If you end up tasked with creating many alternative characters in a reasonably condensed period of time, you’ll naturally be inclined to photographs you’ve seen earlier than, particularly when the characters you might be redesigning have existed for many years. Previous to “Batman: The Animated Collection,” most individuals’s familiarity with Batman got here from the Adam West-led TV present from the Nineteen Sixties. The identical goes for Kevin Nowlan. Talking with thirteenth Dimension, he defined his unhappiness together with his designs for each the Penguin and the Riddler for “Batman: The Animated Collection,” as a result of these unique TV variations lived in his head:

“The Penguin was modified to the Tim Burton film model. However I hadn’t performed rather more than sketch the ’66 TV character so I did not have loads invested in that one. I additionally had Frank Gorshin in thoughts after I drew the Riddler.”

I believe that’s the reason these are two characters the place I do not instantly see these animated variations in my head; my thoughts additionally goes to Burgess Meredith and Frank Gorshin. One other character Nowlan wasn’t too thrilled with was the lesser-known Mad Hatter as a result of their unusual adherence to the Lewis Carroll supply materials:

“The Mad Hatter all the time appeared very awkward to me. I used to be pondering of the toothy, chinless, [John] Tenniel drawings from the unique e-book. Ultimately, it did not matter as a result of Roddy McDowall did the voice and simply acted up a storm. Nobody observed the character design, good or dangerous. They had been targeted on Roddy [McDowell]’s virtuoso efficiency.”

In the end, the voices do bolster these characters greater than the rest. The Joker from the present is the primary picture I think about, however would that be the case with out Mark Hamill’s voice? In all probability not.