The First Trailer For Batman: The Killing Joke Is Here…Kinda?

Along the lines of Batman Year One and The Dark Knight Returns, 1988’s Batman: The Killing Joke is considered a classic and one of the best Batman (and Joker) stories ever.  Written by legend (and all around curmudgeon) Alan Moore and fantastic art by Brian Bolland, this one shot would lay the groundwork for many years to come in the Bat-books, particularly for one Barbara Gordon.  It is here that the tragic events that turn her from Batgirl to eventually Oracle occur.  (I kept that vague, just in case I have to worry about spoilers, which I probably do not.)

The book is violent and a physiological head trip for all involved, especially the Gordons.  We get perhaps the most definitive Joker origin (if there can ever be such a thing), in the pre-New 52/pre-Zero Hour/can anyone keep track anymore? continuity.  (On a sidenote, the upcoming issue of Justice League will supposedly reveal the Joker’s true name that Batman learned while God-ing out in the Mobius Chair.)

It will be interesting to see how honest the animated film is to the source material.  Warner Bros. has reportedly given the ok to make the film R-rated (isn’t everything these days?) but a rating has not been given yet.

You can watch the “trailer” (and more) after the break.  I found it a bit weak (and wonder how legit this is, more on that after the break as well) and I don’t know that it would draw in many fans who don’t already have some idea what is going on.  But they still have time, and this feels more like a teaser trailer than a full trailer.  But with Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill on board as Batman and the Joker respectively, count me in.

Spiders, Spiders Everywhere Part 10 (Death Of Captain Marvel Edition)

The Death of Captain Marvel is one of those stories that routinely show up on critics “best of” lists, but that you never get around to reading.  Well, it has been that way for me anyway.  But I recently remedied that as I had to read it to see if it fit in with the Spider-Man Complete Chronology.  Given I’m writing about it in this column series and not in a Chronology update, I think reveals the answer to that.

More about The Death of Captain Marvel and it’s place in Spider-Man lore after the break.

Going Through The DCAU Part Fifteen

Yup, time for more cartoon talk with Jimmy and Tom.

This time, we’re covering the Batman The Animated Series episodes “What Is Reality?” “I Am The Night,” and “Off Balance”.

Sorry Watson, No Titans TV Show For You

Not the reported line up.

It looks like Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Starfire, Raven, Hawk and Dove won’t be coming to a small screen near you. TNT has announced that the show has been shelved because of the clutter of comic properties already on TV, and development wasn’t taking them in a direction that they wanted to go.  Production on the show was expected to begin this summer.

I had a feeling this show was in trouble when for some unknown reason TNT was (rumored to be) changing the name of the show to Blackbirds.  Looks like you’ll have to check out Batman: Bad Blood next month for the only Dick Grayson fix you’ll get anytime soon.

Slightly Misplaced Comic Book Heroes Case File #31: The Huntress

Offhand, I could not tell you which Huntress is in this picture.

Superheroes, for the most part, don’t age.  Marvel and DC have their superhero universes set in some sort of sliding scale timeline, where almost everything that’s happened since the superhero line was created somehow only occurred over a ten to twelve year period.  That means that even though there are Fantastic Four comics depicting Reed Richards and Ben Grimm in the trenches of World War II, today neither of those gentlemen are that old.  Aside from a handful of World War II era heroes and villains who have managed to stay active and keep their ties to the war (Captain America, the original Justice Society), or even the rarer other type (Frank Castle is a Vietnam vet), heroes are pulled from eras they existed in to avoid explaining how Batman swings through the streets of Gotham without a walker.

But there are ways to allow heroes to age, and one of them DC used to have was Earth-2.  Originally the home of the Justice Society of America, Earth-2 was the place where the Golden Age heroes did their thing.  And while none of them quite reached the state we’d consider “elderly,” some of them did marry and have children.  One of them was the Earth-2 Batman, and he had a daughter, and oh man, is this one messed up history.

Going Through The DCAU Part Twelve

Once more, Jimmy and Tom return to work their way through the DCAU.

This week, we’re covering the Batman the Animated Series episodes “Heart of Steel Parts 1 and 2,” “If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?” and “Joker’s Wild”.

Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Convergence: Week Five Part One

I’m back baby!  (Editor’s Note: Jimmy, you used that two posts ago.)  As Convergence continues its trek towards being the most forgettable crossover event ever.  The tie ins are not bad, but seem to have little to no bearing on the main book and vice versa.  If you like a particular DC character from a particular era, pick up those books.  Otherwise, just pick up the main mini-series, which may be of interest.

Be sure to catch up on all the Convergence happenings with coverage of:

Week One: Part One, Part Two
Week Two: Part One, Part Two
Week Three:Part One, Part Two
Week Four:Part One, Part Two

Read on for Week Five spoilers after break for Convergence #5, Convergence Batman And Robin #2, Convergence Superman #2, Convergence Nightwing Oracle #2, Convergence Batgirl #2, and Convergence Harley Quinn #2.

Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Convergence: Week Two Part Two

aka Watson’s homeboy.

Do you like Kingdom Come?  The pre-Zero Hour DC universe?  Epic crossovers designed to take all your money and probably not maybe leave you satisfied?  Then cart yer arse on in here and read more about Convergence Week Two!

Be sure to catch up on all the Convergence happenings with coverage of:

Week One: Part One, Part Two

Week Two: Part One

Read on for spoilers after break for Aquaman #1, Superman The Man Of Steel #1, Catwoman #1, Green Arrow #1, Justice League International #1 and Suicide Squad #1.

Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Convergence: Week One Part One

Convergence #1

Let the multiversal insanity begin.  Spoilers after the break for Convergence #1, Batman and Robin #1, Nightwing Oracle #1, Batgirl #1 and Speed Force #1.

Titans TV Series NOT to Include Danny Chase As a Main Character!

News on a TV series I find so intriguing that I cared enough to write an article on a TV series.  Yeah.  It’s about DC’s Titans.  Per Nerdist: the team will consist of Dick Grayson (he starts as Robin and shifts later to Nightwing), Barbara Gordon (the exact origin as Oracle, but the word “Oracle”is left unsaid in the pilot), Hawk and Dove (the female Dove here, not the original), Raven, and Starfire.  No mention of why Danny Chase, the most popular Titan ever*, was not included in the show.  We expect massive firings to occur at WB over this.

Here’s my take of the news: