22/12 Batsters

On the 9^th day of Xmas my true love gave to me – 9 Dead Gay Guys

Today, on the 2^nd shortest of the year, we dug up some Batman stuff including a design for Japanese crimefighter Mr. Unknown (who appeared in Batman, Incorporated #1-3) designs for the Club of Villains from Batman RIP and some background material I created for the characters Knight and Squire, ‘England’s Batman and Robin’ when they were awarded their own comic written by Paul Cornell.

GALLERY ARTEFACT #105

The Club of Villains, assembled by Dr. Hurt and the Black Glove to be their enforcers, was comprised of the various archenemies of Batman Inc stalwarts like El Gaucho, Dark Ranger, the Musketeer and the other ‘international Batmen’. All of these characters were created for the story but only Scorpiana and Sombrero showed up again.

‘Pierrot Lunaire’ is a typically brilliant song by Momus and appeared on his 2003 Oskar Tennis Champion record.

GALLERY ARTEFACT #106

SQUIRE AND KNIGHT notes

When Percy Sheldrake, the landed Earl of Wordenshire decided to get over the death of his wife by doing something useful with his wealth, he became the Knight, England’s answer to Gotham’s City’s mysterious Batman.

Recruiting his 12-year-old son Cyril as his Robin-style sidekick The Squire, the grieving and possibly slightly unhinged Sir Percy fought bizarre British villains like the Pearly King and Queen, King Coal, the Highwayman (I have plans to tell this character’s story someday so perhaps we can leave him out of this one) and perhaps some of the army of new baddies Paul Cornell’s planning to introduce.

After a brief stint as members of billionaire John Mayhew’s ‘Club of Heroes‘, the Knight and Squire returned to England but things had changed.

While investigating his mysterious new benefactor, the Knight began to suspect that Mayhew had murdered his sixth wife, the actress Marsha Lamarr, and framed actor Mangrove Pierce for the crime, as part of his entry into the Black Glove - an elite group of the decadent and depraved super-wealthy (see BATMAN #667-669).

The Knight knew he didn’t have the evidence to back up his suspicions and his failure to convict the Mayhew haunted him and undermined his confidence to an extent that was to lead to his undoing.

The Knight’s arch-enemy was Spring-heeled Jack, a deranged member of the Royal Family (imagine Prince Edward crossed with the Joker and Judge Doom from ’Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ - surprisingly easy, actually - who dreamed of wiping out the competition and claiming the throne of England as his own) and their final confrontation ended when Jack put a bomb INSIDE the Knight’s stomach then forced him to attempt to save his beloved country while the countdown ticked to zero. The Knight succeeded but gave his life in the process, while his son Cyril could only watch.

Following the death of his dad, the now orphaned, 15-year-old Cyril Sheldrake lost his shit completely. The wild teenager blew the entire Wordenshire family fortune on drink, drugs, and girls. He lost his money, his home, and his dignity.

He was found, aged 20, living rough on the streets, by a 14-year-old working class girl named Beryl Hutchinson and her mum Carole. They took the fallen Earl in and helped him beat his addiction to drugs and booze. His ‘Batcave’ is a room in Beryl’s mum’s house (on an estate, not in a village – Wordenshire was very definitely a sleepy village, whose Rectory Bell was used to summon the ORIGINAL Knight and Squire and unlikely to be anywhere near a tough London estate. If Paul wants to use the ‘castle’ he may want to establish that it’s been given back to him by a grateful nation. We’ve already established that Squire and Knight are well accepted by the British authorities and media – they’re the Daily Star’s favourite superheroes! – as a result of Cyril’s family connections to the Establishment and the M.O.D.)

Beryl was self-taught communications savant with a black belt (or equivalent) in kickboxing, and it was her idea to re-motivate Cyril by reviving the Knight and the Squire.

At the time Britain was facing a Doctor Who/Quatermass invasion of METALEKS - alien construction machines, or ‘xenoformers’ designed to rebuild the planet Earth as a home for their long-dead creators (one of them is shown in BATMAN AND ROBIN #7).

Beryl Hutchinson is now 17. Cyril Sheldrake is 23. He’s a big brawler, like a Rugby player, she’s an acrobat. Together as Squire and Knight they fight to protect Great Britain from bizarre menaces.

(the artist should always understand that Beryl Hutchinson is not a willowy model girl type but a small and sturdy athlete girl with a fine set of thighs on her. She shouldn’t be drawn as a beauty but it’s fine for her to be cute. Cyril is David Beckham with number one skinhead Beckham crop and a Rugby player’s physique)

Squire and Knight get about on motorcycles. The Knight uses a treasured Norton Commander once owned by his father – the only thing he was able to preserve when he lost everything else. It means a very great deal to him (and is not to be destroyed in any story!).

They also have access to a tricked-out enhanced Spitfire and like the British comics character General Jumbo, we’ve seen the Knight use a keypad on his gauntlet (see JLA CLASSIFIED #1) that controls an army of toy WW2 soldiers and vehicles (inherited from Jumbo).

Squire and Knight are still members of the Ultramarine Corps, which links them to other international heroes, who could make an appearance if Paul can get a scene out of it anywhere.