Just recently, I got clued into Gotham by Gaslight, a version of the Batman story set in 1889 where he’s pitted up against Jack the Ripper, who comes to Gotham City, presumably to eat more kidneys. I haven’t read it yet though, finding a copy without buying one straight from Amazon is looking to be impossible.

But anyway, what I’m writing this for is to praise how good Batman looks in this specific instance of his character design. Look at him! Heavily built, long gloves and boots made of leather, torn trenchcoat-like cape billowing in the wind. It’s all very steampunk and dapper, in a rugged and vicious crimefighter way.

A quick research told me why this design resonated so loudly with me: Mike Mignola. I dug his character designs for the past two Hellboy movies, as well as in Pan’s Labyrinth. Well done, sir.