A VIEW FROM THE BATCAVE (Pt. 2)
Concept art by Nick Abadzis.
Blog post by Batman Automobilia editor, Alan Cowsill.
Phase 2: Building the Batmobile
With the cars sorted, the next stage was to get them in a running order. The classic TV Batmobile was always going to be in the first or second issue. It’s one of the most iconic vehicles of the last fifty years after all and the success of the movies meant at least one movie Batmobile would have to be in early.
Next up was how to present the vehicles.
Countless box designs were worked up from Nick Abadzis’s sketches as top designer Gary Gilbert was brought on to the team. Some were more like the old cardboard toy car boxes, while some were more oval and others square. Pretty much anything and everything was tested to make sure we got the best. Rich from Eaglemoss was even sent over to DC Comics’ New York offices a couple of times to talk over ideas for the final version (it’s a tough life!).
DC Comics were involved at every stage of the project, providing constructive advice and help, not to mention sending literally tonnes of reference over. And Eaglemoss’ own boss, Maggie, watched over the development; making suggestions and pointing us in the right direction at just the right times.
The magazine went through a number of changes before the final version was ready. A few ideas bit the dust while other concepts, such as the cutaway, were added or made more detailed.
Running parallel to magazine design was the creation of the cars themselves.Some, such as the movie ones, were relatively easy, with sizes and design specs already in existence. DC Comics themselves actually have a secret Batcave full of info about some of the most-seen Batmobiles! Many had only appeared in the comics though, and Rich had to work with both DC and a number of technical experts to make sure the size and appearance of every model was correct.
The creation of each Batmobile starts over eight months before it finally sees the light of day, with design specs and sculpts undergoing the sort of close examination Batman would be proud of.
Check back next Tuesday (5th March) for part 3 of editor Alan's blog post telling the story behind Batman Automobilia.
