The change in the status quo regarding the Batman-Joker dynamic does not end at the Dark Knight’s portrayal as antagonist. For Batman: White Knight, writer/artist Sean Gordon Murphy offers up a new set of wheels for Batman to better terrorize the streets of Gotham City.
Known for his amazing vehicle designs in his work, the perfectionist Murphy explains, “A lot of artists, when they draw cars, aren’t quite correct and don’t touch the ground in the right way, which as a snob kinda bothered me.” The snobbery merely indicates that Sean takes care in perfecting each final design of his vehicles before he unveils them. This conveyed passion for vehicle design has led him to be known as “The Car Guy” of the comics industry.
On the subject of the Batmobile, Murphy offers a design that draws on elements from both the roadster design of the groundbreaking Batman: The Animated Series and elements from Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman model. “I brought some specific stuff, like from F-1 cars. I wanted my Batmobile to be a cross between a rock tumbler and a sports car, like you would see elements from a Ferrari and a Humvee. This is a very different Batmobile. No matter what I threw at it, I wanted to keep classic elements. I wanted it to have the Keaton Batmobile profile.”
As to his unofficial moniker, Sean says, “[Nobody] has really taken up that mantle in comics and eventually people started calling me ‘The Car Guy’ or ‘The Motorcycle Guy.’ That’s a thing I’m happy to run with.”
Look for Murphy’s Batmobile to hit the streets of Gotham when Batman: White Knight #1 debuts on Wednesday, October 4th, 2017.
