Batman: The Animated Newsletter
Week of April 26 – May 1/2, 1999
Volume 2,
Rated: PG for some “low-key coarse language and occasional griping”THIS WEEK’S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: “WE HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN IN THE FUTURE, TY!”
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INTRODUCTION
Welcome to another our landmark 25th issue of “Batman: The Animated Newsletter”. Enjoy!
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WOOOHOOOO!
Yep! Another “Woohoo” article. Why? We were once again mentioned in Cinescape Online! Here’s a link to the article, which is just a re-hash of our interview with Boyd Kirkland in , regarding the future animated Batman movies. It’s listed under Monday, April 12, at 4:15 pm.
http://www.cinescape.com/insider/990412u.shtml
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SPECIAL IN THIS ISSUE
A multitude of new things. The entire issue has been dedicated to GOTHAM ADVENTURES writer/cover artist TY TEMPLETON (and we didn’t even tell him! SURPRISE!) Therefore, there will be a special article about his work, in which the editors list what they consider to be his top five Bat-stories ever written.
We also have a special guest writer, Derek Matthew Fridolfs, who has supplied us with many tidbits of info he learned whilst at the WONDERCON comics convention a couple weeks back.
So sit back and enjoy! (Didn’t I say that just a couple paragraphs above?)
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NEW EPISODE(S)
This section will just basically give an insight into what the new episodes are about and hopefully a synopsis of the episode. This section will feature both new Superman and new Batman episodes.
THE LOSS OF THE WB ON WGN: Beginning this fall, the WB will no longer be carried on WGN-TV’s national feed to avoid conflicts with other WB affiliates. WGN-TV will continue carrying the prime time WB in the Chicago area. If you’re outside the Chicago area and know of no other way to pick up the WB, you may call them at (818)977-5000 for more information. This is taken from the info section of the WGN website, http://www.wgn.com . Thank you for Peter Destructo for pointing this out.
KidsWB will soon be shown on a new channel called “WeB” – I know little about this – but if you can get that channel, I’m pretty sure the WB shows would be on.
‘SPELLBOUND’
Batman Beyond #09
Air date: May 1, 1999
Terry McGinnis takes on the villain Spellbinder. (He’s the one with the big eye-and-hand-thing in the BATMAN BEYOND intro, by the way.)
‘A FISH STORY’
Superman #54
Air date: May 8, 1999
When marine life in Metropolis threaten the citizens, Lois Lane discovers it is because Lex Luthor has taken Aquaman as a prisoner.
‘DISAPPEARING INQUE’
Batman Beyond #12
Air date: May 8, 1999
Inque returns!
‘THE DEMON REBORN’
Superman #??
Air date: ??
BATMAN’S FINAL CURRENT-DAY ANIMATED APPEARANCE! This episode features Batman and Superman teaming up to take down Ra’s Al Ghul, who has plans to send the world back to its natural, pre-human state. WOOHOO! THE BAT IS BACK! Airs in May.
‘LEGACY (Pt. 1 & 2)’
Superman #??
Air date: ??
This two-parter features the final showdown between Superman and Darksied in which he strips Superman of his memory and adopts him as a son in an effort to take over Earth. Now it seems this won’t air until September! Argh!
‘UNITY’
Superman #??
Air date: ??
Supergirl teams up with Superman to save the Kents and the rest of Smallville from an alien threat. It seems this won’t air until September, as well.
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WB ANIMATION SCHEDULES:
(courtesy of Brian Cruz and/or the official BTAS/STAS site)
This section of the newsletter highlights the schedule and times that WB airs The New Batman/Superman Adventures. For most affiliates it airs Monday – Friday at 4pm (ET) and Saturdays beginning at 8am (ET). WGN airs Batman/Superman Monday – Friday at 10am (ET) and Sundays beginning at 8am (ET). There’s a chance that your local WB channel airs it at a differant time. To find out when, we recommend you follow this URL (provided by Toonzone): http://www.toonzone.net/brian/stations/index.html
PS – Remember that “Batman Beyond” airs 30 minutes AFTER “Batman/Superman” is over, because “Men In Black” has been squeezed in between.
Mon 4-26-99: Superman #15 Ghost in the Machine
Batman #98 Mean Seasons
Tue 4-27-99: Batman #33 The Laughing Fish
Superman #19 Target
Wed 4-28-99: Superman #23 Double Dose
Batman #75 Bane
Thu 4-29-99: Batman #76 Baby-Doll
Batman #69 Avatar
Fri 4-30-99: Superman #32 The Late Mr. Kent
Batman #80 Second Chance
Sat 5-1-99: Batman #96 The Ultimate Thrill
Superman #46 Absolute Power
B-BEYOND #?? Spellbound ——–NEW!!!!
Note: All episodes #86 and onward of BATMAN are considered THE NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES while the original 85 are considered BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (BTAS) episodes.
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CARTOON NETWORK WB ANIMATION SCHEDULE:
“Yabba Dabba Doom”
(courtesy of Brian Cruz)
THE CARTOON NETWORK was able to get the exclusive rights to 52 episodes of the classic BTAS, as well as both animated movies. BTAS airs Monday-Friday at 6pm (ET) and then repeated again at midnight. If our schedule listings is not complete or up to date then please go to TOONZONE for the complete episode schedule at:
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/schedules/batman-cn.html
NOTE #1: BATMAN & MR. FREEZE: SUB-ZERO will be airing again on CARTOON NETWORK on May 22nd at 8pm (ET) as apart of their CARTOON THEATRE
NOTE #2: CARTOON NETWORK will be having a BATMAN ‘SUPER-CHUNK’ on May 29th. The 3 hour BATMAN Super-Chunk will be from 4pm-7pm (ET). The ‘SUPER-CHUCK’ means that we’ll have three hours worth of BATMAN episodes.
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EPISODE REVIEW: (SPOILERS!)
(by Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton)
All of Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton’s reviews of the new-style BTAS episodes and BATMAN BEYOND can be found via these links, which link to “Two-Face’s Tower of Tranquility and Terror”:
MAIN PAGE: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/TimTwoFace/index.html
BTAS PAGE: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/TimTwoFaceText/bats.html
OLD WOUNDS
Written by: Rich Fogel
Directed by: Curt Geda
Animation by: Dong Yang
Original air date: October 3, 1998
My rating: ***1/2
This episode WAS SUPPOSED to air this past weekend – that’s my only reason behind choosing to review it for this issue.
Personally, I expected much more from this episode, but I am still quite satisfied with the result. Taken directly from Hilary J. Bader’s “Lost Years” comic arc, just as “Sins of the Father” was, this episode focuses on how Dick Grayson left the Bat-team, and became Nightwing. Sadly, we only get to see why he left Batman, and none of Dick’s training and encounters with Two-Face and Ra’s Al Ghul were even referred to.
Now, on with the show. While scowering the city for crime, Robin asks Nightwing about why he changed – he seems a lot darker than he did in the past. Robin even says that Nightwing resembles Batman – and this comment causes Nightwing to blow up in his face, claiming that there’s a world of difference between them. As the discussion unfolds, we start to learn what forced Dick to part ways from Batman, told in flashback.
-First, Bruce misses Dick’s graduation from Gotham State University.
-Second, Batman forces Dick to break off a date with Barbara so he can help him out that same evening.
-Third, he watches in fear as Batman pounds the crap out of a thug in front of his family, which he completely disagrees with.
-Fourth, he’s just peeved that Bruce manipulated Barbara to cough up her secret identity to satisfy himself.
-Fifth, and most important, he just doesn’t want to be bossed around by Batman any more – he’s old enough to take care of himself.
Now, I felt that the growing animosity that Dick felt towards Bruce was shown very well, especially since these feelings were never shown in any “old style” episodes, apart from “Robin’s Reckoning”. Seeing him in the old red-and-green Robin suit was a nice touch, too.
Dick arrives at Barbara’s apartment in the middle of the night, and tells her that something is wrong, but can’t tell her – then he leaves, saying that coming to her was a stupid idea in the first place; Barbara is worried, and asks Bruce what is going on between the two of them. Reluctantly, Bruce shows Barbara the Batcave, revealing his and Dick’s secret to her.
Now, this is the only part of the episode I found to be slightly poor. Yes, I liked Alfred admitting to be Batman before Bruce had the chance to get a word in – that was cute. I did not like how Bruce changed his mind so easily about revealing the Batcave to Barbara, though. True, he knew her identity, which made it logical (since she is part of the “Bat-team”), but his brief explanation of how he “makes it his business to know” was weak. Going by that logic, he should’ve made it his business to figure out who the Phantasm was ages ago, but he didn’t. He should’ve made it his business to solve crimes before they were committed in the past, but he didn’t. I know I’m exaggerating here, but the whole “don’t ask me how, I just did” excuse was weak.
While in the Batcave, the Joker makes a broadcast, saying that he has stolen a device which destroys all radar signals in the Gotham area, which would inevitably cause an infinite amount of air crashes due to planes flying off course. Batman and the Batgirl, in their first official pairing since their first meeting in “Shadow of the Bat (Pt. 2)”, go off to stop the Joker. Dick then arrives at Wayne Manor, and sees that Bruce, Barbara, and the Batmobile are missing, puts two and two together, and…
Atop the highest skyscraper in Gotham, Batman and Batgirl battle the Joker and his thugs, Rocko and Henshaw (which have finally returned, also seen in episodes “Joker’s Favor”). Dialogue is exchanged, a couple sick jokes, a lot of action, and in the end, Joker tosses Batgirl off the top of the building – is it “Over the Edge” all over again?
Robin shows up just in the nick of time and catches Batgirl, and easily helps Batman defeat the Joker. I didn’t really mind Joker’s quick defeat in this episode, simply because he was only a background character this time around – much unlike Two-Face in “Sins of the Father”, who sadly recieved only “background” status as well. This Joker appearance has yet to live up to his best (seen in “World’s Finest”, “Mad Love” and many of the old-style episodes), but is a great improvement over his the rest of his “new style” appearances. Of course, his plot was only background and wasn’t very grande, but it didn’t need to be; his dialogue had improved, though. And the best part of it all was this:
NO HARLEY!!!!
I love the character a lot, but if she was in this episode, it would’ve been too distracting from the central plot. Anyhow, after Mistah J is hauled away, Robin blows up in Batman’s face, infuriated that he allegedly manipulated Batgirl to help him out, and that Batgirl agreed to it. He actually didn’t give any whiney speeches here about wanted to go solo (a la Chris O’Donnell in “Batman & Robin”); in fact, he just slams Batman in the jaw with his fist and takes off. I love watching Batman’s reaction to this…he doesn’t even try to stop him…bravo!
The story wraps up with Nightwing realizing that Batman isn’t as bad as he made him out to be earlier, but still feeling that it was time for him to move on. The episode closes with Nightwing and Robin sailing off into the sky with the Batsignal in the background.
Classic premise, and a definite must-see, whether you know how Dick split from Bruce or not. Dong Yang’s animation is suprisingly good for this episode, and I’m happy that the Joker is back to his twisted self. If you like Nightwing, especially, this episode is a must-see.______________________________
SPECIAL IN THIS ISSUE #1:
TRIBUTE TO TY TEMPLETON
(by Dick Grayson and Tim “Two-Face” Leighton)
Soonafter the delivery of this issue, Ty Templeton will be leaving the crew of “Batman: Gotham Adventures”, to pursue other interests for the time being. His last contribution to the Bat-mythos, of “Gotham Adventures”, will be available for purchase on May 5.
We here at the newsletter have loved his work – he has written virtually every issue of “Batman & Robin Adventures” and “Gotham Adventures” thus far – ever since 1995! We will all sorely miss him and the wonderful stories (and cover art) that he presented to the world. Let’s all give him a warm fare-well.
As part of our tribute to Ty, we’ve decided to list off our five favorite Ty Templteton
Batman stories. This includes his pencil work in BATMAN ADVENTURES, and all the stories he has done for BATMAN ADVENTURES, BATMAN & ROBIN ADVENTURES and of course BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES. Well Ty, this is for you! We’ll miss you!
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TIM “TWO-FACE” LEIGHTON’s picks
#5
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #7. I admit that I did NOT like Dagger Dixon in his first appearance back in B&RA#14. So why do I like this comic? His tie to Tim Drake is perfect; Dixon isn’t the villain here, but a guy trying to right the wrongs he’s made in the past by trying to protect Tim Drake (whom he recognizes as Robin) from the Penguin. Great story, filled with lots of action AND character development for Dixon and Drake.
#4
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #10. Harley Quinn returns! This time, she’s gone straight and written a book; the Joker, still in Arkham, believes it’s a tell-all book about HIM! Angered, He breaks out (much to Poison Ivy’s dismay) and hunts Harley down with plans to kill her. The only thing that stands in his way are Nightwing and Robin. Why is this such a good issue? Finally someone writes not only a decent Harley story, but a great one – a very character-driven story, in which she realizes that she DOESN’T love the Joker any more. AND there’s a “sequel” to it, coming up shortly!
#3
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #11. Ty has accomplished what most of the animated writers thought was never possible – he’s written a RIDDLER STORY! A great issue too, where Ed finally admits that he just might be crazy…a very sad ending, and you actually start to feel sorry for the guy.
#2
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #2. At last, Two-Face’s abusive father, Lester Dent (what a perfectly sleazy name) is introduced to the animated universe! We learn more about Harvey’s past, the origin of his scarred coin, and more. A very emotional issue for all characters concerned.
#1
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #1. “I’ve been letting you win all these years,” says the Joker to Batman and his farm-team in the Batcave. Why is this issue great? First it’s a nice BIG issue (1.5 times bigger than usual – a nice way to start off the new series). Cameos galore, from Nightwing and Batgirl to the Riddler and Clayface. The best part of this issue is, of course, the Joker, who has been hidden in the Batcave because the Gotham populous is finally courageous enough to seek revenge on all he’s done in the past. The first is often the best, and this issue does not break that rule!
You’ll notice that all of my picks were from the GOTHAM ADVENTURES series. Why is that? I just feel that the fresh new look of all the characters has opened up the possibilities for stories that could be told. I prefer character-driven stories, and I feel that these are a lot more prevalent in the current series (even though there are lots of good issues in Ty’s long run with BATMAN & ROBIN ADVENTURES). Ty’s BEST work seems to have been in the recent 14 months, so I must say that I’m really sad to see him go…it’s been a wonderful ride, I just wish that it didn’t have to end!
-Tim
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“DICK GRAYSON”‘s picks
#5
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #7. The simple reason is becuase we’re re-introduced to a character who we thought we’d never see again! His name, Dagger Dixon. His story from BATMAN & ROBIN ADVENTURES #14 is a much better read when you read that issue and BGA #7 right after it. The story was great, and shows that Tim Drake can handle his Robin mantle.
#4
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #3. Remember the famous ‘date’ isue of BATMAN ADVENTURES where Bruce is robbed while on a date? Well here we see them return! It’s a couple years later and it seems that meeting Batman that night has changed his life – he’s totally obsessed with him. He would do almost anything to see him again, and when Scarecrow robs a bank, his dreams are put to the ultimate test!
#3
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #1. THE best TNBA Joker story told so far (excluding MAD LOVE, which is a BTAS story), and Ty has is down perfect! The Joker kills the son of a wealthy socialite and all hell breaks loose! The reason for killing his son? Becuase he splashed mud on the Joker’s khaki shorts. What follows is a story of a city gone wild when a bounty is put on the Joker’s head!
#2
BATMAN & ROBIN ADVENTURES #7. When Scarface finds out that Arnold Wesker has another puppet, he goes wild, threatening to kill Wesker’s mother. Having no choice, Wesker must watch as Scarface goes to gun down his family. Can Batman and Robin stop Scarface from killing Wesker’s mother,
or are the too late. With the most emotional, tragic, and tear-jerking climax, this issue is not to be missed.
#1
BATMAN ADVENTURES #33. This issue always sticks out of my head simply becuase this shows both Batman’s and Bruce’s world coming together and the results aren’t pretty. When Bruce and his date are mugged, he ‘clicks’ into his Batman mode, but should he go and stay with his date,
or bring the crimianl to justice? This issue defines Bruce Wayne’s life and makes you wonder, why is Bruce the Dark Knight.
Ty you’ve given us one helluva ride, and it really sucks to see you leave the ‘Cave! I really hope you return to the animated world in the future. SUPERMAN ADVENTURES could always use your fine stories, as well as some animated annuals. Please, feel free to do an issue every now and then, BATMAN will not be the same without you!
-DG
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SPECIAL IN THIS ISSUE #2:
(A fellow subscriber provided us with this info. He was lucky enough to go to the huge Wondercon comics convention a couple weeks ago…and had this to say (lots of news in here, too!)
“A WONDROUS-FUL DAY AT WONDERCON”
(by Derek Matthew Fridolfs)
Bruce Timm/Paul Dini WB Panel
The panel started off with an exclusive showing of the Superman/Aquaman episode “A Fish Story”, followed by the rest of the time with Q&A. They were supposed to be showing a Batman Beyond episode…but they said there wasn’t any one episode that was far enough along and finished to even show. As they reminded the audience, they were actually juggling three shows at once for a time…the last few episodes of Superman, Batman, and also starting out on Batman Beyond. The Batman episodes, of course, are out of the way. The Superman episodes are all done, with only 2 that will be shown in May (the Aquaman one and the Batman/Ra’s episode). The other three will be held to show…not in the summer…but supposedly in the fall (the Supergirl episode and the 2-part Darkseid season closer). Other notable things that were discussed:
-Bruce started right out and said “No JLA”…since he had been bombarded with the question the day before.
-Someone asked about any DVD releases, which Bruce said he would imagine that it would eventually happen (since everything is going that route anyways)…but nothing for certain. He said he would try to mention it to the executives, along with his idea of releasing a 4-tape boxed set of the Darkseid episodes (the New Gods 2-parter before and the upcoming 2-part
finale as one set).
-Of course, people asked about the future of the Batman and Superman series. Their main concentration of course is Batman Beyond, but they mentioned that doesn’t mean that Batman and Superman are cancelled…just not being worked on at the moment. Bruce mentioned if a new Batman live-action movie is made (same probably goes for Superman)…then there would probably be a good chance that WB might ask them to do more episodes (or as Paul said…maybe they’ll have us reissue/redesign a whole new Batman series at that time, which Bruce just said “Nooooo!”)
-Asked about Batman Beyond becoming a prime time series, since it did so well in its prime time premiere: Bruce and the crew talked with the executives about it, since it got such high ratings and it probably would’ve become a reality…if the Saturday morning WB ‘toons didn’t have such bad ratings at the time. So they decided to plug Batman Beyond into the Saturday morning lineup, to help bring up the ratings for the network (which it did). And since it’s doing so well, they ordered more episodes…thus the reason why they’re going to be showing them during the week now, to try to bring up ratings in the afternoons.
-The question was asked about the reoccuring villains in the show, and they’re going to try to not do too many of them (as many many articles have already printed). They want to develop a whole new rogues gallery for Terry and not have to rely on Two-Face 2000, Clayface 2000, etc. ….so they said the old villains will be few and far between. They did say that they’re still looking at having an episode with Superman on Batman Beyond, but that they haven’t even written it yet…so it might not happen.
-Questions of characters that might appear in Batman Beyond: Etrigan – No (he will be in the comic). Ra’s – no comment. Whether Bruce would ever become Batman again – mmmm….no comment. And one fan asked about Green Lantern (how the ring would find a new wearer after each wearer has died…and Bruce responded that he hadn’t thought of that. So we’ll have to see if we’ll get any Green Lantern “Beyond” guest star).
– One of the questions asked by a fan was if they ever considered mixing 2D and CGI elements into the new Batman Beyond series (and if there was any in the opening sequence to the show): Bruce let a little secret out….there is none (other than digitally sequencing the show together). The opening sequence where we see, what looks to be, a CGI closeup of Bruce Wayne’s head turning…is actually, a little trick. One of the animators made a maquette of Bruce Wayne’s head, and then for fun, Bruce Timm took it, put it on his kitchen table, and used a hand held camera to record it. They took the film, digitally reconstructed it (changed the
quality of the tape image to the point where it looked like it was really grainy…and almost CGI-ish), and they put it in the opening sequence. Cool!
-They talked about the differences between FOX and WB for Batman. They talked how they’ve never gotten the chance to do that Nocturna episode…how FOX said no vampires on their show (yet, they’ve had Morpheus and Blade in the Spider-Man cartoon). And when they got to WB, they tried again (thinking…hey…this is the WB network – home of Buffy the Vampire Slayer). But again, WB said…what are you, crazy? No vampires. Well then….what about fangs?
No.
What if they don’t bite and they bite off screen?
No.
-Asked about the 3-issue Harley & Ivy comic, Bruce said that they’ve been slowly working on it. They’re pretty pressed for time, working non-stop on these animated episodes…so they’ve been trying to do the comic whenever they get the chance. Bruce’s part is done…the 3 issues are entirely drawn and finished. Shane Glines, who is the lead character designer on the show, has been juggling those duties along with trying to ink the issues. He’s done with the first issue and is halfway through the second issue. Expect the series out by the year’s end.
-Asked if they’d ever been approached or would like to do any of the Marvel series. Bruce is a big fan of the Marvel characters, and of course would like to do something with it…but FOX has their own animation division making new cartoons (as he refered to it, “Aren’t they doing
Spider-Man Beyond…er…Unlimited?”) But he figures they got their chance at least doing the “Terrific Trio” episode as their homage to Stan and Jack’s Fantastic Four.
-Asked about a straight-to-video-movie of Batman, and they said they couldn’t talk about it…that it was still in the planning stages. Pressed again if it would be a Batman Beyond movie…and they said, yes it was, but that’s all that is known right now. They’re still working on the story and details and didn’t want to say anything until it became more official
(and even then, they want to actually surprise us for once and not tell us everything that will happen).
-They talked about how when they were first developing Superman, that they were thinking of developing it as a “JLA” type series, where Superman would star with two other heroes in each episode…but then they ditched it since it would be tough to cram everything into each episode. Dini commented briefly that he was writing one episode of Superman with Captain Marvel and the JLA in it…but never finished it, and Aquaman was finished at better at the time so they went with that instead.
-As for the video market division of things, they were always trying to develop other properties (Boyd Kirkland was, since Timm and Dini and the rest are busy with the animated series). Always thought of as mini-straight-to-video-featurettes with possibilities for the New Gods, Aquaman, Legion of Superheroes….even talk of a possible Teen Titans series…but all are either not going to happen, or still being talked about. Nothing is for certain, so don’t get your hopes up. Questioned if they’d ever thought of doing a Kingdom Come type movie? No.
-Towards the end of the Q&A, there was a lot of talk about voice acting and casting. They mentioned that Miguel Ferrer is so typecast as playing the bad guy, that they wanted to have him play a good guy on the show. And being a big fan of comics, they wanted to give him a cool role…so they called him up to see if he’d be available to do Aquaman (and he was). They
talked about the auditions for the voice of Batman, and they brought in tons of big name (and no name) actors, but no one quite got the part right. But as soon as Kevin Conroy did the voice…they all knew right away that he was the one.
Tim Curry was the original voice actor for Joker (but he didn’t quite have the role down. Bruce mentioned that Tim was a smoker, so when he did the trademark Joker laugh…he coughed and sputtered and sounded ugly). So they let him go and decided to recast it. They knew that Mark Hamill expressed interest in the part before, and after hearing him…they had their Joker.
As for Superman, they had an actor from the “Darkman” movies that they had a good idea could play the role. When they called him in, the actor had just found out the night before, that a new tv show he was starring in, had just been cancelled, he’d been up all night worried and he’d now been reduced to finding voice work in cartoons. He came in…read one line…stopped…told the guys he just couldn’t do it….got up and walked out. Eventually, they found Tim Daly.
Guest voice actors to look forward to on Batman Beyond: Henry Rollins (who’s a big fan of the show), Ice T, and many others (that they couldn’t think of at the time…but there are a lot they said to look forward to).
Overall, a nice panel discussion, and reception by the fans to the creators of the show. What does this mean to us, the fans….lots to look forward to and be hopeful about. While there might’ve been a time where I wouldn’t care to see WB pursue anymore Batman live action movies (after the dismal “Batman & Robin”)….now, I hope they get more made, if it would mean sacrificing a lousy or average live-action feature, in order to get more regular Batman episodes made (same goes for Superman).
And while I’m at it…let me encourage all of you to go out and support WB’s feature animation division, by seeing “The Iron Giant” when it’s released in August. I don’t know how much of an ad campaign this movie will get, but it is being hyped by animators in the industry as a “can’t wait and see” movie (will easily make one forget about the poorly made “Quest for
Camelot” and “King and I”). I’ve already seen a rough cut of Disney’s “Tarzan”…and while I’ll go see it, I’m still looking more forward to “Iron Giant” (not a musical but a mature kid’s story). See it, support it…and WB’s Feature Animation Division will continue to make more movies down the line, with anything possible. But if does badly…it might spell doom for anymore features in the future. There’s my two cents (and if any WB TV/Feature animation staff are out there reading this….give me a job)! 😉
Derek
dmf15@csufresno.edu
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EDITORAL #1
(by Laura Hysert, aka “Phoenix”)
Sadly, the lovely Laura Hysert will return shortly with a new editorial. Be patient, my children.
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EDITORIAL #2
(by Michael Mandeville)
batboym@wtp.net
Lady’s and gentlemen, children of all ages, D Generation X proudly brings to you…the Batboy of Beyond!
Hi there and welcome to another one of my editorialist articles (which are probably being protested against and have caused riots in the streets). Now, on to some business:
Okay, so, in the last issue of this Newsletter, there was an e-mail with Boyd Kirkland. I do so hope I don’t offend anyone with my interventions in the following article. In case you missed it, here it is – and my interventions have brackets around them:
BOYD: It’s nice to know there are fans out there who care about what’s happening. (What do you think we do? Watch the shows and don’t care?) It’s great for the WB and for our studio (How great? Great Great, or just great?) that “Batman Beyond” is such a huge rating success, (Yes it is) but it’s unfortunate that that success has also spelled the end of the regular Batman shows. (Hey, you can’t expect the WB crews to work on two things at once, and we still have an awesome cutting-edge futuristic Batman show that’s cooler than the original).
Two other projects I developed her this past yeat that were not picked up were Legionaires (As in The Legion of Superheroes, or the JLA?) and Lobo (that crazy idiot biker guy who drives around space screaming). Everyone here was certain that Lobo was a go right up (Why?) until the week when the network finally announced it’s schedule to the press. That was another major disappointement to us (Ahhh again). Unfourtunetly, the network never showed much interest in Legionaires (Even in Saturn Girl?). I really liked (Saturn Girl) what we were doing with it, and know it would have been a great show (Amen brother!). Other DC properties I have developed here in previous years that the network has passed over (Ahhhh) are (Drumroll please) Wonder Women (Not to excited about that), Green Lantern (That would be okay), and The Metal Men (WHO?).
I probaly won’t be involved with the “Batman Beyond” movie, as I am not part of that crew (Which means they threw you out?). I believe Paul Dini (The cool guy) will write it and Bruce Timm (The REALLY cool guy) will produce it. I’m not certain yet what my future plans are (Hey, buy a house in the Bahamas). There is another movie/video project here that I helped develop (What? What? What?) which is currently under construction (Ok, I’m preparred to take notes, what’s the title, the hero, and the plotline?) I can’t say much about it yet (Ahh, MAN!), but it’s not a DC or superhero property (Ahh, MAN!). I’ll know whether the studio wants to move ahead with it in a couple of weeks (Don’t hold your breath).
The basic storyline of our recently canned (Sealed, trash, thrown away, rubbished, demolished) animated Batman movie involved the Joker and Bane (Is this a coincidence or am I dreaming?), both prisioners in Arkham (For the 6 billionth time), who team up (With each-other or with Bruce Timm) to escape and seek revenge on Batman (Who else?). Bruce Wayne is involved in a heavy romance (With a cut girl?) before this happens (Then his new girlfriend abandons him when Bane and the Joker crash one of their dates), and is seriously considering (A face-lift) retiring the cape and cowl (And the suit and belt) to get married (Yeah, right, it’s probably another one of Poison Ivy’s creations) when he’s attacked (During a date and his girlfriend leaves him). Robin is seriously injured (Did it damage his bug eyes?!?!?), but plays an important role in helping Batman before the story is over (Meat Grinder, Potato Pealer, Onion slicer). THe story was full of non-stop action (Oh, make us feel WORSE why don’t you!) and eye-popping visuals (AH! STOP STOP! Your beginning to sound like an advertisement!), as well as had a lot of heart and romance (Oh, MAN!). I had one of the best studios in Japan lined up to animate it, with a bigger budget than I had for “Sub-Zero”. It would have been great (Sigh). Needless to say, I’m extremely disappointed (Of Course!) that it won’t be made (OF COURSE!). Oh, Well – time to move on.
Sincerely,
Boyd Kirkland
Well that’s all for now! (And if the brilliant WB executives who made the decition to scrap this movie read this and want to e-mail me It’s: Michael@BiteMe.com )
And for the rest of you who want to e-mail me it’s:
batboym@wtp.net
See ya next time from the Batboy of Beyond!
PS – To the parents and friends of the kids that were killed on 4-20-99 of Littleton, Colorado:
May God be with you in this time of tragedy.
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TO INFINITY AND BATMAN BEYOND
– a column dedicated to “Batman Beyond”
(by Ed Wiser)
ewiser@iglou.com
Ed Wiser will return shortly with a new article – thank you for your patience!
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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.
Seeing how this issue is dedicated to Ty “the Guy” Templeton, I figured this issue’s trivia should have to do entirely with the comics based on BTAS, since he’s the guy that makes them so great. These include “The Batman Adventures”, “Batman & Robin Adventures”, and the current “Batman: Gotham Adventures”. Any comic in the animated style is eligible to be tested here.
111. Which of the following animated comic-series’ currently has the longest run?
A: THE BATMAN ADVENTURES
B: BATMAN & ROBIN ADVENTURES
C: BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES
D: BATMAN: THE LOST YEARS
E: SUPERMAN ADVENTURES
112. Which was the first issue of any of the animated comics that Ty Templeton WROTE?
A: BATMAN ADVENTURES #1
B: BATMAN ADVENTURES #33
C: BATMAN & ROBIN ADVENTURES #1
D: BATMAN & ROBIN ADVENTURES #4
E: BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #1
113. Which of the following characters HASN’T Ty Templeton drawn on the cover of an issue of “Gotham Adventures” (excluding the cover of Issue #1)?
A: Deadman
B: Dagger Dixon
C: The Scarecrow
D: Tim Drake
E: The Riddler
114. Which of the following episodes was NOT based on a BTAS comic?
A: “Mad Love”
B: “Holiday Knights”
C: “World’s Finest”
D: “Sins of the Father”
E: “Old Wounds”
115. In which animated comic, at any point, does Two-Face appear with his evil side PURPLE inside of blue?
A: BATMAN ADVENTURES #22
B: BATMAN & ROBIN ADVENTURES #2
C: BATMAN & ROBIN ADVENTURES #22
D: BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #10
E: BATMAN: THE LOST YEARS #4
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ANSWERS TO THE TRIVIA
Answer to #111: ‘A
Answer to #112: ‘B
Answer to #113: ‘C, E’
Answer to #114: ‘C’
Answer to #115: ‘B, D’
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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. Harley Quinn’s design HAS changed! Yes indeedy-do! In her first appearances (i.e. “Joker’s Favor”) the pom-poms on her “ears” were red – but were later changed to white. Didja notice ‘dat?
2. In the final scene of “Beware the Gray Ghost”, the date on the People Magazine behind Simon Trent’s head reads “October 19, 1992”. But on this day, the episode that aired on FOX was “Perchance to Dream”! The Gray Ghost episode didn’t debut until November 4, 1992.
CONTRIBUTED BY OTHERS:
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BATMAN: THE ANIMATED FIGURES
(by Kevin Smith)
ktsmit2@ilstu.edu
Oh_Ho77@hotmail.com
Kevin Smith was unable to supply an article for this issue. He shall return shortly.
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COMIC REVIEWS
(by Aaron Maurer)
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES
ISSUE: “The End” (#13)
WRITTEN BY: Kelley Puckett
PENCILED BY: Rick Burchett
INKED BY: Terry Beatty
ISSUED: April 7, 1999 (Cover date is June)
RATING: **** (out of 5)
“Everything ends…”
–Perfesser
SUMMARY: The perfesser reads the story of the end of his criminal career to his grandaughter: One day a small child shows up a the door of Perfesser, Mastermind, and Mr. Nice. He is there to recruit Mr. Nice to lead his people in their hour of need. Mastermind won’t have it; at least until they pull one more job. The three break into a safe holding facility holding two plague vials previously recovered by Batman and Nightwing. Then they head to the hospital to find the third vial. However, Batman had figured out who is behind the heist and arrives to stop them. A fight ensues, but not before Mastermind has found the last vial and combined the three. The combination is so deadly that if it were dropped, all of Gotham would die. Mastermind’s simple demand is that Mr. Nice not leave the group or Gotham will die. Mr. Nice is touched and hugs Mastermind. He tells him that it’s time, and he leaves with the small boy. Mastermind gives himself up, and as he and the Perfesser are taken away, the latter remarks that everything ends.
COMMENTS: I enjoyed this issue. I liked the ending to the tale of this group, and I thought the whole buildup was great. It really showed the sense of friendship and comradery that these three shared and was a fitting end. The art was great throughout the issue and the subplot
involving Batman appeared at just the right moments. Hey, there’s another thing I enjoyed: this is a Batman comic, and he was hardly in it at all. That’s the sign of a great story-it can be carried on just by the belief that there’s a Batman. Not only that, but the cover also shares that feeling; Batman appears in the background in shadow.
CRITICISMS: The only problem I can think of is that the little boy showing up was a bit too convenient and a little out there. Sure, I’m willing to suspend disbelief, but only to a certain extent.
BOTTOM LINE: A great end to the “saga” of Perfesser, Mr. Nice, and Mastermind.
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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 #14
May 5th
The final issue of “Gotham Adventures” written by Ty Templeton (we’ll miss you)! This issue follows-up on the storyline in , where Harley resists being seduced by the dark side and returning to the Joker. Her romance novel is panned by critics so she goes on a rampage involving…mind control?
Cover: http://www.toonzone.net/comics/covers/bga/bga14.jpg
NEXT MONTH: – Bane returns! Pulling daring bank robberies throughout Gotham, there are no leads. And no criminal in town seems to know Bane’s whereabouts. Why are his hideout’s neighbors in a rundown part of town Is it simply the threat of his vengeance… or is there some other force at work?
Cover: http://www.toonzone.net/comics/covers/bga/bga15.jpg
BATMAN BEYOND #5
May 19th
On a field trip to the Gotham Museum of Natural History, Terry and his class are menaced by what appears to be a re-animated Egyptian mummy! Other strange events follow as several students contract a mysterious emaciating disease. Is there a connection between these strange occurrences and the new foreign student in school who seems obsessed with Terry’s girlfriend Dana?
Cover: http://www.toonzone.net/comics/covers/bb/bb5.jpg
NEXT MONTH: Issue #5 – The return of Inque. She’s on a mission to steal top-secret data, but there’s more to her plan than meets the eye. Pieces of her body left behind at the scene exhibit strange behavior and could lead Batman to Inque or to his own death, or both.
Cover: http://www.toonzone.net/comics/covers/bb/bb6.jpg
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #33
May 5th
Superman’s greatest enemies have never figured out that Clark Kent and the Man of Steel are one and the same person — until now. Who’s learned the world’s greatest secret, and how can Clark prove him wrong before he reveals it to the entire world?
Cover: http://www.toonzone.net/comics/covers/sa/sa33.jpg
NEXT MONTH:
Superman’s greatest enemies have never figured out that Clark Kent and the Man of Steel are one and the same person — until now. Who’s learned the world’s greatest secret, and how can Clark prove him wrong before he reveals it to the entire world?
Cover: Unavailable
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NEWS AND RUMORS
ALL-ENCOMPASSING/OTHER
-Kids’WB! will be having a special SUPER-MAN team up week from May 3rd-7th to build up to May 8th’s “A FISH STORY”. THE COMIC BOOK CONTINUUM link (see “CURRENT ANIMATED SERIES” section) has more information on this.
“CURRENT” ANIMATED SERIES’
-The WB has not officially ruled out the possibility of making more BTAS/STAS episodes, even though they have committed to 52 more episodes of “Batman Beyond”.
-THE COMIC BOOK CONTINUUM has news on the all-new Superman episode “A FISH STORY”, as well as the other new SUPERMAN and BATMAN BEYOND episodes heading our way. They also have the July solicitations for DCU, BATMAN, and SUPERMAN titles.
http://detnews.com/metro/hobbies/comix/stories/9904/19/index.htm
BATMAN BEYOND
-Apparently the WB is saying that there has been no official announcement of production of a BATMAN BEYOND direct-to-video movie.
-BATMAN BEYOND: THE MOVIE, the complilation of REBIRTH (parts 1 & 2), will be released May 18th, with a rating of PG. Why PG? Violence, and an ‘intense situation’. (Most likely how the death of Terry’s father is revealed, and how Terry reacts) The movie is also 48 minutes long.
ANIMATED COMICS
-On May 12th DC Comics will be releasing a free BATMAN BEYOND comic. This comic will be shipped out to comic stores all over North America. The 32 page comic will collect the first 2 issues of BATMAN BEYOND, but re-edited. This means some panels will be cut out and made smaller. So basically, if you go to a comic store to pick up comics, just ask on May 12th and you should get one. The BATMAN BEYOND comic is released on May 12th to coincide with the release of BATMAN BEYOND:THE MOVIE on May 18th.
-Lock-Up will be appearing in “Gotham Adventures” sometime after .
– of GOTHAM ADVENTURES features Alfred getting kidnapped, and Batman seemingly not caring at all. Also featuring Robin, Batgirl, and Nightwing.
-The ongoing BATMAN BEYOND comic series will begin in the fall. The date is currently unspecified.
OTHER COMICS
-For more, see the “Road Through No Man’s Land” section below.
MOVIES
-AIN’T IT COOL NEWS reports Michael Uslan, the man who owns the film rights to BATMAN and SWAMP THING, was a guest speaker at NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY last week, where he said a new BATMAN film is in the works for release around 2000-2001. He also mentioned WARNER BROS. was setting aside $28 million for a new SWAMP THING feature.
-The much-oppposed “Batman Beyond” movie will be written by Paul Dini and produced by Bruce Timm.
-WB will be re-releasing the following movies to coincide with BATMAN BEYOND: THE MOVIE this May:
BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM
BATMAN & MR. FREEZE: SUB-ZERO
SUPERMAN: LAST SON OF KRYPTON
THE BATMAN/SUPERMAN MOVIE: WORLD’S FINEST
TOYS & MERCHANDISE
-The video game based on the animated incarnation of Superman will be released this spring. The N64 version will be on May 11, and the Playstation version will be sometime in June.
-Check out “Two-Face’s Trading Post” if you’re interested in purchasing figures…lists provided below.
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THE ROAD THROUGH NO MAN’S LAND
(by Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton)
Yes, I know this isn’t really an animated topic, but I thought, hey, it’s Batman’s 60th anniversary, and this is the big event that celebrates it, so I should have a section dedicated to this year-long crossover. Besides, so far it’s been excellent in every issue. We have this section split up into two parts – the first saying what has already happened, the second previewing what’s to come. Enjoy!
UP UNTIL NOW…
JANUARY: After 100 days of absence, Batman has returned, and took down the Ventriloquist and Scarface; Rhino now runs that sector of town under Batman’s control. First appearance of the new Batgirl.
FEBRUARY: The Scarecrow then took up refuge in the “Faith Sector” of town, where he had a field day tormenting the Huntress, as well as getting a war started between the Penguin and Black Mask. We then learn Batman is not working out of the Batcave anymore, but Arkham Asylum.
Then we see a flashback of Rene Montoya in Downtown Gotham, where she runs into good-Samaritan Two-Face, who is helping the people there, due to the luck of the coin.
MARCH: Batman then confronts the Penguin in the Iceberg Lounge, winning a small victory; Penguin loses credibility as a result. Gordon “makes a deal with the devil”. Then Black Mask attacks Oracle in the GCPD sector of town; he is apprehended by Batgirl and sent to a prison run by Lock-Up and KGBeast. Black Mask is presumably killed by Tally Man in prison.
APRIL: We see Alfred telling a story to a bunch of homeless people, which parrallels what has happened to him since NO MAN’S LAND began. Alfred lived solo for 100 days, and, after attempting to protect a bunch of “slaves” from some thugs, Batman returns to save his life.
Then we see a story of a man who tries to protect his house from the likes of Mr. Zsasz, Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze, and the Joker; speaking of the Joker, Batman sends Azrael to find him – this is the first major Joker appearance in No Man’s Land. Superman then arrived in Gotham, and within 24 hours, took out the Mad Hatter and granted electrical power to Gotham; Mr. Freeze runs the power-plant sector of town and confronted Superman, but was left alone after Superman left town. Superheroes can fix the city physically, but mentally, there is still a lot of work to do.
That’s 17 issues of NML so far. For a complete list, e-mail us.
WHAT’S TO COME…
-Rest of April: Alfred is the focus again.
-May: “Claim-Jumping” (2 parts). The GCPD confront the Penguin, and Batman confronts Two-Face, in the first major turf war in Gotham since “Black Monday”; in the end, Two-Face remains triumphant, but no word on how the Penguin battle will finish. The Penguin and Two-Face stories are said to be two of the most important segments in the battle in No Man’s Land.
-May: Francine Langstrom comes to the Penguin for help, which results in Man-Bat returning to Gotham.
-June: Batgirl’s identity is revealed in LOTDK #120. Then, Batman and Robin battle Clayface for the life of Poison Ivy in “Fruit of the Earth” (3 parts).
-July: Batman and Mr. Freeze battle in the heat of the summer at the power plant, determining who controls Chinatown.
-See more below.
AS FOR THE OTHER HEROES:
-Robin and Nightwing return to Gotham in June!
-Robin’s first duty is to aid Batman in saving Poison Ivy from Clayface.
-Nightwing is ordered by Batman to take control of Blackgate Prison after returning to Gotham in July; Lock-Up is unhappy with this.
-The Spoiler gives birth in Robin #65.
-Robin, Superboy, Impulse, and a bunch of the “Young Justice” heroes come to Gotham to try and fix things up.
-Azrael and Batgirl team up to take down Nicholas Scratch, in a giant comic also featuring Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Joker, Penguin, and Two-Face.
-Catwoman breaks back into Gotham in Catwoman #72, this July.
-A one-shot focussing on how Harvey Bullock is handling No Man’s Land is also due out; Black Mask appears. Told in flashback.
-Superman will return to Gotham in October.
AND AS FOR THE REMAINING VILLAINS…
-Two-Face has seized control of the political and financial districts in Downtown Gotham. In the first major turf war of NO MAN’S LAND, the GCPD confronts the Penguin, Batman tries to take Two-Face down but fails in his first attempt. Two-Face then releases the Russian assassin “Echo” from Blackgate Prison, who goes on a killing spree, with a bounty on Batgirl’s head.
-Two-Face re-appears in another big way later on in No Man’s Land, apparently as the second-last villain to be defeated. (How fitting.)
-Man-Bat appears, thanks to the Penguin and Francine Langstrom.
-Poison Ivy has sought refuge in the Robinson Park and turned it into a Garden-of-Eden paradise. But then Clayface appears and turns this Eden into a Hell for Ivy.
-Black Mask and “The Widow Wacker” confront Bullock in a special one-shot due out in June.
-Mr. Freeze seizes control of the power plant to stay alive – and to have something valuable to trade with the rest of society. His story involves – a plumber? Freeze also controls Chinatown. (LOTDK #121)
-Bane tries to gain control of the city – again – but has to break in from the outside – across the river filled with land mines. Batgirl also has a significant role. This is in Detective Comics #736, in July.
-Lock-Up is in trouble when Nightwing tries to take over control of Blackgate Prison in July!
-The Joker doesn’t appear as a major player until close to the end, along with the new, improved Harley Quinn – whom will appear with the Joker AND Poison Ivy in August.
-The Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, Mr. Zsasz, and various other “lesser” villains have their own chunks of Gotham to rule as well.
-Ra’s Al Ghul, meanwhile, is in Washington D.C. battling Anarky in his new ongoing series.
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TWO-FACE’S TRADING POST
(by Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton)
I know that there are many people out there that collect Batman OR Superman items – like
myself. I only started a year ago and, believe me, finding some of these items (like action figures) that were released a couple years ago is pretty tough! So, I decided to start up a
little section in the newsletter to help out our fellow Bat-fans. I can only personally guarantee that my entries are 100% true, for I saw these items with my own eyes. So we’re working on the honour system here. Sound fair?
ALSO if you are LOOKING for something, e-mail me and I can put your request in the “WANT TO BUY” section. There is the possibility that a fellow subscriber is willing to sell what you’re looking for!
IMPORTANT QUERY: Many fans have been unable to see any of the new-style BTAS episodes, and any of the STAS or BATMAN BEYOND episodes. Can someone who is in the know point out a website that tells the copyright laws regarding taping episodes off the TV and selling them to people who want ’em? I’m not saying we’re doing this – but I know it would help many out. So if anyone has any official info on this (or, better yet, if someone from the WB network contact us), that’d be great. In the meantime, we won’t be selling or trading any home-recorded BTAS episodes here.
Well, here we go! I hope this helps out someone out there!
1. JOKERZ LEADER. Mail editor Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton if you are interested in the Jokerz Leader figure from the new “Batman Beyond” line, in a near-mint package. Pic available. E-mail: juno@direct.ca
2. KILLER CROC. Editor Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton has a spare Killer Croc figure lying around, in a mint package. Pic available. E-mail juno@direct.ca if interested.
3. THE MAD HATTER. Yup! Editor Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton has one spare BTAS “Mad Hatter” figure (in a mint-condition package) in his possession that he is willing to get rid of. This is the only Mad Hatter figure in existance (to our collective knowledge), and is a wonderful figure besides! Sure, that was a shameless plug, but it IS a cool figure. Pic available. If interested, e-mail: juno@direct.ca
4. Wow! Look at all this! If you want any of the following, or are even interested, e-mail Craig at NextNexus@aol.com -Scans are available for all the figures, too. All figures are MOC (mint, on card), and from the various BTAS lines.
Quick-change Bruce Wayne (red outfit)
Quick-change Bruce Wayne in yellow outfit = $35 RARE!
Turbojet Batman
Anti-Freeze Batman
Sky Dive Batman
Decoy Batman (orange “Mask of the Phantasm” card)
Total Armor Batman (“MotP” card)
Robin (w/Turbo Glider)
Dick Grayson/Robin
Ninja Robin
Joker, green face (w/”Laughing Gas” spray gun – original BTAS Joker fig.)
Jet Pack Joker, rare green face (“MotP” card)
Penguin MOC
Mr. Freeze (original deco)
Man-Bat
Clayface
Harley Quinn
Bane (original BTAS card)
———-
WANTS TO BUY
1. CLAYFACE. Anyone know where to get a “Legends of the Dark Knight” Clayface figure? I know it’s not animated, but it still counts for this column…can anyone help? E-mail: juno@direct.ca
2. COMBAT BELT BATMAN, and BTAS BATMOBILE. If you know where to find these figures – or a BTAS Batwing (I’m pretty sure one was made) e-mail this address: cnwitkow@concentric.net
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FEATURED BAT-SITES FOR THIS ISSUE
Something a little different for this issue…
THE BATMAN CONTEST!
Yup! A contest, by the fans, for the fans, and the prizes are sweet! This contest is currently being held on the three interconnecting INSIDETHEWEB message boards dedicated to BATMAN/SUPERMAN, and BATMAN BEYOND. The contest? What is it? Well lookee here for the rules of the game, boys and girls. The contest goes like this:
Everyday there will be a question posted on BATMAN:The Animated Message Board, pertaining to almost anything about Batman, Superman, or Batman Beyond. There will 25 questions in all, posted almost everyday (this means you’re gonna have to visit about everyday for the new question). Also, to throw you off now and then, there will be some questions having nothing to do at all with the animated world. Your answers must be emailed to the board’s moderator Joker2967, whose email address is Joker2967@aol.com . You CANNOT post your answers at the board. You can only email them. Now for the best part….the prize! You get to choose the prize ya want! The choices are:
1)A year subscription to a comic of the winner’s choice
or
2)All 65 episodes of Batman: The Animated Series (13 tapes, 5 episodes per tape)
or
3)All 20 episodes of The Adventures of Batman & Robin (4 tapes, 5 episodes per tape)
or
4)Episodes of THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES’s The New Batman Adventures (6 tapes, 5 episodes per tape)
or
5)Episodes of THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURE’s The New Superman Adventures (10 tapes, 5 episodes per tape)
The prizes are from the VHS compilation of the moderator and contest holder. Now you better get movin’! The contest is now underway and there’s a good chance you’ve missed about 5-6 questions so you should email Joker2967@aol.com and ask for the questions you missed so you can catch up! The contest ends when all 25 questions have been posted at the BATMAN board. Here is the URL:
BATMAN:The Animated Message Board(contains links to the SUPERMAN and BATMAN BEYOND board as well)
http://www.insidetheweb.com/mbs.cgi/mb163084
You got no time to waste! Check out this board, and start emailin’!
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ANIMATED BATMAN/SUPERMAN SITES:
* – indicates a shameless plug for a site a certain double-faced editor created with his bare hands – in other words, a cheap advertising technique.
OFFICIAL SITES
—–
THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES
http://www.batman-superman.com
BATMAN:THE ANIMATED SERIES
http://www.batmantas.com
BATMAN BEYOND
http://www.batmanbeyond.com
SUB-ZERO: THE DEFINTIE GUIDE
http://www.batman-subzero.com
DC COMICS
http://www.dccomics.com
TOON ZONE
http://www.toonzone.net
RAVING TOY MANIAC
http://www.toymania.com
VOICE CHASERS
http://www.voicechasers.org
UNOFFICIAL SITES
—–
*TWO-FACE’S TOWER OF TRANQUILITY AND TERROR
http://www.angelfire.com/tx/TimTwoFace/index.html
BRIAN CRUZ’ WB CARTOON PAGE
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/index.html
BRIAN’S BATMAN PAGE
http://members.aol.com/bdavis2613/main.html
GOTHAM GAZETTE
http://members.aol.com/gothamajp
BATMAN: THE ANIMATED HOMEPAGE
http://www3.sympatico.ca/quartet/home.htm
RA’S AL GHUL’S THE LAZARUS PIT
http://www.aitnet.et/lazaruspit
ANIMANIA
http://hjem.get2net.dk/twt/home.htm
HARLEY’S HAVEN OF HEDONISM
http://www.angelfire.com/hi/harlequinhideaway
THE ANIMATED BAT
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/7382/index.html
BATMAN/SUPERMAN SNAP JUDGMENTS
http://www.snapjudgments.com/batsup.html
BATMAN BEYOND MULTIMEDIA
http://www.prophecysite.com/batman.htm
THE BATCOMPUTER
http://members.spree.com/batcomputer
BATMAN: FOREVER KNIGHT
http://batman.techv.net
WORLD’S FINEST
http://members.spree.com/sip/worldsfinest
CHARACTERS ON THE ADVENTURES OF BATMAN & ROBIN
http://www.xse.com/leres/batman.html
ARKHAM ASYLUM
http://animation.acmecity.com/saturday/352
JLA: THE ANIMATED SERIES
http://animation.acmecity.com/character/375
THE NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES: THE UNOFFICIAL SITE
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Makeup/5158
MESSAGE BOARDS
—–
HEAVY DUTY DUBBAS DISCUSSION CENTER
http://members.spree.com/sip/hddboards
SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED MESSAGE BOARD
http://www.insidetheweb.com/mbs.cgi/mb158314
NEWSGROUPS
—–
alt.comics.batman
alt.animation.batman
alt.comics.superman
rec.arts.sf.superman
alt.tv.cartoon-network
rec.arts.animation
alt.animation.warner-bros
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QUESTIONS, SUBMISSIONS, AND FAN-MAIL
If you have any questions, problems, links do not work, or anything else then please e-mail this address with your problems and we’ll try to fix them as soon as possible. Also if you’d like to send any fan-mail then please send it to this address:
juno@direct.ca
As for submissions, feel free to submit an article or opinion on anything pertaining to BTAS. Keep in mind that as the editors, we have the right to edit your submissions if we deem it necessary. Such instances would include problems with length, grammar, and language. If we do feel we must edit something, however, we will do our utmost to ensure that the opinion and the basic message of the submission does not change, as that is the most important part of any artcile, and everyone is entitled to it.
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BATMAN: THE ANIMATED ARCHIVES
The very kind people at TOONZONE were nice enough to give us our own little section of their huge and diverse website. The archives contain past newsletters and is semi-regularly updated with the latest one. To check it out go here:
TOONZONE’s BATMAN: THE ANIMATED NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES
http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/btan
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LIKE WHAT YA SEE? WANNA SUBSCRIBE? HERE’S HOW!!!
For those of you who are seeing this at the WBC HOMEPAGE BTAN ARCHIVES section, and want to subscribe just follow these simple instructions:
To subscribe email juno@direct.ca and put SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
For more information the newsletter just email btaninfo@yahoo.com
Thank you for your time, and thanks for reading! Tell your friends!
-Tim TWO-FACE Leighton and Dick Grayson, editors
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TO ALL GOOD THINGS…
…there must be an end. We would like to thank the endless amount of contributors for contributing their editorials, columns, news, jokes, reviews and other articles. We hope you’ve all enjoyed it as much as we’ve enjoyed making it! See ya next time!
CREDITS FOR BATMAN: THE ANIMATED NEWSLETTER
EDITORS: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton and “Dick Grayson”
AIR DATE SCHEDULES: Brian Cruz
BTAS REVIEWS: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
EDITORIAL #1: Laura Hysert
EDITORIAL #2: Michael Mandeville
BATMAN BEYOND COLUMN: Ed Wiser
COMIC REVIEWS: Aaron Maurer
TOY REVIEW: Kevin Smith
SPECIAL IN THIS ISSUE: Derek Matthew Fridolfs
“BTAN ARCHIVES” MODERATOR: Eileen Delgadillo
TRIVIA: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
ROAD THROUGH NO MAN’S LAND: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
TWO-FACE’S TRADING POST: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
PROMOTIONS AND JUST GETTIN’ THE WORD AROUND: Dick Grayson, Eileen Delgadillo, Brian Cruz, Brian Davis
THOSE WHO FILL IN FOR OTHERS WHEN THEY FOUL UP:-P Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
DELIVERY: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
E-MAIL RECEPTION HANDLING: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
BATMAN CREATED BY: Bob Kane (who else?)
Batman and all related indica are trademarks of DC Comics, Copyright c 1999.
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– This issue is dedicated to Ty Templeton, who has recently stopped working on GOTHAM ADVENTURES, after being an instrumental part of the Bat-mythos for years. He leaves behind many great stories, some of the best ever, animated and otherwise. We’ll miss you Ty! May your future endeavours be as fruitful as your participation with the Bat-mythos.
-Also dedicated to all the victims of the school massacre in Littleton, CO. We’ll keep you all in our prayers.