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Warner Bros. continues to pump out the DC direct-to-DVD films. The next one coming up seems to be Batman: Year One. As much as I generally dislike the work of Frank Miller, Year One remains one of my all time favorite Batman stories.
My other big favorite? The Man Who Laughs. The great things about both of these stories is that they tell of meetings that define the character of Batman. Year One is about Batman meeting James Gordan. It's also about Gotham City meeting Batman.
These are enormously consequential meetings, and they'll make for some stupendous on screen action (assuming they do it properly). The Man Who Laughs is also about an important meeting: it tells the story of when Batman and the world first encounter the Joker. It would also make for a great animated movie.
Unfortunately, it will probably never happen. The DC animated films have to follow certain guidelines it seems, and I can't imagine how they'd allow The Man Who Laughs. The story works so well because it gives us the undiluted horror of the Joker. The body count is high and the carnage exceptional.
And without those things you can't really tell that story about the Joker (there are ways to tell stories about other versions of the Joker, but that's neither here nor there).
Still, Year One is no slouch in the violence department. And rumors are they're gearing up for The Dark Knight Returns as well. So who knows...
I'm going to be quite honest with you: I was pretty sick over the weekend and am not feeling fully recovered. As such, you can expect little more than a truncated post about the day's events.
For starters, does anyone really care that Wizard Magazine has shuttered its doors (I mean, other than the people who work there)? I think the demise of the Comics Code was a bigger deal than the death of Wizard. And the Comics Code has been a dead man walking for years.
Secondly: DC hasn't put up anything interesting on their blog today, which is kind of a drag. I always look forward to seeing interesting news and announcements. I guess I've been spoiled by the past few weeks of non-stop news. But today we just got a bunch of previews.
That said, one of those previews was very exciting. We got to see a little more of the Lex Luthor/The Joker encounter that was teased with a single page last week. And it's shaping up to be better and more interesting than I expected.
Also, am I the only person who'll be sad to when Robo-Lois inevitably goes away?
Though we've seen them interact -- as enemies and allies -- many times, it's safe to say that Cornell and Woods' "Lex Luthor vs. The Joker" will make quite an entertaining read.
Cornell has a better handle on Lex Luthor than almost anyone I can think of in recent memory. The calculation... The arrogance... The utter disregard for human life... Cornell (ably assisted by Pete Woods) give me a Lex Luthor that is as perverse and twisted and evil as any character ever. And yet... I can't look away. Because he's also as fascinating as any character ever.
Paul Cornell has proved that he can write villains. In addition to Luthor we've seen Gorilla Grodd, Vandal Savage, and a host of others. But what will happen when Lex Luthor meets his "polar opposite?" The Joker can't be reasoned with. He can't be intimidated. He can't be bought. None of Lex Luthor's usual tricks will work.
So what happens when Lex Luthor meets the Joker?
Jazz hands.
This is going to be a contest for the ages.
Jack Nicholson was spotted sitting near home plate at the Phillies-Cubs game in a white NY Yankees cap. Fans gave him a pass because, well, he's Jack. The Phillie Phanatic came out on the field in a Batman costume and pretended to take on "The Joker"!
OK, most Batman Fans & Game Geeks are totally excited about the brand-new, soon to be released, BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM Video Game. So far all of the game play videos & trailers have looked really amazing! One character, a villain, that everybody is really starting to love is Harley Quinn! Of course we're talking about the girlfriend of The Joker! So, as sort of a celebration, I created these 2 Harley Quinn Wallpapers you can use to brighten your desktop or use as a background in a MySpace layout...enjoy!
On Saturday, August 8th, 2009 ( 5:00pm - 11:00pm ) in Albuquerque, New Mexico the TRILLION ART SPACE ( 2nd & Marquette ) will have an art show titled, "WHY SO SERIOUS?". The show will feature art work in many shapes, forms, & sizes but all of it will have a special focus on Batman and/or The Joker. There will be paintings, photos, colleges, etc... Shown here are just a few examples. The 1st photo shows the poster for the event. The 1st painting is a large car hood that has been painted almost Graffiti-Style with a portrait of Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight Batman movie ( Awesome! ). The next one is a Cubist-Style painting of the Joker that looks exactly like Pablo Picasso's famous self-portrait ( I love the parody here, good job, instantly recognizable ). The next few are examples of image-appropriation where they have taken existing photos or art & defaced them with Joker face make-up. Plus, at the art show, there will be much more artwork & it really looks like it's gonna be an extremely cool event! So, if you live in that area be sure to check it out ( Please send us some pics if ya go! ) Oh yeah, the last photo looks like maybe a postcard they made to advertise the event or maybe it's just a flyer, not sure. But the graphics are pretty sweet!
A new friend to the Bat-Blog Fan Site, named Dan ( who lives in NJ ), sent us these wonderful photos of his extremely cool Batman Toy & Memorabilia Collection! The main focus seems to be The Dark Knight movie but he also has some great vintage items as well. For example, on one bookcase I see a 1966 Batman TV Show Theme Record & on the floor is a 1989 Batman Movie Calendar, ha ha! Actually, there's a very nice selection of stuff here to drool over. Thank you Dan for sending these great pics, I really appreciate that! I want to invite all Bat-Blog Readers to do the same. Sharing the love of the character & the joys of being a collector is really what this site is all about!!
