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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!
CONTRIBUTED BY STAFF:
Na da. Sigh.
CONTRIBUTED BY OTHERS:
Rien. Argh.
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MERCHANDISING: WHERE THE REAL BAT-CASH IS MADE
(by Kevin King)
Remember that episode of the Adventures of
Batman and Robin where Batman races through
the streets of Gotham, taking on Poison Ivy, Riddler, Joker and Harley Quinn,
and Clayface, and
rescuing Commissioner Gordon and Robin? You don't? You've never
seen it? Unless you have the
now defunct Sega CD system, you probably never will.
The Sega CD was the next step up from the Sega Genises system.
It was basically the
forerunner of CD games and it was pretty short-lived. The majority of
games mixed the typical
Genesis graphics with a live video or animation storyline. The
Adventures of Batman and Robin
game, released in 1995, features almost 17 minutes of new animation.
This is not some knock-
off from people who know nothing about Batman, but from the masters
themselves: Paul Dini and
Bruce Timm. All of the same people who worked on the series do the voice
work and the
storyboarding. In my opinion, the animation is some of the best ever,
but, because of the game
system limitations, the resolution is not very sharp.
The story itself is action packed, interrupted at each level by a poor
driving game. All
levels of the game consist of driving the Batmobile through environments
related to the villain
Batman is fighting. In the last level, though, you are piloting the
Batplane. SPOILER
WARNING: If you want to check out this game and see the story for
yourself, read no further.
Again, you would have to find an old system and the game to do so (I'd suggest
an auction
site like eBay).
The story starts with Batman in the Batcave. He responds to an
alarm at a bank, somewhat
similar to the opening of the animated series. There's a little tip of
the hat to the sixties
Batman series as Batman gets into the Batmobile.
After a level of the driving game, Batman meets up with Poison Ivy.
The fight between
the two becomes quite vicious with Batman dispatching one of her plant
monsters in a
graphically gruesome way. This Poison Ivy is the more sexually
provocative one of the early
episodes.
Ivy tips off Batman to the kidnapped Commissioner Gordon's location.
Upon arrival,
Batman falls into a trap set by the Riddler, putting him in a virtual reality
driving game,
reminiscent of the episode "What is Reality."
Batman escapes, captures the Riddler, and frees Commissioner Gordon to
find out the
location of the also held hostage Robin. Batman arrives at an abandoned
carnival and
encounters Joker and Harley Quinn. After a long battle and freeing Robin
from a very different
bird costume, they learn that apparently Rupert Thorne has been orchestrating
all of these
events.
Batman and Robin locate Thorne's yacht out in the ocean with the
Batplane. Upon
confronting Thorne, they witness his transformation into Clayface.
Batman and Robin's fight
with Clayface this time around contains what I thought was one of the most
shocking acts by
Batman in animated continuity. Clayface escapes to a helicopter and the
ensuing air battle
results with the apparent demise of Clayface.
I would consider this a "lost episode," one that contains some
great action and animation
(with some obvious anime influences). It's too bad that so few Batman
fans will get a chance
to see this. With extras being the standard now on the release of DVDs,
perhaps when someday
the episodes are released in this format, all the fans will get a chance to
see it.
Kevin King
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COMIC REVIEWS
(BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
(BATMAN BEYOND by Tim Wan)
(SUPERMAN ADVENTURES by Dick Grayson)
We're doing something a little different from
herein. While this is still predominantly a BATMAN newsletter, we'll be
fitting in reviews of SUPERMAN ADVENTURES whenever time permits. This review
was submitted by co-editor Dick Grayson. Enjoy!
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES
ISSUE "22 Stories In A Single Bound" (#41)
WRITTEN BY: Mark Millar
ART BY: Ty Templteton, Rick Burchett, Min S. Ku, Aluir Almancio, more...
INKED BY: Terry Beatty
COLORIST: Marie Severin & Zylonol
Cover Date: March 2000
Rating: (out of 5): ****
Synopsis: It's pretty hard to do a synopsis (becuase
there's 22 stories), so I'll just breifly
do a synopsis of my favorite 5 stories:
"A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF LOIS LANE"
This title is pretty self-explanitory, but this short story is absolutely
hilarious. We see
Lois getting rescued Monday up to Thursday by Superman. Then on Friday, she's
getting mugged
without no one to help her out. She's mad that Superman doesn't show up so she
slugs her
assaliant in the face and walks off upset. Hilarious!
"JIMMY OLSEN in MR. ACTION!"
Jimmy takes a short cut through a dangerous alley. He starts to get harrassed
by thugs becuase
he's SUPERMAN'S PAL. (Remember that awful episode?) He threatens to crooks but
it doesn't work
the way he thought. He closes his eyes and takes a swing at the leader and
supposedly knocks
them all down. We then realize that Superman took them all out while Jimmy had
his eyes closed.
"NINETY DAYS LATER..."
Batman and Superman are trying to find out where Livewire and Catwoman have
fled to. While
interogating a crook, Mr. Mxyzptlk pops up and starts to bug Batman and
Superman. Batman (in a
priceless, show stealing scene), annoyed by Mxy, gives him an icy stare and
threatens to stop
him. Mxy, scared out of his mind, vanishes in fear.
"LIFE ACCORDING TO DARKSEID"
In a great story that is a great lead-in to LEGACY, as well as his obsessions,
we see the
universe, and Earth, through Darkseid's eye. In this story, Darkseid views all
his
accomplishments as nothing. The last panel provides the best insight into
Darksied - obsessed
with Earth and Superman.
"THE SCOOP OF THE CENTURY"
In this story, Jimmy is just day dreaming about being s star reporter and
starts doodling on a
picture of Superman. He is encased in his daydreaming to realize that he has
drawn a pair of
glasses on Superman's face - making him look exactly like Clark.
This comic will be known for years to come as THE
way to end one's run on a comic book. Millar
doesn't go out with a wimper, but with 22 stories. These stories range from
comedic to action
packed, to serious, all the way back to comedic. While only a couple stories
lack any
substance, there are 20 great reads in this book. These stories provides
insights into
characters in ways that would be impossible on the show.
ALl the stories have their moments. Batman manages
to steal the show in "NINETY DAYS LATER...",
in which he scares Mxy back to his own dimension. Millar made Batman downright
scary, something
that Peterson is having a bit of trouble on in BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES. It's
hard to review
this comic simply becuase of the 22 short stories.
This book is completely enjoyable becuase you need
not know of any of the history of SUPERMAN
for this to work. It enhances the book if you do know, but you really don't
need to. The
various artists angle on this books works great, and the various styles are
controlled
perfectly by inker Terry Austin. When this book is funny, you laugh. Simple as
that. It's rare
the comedy works in a book, but this book pulls it off great. I can't see how
anyone can go
wrong with this book. For $2 dollars ($3.25 Canadian) you can get 20 great
stories, and 2
mediocre ones.
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COMIC SCHEDULES & COVERING THE BASICS
This section gives a little bit more
in-depth look into each monthly issue of BATMAN: GOTHAM
ADVENTURES, BATMAN BEYOND, and SUPERMAN ADVENTURES. Below each comic listing
is a link to the
cover of that comic. TALK ABOUT SERVICE!
The price for any of these issues, unless otherwise posted, 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 #24
March 1st
Synopsis: Members of the Bat-team are being kidnapped one-by-one. But who is
behind it all?
Cover: Unavailable
BATMAN BEYOND #6 (ongoing)
February 23rd
Synopsis: When Terry McGinnis and his friends try to go on a quiet camping
trip to a river
island near Gotham, they enter a lost world of genetically altered creatures
kept prisoner
there for the amusement of the world's most dangerous gamehunter: Stalker!
It's up to Batman to
keep himself and his friends alive, if he can outrun, outwit and outfight the
half-
dinosaur/half-jungle animals populating the island!
Cover:
http://www.dccomics.com/directcurrents/comics/covers/bmb6.jpg
FOLLOWING MONTH: Issue #7.
Synopsis: The return of another popular BEYOND villain (we're not telling WHO)
makes Terry's
life a living hell.
Cover: Unavailable
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #43
March 8th
Synopsis: Unavailable
Cover: Unavailable
FOLLWOING MONTH:
Synopsis: Unavailable
Cover: Unavailable
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NEWS AND RUMORS
ALL-ENCOMPASSING/OTHER
-Kids'WB! is expected to announce the premiere date of the new CGI series MAX
STEEL, and
whether or not it will bump BATMAN/SUPERMAN from the weekend line-up, which it
is expected NOT
to. (Whew!) Kids'WB! is already airing teasers for the show during POKEMON and
BATMAN BEYOND.
-Terry Beatty has been and will be selling Gotham Adventures and Batman Beyond
original art on ebay. His Seller ID is:
beatty@machlink.com
Do yourself a favor and check out some great art!
-A number of sources say that the official BATMAN BEYOND site will get its
long-overdue revamp
in the near future.
-WIZARDWORLD has just conducted an interview with Paul Dini. To read it, go
here:
http://www.wizardworld.com/news/dc/diniqna/dini.html
OTHER COMICS
-The first issue of Greg Rucka's BATMAN/HUNTRESS: CRY FOR BLOOD will hit the
shelves on April
12, 2000.
-DETECTIVE COMICS #748 and 749 will be told from Commissioner Gordon's POV.
-Word has it that Azrael will be getting his old costume back sometime soon.
-Calendar Man will be the featured villain in DARK VICTORY #7, due out in
April.
-For these and all the other April DC solicitations, go here:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0001/25/index.htm
-The first ever 80 PAGE GIANTS for ROBIN and NIGHTWING will be released in the
near future;
Chuck Dixon is attached as the writer for both of them.
LIVE ACTION TV
-Watch ER on NBC on Feb. 17th! During one of the commercial breaks, Batman and
the Batmobile will appear on a commercial for a new car. The commercial will be live action
and the actors portraying Batman and Alfred will be unknowns.
-GENRE: Action / Comics Adaptation MEDIUM: Television Series
STUDIO: Warner Brothers NWTWORK: Either WB or FOX
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Warner Brothers & ?
PHASE: Pre Production START DATE: NA
CAST: N/A
PRODUCTION CREDITS: Batman: TAS and Batman Beyond mainstay Paul Dini is
said to be involved;
current pilot script written by "Iron Giant" screen writer Tim
McCanlies
PREMISE: Young Bruce Wayne, alone in the world after the tragic murder
of his parents, goes
out into the world to become the Dark Knight of Gotham City, The Batman.
Based on the Batman
character created by Bob Kane.
RUMORS AND NEWS: [NL]With all of the movement going on in the world of
the Bat-franchise, it
was time to create a "Bruce Wayne" page.[NL]A source at the WB
network emailed me this morning
with a little news about the project and a possible FOX Network
involvement:[NL]"Some of us
here are circling the wagons around Bruce Wayne. FOX is pressing hard to
pick up the series
but we'd really like to have it. I mean, we built our whole network on
brooding young adults
and who broods better than Batman?"[NL]A move to FOX could hurt a new
series like this one (the
pilot script is said to be very dark and moody - I'd love to get a look at it
if any of you
guys have it!). FOX hasn't been the best place to nurture new series,
especially ones of the
dark variety. If it hasn't pulled stellar numbers out of the gate, it's
dead. Which makes on
wonder, why does FOX keep buying odd shows like Tick and hopefully Buckaroo
Banzai if they're
just going to can them in 13 weeks? More as it happens....[NL]Thanks to
"Michigan J. Droogie"
for the info
