Category Archives: Batman

November 16, 2010 · 7:41 am

Batman Odyssey: Bats Gone Plum Loco

Not to grind up a legend of the caliber of Neal Adams, a man who has helped shape the Batman we’ve come to know over the years, but his current project is really out there and it leaves me wondering if the big man will save this one from being a total train wreck. Yes, sir, “Batman Odyssey” continues on its journey, astonishing readers who have yet to make head or tail of it. And the book is only on its fourth issue. The darn thing is supposed to go for twelve issues.

Maybe Adams was high when he wrote this, even if it’s just high on life, because it does have a hallucinatory quality to it, what with its flashbacks that lead nowhere and its abrupt changes and unusual verbosity. But this thing certainly has legs, and hands and feet and they seem to jump right out at you due to Mr. Adams’s amazing use of foreshortening. There is some beautifully trippy art to be found here. It reminds me of a trippy three-issue Spider-Man special from not too long ago.Three issues! Not four times that. Not a dozen, only THREE.

I flipped through the four current issues at my local comics shop, intrigued by all the offbeat Bat imagery, and taken by the fact it was both drawn and written by Neal Adams. This looked like just what the doctor ordered in more ways than one. I won’t call it one of those “it’s so bad it’s good” situations, although a case could be made for that. I think what’s happened here is that someone let a kid into the candy shop and forgot to check in on him. Adams has Batman packing heat, endlessly talking gibberish, gyrating from one impossible position to the next, in histrionic rants with Alfred and, all the time, we seem less and less clear on where the story is going. Adams is just having way too much fun. He is Neal Adams after all. Let the man have his fun. That doesn’t change the fact that this Batman is plum loco.

Leave a comment

Filed under Batman, Comics, DC Comics, Neal Adams

Tagged as Batman, comics

August 19, 2010 · 8:22 pm

Batman Beyond: Complete Series out on DVD November 23

There was a lot of buzz at Comic-Con over this collection of the animated series, BATMAN BEYOND. It is the latest awesome Warner Home Video to catch my eye. Warner Home Video will distribute this limited edition DVD set of all 52 episodes of the series on November 23. All things considered, this would make an excellent gift for the holidays.

The series provides an intriguing new wrinkle into the Batman mythos. The setup is that Bruce Wayne is now an old man, retired and done with crime-fighting. Enter Terry McGinnis. He is just a regular teen boy until one day his father is murdered. This echoes Bruce Wayne’s own family tragedy. To make it worse, the murder mystery leads back to Wayne/Powers Corporation.

This DVD set is loaded with extras, including a movie celebrating the 75th anniversary of DC Comics. There’s also tons of stuff about Batman and his gear. Lots of amazing voice talent, which includes Henry Rollins, from the legendary punk bank, Black Flag; Dan Castellaneta (The Simpsons) and George Takei (Star Trek). The production team, the writing team, everybody on board this one is providing you with quality product.

Press release follows:

BATMAN BEYOND: THE COMPLETE SERIES

LIMITED EDITION COMPILATION SET! INCLUDES ALL 52 ACTION-PACKED EPISODES

PLUS THREE NEW BONUS FEATURETTES

WARNER HOME VIDEO TO DISTRIBUTE DVD SET NOV. 23

BURBANK, CA (August 18, 2010) – Warner Bros. Animation’s breakthrough

series Batman Beyond comes to DVD for the first time in its entirety.

Featuring DC Comics’ iconic hero, Batman, Batman Beyond: The Complete

Series presents nearly 20 hours of animated action spread over 52

episodes, as well as all-new bonus featurettes and a 24-page, 8”x 12”

collectible booklet. Batman Beyond: The Complete Series will be

distributed by Warner Home Video on November 23, 2010 as a nine-disc

limited edition DVD set for $99.98 (SRP).

Batman Beyond: The Complete Series centers on Terry McGinnis, an

ordinary teenager … until his father is mysteriously murdered.

Suspecting foul play at his father’s company, Wayne/Powers

Corporation, Terry meets Bruce Wayne and learns of a secret identity

hidden for decades. Now too old to don the cape and cowl as Batman,

Wayne refuses to help – so Terry does what any brash young kid would

do: steal the Bat-suit and take matters into his own hands! Vowing to

avenge his father’s death, Terry dons the high-tech suit tricked out

with jetpacks, a supersensitive microphone and even camouflage

capabilities in search of his father’s assassin. It’s 52 action-packed

episodes following the adventures of the partnership between an

ex-crimefighter and his apprentice, starring Will Friedle (Boy Meets

World) as Terry McGinnis and, reprising his seminal role, Kevin Conroy

(Batman: The Animated Series) as Bruce Wayne.

Casting throughout the series’ 52 episodes featured award winners from

feature films, primetime television and the Broadway stage – from Paul

Winfield, Stockard Channing and Seth Green to

William H. Macy, Wayne Brady and Teri Garr – not to mention George

Lazenby (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), Dan Castellaneta (The

Simpsons), Jodi Benson (The Little Mermaid), George Takei (Star Trek)

and Henry Rollins (the front man for the rock band, Black Flag).

An all-star production team was headed by executive producer Jean

MacCurdy and producers Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Glen Murakami and

Paul Dini. Writers on the series included Burnett and Dini, as well as

Stan Berkowitz, Bob Goodman, Rich Fogel, Hilary Bader and John McCann.

Included in the beautifully custom designed package is a 24-page, 8”x

12” collectible booklet with the inside perspective and artwork from

the vaults especially compiled by DC Comics for this release.

Three new bonus features created specifically for the Batman Beyond:

The Complete Series are:

TOMORROW KNIGHT: THE BATMAN REBORN

The “Batman Beyond” creative team gives you a peek into the character

of Terry McGinnis, and what made him worthy to become the new Caped Crusader.

GOTHAM: CITY OF THE FUTURE

A look at Gotham City, circa 2039, and how the team built a realistic

vision of the near future while remaining true to the city they

created in Batman: The Animated Series.

THE HIGH TECH HERO

Explore the technology behind the Bat-suit, its amazing powers and the real world science that inspired it.

The collection will also contain the DC 75th anniversary documentary,

Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics.

“Batman Beyond was a landmark series as it created altogether new

directions for the iconic character, and added dimensions for fans

both old and new to the Batman mythology,” said Amit Desai, WHV Vice

President of Family, Animation & Sports Marketing. “Warner Home Video

is proud to release this important series in an all-encompassing box

set, just in time to make a perfect holiday gift for the ultimate

fan.”

About Warner Home Video:

With operations in 90 international territories Warner Home Video, a

Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution

infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video’s

film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new

and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures,

Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.

About DC Entertainment:

DC Entertainment, home to such iconic DC Comics properties as

Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash, MAD

Magazine, and Fables, is the creative division charged with

strategically integrating across Warner Bros. and Time Warner. DC

Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to

unleash its superheroic characters across all media, including but not

limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment,

and interactive games. Publishing over 1,000 comic books, graphic

novels and magazines each year, DC Comics is the largest

English-language publisher of comics in the world.

About Warner Bros. Animation:

Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) has been producing award-winning original

animation since 1930, when it released its first cartoon, “Sinkin’ in

the Bathtub.” Since then, WBA’s characters have set the standard for

innovative, quality animation. Producing for network and cable

television, online, home entertainment and feature films both

domestically and internationally, WBA is highly respected for its

creative and technical excellence, as well as for maintaining the

studio’s rich cartoon heritage. WBA also oversees the creative use and

production of animated programming based on classic cartoon characters

from the Hanna-Barbera and DC Comics libraries. WBA is one of the

most-honored animation studios in history.

Leave a comment

Filed under animation, Batman, Comic-Con 2010, Comic-Con International, Comics, DC Comics, movies

March 13, 2010 · 7:00 am

Great Week for Batman

This was a great week for Batman with three big titles coming out strong: Batman: The Widening Gyre #5 (of 6), Red Robin #10 and Batman and Robin #10. This beautiful page is from the latest issue of Batman and Robin graced by the art of Andy Clarke (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks) and Alex Sinclair (colors).

Leave a comment

Filed under Batman, Batman and Robin, DC Comics, Grant Morrison

November 10, 2009 · 9:22 pm

The Widening Gyre: Could Silver St. Cloud Be Baphomet?

I was intrigued by a comment in connection with my review of Issue Three of Kevin Smith and Walter Flanagan’s “The Widening Gyre” at Newsarama. The commentator thinks that maybe Baphomet, the new vigilante on the block out to help Batman, and the sudden reappearance of Bruce Wayne’s lost love of his life, Silver St. Cloud, lead to the conclusion that Baphomet and Silver St. Cloud are one and the same. That certainly sounds possible and would make for a story with a satisfying ending, even if we’ve figured it out. Then, there’s another commentator that thinks Silver will get pregnant–and not tell Bruce. We’ll have to wait and see.

In the comic, you’ll notice that Bruce Wayne has a pet name. The lettering, of course, is in standard all caps and the name is written as one thing. So, my guess is that the spelling is “DeeDee” Or is it “Dee Dee”? I don’t think it’s “Deedee.” Maybe this goes back to the original story between Bruce and Silver. The above image is from work of the writer/artist team of Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers. They worked together in developing the relationship between Bruce and Silver for “Detective Comics” and then reunited to pursue things further in a limited run, “The Dark Detective.”