#thank you kevin conroy

[the-imaginative-hobbyist]

"I care, Joker. About Gotham. About justice. And if it has to end, at least I go out like this: Being Batman!"

[artisofthandy]

I know I’m both late and early for this one, but as you know, it’s been 2 years Kevin Conroy; the iconic voice actor for the legendary Batman in various media from animated shows to movies and television has passed away on November 10th 2022, 20 days before his birthday on November 30th and he wouldn’t turned 69 on that year too… I’d like to say a massive thank you, Kevin Conroy for bringing the Batman; Bruce Wayne himself to life in the various media as the Dark Knight; The Caped Crusader who embraced vengeance, justice, compassion, realism and much more, to show that there can still be hope and optimism, even without superpowers. Even though it’s been 2 years since your passing, The Batfans and DC fans in general are still forever thankful and grateful for your work and we will hold you dear to our hearts and minds for that.

Happy 69th Heavenly Birthday and rest well even after 2 years; Kevin Conroy…

[qcomicsy]

This comic changed my life in indescribably ways

‘Finding Batman’, written by voice actor Kevin Conroy who recently died at the age of 66 from cancer. (Capital F, FUCK cancer!).  The short comic was published in DC Pride 2022 and it details “Conroy’s tragic childhood and experience as a gay actor. It details how he missed many acting opportunities due to his sexuality or times when others in the industry casually threw homophobic slurs at him. In addition to being a gay man in a time when Hollywood was less accepting of homosexuality, he also came from a broken home. His father was an alcoholic who attempted suicide, his parents divorced, and his brother struggled with mental illness. Not only did he have to “mask” his sexuality from others, but also “mask” his own personal pain….Conroy elaborated that all of these experiences allowed him to connect with the character of Batman, one that he previously knew little about, in a highly profound way.” (Source) I didn’t watch much television around 1992 when Batman: The Animated Series started airing but, for some reason, I took time to watch this version of Batman (a character I hadn’t given much attention. In fact, I didn’t give DC Comics much attention until Vertigo started in 1993). I don’t remember why I started watching B:TAS, it was probably the animation style that initially caught my attention, but the show itself was interesting enough to hook me. I kept watching right up until the show was cancelled in 1995. I give primary credit here to Conroy’s performance as Batman (and Bruce Wayne) which brought an unexpected nuance and maturity to an animated character that really helped elevate the show into something enduring (noting other additions of the shows legacy like the revamping of Mr. Freeze, the introduction of the character Harley Quinn, Mark Hamill’s portrayal of the Joker, etc.) Whenever I think of Batman, it’s Conroy’s version of Batman that comes to mind. Conroy IS Batman. Conroy defined the voice and sentiment of Batman having played the character longer than any other actor. It was Conroy who first used two distinctive voices for Bruce Wayne and Batman, a method every subsequent actor who as portrayed the character of Batman has replicated. It was Conroy’s voice acting that helped make the Rocksteady Studios ‘Arkham’ games so much fun to play. Conroy’s Batman is the best Batman.  Oh, I lifted the comic from here. 

[to-the-batcomputer]

i don't understand why they created one of the most compassionate yet still complex bruce waynes with the animated series and then turned him into an old bitch (/negative) in batman beyond

[hasaniwalker]

Goodbye Arleen Sorkin. thank you for helping give us this absolute legend of a character.

Like a lot of people. Batman the Animated Series was a big influence on me and seeing the passing of Kevin Conroy and Arleen Sorkin feels like an extreme loss. Thankful for all the amazing stories they gave us.

[mysterycitrus]

so i was reading wolf king and you mention jason having a jersey accent and i wanted to ask.......what accent does dick have? he's french and was raised travelling around europe (thank u for french dick btw i'm obsessed), and then was raised by bruce and alfred, and then lived with the titans a lot as a teenager (some of whom i guess sound american and some of whom don't). where does this leave his accent. i deeply need to hear your opinion about this

this is such a great q so im gonna hijack it a lil and talk about how the bats hide their identities in different ways — like with the voice modulators, i don’t believe they’d be walking around with their real voices fighting crime

so kevin conroy kickstarted the trend of bruce having a voice and then batman having a voice. which is a good cinematic take, tbc, but i think he had it backwards. bruce as batman has a naturally deep, rumbling timbre, and bruce as socialite brucie wayne is higher pitched and more energetic — think a cross between pauly d and zach braff. bruce normally talks with distinct british influences. super clear vowel pronunciation.

by that same token, i think dick deffo still has an accent, but obviously puts on a generic “american” accent while in costume. his normal cadence would be an interesting combination of stuff. like u mentioned, he spent a lot of time around alfred and donna and kory so that definitely affected the way that he speaks. i think baseline…. he sounds a bit like marion cotillard? very subtle inflection, with some british intonation mixed in. kind of indistinct, like you’d clock him as vaguely european. he might make it more pronounced to distinguish himself from nightwing.

jason, tim, steph, and duke would all have distinct gotham accents, but deciding whether u want them to sound more philly or more ny is kinda up to interpretation ig. im not an expert. jason’s accent has probably changed over time — profound brain damage and extended period abroad will do that, but i imagine he leans into it heavily around his allies to emphasise his identity as a gothamite. depending on canon, babs would have an ohio accent and because she was a very influential figure to cass, cass would probably have that same weird collection of intonations — british, variations of east coast, etc.

if we’re going off on-screen depictions of the al-ghuls, damian would have an rp accent that would probably soften a little after his time in gotham. tim and duke probably sound similar, and steph might fall between them and jason. in my heart, the joker sounds like snooki.

[ritzy-biscuit]

Arleen Sorkin

An actress who dressed up like a jester on “Days of Our Lives” and whose mannerisms and personality inspired Harley Quinn. The character who was just supposed to be a one off henchgirl was breathed into life by Arleen becoming one the most beloved characters of our lifetime.

Some of us watched Harley Quinn debut on our clunky CRT tvs and it was so fun to watch her develop and grow bigger and bigger over these past 30 years.

And yet no matter how many characterizations Harley Quinn has, I’m sure for most of us we always think back to the one and only Arleen Sorkin.

R.I.P Arleen.

Give a hug to Kevin Conroy for us.

Thank you for everything ❤️🖤❤️🖤

[copperbadge]

Wayne Alfred, the Bat Man of Askazer-Shivadlakia, looks and sounds just like Kevin Conroy in my head, sincerely thank you for that :)

Aw, that's lovely! Kevin Conroy was by all accounts a very good egg. I think often of that story that was...I think told on Twitter, where he was working in an emergency kitchen after a natural disaster and the folks he was serving didn't believe he was THAT Kevin Conroy, so from the kitchen he started yelling the prologue, you know the "I am the night" line, in Batman's voice, and they all went crazy for it. :D

[silver-soul00]

Then i got a call from my voice - over agent about a new series at WB "Batman the animated series".

I walked in and met the creative team of Bruce Timm, Andrea Romano, Eri Radomski, and others.

They walked me throug the character.

Explained how young Bruce Wayne had seen his parents murdered in front of him in crime alley.

How he had formed dual personalities to deal with the agony of his childhood.

A Mask of confidence to the World.and a private one racked by confilct and wounds.

Could i relate to that, they asked.

"Let me just try to get into the head of the man and see where i go"

I imagined myself as young Bruce witnessing my parents attacked and crumbling in front of me.

I Saw them lying in their blood in the filth of crime alley.

I saw my own father lying drink in a pool of his dried blood.

As Bruce, i held them, comforting them in my arms...

As Kevin, i cradled my bloody father as he struggled for life.

As Kevin, i held Chris...cradling him as he raved at the voices plaguing him.

As Bruce, i felt disoriented and lost, not sure, of my identity as my parents were cruelly yanked from me.

I felt disoriented and lost as an actor whose identity was being yanked from him.

Was i my public face or my private face?

Had i made too many compromises?

My heart pulsed, i felt my face flush, my breath grew deeper, i began tò speak, and a voice i didn't recognize came out.

It was a throaty, husky, rumbling sound that shook my body.

It seemed to roar from thirty years of frustration, confusion, denial, love, yearing...

Yearing for what?

An anchor, a harbor, a sense of safety, a sense of identity.

Yes, i can relate.

Yes, this is terrain i know well.

I felt Batman rising from deep within.

(Finding Batman - 2022)

P.S

I wish Kevin Conroy had participated in this year's Pride Month, I wish that at Pride we all would not have made him feel lonely anymore.

May his memory always be remembered, both as Batman and as a man who had to struggle through life, spit blood and received mud for his sexual orientation.

Thank you very much Kevin

We will also celebrate Pride in your memory ❤️

[jonathan-cranes-mistress-of-fear]

Different anon, but also going to talk about "killing" off the BTAS universe.

I'm assuming the other anon is talking about the scene in their latest animated movie, "Crisis on Infinte Earths," which should one of the last scenes with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman (RIP). I think its more of DC closing the figurative book on that piece of their history more so than "killing" off the that universe as while the scene depicted the erasure of that universe, I don't think DC will stop making BTAS content in terms of comics. I think it's more of a close on their media side of things given how most of the original cast has passed away and also given Kevin Conroy on last final nod to his time as Batman.

I don't send this to try and start a fight or anything, but I wanted to make sure you knew that more than likely they will still be making BTAS content even though they "killed" it off.

No, this was super helpful! I tried googling earlier and couldn't find much so this explains it! Thank you for the super detailed response, hopefully this helps others too!!

[the-amaranth-angel]

Thank you @roguespodcast and @codotafterdark for reignited my love of Batman and DC!

After the loss of Kevin Conroy I avoided DC for a while, it would make me so sad to think about the amazing talent we lost and all the things I would never get to say to him and thank him for. I felt even worse after Arline Sorkin died but thanks to you and so many other amazing fan creators out there I remembered why I love DC so much, and especially Batman!

So one again, thank you Codot and Dee for everything you've done!

[disgruntled-screaming]

If I ever go into a diatribe on how Batman works, I'm sorry. I fell in love with the hero when I was a wee lass thanks to Kevin Conroy's acting, and I have been attached ever since.

I do believe it is hard writing for Batman if you don't know what you're doing. I've heard of a lot of stories where the writers didn't understand Batman, which is easier to do more than Superman.

Do not get me started on the butchering of Superman over the years. He has such a simple concept, yet people think he's a god-- I could go on forever.

[gilverrwrites]

Hellooo, hope ur doing well ❤️ So I wanted to ask if you would wrote for any specific Bruce Wayne/Batman ? And which do you picture when writing him (comics or specific move interpretation) ?

I'm am thank you, hope you're well too.

Typically I just write my own amalgamated general version of Bruce. Physically I'm picturing mash up of Parobeck, Lee, and Capullo art. Maybe some Mora too 🙏

The voice is always Kevin Conroy, and the personality tends to primarily be influenced by his late 90s to mid 2010s portrays as that was when I consumed the most Batcontent. Also the Arkham Games.

However, I don't specify this on the fics cause I want my readers to be able to picture whichever version of Bruce they want to envision.

I do also take requests for specific portrayals though.

[gon-and-killuas-mother]

i watched Batman vs TMNT recently with some friends and i think this is my favorite animated Batman movie??

the entire premise isn't the strongest but that's true about most superhero plots, we're not here for logic and realism we're here to have a good fucking time and this movie DELIVERED

rather than wasting time coming up with a unique storyline, the movie instead pitched the turtles and Bats against each other's villains, and then each other, before teaming up.

i think the movie had two focuses

1) humor, mostly given to the Turtles (thanks Mikey i would die for you) (also "GOTHAM IS BONKERS, YO!" is a line i think should be engraved somewhere)

2) Rule of Cool, mostly by way of Batman. and it helped immensely that they cast Troy Baker as Batman, bc not only is his voice divine but he has a solid fucking Kevin Conroy impression, to the point that my friends were shocked it wasn't Kevin. he also voices Bruce in the Telltale Batman series and is definitely my favorite Batman voice actor second only to Kevin himself.

the Batman vs Shredder fight was insane. the animation was beautiful, the choreography was intense, and we ended up rewinding it a few times bc it was that good. the Batman vs Turtles fight was also fun to watch.

there are a few things that were meh, but all very minor. like what Jokers fursona would be. no it's not a goddamn snake, idiots. i tolerate it bc the rest of the movie is gold, and also they might've been nodding to the extensive usage of Joker toxin. but tbh i think he'd be a hare. or a monkey. a snake is too cool for him okay??

also Robin is?? acceptable. i think they tried to fuse Damian with a little bit of Tim, which i didn't mind, but they had to nerf him a little much for my taste.

also Barbara is Batgirl, meaning they wonked the timeline a bit. no biggie.

all that said, fucking NOTHING could have prepared me for the Batman Manbat transformation. it was beautiful, terrifying, and a couple kinds of hot. i'm sorry Bruce i know being forced into a feral monster with uncontrollable rage is probably traumatic for you, especially considering you probably maybe killed both Harvey Dent and Mr. Freeze. but don't WORRY you were very attractive while doing so.

12/10 go watch this movie, i was skeptical at first and so were my friends but we all found ourselves unable to even look away we were so enraptured with it

[celticincubus]

Another Voice of My Childhood is Gone.

I grew up addicted to Batman: The Animated Series, and the past three years have not been kind to the voice cast, as we lost Kevin Conroy (Batman) and Arleen Sorkin (The Original Harley Quinn) close together last year alone. Sadly, two days ago, we also lost the amazing Richard Moll, who brought to life the voice of Harvey Dent aka Two-Face.

His vocal range was insane, and the fact he did so many other voices and it was hard to tell it was him that made him so great. He lived to 80 years old, so he had a very fulfilling life, so that lessens the blow a bit.

Rest Well, Richard. Thank you for making such a lasting impact on the lives of so many of us.

[solitaryandwandering]

Top Nine Favorite TV Series

I was tagged by the incomparable @wen-kexing-apologist to list nine of my favorite shows, thank youu!! <3 This is a... daunting task. I'll do my best.

They've already listed/mentioned a number of shows in their own post I would include in mine (Avatar: The Last Airbender; I Told Sunset About You; 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us) so I will not be including those, to my absolute despair!! I'm only including stuff I've 100% completed, so that automatically excludes stuff like Orphan Black, Penny Dreadful, Derry Girls, Barry, or Russian Doll.

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

[ID: TV poster. Background is busy with sketches of an urban sprawl, with buildings and flying ships clashing with natural elements. Three teenage girls flail with maniacal glee in the foreground. On the right is the tallest of them all, glasses perched on her head and wearing an astronaut's suit with a jet pack. On the left, a girl in an orange jumpsuit is riding a flying carpet. In the center is a short girl with a round head, clutching animation paper in her hand. She is being jettisoned by a propeller around her waist.]

It took me forever to discern what was happening in that poster, my god.

Anyway, this show!!! Exactly what I needed at the time I watched it. So full of joy and creativity with no cynicism or guile to be seen. Pure, unfettered fun but still delivered moving characters and story. It's literally about three weird teenage girls who decide to start an animation club at their high school. Doesn't sound like much but is absolutely PASSIONATE in every sense of the word, in every way you could possibly apply it practically in its creation. It's so obvious everyone had fun making this little show. This is the kind of art that makes you hug yourself with tears of happiness. Or is that just something I do?

Give me more stories about weird girls being fucking bizarre!!! I need it!!!

Tldr; Hilarious, full of heart, reminded me why I love art, why I love stories, and what I love about life. An absolute 10/10 for me.

Batman: The Animated Series

[ID: TV poster. Batman is silhouetted against a black background, drawing his cape up around his body and staring at the viewer through narrow white slits in his bat-like mask. Batman's head is backlit by a bright red sun.]

Oh, you think I'm just adding this for pure nostalgia? WRONG. B:TAS absolutely stands up to scrutiny even without nostalgia glasses. I rewatched this relatively recently and was completely blown away by the complexity in its storytelling and characterization. Yes, I was obsessed with this show (and the rest of the DCAU) as a kid, but as an adult I can find very few flaws. B:TAS may represent one of my first forays into noir, which is potentially my favorite genre across all art-forms. It certainly represents one of the first times I fell in love with a superhero story.

Tldr; Kevin Conroy IS the best Batman. 10/10

Breaking Bad

[ID: Photo of four major characters from Breaking Bad. From left to right: Gus Fring, a Chilean man wearing round spectacles and a collared shirt with tie; Jesse Pinkman, a white man in his mid-twenties wearing a black T-shirt; Walter White, a bald white man with a full mustache and extended goatee, wearing large glasses; Mike Ehrmantraut, a bald white man with a bulbous nose. All four look into the camera with expressions of tired determination.]

Ah yes, the show that seems to make it to every "favorite shows" list made by everyone else in the universe. I really do love it though; it has incredible, complex, morally-gray characters, a gripping plot and story, phenomenal thematic development, GORGEOUS cinematography and production design, and bonkers acting. It really deserves all its accolades and praise. Add to that a disabled character played by a disabled actor and you've got me singing your praises all the way to the grave!

Tdlr; Virulent toxic masculinity LOSES and we all cheer! It leaves lasting trauma and devastation in its wake and we all scream in agonized recognition! 10/10 fried chickens

Over the Garden Wall

[ID: TV poster. Two young boys are wandering in a wooded area, approaching a darkened alcove of trees and vines. The taller of the two is wearing a red conical hat and blue cape with golden buttons. He looks into the dark woods with worry. A shorter boy scampers excitedly ahead, balancing an upside-down silver teakettle atop his head and hoisting a large green frog under his arm. A bluebird flies at their side.]

My best friend and I watch this show together every year. I am such a sucker for good sibling stories and this one takes the cake. The way Wirt and Greg love each other is heartbreakingly realistic, and to set the growth of their relationship against a confusing and bizarre backdrop is so satisfying. And what a backdrop! I loved fairytales as a kid and this show scratches that itch. Besides the great little vignettes what brings me back to this story again and again is the attention to nuanced relationship development between ALL characters. Wirt's character growth hinges on learning how not to inflict loneliness on himself, to instead accept love and care from others, even those he considers too good for him. Me likey! Great music and one of the best-designed monsters/villains I've seen in any children's animated show, and you've won me over.

Tldr; Goofy kids, goofy problems. Potatoes and molasses. 10/10, would be spooked again

Bad Buddy

[ID: TV poster. Two young college-aged men are standing close together in a yellow-lit room in front of a window. The man on the left stands with his arms wrapped around the waist of the other man, looking fondly into his eyes. The man on the right looks worried, one finger over his lips as he presses his hand against the other man's mouth.]

I was hesitant to start watching BL. Nothing about the genre appealed to me beyond the romance and happy endings. But then KinnPorsche lured me in with promises of attempts not to shy away from queerness. As I was in the midst of watching that I decided to check out this show as it had been trending on Tumblr with one person I follow rabidly enthused about it. Looked super fun (and was a Shakespeare adaptation!) and free on YouTube, so I took a peek... and the rest is history. I credit this show for keeping me around. I was SHOCKED at how queer-positive and forward-thinking it was and excited to learn of P'Aof's existence. BL was being created by IRL gay people?! And they're conscious of what they're making?! Consider me seated! This show became the first BL I ever completed and I am so glad it did. This fandom is the first where I've felt relatively safe to express myself and has opened me up to so many other like-minded people, willing to watch fun stuff but also critique it in the same breath. I'm so glad a show as good (if imperfect) as this one brought me here.

Tldr; Excellent Shakespeare adaptations are my catnip. Product placements didn't scare me away so you KNOW it's charming. An ending so perfect it made me tear up. Fandom so lovely it made me stay. 9/10 warm and fuzzies

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

[ID: TV poster. Two characters from the show face off against each other. On the left is a cat-like humanoid, Catra, with thick brown hair and different colored eyes: blue and yellow. Her right arm is raised in a defensive stance against the girl on the right, Adora, blonde with a large golden headdress. Her golden gauntlet clashes with Catra's arm, creating a bright burst of light.]

I just recently watched Nimona (WONDERFUL) so felt like I should shout out this show. In making this list I've further realized just how much I attach to animated shows I needed to see as a kid. She-Ra kinda takes the cake in that aspect. Multi-dimensionally queer with badass characters defying gender and relational conventions?! Fun, cheesy action with real stakes?! Anti-colonialist messaging?! Hell yeah. But most of all, this show has one of my favorite fictional characters of all time in Catra. ND Stevenson seems to have a knack for writing characters my inner child relates way too much to. Abused, neglected, shunned, bulled, traumatized kid who is visibly and invisibly different to those around her. Lights up as soon as anyone seems to respect her talents and see her potential, only to be manipulated. To crash and burn and grapple with self-hatred as a consequence. THEN she finds love in people who see her for who she is, know what she's done, and give her a chance to do better! Her character arc is so important to me. Not only that, but the ending kiss/confession between her and Adora is INCREDIBLE both as a narrative culmination and as a production win. Talk about a hard-fought queer kiss.

Tldr; Important and powerful. Good queer fun. TERRIBLE theme song. 9/10

Black Sails

[ID: TV poster. Tagline above the title reads "WAR AGAINST THE WORLD". A bald white man with soot and blood streaked across his face stands in the foreground. He is wearing an outfit typical of a pirate, holding a cutlass in his right hand. He is ankle-deep in water. He looks over his shoulder; a fleet of ships burn in the background. A large, tattered Union Jack waves behind the man's head. He is Captain Flint.]

Whenever someone asks me what my favorite show is, this is the one that pops into mind. It has EVERYTHING. Complicated, at-times intensely unlikable protagonists, queerness out the ears, great costuming, pathos, meta-upon-meta commentary on itself, the source material Treasure Island, the modern and historical world it's set in and the concept of fiction itself, EVERYTHING. You want strong themes? This show has THEMES. It's hard to find a show about rebellion or anarchy that ACTUALLY feels revolutionary. I think this show is it. This came out around the same time Game of Thrones was big so caved to some pressure in the first season to make itself appeal to a similar audience (thanks Michael Bay) but wow did they make that season pay off in a big way in retrospect. It only gets better, more assured in itself as it goes on.

Tldr; A story about stories. Straight-baited in season one, off-the-rails queer in seasons two to four. Madi deserved better. Anne Bonny: childhood hero to queer crank on TV! Me: in love. 9/10

Gravity Falls

[ID: TV poster. Three people set forth on an expedition through the dark woods. Leading the pack is Dipper, a young boy wearing a white and blue cap with a blue pine tree on the front. He is reading an old hardback tome with a gold hand on the front with the number "3" on the palm. Behind him is his twin sister, Mabel. She is grinning at the viewer, showing off her braces and harpoon gun. Her sweatshirt bright pink with a multi-colored shooting star on its front. Bringing up the rear is their Grunkle Stan, a grumpy old man wearing a red fez with a golden fish eating a smaller fish. He holds aloft a gas lantern. Behind them all is the Mystery Shack, with a triangular window lit by a yellow glow and a weather vane in the shape of a question mark. In the lower left-hand corner is a bearded gnome looking at the viewer, holding a finger in front of his open mouth.]

Oh, you think I'm just including for nostalgia reasons? CORRECT. But I do think this show is great, regardless. I think it's easy to tell at this point that I really enjoy speculative fiction. This show fires on all cylinders in that respect, hitting up the supernatural, science fiction, fantasy, horror, alternate history, and adding a splash of the gothic just for me. Add in there great familial and sibling dynamics, fun animation and a GREAT villain... that's my jam! This is the show that my best friend and I watched together and bonded over as freshmen in college. They got Mabel's sweater and I got Dipper's cap; this piece of personal history makes the show more special to me.

Tldr; Send kids to the woods and let them figure it out. Makes for some great television. Great friendships, too. 9/10 lumberjacks

Fleabag

[ID: TV poster. A white woman with short, curly brown hair and a large nose poses in a pastiche of a Christian saint. The poster itself is stylized like a Renaissance-era painting or religious effigy. A halo encircles her head as she stares off in the distance. In her hand, the woman holds a guinea pig emanating a soft glow.]

A masterclass in creating a miniseries which feels expansive and fully-contained. Might be the culmination of many things I've touched on in this list. Weird, off-putting protagonists/women, darker storylines with plenty of comedic heft, themes of grief, self-hatred, loneliness and hope, complicated sibling/familial relationships, and mental illness. Who knew? (Me.) Above all else, I love stories about love. This show manages to complicate the conversation about love - self-love, love as obligation, love as devotion, love as obsession, love as healing - in eternally satisfying ways.

Tldr; It'll pass. 9/10