SPECIAL IN THIS ISSUE #2
MINI-INTERVIEW WITH TY TEMPLETON AND TERRY BEATTY
Can't distuinguish what's true & rumour? Well I asked some questions to Ty Templeton and Terry Beatty about some of the rumours that have been floating around and this is what they've had to say:
TY TEMPLETON:
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BTAN: I heard that you are doing issues #41 & 42 of SUPERMAN ADVENTURES. Is this true, and could you give me any info on the stories?
TY: "Best I can answer....I co-plotted and fully scripted #41, but, though a plot was prepared for #42, it's going to be scheduled later for reasons that aren't interesting enough to go into, and hasn't yet been scripted, but it's going to be soon...
"The Gotham City co-star is in the script that was originally for #42, and now, we're not sure when it's going in, possibly #44 or 45. Don't know who drew #41, I'm told it's already drawn, I think it was Amancio, and I'm sure I've misspelled that.
[Aluir Almancio is the artist's name]
"There was an offer to do more SUPERMAN ADVENTURES scripts after the first two were done, but between Avengers, the fitful and startful graphic novelproject, and about twenty other things I have going, I doubt I'll be doing any more Supermans for at least a few more months. It's darn tempting though, since Superman was a hoot to write. I'm sure there'll be more between me and Supey in a couple of months, but I'm trying to concentrate on Avengers and the supersecret other stuff that has NOTHING to do with
Comix. (Didn't that sound important?)"
-Ty the Guy.
AND now good ol' TERRY BEATTY:
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BTAN: Do you know of any upcoming storylines or when Rick Burchett is returning to GOTHAM ADVENTURES?
TERRY: "Don't know for sure when Rick is coming back. I do know he's lined up a lot of other work to do first! In the meantime, Tim Levins is turning in some wonderful pencils.
"Upcoming stories? Poison Ivy is featured in the issue I just inked [] - and the next issue is a kidnapping tale -- don't know yet if it features a classic villain or not.
That's all, folks..."
BTAN: Thank you both Ty & Terry!
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EDITORAL
(by Laura Hysert, aka "Phoenix")
Laura is still on hiatus - here's hoping she returns soon! *BEGS* COME BACK LAURA!!!
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BATMAN: THE ANIMATED TRIVIA
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
This is one of my favourite sections, where I get to boggle the minds of all our readers! *EVIL LAUGH* This trivia is all animated-related in some form, and can deal with ANY aspect of the show or comics based on the show. Remember, answer the questions WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE ANIMATED CONTINUITY. Now have fun - let's see how well you do! Answers are provided below.
New quiz! I'll list 5 characters here. Now, what you have to do is give me the name of the actor(s) that provides their voice. Enjoy!
161. Firefly
162. Dick Grayson (as Nightwing)
163. Ferris Boyle
164. The Scarecrow
165. Batman
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ANSWERS TO THE TRIVIA
Answer to #161: Mark Rolston
Answer to #162: Loren Lester
Answer to #163: Mark Hamill
Answer to #164: Henry Polic II, Jeffrey Combs
Answer to #165: Kevin Conroy, Gary Owens, Michael Ironside, Will Friedle (if you wanna count Terry is Batman, that is)
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LITTLE FACTS AND BLOOPERS
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
Here is a section that just points out various little facts and bloopers that we have noticed while watching BTAS and STAS countless times. If you have anything to contribute, feel free to do so! Enjoy!
CONBTRIBUTED BY STAFF:
1) Ahhhhh...Bane has appeared in another movie recently, guys! OK, not really, but still, if you rent "8mm" - the new Nicolas Cage movie by Joel Schumacher - you'll notice that there is a guy in that movie named "Machine" that has a striking resemblance to Bane. Fortunately, this rendition of the character isn't one that looks like all they need is a big hug to stop their life of crime...
CONTRIBUTED BY OTHERS:
(by "Harvette D. Robyn, II")
2) Bruce has no shoes on while working out in "Eternal Youth" but later does.
3) When the Mad Hatter reveals himself to Miranda in "Animal Act", he takes off a GREY wig and his own hair is orange, but in the very next frame, HIS hair is grey and the wig is orange.
4) In "Night of the Ninja", Kyodai makes his escape over the edge of the building after Robin steps in and saves Bats from becoming sushi. Robin rushes to the edge of the building and looks down, seeing nothing but traffic below. Unless they were magically transported to the United Kingdom, all the cars are driving on the wrong side of the road! Traffic is flowing on the left side of the road instead of the right as is normal for the USA. Tah
dah! Another boo-boo caught!
(by "CKent15")
5) In the episode "Pretty Poison," when Poison Ivy is in her cell at the end, we can see some writing on her cell wall that presumably says "kiss my ass." (The last two letters of the offending word are blurred by shadow.)
6) The title "Mask of the Phantasm" obviously refers to the masked killer that Batman fights. But ever notice that, throughout the entire movie, (s)he is never once actually referred to as "Phantasm"? Just as "the man in the costume," "Andrea's father" (allegedly), or by some mistaken citizens, "Batman." Never "Phantasm."
7) In the episode "Heart of Ice," Batman learns of Mr. Freeze's origin through a video tape that recorded the whole incident. But if it really was recorded by one of the lab cameras, why/how is it able to get different shots, i.e. panning around the room, cutting angles, close-ups of characters faces? Shouldn't it be one continuous shot?
(by "Lisa Blank")
8) In "Love is a Croc", when Baby-Doll tells Killer Croc that they will die and take all of Gotham with them when the reactor explodes, she's wrong. Reason one: it wouldn't explode. Reason two: only the people inside the nuclear plant would have died: Baby-Doll, Croc, Batman, and Batgirl.
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BATMAN: THE ANIMATED FIGURES
(by Kevin Smith)
Oh_Ho77@hotmail.com
Beanie Babies. The very words send chills up my spine. I have friends who were unfortunate enough to work in retail stores that sold them. The behavior they described being perpetrated by grown adults over these stuffed pieces of decorated fabric is pathetic. However, I've learned that not all Beanie Baby collectors are in need of rabies shots. My best friend collects them. I help - it's all of the fun and none of the stress.
So, when Warner Brothers came out with Batman Beanies done in the style of the New Adventures, I *had* to get my hands on some. In this article, I'm going to talk about only the Batman Beanies - available at your local (or non-local) Warner Brothers Store. The line up is Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and
Catwoman.
Batman himself is pretty close to being the worst of the lot. The animated characters don't transfer perfectly to Beanie form, so he's not the swingiest looking chap you've ever seen, but it sure is kewl to have a Batman Beanie! He has a long double layered cape - black on the outside and dark gray on the inside - a yellow utillity belt, finned gloves. The only thing that doesn't transfer well is his face. he looks like that man on Cartoon network who dresses up as Space Ghost. He also doesn't have much of a profile, but I guess the only way to do that, was to have a big seam in the middle of his face. However, his body captures the stocky, muscular look he has on the show fairly well.
With Robin, we get a little bit better. Hi face is flat, but the nose is stitched on, so it looks more like his character on the show. His cape is made of a smoother cloth than Batman's and is also double-layered. His hair somewhat reminds me of Freakazoid's but I'm willing to overlook it for a decent face. His gloves seem to have a solid fin thing going on, that I actually like. And there is a nice stitching job done on the front of his
"R" symbol, and three buttons.
Next we have Batgirl. She is giving her classic smile, but her eyes are nearly not big enough. Her hair is done with a velvet like cloth and actually does well in portraying Batgirl's hairstyle. However, the blue in her outfit is sacrificed for a yellow and black motif. Her cape is yellow on the inside with a smooth, shiny fabric that was used for Robin's cape. The best part is that while the outside of her cape isn't blue, it's made of black leather like material instead - as well as her cowl. Her boots and finned gloves are from the shiny yellow material, and her yellow belt is leather like too. They actually do a good job at creating the female form.
The best in the series is definitely Catwoman. Except for her face, she is made completely out of the shiny black leather like material that comprised Batgirl's outside cape. Catwoman has a red lipped Cheshire Cat grin to go with her eerie pale green skin. The black leather like material really suits her hourglass figure.
And there you have it. These Beanies run for about seven to eight dollars at Warner Brothers, and can also be bought on E-bay for slightly more.
Kevin
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COMIC REVIEWS
(by Aaron Maurer)
NOTE: Mr. Maurer DID submit a review of GOTHAM ADVENTURES #17 on time this week, but we have pre-empted his review at the last moment so we can review a certain comic that came out this past week. This past Wednesday (August 11), Harley Quinn made her big debut in the mainstream Bat-universe. I realize that this is NOT an animated comic, BUT felt that this is important for the animated universe anyway, for she is the most important BTAS original to make the jump from the "animated" to "mainstream" universe of the Bat-mythos. OK...that was a long-winded explanation now, wasn't it? So sit back, and enjoy! We'll have a review of of GOTHAM ADVENTURES in the next issue of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED NEWSLETTER. (Looks like you have a little break, Mr. Maurer!)
(Reviewed by Tim "TWO-FACE" L.)
BATMAN: HARLEY QUINN
WRITTEN BY: Paul Dini
PENCILED BY: Yvel Guichet
INKED BY: Aaron Sowd
ISSUED: August 11, 1999 (Cover date is September)
RATING: **** (out of 5)
"My love for my Joker was stronger than their madhouse walls."
-Harley Quinn, talking about...well...come on, read the quote and figure it out! ;-Y
SUMMARY: Harley Quinn finally makes her mainstream debut in a special one-shot by her creator, Paul Dini. Told in flashback, Harley tells newfound friend Poison Ivy about how she and the Joker met, how they "bonded" (ewwwwwwww), how she became a costumed criminal, how she and Mistah J had a falling out, and how she swore revenge: she wanted to kill the Joker for spurning her.
COMMENTS: The art for this issue was wonderful! I really liked how colourful everything looked, despite the grim surroundings. All the major characters - Batman, Joker, Harley, and Ivy - all looked terrific; ditto for the great cover by Alex Ross. (I can really see a Nicholson influence there, can't you? Don'tcha wanna just dance in the pale moonlight with
'im?) The story itself was something I was less enthusiastic about, but it was still enjoyable; the only reason I didn't give it a great rating was because it was rather simplistic. I do congratulate Dini for seamlessly fitting this story into
NML, however; and it was really cool to see the Penguin make an appearance, too. The delightfully deadly note left on the pier at the end was terrific. Oh, and who thought of "Batman & Robin" during the rocket scene? I did!
AND I guess it looks like the debate about whether the Joker and Harley have ever "consumated their fiendish union" is now settled. Hope ya'll are happy. (I wonder if Mistah J's hair is green EVERYWHERE...makes me wonder if my namesake is the same way...but I
digress...ew.)
CRITICISMS: OhhhhhK, I think everyone knows that I have a major Harley bias here - in that I feel that every story featuring her will be rather poor before I actually read it. I'm sorry, but that's how I've grown to react to the character after seeing her terrible treatment on the animated series these past two years. That said, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised; a good Harley story!
YAY! We haven't had one of these in...years? One criticism, however, is that this issue is short...yes, it is 48 pages long, but I feel like the story was condensed too much - especially in the retelling of Harley's origin. I understand that it's pretty much the same as the animated version, but still - Dini shouldn't assume that we know that.
Harley was TOO silly here. She hasn't shown any sign of maturity when compared to the animated version. I was hoping for someone who, while still silly and crazy, was a little more dark and disturbed; I never got that impression here.
I felt that, even though Poison Ivy's part was written well, she had no point to be in this story. And I didn't like how she "souped up" Harley's physical abilities. She never did that on BTAS - her drugs merely made her immune to Ivy's poisons, NOT Bane's long-lost venom-powered niece or whatever she turned out to be. I think the story would have been much more touching if Harley went back to kill the Joker WITHOUT any help
('cept maybe Batman's)...but I digress.
The last problem I had was the oh, so quick turn-around at the end. The Joker merely says "sorry", and suddenly Harley forgives him? This, after she's sworn to kill him? I know that she's an extreme personality and all, but having her desire for death turned transformed into amour and adorance so easily was TOO MUCH - even for her. It made her look like a complete wimp - which she shouldn't be. Maybe a softie, but not a wimp. (Reminds me of the terrible ending to the otherwise good episode "Harlequinade.")
BOTTOM LINE: Looks like I still like to dwell on the dark side of things, huh? I guess Big Bad Harv still has the upper hand today...either way, I can safely say that this comic is enjoyable and probably the best issue of NO MAN'S LAND for a good month or so. I feel that it does to Miss Quinn justice, but I hope that her character matures by next week when she appears in the mainstream again. Buy it for the art, by it for the simplistic-but-fun story, buy it cuz it's one of the two "events" that DC promised when they brought NML to our attention months ago. I'm sure that if a very discriminating reader like myself enjoyed it, you all will, too.
-Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton
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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 #18
September 1st or 8th?
Synopsis: Man-Bat is back. Kirk Langstrom's wife's disappearance coincides with attacks by Man-Bat on numerous corporate labs. What's the connection, and how can Batman stop the creature without one of them getting killed?
Cover:
http://www.toonzone.net/comics/covers/bga/bga18.jpg
NEXT MONTH:
Synopsis: Poison Ivy makes a come back in a story featuring none other than...breakfast cereal?
Cover:
http://www.toonzone.net/comics/covers/bga/bga19.jpg
BATMAN BEYOND #1 (ongoing)
September 15th or 22nd?
Uhhh...don't know much about this...it'll be out in September, though.
FOLLOWING MONTH: Issue #2. Starring Inque! Comes out in October.
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #37
September 8th or 15th?
Synopsis unavailable.
Cover:
http://www.dccomics.com/directcurrents/comics/covers/download/dsma37.jpg
NEXT MONTH:
Synopsis: Unavailable
Cover: Unavailable
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NEWS AND RUMORS
ALL-ENCOMPASSING/OTHER
-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!
-Next season, it seems Pokemon will now be appearng 10 times a week on Kids'WB! Twice every weekday and twice every weekend. This could effect BATMAN/SUPERMAN's chance of regaining it's hour format on weekends this fall.
-It seems WB is airing some 'sneek peek' commercials for next season. Aside from the news of THE DEMON REBORN episode clips being shown during commercials breaks, now we are seeing clips from the new BATMAN BEYOND season. This actually gives us a reason to watch commercial breaks!
Highlights include, in the BATMAN BEYOND commercial, the return of Ten, a clip of Stalker, plus Terry transforming into a Man-Bat-like creature. Plus the commercial very quickly shows some possible new allies. The new season is coming...very fast!
"CURRENT" ANIMATED SERIES'
-BTAS/STAS will return in the fall of 2001 with NEW EPISODES, when Batman Beyond goes on hiatus.
-The STAS episodes LEGACY and DEMON REBORN have been left for this coming season. Great. Three more episodes to be scattered throughout the season. Perfect. Blech.
BATMAN BEYOND
-Yet another BATMAN BEYOND contest looms on the horizon. Wanna know more about this newest BATMAN BEYOND contest? Well check out this URL:
http://www.dccomics.com/features/gbbb/index.htm
-BATMAN BEYOND will be one of the main focuses in the upcoming WIZARD Presents TOONS: THE ANIMATION MAGAZINE. This will be WIZARD's second animation magazine; I recommend you pick it up. It is a very cool - and funny - animation magazine with great articles and info. It will be released sometime this August. Pick it up!
-The BATMAN BEYOND CD will come out in stores on August 31st. Check out this section of Batman: The Animated Newsletter in for a full play-list. The CD runs about 40 minutes. For more info, and a picture of the CD cover, go to this address:
http://detnews.com/metro/hobbies/comix/stories/9907/23/index.htm
-A new villain named "Stalker" will be introduced. This villain will be a cross between a bounty game hunter and a celebrity stalker.
ANIMATED COMICS
-Man-Bat reappears in GOTHAM ADVENTURES #18.
-Poison Ivy will be appearing in GOTHAM ADVENTURES #19.
-It's a nearly-safe bet that Two-Face will be in #22 (just as he was in BATMAN ADVENTURES and BATMAN & ROBIN ADVENTURES).
-Ty Templeton's up comig two issue stint on Superman Adventures issues will be co-written with Dan Slott.
OTHER COMICS
-BATGIRL: the new NO MAN'S LAND Spin-off series! Last month DC chose the Chicago WizardWorld Comicon to announce a slew of changes to the core Batman and Batman family of titles starting in January 2000, today at the San Diego Comicon International, the publisher officially announced a well-anticipated addition to the family...Batgirl, a new character that has proved instantly popular with readers, gets her own ongoing monthly series beginning next year, co-written by former Batman group editor Scott Peterson (Batman: Gotham Adventures) and Kelly Puckett (Batman Adventures), and illustrated by Damian Scott and John Floyd
(NML's MARK OF CAIN story arc). Set to be remain a core member of the Bat-family within Gotham City, the series will follow the mysterious teenage hero - who was trained from childhood in the ways of assassins- as she learns to work for a hero who won’t allow her to kill.
"It's very much a coming of age story," said associate Bat-editor Joe Illidge. "Heroism in various aspects will be explored. The series will be an examination of one girl's entry into this big social strata that she hasn't been involved in too much. She's been traveling all over the world, but her language has been martial arts, and now she's going to find out that maybe the hardest thing in the world is not being a combatant, but it's being a 17-year old." (courtesy of THE DAILY BUZZ & MIKE DORAN)
-Check out the newest interview with Paul Dini, as he discusses the origin of Harley Quinn, her role in the DCU and BTAS, as well as future plans for BATMAN Y2K:
http://www.anotheruniverse.com/comics/interviews/harleyquinn.html
-Wanna know what BATMAN's post-NML costume is gonna look like? Well, courtesy of Scott McDaniel's (NIGHTWING artist, soon to be BATMAN artist) website we get a glance at it. The link is here:
http://members.aol.com/ScottAMcD/news/Batman.jpg
This just shows how DC is finally taking grasp at the animated world of BATMAN/SUPERMAN. Metropolis, as well as some SUPERMAN villians, are getting the STAS makeover, and, as evidence from the link above, so is BATMAN and his home turf GOTHAM. This is no doubt gonna be a stellar year for both BATMAN & SUPERMAN.
-FORMAT CHANGES IN BATMAN COMICS ANNOUNCED!
As of right now, two of the four core Bat-titles will be upping to 40 pages a month instead of the regular 32 page length. DC has confirmed that a couple of core BATMAN titles will debut in new 'formats' when the new creative teams and directions debut in January 2000:
DETECTIVE COMICS, written by Greg Rucka with art by Shawn Martinbrough, increases to 40 pages for longer, more complex crime stories; and
BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS, written by Devin Grayson, with art by Dale Eaglesham and John Floyd, will be backed up each month with special BATMAN: BLACK & WHITE features from various, high-profile creators. Its unknown if BATMAN and BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT will also
increase their page count to 40. (Courtesy of ANOTHERUNIVERSE.COM's NEWSARAMA)
-For more, see the "Road Through No Man's Land" section below.
MOVIES
-Paul Dini says that the direct to video BATMAN BEYOND movie will now hit shleves Thanksgiving 2000. He says the sript is done and everything is set to go. Asked about whether or not we'll see more Batman/Superman he simply said that when BATMAN was cancelled on FOX it was thought the show was done for good, then it appeared for two seasons on WB. Who knows?
-This was taken from CINESCAPE ONLINE:
Frank Miller doesn't like to let information on possible projects slip out prematurely, an audience at the San Diego Comic Con learned well Thursday. But when Miller was asked whether there were any plans for a full length animated feature of his comic classic Batman Dark Knight, he said, "That's entirely up to [the Batman animated producers]. As long as the name Bruce Timm is on it, I'm there."
Meanwhile, the comic legend refused to address Internet rumors that suggest that the Wachowski Brothers (Matrix) are interested in developing a film based on his Hardboiled series or rumors that he had been approached by Warner Bros. to write a screenplay based on his Batman: Year One story. "I really don't mean to be rude here, but if there were [such projects in the works] I wouldn't tell you," Miller said to such
inqueries. "There are too many things that could go wrong ... I'd have kind of let the cat out of the bag and then there's no cat," he explained.
TOYS & MERCHANDISE
-A CATWOMAN video game will be available for Game Boy Colour this summer! Where did THIS come from? It appears to be based on the COMICS version of Catwoman, not the animated or movie version. Go to this address to read all about it:
http://www.top-gear.com/catwomandmg.htm
- There's a whole slew of back-to-school stationary-type Batman stuff at the WB Studio Store here. One pocket folder/notebook in particular of Batman that's really nice - looks like the BTAS design, that cool pose with Bats looking over his shoulder with the cape pulled around him. There are also a few new t-shirts, but they're all in kids sizes, unfortunately. There's one of Batman and Robin from
TNBA, only Robin appears to look a little older. Two other designs are also TNBA design action poses. Nice to look at, but hard to fit into unless you're
really small. Check your local WB store of their website at:
http://www.wbstore.com
*thanx to Gookie*
- New Batman-Superman vinyl coin bank, a slightly scaled-down version of the earlier coin banks each of Batman and Superman. I have the Batman one signed by Conroy, Burnett, and Dini. It's the same pose as the new ceramic cookie jar, if you've seen that one.
- 4 different Harley items in the new WBSS catalog:
Ron Lee Sculpture (along with Poison Ivy, Wonder Woman, Catwoman and Batgirl)
Harley maquette
"Deadly Beauties" masterpiece sculpture - "framed" maquette of hand-painted resin picturing Harley, Ivy, and Catwoman
Harley/Ivy ceramic cookie jar.
- Also from the new WBSS Catalog: quite a few new Batman items. They've scaled-down the $55 busts of Batman and Superman to $20 ones which are the same model, just on a smaller scale, and just as nice; Limited edition hand-painted cel from "Rebirth", Batman Beyond, limited to 350 copies; lots of kids items that I'd love to have just because they look cool, but will probably prevent me from purchasing any of them; and finally, a "History Of The
Batmobiles" limited edition lithograph going for a whopping $195. Still, it's very nice, but doesn't include the
futuristic Batmobile however.
- From "Lee's Action Figure News & Toy Review", an action figure from the Batman Beyond line not previously mentioned in that infamous Toyfare insert. "Power Armor Batman", which frankly looks pretty cool, and is the first sculpt in toy form of Terry's head. The other two figures in the line are "Sonic Boom Batman" and "Hydro Force Batman" - nothing to care about there if you're a serious action figure collector. But there will be a new Batman Beyond Batmobile that's NOT that icky powder blue color like the first vehicle Hasbro released. This one's all black, just like the tv show, but does have some yellow stripes and red accessories. Other than that, it looks pretty cool.
- And the new edition of Toyfare has some even better pics of these toys, plus "Radio Rage Blight" which is so frickin cool it's uncanny. I can't wait for this toy to be released. Toyfare's got a better photographer, so if you're gonna buy one of these mags to see the
pics, get Toyfare. Besides, Toyfare's a better mag anyway, IMO.
*thanks to Gookie for all that info!*
-The Playstation version of the SUPERMAN video game has a tentative release date of September 16, 1999.
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