Batman: The Animated Newsletter
Weeks of February 28 – March 4/5, 2000
Volume 3,
Rated: PG for some “low-key coarse language and occasional griping”
THIS ISSUE’S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: “1645.7 SUBSCRIBERS CAN’T BE WRONG.”
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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
We here at BATMAN: THE ANIMATED NEWSLETTER apologize for the delay in getting this issue out to you. The editor was unable to find the time to do so on Sunday (academic reasons – argh), so hopefully no one was affected by this. Put those tissues away, fellow subscribers, has finally arrived!
Alright, that was just too damn cheesy – I’m gonna stop talking now…
-editor Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
(who needs to learn that brevity is the soul of wit)
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MAKE US LOOK LIKE FOOLS AND SEE YOUR NAME IN PRINT!
Yep, you heard right! Ever since the issue #1, 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
PAUL ALVARADO-DYKSTRA
-he pointed out we mispelled Lucius Fox’s first name
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EAGERLY ANTICIPATING…
New episodes are on the horizon! Here’s what we can expect in the near future…
‘LAST RESORT’
Batman Beyond #29
Air date: March 4, 2000
A number of Terry’s classmates are being sent off to a new innovative “tough love” boarding school. When Chelsea becomes one of them, Terry discovers the place is being run more like a medieval prison than a school.
‘ARMORY’
Batman Beyond #31
Air date: March 11, 2000
When the father of one of Terry’s friends is laid off from his lucrative research and development job, he develops a super-powered suit in his backyard workshop and turns to a life of crime.
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 02-28-00: Superman #24 Solar Power
B-BEYOND #09 Spellbound
Tue 02-29-00: Superman #09 Stolen Memories
Batman #82 Lock-Up
Wed 03-01-00: Superman #30 Bizzaro’s World
Batman #88 Cold Comfort
Thu 03-02-00: Superman #07 Feeding Time
Superman #52 Little Big Head Man
Fri 03-03-00: Superman #16 Action Figures
B-BEYOND #26 Terry’s Friend Dates a Robot
Sat 03-04-00: Superman #46 Absolute Power
B-BEYOND #29 The Last Resort ———> NEW!!!
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 02-28-00: BTAS #?? Eternal Youth
Tue 02-29-00: BTAS #10 Two-Face (Pt. 1)
Wed 03-01-00: BTAS #17 Two-Face (Pt. 2)
Thu 03-02-00: BTAS #24 Fear of Victory
Fri 03-03-00: BTAS #?? I’ve Got Batman in my Basement
Sat 03-04-00: BEYOND #06 Shriek
Sun 03-05-00: BEYOND #10 Dead Man’s Hand
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CARTOON NETWORK WB ANIMATION SCHEDULE:
(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: Amazingly, I never got around to reviewing this episode yet. Well, that time has finally come. Enjoy!
OVER THE EDGE
Written by Paul Dini
Directed by Yuichiro Yano
Animation by TMS
Original air date: April 28, 1998 – UK exclusive
Original air date: May 23, 1998 – North American date
My rating: ****1/2
WOW.
What can I say about this episode? It was certainly the best of the new batch, and one of the finest ever.
The episode opens with Gordon, Bullock, Montoya, and the GCPD SWAT Team chasing Batman and Robin through the Batcave, guns blazing. To prevent an escape, the Batmobile is nuked. We hear Gordon address Batman as Bruce Wayne before he fires again – of course, we know that something is terribly wrong. Batman and Robin hide behind Two-Face’s giant penny (from “Almost Got ‘Im”), and to make their getaway, they roll it at the cops – they scatter and this buys the dynamic duo just enough time to drop down to the lower cave where the Batboat is.
Just before Batman and Robin make it to the Batboat, Gordon has a clear shot at Bats’ head – just before he’s about to fire, Alfred runs out of nowhere and tackles him, and is immediately arrested. Batman and Robin get away in the Batboat; as soon as they sail into the ocean a police boat careens into them and after one warning, starts shooting missiles at the Batboat;
Nightwing comes onto the scene out of nowhere on a skidoo, blows up the police boat and escorts Batman and Robin to his hideout in downtown Gotham.
Just minutes into the episode, there has been a tremendous amount of action, and even some extensive CGI work – not as well done as in Sub-Zero, but very good – this CGI work makes the battle on the high seas very real. And this work now raises many questions – such as, “What the hell is going on?”
Back at Nightwing’s lair, Bruce, Dick, and Tim, still in costume, discuss what has happened, to bring their crusade to an end. Batman begins to tell the story…
A night or two earlier, the Scarecrow had taken Mayor Hill hostage at City Hall. While Batman and Robin take care of his henchmen, Scarecrow escapes to the roof, and Batgirl follows. Once there, she tackles a Scarecrow dummy, and, in shock, dumbfounded that she could be tricked that easily, the real Scarecrow, in complete silence, creeps up out of the shadows, whacks her with the stick hard, and she slowly teeters and falls over the edge of the building…
Gordon and Bullock are in a squad car on the street below, and after a couple seconds of silence, Batgirl smashes through the windshield and flops onto the pavement. Above, Scarecrow lets out a blood-curdling laugh, and Batman, seeing what he has done, beats the living crap out of him.
This has got to be one of the most chilling scenes in any Batman story ever. The level of graphic violence shown here is unprecedented in any BTAS show. The fact that it happens to a woman makes it all the more chilling – I must say that I’m suprised the censors didn’t change this – but I’m glad they didn’t. Scarecrow is as chilling as always, and the fact that he says nothing in the entire show besides his laugh makes him all the more menacing.
Gordon quickly rushes over to Batgirl, and after she mumbles out “Dad, help me…”, he whisks off her mask and discovers the secret his daughter had been hiding from him all these years. He holds her, cries, and she goes limp in his hands.
Batman quickly rushes down (did Scarecrow get away???) and sees Gordon clutching his dead daughter. Gordon immediately blames him for the death, and is infuriated that after all these years of working together, he never told him that his own daughter was part of his vigilante team. Bullock steps in, and is about to arrest Batman, before Robin shoots the gun out of his hand and they get away. Gordon knows they can’t catch him by chasing him (such as in Mask of the Phantasm), so he lets him get away for now – he covers up the dead Barbara Gordon with his overcoat and the scene changes.
Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce, Tim, and Alfred mourn over the loss of Barbara in the study. The phone rings. Bruce answers and Gordon tells him that he knows who he is now – he searched on Barbara’s computer and it revealed all of the secrets of the Batcave and its members. Bruce tries to level with him, saying that his parents were taken the same way – by fate – and Gordon, showing no mercy, virtually declares war on Wayne Manor. The SWAT team busts in with a battering ram, and the three in the den hide in the Batcave. This brings us back to the present.
Another great point about this episode is that Commissioner Gordon’s character is finally being developed some more. His relationship and interaction with Batman in this episode is superb and the emotions he feels are very real. Who wouldn’t go to the ends of the earth to seek revenge on someone who had a hand in killing their child? While most wouldn’t, the wanting to would still exist.
Now that all of their secret identities have been blown, Batman and Robin hide in Nightwing’s lair while Nightwing goes back to his apartment to get food and supplies so they can survive. As soon as Nightwing enters his apartment, the cops pop out of nowhere – they were waiting for him. Nightwing escapes to the roof, where he meets a police helicopter, and it starts shooting wildly – everything fades out.
Well, sadly, Nightwing didn’t die. If he did, the episode would be all the more brooding. Another brief note is that since Nightwing and Batgirl were like boy-girlfriend with each other, why didn’t he mourn her death more? Oh well. Just a minor point. Nightwing is arrested and thrown in jail with Alfred. Two heroes down, two to go.
Batman, knowing that he’s got nothing to lose now, tells Tim to run away – no one would blame a kid for what happened. Tim turns and runs away without looking back.
Due to his involvment with a team of vigilantes, one of which being his own daughter, Commissioner Gordon is fired from the GCPD. But he is still thirsty for revenge, so he takes a trip to Blackgate prison and hires its most infamous inmate to kill Batman.
Batman watches over Barbara’s funeral – yet another very moody scene. Seeing stuff like this in a kids cartoon just doesn’t seem right – it’s very uneasy to watch, and that’s what makes it so good. Gordon knows that Batman would be watching too, so he set up a load of snipers in the area to shoot Batman if he is seen. One sees him, gunfire follows, and Batman escapes to the roof, where he runs into the new, improved, “I’m still a really tough guy after you pull out my venom tube” Bane, the one whom Gordon hired. A huge fight ensues, and even more CGI work is used. Batman throws Bane onto an adjoining roof – the roof of Police Headquarters. Gordon arrives to watch the show, and tells Bane to keep him alive so Batman can be locked up in Arkham; Bane refuses, throws Gordon over the edge of the building, and steps on his hands to send him to a grave alongside his daughter. Batman throws Bane into the Batsignal and shatters it; Batman cuts his venom tube, ties it to one of the livewires from the shattered signal, and electrocutes Bane. Batman rushes over to grab Gordon and just before he does, Bane uses his last ounce of strength to hurl the entire Batsignal at the two, and collapses, dead, after Batman and Gordon fall to their deaths…
Soft moaning and a loud scream break through the night and next we see Barbara waking up in the Batcave – it was just a nightmare, brought on by Scarecrow’s fear gas. I was happy to see that this wasn’t just a lame “Oh, it was just a dream” type ending – we see that Barbara’s worst fear is keeping her vigilante life secret from her father. Also, the dream provided us with a great Dark Knight Returns type story – the final Batman story. A great “what if” story – and it showed everything, in a brutally realistic fashion. The final scene with Barbara and her father, about to tell him her secret, is a nice touch too.
The only part that I thought was completely out of place was the scene where Harley Quinn, Mad Hatter, Riddler, and Ventriloquist appear on a talkshow, saying that Batman drove them to insanity. Having this segment thrown in totally spoiled the mood and broke up the story – and none of the villains even had a good appearance in it. This is the only reason why I didn’t give the episode a five-star rating. Harley was acting stupid and Riddler and Ventriloquist didn’t say a word. Mad Hatter’s appearance was OK – we get to see his new elf-like design, but I’d still have prefered this segment to be thrown out, because it has nothing to do with the core story. Now, if villains with more intense relationships with Batman – Joker, Catwoman, and Two-Face, namely – were shown, it may have been better. (Coincidentally, it was these three villains that appeared in Frank Miller’s “THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS”, another tale about Batman’s “final journey”.) But as it stands, this talk-show segment was poor, especially since it ruined the mood. Harley’s part was the worst – she wasn’t even funny here. (I’m sorry to be picky but must Harley be in every Dini episode?) I think having only the fearful villains here – Scarecrow and Bane – would have been fine. Oh well – so this was just one little segment that sucked, in an otherwise great episode – I can’t complain.
Overall, this episode is fantastic. An instant classic. (Of course, we all know that it wasn’t real – we know that Batgirl will live on for another 50 years to become Police Commissioner in Batman Beyond, and mentioning Scarecrow at the beginning hints at the fact that it’s all a hallucination, much like in “Perchance to Dream”. Awesome, awesome, awesome. Just don’t expect to see much of the villains in this one – the story revolves around the heroes for once – but Scarecrow and Bane still do a lot of cool stuff. Mr. Dini, my hat goes off to you – awesome work, except for the little part I just mentioned above…but I loved the episode. I knew I would. Awesome story, characterization, animation, music, sounds, everything. As Mr. Burns would say, “Excellent.”
;-Y
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EDITORIAL
(by Kelly Tindall)
cointoss@hotmail.com
Mr. Tindall was unable to submit an article to us by the printing of this newsletter. Fear not, he will return very soon.
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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.
Yet more craziness from the woodwork, everyone…I’ll think of a good theme sometime soon. I just need some of that divine inspiration, is all…
276. What is the first name of the “nerd” that starred in “TERRY’S FRIEND DATES A ROBOT”?
A: Howard
B: Willy
C: Peter
D: Paul
E: Mario
277. What was the first BTAS two-parter that made it to air?
A: FEAT OF CLAY
B: TWO-FACE
C: THE CAT AND THE CLAW
D: HEART OF STEEL
E: ROBIN’S RECKONING
278. Which of the following initials are those of a villain’s civilian identity on BATMAN BEYOND?
A: IB
B: HD
C: MH
D: PI
E: MW
279. It would seem that Veronica Vreeland has once dyed her hair blonde. In what episode/comic issue was this?
A: HARLEY’S HOLIDAY
B: BIRDS OF A FEATHER
C: MASK OF THE PHANTASM
D: SUB-ZERO
E: CATWALK
280. Which of the following characters have yet to be introduced into the “animated” continuity?
A: Nightwing
B: The Huntress
C: Azrael
D: Anarky
E: Wonder Woman
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AND THESE ARE OUR FINAL ANSWERS (to the trivia)
Answer to #276: A
Answer to #277: C
Answer to #278: A, E (Spellbinder, Ten)
Answer to #279: D
Answer to #280: C, E
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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:
Alas, we here at the newsletter were unable to spot any new little facts OR bloopers over the past week. For that, we apologize. Really.
CONTRIBUTED BY OTHERS:
Na da. Rien.
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MERCHANDISING: WHERE THE REAL BAT-CASH IS MADE
(by anyone who cares to contribute)
Come on, contribute! Someone! Please? 🙂
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COMIC REVIEWS
(BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES by Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton)
(BATMAN BEYOND by Tim Wan)
(SUPERMAN ADVENTURES by Dick Grayson)
NOTE: Tim Wan was unable to submit a review for this issue of the newsletter, so editor Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton will be filling in for him.
BATMAN BEYOND (ongoing)
ISSUE: “The Most Dangerous Island” (#6)
WRITTEN BY: Hilary J. Bader
PENCILLED BY: Craig Rousseau
INKED BY: Rob Leigh
ISSUED: February 23, 2000 (cover date, April 2000)
RATING (out of 5): *
There is no such thing as a sure thing any more. BATMAN BEYOND is a perfect example of this theory. During its first season, nearly every single episode was superb. When the ongoing comic series started up (I’m still trying to forget the miniseries), the grande upswing continued. Sadly, with this issue, things came crashing right back down again.
Ugh.
“The gang” from Hamilton Hill High stranded on an island? We don’t even know why they’re here – that’s never explained. That would’ve helped advance the story a little – at least I think so. I must say that including our lovely nerd-stereotype Howard in the story didn’t help much, either – his incessant whining made the comic far too annoying and wordy. It was coming close to Larry Hama’s take on BATMAN: TOO MUCH INANE DIALOGUE.
Of course, this apparent “Jurassic Park” homage – no, that was a good movie – this is a “Lost World” homage – doesn’t get any better when we find out that the island is inhabited by mutant animals. Another SPLICERS story? I’m afraid not; we soon find out that the Stalker has created these genetically-enhanced ultra-dangerous animals just so he can hunt them down himself. I admit that some of the designs were creative, though most were laughable; the hippo-rex was sooooo cute. I just wanted to give ‘im a biiiig hug. (It was an impressive design, yes – but I still wanted to give it a hug, and maybe get my picture taken with it. Ya know?)
Agh. The story was awful. The art was above par, as always, but even Rousseau and Leigh’s work for this issue couldn’t pull it out of the realms of despair. I know Bader has it in her to write some great tales – she’s managed to do so on a number of occasions already; I don’t want to be ruthlessly mean or anything, but she just bombed with this one. Thus, a one-star rating.
Here’s hoping the series gets back on track with next month’s issue.
;-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: http://comicscontinuum.com/stories/0001/25/bmgothadvent25.jpg
BATMAN BEYOND #7 (ongoing)
March 22nd
Synopsis: The return of another popular BEYOND villain (we’re not telling WHO) makes Terry’s life a living hell.
Cover: Unavailable
FOLLOWING MONTH: Issue #8.
Synopsis: Unavailable
Cover: Unavailable
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #43
March 8th
Synopsis: Unavailable
Cover: Unavailable
FOLLWOING 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: beatty@machlink.com Do yourself a favor and check out some great art!
-Craig Rousseau has been and will be selling Gotham Adventures and Batman Beyond original art on eBay. His Seller ID is: cerousseau@aol.com Feel free to check it out! You don’t wanna miss it!
-Wanna sign a petition to get the WB to hire Jeph Loeb as the screenwriter for BATMAN 5? Go to this site to have your say:
http://homepages.go.com/~fabio2_batcave/campaign.html
-The ONSTAR commercials featuring Batman are now on the air, and the website has had an overhaul as well. Check it out! The commercials will be available for download shortly.
http://www.onstar.com
-KIDS’WB! will be making their fall schedule announcement within the next 3 weeks. They are expected to announce it by March 15th, when FOX KIDS makes their fall announcement.
-Mr. Eye has reported that YTV will begin airing THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES (or just SUPERMAN) beginning March 10th at 6:30PM (et)! I’ll have more info for you in next week’s newsletter including episode schedule (hopefully) as well as airtimes! SUPERMAN Fans rejoice!
-Beginning Saturday, March 4th, Kids’WB! will have a brand new spring schedule:
8am – Batman/Superman
8:30am – Pokemon
9am – Pokemon
9:30am – Max Steel
10am – Pokemon
10:30am – Batman Beyond
11am – MIB
11:30am – Detention
ANIMATED SERIES (BTAS, STAS, BEYOND)
-A new series named “ZETA” may spin-off out of BATMAN BEYOND; the episode titled “Zeta” is coming up later on this season.
ANIMATED COMICS
-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
-BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #26, being released on May 3, will play out as follows:
Everyone from the CIA and the FBI to the local Gotham mobs (Russian, Italian, Jamaican, Chinese) are in search of Kristov…and they’re willing to kill to get it. Batman doesn’t know what Kristov is, but he’s not going to let anyone kill – or die – for it. Here is the cover:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/
0002/22/BatmanGothAdventCvr26.jpg
-BATMAN BEYOND #9 will feature Batman’s first comic-book battle against Curare. Here is the cover:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/
0002/22/BatmanBeyondCvr9.jpg
-The first six issues of BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES will be collected in tradepaperback form, being released on May 17. These six issues feature great stories by Ty Templeton and great art by Rick Burchett and Terry Beatty; characters in the spotlight are Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Nightwing, Joker, Two-Face, Scarecrow, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, the Riddler, Clayface, Deadman, and more. It will cost $9.95, and the cover will be the same as the cover of GOTHAM ADVENTURES #1.
OTHER COMICS
-Wanna see what DC has in store for May? Then click on the link below:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0002/22/index.htm
-An interview of Devin Kalile Grayson can be found at the CNN website. Here’s the URL:
http://www.cnn.com/2000/books/news/02/15/
comics.writer.batman/index.html
-William Rosado will do the art for DETECTIVE COMICS #747, and Phil Hester in the following two
issues; Shawn Martinbrough will be back with #750.
-DETECTIVE COMICS #751-753 will focus on Gotham City’s quest to take Robinson Park back from Poison Ivy, who has still controlled that area since the end of NML.
-The first ever 80 PAGE GIANTS for ROBIN and NIGHTWING will be released in the near future;
Chuck Dixon is attached as the writer for both of them.
-The ongoing HARLEY QUINN series will commence in September.
-Yet another new villainess, ORCA, will be appearing in the pages of Hama’s BATMAN in 9. Here is the cover:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0002/22/BatmanCvr579.jpg
-DARK VICTORY #8 will feature the fateful night at the circus where Bruce and Dick meet for the first time. This issue also features the Joker trying to blow up Gotham City.
-A three issue mini-series entitled “IT’S JOKER TIME” will debut in May. Written by Bob Hal.
-BATMAN: 80 PAGE GIANT #3, written by Chuck Dixon, will be one triple-length story featuring Batman and Robin vs. Calendar Man.
-Howard Porter has signed a two year exclusive contract with DC. Porter will soon be the artist for ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, taking over this fall.
-Also, Greg Land has signed a one year contract with DC. He currently pencils NIGHTWING Batman writer Larry Hama tells Newsarama that he’s “off Batman, as of now.” Hama cited “creative differences” as the reason behind his departure, but stressed there were no “bad vibes” involved with his decision. “I’m still pals with Denny [O’Neil] and I’ll be working with Bob Schreck on a Green Lantern hardcover project,” he said. There was no word from DC on Friday as to what Hama’s last issue will be or on possible replacements.
-Mike Deodato Jr. (NO MAN’S LAND) will be providing the art for BATGIRL ANNUAL 2000. The Annual has no tentative shipping date, but expect it in the summer.
MOVIES
-BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER will now be released on October 31, 2000.
-Two more Batman Beyond videos are going to be released on May 16th, 2000: volumes #4 and 5.
One is entitled “Spellbound”, and the fifth is entitled “Crush”. The exact episodes shown on each tape haven’t been released as of yet. The cover of SPELLBOUND can be found here:
http://www.geocities.com/bbeyond/bbvid.jpg
-Rumour has it that the second RETURN OF THE JOKER trailer – the one featuring actual footage of the film – will appear on the new BATMAN BEYOND videos being released on May 16.
-For a picture of what the Joker will look like in the future, go to this pic:
http://www.geocities.com/bbeyond/bbjoker.jpg
-Rumour has it that the WB is scooting for shooting locations for the live-action Superman film. Is WB FINALLY moving ahead with this?
-The Hollywood Reporter writes today that Oliver Stone is intrigued by the SUPERMAN project,
which reportedly takes a different look at the superhero – no tights and more of a Matrix look,
apparently. Somehow we just can’t picture Clark Kent in black leather
LIVE ACTION TV
-???
TOYS, BOOKS, AND OTHER MERCHANDISE
-Wanna see the new line of animated Batman figures? Most of them seem to just be repaints and variants, but at least the line isn’t dead, right? (It looks like there’s a STALKER figure there, but I could be wrong…) Thanks to HarleyQ for pointing this out to us! (And thanks to Matt Schutkowski for confirming it was a STALKER figure, not Shriek.)
http://www.primenet.com/~btn/2000tf/hasbrotf.html
-COLUMBIA HOUSE is releasing 10 more videos of BTAS episodes, bringing the total of tapes released to 20 (80 episodes overall). Here is what’s coming soon:
Tape 11
“MONSTERS and MAYHEM”
1. Tyger, Tyger
2. Mudslide
3. Growing Pains
4. The Demon Within
Tape 12
“INTERNATIONAL MENACE”
1. Off Balance
2. Avatar
3. Night of the Ninja
4. Day of the Samurai
Tape 13
“SCARED STRAIGHT”
1. Judgement Day
2. Second Chance
3. Love Is A Croc
4. Double Talk
Tape 14
“STIR CRAZY”
1. The Ultimate Thrill
2. Lock Up
3. Beware, The CREEPER!
4. Baby Doll
Tape 15
“GOTHAM’S MEAN STREETS”
1. Appointment In Crime Alley
2. Sins Of The Father
3. Legends Of The Dark Knight
4. Torch Song
Tape 16
“COLD FEAR”
1. Deep Freeze
2. Cold Comfort
3. Nothing To Fear
4. Never Fear
Tape 17
“A Million Laughs”
1. Joker’s Wild
2. Christmas With The Joker
3. Mad Love
4. Joker’s Millions
Tape 18
“BATGIRL”
1. Batgirl Returns
2. Over The Edge
3. Holiday Knights
4. Mean Seasons
Tape 19
“SCRATCHES and OTHER WOUNDS”
1. Cult Of The Cat
2. You Scratch My Back
3. Animal Act
4. Old Wounds
Tape 20
“SUPERFRIENDS”
1. World’s Finest (Pt. 1)
2. World’s Finest (Pt. 2)
3. Knight Time
4. Girls Night Out
(any part 3 of World’s Finest?)
SPECIAL NOTE
For more BATMAN, SUPERMAN, AND BEYOND news throughout the week, check out the WORLD’S FINEST NEWS PAGE at:
http://www.geocities.com/bbeyond/news.html
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FEATURED BAT-SITE FOR THIS ISSUE
(feel free to submit your own for our consideration)
No sites were submitted for consideration for this particular issue. Agh.
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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
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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/
ROGUE AVENUE, GOTHAM
http://www.ultros.com/rogue_avenue
THE BATMAN BEYOND INFO PAGE
http://www.rogue-spear.com/BB
THE VAULT
http://dmoz.org/Arts/Animation/Voice_Actors
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 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! Thank you for reading! 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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