Bruce Wayne in High School . . . D.C. tells Bruce to get a G.E.D.

01-09-11 • Cool Stuff, TV Posted by Mark Poynter 489 Views

Batman in high school? Wait . . . Batman in high school, with a cast of villainous school mates? Does the Joker plot to infect everyone with Mono using the drinking fountains? Does Killer Croc have to go to Arkham Hall for detention after class? My first gut reaction is, “Oh Hell No”!

Jeff and Celeste are the artist / writer team behind Gotham High, a rejected/neglected animation series. Did we all dodge a bullet with this series idea? I for one, love Jeff’s art, he’s got chops and I expect to see more of him in the future.

Smallville for Batman though . . . I was really not feeling it at first pass. Now a pitch for the Madhatter to mind control Batman into a high school trap like this sounds like a fun story arc. Then I started thinking about the possibilities. The Riddler pulling off crimes at school while posting clues in the school paper? Scarecrow using the High School chemistry lab to cook up nasty new formulas? Bane using drugs to get on the varsity team? Joker pulling practical jokes that go just a bit too far? Bruce trying to keep the lid on Gotham High?

At first I wasn’t sure this could carry a television audience for anything past one episode, now I am thinking there could be some fun stuff there. What do you think? Could they have carried it off? Did D.C. blow it with another great idea because they keep trying to copy Marvel instead of going their own direction? The picture below is the original drawing that started it all.

From Jeff and Celeste’s blog page:

Gotham High

Hey everybody! We have a huge treat in store for you this week from the Jeff and Celeste vault of awesomeness. Batman is both mine and Celeste’s favorite superhero and some time about a year and a half ago, we were approached to create a spec series based off of an old drawing of mine that we then sent to DC. Unfortunately, the project got lost in the sea of all the other Batman related projects in the works. But hey, it was still fun to make.

The Story Synopsis:
We all go through incredible changes as teenagers: growth spurts, bad skin, a sudden insatiable need to uphold justice and avenge your murdered parents…. Well, that is if you’re Bruce Wayne.
As if being a freshman at Gotham High wasn’t tough enough, Bruce’s insomnia and technological fascinations are taking their toll. Instead of spending his time studying, he has begun to obsess over an emerging personality trait: Batman. But under the watchful eye of his guardian and steward, Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce is forced to put his intelligence to good use: graduating high school. But given his classmates, can Bruce survive Gotham High?