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EDITORAL #1
(by Laura Hysert, aka "Phoenix")
Oh where, oh where has our Laurrrra gone? Oh
where, or where can she beeeeee? Oh where, oh where has our Laurrrrra gone? I
guess she'll no longer work for freeeeeee....
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EDITORIAL #2
(by Kelly Tindall)
Mr. Tindall was unable to submit an editorial for
this installment of our newsletter. He will return shortly.
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AND THAT'S THE FACTS
(by "Reliable Source")
(Yes, I understand that the title is grammatically
incorrect. So sue us. Actually, nix that. Don't sue us.)
(DISCLAIMER: For those of you who are not
yet familiar, Reliable Source is an anonymous character who first surfaced on
Batman: The Animated Message Boards, spewing forth ridiculous predictions
about the future of Batman Beyond under the guise of spoiler warnings.
His controversial posts created quite a buzz, and have landed him a temporary
column with this newsletter. The thoughts and ideas expressed by this
shady character are in no way officially connected to Kids WB, Batman Beyond,
this newsletter, or anything that is decent or holy. That said, on with
the show.)
Previously, on "And That's The
Facts".... Mason Dixon of Atlanta GA wrote in a letter that would create
a spark of controversy, saying: "Is it just me or does Batman Beyond
really suck lately? They had it going good in the first season but
lately it makes me want to gag myself." This being such a bold
statment, I could not react to it alone, and I invited you, the readers, to
write in and share your thoughts. Now, here's what YOU had to say!
>From Kevin Wasser: "While it's fun
to sit back and let you poke fun at Batman Beyond, I'm not about to let
you and that other e-mailer get away with saying that the second season of BB
sucks! It's actually improved over the first! Better animation,
and more in-depth storylines have made for some interesting shows so far, the
only disappointment being 'Rats,' and I could tell that episode was going to
suck, even before I watched it! Lonely outcast stories have been done to
death lately."
>From Saturn: "I would love to tell you
what I think of the recent season of BB. I think it stinks as well. Some of
the storylines could be written better by an eight year old. The animation is
good as usual and the voice acting...well let's not get into that area
ok...*wink* The story line is not at all what we thought it would
be...while there were some good points to this season...I have to say that the
first season is so far the best."
>From Onyx: "It's not Batman. You take
something new, and name it after something everyone loves to make money. It's
all just one loooooong toy commercial, made solely to sell a bunch of crappy
toys. It has none of the symbolism that the real Dark Knight had, and is
corny, unrealistic, and made horribly. It's not good enough. That's the
problem. It's good enough to make you continue watching it, but it's just not
good enough for a Batman cartoon. Whenever I watch it, I always feel let down.
I want to know what happened to the BatFamily, not watch some b---h like Dana
whine because her boyfriend isn't spending 24/7 with her. The whole Tomorrow
Knight thing is stupid. It's like an insult to Batman, the REAL one, to have
some whining little smart ass brat going around making jokes when he should
keep his mouth shut and protect the city. He makes a commitment, and complains
that he has no social life. Well then, he shouldn't have made that commitment.
That's the problem. They're cheapening the Dark Knight's legacy."
>From Cpl. Wilson: "I agree with the fact
that Batman Beyond does suck. The only way they could pull this series
out of their ass, is if they somehow brought back Bruce and maybe made Terry
into Nightwing. They could even give the new Nightwing a little more
room to breath making the somehow younger Bruce Wayne a little more
understanding than before, but that is as far as I will go. If things
don't start getting better I'll stop watching Batman Beyond and, I'm sure
others probably will also."
And last but certainly not least, from BTAN editor
himself, Tim Two-Face:
"I had high hopes for BEYOND after the first
season. It still can't compare to my love for the 'real' Batman, but I
certainly was impressed by the first batch of 13 episodes. The interplay
between Bruce and Terry was great, and it was nice to see some faces from the
past pop up; so many questions have yet to be answered. Some of the
villains are even on par with the original rogue's gallery (Blight and Inque
are the most notable). That said, I was looking forward to their further
development in season 2. Season 2? I've LOVED one episode (JOYRIDE),
liked a few others (BLOODSPORT, LOST SOUL), and pretty much despised the rest
on various levels. Why? NO RECURRING VILLAINS! The Jokerz don't
count - they're just a street gang, not a REAL threat (most of the time).
Max Gibson gets on my nerves. Episodes I've been looking forward to,
such as ONCE BURNED and EARTH MOVER turned out to be TERRIBLE. Bruce
hardly exists on the show any more. Even the action sequences (the most
important part of this series, it would seem) are less than wonderful now.
Blech. And these are episodes that are supposed to be the
BETTER ones? I haven't even seen everyone's all-time favourite 'RATS' yet -
and do I dare?"
Well folks, this is Reliable Source again, and it
would seem that Mr. Dixon's "spark of controversy" was not so
controversial. The majority vote is that BB is going downhill fast. Mr.
Dini, Mr. Timm, are you taking notes? Phasing Bruce out is a bad idea,
everyone loves him. We want recurring villains. We want decent
plots. See what you can do, boys.
Remember, you too can start a spark of controversy
by writing to me at
Reliable_S@hotmail.com.
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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.
I'm restless...therefore I'm just gonna throw down
some miscellaneous questions here. Enjoy.
226. Which was the only issue of BATMAN: GOTHAM
ADVENTURES in which Catwoman has appeared (so far)? (The cover of in which EVERYONE appears doesn't count.)
A:
B:
C:
D:
E:
227. Which episode is said to be an homage to the
Akira Kurosawa film "Roshomon"?
A: THE CLOCK KING
B: OFF BALANCE
C: OVER THE EDGE
D: P.O.V.
E: GOLEM
228. "I'll drive real slow." Who
does Batman say this to?
A: Robin
B: Veronica Vreeland
C: Harley Quinn
D: Harvey Bullock
E: The Scarecrow
229. In the episode AVATAR, Ra's Al Ghul is
obsessed with kinding the tomb of someone. Whose tomb is he looking for?
A: King Tut
B: Nosferatu
C: Toth-Khephera
D: Tuchu-Curare
E: That same tomb where the Jokerz do their initiations
230. Name the first NEW episode to air in 1995.
Answer: ____________
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ANSWERS TO THE TRIVIA
Answer to #226: B
Answer to #227: D
Answer to #228: A
Answer to #229: C
Answer to #230: The Terrible Trio
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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:
Staff am blind. Life am't good.
CONTRIBUTED BY OTHERS:
(by "Peter Destructo")
1) In "TWO-FACE (Pt. 2)", when Candace takes the homing device out
of Grace's purse, first she reaches with her left hand towards the bag hanging
off Grace's shoulder. Then there is a cut to the other woman holding the purse
and taking out the device with her right hand. There are no straps. Next, the
purse is magically hanging off Grace's shoulder again and the other woman is
holding the device in her left hand! (When printing this, don't change
"the woman" to anything that would give away the plot.)
(by "Onyx")
2) In Hidden Agenda, Terry uses the term, "slagged" to say that he's
tired. Heh heh. "Slag" was once British slang for a very nasty
insult-one that I can't say here. I don't know if it still is, but I know it
was back in England some time ago, cuz if you read the Boy George
autobiography, Take It Like A Man, you'll see that it's used several times
there, by a variety of different people.
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MERCHANDISING: WHERE THE REAL BAT-CASH IS MADE
(by anyone that wants to contribute)
Yes, that's right. We have no designated writer
for this column, so anyone that wants to contribute may - just submit an
article to the editor and if he approves, you'll see it here!
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COMIC REVIEWS
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES
ISSUE: "How the World Goes" (#21)
WRITTEN BY: Scott Peterson
PENCILLED BY: Tim Levins
INKED BY: Terry Beatty
ISSUED: December 1, 1999 (cover date, February 2000)
RATING (out of 5): ***1/2
SUMMARY: A girl is kidnapped, and Batman is on the
case. When Batman seemingly reaches a dead end, he gets help from an
unexpected source: a blind man named B.L. Pledge that apparently witnessed
what happened.
HARVEY SAYS: This issue reminded me a lot of the
episode BLIND AS A BAT. At first, Batman and Nightwing are wary of
Pledge's information, not entirely having faith in him because of his lack of
vision. After all their leads dry up, Batman returns to Pledge, asking
for assistance.
Like the aforementioned episode, Batman is the one without sight - the blind
man "saw" a lot more than anyone else did, and turns out to be a
great asset to the team. It also makes Batman think about his methods.
BIG BAD HARVEY SAYS: I understand that the reason
Batman followed other leads was to prove that, in the end, Pledge WAS right,
but those other leads (particularly Al Vicinelli) weren't terribly
interesting. They didn't take away from the story in any way, but they could
have been built up slightly better. The final scene where Batman
confronts the kidnapper, while necessary, wasn't executed in the best way
possible.
GOOD, BAD, OR UGLY?: Overall, this is an
above-average read that relies on good ol' fashioned sleuthing instead of
supervillains to keep a reader's interest. The moral of this story is:
those without eyes can still see - maybe even better than before.
By the way, what happened to the letter column in this issue?
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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".)
If we are unsure of the exact date of when an issue is being
released, just check out "DIRECT CURRENTS" at
http://www.dccomics.com
for details.
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #22
January 5th?
Synopsis: Commissioner Gordon and Batgirl are in the spotlight of the first
animated comic to hit the shelves in 2000!
BATMAN BEYOND #4 (ongoing)
December 22nd?
Synopsis: The Royal Flush Gang returns.
Cover: Unavailable
FOLLOWING MONTH: Issue #4.
Synopsis: The Royal Flush Gang returns.
Cover: Unavailable
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #40
December 8th?
Synopsis: Unavailable
Cover: Unavailable
NEXT MONTH:
Synopsis: Unavailable
Cover: Unavailable
