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Batman The Animated Newsletter #29

Batman The Animated Newsletter #29

Batman: The Animated Newsletter
Week of May 24 – June 5/6, 1999
Volume 2,
Rated: PG for some “low-key coarse language and occasional griping”THIS ISSUE’S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: “DON’T STOP MAKING ‘GOTHAM ADVENTURES’ AND ‘SUPERMAN ADVENTURES’!!!!!”
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INTRODUCTION
Welcome to another issue of “Batman: The Animated Newsletter”. Enjoy!
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SPECIAL NOTE:
Note that starting with this issue, #29, we will be going back to a bi-weekly format, since new news is a lot more infrequent over the summer months. See you again in June!
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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.

‘THE DEMON REBORN’
Superman #44?
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 or September.

‘LEGACY (Pt. 1 & 2)’
Superman #48, 49?
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!
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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 5-24-99: Superman #33 Apokalips…Now! (Pt. 1)
Superman #35 Apokalips…Now! (Pt. 2)

Tue 5-25-99: Batman #83 Make ‘Em Laugh
Superman #13 Two’s a Crowd

Wed 5-26-99: Superman #16 Action Figures
Batman #85 Batgirl Returns

Thu 5-27-99: Batman #67 A Bullet for Bullock
Superman #30 Bizzaro’s World

Fri 5-28-99: Superman #04 Fun and Games
Batman #79 Riddler’s Reform

Sat 5-29-99: Superman #45 Knight Time
Batman #104 Legends of the Dark Knight
B-BYND #06 Shriek

NOTE: Air date schedules for dates following the last date shown here were not avialable at the time of the delivery of this issue. Check out the TOONZONE or OFFICIAL BTAS/STAS sites for updates.

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: 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

NOTE: Thanks to all who noticed my blunder in my “A Touch of Curare” review in – thanks for making me feel…well…INEPT. 🙂 (Just kiddin’.)


ASCENSION
Written by: Robert Goodman
Directed by: Yukio Suzuki
Animation by: Dong Yang
Original air date: May 22, 1999
My rating: ****

Blight’s condition is deteriorating rapidly, and he’s going insane. This episode focuses on how Blight tries to save himself, but fails; we follow him through his descent into madness.

His skin-suits are barely last 24 hours – and he only has two week’s worth of material left. Not wanting to take the chance of revealing his condition to the public, he puts his son, Paxton Powers, in charge of Wayne-Powers Industries. But that is the least of his worries – during a conference, Blight’s skin melts away to reveal his glowing radioactive body; he’s been revealed to the world. The rest of the episode focuses on Blight trying to alienate himself from the world – but his son, and Batman, are always hot on his heels.

Great episode. This episode is a landmark episode, for two reasons: Batman learns that Blight and Derek Powers (the man who killed his father) are one in the same, and Blight learns that Batman’s father was killed by him. (Of course, Powers has killed many people in the past, so that doesn’t really give away Batman’s identity). We also get to see Bruce and Terry doing lots of sleuthing; it looks like Terry is finally growin’ up. The animation is also quite impressive – then again, to make Blight look good, you need lots of special glowing effects to pull it off nicely.

The episode ends with Blight sinking into the bottom of Gotham Harbour – obviously, not dead. We will just have to wait for him to resurface. I wonder if he and Mr. Fixx will have a little get-together down there, hm?

Good episode, a perfect cliffhanger to end the season.
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SPECIAL IN THIS ISSUE

BATMAN BEYOND IN THE UK. WAS IT WORTH THE WAIT???
(by Mick Ramsey)

Finally after reading to all the hubbub about Batman Beyond it arrived on English shores direct to video on Monday, May 17th, eager to discover what Warner Bros. had in store for us. I handed over my hard earned cash £9.99 ($16.00US), which I thought was a bit steep for a 40 minute video, but what the hey – it’s Batman. After driving through rush hour traffic I finally got home and settled down to watch the Batman of the 21st century.

The opening scene with Bruce Wayne at the hanger thwarting Bunny’s kidnappers was a great start. Seeing Bruce Wayne in what is basically a glorified Nightwing costume was a bit unusual (where did they get those ears from?) but this opening sequence was superb.

Roll the titles.

The opening titles had some nice looking 3D effects especially the old Bruce Wayne bust swinging in which was pretty cool – though I’ll admit I had to laugh at the go-go scene!

Cut to a new Gotham,

First appearances reminded me of the Neo-Tokyo from Akira! And unfortunately this is were it started to go wrong for me. Too much of the animation was manga based like a lot of today’s animation trying to look futuristic, and the motorbike chase with the Jokerz was again straight from Akira. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy manga and I suppose I shouldn’t have been too surprised as a lot of todays comic artists are Manga influenced, but one of the things that has always appealed to me about BTAS was its individual look and style, mainly thanks too people like Bruce Timm. I hoped some of his style would somehow translate into a futuristic Gotham and futuristic Batman. Warners may have been better of leaning towards the “Blade Runner” elements of the show rather than manga.

OK, the really bad points.

I found Terry McGinnis extremely annoying, but not as annoying as the “rockin” music, please, give it a rest. McGinnis was very reminiscent of Dick Grayson pre-Nightwing with teenage angst seeping from every pore of his body and just basically getting on everyone’s nerves. I can already see his little brother fitting in as a future Robin.

Everything seemed to be moving along just a little too quickly once Terry met Bruce. I think Warners may have been better off slowing the pace down and making this a 3 parter.

Villains:

Derek Powers seems to be an intriguing villain as Blight although the similarity to Lex Luthor is painfully obvious.

Mr. Fixx seems to be there to make up the numbers although I thought George Takai (Mr Sulu from Star Trek) did a good job with the vocals.

I think I’ll reserve judgement on the Jokerz gang for the time being although the Joker on the “Subway” was spot on with how the gang members should be.

Good Points:

It was great that Bruce Timm was voicing the Jokerz leader – nice one Warners!

One of the saving graces was the inclusion of Bruce Wayne in all of this, Kevin Conroy stole the show along with Ace (the Bat-hound).

I can now understand why people are so annoyed about the next BTAS movie being cancelled in favour of Batman Beyond. BB is NOT Batman, and from what I have just seen never will be especially as Re-Birth is being touted as one of the better episodes of Batman Beyond.

BRING BACK THE BAT !!!!!!!!!!

My rating 2 1/2 out of 5
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EDITORAL #1
(by Laura Hysert, aka “Phoenix”)

Ms. Hysert was unable to submit an editorial for this newsletter…but fear not! She will return very soon. Be patient, my children.
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EDITORIAL #2
(by Michael Mandeville)
batboym@wtp.net

Greetings. In this editorial I have broken it into labeled parts so you can understand it more (Yeah, right. Like that will ever happen):

ADVERTISEMENT On Kids’ WB!:
“How Super is Superman” They ask The Flash if he has ever heard Superman say “Ouch.” Flash says “No.” Well, I have. He says it in every episode (No offence Superman vewers)

IT WAS “A TOUCH OF CURARE”: 
It WAS A TOUCH of Curare, just like I thought. And just to clear this up, it’s pronounced Curare, Cure-rar-ay. Like Poke-ay-mon don’t pronounce Pokemon like they do on the advertisements (Poke-E-mon or the ever popular, Poke-E-man, that one drives me nuts).

GIRLS’ NIGHT OUT
When I started writing my editorials, I had a little chat with Tim “Two-Face” Leighton, the editor. He informed me that quote: “A hot girl doesn’t make an episode a good one, did you see ‘Girls’ Night Out’? Yuck.” I beg to differ: Well does everybody think Girls Night Out is a bad episode? I mean, I don’t really like the plotline or the way Batgirl was suddenly zapped back into teenage-hood. For instance, here’s a part of the script:

The Penguin is in his club on the phone and says: “Yes, I need chainsaws, hedgeclippers, weed killer, and a bottle of aspirin down here right away.” He hangs up as Supergirl and Batgirl walk in, “We’re closed. Besides, you’re both to young to come in here.”

Reaction: Oh Yeah!?! Batgirl is about twenty-three! And besides, Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson went in together before.

THE POLL:
The Backstreet Boys, Cleopatra, ‘N Sync, The Barenaked Ladies, what do all of these names have in common? They’re all music groups who have worn enough makeup while hosting the Kids’ WB! weekend lineup to either replace Hover Dam, or build life-size replicas of The Sears Tower, The Empire States Building, and The Statue of Liberty combined.

Brian Cruz’s WB Carttons Page (located in the Site Links section) has a poll that asks “What do you think of Kids’ WB! using musical groups to host their weekend lineup?” Here are the current results:

13% – Great idea! The ratings will go through the roof!
15% – An amusing Idea that I occasionally enjoy.
13% – Doesn’t bother me / Don’t care
25% – Dumb, but I can ignore it.
34% – How pathetically desparate for viewers can they get?

How pathetically desperate can the WB get for viewers and ratings? Pretty darn desperate if you ask me. The Backstreet Boys’ hosting was cool (not to mention that THAT was when ‘Over the Edge’ premiered). And the music video at the end (which I didn’t get to see) was awesome too (Maybe).

The WB’s ratings started going up.
Enter ‘Cleopatra’. A group of three young girls hosting the lineup. And the WB’s ratings started going down. They kept about even until Batman Beyond when the ratings shot sky-high. “It’s time for another music group.” They thought.

Enter Boyz II Men, a music group of young boys trying to find a new member. And the ratings stayed crawling high because of Batman Beyond. “It must’ve started climbing with Boyz II Men.” The WB thought, “Let’s bring in a more famous group!”

Enter ‘N Sync. A group trying to get into the WB stage to perform. And the ratings continued to crawl up because of Batman Beyond.

Enter The Barenaked Ladies. The best and funniest music group to host! Although I wonder, how many kids didn’t get to watch Kids’ WB! that weekend because there parents herd the advertisement from the other room: “It’s Naked Day! Watch Barenaked Ladies here on Kids’ WB! this weekend!”

Batboy [Beyond]
batboym@wtp.net

PS – It was “A TOUCH of Curare”, not torture. TOUCH.
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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.

I’m stuck for a topic again this week. So here we go, more mindless questions about BTAS. (Am I losing my edge? Gawd, I hope not! I haven’t even hit my prime yet! Is this a grey hair I see? NOOOOOOOO!) 

131. Name the only theatre-released Bat-movies that came out while “Batman: The Animated Series” was making new episodes.

A: BATMAN & MR. FREEZE: SUB-ZERO
B: BATMAN RETURNS
C: BATMAN FOREVER
D: BATMAN & ROBIN
E: BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM

132. On BTAS, some Bat-villains have had more than one voice actor providing their voice. Which of these dual-voice Bat-villains appeared in a Bat-movie at some point in time?

A: THE JOKER
B: TWO-FACE
C: THE PENGUIN
D: MR. FREEZE
E: BANE

133. Which of the following characters on BTAS has NOT had more than one voice actor provide their voice?

A: BATGIRL
B: ALFRED
C: BATMAN
D: THE SCARECROW
E: None of the Above

134. According to the order of original air date, what episode that included a villains FULL NAME in the title was the first to air? (By “full name”, I mean that words like “The” and “Mr.” most be included. “Harley”, “Ivy”, “Riddler”, etc, are not full names, but “Harley Quinn”, “Poison Ivy”, and “THE Riddler” are.

A: ROBIN’S RECKONING (Pt. 1)
B: BATGIRL RETURNS
C: THE CLOCK KING
D: TWO-FACE (Pt. 1)
E: CHRISTMAS WITH THE JOKER

135. Which of the following characters literally has a…uh…impregnable fortress?

A: BATMAN
B: NIGHTWING
C: MR. FREEZE
D: POISON IVY
E: LOCK-UP
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ANSWERS TO THE TRIVIA

Answer to #131: C, D, E
Answer to #132: A
Answer to #133: E
Answer to #134: C
Answer to #135: 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. George Takei, the voice of Mr. Fixx on “Batman Beyond”, appeared in the season finale of “The Simpsons” this year, on May 16.

CONTRIBUTED BY OTHERS:
(by “Kelly Tindall”)
2. The name of the ship captain who appears in “World’s Finest” and most recently “A Fish Story” is called Bibbo. This is a reference to the universe of Lobo, in whose comics appeared a character called Bibbo. Both Bibbo the ship captain and Lobo were both voiced by Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond).
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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!
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COMIC REVIEWS
(by Aaron Maurer)

*Aaron Maurer was unable to submit a review in time for the distribution of this issue; therefore, editor Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton has written up a review of the most recent animated Batman comic, of Gotham Adventures. Mr. Maurer will return shortly!

BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #14
TITLE: “Masks of Love: A Harley Quinn Romance”
WRITER: Ty Templeton
PENCILLER: Craig Rousseau
INKER: Stan Woch
ISSUED: May 5, 1999 (cover date is July)
RATING (out of 5): ***

I wish I could say I liked this issue, but sadly, I can’t. I’d give it 3 stars out of 5 at most. Why? Well, compared to BGA#10 (which I’d give 5 stars), this just cannot live up to it. The new artists, while good, just can’t compare to Burchett and Beatty. And Ty’s story, while good in general, contained a lot of little things that bothered me. In particular, I really hated the mind-control gimmick that was brought in out of the blue – that was just corny, and there was no hint of it before hand. Harley gives a two-panel explanation of where these chemicals came from – and it just didn’t do it for me – it was just too neat and tidy. The final scenes with a FRIENDLY Joker were kinda lame, too – namely cuz he was under a transe caused by the chemical that I could not take a liking to.

And personally, I wanted to see the building blow up…that would’ve made for some great art.

I did enjoy some things…the first pages with Robin in training, the various funny things done to the Bat-signal, and the idea of her acting out scenes from her book to get publicity…

So in the end, I liked half of it, and didn’t like the other half. Fitting eh? So 3 stars outa 5 is my final rating.

Personally, for Ty’s final story, I would’ve re-arranged the issues so that an excellent issue was in , i.e.:

BGA#10 – Joker/Harley story
BGA#11 – Harley seeks publicity for book
BGA#12 – Two-Face the crime-fighter
BGA#13 – Mr. Nice, Mastermind, Perfesser
BGA#14 – The Riddler story from

So, basically, switching when Issues #11 and 14 were printed. I think that’d have been a more fitting way to end Ty’s current run on the series.

It still is an enjoyable comic, and I bet that if you’re a fan of Harley you’ll enjoy it, but it’s not as great as it could or should have been. Now I’m looking forward to Ty’s next issue for the series (we just don’t know WHEN that will be)!
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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 #15
June 2nd
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

NEXT MONTH: – Alfred’s been kidnapped! But why doesn’t Batman seem concerned? That’s the question on the minds of Nightwing, Batgirl and Robin, who can’t come to Alfred’s aid until they battle their way through hordes of heavily armed thugs.
Cover: http://www.toonzone.net/comics/covers/bga/bga16.jpg

BATMAN BEYOND #5
June 16th
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

NEXT MONTH: None. A continuing BATMAN BEYOND series will start up this fall.

SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #34
June 2nd
The Man of Steel’s been possessed, and only one man can save him… or at least stop him! An ancient evil is on the loose in Metropolis, and it’s taken control of Superman! It’s a job only the sorcerous Dr. Fate can handle. At least we hope so, or he may have to banish the Man of Steel to a place with extremely warm temperatures!
Cover: http://www.toonzone.net/comics/covers/sa/sa34.jpg

NEXT MONTH:
The Toyman’s toys are pulling off a rash of crimes throughout Metropolis, but the Toyman insists he isn’t behind it. Now Superman must find out if there’s another mastermind at work, or if the Toyman’s just playing games to hatch a bigger, deadlier scheme.
Cover: http://www.toonzone.net/comics/covers/sa/sa35.jpg
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NEWS AND RUMORS

ALL-ENCOMPASSING/OTHER
-A new net-interview with Writer/Producer Paul Dini can be found at the following address:
http://www.cam.org/~emru/criticaleye/interviews/pdini.html
-Do yourself a favor and check out BrainUK’s BATMAN ANIMATED UK Fan Club! The link is right here:
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/batmananimateduk

“CURRENT” ANIMATED SERIES’
-The STAS episodes LEGACY and DEMON REBORN have, apparently, have been left for next season. Great. Three more episodes to be scattered throughout the season. Perfect. Blech.

BATMAN BEYOND
-Early reports show that BATMAN BEYOND: The Movie has been selling great! It seems fans on their way to see STAR WARS have been dropping by their local malls to pick up a copy of the movie. Congrats, WB!

ANIMATED COMICS
-Feel free not to believe this rumor, but rumor has it that GOTHAM ADVENTURES and SUPERMAN ADVENTURES are selling low. So as of B:GA #25 and whatever issue SUPERMAN is at that month (#44?), these titles will be cancelled and repackaged as a BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES comic. The
heroes will alternate between months. I don’t think this could happen, but if it did…would it be good or bad?

OTHER COMICS
-Last week we stated Batman: Dark Victory #0 would be polybagged with Wizard #95, but that has changed. Dark Victory #0 will now be released with Wizard #97, which is slated for a September or October release. Sorry about the mistake
-For more, see the “Road Through No Man’s Land” section below.

MOVIES
-???

TOYS & MERCHANDISE
-The Superman video game IS coming out for the N64 and Gameboy. But the fate of the Playstation version seems to be very up in the air. I certainly hope it’s not cancelled! Let’s keep hoping!
-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 – APRIL: For synopses of what happened in the first four months of NO MAN’S LAND, go see Issues #26 and #27 of “Batman: The Animated Newsletter”. Follow this link: http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/btan

MAY: The first major turf war has begun in part one of “Claim Jumping”. Two-Face and the Penguin make arrangements to take out both Batman and the GCPD, respectively. Meanwhile, Two-Face frees a mentally two-faced assassin named Isabella Cheranova from Blackgate prison – but why? An up-to-date map of Gotham is also featured: Batman now rules a HUGE chunk of town, and it looks like Zsasz and Croc have expanded their territories as well. It also looks like the Scarecrow and Mad Hatter HAVE been defeated and locked up in Blackgate permanently.
The “Claim Jumping” turf war ends with Two-Face being triumphant. He doublecrosses the Penguin; Cobblepot loses half his territory. Then Two-Face trounces the B-man and takes over his entire territory in the four hours during which Echo holds him hostage. Echo is now free in Gotham.
A “No Man’s Land” gallery issue was also released, featuring 22 illustrations of the Bat-cast in their NML settings. Pretty much all major players are depicted at least once in this issue.
Next, a new assassin named “Cain” wreaks havoc in Gotham. Batman confronts Batgirl about letting Two-Face take his territory, and then confronts Two-Face himself – but let’s him off the hook for the time being. 

That’s 22 issues of NML so far. For a complete list, e-mail us.

WHAT’S TO COME…
-May: Batman and Batgirl fight Cain, another assassin on the loose in Gotham.
-May: Francine Langstrom comes to the Penguin for help, which results in Man-Bat returning to Gotham, in BATMAN CHRONICLES #17.
-May: Batman: Bullock’s law focuses on Harvey Bullock in a “Raod to No Man’s Land” setting.
-June: Batgirl pays the price for allowing Two-Face to take over Batman’s territory in LOTDK #120 – as well as being UNMASKED! Then, Batman and Robin battle Clayface for the life of Poison Ivy in “Fruit of the Earth” (3 parts). And don’t forget Harley’s intro (which MAY be this month).
-July: Batman and Mr. Freeze battle in the heat of the summer at the power plant, determining who controls Chinatown. Bane resurfaces, and Nightwing has a little tussle with Lock-Up.
-See more below.

AS FOR THE OTHER HEROES:
-Batgirl falls prey to an assassin named Cain in the second half of May.
-Batgirl’s identity is revealed in LOTDK#120, this June.
-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.
-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.
-Leslie Thompkins is the focus of BATMAN CHRONICLES #18, in August.
-Superman will return to Gotham in SHADOW OF THE BAT #92, in October.

AND AS FOR THE REMAINING VILLAINS…
-Two-Face is confronted by the Bat-team in LOTDK #120, in response to his holocaustic triumph over Batman in “Claim Jumping”.
-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.
-The one-shot comic featuring Harley Quinn’s intro to the mainstream Bat-universe will also come out this June (I think?).
-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. SUPERGIRL. Yep! If you want one of these, e-mail editor Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton, and he should be able to find one for you, in a mint or near-mint package! e-mail: juno@direct.ca

5. TNBA EASTER EGG. From England. An approx. 5″X8″ box with great artwork all the way around. Contains a large red-foil wrapped chocolate Easter egg (good until 7-99) and some gum-drop-like candies. Cost is $25.00 per egg which includes shipping and insurance within the US. Email for scanned pic, or if interested: keatking@icehouse.net

6. HUGE Batman collection for sale includes animated, movie, and comics related Bat-items – so huge, we can’t list all the items here! There are movie scripts, action figures, archive books, and more. Collection is being sold as a lot for $430.00 and cannot be broken up. For full list, e-Mail Dani at Peterpan@ma.ultranet.com

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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… Some have submitted phone numbers for Hasbro, but they only work for those in the USA, and not Canadians such as myself…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

3. BATMAN/NIGHTWING TWO-PACK. Personally, I don’t know if such a thing even exists, but I could very easily be proven wrong. If anyone can find this two-pack, e-mail one of your fellow subscribers at this address: jokerz84@hotmail.com
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FEATURED BAT-SITES FOR THIS ISSUE

BATMAN ANIMATED FAN CLUB
– Brian Davis has created a site designed for Bruce Timm and Batman fans alike! Check it out at the following address:
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/batmananimateduk

AND there is a weekly chat every Sunday at 2pm ET 7pm UK Time where you can chat with friendly fans and guests like Terry Beatty (Gotham Advs Inker) (just click chat once you join).

———-

DCX FAN-FIC SITE

DCX…where fans give the DC Universe new life…where stories offer fresh perspectives on your favorite heroes…where Gotham still stands, and Superman doesn’t build robots…

DCX…The universe you thought you knew.

**COMING MAY 23, ONLY TO DCX ( www.imagine-that.org/DCX/ )

What does a homicidal artist have to do to get some respect? When the Joker escapes from Arkham Asylum, he discovers he no longer tops the list of ‘Gotham’s Most Wanted.’ But his scheme to destroy the competition draws the attention of an old man with a dangerous grudge against the Clown Prince of Crime. The first issue of BATMAN: Dark Knight by John Hardin begins the story of a man who shows the Joker why revenge is a dish “Best Served Cold.”

DCX: Best served hot with a drizzle of fudge sauce and two cherries.

After her father went to prison, Stephanie Brown left that painful chapter of her life behind. With her mother’s remarriage, Stephanie’s future seemed bright. But all her dreams of happiness are threatened when her father escapes from prison. Now, with the help of a boy named Robin, she must discover if she is a “Prodigal Daughter.” The story begins in ROBIN: Fly by Knight #1, the start of a monthly series by Brian Bedard.

DCX: Come home.

What happens when goody two-shoes meets the school bully? A new Batgirl is born, and she’s ready to rumble! Meet the two teens – and an exciting new nemesis – that make it all happen in this month’s BATGIRL: Dark Knight Damsel. You can find “Dusk,” the premiere issue written by Brendan Crowther, at only one place.

DCX: We don’t guess who the new Batgirl is. We KNOW.

**Discover these and many more of your favorite DC characters, including Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Flash, at DCX. You never know who you’ll find here, so come and see for yourself. Starting May 23.

**And don’t miss these Batman-related titles coming to DCX on JUNE 6:

BATMAN: Shadows of Twilight
CATWOMAN: Night Moves
NIGHTWING: Bludhaven Nights

**And on JUNE 20, catch the debuts of AZRAEL: Knight of Vengeance and ORACLE: Hidden Voice.
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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
THE DARK KNIGHT
http://www.darkknight.ca
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
ANIMATED TALES
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dunes/2294/at
BATMAN BEYOND: WELCOME TO THE FUTURE
http://www.batmanbeyond.net

NEWSGROUPS
—–
news:alt.comics.batman
news:alt.animation.batman
news:alt.comics.superman
news:rec.arts.sf.superman
news:alt.tv.cartoon-network
news:rec.arts.animation
news:alt.animation.warner-bros
____________________________
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. And if you do submit something, please don’t just submit a basic review of an episode or a comic or something (because we have people writing for those purposes already) – write about an issue you’d like to discuss.
____________________________
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
____________________________
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 juno@direct.ca
Thank you for your time, and thanks for reading! Tell your friends!

-Tim TWO-FACE Leighton and Dick Grayson, editors
____________________________
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
COMIC REVIEWS: Aaron Maurer
TOY REVIEW: Kevin Smith
“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.
_____________________________

Batman The Animated Newsletter #29

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