ANIMATED NEWS AND RUMORS

OTHER
-THE LOSS OF THE WB ON WGN: Beginning this fall, the WB will no longer be carried on WGN-TV’s national feed to avoid conflicts with other WB affiliates. WGN-TV will continue carrying the prime time WB in the Chicago area. If you’re outside the Chicago area and know of no other way to pick up the WB, you may call them at (818)977-5000 for more information. This is from the info section of the WGN website, http://www.wgn.com . Thank you for Peter Destructo for pointing this out.
-There has been rumour of a new show called 'Tension' coming to Kids'WB!. Nothing more is known about it...so stay tuned! (thanx again Derek!)

MOVIES
-Rumors of the making of a "Catwoman" film (which was first rumored in 1992) are re-surfacing. Is the WB trying to satisfy our taste for a Batman film by giving us one about the Feline Fatale, while they decide how to rework the Bat-franchise? Hmmm. Hopefully it's given the go ahead - and hopefully Batman himself is in it. And will Burton direct, since it was originally his idea?
-MASK OF THE PHANTASM will be airing on CARTOON NETWORK again at 8pm (ET) on March 13th. It also looks like Kids'WB! won't be airing MASK OF THE PHANTASM at all.
-Rumor has it that the third animated Bat-movie will dive deeper into the romantic relationship between Dick and Barbara. But the burning question for most people is...WHO'S THE VILLAIN?
-Batman 5 rumors have resurfaced, but nothing new. Schumacher states he wants to do a "Year One" film with an unknown actor under the cowl.

"CURRENT" ANIMATED SERIES'
-May is not only a big month for the animated series but for the comics as well! Check out May comic info for Batman & Superman (from Comic Book Continuum):
http://detnews.com/metro/hobbies/comix/stories/9902/15/index.htm#2
-Kevin Conroy appears in an exclusive interview and talks about Batman: TNBA, Batman Beyond and why making WORLD'S FINEST was so fun in the latest issue of SCI-FI TV. SCI-FI TV #4 (April 1999) has a cover price of $4.99US/$6.50CAN.
-Evan Dorkin talks more about his stay and what should've been on SUPERMAN :THE ANIMATED SERIES, and his new episode on BATMAN BEYOND. Go here: http://www.mania.com//columns/animated/animated021999.html

BATMAN BEYOND
-Due to the amazing success of Batman Beyond on Kids'WB! and the success of "World's Finest" on video, WB has decided to release Batman Beyond's "Rebirth" to video on May 18th! Thanx for the news, Derek!
-Batman Beyond's Rogue Gallery expands with these new villinas; Shriek, Curare, and the Terrific Trio! These villians will debut later this season. Also Ten, a member of The Royal Flush Gang, falls in love with Terry in their upcoming episode! Thanx to Chip Cataldo for the
news!
-And contrary to what it seems, Powers' lackey Mr. Fixx will return for more appearances this season.

ANIMATED COMICS
- Sometime after , Bane will make an appearance in GOTHAM ADVENTURES.

OTHER COMICS
- Mania.com has a huge article on the new SUPERMAN titles creative teams! Check it out here:
http://www.mania.com/comics/interview/superman_berganza.html
- For all Superman fans, read this: The January issue of Cinescape includes a review of Les Daniels and Chip Kidd's Superman: The Complete History, reviewer Frank Kurtz called it "A beautifully designed book that would do any coffee table proud", and "even seasoned comics enthusiasts may find themselves surprised by the depth of the material."

TOYS & MERCHANDISE
- The BTAS video game rumour is now true! Yep! A new video game based on the animated series will be out in early 2000. It's certainly for the N64. Check out http://www.ign64.com/news/6847.html for deatils.
- Also check this address for more info, confirming that it's for the Playstation, too - now many fans are at rest, myself included. Check out: http://psx.ign.com/news/6851.html
- Word of a new Riddler figure has been spread all across the internet and it's apparently true! Expect a new TNBA Riddler figure this year!
- The second wave of "BATMAN BEYOND" figures may contain more Jokerz members, and will definately include a BLIGHT figure.
_____________________________________________________________________
THE ROAD THROUGH NO MAN'S LAND
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)

Yes, I know this isn't really an animated topic, but I thought, hey, it's Batman's 60th anniversary, and this is the big event they're pulling off, so I should have a section dedicated to this year-long crossover. Besides, so far it's been excellent in every issue. We have this section split up into two parts - the first saying what has already happened, the second previewing what's to come. Enjoy!

UP UNTIL NOW...
- Well, four issues into the story and we've seen Oracle show us where all the villains (but the Joker and Bane) have claimed territory in devastated Gotham. We have seen dealings with the Penguin and a cameo by the Joker. The new Batgirl has appeared. Then, in the most recent issue, Batman has FINALLY returned (along with Alfred), 100 days after the bridges were blown up - but his absence was not explained. The GCPD have reclaimed the LoBoyz and Demonz territory of Gotham, threatening to kill anyone if they come back. Batman also has his first encounter with the new Batgirl.
- After a time in Bludhaven, Superman and Nightwing will come to Gotham to assist the Bat; ditto for Robin. The GCPD gets medieval on everybody's hiney. Azrael also becomes a more intricate part of the team, hunting down businessman Nicholas Scratch. Huntress is also stickin' around in the religious sector of town. The JLA won't appear (aside from some appearances of Superman), and we're going to see why. As for Spoiler...she just had her baby and then what? Hmmm?
The latest development is that Batman has taken down the first of the major villains in No Man's Land - the Ventriloquist/Scarface - and now Batman has put Rhino in control of the area.
Now, it looks like we'll see the Huntress and the Scarecrow battling it out in the religious sector of town, as Scarecrow has sought refuge there - and tries to start up a gang war to terrify everyone. Then Batgirl and Montoya take on Two-Face in what used to be Downtown Gotham.

WHAT'S TO COME...
- Villains aplenty:
-Mr. Freeze seizes control of the power plant to stay alive - and to have something valuable to trade with the rest of society.
-The Scarecrow has a field day tormenting Huntress in the religious sector of town.
-Bane tries to gain control of the city - again - but has to break in from the outside.
-Poison Ivy seeks refuge in the Robinson Park.
-Penguin seems to have the only access to points of the world OUTSIDE of Gotham, and basically rules the city, living in luxury. The GCPD will move in on him during the first major turf war in NO MAN'S LAND.
-Two-Face has seized control of the political and financial districts in Downtown Gotham, and has a unique tie to Rene Montoya of the GCPD. While the GCPD confronts the Penguin, Batman tries to take Two-Face down but fails in his first attempt. Two-Face then releases Russian assassin "Echo" from Blackgate Prison, who goes on a killing spree, with a bounty on Batgirl's head.
-The Joker doesn't appear as a major player until close to the end, along with the new, improved Harley Quinn - whom will appear in civilian form mid-way through the crossover.
-The Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, Mr. Zsasz, and various other "lesser" villains have their own chunks of Gotham to rule as well.
-Other villain heavyweights like Clayface, Firefly, and Ra's Al Ghul will most likely have roles as well, but no details have been given for them yet.
- Lots of new NO MAN'S LAND info can be found at this site now: http://www.mania.com
_____________________________________________________________________
TWO-FACE'S TRADING POST
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)

I know that there are many people out there that collect Batman OR Superman items - like
myself. I only started a year ago and, believe me, finding some of these items (like action figures) that were released a couple years ago is pretty tough! So, I decided to start up a
little section in the newsletter to help out our fellow Bat-fans. I can only personally guarantee that my entries are 100% true, for I saw these items with my own eyes. So we're working on the honour system here. Sound fair?

Well, if this section proves to not be a help for anyone, I'll just abandon it. But I thought I should give it a try. If anyone has any items they'd like to post in this section, feel free to do so - just give a brief description, name, e-mail address. Thank you!

IMPORTANT: Many fans have been unable to see any of the new-style BTAS episodes, and any of the STAS or BATMAN BEYOND episodes. Can someone who is in the know point out a website that tells the copyright laws regarding taping episodes off the TV and selling them to people who want 'em? I'm not saying we're doing this - but I know it would help many out. So if anyone has any official info on this (or, better yet, if someone from the WB network contact us), that'd be great. In the meantime, we won't be selling or trading any home-recorded BTAS episodes here.

Well, here we go! I hope this helps out someone out there!

1. HUGE AMOUNT OF FIGURES READY TO SELL. Yep! Just look at this list! A figure without an "MOC" marking is NOT in the package. Figures with a "*" mean that they are without some/all accessories. All figures are of the animated "Batman" style. E-mail jodyctmp2@kih.net for more info, if interested.
-Mint on card:
RAPID ATTACK BATMAN (MOC)
HOVER JET BATMAN (MOC)
ANTIFREEZE BATMAN (MOC)
TORNADO BATMAN (MOC)
TOTAL ARMOUR BATMAN (MOC)
BRUCE WAYNE (w/ snap-on armour) (MOC)
KNIGHTSTAR BATMAN (MOC)
SKYDIVE BATMAN (MOC)
TURBOJET BATMAN (MOC)
TRANSFORMING DICK GRAYSON (MOC)
NINJA ROBIN (MOC)
BATMAN VS. TWO-FACE: ARKHAM ASYLUM ESCAPE (MOC)
BATTLE HELMET BATMAN MAIL AWAY FIGURE (MOC)
THE JOKER (w/ laughing gas gun) (MOC) - quantity: 2
CATWOMAN (MOC)
THE RIDDLER (MOC)
POISON IVY (MOC)
THE SCARECROW (MOC)
MR. FREEZE (MOC)
BANE, 1st Card (MOC) - quantity: 3
THE PHANTASM (MOC)
-Loose:
BATMAN TURBO SURGE (Duo Force)
BATMAN VECTOR WING (Duo Force)
DECOY BATMAN
COMBAT BELT BATMAN
GLIDER ROBIN
ROBIN (Duo Force)
WINDBLITZ BATGIRL (Duo Force)
RIDDLER (Duo Force)
POGO STICK JOKER
RA'S AL GHUL
-Loose, with some accessories missing:
INFRARED BATMAN*
THE PENGUIN*
MAN-BAT*
-Vehicles and Miscellaneous:
BATMOBILE
BATPLANE
BATMAN COLLECTORS CASE
HYDRO BAT
JOKER-MOBILE
NIGHTSPHERE (w/ excl. Batman figure)

----------
WANTS TO BUY

1. DARKSEID. We are looking for one Superman: The Animated Series DARKSIED figure. E-mail the following address if you are able to help our fellow subscriber out! E-mail: kbenso@msn.com

2. CLAYFACE. Anyone know where to get a "Legends of the Dark Knight" Clayface figure? I know it's not animated, but it still counts for this column...can anyone help? E-mail: juno@direct.ca
____________________________________________________________________
SITE(S) WORTH CHECKING OUT

OK. Something a little different this time. We are proud to present you info regarding the newsletter of a friend of ours, focussing on the many many different visions of our favourite feline fatale, Catwoman!
----
Can't get enough of that girl in the slinky black suit running 'round Gotham stealing the night away? Well, if you want to see more of Catwoman, subscribe to Claw Marks, the official newsletter of The Catwoman Fan Club. Get the latest news and rumors relating to the feline femme fatale not only on the animated series but in the comics, in the movies, in music, on-line and more! Plus, on top of that, each newsletter comes with trivia and a pic to download
and some special issues have exclusive creator interviews! Interested? E-mail
< CatSpel@aol.com > saying so and get as close to Catwoman as you possibly can. Meow.
-----
There's also the GOTHAM WEEKLY NEWS, another newsletter, this time run by Alan J. Porter, which focusses on all aspects of the Bat-mythos. Alan is taking the month of February off, so expect to see the issues start a'rollin' in March.

GOTHAM WEEKLY NEWS
E-Mail newsletter
http://members.aol.com/gothamajp/gwn.htm
-----
NEW BATMAN NEWSGROUP!

Subscriber Peter Destructo has provided us with info about a new Batman newsgroup on the net:

alt.animation.batman

I encourage everyone who uses newsgroups to send a control message to their servers if it's not there! Thanks for the info, Peter!

___________________________________________________________________
ANIMATED BATMAN/SUPERMAN SITES:

* - indicates a shameless plug for a site a certain double-faced editor created with his bare hands - in other words, a cheap advertising technique.

OFFICIAL SITES
-----
THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES
http://www.batman-superman.com
BATMAN:THE ANIMATED SERIES
http://www.batmantas.com
BATMAN BEYOND
http://www.batmanbeyond.com
KIDSWB!
http://www.kidswb.com
http://www.wbanimation.com
BATMAN & MR. FREEZE: SUB-ZERO
http://www.warnerbros.com/subzero
SUB-ZERO: THE DEFINTIE GUIDE
http://www.batman-subzero.com
DC COMICS
http://www.dccomics.com
TOON ZONE
http://www.toonzone.net
RAVING TOY MANIAC
http://www.toymania.com
VOICE CHASERS
http://www.voicecharsers.org

UNOFFICIAL SITES
-----
*TWO-FACE'S TOWER OF TRANQUILITY AND TERROR
http://www.angelfire.com/tx/TimTwoFace/index.html
BRIAN CRUZ' WB CARTOON PAGE
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/index.html
BRIAN'S BATMAN PAGE
http://members.aol.com/bdavis2613/main.html
GOTHAM GAZETTE
http://members.aol.com/gothamajp
BATMAN: THE ANIMATED HOMEPAGE
http://www3.sympatico.ca/quartet/home.htm
THE BRUCE TIMM ARTWORK ARCHIVE
http://www.aiusa.com/chip/timm/archive.htm
ANIMANIA
http://hjem.get2net.dk/twt/home.htm
HARLEY'S HAVEN OF HEDONISM
http://www.angelfire.com/hi/harlequinhideaway
THE ANIMATED BAT
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/7382/index.html
BATMAN BEYOND MULTIMEDIA
http://www.prophecysite.com/batman.htm
THE BATCOMPUTER
http://members.spree.com/batcomputer
BATMAN: FOREVER KNIGHT
http://batman.techv.net
WORLD'S FINEST
http://members.spree.com/sip/worldsfinest
CHARACTERS ON THE ADVENTURES OF BATMAN & ROBIN
http://www.xse.com/leres/batman.html
ARKHAM ASYLUM
http://animation.acmecity.com/saturday/352
JLA: THE ANIMATED SERIES
http://animation.acmecity.com/character/375
THE NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES: THE UNOFFICIAL SITE
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Makeup/5158

MESSAGE BOARDS, INC
-----
HEAVY DUTY DUBBAS DISCUSSION CENTER
http://members.spree.com/sip/hddboards
BATMAN:TAN MESSAGE BOARD
http://www.insidetheweb.com/mbs.cgi/mb205617

NEWSGROUPS
-----
news:alt.comics.batman
news:alt.comics.superman
news:alt.tv.cartoon-network
news:rec.arts.animation
news:alt.animation.warner-bros
_____________________________________________________________________
ANSWERS TO THE TRIVIA

Answer to #71: 'B'
Answer to #72: 'C'
Answer to #73: 'A'
Answer to #74: 'D'
Answer to #75: 'C, D, E'
____________________________________________________________________
LIKE WHAT YA SEE? WANNA SUBSCRIBE? HERE'S HOW!!!

Now that this newsletter is archived at THE WBC HOMEPAGE, those who haven't subscribed have been asking how to do so. Well here it is for those who would like to subscribe:

To subscription requests e-mail
juno@direct.ca
and that's all ya do. Just put 'subscribe' and your e-mail address in the e-mail message.

A little cash donation would be appreciated, but it's not obligatory.
(Dang!)

Thank you for your time, and thanks for reading!
-Tim TWO-FACE Leighton and Dick Grayson, editors
_____________________________________________________________________
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE:

BATMAN and all related property is a registered trademark of DC Comics, 1999. All Rights Reserved.

Visit DC Comics website at:
http://www.dccomics.com
____________________________________________________________________
TO ALL GOOD THINGS...
...there must be an end. We would like to thank the endless amount of contributors for contributing their editorials, columns, news, jokes, reviews and other articles. We hope you've all enjoyed it as much as we've enjoyed making it! See ya next time!

CREDITS FOR BATMAN: THE ANIMATED NEWSLETTER

EDITOR: Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton and "Dick Grayson"
AIR DATE SCHEDULES: Brian Cruz
BTAS REVIEWS: Bob Evatt and Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton
EDITORIAL: Laura Hysert
BATMAN BEYOND COLUMN: Ed Wiser
COMIC REVIEWS: Aaron Maurer
TOY REVIEW: Kevin Smith
ORIGINAL BTAS REVIEWS: "E. Nygma"
"BTAN ARCHIVES" MODERATOR: Eileen Delgadillo
TRIVIA: Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton
ROAD THROUGH NO MAN'S LAND: Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton
TWO-FACE'S TRADING POST: Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton
PROMOTIONS AND JUST GETTIN' THE WORD AROUND: Dick Grayons, Eileen Delgadillo, Brian Cruz, Brian Davis
THOSE WHO FILL IN FOR OTHERS WHEN THEY FOUL UP:-P Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton
DELIVERY: Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton
E-MAIL RECEPTION HANDLING: Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton
BATMAN CREATED BY: Bob Kane (who else?)

All elements in this newsletter have been copyrighted (copywritten?) by DC Comics, 1999.
_____________________________________________________________________

A SPECIAL THANKS TO MARK EVANIER FOR PARTICIPATING IN OUR INTERVIEW!