ANIMATED NEWS AND RUMORS
TV SCHEDULE
There's a lot of confusion over what the schedule for KidsWB is on the weekend of Jan
16/17. Well, here it is!
8am)BATMAN/SUPERMAN (ALL NEW BTAS AND STAS)
9am)MIB (ALL NEW)
9:30am)BATMAN BEYOND (60 mins series premiere on Kids'WB!)
-And starting January 23rd here is the regular scheduled line up of the HEAVY DUTY
DUBBAS
8am)BATMAN/SUPERMAN (60 mins)
9am)MIB
9:30am)BATMAN BEYOND (30 mins)
All those times are in Central, for the WB affiliate, WGN (which most viewers recieve).
If there is any confusion, go to TOONZONE to figure out what applies to you.
MOVIES
-Also it looks like BATMAN:THE ANIMATED MOVIE #3 is a definite
YES!(woohoo!) - Boyd Kirkland says that there are no potential plot
outlines available just yet.
-"Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" will likely air on Kids WB sometime this
season - but this is mere speculation.
"CURRENT" ANIMATED SERIES'
- Butch Lukic was revealed to be the director of "Mad Love" in the
recently-released
"Batman: Animated". Preview commercials of this episode have aired, and the
animation looks like some of Dong Yang's best work. There is still no definite word on
whether this is a one or two parter.
- There is some rumor of a "Lost Years" episode featuring how the Scarecrow's
new design came about, to air sometime after "Mad Love" and "Rise of the
Demon".
- An internet interview with Kevin Conroy is approaching. Keep your eyes and ears
peeled!
-Here are some links from Mania.com and Comic Book Continuum regarding Jan. 16th
Batman/Superman special episodes: Batman's 'MAD LOVE' and Superman's 'ABSOLUTE POWER':
http://detnews.com/metro/hobbies/comix/stories/9812/29/index.htm#1
http://detnews.com/metro/hobbies/comix/stories/9901/05/index.htm#1
http://www.mania.com/BUZZ/index.asp?x_date=1/4/99
- Be sure to check out The Bruce Timm Artwork Archive's news section for pics of Green
Lantern from this season's 'IN BRIGHTEST LIGHT' Superman episode.
http://www.aiusa.com/chip/timm/news/news.htm
BATMAN BEYOND
-A sneak peek of this series will be on the WB and affiliates on Jan. 10th, at 7 PM
(EST). Check your local listings for details. The series officially kicks off on Jan.
16/17.
- The two-parter pilot episode, "Rebirth", is written by Paul Dini, Stan
Berkowitz, and Alan Burnett. Directed by Curt Geda.
- Mr. Freeze is now definately set to appear on the series. Other rumors are Ra's Al
Ghul (nearly definite), and Clock King, Killer Croc, and Man-Bat (not too likely). The
Joker is evident in the street gang "The Jokerz", and chances are that Harley
will be in there too. Dini himself has definately said that the Joker, Riddler, and
Two-Face will NOT appear at all in the series, for they're long dead.
- Curious about Batman Beyond? Can't wait until Tonight at 7pm (ET) to
check it out? Well the following links from Cinescape Online, Batman:
Forever Knight, and 4 Color Review have reviews, pics, and clips from tonight's main
event:
http://www.cinescape.com (under Dec. 29th or
30th I believe)
http://www.4colorreview.simplenet.com
http://batman.techv.net/News/index.shtml#beyondReview
-COMIC BOOK CONTINUUM has a huge article on BATMAN BEYOND, and if you wanna prepare
yourself for tonight's premiere then check out the side menu after following this link:
http://www.detnews.com/comicbooks
-It has been posted on the BATMAN BEYOND message board poster 'Derek'
( http://www.insidetheweb.com/mbs.cgi/mb163115
) that SPELLBINDER may be a villian in BATMAN BEYOND. Read the post!
-There will be a BATMAN BEYOND chat session after the show's Sunday premiere. This
means basically anytime after 8pm (ET). The URL is:
http://pluto.beseen.com/chat/rooms/w/10852
Please check it out!
COMICS/BOOKS
Re: NO MAN'S LAND
- Batman is missing for the first three months. Nightwing stays in Bludhaven,
accompanied by Superman. Robin leaves town with his father. The new Batgirl appears
immediately. Gordon,
Bullock, Montoya, and Oracle stay. Azrael also becomes a more intricate part of the
team. Huntress is also stickin' around. Alfred most likely stays, too. The JLA won't
appear, and we're going to see why. As for Spoiler...hmmm?
- Villains aplenty. Catwoman abandons Gotham for New York, and the Riddler leaves, only
to be persued by Robin and the Flash. The Ventriloquist rules a large chunk of Gotham with
an iron fist. Mr. Freeze seizes control of the power plant just to stay alive. The
Scarecrow has a field day tormenting Huntress in the religious sector of town. Bane tries
to gain control of the city - again. Poison Ivy seeks refuge in the "Central
Park" in Gotham. Penguin seems to have the only access to points of the world OUTSIDE
of Gotham, and basically rules the city. Two-Face has seized control of the political and
financial districts of town. The Joker doesn't appear until close to the end, along with
the new, improved Harley Quinn - whom will appear in civilian form mid-way through the
crossover. The Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, Mr. Zsasz, and various other "lesser"
villains have their own chunks of Gotham to rule as well.
Other villain heavyweights like Firefly and Ra's Al Ghul will have roles as well, most
likely, but no details have been given for them yet.
- Brian Cruz has provided us with this link pertaining to a preview of the epic NO
MAN'S LAND storyline: http://www.mania.com/newsarama/newsarama010199.html
Re: ANIMATED COMICS
- It looks like Kelly Puckett and Scott Peterson, writer and editor of "Batman
Adventures" (1992-1995) well at least write two issues of "Batman: Gotham
Adventures" after Ty Templeton's departure following .
- Rumor has it that if the "Batman Beyond" series and comic series are
popular enough, it will become a continuing series, instead of just a six-issue
mini-series as currently planned. The same happened with "The Batman Adventures"
many moons ago.
- Joe Staton has been pegged as the artist for the BATMAN BEYOND comic series, while
Terry Beatty is inker and Hilary J. Bader is writer.
- All five "Lost Years" comics will be sold together in "The Lost
Years" Tradepaperback this month.
- Another current comic character will be making an appearance in BATMAN BEYOND! In
Issue #4 of the comic series based on the TV show, Jason Blood/Etrigan will appear. Cool
huh?
-Dini & Timm tell a wee bit about the upcoming Harley & Ivy mini-series:
"Three issues of fun...and showers," said Dini.
"There's a shower scene in every issue..." Timm said, "Tell your
friends."
TOYS
-Previews of the first wave of BATMAN BEYOND toys have been released! Figures included
are:
FUTURE KNIGHT BATMAN
LAZER BATMAN
COVERT BATMAN
LIGHTNING STORM BATMAN
MANTA RACER BATMAN
JOKERZ LEADER
Wow...typical Kenner. Five versions of Batman and only one villian to take them on.
Hopefully we'll be seeing BLIGHT, more JOKERZs, and maybe BRUCE WAYNE and villian toys
besides the usual variants.(thanx Chip!)
-As for the regular animated line, a wave featuring the new-style Mr. Freeze and three
Batman variants is due sometime in 1999 - some have said this "MISSION MASTERS"
assortment has been sighted in stores right now! I have seen pics of the Mr. Freeze figure
and it looks really good, just like his original figure - it even has the detachable head
and spider legs!
- Be sure to check out The Bruce Timm Artwork Archive's news section for a pic of one
of the new action figures from the Batman Beyond series.
http://www.aiusa.com/chip/timm/news/news.htm
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BATMAN: THE ANIMATED FIGURES
(by Kevin Smith)
"TWO QUESTIONS ABOUT TWO BIRDS AND A BAT"
Since Mr. Smith was unable to provide a toy review for this newsletter, we have dug up
his earliest toy review from BTAN #03, discussing the first wave of "animated"
Bat-figures. Enjoy!
Ok, so if you are like me, you love anything having to do with BTAS! And if you are
even more like me, you love to collect the action figures based on the show. That is what
this article is on, my rantings and opinions on the relevant figures made in the
"animated" style. I'm not going to deal with all of those asinine Batman and
Robin repaints and variations like Triwing Batman, who looks like a mutant satellite dish.
Who bought those P.O.S. anyway? Also, I'll be covering them in the order that I acquired
them, which is in the order in which they were released, more or less. Any corrections to
the timeline of the waves are welcomed.
First up in Wave One, we have the Penguin, which is the hardest-to-find BTAS figure
right now. The figure, I thought, was great. I liked the cloth coat, and the fingers were
correct too. It looked more like the Penguin from "Batman returns" than the
Super Powers rehash Penguin that they released under that line. My only gripe was his
Hypno-Spin Umbrella Launcher. I mean, I can understand making something kewl for the kids,
but I would have appreciated a closed umbrella, with maybe a blade that came out at the
end in addition to the Hypno-Spin crap. The card art was ok. I liked the shadowing on the
Penguin, how his hand creates a shadow on his body, and the Gotham City art was great.
The next addition to my collection was Two-Face. The sculpt of this figure was
beautiful, however, this is another case where the pictured prototype on the package was
better than what was in the package. Two-Face's white side ended up being a very
light cyan colour, which was odd, but acceptable. The painting on the head, however, was
excellent. The hair was white, the skin was the right color, and it was even detailed with
pink blisters against the sea-green/blue skin. He came with a little coin on a chain
around his neck. While I would have preferred it to have been scarred or something (It was
completely plain) I appreciated the change from the huge life size coin version on Toy
Biz's Two-Face. His Firing Roulette Wheel Gun was another stupid weapon for the kiddies,
but this one was even dumber than the Penguin's. The card art for his figure was one of
the worst ever. Not only did it suck, but it swallowed too.
Next is Robin. Once again, Kenner lifts its lazy-ass hand, only to release a
half-hearted effort. The only thing animated about this figure is the head, and then the
hair isn't quite right. The body of this figure is a repainted Robin's body from Kenner's
"Batman Returns" line. (How did Robin get into the "Returns" line
anyhow???) His accompanying Turbo-Glider and Drop Missiles are kind of kewl, though only
for the fact that it's intended for the Returns figure, as evidenced by the comic style
Robin insignia engraven on the armor attached to the glider. They tried to cover this up
with an animated Robin symbol on the hang glider. Yeah. Nice try. The card was mediocre.
The shadowing was nice, but Robin's face looks like a teenage Frankenstein's monster with
a grin.
The Riddler with Question Mark Launcher, is still one my favorites. Disregarding
the stupid question mark thing, which was reissued with a "Batman Forever"
Riddler, this was one of the better of the first wave. He came with the same cane that he
had in the show, and the pose was excellent. I have mine displayed with him jauntily
holding his cane and his other hand with the finger pointed up, as a perfect homage to
Frank Gorshin saying "Riddle me this, Batman!" The card art was ok, but I would
have preferred the absence of the stupid Question Mark Launcher.
Combat Belt Batman with Firing Grappling hook and Missile. He was a plain Batman - a
great figure with a cloth cape. He came with weapon accessories that hooked onto his big
ol' belt, like handcuffs, and a big iron think to fire out of the grappling hook gun. The
only complaint I have is that the inside of his cape isn't blue, and his cowl doesn't have
the blue highlights. The pose is classic. His head is ever so slightly tilted upwards
giving him a noble air. The card art was good too.
Also released with this wave was the forgettable Turbojet Batman that came with this
jetpack that had a helmet that looked like a clear Rocketeer helmet.
So, what's in the next issue? Hmmm...we'll keep ya posted!
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COMIC REVIEWS
(by Aaron Maurer)
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #9
ISSUE: "A League of His Own"
WRITTEN BY: Ty Templeton
PENCILED BY: Rick Burchett
INKED BY: Terry Beatty
ISSUED: November 1998 (Cover date is February)
RATING: **1/2 (out of 5)
"Just an old man and some houseboys? Well, that's a relief. This should be a walk
in the park."
-Batgirl underestimating the headquarters of the League of Assassins
SUMMARY: Bruce Wayne and Barbara Gordon are in Tibet seeking out the base of the League
of Assassins, when their guides turn on them; they put up a fight and the guides run away.
As they are climbing, Batgirl reveals that she has a gun with her, and she won't get rid
of it despite Batman's orders. They find the HQ and glide over to it on zip-lines. The
sensei knows they're there and sends minions after them, which Batman and Batgirl quickly
defeat. However, the sensei starts beating the tar out of Batman, so Batgirl pulls out her
gun. The sensei knows she won't use it, and he talks her down before swiping it from her
hands. He throws it out a window and the fight resumes until it is broken up by Ra's Al
Ghul and Talia. Ra's tells the sensei to do as Bats says, and he needs the sensei to go to
jail for previous crimes (see earlier issues in this series). Seeing he has no way out,
the old man quietly jumps out the window. Ra's and Talia escape without pursuit, only
after Ra's has told Batgirl that she won't survive their next meeting.
COMMENTS: Personally, I haven't liked the whole League of Assassins plot that has been
carried through in this series, and this issue didn't help much. The opening scene had
nothing to do with anything in the story and was utterly pointless: a fight scene for the
sake of having a fight scene. I thought that the whole ending was rather anti-climatic,
and Ra's Al Ghul has no real purpose in the story. I did, however, like the subplot about
Batgirl's gun and then Ra's' threat to her. I'm glad that we're getting back to some more
"normal" villains (and Gotham) for next month's Harley & Joker tale.
CRITICISMS: Read above...
BOTTOM LINE: A weak ending to a weak storyline; try this month's Superman Adventures
instead.
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