Another new Caped Crusader!

Photo provided by Ryan Smith

Here at Caped Crusades we are working hard to bring you all things Batman and are growing our site all the time. Just yesterday we introduced a new writer for Caped Crusades, Jake Nelson, and today Skip and I are pleased to introduce to you another new Caped Crusader, Ryan Smith! Ryan took the time to answer the same set of questions for us as Jake in order to allow our readers to better get to know our writers.

So, how did you become a Batman fan?
-My earliest childhood memory is running into my living room on Christmas morning to see a “Batman: The Animated Series” play-tent set up in the middle of the floor and a marathon of the old black-and-white 1940’s Batman serials playing on my TV. My mind legitimately snapped online at that moment, and I don’t remember any other present I got that year. So if I only recall Batman during one of my earliest Christmases, that might tell you how much I’m into Batman 24 years later.

Where did you grow up and where do you currently live?
-I grew up in Whitman, MA and still live in my hometown.

Who’s your favorite Batman character?
-There are so many to choose from, it’s hard to pick. Let’s get the obvious out of the way, Batman & The Joker will always be top characters from ANY mythos for me. But I also find Ra’s Al Ghul, Red Hood (all incarnations) & Jim Gordon endlessly interesting. James Gordon Jr. is also a really intriguing character after “Batman: The Black Mirror.”
What’s your favorite Batman creative team?
-Another hard one to choose. I’ll say my favorite Batman writers are Mark Waid, Dennis O’Neil, Frank Miller, Scott Snyder & Grant Morrison. Artists would be tougher to say because there are so many great ones, but I’ll just give props to the current Bat-artist Greg Capullo for the outrageously good work he’s been doing lately.

What’s your college/educational background?
-Have yet to attend college, I graduated from a vocational High School with a certificate in Graphic Communications.

What do you do for a living?
-I currently work at a bakery/cafe doing everything from making sandwiches, to baking, to typing e-mails for unimpressed guests. Not my idea of top-job, but it’s something for now.
What’s your family situation (wife, kids, etc.)?
-I’ve got a girlfriend of almost 3 1/2 years, no kids at the moment (or ever, please).

What do you like to do for fun?
– Aside from the normal things like getting out to the city with friends on my off-time, I’m currently working on scripts for different comic book projects, as well as one for the pilot of a hopeful web-series. Other than that, I’m singer/songwriter for a folk band, I paint on canvas and wood and am not afraid to admit I still watch and enjoy pro wrestling haha

What’s your favorite Batman moment – in any medium?
– For me, there are so many – from the Burton movies, Nolan movies and especially the Animated Series. But since I’m a comic book geek at heart, I’ll take one from Scott Snyder’s “The Black Mirror,” which i mentioned earlier. There’s one issue from that book where Snyder writes a scene between Batman & The Joker unlike any other meeting they’ve ever had. It’s very simple and short – but extremely engaging and made a huge impact on the story. Not seeing Joker completely really helped this, as any other time Batman faces off with the Joker it’s a loud, ‘big bang’ affair. Here, Batman simply needed to get into the mind of a psychopath, and a detained Joker was his perfect guinea pig.

Skip and I are happy to welcome Ryan to our Caped Crusades team and can’t wait to get him started bringing our readers the Batman content they crave.

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