The Ben Holmes Batman

I've been following a new site as of late and it's called "MoviePilot" (You can access it through the link here.)  It's useful beacause I've found it's added to the conversation for the upcoming Batman v Superman  movie.  Although, I have to say, a lot of it's interests do seem to be all over the map.  That being said, I urge you to give it a try.

I'm glad I did for I wouldn't have discovered the art of Ben Holmes.

Holmes is an artist based in the UK and he recently sampled his wares on the MoviePilot site.  He explains his love for pencil drawings and his journey of discovery into watercolors.  He seems to have a bit of an abstract sensibility and he's pursued his passion for film in the form of self stylized movie posters.

Naturally, this being a Batman page, I've decided to critique his work of the Caped Crusader.  

If you go to the Holmes page you'll see he employs a technique where his subjects tend to explode or shatter into pieces.  Seen below in his "Nightcrawler" effort. 

He doesn't use it for all his work but he "artfully" deploys it for dramatic effect in some of them.

The shattered or explosive effect speaks to the nature of his subjects.  Perhaps it is revelatory to the inner demons that haunt his subjects.

To say Batman has inner demons is to state the obvious.

When I first saw the Holmes Batman image I thought of one of Batman's most iconic antagonists, "Two Face."  Two Face wears his persona overtly (albeit not deliberately) while Bruce Wayne's is hidden behind the cowl.  Both have issues with anger management but Batman has managed to separate his bitterness from turning him to the dark side, to be a force for good.  

At least most of the time.

So lets talk about the image itself and how it reflects on Batman.

Immediately you get the sense that Batman's anger is bursting from his psyche.  It is explosive in nature and barely to be contained.   In fact, you could argue it is the repressed nature of Bruce Wayne yearning to be exposed.  Perhaps a better word would be "revealed."

Perhaps the image is a window into the mind of the Batman/Bruce Wayne character.  Perpetually unresolved.  At once at peace with each other and relentlessly at war with the other.

The shattered splinters evoke a wound that never heals and the use of just black and white reveals the bipolar relationship between the two identities.  Batman is often portrayed living in a black and white world.


Good versus evil.


That is a rash generalization.  I think ardent fans know that Batman is a very complex character and his capacity for good often outweighs his darker nature.


I'm sure Ben Holmes is aware of this also but he has chosen to illustrate the face of Batman we are most familiar with.  Torn, angry, and a force of nature whose presence is at once both unstable and frenzied.  Holmes has captured the Dark Knight as Batman has desired to be seen but also disclosed the side Batman he struggles with every day.


Thanks for the work Mr. Holmes.  I hope your sister thought it as "cool" as you intended it.


For more of  the work of Ben Holmes (especially you Spiderman fans) you can follow the link below.


http://www.bjwholmes.com/

p.s. Ben, more Batman please!

Soviet Style Robins? The Iconic Batman Art of the New 52 #9

In this entry of the Iconic Batman we'll examine an image taken from Batman and Robin #12.  It depicts the various Robins as they stand in awe of the heroic actions of their mentor, Batman.  The Caped Crusader has just rocketed off to intercept a missle launched by the evil doer, Terminus.

What I find fascinating is the posture held by all the Robins.  They are all in profile as they gaze off into the sky.  (In the foreground is the current Robin, Damien Wayne; followed by the Tim Drake "Red Robin"; Jason Todd as "Red Hood" and finally by Dick Grayson, the original Robin, as "Nightwing".)  Their profiles betray the inspiration they are getting from Batman's heroic act and they are joined as one as former and current students of the maestro. 

So, how do they all fit in as "Soviet style"?

The use of the profile is a long held device of the Communist propaganda machines.  The subjects eyes aren't fixed on the viewer but off into the unseen distance as if they are looking far into the future of brighter and better world.  The subjects are always standing together because they are of single purpose and share a common belief.

The profile posture is also used to convey inclusiveness.  In the above North Vietnamese wartime poster a smiling "Uncle Ho" looks beneficently down his female charges.  All are equal in the war effort and all have a role to play for the greater good of the party and society.  In the "Robin" panel above all are equal in the eyes of Batman as they share a common bond to defeat evil.  The "Robins" aren't always on the same page and often there are jealousies involved.  But not when they are bonded by a single cause as inspired by Batman.

 

There is often a certain dynamic of motion displayed in these propaganda posters.  In the above World War 2 Soviet era poster the soldiers in the foreground move to the front with grim yet determined purpose.  Their weapons are at the ready as the tanks spew fire.  Hovering above them are the ghosts of their forebears, generations of which march alongside them  The message here is that the Soviet soldier of the day fights for the cause just as their ancestors did.

While there is practically no motion in the Robin panel, aside from the urgency of the fist wrapped in the cape of Damien Wayne in the foreground, we still get a sense of generations fighting for the same cause.  Dick Grayson as Nightwing stands tallest amongst the Robins and they follow in size and experience in descending order before him.

Batman is an inspirational figure and the Robins stand at rapt attention.  I would find it hard to believe that Batman or his alter ego, Bruce Wayne, would embrace any aspect of the Communist ideal or the Soviet system.  But he knows heroism when he sees it and it is reflected in the eyes of the young men he often leads into battle.  As for Dick, Jason, Tim and Damien they not only gaze upon the man that is their inspiration but the father figure that has lifted them up to behold a brighter future.