Tagged: Gotham City

The Funniest ‘Dark Knight’ Review You’ll Read

  • News
  • August 11, 2008

dark_knight_joker-1798911This is probably the tardiest and possibly the funniest review of The Dark Knight you’ll see, as TV writer Ken Levine writes on his blog about how much it must suck to live in Gotham City.

Jesus! You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting six mob bosses. And then there’s the town’s super psycho villain – they couldn’t find someone a little more aesthetically pleasing? Children watch those televised truck chases too, y’know. And Juneau appears to have more daytime in the winter than Gotham City. Does it get dark everyday at noon?…

Quick aside: Wouldn’t you love to see AMERICAN IDOL open auditions in Gotham City? Paula would be mistaken for the Joker.

I used to think the Joker was a brilliant mastermind until I realized a number of his fiendish plots were a direct lift from SAW.

DARK KNIGHT was a fun ride and Heath Ledger steals the movie (and everything else). But is it just me? I’m reaching the superhero saturation point. I’ve sympathized enough with tortured reluctant caped crusaders. And these movies all seem to turn on the heroes’ inability to kill the mass murderer psychopath villain because of some “code”. That doesn’t seem real. Oh… wait. We’re talking about guys who wear spandex suits and can fly – strike that last objection.

That’s all good and fun, but then there’s the following, which is a worrisome note about superhero movies wearing out their welcome.

DARK KNIGHT is worth seeing but please Hollywood, no more comic books. The only character left is Bazooka Joe.

It’s just one opinion (well, that and some commenters), but it’s worth considering that these projects are hitting a saturation point and the average (non comics fan) viewer is getting tired of it.

ComicMix Quick Picks: 8/8/08

The collection of posts that may not warrant a full entry of their own. Excelsio — er, onward and upward:

Billionaire financier Ronald O. Perelman has agreed pay $80 million to settle a lawsuit accusing him of helping to divert $553.5 million in notes when he controlled Marvel. I’ll do a better run-down of the financials after I have a chance to slog through them. Ironically, Perelman had always wanted to turn Marvel into an intellectual property powerhouse in the mold of Disney, but it only happened after he drove Marvel into bankruptcy and bolted.

And speaking of legal matters, Gordon vs. Gordon. It’s a shame when things go bad. I wonder what will happen at the custody hearings.

And speaking of Gotham City going-ons (what a segue!) somebody else has built a working Tumbler. No word on what else he keeps in his basement or his belfry.

Don Heck’s Lovecraft work to finally see the light of day. Ai! Ai! P’tagh i’dw ryall!

Tom Brevoort is attempting to take over DC Comics. Watch out, Paul…

And just because some of you might want to know how to give yourself pointed ears… well, here you are. We’re not responsible for any pon farr, though.

New Website, Two-Face Clip From ‘The Dark Knight’

  • News
  • June 19, 2008

With just under a month until The Dark Knight hits theaters, it’s not surprising to see more viral marketing for the film popping up around the ‘Net. Previously, we ran down the long list of other Dark Knight online marketing campaigns, but this one has a special treat for Batman fans.

For example, feel free to surf over to the recently launched website for Gotham City Pizzeria. Along with reading up on the pizzeria’s history, you can also read their pledge to customers that includes a few elements you don’t normally find in a pizzeria chain — including a pledge to "support Batman."

I know this is controversial, but sometimes you have to take a stand. One day, when we were first expanding to lots of neighborhoods in Gotham, I picked up the day’s receipts from our shop in East End. The street lamps were out, and the sidewalk was deserted. Two thugs approached me and demanded money. I was too slow – and one of them pulled out a shotgun. Suddenly, they were gone. I looked up, and Batman had snatched them in his arms and was giving them a little dose of Gotham City Justice. From that moment on, we put special emphasis on making the streets around our locations safe – and business skyrocketed. Batman is an inspiration to all of us who want to take control of our own lives and fight back against the criminals of Gotham City. GCP supports Batman.

Oh, and pay close attention to the cursor when you drift over the letters "HA" in "GOTHAM" … Notice anything? Click on "HA" to view a clip from the film that provides your first look at Harvey Dent, a.k.a. Two-Face.

Why so serious, indeed?

 

 (via SHH)

ComicMix Six: Top Political Campaigns in Comics

smiler2-1805729It happens every few years, just like the Olympics or locusts: People lucky enough to live in democracies hold an election.

Sometimes they’re voting for a President or a Congressman, and sometimes they’re voting for a mayor or dogcatcher. People in comics vote, too, and their choices are often as stupid as ours.

That’s why, with primaries on the horizon and campaigns dominating the headlines, we’ve decided to take a look at some of the most notable attempts (successful or otherwise) at obtaining political office in the comics world… in typical ComicMix Six fashion.

*Sigh* If only it were that easy to ret-con a disappointing election in the real world…

6. Myra Fermin, Mayor of Hub City (DC): In the most corrupt city in the DC Universe, Myra ran on a platform promising to clean up the mess. And she won, because there had to be a reason she couldn’t sleep with the Question.

5. Gary "The Smiler" Callahan, President (Vertigo): This mayoral candidate gave Spider Jerusalem a lot to write about in Transmetropolitan. At first, Spider liked him more than his predecessor, "The Beast." And then, Spider learned the truth. Basically, The Smiler was sort of like Rudy Giuliani, but without the combover.

(more…)

Happy Birthday: Alfred Pennyworth

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Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth was born the son of a butler—his father, Jarvis, worked for the wealthy Gotham City family the Waynes.

But the life of a domestic was not for young Alfred, and he fled as soon as he was old enough to strike out on his own. For many years, Alfred made a living as a stage actor, but he engaged in more dangerous occupations as well, working for British Intelligence in occupied France during World War II. He was summoned home by his dying father, however, and Jarvis made Alfred promise to continue the family tradition of serving the Waynes. Jarvis’s own employers, Thomas and Martha Wayne, had been tragically murdered many years before, but their son Bruce was now living in Wayne Manor with his young ward, Dick Grayson.

Though he had no desire to do so, Alfred obeyed his father’s last wish and presented himself at Wayne Manor, where he convinced the pair to take him on as a butler. Alfred’s tasks became far more interesting when he accidentally discovered that his employer was the Batman!

Since then, Alfred has been one of Batman’s most trusted friends and allies, and has served not only as a butler, but also as a medic, a scout, a spy, and a confidante. Not bad for a man hired to serve meals and draw curtains!

Happy Birthday: Golden Age Batman

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The Bruce Wayne of Earth-Two was born on April 7, 1915. A crook named Joe Chill robbed and killed Bruce’s parents in 1924, when Bruce was only eight years old. Bruce dedicated his life to avenging his parents’ deaths and protecting others from criminals and their evil deeds.

After many years of training, Bruce donned a fearsome costume and became the Batman. He was a member of both the Justice Society of America and the All-Star Squadron, and despite not having any superpowers was considered one of the greatest of the American heroes. Bruce also reformed and married the former Catwoman, Selina Kyle—together they had a daughter, Helena Wayne, who later became the Huntress.

After many years, Bruce decided he was too old to continue as the Batman and retired from that side of his life, passing the mantle to his friend and student Dick Grayson. Bruce became the police commissioner of Gotham City instead. The fact that he had been the original Batman became public after Selina died in his arms trying to stop a former Catwoman henchman.

In 1979, Bruce was coaxed out of costumed retirement one last time to stop a super-powered crook named Bill Jensen, and the mission led to Bruce Wayne’s death. After his death, Doctor Fate erased the world’s knowledge that Bruce Wayne and Batman had been the same person.

On This Day: Catwoman

  • News
  • March 14, 2008

The daughter of Brian and Maria Kyle, young Selina had an unpleasant childhood. Her mother loved cats more than her own children and eventually committed suicide, while Selina’s father was an angry layabout who drank himself to death a short while later.

Selina wound up on the streets of Gotham City, in an orphanage, and then in juvenile hall in rapid succession. At 13, she discovered that the hall administrator was embezzling funds, and almost died when she threatened to expose the woman. Escaping the trap, however, Selina stole enough evidence to incriminate the woman and enough money to keep herself going for a while, and then disappeared.

Mama Fortuna, who ran a gang of young thieves in Alleytown, took Selina in and taught her to steal properly. Selina grew up and became an accomplished thief, but had to lay low after a burglary went wrong. A pimp named Stan offered her a job posing as a dominatrix and conning information out of her “clients.” Selina accepted.

It was while she was at this job that she first saw Batman and, inspired by him, created her own costume to become the renowed masked, cat burglar, Catwoman.

Since then, Selina has vacillated between villainess and heroine, and has had an off-again, on-again relationship with Batman himself.

The Science of Comics: Batman’s Gliding

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  • March 8, 2008

The Dark Knight is overlooking the city from the ledge of a towering skyscraper when he spies a violent crime occurring in the streets below. Without even the hint of a pause, he jumps off the top of the building and uses his his outstretched cape to swoop down onto the crowd of evil-doers.

That familiar scene has been one of the staples of comic books for which readers have long suspended disbelief. But maybe fiction isn’t too far from reality. Could this be done? The ComicMix mythbusters say yes!

How, you ask? Well, just watch this footage of a mountain wingsuit. Substitute the gothic architecture of Gotham City for the mountains, and you have one impressive, bat-shaped figure ready to glide down from the night sky and strike fear into the hearts of a superstitious, cowardly lot of criminals.

New Info Revealed on ‘Batman: Gotham Knight’

  • News
  • February 26, 2008

batmangothamknightsmaller-3709383Previously, my ComicMix colleague Rick Marshall brought you a first look at DC Comics and Warner Bros. animated direct-to-DVD anthology Batman: Gotham Knight. The film, designed to fill the gap between Batman Begins and Batman: The Dark Knight, features the work of several notable writers including Josh Olson, David S. Goyer, Alan Burnett, Jordan Goldberg, Greg Rucka and Brian Azzarello.

This time around, thanks to an official press release, I can also let you in on some more details about the film, including who the directors are and the release date. According to the site, directing the anthology stories will be Shojiro Nishimi, Futoshi Higashide, Hiroshi Morioka, Yasuhiro Aoki and Toshiyuki Kubooka.

In addition, the stories in the anthology will include "thrilling new adventures of Batman that spotlight several of Gotham City’s most dangerous villains, including the fearsome Scarecrow, the freakish Killer Croc and the unnerving marksman known as Deadshot."

Batman: Gotham Knights comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray on June 8th.

 

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