Batman: The Animated Newsletter
Weeks of February 7 – February 12/13, 2000
Volume 3,
Rated: PG for some “low-key coarse language and occasional griping”
THIS ISSUE’S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: “THANK YOU FOR FINALLY AIRING ‘LEGACY’!!!!”
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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT (Numero Uno)
As of 11 PM on February 6, 2000, BATMAN: THE ANIMATED NEWSLETTER recieved its 1600th subscriber! YAAAAAY US! Thanks to all for subscribing and supporting us!
-Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton, editor
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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!
MAKE US LOOK LIKE FOOLS AND SEE YOUR NAME IN PRINT!
Yeah, that’s right. Over the past 54 issues, my hasty editing procedures have always left not just a few, but sometimes a whole horde of simple errors, grammatical problems, untrue facts, and whatnot. Just no typos – you’ve gotta be more creative than that! Here’s where YOU come in.
If you can find any mistakes in this issue (we’re not purposely making mistakes – any mistakes you find will be ones we were too blind to see), we’ll print your name in the following issue in a special column. Sound fun?
Come on. Make us look like idiots. We dare ya. Grrrr.
-Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
the tremendously warped editor
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THOSE WHO POINTED OUT OUR FAULTS
January 23, 2000
KEVIN KING
-Small typos here and there, and our air date schedule neglected to mention the episode numbers for various Superman episodes. Also, our trivia section asked to chose, from a list of characters, which characters have had their skin colour changed over time on BTAS. Poison Ivy was never mentioned, though Catwoman and Killer Croc were. This wasn’t a mistake, but it’s something noteworthy, nonetheless.
January 24, 2000
BRIAN LITZ
-He noticed a mistake with our episode review section.
KIM, THE BAT BRAT
-She noticed that we once misspelled “Superman” as “Suerpamn”.
January 28, 2000
JOHN GRIMMET
-He also noticed our TERRIBLE mispelling of the word “Superman”. Ugh! (I know we said no typos, but that one does stand out – it’s awful!)
January 31, 2000
JASON R WELLS
-We mispelled the word “Himalayas” in the trivia section.
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EAGERLY ANTICIPATING…
New episodes are on the horizon! Here’s what we can expect in the near future…
‘LEGACY (Pt. 1 & 2)’
Superman #44, 48
Air date: February 5 & 12, 2000
This two-parter features the final showdown between Superman and Darkseid in which he strips Superman of his memory and adopts him as a son in an effort to take over Earth. This is being touted as the FINAL Superman episode EVER. However, I must say that I’ve read a synopsis of the episode, and it’s a doozie.
‘FINAL CUT’
Batman Beyond #30
Air date: February 5, 2000
Bruce is out of town and incommunicado when Curaré – the assassin – returns to Gotham. With Max’s help, Batman is able to capture Curaré and disarm the assassin’s bomb just in time.
For synopses of all other upcoming second season BATMAN BEYOND episodes, check out of BTAN at this address:
http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/newsletters/btan
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WB ANIMATION SCHEDULES:
(courtesy of Brian Cruz and/or the official BTAS/STAS site)
THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES air Mondays thru Saturday; BATMAN BEYOND also airs on these days. Check local listings each day for what show is on at what time.
http://www.batman-superman.com/batman/cmp/episodes.html
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/schedules/
http://www.ktla.com/backstage/programming/kids_framed.frm
NOTE:
If our schedule is not updated, then go to the following URL. It will ALWAYS contain the most up-to-date schedule possible.
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Taping/2928/airdate.htm
THIS WEEK:
Mon 02-07-00: Batman #91 Never Fear
B-BEYOND #15 Earth Mover
Tue 02-08-00: Superman #32 The Late Mr. Kent
B-BEYOND #09 Spellbound
Wed 02-09-00: Superman #27 The Prometheon
B-BEYOND #10 Dead Man’s Hand
Thu 02-10-00: Batman #97 Over the Edge
B-BEYOND #24 Revenant
Fri 02-11-00: Superman #20 Identity Crisis
B-BEYOND #23 Mind Games
Sat 02-12-00: Superman #48 Legacy (Pt. 2) ———> NEW!!!
B-BEYOND #20 Once Burned
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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CANADIAN EPISODE SCHEDULE
(BTAS/BEYOND on YTV)
(courtesy of our friends at YTV)
-To find the episode guide and airing schedule of BATMAN and BATMAN BEYOND on YTV then please go to http://www.ytv.com and click on the YTV GUIDE icon at the bottom of the screen. To check out the schedule then click on BATMAN or BATMAN BEYOND in the time grid and it will have the schedule for the current week.
BTAS will air at Noon on weekdays (in all time zones), and BATMAN BEYOND will air at 2:30pm on Saturday and Sunday. YTV has the rights to show all 109 BTAS episodes. They also have the rights to air the first 26 episodes of BATMAN BEYOND (all of season 1 and the first half of season 2).
-YTV is moving BATMAN! BATMAN will no longer air at 7:30am (ET). BATMAN will now air at 12 noon (ET) Monday thru Friday. YTV is making their early morning shows all kid oriented, and felt that BATMAN did not suit that time slot.
THIS WEEK:
Mon 02-07-00: BTAS #01 On Leather Wings
Tue 02-08-00: BTAS #14 Heart of Ice
Wed 02-09-00: BTAS #20 Feat of Clay (Pt. 1)
Thu 02-10-00: BTAS #21 Feat of Clay (Pt. 2)
Fri 02-11-00: BTAS #11 It’s Never Too Late
Sat 02-12-00: BEYOND #01 Rebirth (Pt. 1)
Sun 02-13-00: BEYOND #02 Rebirth (Pt. 2)
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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 either of these sites for the schedule:
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/schedules/batman-cn.html
http://homes.acmecity.com/animation/saturday/352/schedule.html
To see the 52 episodes that the CARTOON NETWORK does show, go to this link:
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/eplists/batman-cn.html
NOTE: The schedules at Brian Cruz’ site are currently unavailable; if anyone knows of any other place where people can get listings for BTAS on the Cartoon Network, please e-mail us!
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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 #1: ALRIGHT! I’ve been messing up WHO is writing WHAT for this column for too long now. If you wanna see who’s writing each review, just go to the bottom – they all sign it there. Sorry Zanna and Justin! I feel so foolish…agh…*HALF OF MY FACE BLUSHES*
NOTE #2: You’ll notice that we have the review of a SUPERMAN episode in this issue. Why? Well, LEGACY has been anticipated for SO LONG that we just thought we should cave in and give the Superman fans here a moment in the sun. Enjoy!
LEGACY (Pt. 1)
Story by Paul Dini
Written by Rich Fogel
Directed by Curt Geda
Animation by Dong Yang
Original Air Date: February 5, 2000
Rating: **** out of 5
Ep Description: The beginning of the end. Darkseid’s greatest plot unleashes Superman upon the people of earth in the first of the two-part Superman finale.
Highs: Good plot, wide cast of characters, provides the premise for a kickass Part 2 ep.
Lows: Animation is not top quality, this ep in itself isn’t as powerful as I had wished (in my opinion), over a year of waiting!
Overall: A fine episode that lays the foundation for a truly great ending.
Comments: Ever since it was announced over a year ago, Legacy has by far been the most eagerly awaited episode of Superman ever. Even if it was poised to be the end of the series, the bits and pieces we heard about it were enough to assure us that the series would go out with a bang.
Well, after a string of near-excruciating delays, Legacy has finally hit the air waves. So does it live up to the hype? The answer is…read on to find out.
The episode opens with hordes of warriors from Apokalips descending on an alien planet. They’re meeting heavy resistance from the defenders as they progress. When the invasion force is a short distance away from the alien castle, they mysteriously stop. The defending soldiers peer from their bunkers in confusion. Suddenly, the walls explode, and a masked figure swoops into their ranks. Their weapons don’t even faze the invader, and in a flash the last aliens are defeated. The ruler of this world sadly hands over his scepter as a sign of surrender and bows before this mysterious fighter. On Darkseid’s ship, the tyrant congratulates the masked man, calling him “son”. Accepting the gratitude, this warrior removes his helmet to reveal his identity: Superman.
And this is the basis for the long awaited finale of Superman. Brainwashed by Darkseid, Superman’s truth and justice goals have been reversed. Kal-El’s new mission: Conquer Earth in the name of Apokolips. To Darkseid, this is the ultimate scheme to gain control of the planet Earth and destroy Supes at the same time. This makes for an excellent and pivotal episode in the series chronology…one that should not be missed.
A grand selection of major and minor characters appear in Legacy aside from the obvious ones, including Supergirl, who desperately attempts to cover for Superman’s disappearance from Earth, Lois Lane, who is probably the only person who can still connect to him, and Lex Luthor, who finds a way to exploit even a tragedy of this magnitude for his own benefit. Among others are a hardline general, Jimmy Olsen, and even Ma and Pa Kent. Additionally, watching Darkseid manipulate Supes shows just how evil he is. Before setting off to take Earth, the ruler gives Supes a flag with the “S” symbol on it, intended to make sure the people of Earth associate him with evil.
The action is certainly a step up from past Superman episodes. Watching Supes tear through the Earth’s defenses makes you realize what a killing machine he is, and how lucky the people of the planet were to have him as a good guy before. But now, his seemingly boundless strength is directed at the people he once protected. Even Supergirl is shown no mercy by Kal-El when she dares to oppose him. Only Lois Lane causes Supes to question his actions briefly, just in time for Lex Luthor and General Hardcastle to fire a special Kryptonite missile into him and Supergirl. The ep ends with both heroes in a comatose state from the Kryptonite.
A complaint with this ep are that the animation is not of the best quality. I saw some choppiness here and there as frames would seeming skip while the scene pans about. I would’ve liked such a major event to have some better production values. Also, this ep alone is not the powerhouse of the two parts in my opinion, although that’s expected. What it does do however, is lay the groundwork for a major conclusion.
We can all see the merits of this episode…but again, this is not the one we’re all waiting for. Lets keep our fingers crossed that Part 2 will take this up another level.
-Justin Chen, aka The Overseer
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EDITORIAL
(by Kelly Tindall)
No, No, NO!
Or, Batman Beyond: The Movie????
Well, my tender lumplings, your loving uncle Kelly has heard some rather bizarre rumblings from his associates in Hollywood. Apparently, they want to make a Batman Beyond live-action film, starring our favorite blankman, Keanu “Whoa” Reeves. As Libby Gelman-Waxner pointed out in her review of The Matrix last year: “When nobody is talking to Keanu, he goes hopelessly, glorious dead, like somebody forgot to turn on his screensaver.”
Sigh.
Y’know, Todd McFarlane did the same thing with his Spawn franchise. Granted, he makes millions, but he certainly could have made more if more than just disaffected teenagers and FX geeks saw his movie. He’s quick to point out that it made fifty million dollars…most in its first week, and little since. That’s pretty embarrassing, I’d say. I mean, not bad for a comics translation, but pretty weak next to established characters.
Making Batman Beyond into a movie is precisely why I can hardly read the Bat-books anymore…
too much. They are taking a legimately great character, Batman, and distilling him with lame- duck characters like Azrael: Agent of the Bat, or a new Batgirl, or The Birds of Prey, yadda yadda.
The trick is, Batman Beyond is GOOD…
…but only kids watch it. Their parents, for the most part, do not.
Do YOU want to watch another Bat-movie for kids alone?
Me, neither.
I don’t think it’s a good idea at all. I can’t see it making a lot of money unless they chuck into a June/July primo spot…Accck, the whole thing stinks. I don’t want to see them wreck Batman by throwing the whole franchise into the future, and I don’t want to see them wreck Year One, and I know for a fact that they’ll screw up Dark Knight Returns. Aiiieeeeee…what can we DO? What can we DOOOO???
Well, I guess we can enjoy the CARTOONS. At least they don’t stink.
I’m outta here…this is bat country!
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AND THAT’S THE FACTS
(by “Reliable Source”)
And yet another week rolls by with no sign of our RELIABLE source. RELIABLE. RELIABLE. Grrrrr.
;-Y
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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.
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching…and I felt that this would be the perfect time to do a Valentine’s Day-related quiz. Knock yaself out!
261. What is the first name of the man that had a crush on Inque?
A: Aaron
B: Burt
C: Chris
D: Derek
E: Emmanuel
262. What BATMAN episode aired on KidsWB on the first Valentine’s Day since BTAS moved from FOX to the WB?
A: HEART OF ICE
B: MUDSLIDE
C: HARLEQUINADE
D: MAD LOVE
E: LOVE IS A CROC
263. Which of the following people has Poison Ivy NOT kissed?
A: Bruce Wayne
B: Harvey Dent
C: Harleen Quinzelle
D: Oswald Cobblepot
E: Barbara Gordon
264. Whose “ALMOST GOT ‘IM” tale involved nearly getting Batman via a kiss?
A: Poison Ivy
B: Talia
C: Harley Quinn
D: Catwoman
E: Bane
265. Tygrus LOVES his “father”, as a son should. What is his father’s name?
Answer: _________
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AND THESE ARE OUR FINAL ANSWERS (to the trivia)
Answer to #261: A
Answer to #262: C
Answer to #263: D, E
Answer to #264: C
Answer to #265: Emile
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LITTLE FACTS AND BLOOPERS
(by Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton)
Here is a section that just points out various little facts and bloopers that we have noticed while watching BTAS and STAS countless times. If you have anything to contribute, feel free to do so! Enjoy!
CONTRIBUTED BY STAFF:
1) In “Growing Pains”, right at the beginning, the biker gang circling about Annie consists of three members; in a later shot, right after Robin breaks up the fight, we see FOUR of them charging at him on their bikes. Whuh?
2) The name Max Gibson (from BATMAN BEYOND) is a mix of Mel Bigson and Mad Max (a character he played). Anyone know what movie this was from?
3) DID YOU KNOW that it was Bruce Timm’s birthday on this past Sunday? (February 6).
4) Ever wonder what happened to DR. Long after NOTHING TO FEAR? He’s now working at S.T.A.R. Labs beside Dr. Hamilton. He appears breifly at the very beginning of THE MAIN MAN Part 1 in the bunker.
CONTRIBUTED BY OTHERS:
(by “SoundNoff”)
5) In the Batman Beyond Episode “Shriek”, the factory in which Batman and Shriek are efighting is a car factory. The cars being manufactured have wheels? Aren’t the cars of the futures supposed to hover? (Some cars have hovered – like Dana Tan’s car in “Rebirth”). If the excuse is that it was an abandoned company, then why was the assembly line up and running?!?
6) In the BB episode “Heroes”, one of the kidnappers is attacked by freon, who freezes his legs. When the police come to arrest them, they all walk into the police van, and the guy who’s legs were frozen walks on with thawed legs. Whats up with that?
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MERCHANDISING: WHERE THE REAL BAT-CASH IS MADE
(by anyone that wants to contribute)
I’m afraid that we have no toy review for this issue of the newsletter. Be sure to check back here in the future!
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COMIC REVIEWS
(GOTHAM ADVENTURES by Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton)
(BATMAN BEYOND by Tim Wan)
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES
ISSUE: “Do the Wrong Thing” (#23)
WRITTEN BY: Scott Peterson
PENCILLED BY: Tim Levins
INKED BY: Terry Beatty
ISSUED: February 2, 2000 (cover date, April 2000)
RATING (out of 5): ***
I’m of two minds for of GOTHAM ADVENTURES. Fortunately, good Harv is dominating.
Months ago, after the creative team on this title changed, I didn’t like the opening splashes in the issues that followed; however, as time rolled along, I grew to accept them, and now find them to be a very unique and effective style in which to introduce the story. I also enjoy how Batman’s humanity always shines through in the animated series, no matter how grim he ACTS. “Sometimes we have to stop someone from doing the wrong thing for the right reason.”
Sound preachy? It easily COULD HAVE, but Peterson manages to work it into the story with great ease. Gotta love them family values. ;-Y
Love Templeton as I do, his last Ra’s Al Ghul tale didn’t sit well with me. I was really hoping for a good comeback here – and that’s what we got. When I originally heard that this story would be set in Canada, I cringed. I’m Canadian myself, and was worried that the issue would be packed full of stereotypes; gladly, these worries were put to rest. Sadly, my homeland isn’t mentioned ONCE – how well known is Prince of Wales Island, anyhow? I guess it’s a double- standard of mine – fitting, seeing who my namesake is, eh?
Ra’s plan, oddly enough, actually sounded very logical – and LEGAL – aside from the fact that he kidnapped a bunch of people and all that…it was rather intelligent, and I admit that I was guessing until the end. Just what was the connection between oil and saving the world?
What did Ra’s do during the oil crisis in the 70’s, anyhow? That is something interesting to think about…
Overall, a good, solid read. I’ll never stop picking up this title.
;-Y
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COMIC SCHEDULES & COVERING THE BASICS
This section gives a little bit more in-depth look into each monthly issue of BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES, BATMAN BEYOND, and SUPERMAN ADVENTURES. Below each comic listing is a link to the cover of that comic. TALK ABOUT SERVICE!
The price for any of these issues, unless otherwise posted, 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”.)
If we are unsure of the exact date of when an issue is being released, just check out “DIRECT CURRENTS” at http://www.dccomics.com for details.
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #24
March 1st
Synopsis: Members of the Bat-team are being kidnapped one-by-one. But who is behind it all?
Cover: Unavailable
FOLLOWING MONTH:
Synopsis: A team-up between Batman and the Flash.
Cover: Unavailable
BATMAN BEYOND #6 (ongoing)
February 23rd
Synopsis: When Terry McGinnis and his friends try to go on a quiet camping trip to a river island near Gotham, they enter a lost world of genetically altered creatures kept prisoner there for the amusement of the world’s most dangerous gamehunter: Stalker! It’s up to Batman to keep himself and his friends alive, if he can outrun, outwit and outfight the half- dinosaur/half-jungle animals populating the island!
Cover: http://www.dccomics.com/directcurrents/comics/covers/bmb6.jpg
FOLLOWING MONTH: Issue #7.
Synopsis: The return of another popular BEYOND villain (we’re not telling WHO) makes Terry’s life a living hell.
Cover: Unavailable
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #43
February 9th
Synopsis: A street thug finds a Mother Box (Orion’s computer – Connected to god-like powers) and Superman must stop him in a story featuring art by newcomer Min S. Ku. (Batman Beyond Storyboards)
Cover: Unavailable
FOLLWOING MONTH:
Synopsis: Unavailable
Cover: Unavailable
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NEWS AND RUMORS
ALL-ENCOMPASSING/OTHER
-Kids’WB! is expected to announce the premiere date of the new CGI series MAX STEEL, and whether or not it will bump BATMAN/SUPERMAN from the weekend line-up, which it is expected NOT to. (Whew!) Kids’WB! is already airing teasers for the show during POKEMON and BATMAN BEYOND.
-In response to MARVEL jacking all 1.99US/2.99CAN cover price comics up to 2.25US/3.50CAN, DC plans to keep their titles currently at 1.99US/3.25CAN.
-Advance orders for DETECTIVE COMICS #743 have been amazing! If current ordering rates continue, this title could seen rival JLA as DC’s #1 title and could even break the top ten!
-The BATMAN, SUPERMAN, & BEYOND: THE WORLD’S FINEST website has been undergoing some revamps and additions these past few (and upcoming) weeks. New sections (including a News section, and a Comment section) are on the way and all current WORLD’S FINEST sections have been updated.
http://welcome.to/worldsfinest
-Terry Beatty has been and will be selling Gotham Adventures and Batman Beyond original art on ebay. His Seller ID is: beatty@machlink.com Do yourself a favor and check out some great art!
-A number of sources say that the official BATMAN BEYOND site will get its long-overdue revamp in the near future.
-YTV is moving BATMAN! BATMAN will no longer air at 7:30am (ET). BATMAN will now air at 12 noon (ET) Monday thru Friday. YTV is making their early morning shows all kid oriented, and felt that BATMAN did not suit that time slot.
-BATMAN, SUPERMAN, & BEYOND: THE WORLD’S FINEST is ading a news page which will be updated daily. The page is scheduled to launch Monday. The URL for the newest section of WORLD’S FINEST is:
http://www.geocities.com/bbeyond/news.html
ANIMATED SERIES (BTAS, STAS, BEYOND)
-The long-anticipated Superman episode “LEGACY” could air during the February sweeps.
-News on the third and final season of BATMAN BEYOND has been released. One of the tidbits is that SUPERMAN WILL appear in season three, but his appearance will have a sufficient effect on the series. To read the article, then click ont he URL Link below:
http://www.anotheruniverse.com/columns/animated/animated012100.html
-Wanna see a clip from BATMAN BEYOND where Terry fights Two-Face, the Riddler, and Killer Croc?
Go here:
http://www.batman-superman.com/batman/dld/train.mov
ANIMATED COMICS
-MIN S. KU will be the fill-in artist for BATMAN BEYOND #7. Ku’s art has previously been seen in SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #41. He also does storyboards for BATMAN BEYOND.
-The Flash will be appearing in the double sized BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #25. For a cover of
this issue, go here:
http://comicscontinuum.com/stories/0001/25/bmgothadvent25.jpg
-BATMAN BEYOND #7 and #8 will be written by both Hilary J. Bader AND Rich Fogel. The cover to #8 can be found here:
http://comicscontinuum.com/stories/0001/25/bmbeyond8.jpg
-The Martian Manhunter will be appearing in SUPERMAN ADVENTURES in the coming months. No specific issue was given. Lobo is expected to return soon as well, possibly for .
OTHER COMICS
-An interview with Denny O’Neil can be found at the following address. (Look under FEATURE ARTICLES for January 30, 2000, for the link to the article).
http://silverbulletcomics.hypermart.net/index1.htm
-The first issue of Greg Rucka’s BATMAN/HUNTRESS: CRY FOR BLOOD will hit the shelves on April 12, 2000.
-Greg Rucka will be writing a Batman/Wonder Woman crossover later this year.
-BATMAN #577, Larry Hama’s third outing as the writer of the series, features Bruce and Alfred
combatting rats in Wayne Manor. Huh?
-Batman will guest-star in BATGIRL #3 and ACTION COMICS #766.
-DETECTIVE COMICS #748 and 749 will be told from Commissioner Gordon’s POV.
-Word has it that Azrael will be getting his old costume back sometime soon.
-Calendar Man will be the featured villain in DARK VICTORY #7, due out in April.
-For these and all the other April DC solicitations, go here:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0001/25/index.htm
-Howard Porter (JLA) will be the new regular artist for THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN. He is expected to join the title in late 2000 when new writer J. M. DeMattais joins in. BTAN will provide a complete round-up of the new artists on the titles in a few weeks when everything is finalized.
-Ra’s Al Ghul will be the featured villian in a new JLA story-arc scheduled to begin in and will run for a minimum 3 issues.
MOVIES
-BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER (I really hope they give it a better title than that) now has a trailer available for downloading. Check it out here:
http://www.batman-superman.com/batman/dld/bb.mov
-CINESCAPE ONLINE reports the following:
Something’s happening with Warner Bros. troubled Batman franchise. Rumors have been flying around the internet about a candidate to helm a fifth Batman movie and save the film series. This last week, Ain’t It Cool News reported on rumors that writer-director Darren Aronofsky (Pi) was in talks with producer Lorenzo DiBonaventura to take on a possible fifth Batman movie. Now, the Hollywood Reporter is confirming that something is up with word that the director is a candidate for the post. In addition, the trade is once again reporting that Warner Bros. is looking to return Batman back to his dark roots in the flavor of the Tim Burton films.
In addition, as it appears that the studio is moving forward again with the Batman film franchise, word has it that the oft-mentioned Bruce Wayne TV series is being placed on hold. The Bruce Wayne TV series was set prior to the millionaire taking on the mantle of the bat and would have been a nice means of paving the way should the next film be the Batman: Year One story.
TOYS, BOOKS, AND OTHER MERCHANDISE
-Starting January 3, Burger King & Batman Beyond teamed up for four weeks of action figures and kids meals. Once BK is done with Pokemon toys, they will start a four week promotional Batman Beyond Kids’ Meal pack. These will include all-new action figures made specifically for the fast food franchise. Go to http://www.burgerking.com for details.
-THE BATMAN BEYOND INFO PAGE reports that there will be a softcover paperback book entitled THE BATMAN BEYOND FILES to be released in April. The book is said to have information on the upcoming movie as well as behind the scenes info and much more! There has been no price set yet, but AMAZON.COM has more information on the book.
-Thanks to THX1138 for the following!
GameSpot News has learned that Ubi Soft has some major plans for future titles based on the Batman license. The company currently has two lines of games in the works – one based on the Batman animated series, and one likely based on the Batman: The Dark Knight returns line. Both titles are currently headed for the PlayStation2 and could likely end up on others platforms, such as the Dreamcast or the Dolphin as well.
While Ubi Soft has been extremely quiet on both projects, we expect to hear new details leading up to this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Stay tuned.
By Sam Kennedy, videogames.com
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FEATURED BAT-SITE FOR THIS ISSUE
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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
BATMAN BEYOND VIDEO SITE
http://www.batmanbeyondvideo.com
YTV’S BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES PAGE
http://www.ytv.com/shows/batman_animated/
YTV’s BATMAN BEYOND Page
http://www.ytv.com/shows/batman_beyond/
SUB-ZERO: THE DEFINTIVE 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
PSYCOMICS
http://www.psycomics.com
RAVING TOY MANIAC
http://www.toymania.com
VOICE CHASERS
http://www.voicechasers.org
UNOFFICIAL SITES
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*TWO-FACE’S TOWER OF TRANQUILITY AND TERROR
http://www.angelfire.com/tx/TimTwoFace/index.html
BATMAN, SUPERMAN, & BEYOND: THE WORLD’S FINEST DISCUSSION CENTER
http://welcome.to/worldsfinest
THE DISCUSSION CENTER (same as above)
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Taping/2928/boards.htm
BRIAN CRUZ’ WB CARTOON PAGE
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/index.html
BATMAN UK (BRIAN’S BATMAN PAGE)
http://www.batmanuk.freeserve.co.uk
RA’S AL GHUL’S THE LAZARUS PIT
http://zap.to/lazaruspit
THE DARK KNIGHT
http://www.darkknight.ca
BATMAN BEYOND: WELCOME TO THE FUTURE
http://www.batmanbeyond.net
TIM WAN’S BATMAN BEYOND
http://come.to/batmanbeyond
DCU ANIMATED
http://www.DCUAnimated.zzn.com
HARLEY’S HAVEN OF HEDONISM
http://www.harley-quinn.com
GOTHAM CITY LIMITS
http://www.batman.gexner.net
BATMAN: DEFENDER OF GOTHAM
http://www.fandom.com/batman
THE RIDDLER – EDWARD NYGMA’S PUZZLE WEBSITE
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/prospero.milan/nygma
THE BATMAN ACTION FIGURE PAGE
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/7659/
CHARACTERS ON THE ADVENTURES OF BATMAN & ROBIN
http://www.xse.com/leres/batman.html
ARKHAM ASYLUM
http://animation.acmecity.com/saturday/352
JOKERZ TERRITORY
http://members.xoom.com/Jokerz84/index.htm
THE BATZONE
http://www.batzone.cjb.net/
JLA: THE ANIMATED SERIES
http://animation.acmecity.com/character/375
ANIMATED TALES
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dunes/2294/at
A TRIBUTE TO BATMAN
http://www.angelfire.com/ny2/russkafin/batman.html
BATMAN CEL SITE
http://animation.acmecity.com/carbon/111
DARK JUSTICE
http://www.mania.com.au/~grahark/darkjustice/
THE BATMAN BEYOND INFO PAGE
http://www.rogue-spear.com/BB
THE VAULT
http://dmoz.org/Arts/Animation/Voice_Actors
NEWSGROUPS
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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 archive contains 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/newsletters/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, put SUBSCRIBE in the subject line, and put the e-mail
address you’d like the newsletter to be sent to in the body of the message.
For more information about 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
EDITOR AT COLLEGE, NOT IN A DORM: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
EDITOR AT COLLEGE, BUT IN A DORM: “Dick Grayson”
AIR DATE SCHEDULES: Brian Cruz, RiddlerWB (at the official BTAS/STAS site), and YTV.com
EPISODE REVIEWS: Zanna/Justin Chen, and occasionally Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
EDITORIAL: Kelly Tindall
COMIC REVIEWS: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton, Tim Wan
MERCHANDISE REVIEW: Various
“BTAN ARCHIVES” MODERATOR: Eileen Delgadillo
TRIVIA: 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:-Y Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
DELIVERY: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
E-MAIL RECEPTION HANDLING: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
BATMAN CREATED BY: Bob Kane & Bill Finger (who else?)
Batman and all related indicia are trademarks of DC Comics, Copyright c 2000.
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