Warren Ellis Wants YOU to Steampunk Batman

One of the most twisted (and brilliant) writers in the comic industry wants to see what you can do when Batman and the steampunk genre are combined.

Have you looked at Batman and always thought, “you know, this character needs a monocle and some steam-powered gadgetry”? So has Warren Ellis, apparently.The author is holding a contest on his website, where readers are encouraged to come up with steampunk-themed movie posters based on the character.

Here are Ellis’s instructions:

“Immerse yourself in the era of Steampunk, and the coal-fired industrial nightmare of Gotham, where is set the popular silent films concerning The Batman. Or even The Bat-Man, if you prefer. There have been several such moving pictures to date, with titles like

THE MAGNIFICENT BAT-MAN
BATMAN RESPLENT
BATMAN, A FORMIDABLE CHAP INDEED
THE DARK KNIGHT, SPLID

…and the like. Your task is to design a poster, suitable for placement outside a cinematheque or other theatre, regarding one of these films.”

Batman was originally given a steampunk incarnation in Gotham By Gaslight, the first Elseworlds issue published by DC Comics, which was followed up by the less-awesome Batman: Master of the Future. Some of the submitted illustrations are great (like the one shown here, “The Bat-Man And The Boy Of Wonder, Robin, And The Machinations Of The Entirely Iniquitous And Socially Repugnant Poisonous Miss Pamela Isley”, by Bevis), but the contest is still going on, so it’s not too late to put your own design in.

Source: io9