Gotham, Inc.

Gotham Podcast: Bryan Q. Miller One-Shot

2011-08-30T12:19:00.005-05:00

Hello Gothamites,

Bryan Q. Miller of comic book writing fame sits down with the two guys that record this podcast. Bryan talks about his experiences with the DC Relaunch, the final issues of his Batgirl run, what some of his future plans are, and his debut as a pop music superstar.

Also featured are soft reviews of the final issues of all of the recent Bat-books, BQM's collection of Miz t-shirts, and the return of fan favorite.

Oh yeah, later in the week, we relaunch.

Updates and Absolute Long Halloween Deal on Thwipster

2011-08-19T11:13:00.004-05:00

Hey all,

Just wanted to drop in and let you know that we will be coming back for sure as soon as the DC Relaunch takes off. Unfortunately, Tim has left the podcast, but the good news is that Justin, the original second half of the podcast has returned, which is awesome! Justin was a little behind on some of the books, so that's why we're waiting for the relaunch first. However, I'll probably cut a short goodbye to a lot of the books next weekend to just kind of address all the ending books, and believe me, we're just as sad about those books ending as a lot of you are.
Nonetheless, we will be coming back, shortly. And when we come back, we're bringing the "Book of the Month" podcast with us. And one of those books that we'll be talking about is Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's The Long Halloween. And you know what? The Long Halloween is Thwipster's book of the day, and they're selling it for $35! If I didn't already have this, you better believe I'd be making this purchase.

If you're worried about missing out on this deal, don't freak out just yet. Thwipster's Friday deal lasts all the way through the weekend, so you have about three days to get your hands on the book for $40 off the standard retail price. So, go get that! Just click on the image below to pick up the awesome.

We'll be seeing you soon, thanks for your patience!

Gotham Central #122

2011-07-17T11:51:00.003-05:00

Click to Play

It's a week late! Tim and Hunter talk about all things Batman including what they did over the past week, reviews of comics that have come out, as well as talk about what books are coming out this week! Batman! Batman! Batman!

Welcome: gothampodcast@gmail.com, twitter.com/gothampodcast, facebook.com/gothampodcast, formspring.me/gothampodcast, gothampodcast.tumblr.com, www.gothampodcast.com

News:

Batman: Year One trailer

Dark Knight Rises Teaser with Harry Potter

Reviews:

Batman Beyond #7

Batman and Robin #25

Flashpoint: Knight of Vengeance #2

Flashpoint #3

Secret Six #35

What We Did This Week:

Hunter - Bought Batman: Year 100 from thwipster.com. Purchased Catwoman on Blu-ray. Watched Batman and Robin on Blu-ray. Batman Anthology Blu-ray box set discussion. Watched Crisis on Two Earths and New Frontier on Blu-ray. Watched Biography Channel documentaries. One on Catwoman, and one on Adam West. Hollywood Treasures on SyFy.

Tim - Organized graphic novel collection. Purchased the Tony Daniel Batman: Black and White statue.

Tim and Hunter - NYCC press and attendance confirmed.

Pull List:

The All New Batman: The Brave and The Bold #9

Batgirl #23

Batman: The Dark Knight #3

Birds of Prey #14

Detective Comics #879

Flashpoint: Frankenstein and The Creatures of The Unknown

Red Robin #25

Teen Titans #98

Hush HC Unwrapped Deluxe Edition

Batman: Bruce Wayne - The Road Home HC

DC Comics Presents: Batman - Gotham Noir #1

Gotham Central #121

2011-07-06T02:32:00.004-05:00

Click to Play

Hello Gothamites!

My name is Hunter, and you've just reached the place to listen to two guys talk about Batman and Batman related things! On this episode, Tim and myself talk about 3 weeks worth of comic books, answer YOUR questions, AND tell you what comes out NEXT "week". You've been warned Gothamites. We're doing all of this FOR "SCIENCE"!

CONTACT US:
gothampodcast@gmail.com, twitter.com/gothampodcast, facebook.com/gothampodcast, gothampodcast.tumblr.com, formspring.me/gothampodcast

ASK THE QUESTION:
"My dad says that Cesar Romero is the best Joker but I say Heath Ledger. Out of everyone who's played him who would you pick?" (from @Kenneth_D)

"How many of the 52 titles will last more than six issues?" (from @arutt)

"Who’s more bat sh*t crazy, Frank Miller or Grant Morrison? "(from @arutt)

GOTHAM NEWS:
Arkham City: Robin
Arkham City: Official Cover Art
DKR - News/Spoilers?
Catwoman in DKR to resemble Darwyn Cooke’s Catwoman
Kevin Conroy tweet -- played a deranged serial killer in the movie “The Face of Fear”

REVIEWS:
Batman: Arkham City Exclusive Digital Chapter #1-3
Deadman and the Flying Grayson #1
Power Girl #25
Teen Titans #96
Superman/Batman #85
Batman #711
Batgirl #22
Young Justice #5
The Search for Swamp Thing #1
Batman and the Outsiders #40
Batman: Gates of Gotham #2
Batman: Arkham City #3
Gotham City Sirens #24
Detective Comics #878
Batman Incorporated #7 AKA "The Best Comic Ever"

WHAT WE DID:
Hunter - Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne. Bonus content in Batman and Robin, Vol. 3: Batman and Robin Must Die! Started reading Bruce Wayne: Murderer!? Played through Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe and beat it, like a boss. Under The Red Hood. Watched Batman Forever.

Tim - Watched Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Justice League: New Frontier, bought Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker on blu-ray, read a section of Michael Caine’s autobiography on Batman Begins/The Dark Knight

PULL LIST:
Batman and Robin #2
Batman Beyond #7
DC Universe Online Legends #11
Flashpoint #3 (of 6)
Flashpoint: Batman - Knight of Vengeance #2 (of 3)
Secret Six #35
Gotham Central Book 2: Jokers and Madmen TP
Batman Arkham Asylum Series 2 AF

Gotham Central #120

2011-06-16T15:27:00.004-05:00

Click to Play

We talk comics! Batman related comics to be exact. Reviews and a pull list are what you'll find in this episode. Also, in our ongoing quest, we finally figure out in what universe Batman Beyond is set!
REVIEWS:

Batman Beyond #6
Flashpoint #2
Flashpoint: Knight of Vengeance #1 (of 3)
Secret Six #34
Batman and Robin #24
Batman: Arkham City #2
Birds of Prey #13
Red Robin #24

PULL LIST:

Batgirl #22
Batman #711 (Batman Gets a Big Gulp)
DC Universe Online Legends #IDK
Flashpoint: Deadman and The Flying Graysons #1
Power Girl #IDK
Superman/Batman #85 (not written by Judd Winick)
Teen Titans #96
Tiny Titans #41
DC Comics Presents: Justice League of America "Black Baptism"
Arkham Asylum: Madness TPB

Gotham Central #119

2011-06-16T14:02:00.003-05:00

Click to Play

In this week's episode, Hunter does a horrible Christopher Walken impersonation, while Tim gets nostalgic!

Also, we talk the DC Relaunch to death, as well as answer ALL of you questions! Even the one from @Geektress!

Listen close, this is all discussion!

Ask The Question:

What is your favorite episode of Batman: The Animated Series?
What do you think of the Burton/Schumacher films?
What family of bats do you prefer? Microbats or Megabats?
What do you think about Teen Titans now that Scott Lobdell has talked about it on Bleeding Cool? Will you be reading it?
Why is Batman the biggest wuss in the DCU?
What side characters do you hope make the relaunch?
How do you feel about JSA not getting a title? Batman was a founding member, after all.

Headlines:

Video Game Updates (Gotham City Imposters, Arkham City)
The Dark Knight Rises Updates
DC Relaunch

Gotham Central #118

2011-06-01T20:10:00.003-05:00

Click to Play

Gotham Central #118 AKA "DOOMSDAY"

Here's the episode where we whine for 40 minutes about Post-Flashpoint DCU! YAY! Also, we talk Gotham City Sirens and Detective Comics, and mention the books for June 1, 2011, but who cares about that!?

This is a sort of special episode, so there are no listener questions or segments where we talk about what we read or bought. That's right! 100% moaning! WOOO!

Come hate with us!

Batman: Out of Context

2011-05-26T20:53:00.001-05:00

(Snyder, Jock)

The Worst Panels From Last Week's Comics

2011-05-26T20:32:00.001-05:00

Those that listen to our podcast will know what I'm talking about, but just in case you don't, these two panels come from Outsiders #34, which is easily one of the worst comic books I've ever read. And while it's so terrible, I can't help but laugh at how ridiculous it is.

(DiDio, Giffen)

Gotham Central #117

2011-05-25T00:59:00.004-05:00

Click to Play

Welcome Gothamites!

My Timmy is sick this week, so I made him record anyway! But either way, we talk about stuff including what books to read to get into Batman, delays in the comic book world, and Dark Knight Rises news and questions! We also talked about all the books that came out this week!

WELCOME!: Contact us: gothampodcast@gmail.com, twitter.com/gothampodcast, facebook.com/gothampodcast, gothampodcast.tumblr.com, www.formspring.me/gothampodcast

QUESTIONS:

“I've always wanted to get into comic books, but it seems so daunting. there are so many different heroes to follow, and they've been around so long. where do i start?”- Anonymous on Tumblr

“least favorite superhero and why?” - Anonymous on Tumblr

“Why does DC announce things and not go through with them? At Wondercon 2010 Geoff Johns announced a second Flash title and now nothing. Multiversity, Batwoman, Static Shock. James Robinson talked about a Shade mini and a Hawkman project”

“Do you think someday someone will actually take on real life super hero roll?”

“Anne Hathaway is Catwoman?”

“Do you think Batman will still have the Bat Pod in the Dark Knight Rises, or an actual Batmobile?”

HEADLINES:

Variety reports that Matthew Modine, Tom Conti, Joey King, Brett Cullen, and Chris Ellis join The Dark Knight Rises.
First Bane Image Released as First Viral Marketing Campaign from The Dark Knight Rises.

REVIEWS:

Young Justice #4
Power Girl #24
Supergirl #64
Outsiders #39
Teen Titans #95
Justice Leauge of America #57
Superman/Batman #84
Batman #710
Batman and Robin #23
Batman: Gates of Gotham #1

WHAT WE READ:

Hunter - Read all of No Man’s Land
Tim - Was given Batman: Prey to read - yet to be read.

PULL LIST - For The Week of May 25, 2011:

DETECTIVE COMICS #877
Format: FC, 32pg., COMIC Price: $2.99

GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #23
Format: FC, 32pg., COMIC
Price: $2.99

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD - EMERALD KNIGHT
Format: FC, 128pg., TRADE PAPERBACK
Price: $12.99

Lady GaGa is Batman

2011-05-25T00:27:00.001-05:00

File this under "How Did I Miss This?" It's Lady GaGa proclaiming that she is Batman! It's at around 1:30, and it's amazing.

Book of the Week: Batgirl - The Flood

2011-05-23T15:53:00.000-05:00

We're trying something a little new, Gothamites, so bear with us for a moment as we introduce a new feature. The Gotham Book of The Week is a spotlight on the website that focuses on a different trade or hardcover that we want to talk about, whether it be a new release or an oldie, but goodie, it's just a way to show our love for a title.

And this week, I wanted to talk a little bit about Batgirl: The Flood trade paperback that was released last week to comic book stores, and is hitting mainstream book stores this Tuesday, May 24, 2011!

The Flood gives us the second trade in the current Batgirl volume and also starts rolling out Stephanie's role as Batgirl in a Bruce Wayne-less Gotham City. Where Batgirl Rising dealt primarily with convincing both the Batfamily and the readers that Stephanie belonged in the cape and cowl, successfully I might ad, The Flood deals with the character truly getting her hands dirty with amped up action and humor, while also introducing readers to the insanely talented Stanley "Artgerm" Lau (as seen on the cover) and the gorgeous interiors from new-to-Batgirl Pere Peréz, while also giving us some of Lee Garbett's best work. This wonderful art team is tied together wonderfully by the inimitable Bryan Q. Miller showcasing some of his best work today.

Batgirl: The Flood is a must own for any fan of comic books in general, let alone fans of The Bat. Buy this, we've made it easy, just click the link in this article, or on the top left of the site. I mean, it's less that $10 on Amazon.

Batman: Out of Context

2011-05-23T15:29:00.000-05:00

(Fisch, Burchett)

Batman: LIVE! TV Spots Released To The World

2011-05-23T09:33:00.000-05:00

These are absolutely ridiculous.

Are excited for Batman: Live? It looks absolutely insane to me, which is not actually a bad thing.

Blair Butler Talks Batman & Robin

2011-05-23T09:24:00.000-05:00

Video Games - E3 2011

G4TV's Blair Butler Discusses Batman & Robin Must Die! and other Graphic Novels in the latest installment of Fresh Ink!

This is BANE

2011-05-21T20:00:00.002-05:00

No, not that BANE! This Bane!

Click To Make Big

So, Tom Hardy as Bane, huh? Looks pretty cool to me. After seeing this, it will be hard for anyone to argue that Hardy doesn't have the look to pull of the man that broke The Bat. I, however, am disappointed with the lack of luchador in his look, and I honestly can't understand why they didn't go full mask with this, unless this is some sort of muzzle-type mask.

But honestly, the picture isn't the most exciting news here. To me, the most exciting part is how this was revealed. The promo picture of Tom Hardy as Bane from the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises was released to the public through viral marketing. If you tweeted the phrase "#thefirerises", your twitter avatar would go into the creation of the above picture, and if anyone remembers the viral marketing campaign from The Dark Knight, then you should know we have a lot more in store.

Most likely, the campaign will kick off around San Diego Comic Con, and will last right until the movie is released, if we can base this off of past experiences. So, hopefully some of this will still be around in October for New York Comic Con, because I desperately want to participate.

But what do you think? Are you as excited as we are? Leave your opinions in the comments section below!

Gotham Central #116

2011-05-18T10:30:00.006-05:00

Panel of the Week

Click to Play

Hello GOTHAMITES, and welcome back to the Gotham Central Podcast!

This week Tim and Hunter discuss all the new stuff in the world of Gotham City, including news, questions like who our favorite Batgirl is, and comics reviews of FLASHPOINT #1 and BATMAN INCORPORATED #6! Also! Be sure to stick around for the Pull List where we talk about everything that will becoming out NEXT week!

QUESTIONS:

Favorite Batgirl?
How did you feel about the Bat Boat and a new Bat Wing being introduced in Batman Forever, only to be destroyed within' 5 minutes?
Which was the coolest looking live action Batmobile?

CHECK OUT THE SITE: “I’m not a fan, but...”

HEADLINES:

Young Justice Season 1: Volume 1 - Release date July 19th
Gotham City: Imposters
Batman’: A preservation specialist works to save Hollywood’s Batsuits
DC Landscape To Change

REVIEWS:

Batman: The Brave and the Bold #7
Flashpoint #1
Birds of Prey #12
Batman: Arkham City #1
Batgirl #21
Red Robin #23
Batman, Inc. #6

WHAT WE READ:

Hunter - Purchased Bruce Wayne: Murderer?!?!?!?!?!?! for $3, and Batman and Robin Must Die!

Tim - Two Batman shirts - classic symbol and cover of Detective Comics #33, Batman and Robin Must Die! ← unnecessary exclamation point.

PULL LIST FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 18, 2011

Batman #710 - Written by TONY DANIEL; Art by TONY DANIEL & RYAN WINN; Cover by TONY DANIEL
Price: $2.99

BATMAN AND ROBIN #23 - Written by JUDD WINICK; Art and cover by GUILLEM MARCH; 1:10 Variant cover by GENE HA
Price: $2.99

Batman: Gates of Gotham #1 - Written by SCOTT SNYDER and KYLE HIGGINS; Art and Cover by TREVOR MCCARTHY; 1:25 Variant cover by DUSTIN NGUYEN
Price: $2.99

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #57 - Written by JAMES ROBINSON; Art and cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND; 1:10 Variant cover by ED BENES
Price: $2.99

OUSTIDERS #39 - Written by DAN DIDIO; Art by KEITH GIFFEN and SCOTT KOBLISH; Cover by PHILIP TAN
Price: $2.99

SUPERGIRL #64 - Written by JAMES PEATY; Art by BERNARD CHANG; Cover by AMY REEDER and RICHARD FRIEND
Price: $2.99

SUPERMAN/BATMAN #84: Written by CULLEN BUNN; Art by CHRISCROSS and MARC DEERING; Cover by TRAVEL FOREMAN
Price: $2.99

TEEN TITANS #95 - Written by J.T. KRUL; Art and cover by NICOLA SCOTT and DOUG HAZLEWOOD
Price: $2.99

TINY TITANS #40 - Written by ART BALTAZAR & FRANCO; Art and cover by ART BALTAZAR
Price: $2.99

YOUNG JUSTICE #4 - Written by ART BALTAZAR & FRANCO; Art and cover by MIKE NORTON
Price: $2.99

COLLECTIONS:

DC COMICS PRESENTS: BATMAN - DARK KNIGHT, DARK CITY - Written by PETER MILLIGAN; Art by KIERON DWYER, TOM MANDRAKE and DENNIS JANKE; Cover by MIKE MIGNOLA and GEORGE PRATT
Price: $7.99

BATMAN: THE FLOOD TP: Written by BRYAN Q. MILLER; Art by LEE GARBETT and TREVOR SCOTT; Cover by STANLEY "ARTGERM" LAU
Price: $14.99

MERCHANDISE

BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM ACTION FIGURES

Gotham Central #115

2011-05-11T02:28:00.002-05:00

Click to Play

Hello GOTHAMITES, and welcome back to the Gotham Central Podcast!

This week, Hunter and Tim talk all things Batman, including what we purchased, the comics we read, answered a listener question, and Tim's Boston Comic Con experience! Also! Be sure to stick around for the Pull List where we talk about everything that will becoming out NEXT week!

WELCOME!: Contact us: www.gothampodcast.com, gothampodcast@gmail.com, twitter.com/gothampodcast, facebook.com/gothampodcast, gothampodcast.tumblr.com,

CHECK OUT THE SITE: “I’m not a fan, but..”, Batman Begins episode.

HEADLINES:

Lazarus Pit in Dark Knight Rises?

"Eyewitnesses and crew members told us of a particular scene being filmed," the site reports, "where a bald-headed child wearing ragged clothes emerges from the well and pulls his hood over his head. From the conversations, we reckon this is a young Bane, emerging from a vat of Venom, trained by Pence's Ra's al Ghul. The years of addiction to Venom builds him to be a massive monster with amped up senses, intelligence and physical prowess." - Superhero Hype, originally from The Dark Knight Rises Community

LISTENER QUESTION/TOPIC:

Who do we want to play Batman after the Nolan films?

REVIEWS:

Brightest Day #24

Justice League: Generation Lost #24

Batman Incorporated #5

Detective Comics #876

Secret Six #33

Batman Beyond #5

WHAT WE READ:

Hunter - Purchased Superman/Batman: Supergirl TPB

Tim - Stephanie Brown Batgirl from Zeke Savory Jr. at Boston Comic Con (artist on Totem from Big City Comics)

BOSTON COMIC CON ROUND UP

PULL LIST For The Week of May 11, 2011:

THE ALL NEW BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #7 - Written by SHOLLY FISCH; Art and cover by RICK BURCHETT & DAN DAVIS

Price: $2.99

BATGIRL #21 - Written by BRYAN Q. MILLER; Art by DUSTIN NGUYEN and DEREK FRIDOLFS; Cover by DUSTIN NGUYEN

Price: $2.99

BATMAN INCORPORATED #6 - Written by GRANT MORRISON; Art and cover by CHRIS BURNHAM; 1:25 Variant cover by FRAZER IRVING

Price: $2.99

BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY #1 (of 5) - Written by PAUL DINI; Art and cover by CARLOS D'ANDA

Price: $2.99

BIRDS OF PREY #12 - Written by GAIL SIMONE; Art and cover by JESUS SAIZ

Price: $2.99

RED ROBIN #23 - Written by FABIAN NICIEZA; Art and cover by MARCUS TO and RAY MCCARTHY

Price: $2.99

COLLECTIONS:

BATMAN AND ROBIN, VOL. 3: BATMAN AND ROBIN MUST DIE - Written by GRANT MORRISON ; Art by CAMERON STEWART, FRAZER IRVING and DAVID FINCH; Cover by FRANK QUITELY

Price: $24.99

BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM, VOL. 1: HUSH MONEY TPB - Written by PAUL DINI; Art by DUSTIN NGUYEN and DEREK FRIDOLFS; Cover by DUSTIN NGUYEN

Price: $14.99

BIRDS OF PREY, VOL. 1: ENDRUN - Written by GAIL SIMONE; Art by ED BENES, ADRIANA MELO, ALVIN LEE and others; Cover by ED BENES

Price: $22.99

MERCHANDISE

TOON TUMBLERS HARLEY QUINN PINT GLASS

Price: $10.99

I'm Not a Fan, But... Batman: Cacophony (2008)

2011-04-28T00:05:00.000-05:00

Uh, yeah. Hi. Me again. You know how I always warn you that I'm not a Batman fan, but here's my review of a certain story? That goes double for this one. I don't even really know where to start. In 2008, Kevin Smith and Walt Flanigan put together Batman: Cacophony. It was a very short 3 issue miniseries but it got lots of fanfare (you may recall an obscure little film called The Dark Knight was also released that year). When a co-worker let me borrow his copy of it this weekend, I knew I had to review it for the site.

Let me start by saying I like Kevin Smith's work at DC. Quiver is one of my favorite Green Arrow stories. And yet, Cacophony just doesn't seem to click for me. The basic plot is that the Joker learns that his laughing gas is being used as a recreational drug, and he sets out to put a stop to it and "save his reputation." Along the way, he teams up with Onomatopoeia (a villain of Smith's creation from his Green Arrow days) to give Hell to Batman and the rest of Gotham.

The dialogue, while at times clever, seemed generally off in this story. There was an overall feeling of inconsistency. For instance, in the first issue, Batman doesn't actually say very much at all. He swoops in to save the day, calling villains names like "scumbag," but most of his exposition takes place in narration. But then fast-forward to issue number three, and we have Batman delivering a soliloquy at the hospital bedside of the Joker, explaining that he could never watch his arch-enemy die because he values human life too much. I'm sorry, WHAT?! I'm a Superman fan and I love the Man of Steel's more caring side when it comes out, but if I'm reading a Batman story, I expect him to duke it out with the Joker and kick some ass, not visit his nemesis in the hospital, and hug, and cry, and swap stories about how they lost their virginity! No, sir! At one point (in what is probably supposed to be clever banter) Batman semi-playfully teases the Joker, telling him he's not even on his top 10 bad guys list. That is not the tough Batman I'm accustomed to, and it just took me out of the story and annoyed me. Alfred, though his role was minor, was too much of a wise ass for my taste. He had a sarcastic response for everything Bruce had to say, and his usual classy subtlety went completely down the BatToilet.

Of course, there are some good moments, like Batman's conversation with Commissioner Gordon as he holds the bleeding body of the Joker on the police headquarters rooftop, and the chilling moment when the Joker reveals, "I don't hate you 'cause I'm crazy...I'm crazy 'cause I hate you." But aside from the occasional gem, I found myself scratching my head and trying to piece things together for most of this brief story. What was with the guy who thought he was Zeus? I mean, they eventually explained it, but they did it in such a matter-of-fact, Silver Age way that it hardly made sense and just felt a bit patronizing. All in all, I was not a big fan of Cacophony. Smith admitted that it wasn't his best work, and I agree with him. I haven't yet read The Widening Gyre, but I recommend picking up Green Arrow: Quiver if you're looking for a solid Kevin Smith DC book.

Tune in next time as we delve even deeper into the Batman/Joker dichotomy and answer the age-old question "Chicken or beef?"

Batgirl Contest!

2011-04-25T13:19:00.000-05:00

It's not from us, it's from our good friend over at DC Women Kicking Ass! On one of our favorite Tumblr blogs focusing on DC Women and how they kick ass, they are holding an exclusive and awesome Batgirl contest to celebrate their first year anniversary, as well as the release Batgirl: The Flood! But let's move on to what you get and what you have to do.

The Flood TPB

1st Place Winner gets:
-signed copies of Batgirl Rising, and Batgirl: The Flood trade paperbacks.
-original art from Pere Perez (I'm super jealous of whoever wins this).

2nd and 3rd Place Winner gets:
-Signed copy of The Flood
-Box of Girl Scout Cookies (I'm super jealous of whoever wins this).

There are three different ways to win, and they are:
-Send in a picture of yourself or a friend cosplaying as Stephanie Brown.
-Photobomb a picture with an issue of Batgirl, or a Steph action figure.
-Make a contribution in any amount to the Girls Scouts of America.

MAKE SURE TO SUMBIT ALL OF YOUR PICTURES TO DCWOMENKICKINGASS@YAHOO.COM

If you're not familiar with DC Women Kicking Ass, make sure to follow her twitter and her tumblr. page.

Thanks, and good luck!

Batman: Out of Context

2011-04-12T11:27:00.000-05:00

(Moore/Nicieza, Derenick/Geraci)

I'm Not a Fan, But... Batman #251 (1973)

2011-04-10T18:24:00.000-05:00

Greetings, Good Gothamites! It is I, Frank of the non-Bat Believers. Here I am once again to give a non-fan's perspective and desecrate the name of Caped Crusader whose image is printed all over those flanel pajamas you're wearing! (Very becoming, by the way.) In case you missed it, last time I talked about my introduction to Batman with the 1966 Adam West feature film. This time around, I've been given an assignment by the man with the bearded FAC3: Batman #251 a.k.a. The Joker's Five Way Revenge! It's a classic tale of the Joker's merciless ways and Batman's perseverance in chasing him down.

WARNING: Spoilers lie ahead! You've been warned!

The basic story here is that the Joker is killing off his former henchmen one by one because of their disloyalty to him in the past. Batman is in hot pursuit, but the Joker always keeps one step ahead of him. At one point, Batman is knocked unconscious and lays at the mercy of his nemesis. Standing over his victim, the Joker changes his mind at the last minute, realizing that he'd rather defeat the Batman in a fair fight than by pure luck. He'll enjoy Batman's death more if he knows he beat him at his own game. Ultimately, Batman saves the final henchman, but not before he has to battle a shark! (No Bat Shark Repellant this time. I know. I was bummed too.)

I actually did a minimal amount of research on this issue, and I learned that it was one of the early Batman stories to come from the legendary team of Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams. I've always loved Neal Adams' artwork, even before I knew who he was. Meeting him at New York Comic Con in October 2010 was an enormous honor. He gave Batman his long ears and flowing cape, and gave the Joker his sinister look. This story, published in September 1973, is the first major departure from the silly Batman stories of the 50s and 60s and established the Joker as the evil, sick, twisted character that we know him as today. I never realized it until now, but it would appear to me that Christopher Nolan has this story to thank for his treatment of the Joker in The Dark Knight just as much as he has The Long Halloween to thank for many of the major plot points.

I really enjoyed this story. It's your standard faire, but knowing that this was essentially the story that re-introduced comic fans to the Joker as a sinister, totally insane clown makes it so much better! I love the Batman-as-detective angle, and I've never really been able to resist a good mystery. I loved seeing the iconic struggle between Batman and the Joker, with Batman's great intellect still keeping him just one or two steps behind the Clown Prince of Crime. It definitely feels like a comic of its day in terms of storytelling and pacing, but with a hint of serious stories (like the aforementioned Long Halloween) that would follow in the future.

Thanks for indulging me for another non-fan review! I love doing these because they open me up to things I would never have experienced otherwise. Tune in next time when I'll answer the age-old question: How do you see the Bat Signal on a clear night without Kryptonian eyes?

Batman: Out of Context

2011-03-29T18:47:00.000-05:00

(Barr, Bingham)

At Geeks Of Doom: Brave and The Bold Review

2011-03-28T09:54:00.000-05:00

Hey Gothamites,

I just wanted to drop in and tell you guys that there I wrote a review for Batman: The Brave and The Bold Season One (Part Two) over at Geeks of Doom. This DVD set features some awesome episodes like "Tales of The Dark Mite!" and "Mayhem of The Music Meister!", which are two of the most popular episodes from the entire series. All you have to do is click the picture below to check out my full thoughts.

Catwoman: Out of Context

2011-03-26T23:09:00.000-05:00

(Darwin Cooke)