Christmas Countdown Day #4: Christmas with the Joker (Batman: The Animated Series)

I couldn't have a Christmas Countdown and not include a clip from the Batman: The Animated Series episode Christmas with the Joker. I can't believe Robin really thought the Joker would just go into hiding or lie low. Their quiet evening didn't last long but at least the rest of the villains and crooks in Gotham decided not to do anything.

Entertainment News #37: Mark Hamill, The Emmy Awards and Renewed Shows

- Apparently this is sort of old news but I didn't hear about until now but according to reports, Mark Hamill has decided no longer voice The Joker. He doesn’t want to voice the role without Kevin Conroy, he stated: “Without Batman, crime has no punchline.” I figured he would retire from voicing The Joker at some point and since the late Kevin Conroy is no longer here, it's perfectly understandable why he would no longer want to continue on.

Happy 14th Anniversary, The Dark Knight!

Wow, I can't believe it's the 14th Anniversary of The Dark Knight movie. It was released in theatres July 18, 2008. It's one of my favorite movies and one of best movies out the director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. I like the first movie Batman Begins but the third movie The Dark Knight Rises was so awful, I can't even bother to rewatch it, it's just so bad.

However, The Dark Knight, was so chaotic, fun and interesting to watch with Batman not only trying to stop the Joker but also Two-Face. It felt like a Batman movie especially since the director Christopher Nolan (who also co-wrote the movie) at times seemed to forget that he was making movies about comic book characters. You don't need to make the movies realistic, where's the fun in that. For what it's worth, despite the realism take, the first two movies are still good and I really enjoy watching them. I also like that it didn't seem as if he was trying too hard to tell a good story. Unfortunately, the third movie is truly terrible with the story being all over the place. Anyway, Happy 14th Anniversary The Dark Knight the best movie in the Nolan Batman trilogy.

Art of the Day: Harley Quinn...and the Joker

Artwork: No Bats Allowed! by ragecndy

I like that Batman: The Animated Series was the beginning of Harley Quinn in various media moving on from the Joker. She's an amazing character and didn't need to be with the Joker romantically or as one of his minions. And away from him, she gets to be as wacky, dangerous and as ingenious as she wants to be. I think that she's just so much better without him.

Weekend Film: Joker

The Joker is not one of my favorite characters but I am interested to see what the Joker movie is about. It looks like they turned this pre-Joker version of the character into a pathetic loser. I'm not sure why they needed to make him such a sad sack before he turns into the villainous Joker but I guess that's what they were going for in this story. I know this movie is mired in controversy but I'm going to see if I can get tickets because I would like to see whether it's a good or not.


Joker

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen and more

Director: Todd Phillips

Description:

A gritty character study of Arthur Fleck, a man disregarded by society.

Book of Interest: Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass

I'm so happy that Poison Ivy is getting more appreciation from DC Comics. She will be featured in two books with Harley Quinn that will be released in the first week of September. The first book is this graphic novel, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass on Tuesday, Sept. 3rd and the second is first issue of the Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy miniseries released on Wednesday, September 4th.

As much as I'm a big fan of both characters, it's Ivy that needs more promotion. I hope this newfound interest from DC Comics will continue because Poison Ivy is an amazing character. Anyway, I can't wait to read this book to see if Harley figures out who she is and whether she will side with Ivy or Joker.

Book: Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki with illustrations by Steve Pugh

Publication: September 3, 2019

Description:

With just five dollars and a knapsack to her name, fifteen-year-old Harleen Quinzel is sent to live in Gotham City. She's not worried, though—she's battled a lot of hard situations as a kid, and knows her determination and outspokenness will carry her through life in the most dangerous city in the world. And when Gotham's finest drag queen, Mama, takes her in, it seems like Harley has finally found a place to grow into her most "true true" with new best friend Ivy at Gotham High.

But when Mama's drag cabaret becomes the next victim in the wave of gentrification that's taking over the neighborhood, Harley gets mad. She decides to turn her anger into action and is faced with two choices: join activist Ivy, who's campaigning to make the neighborhood a better place to live, or join her anarchist friend Joker, who plans to take down Gotham one corporation at a time.

From Eisner Award and Caldecott Honor-winning author Mariko Tamaki (This One Summer) and Eisner Award-nominated artist Steve Pugh comes a coming-of-age story about choices, consequences, and how a weird kid from Gotham goes about defining her world for herself.

Fashion Meets Comics: Batman '66 Tote Bag

As soon I saw this Batman '66 tote bag, I immediately said I want it. I love the bright psychedelic colors and Batman winning the fight against the Penguin, Riddler and Joker. As perfect as this is, I wish Robin had been included because he was a big part of the series as well. But this bag is really cool, I would love to carry this around during the summer.

Batman Wins Again Tote Bag                                   $34.95                                WB Shop (wbshop.com)

- 18 x 18 inches

Book Review: Batman (Novelization)

Book: Batman (Novelization) by Craig Shaw Gardner

Edition: Paperback

Description:

They don't know who he really is. They never know where he'll show up. But the citizens of Gotham City know they have a protector. He's the Caped Crusader with an arsenal of amazing weaponry and a repertoire of incredible acrobatics. He's the legend they call Batman.

In the toxic brew of big-city corruption, a bone-white, green-haired, eternally grinning thing is born. His name is The Joker. His lust is for all the wealth, power, and revenge he can grab from the world. And in the timeless, violent war between criminal and crime fighter, Batman vs. The Joker will be the ultimate duel...


Rating: 4 stars

Review:

This book was published in 1989 and I found it a year or two ago at the comic book store. I only paid two dollars for it, not a bad deal especially since one corner of the book is a little battered.

This novelization is pretty faithful to the movie with only a few changes to the story. What I found interesting or different about this book was although Bruce Wayne/Batman's point of view was shown it's not like you would expect. Because unlike the movie, this story was mainly told from Jack Napier/The Joker and Vicki Vale's point of view. Even James Gordon's point of view was shown although it was a small portion of the book but it's nice to see how his opinion and demeanor changes from the beginning of the book to the end.

I've seen this first Batman movie several times, but I always had an issue with the movie version of Vicki Vale. In the movie she was supposed to be this smart and successful photojournalist but the intelligence part was rarely shown. In the beginning of the movie, she started out asking questions and being inquisitive but that quickly went downhill and she turned into a screaming damsel-in-distress. Now I certainly did not want Vicki to be out there kicking butt as a superhero because that's not who she is. But I at least wanted her to be this amazing competent photojournalist which unfortunately the movie seemed to quickly move away from.

However, this book was a vast improvement on Vicki's characterization. The author made her appear interesting and not to mention smart. I really like this version of Vicki. I wish this was the version that was shown in the movie. By giving her point of view you see that Vicki is rather clever. I also could see that she wore her heart on her sleeve for Bruce. But you could tell that this was a doomed relationship from the start which is why I'm glad she didn't appear in the second movie Batman Returns.

Whether you want it or not, by getting the Joker's point of view you get a look into his sick and depraved mind. I still don't understand why he was so obsessed with Vicki Vale.

The last issue I had with both the movie and book was Batman's ease and propensity for killing. Plain and Simple, Batman Doesn't Kill. Which is why I have a problem with the versions that do.

This was a good read and it's definitely as dark and twisted as the movie with a lot of drama and suspense. I found a few editing issues but nothing that will ruin the story. I'm looking into getting the novelization of Batman Returns, if I happen to acquire it, I will read and review it.

After reading this, I want to watch the movie again. It's been a while since I've seen it.

Book Review: Batman: The Joker's Dozen

Book: Batman: The Joker's Dozen by Laurie S. Sutton with illustrations by Ethan Beavers

Source: Borrowed from NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: February 1, 2015

Description:

The Joker transforms dozens of Gotham City citizens into laughing (and robbing) fools! Is the Dark Knight outnumbered, or can he even the odds? Should he use a Batarang or another high-tech weapon? Can the Caped Crusader save the city, or will the Clown Prince have the last laugh? In this interactive story, YOU CHOOSE the path Batman should take. With your help, he will take down The Joker's Dozen!


Rating: 4 stars

Review:

I think this book is great for younger children who would love to read superhero comics but with so many comics not geared towards them, this book is an excellent choice.

This is a chose your own adventure story that has Batman trying to stop the Joker's latest devious plan and it is up to the reader to decide how that will happen.

Even though I'm not the target market, this book kept my attention and had me interested to try different choices to see how the story would end. I thought this was pretty exciting and should give kids plenty of fun and interesting ways for how they want the story to go and there is also colorful artwork shown throughout the story.

Art of the Day: Profiles of Batman's Villains

Book: Villainous Profiles by memorypalace

From L to R:

Row 1: Scarecrow, Two-Face and Penguin

Row 2: Poison Ivy, Joker and Catwoman

Row 3: Clayface, Bane and Harley Quinn

Row 4: Ra's al Ghul, Mister Freeze and Riddler

Book Review: Detective Comics vol. #1 (New 52)

Book: Detective Comics volume #1: Faces of Death (issues #1-7) written and illustrated by Tony S. Daniel

Rating: 1 star

Review:

I read the single issues and not the trade edition shown.

I feel like Tony Daniel is better as an artist than a writer because in these seven issues the writing was rather bland and there was no real story. It's not to say he's a bad writer because I loved "Batman: Battle for the Cowl", "Batman: Life After Death" and "Batman: Eye of the Beholder" but this story wasn't good. For some reason it didn't really have a feel of Batman, the characterization just felt off while the story felt stale and generic.

This was not Batman at his best, his detective skills seem to be lacking and only knows how to use force instead of using his brain. Batman's not known for being the World's Greatest Detective for nothing. So, it would have been nice to actually see him using his detective skills because most of the clues he finds he just somehow lucked upon instead of actually doing any work to find them.

The first issue had Batman dealing with the Joker and issues #2-4 found Batman trying to find the Joker after he escaped Arkham but ended up stumbling into an ambush by Dollmaker and his group of crazies. This also includes a new character Olivia who may or may not end up becoming one of the monsters that prey on Gotham in the future. She was probably one of the only new interesting characters or interesting characters period in this volume. The last three issues had Batman in the middle of a plot that involved the Penguin. It also wasn't that interesting.

Nothing could improve these stories not even the Joker and Penguin because neither high profile villain could add anything at all. The newly introduced villains such as Dollmaker, Snakeskin and Jill Hampton (one of the crooked Mayor's daughters) were not any better.

There was even a new love interest love (yet still allusions to Batman's continued involvement with Catwoman). His new love interest is a reporter named Charlotte Rivers (who has ties to one of the new criminals) but to me she just felt like a Lois Lane rip-off, and she was not interesting to the story at all. 

Overall, this was truly disappointing. Reading this felt like something was missing from the story. It just wasn't good at all. Sad to say there was absolutely nothing worth reading from this volume except for the artwork, which was quite amazing.

LEGO Batman: The Movie Review

Rating: 5 stars

LEGO Batman: The Movie is based on the LEGO Batman 2 video game.

I never laughed so much watching a superhero movie, this was absolutely wonderful. From the beginning to the rolling credits, this movie is very funny. It's also full of action and has Lex Luthor (voiced by the amazing Clancy Brown) at his best plotting not only to win the Presidential election but teaming up with the Joker to stop Superman and Batman for good. I enjoyed seeing Batman and Robin as a team throughout this movie, it was like watching an episode of Batman: The Animated Series.

There were a lot of characters in this hilarious movie such as: Catwoman, Wonder Woman, Commissioner Gordon, Harley Quinn, Cyborg, The Riddler and more. It was nice seeing a happy Superman again as well as the Justice League helping out.

Another thing I love about this movie was the music, the movie opened with the Batman score by Danny Elfman from the Tim Burton movies (and Batman: The Animated Series). And, whenever Superman would show up the Superman score by John Williams would play. That was a great little nostalgic touch for older fans.

This movie is perfect for everyone to watch, no matter if you're a fan of superheroes or have kids that are.