Animated Comics for September

[Batman's Biggest Fan]

Below is the information for the animated titles, scheduled to ship in September.

BATMAN ADVENTURES #6

http://comics.toonzone.net/solicitations/2003-09/batman-superman/t-batmanadvs06.jpg (http://comics.toonzone.net/solicitations/2003-09/batman-superman/batmanadvs06.jpg)
Written by Dan Slott and Ty Templeton; art by Rich Burchett and Terry Beatty; cover by Kelsey Shannon

Batman’s out to bust the various rackets of the gangster named Black Mask…but he’s playing with fire when he goes after the Mask’s pet arsonist: Firefly! Shipping September 17, 32 pages, $2.25.


JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES #23

http://comics.toonzone.net/solicitations/2003-09/dcuniverse/t-jladvs23.jpg (http://comics.toonzone.net/solicitations/2003-09/dcuniverse/jladvs23.jpg)
Written by Chris Sequeira; art by Min S. Ku and Rob Leigh; cover by Eric Wight

Kobra strikes reality television! After so many failed attempts to conquer the world, Kobra finds that his legion of believers is evaporating. In order to renew the faith of his followers, he comes up with his grandest scheme yet: to kill the Justice League live on TV! Shipping September 3, 32 pages, $2.25.

Also note that the first JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES TRADEPAPERBACK is being relisted for a September 17th release.

Comments?

Yeah, I read it, but there's no information on the Batman Adventures backstory.

Jim's Note: Added information for the September shipping animated titles.

[Dan Slott]

BATMAN ADVENTURES #6
Written by Dan Slott and Ty Templeton; art by Rich Burchett and Terry Beatty; cover by Kelsey Shannon
Batman’s out to bust the various rackets of the gangster named Black Mask…but he’s playing with fire when he goes after the Mask’s pet arsonist: Firefly!
September 17 :: 32 pages :: $2.25

What else do you need to know?

Personally, I think that gives away TOO much. We're trying to tell larger story arcs in the new BATMAN ADVENTURES book (with each individual chapter holding their own as single issue stories). The problem is, how do you keep surprises, twists, and turns coming if the fans can read the solicit. for 3 months down the road?

In fact, the cover to BATMAN ADVENTURES #7 gives away a BIG secret of BATMAN ADVENTURES #5... My advice to fans who want to be TRULY shocked by THAT secret... DON'T READ THE SOLICITS IN JULY!

How many of you BATMAN ADVENTURES fans read the solicit. for BATMAN ADVENTURES #1? On some web sites, that solicit. gave away the fact that the PENGUIN was the new Mayor of Gotham City. Don't you think it would have been a better READING experience if you DIDN'T know that? Imagine discovering that new wrinkle when you flipped open the cover to the 1st page... Wouldn't THAT have been cool?! Wouldn't that have just knocked you right on your butt?!

It's a tricky tightrope to walk. You want to entice readers with sneak peeks. You want retailers to know when big surprises and special issues are coming their way. But you don't want to reveal TOO much. Think about how many movie trailers you've seen that have blown an upcoming movie's THIRD act reveal...
Remember T2? All the ads revealed that movie's GREATEST secret: that THIS time around, Arnold was a GOOD Terminator. Arnie himself would go on talkshows and reveal this bit. They even had a slogan on the poster to let you know that THIS time he was coming back to "save us."
But the script-- and the way Cameron shot it-- bring the viewer to an amazing "crossroads" at the 20-30 minute mark. Both Arnie and Robert Patrick are coming for John Connor... And it's NOT until Arnie shouts for John to "get down," that you know HE is a good guy! Wouldn't you have liked that movie SO much more if you walked into that scene with a blank slate?

If you're a fan of the book... If you're gonna buy it anyway... My advice is, DON'T READ THE SOLICITS. DON'T READ THE SPOILER PAGES. Heck... DON'T EVEN READ THE PREVIEW PAGES. That way, the guys working on the books have a better chance of messing with your head... which is what you pay us for :).

And definitely, positively, absolutely, without-a-doubt-- DON'T READ THE JULY SOLICITS FOR BATMAN ADVENTURES #7 (shipping in OCTOBER) and DON'T EVEN GAZE AT THE COVER if you want to REALLY enjoy BATMAN ADVENTURES #5 in AUGUST.

Thanks for you support!
ttyl
Dan

p.s.
And, hey, if you want to hear a good strategy on how to keep a secret from leaking out through the solicits, next time Ty is on the boards-- ask him to tell you about the LAST cover he did for the RETURN OF BARRY ALLEN arc over in THE FLASH! Dang, that was ingenious!

Or, if you see Tom Brevoort lurking around the web-- ask him about the secret Marvel TRIED to keep for the current AVENGERS storyline: RED ZONE-- and how THAT got goofed up in the solicits. Solicits can be a big double-edged sword, if you ask me!

[Bird Boy]

Don't read the preview pages?!?!?!?!??! WHAT?!

...That's less work for me. I'll pitch in by not scanning them. :bosko:

Resistance is a pain when it comes to comic news and what it's about, but I have resisted before (I resisted up till December 13th when ROTJ: Cut came out on DVD, before reading about the edits), so I don't think it'll be that hard...

...lets hope not...

-BB

[DisneyBoy]

I think you make an excellent point Dan: Too much tends to be given away in solicits and such. It's always bothered me to know ahead of time that a certain story would actually be about one thing when the writer's intention was to keep it all a mystery. For example, I've missed the last seven episodes of this Season of Smallville...and I KNOW the finale was huge! BUT...I'm not going to ruin it for myself. I'll try and catch all the reruns so that I can enjoy the finale the same way everyone else did. Different scenario, same principle, I think. I don't want anyone spoiling anything for me, cause I'd hate to spoil it for myself.

On the topic of previews pages, though, I don't feel that principle applies. I've been, and will continue to be, a lifelong Batman Adventures fan. I'll read the series for as long as it's out there - every issue. But, I don't always have the luxury of being able to pick up my comics as soon as they come out, and I really enjoy being able to view the first few pages here at Toonzone, thanks to Bird Boy. Even if I don't like what I see, I still buy the comic. I'm loyal that way :cool: The good thing about the preview pages is that they come out a week before, or shortly after the release of the book, and we are only privy to the first four pages (Not to say that a lot can't happen in four pages). The availability of those pages serves as an enticement to the fans of the series, or the passer-by who may develop an interest in it. It's kinda like Free Comic Book Day, in a way. I can see, though, how it may be annoying for the writer when a last-issue clifhanger is resolved by page two or something like that, and therefore a surprise is spoiled. Nevertheless, I can't see how preview pages are anything but beneficial to the book, and I hope to be able to continue to see them here (Unless you offer a spoiler-related-warning). I'll be sure to skip the solitics and cover for #7 :) Thanks for the head's up!

Oh, one thing kinda threw me about the info for #6 - it says art by Rich Burchett and Terry Beatty...isn't Ty supposed to be the artist for your arc?

[Ty the Guy]

<<Oh, one thing kinda threw me about the info for #6 - it says art by Rich Burchett and Terry Beatty...isn't Ty supposed to be the artist for your arc?>>



Supposed to be...didn't work out that way. What with Simpsons scripting and pencilling, Batman scripting, pencilling a Pepe Le Pew story for Looney Tunes, pitching a new series, finishing up HUMAN DEFENSE CORPS, AND trying to sleep and see my wife and kids, something had to give if I was still going to make deadlines. So, I'll be staying on as co-writer for Batman Adventures, and will pencil the occasional story or cover, but I can't draw the lead features on a regular basis, and still do all the other stuff in my life. I tried, but it took more than two weeks to do the pages, and that made me late for the deadline.

Simply a matter of number of hours in a day. Those seventeen pages a month ate up too large a chunk of time. (I'm not lightning fast, you know.)

And you can't do BETTER than Rick, seriously. In my opinion, you're better off with his pencils in the first place.

Ty the Guy.

[DisneyBoy]

:(


Well...I disagree with you on that one, Guy. You are the best Adventures penciller and my fav. Glad you're staying with the series and putting your family first, despite your other committments, but I'm majorly, majorly bummed that you won't be doing any lead stories for the forseeable future.

Still, take care of yourself...and remember that Gotham needs you.

[James Harvey]

First off, I am really liking the cover art by Kelsey Shannon. They're colorful, but not gaudy. They look beautiful, especially the stunning cover for Batman Adventures #6. I'm also glad to see Blackmask being brought in to the animated comics. I've enjoyed the mainstream version of the character, and I'm very interested to see the animated version.

The new Justice League Adventures looks great! Kobra is back (Could there be a reference to Batman Beyond in here, somehow?)! Sequeira is back! And Ku is back to do the artwork once again! I am definatly looking forward to this issue!

Jim's Note: I have retitled this thread and included the information for the September shipping animated titles.

[ChrisSequeira]

"The new Justice League Adventures looks great! Kobra is back (Could there be a reference to Batman Beyond in here, somehow?)! Sequeira is back! And Ku is back to do the artwork once again! I am definatly looking forward to this issue!"

G'Day, Jim, and many thanks. I hope Min, Rob L, et al and I don't let you down. I won't make any comments about the story content (too early!), but I will say Min decided to amp up his art style for this one; the pencils I've seen were something I like to call (dunno whether the Minster agrees, but I mean this as a BIG compliment) a hybrid of animation-mainstream style. I think it comes across as extraordinarily effective.

I had never heard of cover artist Eric Wight, but I discovered he has a web-site, www.ericwight.com You will see the guy has a solid history of animation work, so it's no surprise he did a great cover.

Regards,

Chris

[Batman]

Is there a back up story in issue #6? There probably is, but it doesn't say in the information. And Mr. Slott, is there a way you can get DC Comics not to give out the cover art when it comes time for the next soliciations? I think that would help out and keep the secret. That is a sweet looking cover to issue #6, though. The new Justice League comics looks pretty good, too.

[Mr. Freeze]

I know this may be the wrong thread to ask this, but will we be seeing Mr. Freeze in this series?

[Ty the Guy]

Mr. Freeze...

Will he be in the new Batman Adventures?

Heck yeah.

Will he be in the next couple of issues?

Not yet.

We've written up to #8 and he's not been in any of those. But he's WAAAAY too interesting a character not to show up in the next while after that.

So far we've seen or heard from:

Croc, Two-Face, Joker, Harley, Ivy, Riddler, Penguin, Ra's, Cavalier and Scarecrow, and that's just the first three issue!

Over the next year, we've got stuff planned for practically everyone who's ever been on an episode of the show, (except the Worry Men and Baby Doll) and also lots of NEW versions of Batman villains we've never seen on the show. (Black Mask and Cavalier are examples.)

We've also got stuff planned for Montoya, Bullock, Gordon, Alfred, Robin, NIGHTWING (yes, Nightwing), Batgirl....

There's quite a supporting cast to this title.

Mr. Freeze will not be left out, trust me. You may not see him until issue #12 or so, but he'll certainly be along for this very bumpy ride.

Ty the Guy. Brrrrr....

[Batman's Biggest Fan]

^Hey Ty, the Batgirl cameo in issue #2 made me wonder if she would have a big role in #4. She didn't appear in #3 at all.

[The Detective]

Qhoah, that Batman Adventures cover is completely awesome! I don't know about JLA though, it looks like it has a lot of clunker potential but here's hoping it isn't. Anyway can't wait as always!

[Batman]

Over the next year, we've got stuff planned for practically everyone who's ever been on an episode of the show, (except the Worry Men and Baby Doll) and also lots of NEW versions of Batman villains we've never seen on the show. (Black Mask and Cavalier are examples.)

We've also got stuff planned for Montoya, Bullock, Gordon, Alfred, Robin, NIGHTWING (yes, Nightwing), Batgirl....

There's quite a supporting cast to this title.

Mr. Freeze will not be left out, trust me. You may not see him until issue #12 or so, but he'll certainly be along for this very bumpy ride.

Wow! I can't wait to see what you have planned with all these characters. With that missing year gap, there's alot ot be explored. I'm very excited to see who you're bringing in in the coming months. Man, I hope you stick with this title for a very, very, very long time! I can't imagine this title being done by anyone except for you, Dan Slott, and Rick Burchett and Terry Beatty.

And you're even bringing back Mr. Freeze! I am very eager to see how his character has changed since we last saw him!

[Mr. Freeze]

Wow, Ty! Thanks for the update! I can wait to see more Mr. Freeze. especially with the great stories you are doing right now! I'm glad to hear that there are plans for Mr. Freeze to show up in the series eventually. Thanks for the great post!