UPDATE: WF have posted the cover for the score to "Batman the Animated Series...
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(Posted 26.11.08) - Some good news (well is made me happy), is The World’s Finest has confirmed that La-La Land Records will be releasing soundtrack CDs collecting the acclaimed score to Batman: The Animated Series next month.

La-La Land Records is slated to ship the first in a possible series of Batman: The Animated Series soundtrack releases on December 16th, 2008, with pre-orders for the release starting next week, on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008. This is a limited edition collector's release of 3000 units and will be available only through the La-La Land Records website and other online soundtrack specialty stores. Roughly 100 autographed copies of the Batman: The Animated Series soundtrack release will only be available through the La-La Land Records site and are first-come, first-serve while supplies last, though not gauranteed. The release will also include a detailed 20-page booklet.

La-La Land Records will be supplying more information later this week on this highly anticipated release. The first official Batman: The Animated Series soundtrack release will ship on December 16th, 2008.

For the full track listing head on over to World's Finest.

(Source - World's Finest)

Tony Daniel has posted on his blog one of my favorite images from Batman #681 and passed on his thoughts about the RIP arc.

More from Executive Editor Dan DiDio as he answers 20 questions from the fan over at NEWSARAMA...

This time around there was some heavy focus on /superman: New Krypton, but I've consolidated all the Batman Universe related answers for you convenience.

7. Touching on some of the titles that piqued readers’ interest in the February solicitations – in light of Battle for the Cowl, what’s going on with Batman and the Outsiders? Pete Tomasi is writing a special, and there’s an Owl-Man on the cover of the upcoming issue...can you offer some clues here?

DD: What Pete’s doing, and this touches upon the lack of a Bruce Wayne Batman in the DC Universe...one of the ways you’re going to see the story start to unfold is the different fail-safes Batman has put in place in case he was not there to defend Gotham City or the world outside of it. The Outsiders is really a team that is going ot be focused on what takes place outside of Gotham, and operating in a fashion that follows the direction of the team set forth by Batman when he first assembled it. Each one of the team members that are seen or are coming in, all fit into different aspects of Batman’s personality, so the group itself operates the same way Batman would have done as an individual.

NRAMA: So Pete is moving over to Outsiders after Nightwing ends?

DD: Absolutely. Pete’s taking over Outsiders as the regular writer, so his assignment will be that, ,b>Green Lantern Corps and the new series The Mighty he’s doing with Keith Champagne.

12. Getting back into the Batman books – just so we have the lineup correct...Denny in December, Faces of Evil in January, and Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert in February. Is Grant coming back to the main Batman book then?

DD: Grant has so many Batman stories to tell that we have to find an outlet for them, and I’m absolutely sure that we will find one for him.

NRAMA: That’s very committal yet non-committal.

DD: Again, I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. There are still a lot of stories that take place before that.

13. Any more details you can give on the Oracle miniseries while we’re talking about Gotham?

DD: The only thing that I can say is that is runs parallel to Battle for the Cowl and spins out of the conclusion of Birds of Prey and Final Crisis.

14. Could Oracle ever become Batgirl again on your watch?

DD: You know what? There’s a lot to be said for a Barbara Gordon Batgirl.

NRAMA: Is there any amount of pressing that will get any more out of you on that front?

DD: [laughs] Not really, no.

15. Batman: Cacophony hit on our off week – is this the start of something more regular, or the one project that we may see from Kevin in comics every few years?

DD: I’m hoping this is the start of something more from Kevin – it was a really wonderful working experience. I had the opportunity to go to one of his store signings, and one of the things that I found most interesting about his audience is that they’re not traditional comic book fans. That’s one of the things that he does well – he helps to expand the scope of our audience, and bring new people in. Hopefully, they won’t just stop at Cacophony, but will go out there and find something else that we’re working on. When I received the third issue of Cacophony from Kevin, we immediately started talking about what the next project could be, so I’m hoping that there can be some more stuff coming.

16. Something about Cacophony that was picked up on by some fans – it had a rather...mature tone to it, from, shall we say, Joker ‘presenting’ to Deadshot taking a bullet right between the eyes – albeit double armored, and he lived. Yet it didn’t have a mature readers label on it...

DD: And I will challenge everybody on that – one of the things I think Kevin does so deftly is that he walks the finest of lines. The implications of certain scenes and certain dialogue, if you read into them further, could be deemed mature, but I think he stops the story right at the right spot, so we don’t have to consider labeling in that fashion. I think that’s what makes him a great writer.

Being the editor on that book, there were a lot of things that we discussed and I felt confident that we were, making the right choices in how we presented the material. But we should always be taking some level of risk – especially with the caliber of writer like Kevin.

For the entire article, head on over to Newsarama...

Wizard Universe.com, have posted the interview with Batman: Cacophony writer and all time fanboy, funny man Kevin Smith. This interview was featured in this months Wizard Magazine #206 and give some insight into how this story came about and the villain "Onomatopoeia" (which I'm loving so far).

WIZARD: How did Batman: Cacophony first come about?

KEVIN SMITH: I called [DC Senior VP-Executive Editor] Dan DiDio, who I think I'd met very briefly once many years ago when I was finishing up the Green Arrow stuff, and said that I was interested in writing this Batman storyarc that incorporated Onomatopoeia from Green Arrow because I've gotten at least one, sometimes two, e-mails a year from various DC writers and editors who wanted to use Onomatopoeia in a story or expand on his backstory. And I'd always said, "No," because I felt like I still wanted to handle that character myself, and the DC folks were very cool about [it], like, "All right, it's yours. No worries." So when I called Dan to say that I wanted to do a Batman versus Onomatopoeia story it was, like, "Thank God," because now I can finally get the character back into circulation.

WW: What can you tell us about the book's plot?

SMITH: The main story is going to be about Batman and Onomatopoeia but there's plenty of room for guest stars and cameos and sh-- like that. And so we arrived on a list of characters that Walt's always wanted to draw and I've always wanted to play with. Mr. Zsasz is one of them. We've both always been huge Deadshot fans so he plays a pretty prominent role in issue #1. The Joker, naturally, is a big character in the book. And a character that I've always kinda f---ing dug—and Walt was like "Really? That guy?"—but he just kinda makes sense in our story, is Maxie Zeus. It kicks off with a daring Arkham breakout that kind of goes awry and leads onto the rest of the story. But it's a predator/prey story.

WW: Is this part of Batman continuity?

SMITH: It is. It's not necessarily part of current continuity because I think we'll be following on the heels of "Batman: R.I.P.," but it's not, you know, "alternate universe." I was asking Dan where it would fall and he said, "Just do what you want to do and it's either a story that happens pre-'R.I.P.' or post-'R.I.P.'" But he said even if people are, like, "Hey, this doesn't match up with the 'R.I.P.' events!" he said it's kind of a stand-alone story that could have happened two years ago or recently.

The read the entire interview, head on over to Wizard Universe.com...

At last Rocksteady, the developers behind next years much anticipated Batman:Arkham Asylum have released yesterday to Gamestrailers.com an exclusive sneak peak trailer for the game.

The trailer doesn't features any villains or Batman himself, but is an eerie tour of Asylum, ending with the Jokers maniacal laugh.

(Source - GameTrailers.com)

Wal-Mart (which is the equivalent to the UK's Asda), will be releasing an exclusive edition of The Dark Knight, which will include a "Bonus Comic Book" and "Commemorative Coin", used by Two Face in the movie.

Wow... it's like the drum role on a crescendo for the end of Batman R.I.P. and the begining of "Battle for Cowl" today... I'm well excited.

IGN Comics spoke with DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio to discusses Battle for the Cowl, the aftermath of Final Crisis.

IGN Comics: Let's start off with Batman. RIP wraps up in a couple weeks, and then you head into Battle for the Cowl. What are the key books readers are going to need to pay attention to for the Dark Knight's story heading out of RIP and Final Crisis?

Dan DiDio: Well the key book right now is Battle for the Cowl. It's a three-part mini-series, 30 pages each, written and drawn by Tony Daniel, and it features basically every character important to the Batman universe. We show all the primary villains in the DCU who have been a thorn in Batman's side, and then we show all the characters and heroes who have been inspired by Batman.

So all of these characters arrive in Gotham City. The word is out – something has happened to Batman. The villains rise, and all the people inspired by Batman, knowing he's missing or gone or dead, come in to protect his city in his absence. It's a lot of fun.

From there we're going to have a series of one-shots that help pick out and fill in some of the primary characters. Because Cowl is such a big, noisy book – we take the "battle" part pretty seriously – we're going to have these one-shots that key in on five of the major characters that play prominent roles in Batman's world in 2009.

IGN Comics: As Battle for the Cowl moves on, how will the other prominent Batman books such as Detective Comics and Batman factor in?>

DiDio: What happens is that, after February, Batman and Detective go on hiatus. They will return, with their natural numbering, later in the year. And we've cancelled Robin, Nightwing and Birds of Prey. With all of these books, it's not that any of these characters are going to be off the slate for any amount of time – quite the opposite. They will be prominently featured in Battle for the Cowl and a number of series that will be premiering in June once Cowl concludes.

IGN Comics: Tony Daniel struck me as an interesting choice to helm Cowl. He's been drawing Batman alongside Grant Morrison for a while – what led you to tap his writing talents for this mini-series as well?

DiDio: Well, when we… let's start with this at the beginning. When we first hired Tony to do Batman, it was on the strength of his work on The Tenth. He was known as a star writer and artist, but at this particular point he wanted the opportunity to work with Grant Morrison, and he's been having a great time doing it. He's so familiar with what's going on in the series and has taken such a personal stake in it, such ownership of where Batman is right now that he wanted to help set the course and direction for Batman. During this time he seemed like the perfect person to bridge the conclusion of the [December-shipping, post-RIP] "Last Rites" issues to what's coming in June.

IGN Comics: When we last spoke with Grant, he basically told us he'd write Batman until the end of time if he could. Do you guys have an idea when he's planning on coming back?

DiDio: [coyly] Why, yes I do! –laughs- I absolutely do know when he's coming back!

IGN Comics: -laughs- Um… after Battle for the Cowl wraps?

DiDio: That would be the most logical place if he was returning, wouldn't it? –laughs-

IGN Comics: -laughs- Indeed, indeed. Over the past couple we've seen a variety of different incarnations of the Joker. Will the Bat-Universe find itself a one, true representation of the Joker in the future?

DiDio: What you're seeing right now is that there's a very particular version that Grant is using in RIP. There's also the more traditional version you're seeing in other products. The good part of this is that once we conclude Final Crisis, once we conclude Battle for the Cowl, we will have a unified vision of the Joker and how he acts and behaves in the DC Universe. That will be the one we push forward with in future stories, in anything he appears in.

For more the rest of the interview and more on the future of the DC Universe. Click here...

(Source - IGN Comics)

DC Comics posted yesterday another construction image with possible hint's/ spoilers to the next set of Batman related titles. The could possibly be the replacements for Robin, Nightwing and BoP and after reading the interview with the LA Times (see below), it's a very strong possibility. Also Greg Rucka hinted at a possibility of writing Batwoman at this years San Diego Comic Con, who is featured in the below image... very exciting stuff.

LA Times posted an interview today with executive editor of DC Comics to discuss upcoming events in the Superman and Batman universe after Final Crisis come to and end.

Geoff Boucher: So, Dan, what are you most excited about right now?

Dan Didio: We have two really big events that spin out of “Final Crisis” each in its own way and affecting our key franchises, Superman and Batman. The first thing we’re going to see is called “Battle for the Cowl,” that’s going to be a book that features nearly every member of the Batman family.

GB: Even Ace the Bat-Hound?

DD: [Laughs] Probably. We have a writer-artist team on this right now that’s scouring every book possible to see what they can include in these two-page spreads they want to build of all the characters that inhabit the Batman universe. So it’s a lot of fun for us. I always like those things because it’s a big noisy adventure book. And whenever you do one of those, the level of excitement is always right there on the page. You hopefully have people respond properly to that.

GB: There’s a lot going on with the Batman franchises.

DD: There are a lot of questions about what’s going on with the Batman line of titles. We just recently canceled three of the longtime Batman-related series: "Birds of Prey," "Robin" and "Nightwing." They all end in February. Then in March, “Battle for the Cowl” starts and once it does, you will get to understand how the Batman universe is starting to be realigned.

GB: There’s also the storytellers you have coming to the books. On Batman, for instance, in the span of a few months you have writers such as Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Kevin Smith and Paul Dini…

DD: Yes, absolutely. With Neil, he’s doing “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader” in February, which pretty much pulls to a close the existing lore of Batman before we break into “Battle for the Cowl.” The Neil thing is really fun for us because it compares and kind of lines up with what Alan Moore did with “Whatever Happened to the Man from Tomorrow.” And that’s not to diminish by any means Grant’s stuff with “Batman R.I.P." He also celebrates so much of what Batman is about. Denny O’Neil steps in to celebrate so much of what he brought to the character and, of course, if any one person had the most influential voice on Batman for the longest period of time, Denny is that person. We have Paul Dini involved. Everyone is bringing their own package and their own unique voice in what we’re calling a celebration of the last rites of Batman. This is amazing stuff! You asked what I was excited about, right?

(Source - LA Times)

Writer Neil Gaiman spoke with "USA Today" on his upcoming 2 part story, which concludes Grant Morrison's current RIP arc..

Batman #681, due Nov. 26, wraps up writer Grant Morrison's Batman R.I.P. story line, in which the crimefighter is so shaken by a secret from his past that a new Batman must be found.

What makes this "death" go beyond the usual circulation booster is the talent involved. Helping to bury Batman will be best-selling novelist Neil Gaiman, who created the goth-cult Sandman comic 20 years ago.

Gaiman is writing a two-issue tribute to the character, starting with Batman #686 and tentatively titled Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?, due in February.

"This is my last Batman story," he says. "And in some ways, it could be seen as every last Batman story."

Working with artist Andy Kubert, Gaiman will try to reconcile the various versions of Batman, some wisecracking, others brooding, over the Dark Knight's 69-year history.

"There are infinite Batmans," he says. "It has been really hard on Andy because I keep asking him to draw in so many different styles."

DC Comics asked writer Alan Moore, creator of Watchmen, to similarly wrap up Superman's first half-century with Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? in 1986. The character was retooled shortly thereafter.

Comic-book deaths are usually short-lived. "No franchise ever closes down for good," Gaiman says.

His return to comics had everything to do with the Batman character. "You never forget your first," he says.

"My entire love of comics came from 1966, being 5 years old and the Adam West TV show starting in the U.K.," says Gaiman, who's English. "Superman is sweet and fun to write, but Batman is more than fetishistic. … Batman sees his parents killed by criminals and vows to do something about it.

"Every day that there are still criminals out there, he's losing."

(Source - DC Comics News / USA Today)

Gotham Knights Online has been given the "official" heads up on the release of Batman: The Brave and the Bold official Website.

It's got some fantastic behind the scene features including a new game and plenty of stuff the keep the kids entertained.

Here's the official press release:

BURBANK, Calif. (November 19, 2008) – Warner Bros. Animation today announced the creation and launch of a new “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” website based on the Cartoon Network (CartoonNetwork.com) series which premiered Friday, November 14, and airs Fridays at 8 PM ET/PT.

The free, all-ages, ad-supported site is online now at http://www.braveandthebold.com/. It features a serialized Batman game entitled “The Terror of the Time Traps,” interactive virtual action figures known as “Inter-Action Figures,” detailed back story on many of the popular DC Comics characters who co-star in upcoming episodes of the show, step-by-step character drawing lessons featuring Batman and friends, and more.
“The new ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold’ site is an interactive experience for fans where they can engage with some of Warner Bros. Animation’s most iconic characters in unprecedented ways,” said Sam Ades, Vice President, Digital Animation, Warner Bros. Television Group, and General Manager, KidsWB.com. “Our site combines the coolest characters from the DC Comics family with the control, interactivity, and social media features that younger audiences have grown to expect from their entertainment content.”

Among the content, activities and behind-the-scenes material on the new site are:

• “Inter-Action Figures” – Intuitive drag-and-drop tools empower users to select their favorite characters and create custom printable scenes from “Batman: The Brave and the Bold.” Each character comes with a variety of poses and can be positioned inside the scene using backgrounds from the show. Future functionality will allow users to export these scenes for use as wallpapers, screen savers and across other digital applications. Additional custom tools encourage viewers to engage with the characters by learning their history and hearing them speak. The “Spotlight” tool reveals each character’s biography, while the “Talk” tool plays audio clips that highlight the character’s unique personality.
  
• Multi-Level Game – In “The Terror of the Time Traps” game, a mysterious force has overcome Batman and his friends, requiring them to embark on a series of challenges and battles. Throughout the television season, the game will unveil new levels, characters and challenges, with each segment tying back to a recent broadcast episode. As in the show, each level of the game requires Batman to partner with another character (to be selected by the player) to attempt to save the world. For example, the game will take players under the sea where Aquaman and Batman will team up to save Atlantis. Single-player game play encourages players to toggle between the two characters, using their respective superpowers to gain points, tackle challenges and advance. High scores are posted daily creating a fun way to enjoy the characters and encourage friendly competition with other fans.

• Character Drawing Lessons – The artists responsible for the dynamic look and feel of “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” are featured on the site in instructional vignettes that coach fans and aspiring animators in the strokes, tips and tricks required to draw Batman and the other characters featured on the show.

Spotted this over at BYTB, who have highlighted that upon the release of "The Dark Knight", due out December 8th in the UK (Amazon.co.uk Ltd Mask Edition), Chris Nolan will be part of the BD Live chat feature available to blue-ray edition. HDROOM posted the following details.

Warner Home Video confirmed over the weekend that The Dark Knight director and co-writer Christopher Nolan will be the second guinea pig for a BD-Live chat session.

Unlike Universal who is not capping the number of participants for the Hellboy II chat, Warner is cutting off registration after the first 100,000 purchasers of The Dark Knight on Blu-ray in either the standard or Bat-Pod Collector's Edition sets register for the event.

Based on the rumored 1 million copies of The Dark Knight on Blu-ray expected to ship for its December 9 release, these slots could very well completely fill up.
It is still unclear how Warner and Nolan will be fielding questions. Universal has opened up their BD-Live portal to registered members who can submit up to three questions for consideration beforehand.

We've also learned The Dark Knight standard and Bat-Pod Blu-ray sets will include a feature were you can create a video commentary using a web-cam and upload it to the web for others to view.

(Source - BYTB / HDROOM)

BATMAN: BLACK AND WHITE: THE PENGUIN BY BRIAN BOLLAND Statue:
The BATMAN: BLACK and WHITE STATUE line continues to expand as The Penguin becomes the second villain to join the series! Designed by famed artist Brian Bolland, this pose is taken directly from a panel in BATMAN: BLACK and WHITE VOL. 1.The statue measures approximately 6" high x 4.5" wide x 4.5" deep, is painted in monochromatic tones, features a Bat-logo-shaped base and is packaged in a black-and-white box.

DESIGNED BY BRIAN BOLLAND; SCULPTED BY RAY VILLAFANE

CATWOMAN VS. BATGIRL Statue:
Gotham City's female foes do battle in a CLASSIC CONFRONTATIONS statue!The latest addition to this line of statues sculpted by some of DC Direct's premier talent features Batgirl confronting Catwoman as the feline fatale attempts to pull a bank heist. In a unique twist, not only does each figure's cape suspend her in mid-air, but the capes act as bases on which the figures stand. Packaged as three separate pieces (Batgirl, Catwoman and the bank vault over which they are fighting), the statue can be set up in a variety of configurations. The Catwoman Vs. Batgirl Statue is limited-edition, hand-painted and cold-cast in porcelain.It measures approximately 8" high x 11" wide x 5" deep, includes a 4-color Certificate of Authenticity and is packaged in a 4-color box. Manufactured to order.

DESIGNED BY PAITOON RATAN

Batman #686 (Alex Ross Cover)

Batman #686 (Andy Kubert Cover)

Detective Comics #853 (Andy Kubert Cover)

CBR talk with Batman: The Brave and the Bold voice director Andrea Romano. I'll always remember first see her name on Batman: Mask of the Phantasm all those years ago, and 18 years later she is still affiliated with the DC universe, mainly Batman.

Click here for the full interview...

For those lucky one's tonight, today's the day Batman: The Brave and the Bold starts. CBR talks with producer James Tucker and the writers he got on board for B&B...

"But the biggest challenge came in breaking Batman's personality and making sure that the latest version of the Dark Knight remained iconic yet different than his previous film and television iterations. "With Batman, we definitely wanted to give a Batman who counterpointed what's been out there already," Jelenic confirmed. "James is a huge fan of the history of Batman so his touchstones go further back than 1988, when Batman became really dark. I think his influence came in making sure we saw that other side of him, too. "

Click here for the entire interview...

(Source: Comic Book Resource)

I've not seen many interviews with writer Paul Dini (well no a lot since his announcement years back when he was assigned to writing Detective Comics), or artist Dustin Nguyen. The team behind Detective Comics current run.

Well Newsarama have posted an interview to discuss Dustin's success and this weeks 850th issue of Detective.

NRAMA: In the announcement of the December 2008 titles, I notice you're not doing that month's Detective Comics. What do you have planned next?


DN: Yes, The Denny O’Neil issues will come in for two issues I believe, it'll actually give us some breathing time (11 issues straight!). After that, it's more Detective, and even more Batman for me. 2009 is going to have more "BAM!" and "POW!" than ever.

NRAMA: You've done a lot of work on Batman – you did an arc of Batman with Judd Winnick, an arc with Alan Burnett on Superman/Batman and most recently ten issues of Detective Comics with Paul Dini. Was it your choice to draw Batman, or did the editors at DC pitch it to you?

DN: It was entirely my choice, and DC has been nothing but supportive of it. At one point, Dan Didio just asked me "what do you want to draw Dustin?" and my answer was as simple as, " Batman, just Batman, all Batman!". He said okay, and for the past 2 years, I've done nothing but Batman. I also think it's their way of keeping me from the rest of the DC universe. [laughs]

Also a very nice image Dutin has created, showing at lot of main/important characters to Gotham, which now dons my desktop...
Click here for the full interview...

The Guardian has posted three clips from bonus features on the upcoming DVDs and Blu-ray Discs for The Dark Knight.

Well if your a little behind with Grant Morrison's run of Batman, now is your chance to catch up. CBR have posted a fantastic article which collects all the story arcs from Grant Morrison, which originally started back in "52", with a number of clues currently lending its hand the the current R.I.P. arc.

I kid you not, this is a very long article but well worth the read, if you need to catch up before next weeks conclusion the the eagerly anticipated Batman #681.

Click here for the article...

I've been trying to find the time to post this today... absolutely awesome footage of the Joker from MK vs DCU and the range of moves he can perform... can't wait to try some of these out for myself.

Here we go again, Newsarama continue their bi-weekly Q&A spot with DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio. Not much regarding the Batman titles this time around, but the burning question on every ones lips was surrounding the cancellations of Robin, Nightwing and BoP...

1: Let’s start with the big news from last week, that is, the cancellation of Nightwing, Robin and Birds of Prey. Looking at the sales estimates on those three, they’re not the lowest selling titles DC has going, and they serve a purpose in the DC Universe and Batman’s world, so what’s the deal? There are rumors and thoughts that they are going to be replaced, so is there any hope to be offered?

Dan DiDio: What we see on those particular books given where Batman is heading and the stories in the Batman universe are going, the stories that were taking place in Robin, Nightwing and Birds of Prey have all run their natural course, and have definite conclusions as part of the “Last Rites” stories following Batman R.I.P. That’s one of the reasons why those books came to an end.

Needless to say, and to put everybody’s minds at ease, that does not mean we will no longer be telling stories with Barbra Gordon, Dick Grayson or Tim Drake. As a matter of fact, we’re about to increase the level of prominence they have and their importance within the Bat-universe, if people can believe that they can get even more important, which they will. And more importantly, they’re going to be featured prominently in a number o f miniseries that will be following their cancellations. Tim and Dick are front and center in all that happens in Battle for the Cowl, and Barbra Gordon will be moving into an Oracle miniseries immediately following the cancellation of Birds f Prey.

What follows those miniseries though, will have to be left for another discussion.

We’re still locking down the writer on the Oracle miniseries, but Battle for the Cowl will be written and drawn by Tony Daniel, which we’re very excited about. This is the first time Tony’s written in a while, and he’s just champing at the bit to be able to do this, and we’re excited that he’s on the series.

"Battle for the Cowl promo art "

12: Another question that came up from the readers – what’s going on with Greg Rucka? He has Final Crisis: Revelations going on...and there’ve been comments that he has stuff in the works. But that’s been said for a while...

DD: We’re going to see Greg Rucka’s return to the Batman family post Battle for the Cowl.

13: The male side of the Batman family or the female side of the Batman family?

DD: Well, you don’t have to be the world’s greatest detective to figure that one out.

Warner Bros. Pictures has launched a "For Your Consideration" website for The Dark Knight, which includes the full down loadable script for the film!

It seems if you want to be part of the success that is the Batman franchise at the moment, it is to do voice overs. Newsarama.com have an exclusive interview with voice actor Richard Epcar, who is doing the voice to this months anticipated video game release. Mortal Kombat vs the DCU.

Very fun and insightful interview with Richard Epcar...

NRAMA: Some people have told me the Joker is one of the most fun characters to play, too. Did you draw from any past inspiration for him, anywhere from Cesar Romero to Mark Hammill on to Jack Nicholson or Heath Ledger?

RE: That’s so good to hear. I had a blast doing it. They told me they absolutely did not want Nicholson or anything resembling Heath Ledger. In fact, they really didn’t want an imitation of anybody else. So that’s what I did. I did a voice of what I thought the Joker would sound like. I wasn’t trying to be Cesar Romero, Mark Hammill or anybody else.

NRAMA: So say back in the 60s when we were all young snots, were you a fan of the Adam West series?

RE: Oh yeah. I have to say I loved Batman, but I really loved what Frank Miller did with him in Dark Knight. I agreed with him that for Batman to be effective, he had to scare the crap out of the bad guys.

Now mind you, I knew Bob Kane. He was a very nice guy and did some other wonderful animation. He once told me that the only way to really be successful is to come up with something that is uniquely my own. So that’s what I did with the Joker.

The proof of it was when I was in the booth, the people from Warner Bros. and DC Comics were patched in and could listen to what I did. They told Chris that as soon as I started, they knew I was their guy to do the Joker.

For the full interview click here...

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I know it's covering old ground by now but wanted to keep it covered... CBR have another interview with Diedrich Bader on voicing Batman.

Not much to add since yesterday's post with Newsarama's interview but worth a quick read : )

Click here for the entire interview.

Getting ready for Friday 14th... sadly I'm probably going to have to wait until next year before we get Batman: The Brave and the Bold here in the UK, but I'm enjoying all the hype surrounding the new animated series. Newsarama have posted another interview with actor Dierich Balder, the voice behind Batman.

A couple of interesting things for me included:

NRAMA: So did you do the voice work in isolation or radio style?

DB: We do it radio style, at Andrea Romano’s insistence. First though, we rehearse. Which in TV is extremely rare. Then we record all together. It’s really difficult to do the show without reading the whole thing. If you just read the script cold, you really don’t get it. Also, it’s really fun to create it all together.

NRAMA: I loved what Dee Bradley Baker did with the aliens...

DB: Isn’t he fantastic?

NRAMA: I especially liked how they constantly referred to Batman as Blue Beetle’s sidekick.

DB: Exactly. Isn’t that hilarious? What you’ll notice is he plays along with being the sidekick. That’s part of the humor. The one thing that’s constant is Batman has his ego in check.

NRAMA: That’s something you don’t expect from the Dark Knight.

DB: Definitely. I think that’s a good view of the overall arc of the show. By the end of each episode, the two characters have helped each other through something. Things one is deficient in, the other compensates. They make up for each other. That is one of the points of the show. It’s a really nice element.

For the entire interview, click here...

Nice post over at Tony Daniel's blog. He's done a variant cover for Detective Comics #851. Colored by Ian Hannin. The backgrounds full of loads of villains.. awesome : )

Batman and the Manga genre have been something that have been alongside each other for many decades. Recently Pantheon books released Bat-Manga a book by the Legendary Chipp Kidd, which is a collection of stories based on a weekly Japanese manga anthology for boys, Shonen King, who licensed the rights to commission its own Batman and Robin stories. A year later, the stories stopped. They were never collected in Japan, and never translated into English. Now, in this gorgeously produced book, hundreds of pages of Batman-manga comics more than four decades old are translated for the first time, appearing alongside stunning photographs of the world’s most comprehensive collection of vintage Japanese Batman toys.

NEWSARAMA: While the release of the new Bat-Manga! book has largely met with strong publicity and good reviews, there’s been a bit of controversy recently, as some reviewers and bloggers have noted that manga-ka Jiro Kuwata, whose Batman stories make up the bulk of the book, is not credited on the cover or title page of the book. His name only appears on the inside flap initially, though Kidd does credit him in the introduction, includes a one-page interview with him and dedicates the book to him as well.

Click here for the entire atricle...

The CW and Warner Bros. TV have been forced to scrap their plans for "The Graysons," reports Variety. The show, which had been given a put pilot commitment, was set to revolve around Batman sidekick Robin in his pre-Caped Crusader days.

CBR continues it coverage of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, this time talking to directors Ben Jones, Michael Chang and Brandon Vietti.

“I’ve been blessed with a terrific, terrific crew,” Tucker said. “Ben is an old school fanboy. He brings his love of all this stuff and the energy to all his shows. Michael Chang is from ‘Titans’ so he has that experience of that energetic, dynamic action and also the humor. Brandon Vietti is from ‘The Batman’ and numerous other action shows like ‘Jackie Chan Adventures,’ and he is a great student of cinema and film. He knows how to bring tone and atmosphere to the show. These three guys really are nailing this, and if the show’s a success, it will be in no small part to the energy and diversity they bring in as a set of directors.”

Click here for the full interview

The news of DC cancelling the current run of Robin, Nightwing and BoP is getting mixed opinions on were this leave the current Batman family titles after Grant Morrison's R.I.P. run comes to a close.

Oh my god, this week we see no Batman title's released and then DC confirm today that the February-shipping issues of Robin, Nightwing and Birds of Prey will be the final issues of the respective series.

More insight into the animated world of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, with the show's producer James Tucker who spoke with CBR...

It's just an interview frenzy with the creators of this years acclaimed graphic novel "Joker"... it seems everyday some one else has managed to grab an interview, which are getting more and more insightful as they go along...

Got to be the best interview I've read so far with BRIAN AZZARELLO and LEE BERMEJO on their take of Batman's greatest villain.