LITTLE FACTS
Here is a section where we just jot down a couple things that we've noticed in various BTAS/STAS episodes over the years. Did YOU notice them?
1)The captain of the ship the Joker tries to sink in "World's Finest" part 3 uses the same design as the Coast Guard captain of the boat Nightwing sinks in "Over the Edge". He doesn't have the same voice
though...go fig.
2)The girl that is with Bruce in "Joker's Wild" and splashes wine in his face in "Mask of the Phantasm" apparently appears in "World's Finest" part 2 (I think) in the scene where the window-cleaning
apparatus Bruce uses to sort-of escape the Joker's gang crashes to the ground. Our female friend appears behind it; her concierge somewhat resembles Hamilton Hill.
3)The same man that does Alfred's voice ALSO does back-up voices for the talkshow host in "Over the Edge" and Roxy Rockett's first victim in "The Ultimate Thrill".
4)Wanna hear Kevin Conroy (Batman) speak in a french accent? Listen to the waiter at the Rose Cafe in "Pretty Poison" - that's Mistah Conroy!
5)Didja know that Two-Face (well, Harvey Dent, actually) makes an appearance in "Heart of Ice"? Watch the Batcomputer screen really carefully when Bats is searching for info on Mr. Freeze.
6)Mark Hamill, voice of the Joker, also does the voice of Ferris Boyle, the man who created Mr. Freeze.
7)George Dzunda (sp?), the voice of both Scarface and the Ventriloquist, also does the voice of Dr. Gregory Belson in "Sub-Zero", and G. Carl Francis in "The Laughing Fish".
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ANIMATED NEWS AND RUMORS
MOVIES
-The BATMAN SUPERMAN MOVIE is now on video and prices are suprisngly low! They range from 7.99 to only 12.99! Pick this tape up if you can! Its definately worth it!
-Also it looks like BATMAN:THE ANIMATED MOVIE #3 is a definite YES!(woohoo!) - and rumors still state that it will either involve Two-Face, Scarecrow, or Ra's Al Ghul/Bane.
-"Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero" will air on the CARTOON NETWORK on November 21, 1998.
COMICS/BOOKS
- BATMAN: ANIMATED hits comic store and book store shelves on Sept. 23rd. This date is, of course, subject to change. Written by Paul Dini and Chip Kidd.
- Harley Quinn is rumored to make a major comeback in "Batman: Gotham Adventures" within 12-15 months, where she finally writes her tell-all
book about the Joker and other Arkham inmates!
-During the San Diego ComicCon, Paul Dini revealed that he will be writing a story arc for NO MAN'S LAND that will introduced Harleen Quinzel into the mainstream world. She will be introduced as a therapist at Arkham Asylum but
she won't be making her debut as Harley for quite a while. Is this a good thing? Only time can tell. Also the introduction of Batgirl #2 during NO MAN'S LAND seems very true. (news courtesy of NEWSARAMA DAILY at the MANIA site)
-Rumors still seem to be flying about the Spoiler becoming Batgirl #2...but now with her baby? Hmmm...
ANIMATED SERIES'
-The Mad Hatter is now slated to appear in at least one future Batman episode as the main villain.
-Here's a recap of all the known upcoming episodes this season (sorry, no Superman episodes were available):
-Look for the return of Zatanna and Bane, plus the Scarecrow will be returning to terrify our hereos! The Riddler will have 3 whopping appearances as well. Catwoman will head her own team to counter Batman's. The Judge will be
introduced and more of Batman's Rogues
gallery will return.
-And, as for scheduling, every weekday we'll be having ONE FULL HOUR of Batman/Superman, instead of the half-hour time slot we've had all year. The weekend will, sadly, be shortened to one hour (from 90 minutes), to
accomodate BATMAN BEYOND into the "HEAVY DUTY DUBBA" schedule.
- Plus some BATMAN BEYOND news...
aside from findin' out what happened to Tim Drake and Dick Grayson it is very possible that we'll be introduced to Ra's Al Ghul and SUPERMAN(!) in the second season!
http://www.mania.com/columns/amhh/amhh081498.html
http://www.mania.com/tv/features/batmanbeyond.html
http://www.toymania.com/sdcc98/batmanbeyond.shtml
(Thanx for Brain Cruz's WB Cartoon page for the URLS!)
- WB feels that "Batman Beyond" will be a huge success, so they've already planned 13 episodes for the series' second season.
- A JLA (Justice League of America) series does NOT look likely at this point in time. My personal opinion...YAY!
- News about the "future" of the JLA series can be found if you follow this link:
http://detnews.com/metro/hobbies/comix/stories/9808/18/index.htm
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OTHER BATMAN RELATED NEWS (unchanged)
Movie News
-No new news - it looks like WB's proposed press release of the future of Batman 5 will NOT be on this month's schedule. Oh well. But we will surely not see a Batman movie for 2 more years (3 years from when
"Batman & Robin" was released). I quite like the 3-year gap between the first three Bat-movies - and part of the problem B&R failed was because it only took 2 years to produce, and therefore recieved a
rushed job. *CROSSES FINGERS*
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BATMAN: THE ANIMATED FIGURES
(by Kevin Smith)
WAVE FOUR
"BIG OL' 'JOY-GASM' 'BOUT 'MASK OF THE PHANTASM'"
Wave Four consisted of figures from the movie "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm", which included my favorite figure of the entire line, the elusive Phantasm.
The card art in this mini line was the best. It had a really dark and smoky picture of Batman, who was hunched over slightly. Phantasm came with chopping arm action and a stupid laser gun (which should
have been left out). The coolest thing about Phantasm was the fact that you could take the blade weapon off and the cowl came off to be Andrea Beaumont. The only thing I didn't like (and the movie did this too) was she
had a man's hips and waist as Phantasm. The card art had some nice cross-hatching, but that stupid laser gun, which looked like it was firing lightning, had to go.
Another figure released under this line that I unfortunately did not get, was Retro Batman. He was the Batman that we saw in the flashback scenes in the movie. Very similar to the Batman of TNBA, but
with classic style gloves.
The other figure worth mentioning (barely) that I didn't get was Jet-Pack Joker. He came with the jet pack and helmet that Joker wore in the movie, but the Joker was not wearing boots at the time like the
figure. However, the modelling of the figure was perfect. He was the first villain variant of the line, and a reasonable variant.
A figure that came out late in this wave, and was also re-released with the next wave was Bane. You can still find Bane warming the shelves in many stores. I thought he was a good figure, but he was only
in one episode, so why'd he get a figure so quickly? He had Body-Slam Arm Action and Venom Tube. The Venom tube was kewl and looked like it did in the show, with the wrist attachment. He also came with a twisted
piece of "metal" that could be thrown with the body-slam action. I honestly don't understand why he didn't sell well. Perhaps it was due to over ordering. The card art was pretty faithful, though I still have
no idea what the twisted piece of "metal" was supposed to have been. Also released in this wave, were the forgettable Ninja Robin, and High Wire Batman. Also released was the Batman
and Robin Crime Squad line that was full of useless Batman and Robin repaints.
Next issue: WAVE FIVE (or would that be SIX now)?
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COMIC REVIEWS
(by Aaron Maurer)
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES
ISSUE: "Last Chance" (#6)
WRITTEN BY: Ty Templeton
PENCILED BY: Rick Burchett
INKED BY: Terry Beatty
ISSUED: September 9, 1998 (Cover date is November, 1998)
RATING: *** (out of 5)
"...Suddenly none of this seemed important... or real. My death. My life. Me. None of it. Did it happen? Did I solve my own murder? ...Or was this just the last hopeful dream
in the mind of a dying man? I'll never know..."
--Deadman's soliloquy at the end of the story
SUMMARY: Deadman tells us the strange story of what happened after he died: Dick Grayson is performing with Boston Brand (aka Deadman) again (last time was Batman and Robin Adventures #15) in order to raise more money
for the Haley's Circus (The Grayson family's former workplace which Boston is now in charge of). Before they go on stage, a fortune teller warns Deadman that there is great danger...we soon after see a man pull out a gun and shoot
Deadman as he is performing. He falls to the ground and dies, but his spirit(?) doesn't believe it. The fortune teller can see and talk to him, and he tells him that he is, in fact, dead but will be given one more
chance. (Deadman views the rest of the happenings from the background, and no one can see or hear him.)
Batman, Robin, and Dick Grayson search the grounds for a murder weapon and find the gun with a bunch of toy ones in a carnival game. They trace it back to an arms dealer who tells them the address it was sent
to. They go there and find the murderer who is about to join the "League of Assassins." Deadman's spirit jumps into Batman's body and realizes he can control it. He identifies the man that killed him
and catches him. The man says he only did it so he'd have a way to join the league. Then Deadman jumps into the killer's body, surrenders to the Bat-crew, and admits to the crime. Then Deadman's spirit is sucked
from his body, and he says he's not sure if he's dead or alive, and he'll never know.
COMMENTS: This is a VERY strange issue. It was so weird, that I couldn't really get into it, and as such, didn't like it very much. While the ending was cool (I'm a fan of "The X-Files" and I love those
creepy unresolved endings...), it was kind of odd, for I'm still not sure whether Deadman is alive or not. His little monologue at the end (see the very beginning of this review) adds to the confusion, but also makes the
story better. This issue also had good artwork; Rick Burchett keeps turning out his best.
CRITICISMS: Where to begin? I'm not sure about this issue. It can't decide who's point of view it wants to be told from, as it switches from Deadman to Dick Grayson to Batman and back to Deadman. It also
downplays the Boston Brand's death (a funeral scene, or one of Dick reacting to the simialarities between it and his parents' deaths would have been nice), and it goes off on some "action" scene with Bruce Wayne and Tim
Drake fending off crazed circus animals. And I'm still not sure why Batman didn't realize why A) he didn't have any memory from the period that he was inhabited by Deadman, or B) that Deadman was in him. It doesn't make a
whole lot of sense. I suppose others would like it, but this issue left me disapointed.
BOTTOM LINE: If you like Deadman, then this may be right up your alley. If not, you can probably spend your money elsewhere (like Superman Adventures #25, guest-starring Batgirl, the Mad Hatter, and other Gothamites!).
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COMIC SCHEDULES
This section gives a little bit more indepth look into each monthly issue of BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES and SUPERMAN ADVENTURES. The price is $1.99 in the US and..grrrrr....$2.95 in Canada
"ANIMATED" COMICS
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #6
Sept 9th
While pefroming beside Dick Grayson, Deadman is killed...for real! Now Nightwing and Batman must help solve this murder with the most unlikeliness of help...DEADMAN himself! (Confused? Me too!)
NEXT MONTH:In issue #7 we see the return of DAGGER DIXON (Batman & Robin Adventures #14) and it may have dire consequences on Robin's crimefighting career! Also appearing are the Penguin and Two-Face.
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #25
Sept 9th
Bruce Wayne is missing! Its time for another WORLD'S FINEST team-up...with Batgirl? Superman and Batgirl team up to find Bruce Wayne before its to late! (you see..someone's tryin' to kill him)
NEXT MONTH:In we see the return of Mr. Mxyspti..ah whatever and he travels back in time to tell a young Clark Kent the tyrant he'll grow up to be (which isn't true). Find out what happens!
MAINSTEAM COMICS:
Currently, Batman and the Gotham vigilantes brood and complain while still saving citizens who are trapped in rubble. Also Batman's rogue gallery is coming back full force in the wake of the big quake!
Sept 2nd
BATMAN: BATGIRL-relist (4.95 US)
BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #1,000,000 (1.99 US)
JLA: ROCK OF AGES tradepaperback-relist (9.95 US)
JLA/WILDC.A.TS: CRIME MACHINE-relist (5.95 US)
YOUNG JUSTICE #1,000,000 (2.50 US)
NIGHTWING #1,000,000 (1.99 US)
Sept 9th
AZREAL #1,000,000 (2.25 US)
BATMAN #1,000,000 (1.99 US)
JLA: YEAR ONE #11(of 12) (1.99 US)
Sept 16th
DETECTIVE COMICS #1,000,000 (1.99 US)
JLA #1,000,000 (1.99 US)
Sept 23rd
BATMAN: MASTER OF THE FUTURE-relist (5.95 US)
BATMAN: TOYMAN #1(of 4) (2.25)
CATWOMAN #1,000,000 (1.99 US)
ROBIN #1,000,000 (1.99 US)
Sept 30th
BATMAN: BLACK & WHITE HC-relist (39.95 US)
BATMAN: LOTDK #112 (1.99 US)
BATMAN: TWO FACES (5.95 US)
CATWOMAN #4 (of 4) (2.50 US)
JLA IN CRISIS SECRET FILES #1 (4.95 US)
SPECIAL:
BATMAN: ANIMATED - Released on Sept. 23rd.
And that's what's shipping in September!
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