But the biggest surprise, by far, are the exclusive, authorized character designs from the upcoming movie, "Batman Beyond: Return of The Joker".

Warning: Spoilers will follow.

Clockwise from the Joker himself are the REAL members of the Joker's Gang: Woof, Bonk, Dee-Dee, Ghoul and Chucko.

Timm also teases on the animation quality, the fates of Tim Drake and Dick Grayson, even hinting at a possible sequel to the movie, in addition to offering details on the "extras" to be included on the DVD edition of the movie:

On the animation quality:
"We just got our first 10 minutes of animation back last week and it's stunning. Dynamite. The animation itself is a quantum leap beyond 'Mask of the Phantasm' or 'Subzero'."

On the DVD features:

"We're gonna try to stick as many bonus features on it as possible. There's supposed to be a director's commentary. Probably be a combination of Paul [Dini], [Bruce Timm], Curt [Geda] and Glen [Murakami] all jabbering away."

The DVD will contain both the full-frame and widescreen versions; 10 minutes of extra footage (2 deleted scenes) which will probably be included as "animatics" or storyboards on tape.

He says they will explain what happened to Tim, "and there's a line in the movie that says something about what happened to Dick, but he doesn't actually [appear], because we might want to save that for the sequel."

Additionally, Timm tossed out insider info on the Batman Beyond finale that will feature The Justice League of America. Characters to appear: Big Barda; a "Hawkman-type"; a Green Lantern "that you've never seen before"; an "Atom-type" named Micron; Batman and, of course, Superman. Regarding the "Big Barda" character design, Timm says, "we had to change her trademark metal bikini to meet standards".

But for those hoping for a peek at the future Superman, sorry - he's keeping it under wraps, but does say that "he looks cool … and he will not look anything like he did in 'Kingdom Come'".

Timm says he has "remaining discomfort" with the JLA episode because "it has nothing to do with Batman Beyond and it doesn't take place in Gotham City". It's to be a "two-parter", "a big episode, but self-contained - Bruce Wayne doesn't die or anything. It's gonna be a really cool episode." And it is not, as rumors have said, a "cliffhanger".

The rest of the interview is equally as interesting and overflowing with various bits of trivia on both Timm's personal background and work history. It would be a shame to give too much away - this magazine is something all Batman fans should want to own. But here are just a few highlights from the interview:

On working with Filmation (where he did layout on He-Man and She-Ra):
"They didn't encourage you to do good drawings - they wanted passable drawings. 'Don't bother making it good - just get it done.'"

On his work in Batman: The Animated Series
"I can't even look at [BTAS] anymore. I look at them now and can't believe how ugly they are … how slow they are."

On BTAS vs "The New Batman Adventures":
I think that the newer style is infinitely superior; all across the board, it's better. I never like the way Bruce looked [in BTAS]. I tried to give him a Dick Tracy nose - a big, sharp nose. Overseas interpreted it as this big, ugly, broken nose. [All the characters looked] fat and baggy. By giving it that streamlined, angular style - it still looks sharp and elegant, [more consistent] and it's just animated better.

On WB execs asking them to "update" Batman:
"WB execs were talking about ways of freshening up the show and the words 'teenage Batman' came up. Our first reaction was horror. 'Teenage Batman? Aaaah!!!!!!'"

On why the JLA series will never come to be:
"Way too many characters, way too many set pieces, way too much stuff happening."

On his "dream project":
"I would kill to do Conan The Barbarian: The Animated Series. If I could do it my way, it would be my dream project." [You'll have to buy the magazine to see Timm's incredibly cool concept art for such a series.]

On Star Wars:
"I was up for the [Phantom Menace comic] adaptation. Thank God I didn't get it - it would've killed me." [Nevertheless, the sketchbook includes a sample tryout page featuring Star Wars characters - looks like Terry McGinnis as Luke Skywalker, but still cool-looking.]

On targeted young age groups for animated shows:
"I won't sacrifice storytelling on the altar of the fast-paced."

Overall, it's the sketchbook's eye candy that makes the magazine well-worth the cost, like this rejected cover art for Mad Love and pin-ups for a DC Dark Knight Gallery book:

Just lots and lots to ogle and admire: pencil roughs, finished sketches, rejected covers and pin-up art, and many other exclusive samples of his work like his take on such characters as The Thing, BTAS, TNBA, Spider-man, Iron Man, Dr. Strange Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vampirella, Women of Marvel, Conan, Star Wars, Human Torch, Namor, and Johnny Storm. There's also a sketch of a fight scene Timm never got to animate for "Superman: The Animated Series", with Supes literally knocking Captain Marvel head-over-feet.

And those are just the highlights of this great interview. [To offer more details … well, that would probably seem less like a review and more like a violation of federal copyright laws.] Without belaboring the point, this magazine is a "must-see", though it should be noted that it does contain nudity and the sort of cheesecake pin-up girls that Timm's so fond of drawing and fanboys are so eager to see. Please see the How to Order page at Comicology's site if you're not able to find a copy of the magazine at your local comic store. According to the site, "single issues of COMICOLOGY are $5.95 each in the States, $7.00 each if they're going to Canada, and $9.00 each if they're going elsewhere."

Gookie