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daily journal
DC Icons It's the cover artwork for Jim Lee's new book, ICONS: The DC Comics & WildStorm Art of Jim Lee. I always enjoy Lee's artwork; especially his pencils, which I find have more depth and texture then when his work has been inked and colored.  But when did Batman become the focal point of the DC Big Three? When an artist is representing the DC Trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, Superman always - always - gets the choice position. Is it a reflection of Batman's raised marketing value post The Dark Knight movie? Maybe. But as a Batman fan I don't care. I like seeing him out front and center. posted by Brendan | 4:30 PM | permanent link
Another Reason to Like Batman More Than Superman Three days after Action Comics #1, the first appearance of Superman, snatched a $1 million price tag at auction, a issue of Detective Comics #27, the first appearance of Batman, sold for $1,075,500 at auction. The million dollar sale for Action Comics #1 had been the first time a comic book had sold for more than 6 figures and held the record for the highest amount paid for a comic until the sale of Detective Comics #27. posted by Brendan | 7:37 AM | permanent link
Outrageous! Batman: The Brave and the Bold video game drops this fall. I think the game would be outrageously popular in our house - especially considering that you can play as Aquaman.  posted by Brendan | 8:14 AM | permanent link
I Saw The Worst One Empire magazine asks it readers to vote what they thought were the worst movies ever. The magazine recently published the results of the voting, and while it seems to skew heavy towards films from the last 25 years, it certainly is a list of some horrible, horrible films. I was pretty proud of the fact that I had not seen any of the films (okay, I've seen parts of some of them) in Empire's 50 Worst Films Ever - until I got to the #1 film. The worst of the worst. The king of cinema crap.  It may be the worst of the worst, but it's Batman - I can't not watch. I used to try and defend the film, but now I can't even do that anymore. It really is a horrible film. posted by Brendan | 10:33 PM | permanent link
Batman by Ted Naifeh I'm totally digging Ted Naifeh's sketches of Batman and related characters. Not sure if he's trying to audition for DC in a plan for them to throw a Batman story his way, but I enjoy the perks of getting to see how he sees the character.  Labels: art, Batman, Comics, DC posted by Brendan | 7:21 PM | permanent link
Batman's Christmas Adventure A 1977 holiday album starred DC Comics three biggest heroes - Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. I listened to the Batman & Robin adventure where they take on Rudy The Red-Nosed Hitman. After you've enjoyed this suspense filled Christmas adventure starring the Caped Crusaders, consider some of these discussion questions/observations: Why do Batman and Robin fight crime wearing tap shoes? Labels: Batman, Christmas, oddities posted by Brendan | 5:37 PM | permanent link
Now All I Need Is a Motorcycle Then I would have a reason to buy me one of these:  Labels: Batman posted by Brendan | 11:23 AM | permanent link
Almost Like Someone Was Planning It I was re-watching the Tim Burton directed Batman Returns last week when a thought occurred to me. If you look at the arch of Batman films that have been released since 1989�s Batman (also directed by Burton) through last year�s Christopher Nolan helmed The Dark Knight, they follow the same evolution in character depiction that the Batman comics have moved through over the years.  When the Batman character debuted in 1939 in Detective Comics #27, he was partially modeled after the pulp heroes and vigilantes that were popular of the day. Bob Kane and Bill Finger drew inspiration from The Shadow and The Spider, characters who hunted criminals as much as they protected the innocent. Like these pulp heroes, Batman was sinister and brooding, and not at all averse to letting the bad guy die. In these early Batman comics, Batman wouldn�t purposely kill the villain outright, but at the same time he wouldn�t try and save the villain. This characterization of Batman is similar to what you see in the Batman films directed by Tim Burton � Batman and Batman Returns. Batman is a defender of good, but he drifts into amoral territory when it comes to handling the villains. This most notably happens in the second film, Batman Returns. In that film, Batman is seen using the jet exhaust from the Batmobile to set a fire-breathing thug aflame, makes no attempt to prevent the Penguin from crashing through a roof window and dropping to his ultimate death, and even attaches a ticking time bomb to a muscle-bound heavy before tossing him into a tunnel just prior to explosion.  Just like the arrival of Dr. Wertham and his cronies dramatically changed the comic book landscape in the 1950s, the arrival of director Joel Schumacher to the Bat-franchise dramatically changed the caped crusader on the silver screen in the middle 1990s. To try and protect itself from the comic book witch hunts of the 1950s, DC comics made Batman friendlier and less threatening. The colors became brighter, the stories became tamer, and there was certainly no killing � by anyone, villain or hero. The new nice-nice version of Batman hit its zenith in the mid 1960�s with the arrival of the uber-campfest of the Batman television show; which the comic books instantly set out to emulate. What started out as a happier, less threatening Batman ended up with day-glow backgrounds and a �chummy� Dynamic Duo that was more slap-stick than sinister.  Batman & Robin, Schumacher�s second Bat-film, is the modern day interpretation of the campy 1960�s Batman television show � but without any of the sense of fun. Over the top sets, ridiculous storylines, and general silliness abound. The only thing missing was the onscreen �Biffs� and �Pows� for when Batman and Robin smacked the bad guys.  This brings us to the third and modern era of Batman. Christopher Nolan comes along to breathe new life into the Batman movie franchise, and calls upon for inspiration from the comics the resurrected Batman from his campy comic book persona. Artist Neal Adams and writer Denny O�Neil reasserted Batman�s grittier, pulp hero roots when they started spinning Batman stories for DC Comics in the mid-1970�s; and Frank Miller further refined the character as a noir, street-level hero with his work on Batman in two works: Batman: Year One and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. These comic creators, along with other working in the 70�s and 80�s, not only redefined Batman, but also introduced the idea that superheroes could be used to tell sophisticated, multi-layered stories.  The Dark Knight came this close to being nominated for an Academy Award for outstanding movie of the year. The amount of critical praise lauded on the film demonstrated that now critics and audiences are ready to accept superheroes as more than just kid stuff, much the same way Frank Miller�s Return of the Dark Knight did in 1986.  I know the popular thought is to have Christopher Nolan back to make a third Batman film. However, I think Warner Brothers should stick with the pattern that they have, for one reason or another, fallen into. Namely, a director gets two shots at the Dark Knight and then moves on. Burton had his two, Schumacher had two, and now Nolan has completed his pair of Batman movies. These three directors have, knowingly or not, traced in broad strokes the development arch of the Batman character over the last 70 years. Time to let a new director put his or her interpretation on film. Either draw inspiration from other in-between periods of Batman�s history or create something new. Labels: Batman, Comics, movies posted by Brendan | 10:19 PM | permanent link
The Next Martin Scorsese? Or maybe John Lasseter? This past summer Ian took a class through the Park District that allowed him to learn a little about digital film making. This is the the end result of Ian and his partners' work in the class. posted by Brendan | 10:13 PM | permanent link
More Batman on the Way? If Empire Magazine and Gary Oldman are to be believed, the next Batman movie will start shooting in 2010.
I'm not putting too much stock in Oldman's remark right now, let's wait and see what developers over the next six months. posted by Brendan | 6:34 PM | permanent link
Gordon Meets the New Batman  Commissioner James Gordon has always been my favorite supporting character in Batman's universe. Tough, principled, and the second smartest lawman in Gotham after Batman.Ever since they shook things up with Batman and put Richard Grayson in the cape and cowl with a new kid as Robin, I have been anxious to see how Commissioner Gordon would react. From the preview art from Batman & Robin #2 over at IGN, Grant Morrison is giving us that first scene and it's obvious Gordon is immediately clued in that things are different - yet the same. I can't wait to see how Morrison handles this relationship between Gordon and the new Batman. posted by Brendan | 9:20 PM | permanent link
Getting Pulled Back In Don�t tell Heather, but I am being strongly tempted to end my moratorium on buying monthly comics. In January 2008 I stopped purchasing comics on a monthly basis cold turkey. The decision was driven almost entirely on concerns over budget. I�ve continued buying graphic novel or trade paperback collections, but mostly I�ve been digging into my collection of old single issues for my comic book reading fix each month. Since the switch in buying habits I haven�t felt like I was missing anything by not stopping in a comic shop each month. Until now.  Three days ago Batman & Robin #1 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely hit the stands. Morrison is a comic writing phenom. Quitely is an extraordinary artist. Together they have made some of the best comics of the last ten years.A lot has been going on with Batman over the last year, and although I haven�t been reading the books I have been able to follow along with events more or less thanks to a splattering of blogs. In short: as a result of his actions to save the universe, Bruce Wayne has been thrown back in time � literary � but is believed to be dead by the general public (long story). Dick Grayson (aka Nightwing, aka the first Robin) has taken up the Mantel of the Bat and is now operating as Gotham City�s new nocturnal protector in Bruce�s absence. Joining him as the newest Robin is Damien, Bruce Wayne�s and Talia al Ghul�s love-child (an even longer story). Batman & Robin marks the beginning of this new Dynamic Duo. My anticipation over this new book � the concept, the characters, the creators � was so great I had run out to pick up a copy. The experience of reading it met my every expectation. Batman & Robin #1 is fresh, exciting, big-idea filled, and dynamic � everything that I want from a superhero comic. Best yet, Morrison and Quitely left me pumped up to read the next chapter. They perfectly launched a new series. And if a stellar comic was enough, then they teased me with this:  Sure I could wait for these individual issues to be collected into trade paperbacks, but who wants to wait for DC to collect what looks like will be all sorts of fantastically trippy Batman and Robin stories? Not I. Plus, there are two more books headed to shops this June that have me almost as excited as Batman & Robin.  There is Red Robin, which will feature Tim Drake, the last Robin before Damian, on his quest to try and bring Bruce Wayne back from . . . wherever the hell he is. That book looks great.Plus, Greg Rucka takes over the writing chores for Detective Comics, but now the book will star Batwoman. Rucka is a favorite writer of mine who excels at writing strong, interesting female characters. This new Batwoman is completely his creation, and along with the gorgeous artwork of JH Williams, should make �Tec a fantastic read. Something I definitely wanted to check out. Again, I�m sure I could wait for those two books to be collected and queue them up in my graphic novel budget. But if I�m already making my way to the comic shop to pick up Batman & Robin each month, I could just as easily start picking up Red Robin and �Tec. Hmmm. . . . Labels: Batman, Comics, Review posted by Brendan | 8:51 AM | permanent link
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies I am loving the work Warner Brother Animation has been doing with DC Comics characters. Last summer's Batman: Gotham Knights was great, the Wonder Woman film that was released earlier this year looks fantastic and is still high on my list of most wanted DVDs, and I'm anxious to get a closer look at Green Lantern: First Flight when it drops this summer. This fall another animated film will be released - Superman/Batman: Public Enemies I own the comics that Public Enemies is based on, so I know the story already. But it's a story that I think would make a great animated action flick. The trailer - which has been yanked from US websites and can only be found on Russian sites right now - sure appears to supporting that belief. I want to own this. posted by Brendan | 5:17 PM | permanent link
Batsymbol Mutations I think this is pretty damn cool. Labels: Batman posted by Brendan | 9:41 AM | permanent link
Ladr�nn's Commissoner Jim Gordon Mexican artist Ladr�nn is contributing cover art to some of the one-shots the DC is publishing surrounding the next Batman story event "Battle for the Cowl." I'm a fan of Ladr�nn's work, particularly the work he's done on the Hip Flask series. I think his cover for Batman: Battle for the Cowl - Commissioner Gordon is fantastic. It captures much of what I love about the character of Jim Gordon just in body language - tough, determined, principled, uncompromising.  Labels: art, Batman, Comics, Illustration posted by Brendan | 8:50 AM | permanent link
Jim Lee's Dark Knight Alex Sinclair - longtime colorist for most of Jim Lee's comic book work - posted a piece of Jim's art that he had colored over at the gelatometti blog. It's Jim's interpretation of Batman as he appears in last summer's The Dark Knight film.  Jim Lee is one of my favorite comic book artists, and I love the work he does with Batman. It's been a while since I prettied up my blog with some of his artwork, and I thought this was the perfect time to end the drought. Labels: Batman, Comics, Illustration posted by Brendan | 11:03 PM | permanent link
But Is Batman a Strawberry Milk Guy? I've always imagined Batman favoring straight up white milk - probably 1% because he wants a little fat content but not too much.  This was designed by a guy named Hattomonkey, who appears to design milk cartons for fun (check out his blog). I can't be certain about what is going on because his website isn't written in English.[via] posted by Brendan | 11:13 PM | permanent link
There Can't Be One Batman Ian Freer, writing on the Empire magazine blog, makes the argument that Adam West is a better Batman over Christian Bale.  If I was going to pick the best on-screen version of Batman, I'd go with Michael Keaton. I've always been partial to how Keaton balances the two sides of Bruce Wayne and Batman, while giving each the right mix of the other side. His Bruce has just enough darkness and edginess for us to remind us that Batman lurks nearby, and his Batman flashes a little of the human Bruce side at just the right times. But that isn't my contention with Mr. Freer's post. It's where he asks, ". . . what is the definitive interpretation of Batman?" Freer argues that the concept of Batman, when boiled down to its essence, is a silly concept. A man dressed as bat solving crimes. Therefore only Adam West's campy 1960's Batman can ever really capture the true Cape Crusader. But if the longevity of the character was contingent upon the strength of his essence as defined by Freer, then I can't imagine Batman lasting nearly 70 years. There isn't a whole lot to go on with that sort of character. A go-go dancing, shark-repellent using campy Batman came and went, yet the character continues to be used and enjoyed. Freer went wrong in his distillation. The core of Batman isn't a man dressing up like a bat to solve crimes. The core of Batman is the story of one man standing up to try and make sense and bring order to a world that doesn't always make sense. He just happens to do that by dressing up like a Bat to solve crimes most times (there are alternative Batman stories where Bruce never makes it into a "Batman" suit exactly, but he's still true to his character.)  How the story of Bruce Wayne/Batman is told can take many forms. As crime drama, as in The Dark Knight. As an action story, like in Batman Forever. Or as campy satire of modern culture, which is where the 60's television show decided to use the character.Comics have mined Batman for even more types of stories- horror, sci-fi, mystery, historical drama, the list is extensive. For almost 70 years Batman has been interpreted in countless different ways by countless different people. What's great about all these variations is that through all of them I can see the same theme - one man tying to make sense out of his world. Batman is an attempt to answer order to a world that presents chaos. That's what makes Batman such a wonderful character and such an enduring character in literature, he can be whatever you need him to be. It's also what makes the Joker the perfect foil to the character of Batman. So instead of trying to pick one version over another as the canonical version, I prefer to appreciate all the different flavors and enjoy the bounty of stories that spring forth. Labels: Batman, Comics, movies, TV posted by Brendan | 11:41 AM | permanent link
Celebrating Zoolander Style It's been years since I saw Zoolander, but I vaguely recall a scene similar to the one below. Obviously someone else had a much more vivid recollection of the film and decided to have some fun with it.  Every time I look at the Joe Biden face I laugh. I don't know if it's the goofy-ass smile alone or the combination of that cheesy smile and the motion of the body. There is also a version based on The Dark Knight. It's not as funny as the Obama Fun Machine, but I offer it up because I love the move.  Labels: Batman, Fun, movies, Politics posted by Brendan | 11:27 AM | permanent link
Figured It Out I thought something about this Presidential campaign between John McCain and Barack Obama seemed familiar. This little piece of artwork finally put the pieces together for me.  The 2008 Presidential campaign is an re-tread of an episode of the 1960's Batman TV show. Look, the campaign is even copying the debate. Can't way to see who shows up to play the Cesar Romero as Joker character to counter Obama/Batman and McCain/Penguin. Labels: Batman, Fun, Politics, TV posted by Brendan | 10:50 PM | permanent link
Dark Knight Mashup I don't know if this video mash-up of the audio from The Dark Knight movie trailer with video from Toy Story 2 is new or old, but it's been making the rounds on the blogs I read lately. Not only is the mash solid, the result is damn funny. Watching this reminds me how much I enjoyed The Dark Knight and how eager I am to see it again. Labels: Animation, Batman, Fun, movies posted by Brendan | 4:34 PM | permanent link
Batman and Iron Man What I found most funny about today's PVP is that I was think this very same thing the just other day.  Tony Stark/Iron Man is Bruce Wayne/Batman but without all the emotional baggage.Still think Batman's cooler though. Labels: Batman, Comics, iron man posted by Brendan | 11:26 PM | permanent link
The Dark Knight Returns  Warner Brothers apparently believes that they have an Oscar-worthy movie in The Dark Knight. It's the only good explanation for their announcement that The Dark Knight will return in theaters this January - just in time for the height of the Academy Awards voting season and even after - considering that the movie will debut on DVD in December.I'll certainly be adding the DVD to my collection, but I might try and swing a return visit to the theater to see The Dark Knight in its wide screen glory. posted by Brendan | 4:52 PM | permanent link
LEGO Batgirl Ian owns all of the LEGO Star Wars video games and he got LEGO Indiana Jones game this summer (my favorite to date). However, this fall LEGO Batman hits store shelves and I'm already thinking that we have to get this for our new Wii. If not for the huge gallery of characters the creators have crammed into the game, then at least for LEGO Batgirl.  How cool is that. LEGO Batgirl is the tops. Labels: Batman, DC, Indiana Jones, Star Wars posted by Brendan | 10:58 PM | permanent link
Better Living with the B&J Supersquad "Feel my quad" What I love about these spots - yes, there are more - is how the guy playing Batman perfectly mocks Christian Bale's poor man's Dirty Harry gravely Batman voice from the movies. posted by Brendan | 9:30 AM | permanent link
Batman: The Brave and The Bold Preview It's the weekend of Comic-Con in San Diego, so there is new comic related stuff all over the place. This preview of the Batman: The Brave and The Bold looks fantastic. The new series is set to debut on Cartoon Network this November. Batman: The Brave and The Bold is going to be Batman and another super-powered guest star each week in a story that is all about action, action, and more action. Looks like great fun to me. posted by Brendan | 9:00 PM | permanent link
The Dark Knight  While I hadn�t planned on it originally � historically I�m not much of an opening weekend sort of movie watching guy � Friday I found myself sitting in our nearby theater with Heather to watch The Dark Knight.We realized that we had time to take in a movie before driving to Ohio where we would be picking up Ian, Emma, and Zoe after they had spent a full week at Heather�s parent�s house along with their 8 cousins. (Yes, Heather�s parents house and entertain 11 children, aged 4 through 12, all by themselves for six days straight. Voluntarily. Every year. ) Heather and I talked about seeing something other than The Dark Knight to avoid crowds and save some bucks, but in the end I think Heather couldn�t bring herself to deny me an opportunity to see a Batman flick in the theater. I�m glad she�s nice that way. I won�t bother you with a drawn out review of the movie when there are pages and pages of glowing reviews for The Dark Knight published all over the web. Close your eyes and throw a dart and you�re bound to hit one. Here is one of my favorites. Suffice it to say I loved the film. It possessed an intensity and maturity that I have never experienced from a movie based on superhero characters. The Dark Knight isn�t just a great superhero movie or extraordinary summer blockbuster; it�s just a flat out superb piece of film. I don�t know if I�m ready to vote it as the top film of all time, as some of the more enthusiastic visitors to the IMDB website have done, but I was extremely impressed by director Christopher Nolan�s ability to use the characters of Batman�s universe to explore universal themes of heroism, sacrifice, and justice in an intelligent and engaging manner. All the while still blowing things up every twenty minutes or so. A great film. I am so glad we went to see it Friday morning. Now I can�t wait to see it five more times. Labels: Batman, movies, Review posted by Brendan | 9:49 PM | permanent link
I Knew That Song Had Lyrics! In case you were ever wondering what the lyrics to Danny Elfman's score from the Batman movie are, Andrew Goldenberg is here to help out. This guy is awesome. Apparently he has written lyrics to a bunch of other movie themes. posted by Brendan | 4:51 PM | permanent link
Random Cool Things About a week ago Heather hinted to me that I seemed to be posting a lot about Batman. So I tried to ease up on Batman-themed posts for awhile. However, as the buzz for The Dark Knight hits a fever pitch in the coming week, I imagine I'm going to find all sorts of Batman related stuff I want to write about. So lets ease back into things by sandwiching some Batman stuff between some Star Wars stuff and see how that goes. (Maybe Heather won't notice) - - - -  Pottery Barn Kids might be doing the selling, but I know who the real target of the Star Wars vintage sheets that hit the market in a little over a week - me.Or rather, adults like me who still love Star Wars. On July 25 Pottery Barn Kids will begin offering Star Wars-themed bedding just like was offered when I was a kid. I never got a full set of Star Wars sheets - I only had a pillow case - but now I can finally realize my dream of having my whole bed done up in Star Wars linens. Not only will they be making the sheets in Twin bed sizes, but also in Full and Queen. Heather, we're buying them the day they hit the stores. - - - -  The Dark Knight doesn't open for another two weeks in England, as opposed to next Friday here in the States, so British movie mag Empire has fourteen days to countdown to the film. Hence their new feature debuting today: The Dark Knight FortnightIt's fourteen days of Batman stuff. It kicks-off today with the 10 Essential Batman Comics. (I've read all but one) Empire did a great job with their celebration of all things Indiana Jones in advance of the release of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I just didn't discover it until it was nearly over. I expect nothing less with their feature for Batman. Plus this time I'm getting in on the ground floor. - - - - This week Empire also takes a stab at listing the 50 greatest comic book characters. I haven't read them all, but I did jump to see their top five. As expected, they've end up with Superman and Batman in the #1 and #2 slots respectively. As it should be. But then Empire puts John Constantine, Hellblazer, in the #3 spot. What? Empire rounds out the top five with Wolverine at #4 and drop Spider-Man all the way to #5. Whether Spidey should come before or after Wolverine can be debated till sunrise. But Constantine at #3? That I don't understand. This is a character who started out as a supporting character in Swamp Thing, built up a strong cult following in a solo title, and managed to be turned into a movie starring Keanu Reeves, but in the pantheon of great superheroes I don't see how this guy deserves to even be in the top 30. Sure, he's an interesting character, but greater than Spider-Man? I don't think so. - - - - And let's finish it off with another Star Wars item This fall Hasbro is releasing a new version of the Millennium Falcon. Not only will the newly designed toy have more electronic lights and sounds and come with Han Solo and Chewbacca figures, the size of the ship will be 30% larger than the version every kid aged 7 - 17 back in 1980 so desperately wanted to find under the tree Christmas morning.  I want one.Labels: 80's, Batman, Comics, movies, Star Wars posted by Brendan | 10:28 PM | permanent link
DC on iTunes  Look whose on iTunes now - the heroes of the DC Universe.iTunes is now selling episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Super Friends, Batman Beyond, Aquaman, The Fleischer Studio Superman cartoons, and the live-action The Adventures of Superman TV show starring George Reeves. I already own three of those five series (Batman: TAS, Superman: TAS, and The Fleischer Superman toons) and owe some of the Super Friends stuff. So I won't be dropping any money there. However, I enjoyed Batman Beyond when it originally aired, so I wouldn't mind watching another episode or two of that series. Plus, I'm interested in sampling some of the Aquaman series; just to see what it is like. posted by Brendan | 8:10 AM | permanent link
Baman Piderman I don't know what it is or why they did it, but it sure is funny. Labels: Animation, Batman, oddities posted by Brendan | 9:02 PM | permanent link
The Dark Knight International Trailer Love it. posted by Brendan | 9:25 AM | permanent link
The Dark Knight Movie Stills Photos from The Dark Knight are flying onto the web this week. You can find them everywhere - if you are looking for them. My favorite from the new bunch that popped up today - Harvey Dent, James Gordon, and Batman  Good stuff. posted by Brendan | 9:52 PM | permanent link First The Dark Knight Review  The first official review of The Dark Knight has hit the streets. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone weighs in on the movie I am most excited about seeing.In a nutshell � Travers loves the film. His closing paragraph says it all: �No fair giving away the mysteries of The Dark Knight. It�s enough to marvel at the way Nolan � a world-class filmmaker, be it Memento, Insomnia or The Prestige � brings pop escapism whisper-close to enduring art. It�s enough to watch Bale chillingly render Batman as a lost warrior, evoking Al Pacino in The Godfather II in his delusion and desolation. It�s enough to see Ledger conjure up the anarchy of the Sex Pistols and A Clockwork Orange as he creates a Joker for the ages. Go ahead, bitch about the movie being too long, at two and a half hours, for short attention spans (it is), too somber for the Hulk crowd (it is), too smart for its own good (it isn�t). The haunting and visionary Dark Knight soars on the wings of untamed imagination. It�s full of surprises you don�t see coming. And just try to get it out of your dreams�I can�t wait. posted by Brendan | 9:30 PM | permanent link
Batman Notices Everything One of the things that I think is so great about Batman - he notices everything  [via] Labels: Batman, Comics, DC, oddities posted by Brendan | 1:38 PM | permanent link
Batman Drinks Milk You knew one of this summer's superhero film stars would show up in the ubiquitous "Got Milk?" ad campaign.  The milk people aren't just running a photo of Batman with his milk mustache, they built a whole website for him.posted by Brendan | 9:46 PM | permanent link
The Dark Knight Website Re-Launches The only new �stuff� that the site supplies are some wallpapers, icons, and a screensaver. All the video and images have been released before. Still, the re-launched website for The Dark Knight is pretty to look at and fun to play with.  posted by Brendan | 8:36 PM | permanent link
Old Superheroes Italian illustrator Donald Soffritti imagines what superheroes will look like when they get older. Lots of fun ones to look at. Of course, I'm supplying an aged Batman and Robin.  Funny stuff.Labels: Batman, Comics, Illustration posted by Brendan | 1:25 PM | permanent link
Batman vs. Iron Man Before their movies battle out in the theaters, they face off here. posted by Brendan | 8:33 AM | permanent link
New Trailer Time The two summer movies I am most looking forward to both released new trailers this weekend. Neither trailer disappoint. The Dark Knight:  The new The Dark Knight trailer has very little Batman actually in it. We get a little Bats at the beginning and at the end, but mostly the trailer features Bruce Wayne, Joker, and Harvey Dent. While it still doesn't give me many clues to the actual narrative story that is going to play out, this new trailer does show that The Dark Knight is going to be more than just Batman and Joker tearin' it up in downtown Gotham - which is what I got from the first full trailer. Dark, moody, and character driven - I think it's going to be another fantastic Batman film from Christopher Nolan. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:  The new Indiana Jones trailer dispenses with the nostalgic look back that the first trailer opened with, cutting right to selling the story of the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Indiana's voice over provides some background into the legend of the Crystal Skull, effectively setting up the McGuffin for this flick. As with the early Indiana Jones movies, the McGuffin drive the main story but is really only interested in getting the movie from point A to point B. It's everything happening around that main story that makes an Indiana Jones movie so much fun. From the look of this trailer, the fourth Indy flick shouldn't be any different. Labels: Batman, Indiana Jones, movies posted by Brendan | 6:53 PM | permanent link
New The Dark Knight Poster The Dark Knight viral marketing game marches on, and though I am trying to participate in this second phase, I just can�t find the time. For the most part I�m still playing a spectator. None the less, developments in the game point to the imminent release of something in 3 days (speculation is a new movie trailer).  But in the meantime the game has revealed a new movie poster that I think is quite awesome.  posted by Brendan | 9:06 PM | permanent link
Batman Gotham Knight Trailer So much coolness. posted by Brendan | 2:30 PM | permanent link
Rediscovering Breyfogle One of the benefits of not buying any new monthly comics is that it frees me up to spend time re-visiting my comic collection. I started buying/reading/collecting comics regularly in 1991, in the aftermath of Tim Burton's Batman movie blockbuster, the debut of the Flash television show, and reading a copy of Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns that my brother inexplicably brought home on day. I stopped my regular visits to the comic shop this past January. That's seventeen years of continual comic book buying spanning dozens of different titles. Not an extraordinary feat by no means, but it does provide me with plenty to read through.  I've started my trip back through my collection by going to the very earliest Batman comics that I own. I have some older comics from the 60's and 70's, and few from the 80's which I've read over the last few months, but I am just now getting to the issues of Detective Comics and Batman that I was buying December/January of my senior year of high school. This means I'm re-discovering how much I enjoyed the artwork of Jim Aparo and Norm Breyfogle on the Batman titles.Yesterday I finished reading Batman #464, the final part of a three part story title "Spirit Of The Beast" by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle. Grant and Breyfogle were a hugely popular creative team on Batman in the late 1908's to mid 1990s. They started out on �Tec, moved to Batman, and eventually launched a new Batman title, Shadow of the Bat, before going to separate projects. "Spirit Of The Beast" showcases Grant's propensity for creating interesting characters, his use of mythology/philosophy/mysticism in his storylines, and a Batman character who is driven but still mentally balanced. What starts out as a routine investigation into a robbery/murder quickly takes Batman out of Gotham and into the desert outside of Las Vegas. On the trail of stolen American Indian shaman artifacts, he finds an ancient blind shaman named Black Wolf and the dog that helps him. Eventually Batman is wrapped up in an Indian conflict hundreds of years old and which threatens to kill dozens of innocent people in the present.  The story moves quickly and efficiently, with just the right mix of action, detective work, character moments, and comedy relief. On paper the "Spirit Of The Beast" is simply a solid, Batman tale from start to finish. That I appreciate every time. What makes the story more than just a good story is Norm Breyfogle's dynamic pencils.Breyfogle always brought buckets of energy to his work on Batman. There are no stilted staging of scenes or lackluster layouts. A Breyfogle page is a page in motion. Even when it's just a shot of Batman with arm raised commanding some ne'er-do-wells to give up, the page crackles with excitement. His Batman can be demonic looking at time, but in a stylized way that still retains his humanity. And Breyfogle's art certainly doesn't demonize the character. On the contrary, I think Breyfogle's depiction gets at the essence of why Bruce Wayne chose the Bat as inspiration for his costume � to strike fear into the cowardly lot of criminals he would fight against every night. When appropriate for the story, Breyfogle draws the Batman how the criminals probably see him � as threatening force of vengeance. A demonic deliverer of justice. I had forgotten that reading a comic drawn by Norm Breyfogle means never being bored. Now that I'm back at the beginning of my comic collection, I'm a little more excited about moving forward through time with the books. There is plenty more Breyfogle to be found and I'm anxious to read those issues again. Labels: Batman, Comics, Review posted by Brendan | 4:44 PM | permanent link
Batman: The Brave and the Bold I think it�s safe to say that you just can�t keep DC characters from having animated TV shows. No sooner does The Batman and Legion of Super Heroes close shop then Cartoon Network announces that Batman: The Brave and the Bold will be joining their Friday night lineup. The new series, whose guest stars include Green Arrow, Blue Beetle, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and many others, will be �equal doses of comedy and high stakes� according to CN. Episodes will be thirty minutes long.  I'm looking forward to it. posted by Brendan | 10:12 PM | permanent link
Jim Gordon Caught Me As I mentioned the other day, I'm really having fun with this The Dark Knight marketing campaign / game even if I can't full participate.  The big event today was finding out what the Clown Travel Agency site had in store for us. Turns out that this morning a clue could be found by clicking on the manila folder on the site, which then took you to a list of cities around the world. Slowly the throughout the day, an address and an additional clue would pop-up in each city. The first person to get to that location in each city could claim the prize - a bowling ball with a phone number etched into the side and a cell phone to call that number. For those guys, the game will become even more involved, I'm sure.There was no time for me to try for the clues during the workday, but this evening I checked back into the Clown Travel Agency site to see how things turned out. Apparently after all prizes had been claimed in all cities, the site opened up to another clue. We were given a password and directed to the Acme Security Systems website, at a sub-directory called "delos".  Once there I entered my name, email, and cell phone number. Almost immediately my phone started ringing. Upon answering I was greeted with an automated message requesting the voice password. When I delivered it, the screen on my computer changed and Lt. Jim Gordon lets me know that I've been caught. I can either play along with the Gotham PD ('cause they've got all my info now), or I can face a pile of charges (which are flashing on my screen). In either case, he will be in touch with me later.Fun stuff. My participation in the Joker scavenger hunts has been limited, but I feel like I am in the thick of things with the Harvey Dent campaign and now this GCPD turn to the game. With only a little over two months to go before the release of The Dark Knight, I imagine things will start moving pretty fast. posted by Brendan | 10:33 PM | permanent link
Clown Travel Agency The Dark Knight viral marketing campaign / online game had some new developments over the weekend. There has been some changes to the I Believe in Harvey Dent site (plus I received a phone call from Mr. Dent denying accusations brought against him), some changes to some minor sites, and the launching of this new site: Clown Travel Agency Between the little note on the Clown Travel Agency site and reports of phone calls that certain people have received from the Joker, it looks like the next big stage of this game gets going this Tuesday - April Fool's Day.  I don't have the time to track down every clue and fully participate in the games, but I still love this marketing campaign that has been cooked up for The Dark Knight. Can't wait to see what plays out next. posted by Brendan | 10:16 PM | permanent link
My Very Own Bat-Suit  They're selling the Batman suit Michael Keaton wore in Batman Returns.I think if I hunt through enough couch cushions I might be able to scare up the $60,000 to $80,000 the auction house expects the costume to go for. If not, then I�d settle for an Oswald Cobblepot Mayoral Campaign poster, also from Batman Returns, which is expected to net about $800. posted by Brendan | 10:27 PM | permanent link Harvey Dent Decides to Run for D.A. I know it's cheesy marketing - but I'm having fun with it. posted by Brendan | 9:45 PM | permanent link
Batman: The Killing Joke - Remastered DC Comics recently released a new Special Edition of Alan Moore�s and Brian Bolland�s influential Batman: The Killing Joke. Considered one of the finest superhero-starring comic stories ever told and probably the most emotionally powerful Batman story ever written, it is also one of my all-time favorite books of any kind. Obviously I already own a copy and hadn�t given the re-lease much thought. Until, that is, I saw some scans PopCultureShock provided showing the difference between the original artwork and the re-colored artwork Brian Bolland supplied for the Special Edition.
posted by Brendan | 10:01 PM | permanent link |
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Gary Oldman joined Denzel Washington and Mila Kunis today at Comic-Con, taking part in a panel for upcoming apocalyptic thriller The Book Of Eli. Towards the end of the panel Oldman was asked the obligatory Batman 3 question and, to eveyone�s surprise, actually answered it.
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