Taking the Caped Crusader back in time to the final years of the 19th century Batman: Gotham by Gaslight pitches the Dark Knight against the most Gothic of real life serial killers Jack the Ripper. Loosely based upon the Elseworlds Origin story by Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignolla this animated adventure takes place in a Gotham City that straddles the dark Peasouper fogged London of Sherlock Holmes and a steam-punked World’s Fare complete with dirigible, huge ferris wheel and electric searchlights funded of course by Bruce Wayne (Bruce Greenwood).
While the masked vigilante takes on Gotham’s petty criminals the Ripper strikes up a campaign of terror leaving Commissioner Gordon (Scott Patterson) and Chief Bulldog (John DiMaggio) scratching their heads. Spurred into action we see more of the detective aspect of Bruce Wayne that perhaps we have been used to (and his mentor gets a sideways name check by way of a Conan Doyle quote), but there is still plenty of action as he takes to the dark alleys and rooftops of the old town, via Arkham Asylum and Gotham City Prison, before an explosive showdown at the Gotham World’s Fare. In between an alliance is formed with whip cracking former circus performer turned music hall star Selina Kyle (Jennifer Carpenter).
I tremendously enjoyed Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, although it’s not quite as dark as Mignolla’s vision, don’t let the fact that it’s a cartoon fool you into thinking Batman: Gotham by Gaslight is for youngsters, there is a fair helping of very bloody violence and a dose of sex too. The Victorian Gotham of dark alleyways, music halls and street urchins is nicely rendered and the Bat costume and equipment is suitably steam-punked up for the era. there are also a few canonical Batman characters who get nicely reimagined to slip into this world, including Alfred Pennyworth (Buffy’s Anthony Head).
Dark, violent and tremendous fun we give Batman: Gotham by Gaslight a 555/666
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight is available in the UK now to download and on 5 February on DVD (£10.99), Blu-ray (£16.99) and Blu-ray Steelbook (£20,99)
‘Caped Fear: The First Elseworld‘ (Featurette) – Documentary that traces the influence of the comic book story, and why Gotham by Gaslight stands the test of time.
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight Audio Commentary – Executive Producer Bruce Timm, Director Sam Liu and Writer Jim Krieg provide fill in the details about Batman: Gotham by Gaslight and why it is special for each of them.
Sneak Peek at the next animated DC Universe Movie, Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay: A behind-the-scenes look at the Grindhouse style next entry in the popular series of DC Universe Movies, also featuring thoughts from the filmmakers. (also on the DVD)
Sneak Preview of the forthcoming Justice League Dark animated movie featuring Swampthing, the Demon Etrigan and John Constantine, we quite fancy that.
From the DC Vault – ‘Showdown‘ an episode from Batman: The Animated Series featuring Jonah Hex; ‘Trials of the Demon!‘ an episode from Batman: The Brave and the Bold featuring Jason Blood, the Demon Etrigan and Sherlock Holmes.
The Horror Hothouse 