EDITORAL #1
(by Laura Hysert, aka "Phoenix")
Laura is still on hiatus - here's hoping she returns soon! *BEGS* COME BACK LAURA!!!
___________________________
EDITORIAL #2
(by Michael
Mandeville)
batboym@wtp.net
Hello everybody,
As always, I don't mean for this editorial to offend anyone (even though I probably will).
For the past few days I've been watching my tapes of the old Batman 60's series (the one with Adam West and Burt Ward in tights), and I started looking at the changes of Batman over the years (from the Batman 60's series to BTAS in the 90's). So in this editorial I'll be reviewing the changes of Batman villains and other characters. The changes will range in the four mainstream movies, the "animated" universe, and the 60's series.
The villain gallery:
THE JOKER - Batman's most hated enemy. Probably the most famous of all villains. Look's like a clown.
BATMAN (TV) (1966-1968): The Joker is a nameless villain who loves pranks. He takes on the guise of a clown and becomes the most famous nameless person in the Batman chronicles. Played by the now-deceased Cesar Romero.
BATMAN (1989): Jack Napier is a criminal that turns bad when he is knocked into a vat of acid (we all know this story), he becomes The Joker. Dies at the end. Played by Jack Nicholson.
BTAS (1992-present): The Joker is a man going under a variety of aliases. He goes bad after he is knocked into a vat of acids by Batman. Voiced by Mark Hamill (who else?).
BATMAN BEYOND (1999): Fate unknown. Popular opinion believes Batman killed him.
BOOKWORM - A genius. Loves books and all his cromies are related to books.
BATAMN (TV) (1966-1968): A genius. Loves books and all his crimes relate to books. Played by the same man who later voiced the Mad Hatter in Batman the animated series, the late Roddy McDowall (Rest In Peace)
THE MAD HATTER - A villain who's either obsessed with hats and "Alice In Wonderland"
BATMAN (TV) (1966-1968): Jervis Tetch... Obsessed with hats.
BTAS (1992-present): Jervis Tetch... Obsessed with Alice in Wonderland
MR. FREEZE - A cool customer
BATAMN (TV) (1966-1968): Played by three different actors in three different episodes (Wild!). Has no point to his crimes, but he is usually looking for a cool bride.
BTAS (1992-present): Avenging and trying to cure his wife, Nora.
BATMAN & ROBIN (1997): Dr. Victor Fries. the popularity of this villain jumps sky high, almost to the popularity of the Joker. Trying to find a cure for his wife, Nora Fries. Likes to laugh, say corny one-liners, and says "yes" a lot.
BATMAN & MR. FREEZE: SUB-ZERO (1998): Nora is cured; later marries her doctor and leaves Gotham for good.
BATMAN BEYOND (1999): Tries to become normal again, but hardly possible. Mr. Freeze meets his end in Batman Beyond 'Meltdown'. He dies trying to help Batman against the likes of Blight.
CATWOMAN - Meow. A cat burglar.
BATMAN (TV) (1966-1968): Uses three of her nine lives. Loves Batman. Played by three actresses.
BATMAN RETURNS (1992): Uses more of her lives. Loves Bruce Wayne.
BTAS (1992-present): Uses the rest of her lives. Loves Batman.
BATMAN BEYOND (1999): On her last life...as an old lady.
THE PENGUIN - Short, long nosed, loves birds, loves crime.
BATMAN (TV) (1966-1968): Obsessed with crime and birds. Played by the late Burgess Meredith.
BATMAN RETURNS (1992): One of his own, a Penguin. Dies at the end. Maybe.
BTAS (1992-present): Oswald Cobblepot. Still short and long nosed. Later runs a nightclub and cleaned up his act.
TWO-FACE - Now runs this newsletter
BATMAN (TV) (1966-1968): Was GONNA be on the series but wasn't because they thought the make-up required would be too expensive, unless they wanted Harv to look "campy".
BATMAN (1989): Both sides of Harvey Dent are black.
BTAS (1992-present): Harvey Dent becomes Two-Face, and later develops a personality known as "The Judge". Responsible for the creation of Robin (Tim Drake) and Batgirl.
BATMAN FOREVER (1995): Harvey Dent is back, and he's white, and he's Two-Face... And he's played by a certain Man In Black. He dies. Maybe.
BATMAN BEYOND (1999): Apparently has cleaned up his act, got the surgery he needed, and become a major Hollywood star.
That's all for now.
Thanks to everybody who actually reads this article,
To all MSTies worldwide (including myself)
And especially to the writers of the first amendment,
Batboy [Beyond]
batboym@wtp.net
batboybeyond@hotmail.com
___________________________
MONTHLY UPDATE FROM THE UK
(by Brian Davis)
Ever since we started BATMAN: THE ANIMATED NEWSLETTER over a year ago, most of our columns have focused on events that happen in North America. This is understandable, since most of the movies, comics, episodes, and merchandise are first brought out here; however, there is a very large fan-following outside of North America, and we felt that it'd be a good idea to give these parts of the world some coverage. So, that's how this column was born. Brian Davis, webmaster of BRIAN'S BATMAN SITE (which has gone under a major overhaul recently) has joined our newsletter to provide a monthly column, featuring Bat-events from the UK. So, let's get on with the show! And enjoy!
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE POND - AUGUST 1999 ......
The months of July and August are a funny old time in the UK. Wimbledon has just finsihed and you know it's supposed to be summer. The sun comes out, it's really hot, you get sunburned. Walk inside for a cup of tea, go out again and it's raining from the heavens.
The UK's weather is a bit like it's television appearances of Batman and Superman. One minute you think it's going to be on. You see Batman listed in the TV Times, tune in drooling and you realize they're playing 'Fire From Olympus' again. The same with Superman. How many times must Season 1 of Superman be shown on ITV?? The real problem with ITV is money. They obviously feel uneasy about buying new episodes of Batman and Superman. I mean, why should they care. The problem is that they don't actually realize that the new Batman/Superman episodes would be ratings winners.
In Ireland, Superman (Season 2) is being shown for a second running at a peak time of 5:30 pm!! I wonder who has their priorities straight. In Ireland some Batman episodes ("Over the Edge", "The Ultimate Thrill", "Critters", "Animal Act") were even aired BEFORE the Kids WB in the USA!! After nearly 3 years ITV remain blind to the fact that Batman/Superman are good shows. So, will we ever see the new Batman/Superman Advs ? The chances are getting better, believe it or not; word is that Batman Beyond is due to air as part of a new Saturday morning show in September. If this is sucessful it may urge ITV to seek out the previous Batman episodes. I don't know how we are supposed to understand Batman Beyond without having prior knowledge of
TNBA. So what if they still don't care ? Well, there are two more chances after that .... firstly, video. It would short of a miracle if WB UK brought more Batman episodes out on tape -but remember, it has happened before. We have some videos that were never released in the USA. This meant that the tapes were selling and selling good but still the chances of TNBA on video are slim.
So what is our final option? The final option is light at the end of the tunnel, a glittering star in the Dark Knight's sky. It's name - Cartoon Network Europe. The satellite/cable channel that knows how to program. They jumped at the chance to buy up the rights for the first 50-odd episodes of Batman, and most recently the first season of Superman. They actually use phrases like 'animation' and 'episodes' on their teletext rather than 'cartoon' and 'kiddies show'. My predictions are that they will buy all Batman episodes as soon as they are permitted to do so. But there is one problem: time. Cartoon Network seem to take a while getting new waves of episodes, even though they eventually do. I guess, that we'll see Superman Season 2 on Cartoon Network before we see TNBA but I hope I'm wrong.
So the final conclusion is, all we can do is wait. Wait and watch TNBA figures upon figures released in the UK and even TNBA Easter Eggs but still no new episodes to accompany them. The forecast is gloomy, but hopefully Batman Beyond will be a ray of light to the fat-cats at ITV. Until then my friends, find a good TV/VCR that plays both UK and Amercian video tapes and find a mate in the USA with Kids WB !!
Until next month...keep watching ( whatever you can watch !!! )
- Brian
__________________________
BATMAN: THE ANIMATED TRIVIA
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
This is one of my favourite sections, where I get to boggle the minds of all our readers! *EVIL LAUGH* This trivia is all animated-related in some form, and can deal with ANY aspect of the show or comics based on the show. Remember, answer the questions WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE ANIMATED CONTINUITY. Now have fun - let's see how well you do! Answers are provided below.
New quiz! I'll list 5 characters here. Now, what you have to do is give me the title of the episode in which they first appeared, according to original air date. Enjoy!
156. Oswald Cobblepot
157. Harvey Dent
158. Barbara Gordon
159. Jack Napier
160. Dick Grayon
____________________________
ANSWERS TO THE TRIVIA
Answer to #156: I've Got Batman In My Basement
Answer to #157: On Leather Wings
Answer to #158: Heart of Steel (Pt. 1)
Answer to #159: Joker's Favour
Answer to #160: Fear of Victory
Bonus question: That quote at the bottom of the "Why We Love BTAS So Much" column came from the BTAS episode, "Trial".
___________________________
LITTLE FACTS
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
Here is a section that just points out various little facts that we have noticed while watching BTAS and STAS countless times. If you have anything to contribute, feel free to do so! Enjoy!
CONBTRIBUTED BY STAFF:
1. Paul Dini makes another appearance on BTAS, this time in the episode "Trial". Right after Batman is found guilty, Harley takes Van Dorne down the corridorr; she looks to the side to slyly smile at a Dini look-alike. Earlier in the episode there is a shot that shows Mistah Dini and two other guys together - that are also probably BTAS producers/writers/crew, but I don't know who they are.
CONTRIBUTED BY OTHERS:
(by "Lady Wayne")
2. Watch the scene near the beginning of "Mudslide" where Stella retrieves Clayface's body from the alley; when the car drives up, the back doors don't have handles. When the car drives away, it DOES have handles. Weird, ain't it? (Ain't I? :-)
___________________________
BATMAN: THE ANIMATED FIGURES
(by Kevin Smith)
Oh_Ho77@hotmail.com
Mr. Smith was unable to submit an article for this issue of BTAN. But fear not, he will return shortly!
___________________________
COMIC REVIEWS
(by Aaron Maurer)
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES
ISSUE: "Captive Audience" (#16)
WRITTEN BY: Scott Peterson
PENCILED BY: Criag Rousseau
INKED BY: Terry Beatty
ISSUED: July 7, 1999 (Cover date is September)
RATING: ***.5 (out of 5)
"And thank you for being so cooperative. Most people take at least
30 seconds to hypnotize."
--Alfred to his would-be kidnappers
SUMMARY: Batgirl, Nightwing, and Robin are busy beating a bunch of thugs (no explanation is ever given, but endless amounts of bad guys keep coming at them) while Batman tells them that Alfred has been kidnapped. While they continually fight more thugs, Alfred outwits his
kidnappers so that when the Bat-team does arrive he's already escaped.
COMMENTS: The art in this issue was great. Since there was no story, every panel is huge. The penciller, inker, and colorist all get to shine.
CRITICISMS: What was the point of this issue? A much simpler rehash of "The Lion and the Unicorn," that has no importance whatsoever. Anyone who has seen that episode already knows that "Alfred was pretty formidable in his day," so I didn't find anything in this issue new or
noteworthy. However, I did like the final page which was a good end(?) to the story(?).
BOTTOM LINE: A good exercise in fast-paced, art-based storytelling that leaves anyone looking for a plot left in the dark.
___________________________
COMIC SCHEDULES & COVERING THE BASICS
This section gives a little bit more indepth look into each monthly issue of BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES and SUPERMAN ADVENTURES. Below each comic listing is a link to the cover of that comic. TALK ABOUT SERVICE!
The price 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".)
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #17
August 4th
Batman finds himself in the middle of a family matter when a mob leader tries to kidnap the young son of immigrants - a boy the leader claims is his son. What if the evidence proves this to be true? Can even a super-hero change a person's nature?
Cover:
http://www.dccomics.com/directcurrents/comics/covers/download/dbmga17.jpg
NEXT MONTH:
Synopsis: Man-Bat is back. Kirk Langstrom's wife's disappearance coincides with attacks by Man-Bat on numerous corporate labs. What's the connection, and how can Batman stop the creature without one of them getting killed?
Cover:
http://www.toonzone.net/comics/covers/bga/bga18.jpg
BATMAN BEYOND #1 (ongoing)
Uhhh...don't know much about this...it'll be out in September, though.
FOLLOWING MONTH: Issue #2. Starring Inque! Comes out in October.
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #36
August 11th
This whole issue looks like a job for Superman - bank robberies, plane hijackings, people trapped in mine shafts, and oh yeah, a kid's missing dog. Can even the Man of Steel cover all these bases, or will he have to choose one emergency over the other?
Cover:
http://www.dccomics.com/directcurrents/comics/covers/download/dsma36.jpg
NEXT MONTH:
Synopsis: Unavailable
Cover: Unavailable
____________________________
