"Neon Knight Forever is a detailed study of one of the most misunderstood superhero series that dares to ask the most heretical question for all Bat-fans: what if Batman & Robin is actually a valuable achievement in big-budget superhero cinema?
The Batman franchise has remained one of the most lucrative and varied lines of superhero-based titles outside its original comic book, with adaptations from filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan, Tim Burton, and Zack Snyder. However, among the many facets of Batman, there is one which remains on the margins of Bat-history, being treated as the most obscure or misconceived: the Batman duology directed by Joel Schumacher between 1995 and 1997, a creation which is seen by many fans as the ""wrong"" approach to the Batman mythos. Neon Knight Forever accounts for the initial rejection of Schumacher's version and explores modern attempts to rehabilitate Schumacher's vision of the infamous Neon Knight. Through discussing the formal foundations underlying both Batman Forever and Batman & Robin and featuring claims from the Schumacher online fandom, Zaglewski embraces the adaptation as a valuable addition to the Batman universe."
By:
Tomasz Zaglewski
Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9798765100608
Pages: 160
Publication Date: 08 February 2024
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Acknowledgements Introduction: ‘Can I persuade you to take a sandwich with you, sir?’ 1. Neon Knight Begins: The Not-So-Dark Knight as an Element in Batman’s Transmedia Multiverse 1.1. Into the Bat-verse: From the Multiverse of Stories to the Multiverse of Readings 1.2. Camp Knight, Dad Knight or Cute Knight? Exploring the Foundations of the Neon Knight 2. The Neon Knight Unchained: Questionable Choices and the Ice-Catching Spectacle in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin 2.1. Who’s Afraid of the Big, Black Bat? Joel Schumacher as a Cinematic Trespasser 2.2. Tim Burton’s Noir-tmare before Christmas vs. Joel Schumacher’s Camp Noir: Embracing a Living Comic Book as a Visual Thriller 2.3. The Lite Knight Rises: The Troubling Case of the Plastic Figures, Virtual Grappling Hooks, and Rubber Nipples 3. The Neon Knight Triumphant: Modern Perception of Joel Schumacher’s Batman Duology 3.1. ‘It’s So Bad, It’s Almost Good’: Fandom’s Online Discourse Following Joel Schumacher’s Passing 3.2. Schumacher was right’: Social Media Appreciation for the Neon Knight Closing Remarks or ‘We’re going to need a bigger cave’ Bibliography Index
Tomasz Zaglewski is Professor at the Institute of Cultural Studies, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland, and author of numerous comic-related academic papers published in the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics and International Journal of Comic Art and ImageText: Interdisciplinary Comics Studies. He is the author of Superculture: The Genesis of the Superhero Phenomenon (2021) and Superheroes' Cinematic Universe: Analyzing a Modern Comic Book Film (2019).
Reviews for Neon Knight Forever: The Legacy of Joel Schumacher’s Batman Duology
Audiences and critics have often dismissed the Schumacher Batman films as inferior. In Neon Knight Forever, Zaglewski takes a much-needed scholarly approach to the films and their legacy and makes a convincing case for reexamining our perspective. * Erica McCrystal, Assistant Professor of Education and English, Centenary University, USA * Neon Knight Forever provides a fascinating look at the other side of the Dark Knight. Through his close analysis, Zaglewski reveals the importance of Schumacher’s much derided Batman films. He demonstrates why it is so important to consider what the variations of cultural icons contribute to the characters and reveals about our shifting social values. * Jeffrey A. Brown, Chair and Professor, Department of Popular Culture, Bowling Green State University, USA *
