Mr. Smith was unable to submit an article for
this issue of BTAN. But fear not, he will return
shortly!
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COMIC
REVIEWS
(by Aaron Maurer)
BATMAN BEYOND #6 (of 6)
TITLE: "Permanent
Inque Stains"
WRITTEN BY: Hilary J. Bader
PENCILED BY: Joe Staton
INKED
BY: Terry Beatty
ISSUED: June 16, 1999 (Cover date is August)
RATING: **
(out of 5)
NOTE: Mr. Maurer was unable to submit a review
by the time of the delivery of this issue, so editor Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton has
filled in for him. Expect Mr. Maurer to return in !
So, the mini-series is over. And what can we
say? Average, at best - and it's a real shame because I really enjoy the
animated episodes of BATMAN BEYOND. Why do I feel this way? Simple -
I'm not a big fan of Hilary J. Bader. I enjoy the occassional story she
writes, but for the most part, I find them meandering and average, at
best. Her stories are far too wordy, making the action seem
sluggish. I can honestly say that when she DOES do good work, it's
AMAZING, but as far as these issues are concerned, I'm not all too
impressed.
Perhaps this isn't a fair assessment of the
mini-series, seeing how the first two comics were just a re-hash of "Rebirth",
and Issues #4 and 5 were too far-fetched, even in a futuristic setting.
The issues featuring Blight and Inque were my favourites; they are my two
favourite BEYOND villains.
The Inque issue, in
particular, bugged me. Inque? Saving the hero? No matter HOW it
could be advantageous to her down the road, I never thought she'd do ANYTHING
kind for someone else - that's why I loved her on the series, she was so cold
and calculating. Here she was actually playing nice at times - and, through
that, lost a lot of her appeal.
The main thing that
bothered me was Inque's new design. Look carefully - she has a COLLAR? Why
are the artists trying to make it look like the Living Lava Lamp is wearing
clothes? Was that just added so this comic would get past censors? "Oh no!
A naked ink blot! This book ain't for the kiddies!", I hear the parents
and critics say. Geez - maybe I'm picking on something very trivial, but this
little addition really subtracted from the pleasure I got from this
issue.
I still support BATMAN BEYOND, both in the
animated AND comic book form, but I sincerely hope that the quality of the
comics greatly improves when the ongoing series debuts this
September.
PS - Congrats to co-editor "Dick Grayson" for
getting a letter printed in this issue. Yayyyyy
Richard!
___________________________
COMIC
SCHEDULES & COVERING THE BASICS
This section gives a little bit
more indepth look into each monthly issue of BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES and
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES. Below each comic listing is a link to the cover of that
comic. TALK ABOUT SERVICE!
The price is $1.99 in the US and..grrrrr...a whopping $3.25 in Canada. (Both our editors and many
subscribers are Canadian, hence the "grrr".)
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #16
July
7th
Alfred's been kidnapped! But why doesn't Batman seem concerned? That's
the question on the minds of Nightwing, Batgirl and Robin, who can't come to
Alfred's aid until they battle their way through hordes of heavily armed
thugs.
Cover:
http://www.toonzone.net/comics/covers/bga/bga16.jpg
BATMAN BEYOND #1 (ongoing)
Uhhh...don't know
much about this...it'll be out in September, though.
NEXT MONTH: Issue #2. That's all we
know.
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #35
July 7th
The
Toyman's toys are pulling off a rash of crimes throughout Metropolis, but the
Toyman insists he isn't behind it. Now Superman must find out if there's another
mastermind at work, or if the Toyman's just playing games to hatch a bigger,
deadlier scheme.
Cover:
http://www.toonzone.net/comics/covers/sa/sa35.jpg
NEXT MONTH:
Synopsis: This whole issue looks like a job for Superman — bank robberies, plane hijackings, people trapped in mine shafts, and oh yeah, a kid's missing dog. Can even the Man of Steel
cover all these bases, or will he have to choose one emergency over the other?
Cover:
http://www.dccomics.com/directcurrents/comics/covers/download/dsma36.jpg____________________________
NEWS AND RUMORS
ALL-ENCOMPASSING/OTHER
-A BATMAN BEYOND
soundtrack CD is in the making! Various artists will be contributing songs
(and scores?) for this CD, due out August 17th, 1999.
-Paul Dini was listed
in Entertainment Weekly's 'It List' of 100 Most Creative People In
Entertainment. Paul is listed as the 'It Bat Revivalist'. Congrats! You deserve
it! I wonder why Joel Schumacer didn't get mentioned...
-The Don Thompson
Awards were recently announced. Voted for by the members and visitors of the
Compuserve Comics/Animation forum the results included:
*Favorite Animated
TV Series: The New Batman/Superman Adventures
*Favorite Publisher: DC
Comics
*Favorite Comic-Book Work for All Ages: Batman: Gotham
Adventures
-Terry Beatty has been and will be selling Gotham Adventures and
Batman Beyond original art on ebay. His Seller ID is:
wlee@muscanet.com Do yourself a favor
and check out some great art!
"CURRENT" ANIMATED SERIES'
-The STAS episodes
LEGACY and DEMON REBORN have been left for next season. Great. Three more
episodes to be scattered throughout the season. Perfect. Blech.
BATMAN BEYOND
-Look for the season premiere
of BATMAN BEYOND to be on either Sept. 18th or 25th. Also look for the final
three SUPERMAN episodes to begin on those dates as well. The dates may change,
so stay tuned to this newsletter for future updates.
-Curare, Spellbinder,
Shriek, the Jokerz, and the Royal Flush Gang are among the villains which will
re-appear. The return of both Blight and Inque have been put on
hold. There is no plan to revisit any of the present day Bat-villains at
this point, either.
-On the hero front, more details on the past of Batman
and Batgirl will be revealed. AND Superman will show up. Someone else is also
going to learn the secrets of the Batcave...but who? My guess is either
Ten or Dana.
ANIMATED COMICS
-Man-Bat FINALLY re-appears
in of "Batman: Gotham Adventures".
-Look for the yet untitled
BATMAN BEYOND ongoing comic series to launch the same time the new season
starts. This means it'll most likely start in
Late-August/Mid-September.
OTHER COMICS
-A prelude to "Batman: Dark
Victory" (the follow-up to "The Long Halloween") will be available in
of WIZARD magazine...watch for it!
-For more, see the "Road Through No Man's
Land" section below.
MOVIES
*Batman 5: The Joker's Revenge (cheesy
tentative title):
-The film is set at the end of the millenium
-This is
one of the few scripts which does not feature "The Scarecrow" as a villain
(which sucks as he's one of the best), in fact he doesn't even cameo.
-The
Joker is somehow resurrected after the fall from the Cathedral belltower. How
this is possible I do not know and its not been revealed in detail yet, though
one scene is set in the city morgue a few hours after the Joker's death plunge.
The way this is done will really have a major impact on the film, and while
other scripts used the clever trick of bringing back The Joker via a
hallucination induced by Scarecrow's fear gas, the writer is going to have to
come up with something darn clever to appease ardent fans
-There will be
three other villains cameoing in the film. Mr. Zsasz, the serial killer who cuts
a mark into his flesh for every victim he kills, is one. Another villain from a
previous film will make a brief appearance in Arkham Asylum. The third villain
plays a vital part in the 'resurrection', one which Bat-fans will know but the
general public is unlikely too.
-No Bruce Wayne love interest, that
storyline is being saved for The Joker who gets his own squeeze. (Guess
who).
-Commissioner Gordon will be very different, more of a down-to-earth
personality (sort of like the Animated Series version).
-Two major action
sequences will be set in Gotham Square Park and Gotham's Tropical
Casino
*Superman 5:
-According to Variety, scribe Bill Wisher (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Exorcist Prequel) has been brought on board to take a stab at writing a script for the film. Furthermore, word has it
that Wisher actually met and pitched his Superman movie idea to Nicolas Cage, suggesting that the potentially controversial actor is still up for playing the Last Son of Krypton. The trade also reports that Wisher will begin work
on the Superman script as soon as he finishes up writing what is called "a top-secret assignment for director Robert Zemeckis and ImageMovers at DreamWorks."
-In additional developments, confirming comments by Jon
Peters made to Cinescape last year, Tim Burton is said to be permanently departed from the project. The parties involved won’t be seeking out directors until a script is approved. The bad news is that Warners is also said to
still be set on a story that would have Supes dying at the hands of Brainiac only to be resurrected "in a new incarnation."
TOYS & MERCHANDISE
-The Playstation
version of the SUPERMAN video game has a tentative release date of September 16,
1999. Thanks to THX1138 for submitting this info!
-Check out
"Two-Face's Trading Post" if you're interested in purchasing figures...lists
provided
below.
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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
that celebrates it, 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...
JANUARY - APRIL: For
synopses of what happened in the first four months of NO MAN'S LAND, go see
Issues #26 and #27 of "Batman: The Animated Newsletter". Follow this link:
http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/btan
MAY: The Penguin and Two-Face make
arrangements to expand their territories in Gotham; in the end, the Penguin gets
shot, losing half his territory, and Two-Face trounces Batman, taking his entire
chunk of land. Two-Face also releases a new villainess, named Echo, from
Blackgate prison.
Next, a new assassin named "Cain" wreaked havoc in
Gotham. Batman confronts Batgirl about letting Two-Face take his
territory, and then confronts Two-Face himself - but let's him off the hook for
the time being. Cain is eventually defeated; it is revealed that Tally-Man is
another man working for Two-Face; Tally-Man was the one that "killed" Black Mask
in March.
And finally, in BATMAN CHRONICLES #17, stories featuring
Francine Langstrom becoming the Man-Bat, Gotham's only remaining cable access TV
show, and a man who tries to strike a deal with Two-Face, claiming to know
Batman's true identity.
JUNE: Batman assembles Robin, Nightwing, Azrael, Oracle, and the NEWER Batgirl (#3) together, before they set off to
reclaim Gotham from the totalitarian supervillains and their warring
gangs. Batman and Commissioner Gordon FINALLY meet, and it's clearly
revealed that Gordon and Two-Face HAVE been working together (even though Gordon
didn't like the idea); Batgirl #2 is revealed to be none other than the
Huntress.
In "Fruit of the Earth", Clayface has taken over Ivy's
territory - the park - and holds her captive. We also learn that Ivy has
been providing food for the Penguin, making his desire to have a stranglehold on
Gotham's black market a lot more easy. Batman and Robin enter the park, breaking
into a "Batcave" held deep under the park, to save Ivy and defeat
Clayface. In another part of the story, all the Blue Boys (save for
Bullock and Montoya) have abandonned Commissioner Gordon. The story
concludes with Ivy beating Clayface - using him as fertilizer for plants of hers
- and the items Batman was looking for in his "cave" have been destroyed.
Batman and Ivy come to an understanding - he lets her rule the park as long as
she keeps all other gangs out of it, and provides fresh fruit for the city.
Meanwhile, it is learned that Bane will be returning to Gotham, as will Catwoman, by Batman's request; Gordon is cutting off his ties with Two-Face, but
Two-Face won't let him. It's then revealed that the reason Montoya is gladly
working for Two-Face is because he's holding her entire family
hostage.
In "Robin", we see how Robin and Nightwing find their
own way back into Gotham.
"Bullock's Law", a one-shot featuring
none other than, you guessed it, Harvey Bullock, was also released. This
issue, set in the "Road to No Man's Land" time period, hints at what tipped
Black Mask over the edge before his appearance in "Mosaic", back in
March.
That's 30 issues of NML so far. For a complete
list, e-mail us.
WHAT'S TO COME...
-July: Like April, it's
another month filled with one-part stories, one for each week. Batman and Mr.
Freeze battle in the heat of the summer at the power plant, determining who
controls Chinatown. He then goes on to fight Killer Croc. Bane resurfaces,
and Nightwing has a little tussle with Lock-Up. Robin fights off the
Ratcatcher and Spoiler's identity is revealed to her mother.
-August: The
month begins with Batman trying to save the children of NML from a gang known as
"Lynx". Then, things start to really shake up when Harley Quinn finally
makes her debut in the mainstream, with the Joker and Poison Ivy coming along
for the ride. Meanwhile, Azrael and Batgirl continue to try to make a dent in
Nicholas Scratch's operations. Nightwing is trapped in Blackgate, and Robin is
still out searching for food.
-September: "The Underground Railroad", in
LOTDK #123 and SOTB #91. Batman hardly appears at all in this story; Robin,
Penguin, and Joker have larger roles. Then in "Goin' Downtown", Two-Face,
Penguin, and Bane collide in another major turf war - in BATMAN #571 and DC
#738. And don't forget "Batman: No Man's Land #0", featuring what Batman did in
the first 100 days of NML before re-appearing to confront Scarface.
-See
below for more.
AS FOR THE OTHER HEROES:
-Nightwing is
ordered by Batman to take control of Blackgate Prison after returning to Gotham
in July; Lock-Up is unhappy with this, obviously. All this in Nightwing
#35.
-Batman sends Robin out to get emergency food rations BUT is confronted
by Mr. Freeze and the Ratcatcher in the process in Robin #68. Also, Spoiler's
mother finds out her true identity. Robin then goes up against Killer Croc in
Robin #72.
-Azrael and Batgirl team up to take down Nicholas Scratch, in a
giant comic also featuring Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Joker, Penguin, and
Two-Face. This is all in Azrael #56 and #57.
-The Huntress takes on the
Joker and Harley Quinn in August.
-Leslie Thompkins and the Huntress are the
focus of BATMAN CHRONICLES #18, in August.
-Superman will return to Gotham in
SHADOW OF THE BAT #92, in October.
AND AS FOR THE REMAINING VILLAINS...
-The Ratcatcher confronts Robin and Nightwing as they try to break back into Gotham.
-Catwoman returns to Gotham in Catwoman #72, this July.
-Killer Croc is
confronted by Batman in Shadow of the Bat #89 in July.
-Bane tries to gain control of the city - again - but has to break in from the outside - across the river filled with land mines. Batgirl also has a significant role. This
is in Detective Comics #736, in July. Bane later returns in September to destroy Gotham - and finally fulfill his plans - in "Goin' Downtown".
-Lock-Up is in trouble when Nightwing tries to take over control of
Blackgate Prison in July!
-Mr. Freeze seizes control of the power plant to stay alive - and to have something valuable to trade with the rest of society. His story involves - a plumber? Freeze also controls Chinatown. (LOTDK #121) Freeze will also appear in Robin #70, in September.
-BATMAN: HARLEY QUINN, the one-shot comic featuring Harley Quinn's intro to the mainstream Bat-universe will come out in August.
-The Joker doesn't
appear as a major player until close to the end, along with the new, improved Harley Quinn - whom will appear with the Joker AND Poison Ivy in August. (BATMAN: Harley Quinn, Batman #570, DC #737). Also, it looks like Ms.
Quinn will going up against the Huntress.
-Killer Croc and a wounded Mr. Zsasz re-appear in BATMAN CHRONICLES #18 in August.
-Two-Face re-surfaces in September in "Goin' Downtown", another major turf-war story,
also featuring Bane and Penguin. He later re-appears in another big way later on in No Man's Land, apparently as the second-last villain to be defeated. (How fitting.)
-The Penguin also returns in "Goin'
Downtown".
-Ra's Al Ghul, meanwhile, is in Washington D.C. battling Anarky in his new ongoing series.
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