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Batman The Animated Newsletter #70

Batman The Animated Newsletter #70

Batman: The Animated Newsletter
Weeks of July 3 – July 15/16, 2000
Volume 3,
Rated: PG for some “low-key coarse language and occasional griping”

THIS ISSUE’S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: “My name is Ra’s, and I – AM – ARABIAN!”
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A WHOLE WHACK OF ANNIVERSARIES…

-On July 1 it was Canada Day, and Canada turned 133. (Happy Canada Day to all our Canadian subscribers!)
-On July 4, the United States celebrates Independence Day for the 224th time. (Happy Independence Day to all our American subscribers!)
-And, most importantly, this newsletter turns a whopping TWO YEARS OLD on July 5th! Can you believe it? Two years of hard work and dedication (blah, blah, blah) have brought us this far; we hope to be going on for a good two years more – but why stop there? Thank you to all of our subscribers for sticking with us over the past 24 months; we couldn’t (and most likely wouldn’t) have done it without you!

Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
-editor, who really should use his grammar-check because he’s writing this at, coincidentally, two in the morning.
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EAGERLY ANTICIPATING…
New episodes are on the horizon! Here’s what we can expect in the near future…

THERE ARE NO KNOWN EPISODES ON THE HORIZON. AGH.
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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 07-03-00: Superman #34 Heavy Metal
Batman #32 Robin’s Reckoning (Pt. 1)

Tue 07-04-00: Batman #80 Second Chance
Batman #37 Robin’s Reckoning (Pt. 2)

Wed 07-05-00: Superman #21 Mxyzpixilated
Batman #87 Sins of the Father

Thu 07-06-00: Batman #103 The Demon Within
Batman #93 Growing Pains

Fri 07-07-00: Superman #52 Little Big Head Man
Batman #102 Old Wounds

Sat 07-08-00: Bats/Supes To Be Announced
B-BEYOND To Be Announced

NEXT WEEK:
Mon 07-10-00: Batman #69 Avatar
Superman #18 Livewire

Tue 07-11-00: Superman #13 Two’s a Crowd
Superman #46 Absolute Power

Wed 07-12-00: Batman #68 Trial
Superman #34 Warrior Queen

Thu 07-13-00: Superman #24 Solar Power
Batman #23 Double Dose

Fri 07-14-00: Batman #109 Judgement Day
Superman #45 Knight Time

Sat 07-15-00: Bats/Supes To Be Announced
B-BEYOND To Be Announced

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
(BATMAN, SUPERMAN, and 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 has just got the rights to air episodes #27 – 52 of BATMAN BEYOND. It’s unknwon when these episode to air, but expect fall 2000. YTV may air all the episodes through in ONE run, unlike the first 26 episodes.

NOTE: At the time of printing for this newsletter, the “NEXT WEEK” schedules at YTV were not up to date. These are just educated guesses as to what will be on. Check back at ytv.com for updates!

THIS WEEK:
Mon 07-03-00: BTAS #108 Beware the Creeper

Tue 07-04-00: BTAS #109 Judgement Day

Wed 07-05-00: BTAS #01 On Leather Wings

Thu 07-06-00: BTAS #14 Heart of Ice

Fri 07-07-00: BTAS #20 Feat of Clay (Pt. 1)

Sat 07-08-00: BEYOND #17 Lost Soul

Sun 07-09-00: BEYOND #18 Bloodsport

NEXT WEEK:
Mon 07-10-00: BTAS #21 Feat of Clay (Pt. 2)

Tue 07-11-00: BTAS #11 It’s Never Too Late

Wed 07-12-00: BTAS #22 Joker’s Favorlers

Thu 07-13-00: BTAS #05 Pretty Poison

Fri 07-14-00: BTAS #03 Nothing to Fear

Sat 07-15-00: BEYOND #19 Hidden Agenda

Sun 07-16-00: BEYOND #20 Once Burned
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THE CARTOON NETWORK

BATMAN IS BACK ON THE CARTOON NETWORK!!!!

Thanx to CNX: Toonami Revolution – Batman: The Animated Series is getting more airtime on Cartoon Network; more accuratly, on Toonami. Toonami has a weekend block called Rising Sun which airs shows in morning hours. airing from 9 AM to Noon EST/PST. Rising Sun will be changed this weekend. Not only will Ronin Warriors be dropped from the lineup, but also, the second airing of Gundam Wing is dropped as well.

So technically, Rising Sun is missing an hour. Surely they’re not going to give that mutt an extra hour, so they’ve but in a American flavor to the block, one a familiar Midnight Run standby while the other is making its debut to Toonami (finally). Batman: The Animated Series airs on Rising Sun at 11 AM EST/PST while Powerpuff Girls ends Toonami at 11:30 AM EST/PST.
This is the new Rising Sun. Check it out! Now you’l have something to watch besides Pokemon! The lineup, as of May 13, is:

9am-Thundercats (One Hour)
10am-Dragon Ball Z (The Garlic Jr. Saga)
10:30am-Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
11am-Batman: The Animated Series
11:30am-Powerpuff Girls
(all times in Eastern Time)
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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

The creative “team” for this column alternates between Zanna and Justin Chen, two loyal subscribers and great friends of ours here. Any other reviews printed here are written by editor Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton. Enjoy!

(I decided to reprint a review of JUDGEMENT DAY in this issue, as this is the newsletter’s second anniversary, and this is the most recent episode with a character who loves the number two in it. Enjoy!)

“JUDGMENT DAY”
Written by: Rich Fogel & Alan Burnett
Directed by: Curt Geda
Animation by: Dong Yang
Original air date: October 31, 1998
My rating: ****1/2

A new vigilante is in Gotham, and has sent the Riddler back to Arkham, the Penguin to the hospital in critical condition, and, if it weren’t for Batman interfering, would have killed Killer Croc by tossing him off the Gotham Gate Bridge. Now, he’s after Two-Face.

Cool premise huh? Much like in “Lock-Up”, this episode introduces a new character who takes the law into his own hands, but goes too far. The new vigilante is known only as the Judge, a very Phantasm-esque character with a low booming voice, and dark, shadowy clothing; the only difference is that this person wears a judge’s white curled wig and carries a large wooden hammer instead of a scythe.

We learn that a shifty politician at City Hall is using the Judge, much like how Commissioner Gordon uses Batman to rid the city of crime. Two-Face learns of this person’s involvement with the judge, who had already booby-trapped his hideout and turned it into a lethal gas chamber, and demands information, before setting off to kill him.

Only in the final scenes do we see who the Judge really is.

This episode was nothing short of incredible. No one knew this was coming, and it is easily head and shoulders above the other best episodes of the season, “Old Wounds” and “Legends of the Dark Knight”. In fact, the only new-style episode which tops it is last year’s controversial “Over the Edge”.

There are many good things in this episode. We get to see Batman work solo again, seeing someone finally come down hard on the Penguin was nice, and seeing how Penguin treats his “customers” was rather interesting – he respects Two-Face’s intelligence and considers Killer Croc to be rather…well…a dim bulb. The sleazy politician which uses the judge to give himself a better public image was nice, and the Judge’s brutality was welcomed with open arms. Dong Yang’s animation was suprisingly excellent here, and they even added some CGI work in the final battle. Seeing Alan Burnett return to writing was a wonderful suprise, too. The best thing, in my opinion, was that we finally get to see Two-Face as the centre of attention. Not since “Second Chance” has there been an episode that delves into his psyche like this. The scenes of where Batman and Two-Face actually work together to save themselves in the gas chamber were great – even though, once safe, Two-Face beat the crap outa Batman and took off. Even just visually speaking, Two-Face looks a lot better here than he did in “Sins of the Father”.

In the final scene, we learn that Two-Face is the Judge. In fact, his good side has split into two personalities, and the extreme-good side, completely separate from the other two, has taken a vow to clean up crime in Gotham by whatever means necessary. (Remember, prior to his transformation, Harvey Dent was part of the judicial system, as District Attorney – so it was his crime-fightin’ blood in the works here.) It’s shocking to see what this suggests…if Two-Face can kill Killer Croc with his bare hands, does he qualify as the third-toughest man in Gotham (behind only Batman and Bane, of course)?

The only bad point was the Riddler’s tiny one-line cameo. Sure, he was only a back-up character, but all these cameos are taunting me – because I really wanted to get an entire Riddler episode.

I’m suprised this episode wrapped up so well in just 19.5 minutes! But it did!

This is all just a tip of the ice burg. The episode is great, and you’ll love it, guaranteed. It’s a mix of action, drama, and mystery, and wraps up perfectly with a really cool shot of Two-Face going crazy in his cell at Arkham.
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SPECIAL IN THIS ISSUE

Q & A With MIN S. KU
(by Dick Grayson)

Welcome to another interview, this time with Min S Ku. “Who’s that?” you say? He’s done (and is doing more) fill-in art for BATMAN BEYOND, as well as SUPERMAN ADVENTURES (including the big 50!). He’s also worked on BEYOND storyboards, and the limited SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED 1/2 issue for Wizard. So, without furthur adieu, the Q & A…enjoy!

BATMAN: THE ANIMATED NEWSLETTER#1: Some readers may be unfamiliar with you and your work. Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

MIN S. KU#1: I consider myself very fortunate to have graduated from the Joe Kubert school and to find work in the comic book industry in such a short period of time! I’ve gotten a chance to draw my favorite character, Spider-man (Spider-man Unlimited #1/2), some Batman Beyond storyboards for WB and of course, some fill-in issues of Superman Adventures and Batman Beyond for DC omics!

BTAN#2. When did you realize you wanted to work in the comic business? Did it just one day smack you on the head like an anvil?

MSK#2. I loved comics for as long as I remembered, but I always thought that comic book artists were making barely enough to survive. When I read that Jim Lee made over six figures with the release of X-men #1, I realized that a lot has changed and artists can indeed make a decent living drawing cartoons! After that, I was determined to break into the industry!

BTAN#3. You just started working in comics in 1999, so what else did you work at to keep you financially secure? Any embarrassing job?

MSK#3. Embarrassing job? Hmm…I can’t seem to recall any embarrassing work I had to do…guess I’ve been pretty fortunate!

BTAN#4. You were featured in a recent issue of WIZARD magazine. How were you picked to write that article? Or did you have to contact them?

MSK#4. Wizard came to the school and Joe Kubert picked out two third-year students (me being one of them of course) to write about our experience during our school visit to DC comics. We both got paid, and Wizard decided to go with my story for the print magazine. Wizard did however, publish both our stories (the un-abridged versions) on their website.

BTAN#5. Do you think that article paid off?

MSK#5. Probably.

BTAN#6. What was your first reaction when DC contacted you about BATMAN BEYOND and SUPERMAN ADVENTURES, besides: “Yes! Money!”?

MSK#6. I tell ya…getting that first phone call from Joey Cavalieri (the SUPERMAN ADVENTURES editor) was exhilarating, to say the least! It just makes you feel wanted, that’s for sure! Til this day, whenever that phone rings with a job offer, I still feel the same goosebumps I felt during that first call!

BTAN#7. Did you have any prior knowledge of the shows these comics were based on? Were you a fan?

MSK#7. I jumped on board pretty late into the game. March 1999 to be exact. I have Joe Kubert to thank for pushing me in that direction. Before then, I’d never seen a single episode of the new adventures of Superman and Batman, nor Batman Beyond. (I did see the first few episodes of the original Batman series when it aired during primetime on Fox). Anyway, Joe gave us a whopper of an assignment… We had to write, pencil, ink, hand-letter and color 3 pages, and the pencils were due in one week! Keep in mind that each student had 10 different classes with 10 different homework assignments! I’ve seen the animated comics, and I thought doing the 3 pages in the animated style would help me meet that one week deadline… and it did! But I also discovered that I had a knack for drawing in the Timm style, and I pursued it ever since! Of course I started watching the show shortly thereafter, and I couldn’t believe what I’ve been missing all these years! These were the BEST ANIMATED SHOWS ON TV, PERIOD! I became an instant fan!

BTAN#8. Do you have any characters that you would love to draw someday? Why?

MSK#8. I’d LOVE to draw the whole JLA in the Timm style. Timm has already spelled out how Green Lantern, the Flash, Aquaman and Wonder Woman (the WB maquette) look, so it’d be awesome to see everyone together, if not on the tv screen, in the comic books! Unfortunately, the sales in the animated books won’t warrant such a series (mini or ongoing).

BTAN#9. Who is your inspiration in the comic field? Is there any creator in particular that you look up too?

MSK#9. I’ve got a number of role models in the comic book industry and they’re by no means in any ranking order.

JOE KUBERT: he is like god to the world of comic books! He has so much knowledge that every session i have with him, i learn something new!
JOHN ROMITA: the nicest guy in comics! In my opinion, he drew the definitive Spider-man! He also drew the classiest females!
ALEX TOTH: he’s referred to as the artist’s artist! I love the way he tells a story and how he simplifies everything so beautifully!
BRUCE TIMM: no introductions needed!
JACK KIRBY: he’s known as “the king” of comics and I’ve never liked his artwork as a kid , but now, I have the biggest respect for him! I can see why so many artists out there turn to the King!

BTAN#10. Now our mandatory final question: Have any information about upcoming issues of plots you’d like to share with our readers?

Hey… I answered this question a few weeks ago! Sorry, nothing new to report.*

*In case you have no clue about that statement, he dropped some news for us in a past issue of BTAN (A couple back), as well as news for the WORLD’S FINEST NEWS PAGE — which can be accessed via archives. So, go find it!!

Thanx, Min!
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EDITORIAL
(by Dick Grayson)

RETROSPECTIVE

It’s weird how time flies. I especially can’t believe it’s been two years since this newsletter began. It’s amazing how it’s evolved from such a small newsletter into the behemoth it is today. If you go back and look at the first issue, and look at this one, you’ll see that it’s completely different, yet keeps all it’s original goal – to inform our fellow loyal Bat-fans. The first newsletter is so small and skimpy compared to this very issue. Over the years this newsletter has changed and morphed into something all around better. And it all sprang up over a simple comment about how there’s not a single newsletter dedicated to the animated world of Batman.

If I remember correctly, the newsletter’s first issue only had around 200 subscribers or so. When I look at how many are subscribed now, nearly 1900, I wonder how did they all hear about it? Word of mouth or our clever advertising throughout the net? I know it was partially due to the net becuase we were able to land ourselves on some pretty big name sites (CINESCAPE, DARK HORIZONS, COMICS CONTINUUM), some Bat-writers and artists actually look to us for news and entertainment (that’s the ultimate compliment) and still occasionally do. When I first saw BTAN was credited for a news exclusive, I almost flipped out. It’s pretty big to see your work credited by such high-standing people. It’s still sorta funny how Tim and I began this.

It was spun out of a simple conversation. It’s funny how one little word can motivate people to do this. Before the newsletter began, Tim and I were advertising it and dropping mentions of it all around the net to get fans interested. I sent out early drafts on it to get opinions. Basically, the newsletter was made BY fans, FOR the fans, and I think it’s better that way. (It’s true! Just compare the official Bat-sites to fan-made ones…they blow them all out of the water, with the exception of www.batman-superman.com) I think newsletter made by devotees and hard core fans are better than those corporate ones which are just churned out on a weekly basis and are so cold. Fan-made newsletters have that extra punch to it. That extra ‘zing’ that makes it work just right. Our newsletter may not be perfect (hence, our “Make Us Look Like Fools And Get Your Name In Print” section from a few months back), but I think it’s the best damn newsletter out there.

One of the many things this newsletter has helped me accomplish is talk to the creators behind the show and the comics. I’ve talked from almost everyone from Paul Dini (very breifly) to Alan Burnett to Hilary Bader, all of which have been an extreme joy to talk too. Of course, then there are the comic creators who have got to be the nicest folks in the business. They actually go out of their way just to help you out. Good examples are Terry Beatty, Rick Burchett, Craig Rousseau, and Min S. KU. Now THERE are comic creators you can actually talk to without any fear – or time restrictions. It’s amazing how almost the entire crew affiliated with the animated comic line are completely down to earth and the nicest folk. And I got to tlak to them. I’m still jealous that Tim got to talk to Jeph Loeb, Boyd Kirkland, and Greg Rucka, though 😛

Without Tim, of course, there’d be no newsletter to talk about. This newsletter has tied us together, for better or worse, for the past two years and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Sure there was the occasional mix up, and the newsletter did fall on hard times during it’s first year, but fans, and I, were able to overlook all that trash and garbage that got thrown at us. Why? Becuase we knew the product we were making was far superior than anything out there. This editorial may not be so well written (remember, I said “our newsletter may not be perfect”), but I don’t think it has to be. My editorial will no way even touch upon what I’ve been able to accomplish becuase of this email. Without the wonderful people who’ve helped us on this newsletter, there’d be nothing to write about.

The past two years have been great, now here’s hoping for many many more!

-DG
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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.

“ANYTHING THAT INVOLVES THE NUMBER TWO…”
You’ll notice that I beefed up our quiz section, just for this issue. Enjoy!

336. On the animated series, who was the SECOND Robin?

A: Dick Grayson
B: Jason Todd
C: Tim Drake
D: Carrie Kelly
E: Burt Ward

337. In the order of original appearance on TV or video, who was the second person to be heard providing a voice for Batgirl?

Answer: _____________

338. Out of BATMAN, SUPERMAN, and BATMAN BEYOND, which series’ episode marked “Episode #02” is NOT part of a multi-episode storyline?

A: Batman: The Animated Series
B: Superman
C: Batman Beyond

339. Name the only BTAS episode with the word “second” in the title.

Answer: _____________

340. The second time Batman fought Inque in BATMAN BEYOND, where did the finale take place?

A: In the Batcave
B: At the waterfront
C: At a Foxteca Plant
D: In an arena
E: In the cryogenic-freezing-chamber-jail-place-thingee

341. Who does Batman fight on December 22 in HOLIDAY KNIGHTS?

A: The Joker
B: Two-Face
C: Mr. Freeze
D: Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy
E: Clayface

342. Who was the second person to give Batman (Bruce Wayne, NOT the Terry McGinnis version) a voice on BTAS?

A: No one. Kevin Conroy is the only one!
B: Adam West
C: Will Friedle
D: Loren Lester
E: Michael Ironside

343. Which of the following villains appeared in MORE than two “new style” Batman episodes (crossovers with Superman included)?

A: Two-Face
B: The Scarecrow
C: The Mad Hatter
D: Bane
E: The Riddler
F: Killer Croc
G: The Penguin
H: Catwoman

344. Which of the following villains appeared in LESS than two “new style” Batman episodes (crossovers with Superman included)?

A: Two-Face
B: The Scarecrow
C: The Mad Hatter
D: The Ventriloquist
E: Mr. Freeze
F: The Riddler
G: Baby-Doll
H: Catwoman
I: Clayface
J: Poison Ivy

345. Who was the second person to give the Scarecrow a voice?

Answer: _______________

346. Name Ra’s Al Ghul’s two offspring that have appeared on BTAS.

Answer: _______________

347. Complete the following quote by injecting the correct phrase into the blank:

“I am vengeance. _______________. I AM BATMAN.”

A: I am the night.
B: I am your worst nightmare.
C: I am gonna getchu, sucka.
D: You cannot defeat me.
E: I am the terror that flaps in the night.

348. Which of the following characters have not appeared in a two-part (or multi-part) episode?

A: Harvey Bullock
B: Poison Ivy
C: The Joker
D: Ubu
E: Tim Drake

349. Which villain(s) starred in ISSUE #2 of THE BATMAN ADVENTURES, THE BATMAN & ROBIN ADVENTURES, THE LOST YEARS, and BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES, in chronological order?

A: Catwoman; the Penguin; Ra’s Al Ghul; the Joker
B: Two-Face; the Joker; Two-Face; Two-Face
C: Catwoman; Two-Face; the Joker; Two-Face
D: The Penguin; Catwoman; Two-Face; the Riddler
E: Clayface; Harley Quinn; the Riddler; the Joker

350. According to original episode air date, what was the second-to-last word Batman ever said on BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (crossovers with Superman NOT included)?
_______________
AND THESE ARE OUR FINAL ANSWERS (to the trivia)

Answer to #336: C
Answer to #337: Tara Charendoff
Answer to #338: A
Answer to #339: SECOND CHANCE
Answer to #340: D
Answer to #341: D
Answer to #342: E
Answer to #343: C, D, E, G
Answer to #344: E, G
Answer to #345: Jeffrey Combs
Answer to #346: Talia, Arkady Duvall
Answer to #347: A
Answer to #348: B, E
Answer to #349: C
Answer to #350: “did”
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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) Ever notice the similarity in dialogue between scripts? When Batman is chasing Harley in the Batmobile in “Harley’s Holiday”, she exclaims “Hey, Bats! Wanna race?” And then, in the BATMAN BEYOND episode “Joyride”, when Batman is pursuing the Jokerz gang, Scab (the big one) says the exact same thing. Well, ain’t that a co-inky-dink.

CONTRIBUTED BY OTHERS:
Rien.
______________
MERCHANDISING: WHERE THE REAL BAT-CASH IS MADE
(by anyone who wishes to contribute)

Come on…contribute…come ONNNN….
______________

COMIC REVIEWS
(BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES by Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton)
(BATMAN BEYOND by Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton)
(SUPERMAN ADVENTURES by Dick Grayson)

BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES
ISSUES: “Lessons” (#27)
WRITTEN BY: Scott Peterson
PENCILLED BY: Tim Levins
INKED BY: Terry Beatty
ISSUED: June 7, 2000 (Cover date, Aug 2000)
RATING (out of 5): ****

This was one intense issue. Not so much that the emotions were heightened and the stakes were high, but because you had to pay real close attention to all of the little details. Even the phrase “Who is Holiday?” came into my mind; it’s not often you see a mystery in GOTHAM ADVENTURES.
That was one smart (if not misguided) professor. His scheme to frame someone that made it look like he himself was being framed was brilliant. I’m having trouble trying to even explain it here, but it should suffice to say that it was great, a type of story that I wished were in GOTHAM ADVENTURES more often. Fantastic AND simple at the same time; that’s what this series is all about.
Peterson, Levins, and Beatty are the perfect team! It’s now blatantly obvious why this is the title I look forward to more than any other every month!

;-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 #28
July 5th
Synopsis: A popular musician is kidnapped by the Riddler, who proceeds to leave baffling riddles for Batman, Robin and Nightwing. But the joke’s on E. Nigma when the musician begins leaving his own clues for our heroes in an attempt to outwit the Riddler! Will the Riddler become aware of these double-crosses and end the musician’s career once and for all, or will the Bat-family get hip and make all the right moves to save the chart-topper?
Cover: http://www.dccomics.com/directcurrents/comics/
july5/covers/down/BMGA28.jpg

FOLLOWING MONTH:
Synopsis:
Cover:

BATMAN BEYOND #10
June 28th
Synopsis: What’s the connection between the new and improved Golem robot terrorizing Gotham City and a young autistic boy? Batman races against time to put an end to the menace of the Golem with the relationship between a father and son hanging in the balance.
Cover: http://www.dccomics.com/directcurrents/comics/
June28/covers/down/dbmb10.jpg

FOLLOWING MONTH: .
Synopsis: Beauty becomes more than skin deep when Gotham’s teens start using nanotechnology to improve their bodies. Unfortunately, they become enslaved to the technology’s hive-mind intelligence. Can Batman defeat the enemy without hurting the children of the city?
Cover: http://www.dccomics.com/directcurrents/comics/
july26/covers/down/dbmb11.jpg

SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #47
July 12th
Synopsis: The smaller they are, the harder they fly! When Superman faces an armada of alien ships surrounding the Earth, he finds himself helpless against their greatest weapon: a ray that shrinks him to the size of a microbe! And he’s still shrinking! How can he defeat the aliens and stop the effects of the ray before he goes sub-atomic?
Cover: Unavailable

FOLLWOING MONTH:
Synopsis: Unavailable
Cover: Unavailable
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NEWS AND RUMORS

ALL-ENCOMPASSING/OTHER
-The following artists are selling artwork on eBay. The following are their names and Seller ID’s:
Terry Beatty: beatty@machlink.com
Craig Rousseau: cerousseau@aol.com
Tim Levins: tlevins

ANIMATED SERIES (BTAS, STAS, BEYOND)
-YTV has just got the rights to air episodes #27 – 52 of BATMAN BEYOND. It’s unknwon when these episode to air, but expect fall 2000. YTV may air all the episodes through in ONE run, unlike the first 26 episodes.

ANIMATED COMICS
-Clayface returns in BGA #30. Here’s the cover:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0006/
20/BatGothAdv30.JPG
-Ty Templeton’s long-awaited “left-over” Joker story will be featured in GOTHAM ADVENTURES #31. He’s also drawing the cover.
-Craig Rousseau will be penciling and Rob Leigh will be inking the comic adaption of RETURN OF THE JOKER, most likely due out Oct. 18 or 25.
-Min Ku may return to fill in for Rousseau on Issues #13 and #14.
-Barbara Gordon deals with the after effects of being abused by the Scarecrow (in OVER THE EDGE) in BATMAN BEYOND #13.

OTHER COMICS
-DETECTIVE COMICS #750 features the return of Ra’s Al Ghul.
-DARK VICTORY #12: “REVENGE”. That’s all we know about it, aside from the fact that Two-Face is on the cover of this one.
-The HARLEY QUINN comic series will now debut in November, two months later than originally reported.
-Volume 3 of the collected NO MAN’S LAND editions will be out on September 27. It features “ASSEMBLY”, “FRUIT OF THE EARTH”, plus some stories by Larry Hama, and the various one-issue tales from April 1999.
-Nightwing will be appearing with Superman in ACTION COMICS #771.

MOVIES
-Nicholas Cage is no longer interested in working on SUPERMAN LIVES. Why? He says that it’s been delayed far too long.
-Alan J. Porter and the GOTHAM WEEKLY NEWS newsletter have reported that another site has reported that the WB is finally moving ahead with Batman 5; they are going to use YEAR ONE as the script. Apparently Cage’s dismissal from SUPERMAN LIVES prompted the fast-tracking of this film.
-If the X-Men movie does well, expect more superhero movies (read: Batman 5 and Superman 5) to finally be brought out of development hell.

-Alicia Silverstone has actually said she’d consider playing Batgirl again if given the chance. Gag me, now.
-There is a “theatrical trailer” for DARK VICTORY at the DC COMICS site. Here is the exact address:
http://www.dccomics.com/features/bat_dv/dv.htm
-Starting July, the DC COMICS website will be hosting the first in a series of “Gotham Girls” Flash-animated comic books on their site.
-A teaser poster for RETURN OF THE JOKER can be found at this address:
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news6/p-bb.jpg

LIVE ACTION TELEVISION
-For more info about the ONSTAR commercials, go to:
http://www.geocities.com/bbeyond/news.html
Or the ONSTAR site:
http://www.onstar.com
-Check out http://www.fandom.com/batman for downloadable versions of the ONSTAR commercials if the official ONSTAR site is not being cooperative with your PC. Two of the commercials can also be found at http://www.adcritic.com – just search for “Batman”.

TOYS, BOOKS, AND OTHER MERCHANDISE
-PLAY BY PLAY has released a second series of Batman plush dolls. They originally came out with 14″ and 22″ Batman, Robin, Joker, and Riddler dolls (old style); now available are Two-Face, the Penguin, Catwoman, and Mr. Freeze (new style) in 13″ and 18″. Just search eBay for these; there are a lot in auctions there at the moment.
-On September 1, it will be possible to order a copy of Paul Dini’s RETURN OF THE JOKER script through Amazon.com.
-For a preview on BATMAN VEHICLE ADVENTURE (a forthcoming Playstation game), check out this address:
http://www.gameinformer.com/previews/
preview_detail.cfm?ITEM_ID=4831
-You can also find a preview of the N64 version here:
http://ign64.ign.com/previews/14845.html
-The fourth and fifth BATMAN BEYOND videos, SPELLBOUND and CRUSH, are now available.

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)

BATMAN DATABASE

http://www.angelfire.com/tv/batmancomplete/index.html

Here you’ll find a lot of interesting and little-known material about a number of the major characters in the Bat-universe. There are also nice graphics from various places not found anywhere else on the web. And don’t forget the strange facts about the Batman Universe that were not too easy to get ahold of! Very informative. Come see and leave a comment on the messageboard!

All that, and they plugged our newsletter without us even asking! Or begging! Or pleading! Or whatever…just go check it out!
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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
KTLA KIDS WB SCHEDULES
http://www.ktla.com/backstage/programming/KIDSWB.htm
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
—–
*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
BRUCE TIMM ARCHIVE SITE
http://members.xoom.com/brucetimm
BATMAN ANIMATED: THE UNOFFICIAL FAN CLUB & FANZINE
http://www.batmanuk.freeserve.co.uk/club/
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
ANIMATED STYLE ARTWORK ARCHIVE
http://hjem.get2net.dk/twt/asaa/home.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
______________
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@dccnet.com

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 article, and everyone is entitled to it. And if you do submit something, please don’t just submit a basic review of an episode or a comic or something (because we have people writing for those purposes already) – write about an issue you’d like to discuss.
______________
BATMAN: THE ANIMATED ARCHIVES

The very kind people at TOONZONE were nice enough to give us our own little section of their huge and diverse website. The 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
______________
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@dccnet.com Thank you for your time, and thanks for reading! Tell your friends!

-Tim TWO-FACE Leighton and Dick Grayson, editors
______________
TO ALL GOOD THINGS…
…there must be an end. We would like to thank the endless amount of contributors for contributing their editorials, columns, news, jokes, reviews and other articles. We hope you’ve all enjoyed it as much as we’ve enjoyed making it! 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: Help Wanted
COMIC REVIEWS: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton, Dick Grayson
UNDER THE KNIFE: Brian Davis
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.
_____________

AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO MIN S. KU FOR PARTICIPATING IN OUR INTERVIEW!

AND THAT’S NOW TWO YEARS BEHIND US. WOW!

Batman The Animated Newsletter #70

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