Batman: The Animated Newsletter
Week of July 19 – July 31/August 1, 1999
Volume 2,
Rated: PG for some “low-key coarse language and occasional griping”
THIS ISSUE’S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: “IT’S THE SUMMER LULL…SO SUE US IF WE HAVE NOTHING INTERESTING TO SAY!”
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INTRODUCTION
Welcome to another issue of “Batman: The Animated Newsletter”. Enjoy!
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SPECIAL IN THIS ISSUE
Starting this issue, we are doing a special column in which fans write in and tell us why they love “Batman: The Animated Series”, “Superman”, and “Batman Beyond” so much. This column will run for the next four issues of “Batman: The Animated Newsletter”. ALSO we have guest-editorialist Kelly Tindall on board; you can read his editorial in the space where Laura Hysert once wrote (where are you, Laura!??? 🙁
Take care! Have fun! And enjoy!
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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.
‘ONCE BURNED’
Batman Beyond #14?
Air Date: 1999-2000 season
Ten returns to rekindle her love for Terry, and the Royal Flush Gang returns to once again kill Batman – but then again, is there more than meets the eye this time?
‘SPLICING’
Batman Beyond #15?
Airdate:1999-2000 season
Teenagers at Hamilton Hill High School’s new fad is ‘splicing’ where teens take characteristics of animals and geneticaly splice them into their own bodies. You can guess this goes downhill fast!
‘THE DEMON REBORN’
Superman #44?
Air date: Fall of 1999
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 September.
‘LEGACY (Pt. 1 & 2)’
Superman #48, 49?
Air date: Fall of 1999
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.
THIS WEEK:
Mon 7-19-99: Superman #04 Fun and Games
Batman #79 Riddler’s Reform
Tue 7-20-99: Batman #72 Harlequinade
Superman #24 Solar Power
Wed 7-21-99: Superman #06 The Way of All Flesh
Batman #84 Deep Freeze
Thu 7-22-99: Superman #33 Apokalips…Now! (Pt. 1)
Superman #35 Apokalips…Now! (Pt. 2)
Fri 7-23-99: Batman #95 Torch Song
Superman #29 The Hand of Fate
Sat 7-24-99: Batman #106 Mad Love
Superman #46 Absolute Power
B-BEYOND #04 Golem
NEXT WEEK:
Episode schedules for the week of July 12 to July 18 were unavailable at the delivery date of this newsletter. For current schedules, go to Brian Cruz’ site, via the link provided above.
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
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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
HEROES
Written by Rich Fogel
Directed by Butch Lukic
Animation by Dong Yang
Original air date: February 20, 1999
My rating: **1/2
I’ll say this right off the bat – this episode is mediocre at best. Many say this is a blatant rip-off of Marvel’s “Fantastic Four” – I won’t agree to that, because I don’t know much about those four mutant superheroes. However, I will say that this episode suffers terribly from a weak plot and uninteresting characters.
There is a new troupe of heroes in town – The Terrific Trio (which, sadly, are nearly as lame as BTAS’ “The Terrible Trio”) – which live in “Terrific Tower” or something like that. Everyone knows who these superpowered mutants are, and they’re more like a publicity stunt than an actual superhero team. Just check out their merchandising line – it’s even bigger than that of Batman’s, as seen in “I am the Night”.
Can we say BORING? We have three heroes – one who is like a ghostly Mrs. Freeze who has freezing powers (how original) – her name is freon. Then we have Clayface-wannabe, Magma, who has heat/lava powers. And then there’s 2D man (who reminds me of the comic hero “Plastic Man”), who is made of rubber and is as thin as a piece of paper – just as thin as the plot.
The first main problem – these characters don’t have time to be developed. We learn that they were all victims of a science experiment gone wrong, and that Freon and Magma are married. Is this supposed to deepen the plot? If it is, it doesn’t work at all.
Bruce sees these people, and being the untrusting person he is, KNOWS they’re gonna do something bad. So he sends Terry out. Fight. Fight. Fight. Then we see the army led by a Hitler-wannabe attack the trio; it’s been made known that their DNA is deteriorating, and it’s a well-known fact that when people are faced with adversity like this, they go insane and commit random acts of evil. Yeah, right. Anyhow, the army (who we are to presume are evil, because of this Hitler reference – how drole) tries to save the city by blowing half of it up trying to stop the misguided trio. Way to go, guys. You deserve a medal. Clap. Clap.
Not only that, this episode got that stupid “Heroes” song by the Wallflowers stuck in my head – hate that song. Uhhhhgh. “We can be heroes…just one day”…but not today. Not this episode. Nope.
Very poor episode. But, I must admit that the visual look of the episode is quite good, and while the action is often confusing or has been done already (how many times have we seen people been frozen lately??), it was pulled off well enough. That’s the only reason why I gave the episode as high a rating as I had.
I don’t blame the writer here, because I know Fogel is a good writer. I just think the producers said, “we want an episode about three mutants vs. Batman with lotsa explosions and stuff”, and he did the best he could. Everyone on the crew is more than capable to do better episodes than this – but I guess every show has to have its poorer episodes – this being the first (and worst) of Beyond’s. Hopefully it’s the last of the poor ones.
I hope this doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing more mutant superhero episodes in the future. I don’t want DC shows to turn out like Marvel’s.
So, see it to make your own decision, but if you miss it, don’t be heartbroken or lose sleep or anything.
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SPECIAL IN THIS ISSUE
(by YOU, the fans)
FANS, FANS EVERYWHERE!
PART ONE
Welcome to our new summer column! This will be a four week column showcasing why fans Batman/Superman/Beyond so much! This column is compirsed of quotes from fans, telling us why its a step above all the rest! But remember, these are YOUR quotes! Can you find yours? Can you find ours? Can you find Waldo? OK, enough of this…let’s begin!
“Sometimes, the animation is the best reason to watch the show. If you watch long enough, you get to witness a real work of art – take the flying scene from the Superman episode “Little Girl Lost” – that was a really, really good piece of animation. The first seasons of Batman, too, have their moments – far more than Superman has ever had. The newer seasons are able to attract us to them with new characters and plot lines, as well as humor – Bruce Wayne, over the phone: “So, what are you going to do tonight?” Barbara Gordon, on the other end: “Same thing we do every night, Pinky” – so, okay, I admit that was a little thing they took from Pinky and the Brain, but still, the writing hasn’t lost too much – the original series were a bit more intelligent, I’ll admit, but the new season is still worth watching, if only to see whatever happened to Batgirl, or why Robin is now a young boy named Tim Drake. Batman Beyond has this quality as well – it’s intriguing to find out what has happened to Gotham City over all of
these years. The blending of old characters, themes and places with new plots, new villains, and, of course, a new hero, creates an entertaining, fun-to-watch, and slightly nostalgic show.”
-~Green
“These shows have spun off some of the best [comic-book] stories ever told. Who could forget BATMAN ADVENTURES #33? A tragic tale about the darker side of being Batman. Or what about issues #11-12 of SUPERMAN ADVENTURES when he gets a disease, and Metropolis is left helpless. What this show has is staying power, plus great stories – two factors that go hand in hand.”
-Andrew
“Two Words: Dini. Timm.”
-anonymous
“I think the fans have made this show. Fans can only enhance things. If a great series had no fans, then there would be no one to see it. A show like this has plenty of fans (plus dedicated ones, like the newsletter staff) and why shouldn’t it? It has two pop culture icons (Batman &
Superman). Twisted villians and great stories. The best adaptation of comics ever!
-Austin
“An animated show based on a comic is only as good as its [comic book] spin-off. When you have heavy hitters like Ty [Templeton] and Mark [Millar] writing the book, and heavy hitters Paul Dini and Bruce Timm on the series, how can it not fail?”
-Jarvis
“Who can forget the [BTAS] theme?!”
-George
“Even though Kids’WB! is currently rerunning the Batman/Superman episodes to death, I don’t think I could ever get sick of watching them. The good ones that is. Crap like MOON OF THE WOLF and CRITTERS should never have aired in the first place.”
-Mike
“Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s the ratings for BATMAN BEYOND! I’m glad the Batman legacy will reach a new generation of fans.”
-Marty
“X-Men animated series? Garbage. Spider-Man? Ugh! THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES? Excellent!”
-Ross
“It’s amazing how Dini and Timm can strip away a lot of the crap from the past 60 years of Batman, and make it as new and refreshing as if this character was just invented. Congratulations!”
-Jeremy
“Their just great shows definitely go up in my favorites. I like the villians, the plots, the heroes. My favorite is Batman Beyond because I guess you can relate to him more because he’s closest to our age and a youngin’. I like the show a lot and I can’t wait for the second season even though I’ll miss the original batman.”
-anonymous
“I remember in an issue of TOONZONE (A WIZARD mag or something) they listed [the best cartoon series of all time.] BATMAN at #3, with THE SIMPSONS at #2, and LOONEY TUNES at #1. For some reason, I couldn’t agree with them more.”
-Benji
“It made me forget about the horrible 1960s series. Any show that can do that is spectacular!”
-Jason
“HEART OF ICE. I AM THE NIGHT. IT’S NEVER TOO LATE. Episodes like these you never forget. 30 years from now you may shed a tear watching the final minutes of HEART OF ICE when Mr. Freeze cried for his beloved.”
-Matt
“I don’t really think you can pinpoint why this series is so good. The take on the character is just so dead on and perfect, the series could be utter crap and would still be as popular as it is today.”
-anonymous
“While BTAS appealed to the adult in all of us, TNBA appealed to our inner child. A show that captures all generations like this should never be forgotten.”
-anonymous
“I was a bit afraid to watch it (visions of Adam West dance in my head), but when I saw the first scene of ON LEATHER WINGS I knew I wasn’t gonna see BLAMMO! etched across the screen.”
-Martin
“Superman is so amazing. The animation is astounding and the stories or horrifyingly close to home. Even though they are ‘big-name’ villians, they do evil that everyday people can do. That to me is scary. Superman handles it so perfectly though. Never crossing the line and rarely sugar coating it for children. Thank you WB for making a great Icon! Now if only WB would fix the Superman comics…”
-Mark
“It seems recently the best version of any character is the animated version. Look at the new Disney movie TARZAN. The best. Look at Kids’WB!’s Batman/Superman. Utter Genius.”
-Micheal
“SUPERMAN ADVENTURES is basically the missing episodes. The stories practically pick up where the animated series left off. Mark Millar and Aluir Almancio just do stunning work to bring new stories of our favorite heroes and villians to life!”
-A Super Fan
…more to come next issue…
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EDITORAL #1
(by Laura Hysert, aka “Phoenix”)
Laura is still on hiatus, so we’ve managed to get an article to fill in the gap she’s made – which, ironically, is about the hiatus of ANOTHER thing we all love and adore. (Cue sappy music!) So, without further adieu, here is guest-editorialist Kelly Tindall! (Cue trumpet blast!)
THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES: BETTER OFF ON HIATUS?
There has been a lot of uproar, primarily among die-hard fans, about the recent hibernation of The New Batman/Superman Adventures. Fans wring their hands, worrying that new episodes might never be produced. Critics turn their attention to newer shows. And the rest of the world? Well, relief is just a channel click away.
But who’s to say that the indeterminate slumber Batman/Superman has gone into isn’t welcome? Even necessary?
Let’s examine the last season’s worth of shows, shall we? While not all of the last few shows have been on my plate, most have been absorbed.
Many have been good. Some, like “Mad Love”, have been extremely good. Alas, many have been bad. Very bad. While this is a natural difficulty in any show (BTAS, we all know, had its share of stinkers), many of the most recent episodes, Superman in particular, have been downright bland.
The episodes that really point out a difficulty are “Superman’s Pal”, “A Fish Story”, and “Chemistry”. The problems stem from two different difficulties; story and animation. Superman has bad animation, Batman gets the weak stories.
Now, to be fair, Superman has had some lousy scripts handed in, too. “Superman’s Pal” was almost unwatchable due largely to the horribly contrived script and two ridiculous villains. However, the sinking of this, and puns aside, “A Fish Story”, were the animation. Both episodes were embarrassing. The water effects in Fish were nauseating, but not in the obvious
seasickness fashion. They were badly done. The same can be said of the totally bland “Superman’s Pal”. Flashy animation saves weak scripts, but bad animation, if you’ll pardon another ocean pun, sinks them.
The difficulty with the last few Batman episodes were largely the supporting cast. Specifically, the villains. The latest reincarnation of Batman was fair to the villains, giving all at least one episode to appear in and star. However, many of the solo appearances were weak at best.
“Chemistry” is the most obvious guilty party. It was a very dull episode, overall, with a few excellent lines(“Bruce…I’m your WIFE…”) and effects. The climax and motive were cliched Poison Ivy. The entire “stealing the money from wealthy bachelors” was, let’s face it, beaten to death five years ago. Plus, the stark stylization of the new style made Ivy’s plants look
flat and unappealing. Poison Ivy’s freestyle removal of her plant-man’s skin would have been a lot more affecting in more than two shades of green.
After all the fuss that was made over the new look of the Riddler, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, et al., we see after all there was no reason to be upset. We only saw Scarecrow alone once, and it was no epic storyline. The Riddler never said more than twenty words this year, and Croc was a henchman in his own episode. As for the Joker…well, it’s pretty simple to write a good story for such a great character. The topic of Joker/Harley indulgence by the writers is a quest for another night.
So, why the weakness in the product? Less passionate writers? This could be true; “Legends of the Dark Knight” and “Mad Love” were labors of love, and good episodes. Less attention? The old standby directors, Riba, Geda, Timmm hardly made appearances this year, chugging away at Batman Beyond.
I think it’s all a matter of moving on. The new season had its ups and downs, particularly near the end, and now Batman Beyond is the focus. This shouldn’t be such a big deal for fans, for the new Bat is delivering just as much excitement as the old…but that’s for another time. Just remember that the past is probably not as great as you remember.
Cheers for now,
Kelly Tindall
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EDITORIAL #2
(by Michael Mandeville)
batboym@wtp.net THE OVERSHOWN, UNDERSHOWN, AND UNSHOWN EPISODES OF DC’S GREATEST HEROES
Has anybody else noticed this? Am I the only one whom is driven nuts by this? Obviously not.
Superman’s unshown episodes:
“Legacy (Parts 1&2)”
“The Demon Reborn”
They are taking a heck of a long time in showing these episodes, aren’t they? Why do they have to wait so long to show them? In “Beast Wars” they wound up their season in June and will start the next chapter of the series in the fall – and this is announced to everyone. But in the case of Superman, they show all the new episodes together in June, and then wait to show the other episodes in…wait a minute…when ARE they supposed to be shown? They could have had the same effect if they showed “Legacy (Pt. 1)” in June and “Legacy (Pt. 2)” in June (of the next year), but obviously they want to space them out since there may not be any other episodes made. I agree on this decision to space them out, but I wouldn’t have spaced them out so much as to have cause Batman/Superman fans to completely lose interest in them, (which will probably happen to me).
Superman’s Overshown episodes:
“Brave New Metropolis”
Now I know that there are other episodes shown even MORE than “Brave New Metropolis”, but when I started watching Batman/Superman, I saw “Brave New Metropolis” seven times in seven months. They usually don’t show two episodes in the same month, but Batman has done it before (talk about over-kill).
Batman’s Overshown episode:
“The Demon Within”
This episode has probably been shown 506 times (or more) since it premiered in May of 1998. Why did the WB do this? Did this show get high ratings? Did they spend so much money on it that in order for it to pay off, they must show THIS much? Do they do it so I can memorize every line (which I have)? Or do they do it just to annoy me (Probably)?
Superman’s undershown (now no-shown) episode:
“The Last Son of Krypton (Pt. 1, 2, 3)”
This episode was released to video! Right? Whoever actually saw it in stores, raise their hand! But I do know that WB hasn’t shown these episodes in at least a year. And I still have yet to see Part 3!
Batman’s undershown episodes
“Blind as a Bat”
Yes, I do realize that many of the older episodes no longer air on the WB, now that the CARTOON NETWORK has the rights to show them. Maybe this is one of those episodes…but I swear that I saw it on the WB before (as well as a plethora of other older BTAS episodes). Worse yet, the Cartoon Network shows this episode only once a year! If I could just find an accurate schedule and figure out how to set my VCR…
Shouldn’t the WB show all of the cartoons that the WB itself made? I’m not completely sure as to why the WB would give CARTOON NETWORK the rights to air a big chunk of the older BTAS eps. For money reasons, I’m sure…but how would this be more profitable?
Batboy [Beyond]
batboym@wtp.net
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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.
OK, we haven’t had a quote quiz for a while now, have we? Let’s see how good you are. Answer each question with WHO says the quote, WHO it’s said to, and what episode it’s in. (The shows include Batman, Beyond, and Superman, as well as “Phantasm” and “Sub-Zero”). MWUHAHAHAHAHAHA!
151. “I have to know!”
152. “What? Your charming good looks?”
153. “…it’s attempted arson.”
154. “Wake up, Jervis.”
155. “No. Not until I get the old one, too.”
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ANSWERS TO THE TRIVIA
Answer to #151: WHO: The Riddler. TO: No-one in particular. EPISODE: Riddler’s Reform
Answer to #152: WHO: Robin/Tim Drake. TO: Two-Face. EPISODE: Sins of the Father
Answer to #153: WHO: Harvey Bullock. TO: Commissioner Gordon. EPISODE: Nothing to Fear
Answer to #154: WHO: Batman. TO: The Mad Hatter. EPISODE: Make ‘Em Laugh
Answer to #155: WHO: Inque. TO: Aaron. EPISODE: Disappearing Inque
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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:
CONTRIBUTED BY OTHERS:
(by “Kelly Tindall”)
1. “Chemistry”. We all know Jason Blood is present at Bruce’s wedding to Susan. But who
are the others? From right, they are; Reporter Summer Gleeson, Francine and Kirk Langstrom(Kirk doesn’t look well), Jack “The Creeper” Ryder, Zatanna, and Jason Blood. (Leslie Thompkins is also in there, somewhere.
That’s quite a pantheon. Ryder and the Langstroms took me a minute to figure out, but those glasses and hair belong to Francine, no doubt. And what is Francine without Kirk? Ryder…I thought he was Dick, but nobody has that cocky smirk quite like Ol’ Jack.
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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)
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES
ISSUE: “Captive Audience” (#16)
WRITTEN BY: Scott Peterson
PENCILED BY: Criag Rousseau
INKED BY: Terry Beatty
ISSUED: July 7, 1999 (Cover date is September)
RATING: ***.5 (out of 5)
“And thank you for being so cooperative. Most people take at least
30 seconds to hypnotize.”
–Alfred to his would-be kidnappers
SUMMARY: Batgirl, Nightwing, and Robin are busy beating a bunch of thugs (no explanation is ever given, but endless amounts of bad guys keep coming at them) while Batman tells them that Alfred has been kidnapped. While they continually fight more thugs, Alfred outwits his
kidnappers so that when the Bat-team does arrive he’s already escaped.
COMMENTS: The art in this issue was great. Since there was no story, every panel is huge. The penciller, inker, and colorist all get to shine.
CRITICISMS: What was the point of this issue? A much simpler rehash of “The Lion and the Unicorn,” that has no importance whatsoever. Anyone who has seen that episode already knows that “Alfred was pretty formidable in his day,” so I didn’t find anything in this issue new or
noteworthy. However, I did like the final page which was a good end(?) to the story(?).
BOTTOM LINE: A good exercise in fast-paced, art-based storytelling that leaves anyone looking for a plot left in the dark.
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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 #17
August 4th
Batman finds himself in the middle of a family matter when a mob leader tries to kidnap the young son of immigrants – a boy the leader claims is his son. What if the evidence proves this to be true? Can even a super-hero change a person’s nature?
Cover: http://www.dccomics.com/directcurrents/comics/covers/download/dbmga17.jpg
NEXT MONTH:
Synopsis: Man-Bat returns. Need I say more?
Cover: http://www.toonzone.net/comics/covers/bga/bga18.jpg
BATMAN BEYOND #1 (ongoing)
Uhhh…don’t know much about this…it’ll be out in September, though.
NEXT MONTH: Issue #2. Starring Inque! Comes out in October.
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #36
August 11th
This whole issue looks like a job for Superman – bank robberies, plane hijackings, people trapped in mine shafts, and oh yeah, a kid’s missing dog. Can even the Man of Steel cover all these bases, or will he have to choose one emergency over the other?
Cover: http://www.dccomics.com/directcurrents/comics/covers/download/dsma36.jpg
NEXT MONTH:
Synopsis: Unavailable
Cover: Unavailable
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NEWS AND RUMORS
ALL-ENCOMPASSING/OTHER
-Terry Beatty has been and will be selling Gotham Adventures and Batman Beyond original art on ebay. His Seller ID is: wlee@muscanet.com Do yourself a favor and check out some great art!
-Also the COMIC BOOK CONTINUUM has an exclusive interview with none other then Paul Dini. Find out more on the upcoming season as well as his upcoming comic with Alex Ross called BATMAN:WAR ON CRIME as well as his other upcoming prjects! The URL is: http://detnews.com/metro/hobbies/comix/opinions/dini/index.htm
-There will be an ALL-NEW CONTEST beginning July 26th on BATMAN: THE ANIMATED MESSAGE BOARD. With a couple questions left, the current contest is winding down, with the winner soon to be announced. The prize(s) will of course, be Batman related. To find out more about the new contest check out the message board at:
http://www.insidetheweb.com/mbs.cgi/mb163084
“CURRENT” ANIMATED SERIES’
-Well it had to happen. During an interview with Paul Dini, he mentioned that the final three Superman episodes will be the last for the time being, but maybe not forever. LEGACY Parts 1 & 2 will be the FINAL Superman/Darkseid episode so you can bet some crazy stuff is gonna go down. If you want to read more into this, then just follow the URL: http://www.detnews.com/metro/hobbies/comix/stories/9907/07/index.htm
-However, BTAS/STAS will return in the fall of 2001 with NEW EPISODES, when Batman Beyond goes on hiatus.
-The STAS episodes LEGACY and DEMON REBORN have been left for next season. Great. Three more episodes to be scattered throughout the season. Perfect. Blech.
BATMAN BEYOND
-According to a post by ‘Clayface’ on the BATMAN BEYOND: THE ANIMATED MESSAGE BOARD, Henry Rollins will be voicing a character next season called MAD STAN in BB. Mad Stan…? Sounds like another Marvel Comics ‘homage’.The URL for the message board is: http://www.insidetheweb.com/mbs.cgi/mb163115
-We all know that there will be 52 more BEYOND episodes coming out…21 of which will be hand-painted (like all previous BTAS/BEYOND episodes), the other 31 being COMPUTER RENDERED! Cool eh? Are they gonna look like “Over the Edge” now?
-To find out more about the upcoming BATMAN BEYOND episode ‘Splicing’ then go to the COMIC BOOK CONTINUUM here: http://detnews.com/metro/hobbies/comix/stories/9907/13/index.htm
-Inque will return this fall, in the ongoing BATMAN BEYOND comic series. She will be the main villian in issue #2 of BATMAN BEYOND, on sale in October
-Batman Beyond continues to be the #2 show on Saturday morning, following Kids’WB!’s other show Pokemon!, which is #1.
-Next season on BATMAN BEYOND we’ll get another NEW villian called STALKER, who’s a mix between a game hunter and a celebrity stalker. If its a she or a he is yet to be determined.
-BEYOND will be on hiatus in the fall of 2001, when BTAS/STAS will return with more new episodes.
-The playlist for BATMAN BEYOND: THE SOUNDTRACK (to be released Aug 17) has been released, and I think we’ll be pleasently suprised! It’s a score CD. Here’s the list:
1.BATMAN BEYOND MAIN TITLE THEME
2.COLD VS. HOT
3.TERRIFIC TRIO VS. ROCKETEERS
4.BAT-SLAPPED IN STORE
5.FAREWELLS
6.BATMAN DEFEATS CHAPPELL
7.BATMAN CHASES INQUE
8.YATCHING WITH THE CARD GANG
9.BATMAN’S FIRST FIGHT
10.THE LEGACY CONTINUES
11.HOTEL SUITE
12.TROUBLE IN THE MUSE
13.INQUE ESCAPES
14.NUCLEAR LAB DESTRUCTION
15.GOLEM CHASES SHOPPERS
16.WILLY DEFEATED
17.GENETIC THEFT
18.JOKER CHASE
19.MOVE TO THE GROOVE
20.BATMAN BEYOND END CREDITS THEME
ANIMATED COMICS
-Still waiting to see when Ty Templeton’s leftover Joker story for “Gotham Adventures” is set to come out…
OTHER COMICS
-A prelude to “Batman: Dark Victory” (the follow-up to “The Long Halloween”) will be available in of WIZARD magazine…watch for it!
-As apart of the Y2K Bat-books relaunch, Jim Balent will now be leaving Catwoman. The final issue of his run remains unknown, as does the new creative team. Jim Balent has had an amazing 70+ issue run, which is almost unheard of these days.
-The “Anarky” comic series will be cancelled as of Issue #8.
-The following was taken from Alan J. Porter’s GOTHAM WEEKLY NEWS newsletter: DC Comics has publicly announced its plans for the Batman line of titles for next year, following the conclusion of No Man’s Land.
*Detective Comics: will focus on the crime in Gotham City and Batman’s interaction with the
GCPD. Writer: Greg Rucka, Artist: Shawn Martinbrough
*Batman: Batman as a superhero. Writer: Larry Hama, Artist: Scott McDaniel, Inks: Karl Story
*Batman: Shadow of the Bat: canceled and replaced with “Batman: Gotham Knights”. Writer: Devin Grayson, Artist: Dale Eaglesham, Inks: John Floyd
*Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight: Return to its original format of rotating creative teams telling multi-part stories. Bob Schreck will edit.
Changes to the Batman “family” books are as follws:
*Nightwing: Chuck Dixon (w), Greg Land (p), Drew Geraci (I)
*Birds of Prey: Chuck Dixon (w), Jackson Guice (a)
*Robin: Chuck Dixon (w), Pete Woods (p), Jesse Delperdang (I)
*Catwoman: Bronwyn Carlton (w), Staz Johnson (p), Wayne Faucher (I).
All new teams will begin with January 2000 issues of their respective
titles. (Note: Why isn’t Azrael mentioned?)
-For more, see the “Road Through No Man’s Land” section below.
MOVIES
-In a recent interview Paul Dini said not to expect Batman 5 to come out anytime before 2003.
TOYS & MERCHANDISE
-The new BTAS video game which is currently in production (for PSX and N64) will be done in the TNBA (new style) style of the series.
-The Playstation version of the SUPERMAN video game has a tentative release date of September 16, 1999.
-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, JUNE: For synopses of what how things really heated up in the fifth and sixth months of NO MAN’S LAND, see of “Batman: The Animated Newsletter”. Follow this link: http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/btan
JULY: Batman and Mr. Freeze have a fight. Yep, that sums it up, pretty much. The only other thing that’s of any interest is that, apparently, something major has happened to Robin. We just don’t know what yet.
Later in July, however, both Batman and Killer Croc search for “The King of Gotham City”. Azrael and Batgirl go on a man-hunt for Nicholas Scratch; Joker, Penguin, and Two-Face hear of Scratch’s movement and prepare for a shift in Gotham’s political landscape…from anarky to further anarky. AND Nightwing has raided Blackgate prison to sieze it from Lock-Up’s grip – but got caught.
That’s 34 issues of NML so far. For a complete list, e-mail us.
WHAT’S TO COME…
-July: Like April, it’s another month filled with one-part stories, one for each week. Bane resurfaces, and Robin fights off the Ratcatcher and Spoiler’s identity is revealed to her mother. Batgirl protects a gas station from various street gangs who are desperate for fuel. Azrael and Batgirl hunt for Nicholas Scratch, bumping into Joker, Penguin, and Two-Face along the way. Catwoman also makes her return to Gotham.
-August: The month begins with Batman trying to save the children of NML from a gang known as “Lynx”. Then, things start to really shake up when Harley Quinn finally makes her debut in the mainstream, with the Joker and Poison Ivy coming along for the ride. Meanwhile, Azrael and Batgirl continue to try to make a dent in Nicholas Scratch’s operations. Nightwing is trapped in Blackgate, and Robin is still out searching for food.
-September: “The Underground Railroad”, in LOTDK #123 and SOTB #91. Batman hardly appears at all in this story; Robin, Penguin, and Joker have larger roles. Then in “Goin’ Downtown”, Two-Face, Penguin, and Bane collide in another major turf war – in BATMAN #571 and DC #738. And don’t forget “Batman: No Man’s Land #0”, featuring what Batman did in the first 100 days of NML before re-appearing to confront Scarface.
-See below for more.
AS FOR THE OTHER HEROES:
-Nightwing is ordered by Batman to take control of Blackgate Prison after returning to Gotham in July; Lock-Up is unhappy with this, obviously. All this in Nightwing #35, 36, and 37.
-Batman sends Robin out to get emergency food rations BUT is confronted by Mr. Freeze and the Ratcatcher in the process in Robin #68. Also, Spoiler’s mother finds out her true identity. Robin then goes up against Killer Croc in Robin #72.
-Azrael and Batgirl team up to take down Nicholas Scratch, in a giant comic also featuring Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Joker, Penguin, and Two-Face. This is all in Azrael #56 and #57.
-The Huntress takes on the Joker and Harley Quinn in August.
-Leslie Thompkins and the Huntress are 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…
-The Ratcatcher confronts Robin and Nightwing as they try to break back into Gotham.
-Catwoman returns to Gotham in Catwoman #72, this July.
-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. Bane later returns in September to destroy Gotham – and finally fulfill his plans – in “Goin’ Downtown”.
-Lock-Up is in trouble when Nightwing tries to take over control of Blackgate Prison in July!
-Mr. Freeze will appear in Robin #68 in July, and #70 in September.
-BATMAN: HARLEY QUINN, the one-shot comic featuring Harley Quinn’s intro to the mainstream Bat-universe will come out in August.
-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. (BATMAN: Harley Quinn, Batman #570, DC #737). Also, it looks like Ms. Quinn will going up against the Huntress.
-Killer Croc and a wounded Mr. Zsasz re-appear in BATMAN CHRONICLES #18 in August.
-Two-Face re-surfaces in September in “Goin’ Downtown”, another major turf-war story, also featuring Bane and Penguin. He later re-appears in another big way later on in No Man’s Land, apparently as the second-last villain to be defeated. (How fitting.)
-The Penguin also returns in “Goin’ Downtown”.
-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)
Yep, this section is DEAD. It didn’t seem to be working any more, and we’re pressed for space. Soooooo…IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT, FANS! YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT! (And I still have a bunch of Bat-stuff up the wah-zoo that I wanna get rid of…*SNIFFLE*)
Is the guilt trip working? 🙂
IF you were using this section and want it back, say so before the next newsletter…if we get enough people wanting it back, it shall return. If not, kiss it good-bye… 🙂
And now, back to our regularly scheduled newsletter…
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FEATURED BAT-SITES FOR THIS ISSUE
Alright, something a little different this week. Recently a friend of mine that co-owns the TOON ZONE website notified me that they’re doing some MAJOR updates there. Why do I bring this up here? She wanted to know if anyone would like to contribute their mini-reviews or plot-synopses for the comic-book section of the site. (The aforementioned comics include BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES, SUPERMAN ADVENTURES, and BATMAN BEYOND – as well as pretty much any comic based on a show seen on KidsWB (Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Looney Tunes, Pokemon)…
Wanna help out? E-mail Harley at:
harley@toonzone.net
And of course, the TOONZONE website is located at:
http://www.toonzone.net
Thanks again! 🙂
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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
KID’S WB
http://www.kidswb.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://www.batmanuk.freeserve.co.uk
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
BATMAN BEYOND: WELCOME TO THE FUTURE
http://www.batmanbeyond.net
DCU ANIMATED
http://welcome.to/the_dcu
ANIMANIA
http://hjem.get2net.dk/twt/home.htm
HARLEY’S HAVEN OF HEDONISM
http://www.angelfire.com/hi2/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 & SUPERMAN:THE WORLD’S FINEST DISCUSSION CENTER
http://welcome.to/worldsfinest
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
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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. 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.
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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 juno@direct.ca
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, Kelly Tindall
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.
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AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL THE DIE-HARD FANS THAT SUBMITTED THEIR REASONS AS TO WHY THEY LOVE WB’s SUPERHERO SERIES’ SO MUCH!