Batman fans, and many of us as parents watching with our own children, expect from The Brave and the Bold? JT: You can expect a show that has the three Hs: Heroism, Humor and Heart. It will be a great introduction to these great characters for kids, and hopefully a nostalgic warm fuzzy for the parents who remember enjoying cartoons on Saturday morning with a big bowl of sugary cereal! LOG: How do you feel Brave and the Bold compares to other incarnations of Batman animation, such as the recent "The Batman" or the one that I grew up on, Super Friends? JT: I wanted this show to ‘feel’ like how I thought ‘Super Friends’ when I was a kid. Meaning, when I watched Super Friends, my child’s eye made it look, sound and feel a lot more exciting that it really was. I wanted to capture the excitement I felt as a kid but only have the show really look as good, sound as good and feel as good as I remembered. In other words, I want this show to hold up for kids who are watching it now even when they see it 30 years from now and I’m an old coot, sitting at a table at San Diego’s Comic- Con selling bad sketches. I didn’t want it to be overly sophisticated or hip. I just wanted it to be fun, cool and exciting- this isn’t the sleek, hip, whispering Batman...not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s the arms akimbo, right is right, wrong is wrong and ‘Crime doesn’t pay’ Batman. I guess it’s more classic Batman based on all of his comic book history not just the year or two he carried a gun in the 30s after he was created or the late 80s when he got dark. This is the Batman who existed from the 40s well into the early 80s. LOG: Do you have anything you'd like to say to the parents, fans and readers at LegionsofGotham .org regarding the new show? JT: I hope parents and their kids embrace this show as a return to the Batman we haven’t seen in a while. Batman is a terrific character who can be interpreted and enjoyed in lots of ways. I’m hope this show serves as a way to introduce young people to the world of superheroes the same way I was introduced to them when I was a kid. And lastly, I hope the die-hard fans give it a chance and know it was made by people who love this stuff just as much as they do. James Tucker also included this special message to you, the readers of Legions of Gotham: Thank you to the Legions of Gotham post-ers, and I hope you enjoy the show and look forward to your reactions. James, and many others, will be watching your reactions, so be sure to join our message board and post your thoughts on the new show as its aired! Click HERE to visit our message board, bookmark it, and join today! |
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| October 2008 - James Tucker (the Supervising Producer and Lead Character Designer ) |