GOTHAM WEEKLY NEWS #199

Friday 20th Februay 2004

BAT-TOY MANIA

Last week's Toy Fair in New York saw the announcment of a whole slew of Batman related toys. This was followed by announcments from Corgi about a full range of new Batmobiles.

The Beat column from the Comicon.com's Pulse news site declared that at the show it seemed like "Batman Takes Over The World."

For a gallery of 92 photos of "The Batman" toys click here and check out the In The Stores section below for more deatils and photos.

Filming on New BATMAN Movie starts next week.

Production on the new Batman movie, BATMAN: INTIMIDATION (or is it BATMAN BEGINS ?), is scheduled to start next Wednesday, 25th February, with the first location shooting in Iceland. For all the latest check out the Movie News section below. It was also confirmed this week that Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman have joined the cast as Henry Ducard (not Ra's al Ghul as originally announced)    and Wayne Enterprises CEO, Lucius Fox respectively.

See you next week

- Alan J. Porter

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IN THIS ISSUE

• Comics News
• Adventures End at 17.
• DC Comics for May
• Comics Shipping
• In Stores - February 25th
• TV News
• Batman Forever on HBO
• TV Schedules
• Justice League
• Teen Titans
• Super Friends
• UK Schedule
• Movie News
• Latest on Batman 5
• Catwoman Latest News
• In The Stores
• New Corgi Batmobiles
• New Toy Photos
• DC Direct for 2004
• Meet The Bat Team
• Seattle - Feb 29
• Orlando - Mar 5-7

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Comics News

BATMAN ADVENTURES ENDS WITH #17

In an interview with the Silver Bullet Comics web site, writer Dan Slott, announced that the current incarnation of BATMAN ADVENTURES will end with issue #17, closing out the Paul Dini / Bruce Timm developed continuity that has been in place since 1992.

Here's an extract from the interview discussing the implications of the announcment.

A new Batman cartoon is coming out in the fall. It will have NO ties to the Dini/Timm continuity. A NEW comic will be developed to reflect THAT continuity. It was decided that TWO different cartoon Batman books would cause brand confusion. So... Whoosh. The Batman Adventures book is going away.

I found out late Friday, January 30th and it took me a good week to work through the obvious anger and frustration. In the end, it took my co-writer Ty (Templeton) to turn me around. He got me to look at the situation in a completely different light. We still had enough advance notice that we could scrap our current story line... and send the series IN STYLE!  That's pretty cool when you think about it. We get to be the guys who are going to wrap up the present and tie the bow. The ENTIRE breadth of the Batman Adventures legacy (Three to four cartoon series, four to five comic series, and various minis and one-shots)... and we get to be the ones to say goodbye. That's a pretty big honor... and an even larger responsibility.

Issue #14 was already solicited before we found out. But with a little tinkering, there'll be some "going away" fun to be had-- as well as a farewell to a Batman Adventures character. Who? We're not saying, but it's somebody the readers haven't seen for some time. For #15, Ty, Rick (Burchett), Terry (Beatty), and myself will take a quick break as we go all out on the BIG issues. For that month, Jason Hall (Beware The Creeper, Justice League Adventures) will come back and deliver the sequel to his AMAZING Mr. Freeze story (from Gotham Adventures #51, one of the highlights of that series' run!).
And then we get the last two issues ever...In #16, two MAJOR Batman Adventures characters will have their status quos changed FOREVER! It's big! It's epic! You'll hate yourself if you miss it!  And then comes #17. This is a Batman story I've always wanted to tell. I've kept it in my pocket for some time now. It ONLY works in the Batman Adventures universe. A long time ago I asked Joan if I could write it-- but keep it in the drawer and save it until we knew the series was ending. Well... Now I get to finally write it up.

So, in the end, I feel very fortunate we had enough advance warning. Am I sad to see the series go? Yes. But I'm glad that I'll get to be there at the end.

(However) I really wish there was time to do the origin of Plastic Man. To show Batman's final confrontation with Phantasm. And to play around with the mystery of the Red Hood. Ty and I really were in this for the long haul-- and all of these things were for much later on down the road.  Before that, I had a fun "World's Finest" arc planned, a "Brave and the Bold" arc I wanted to do. A creepy Man-Bat story scribbled away in a notebook. And a dozen other ideas. Maybe, someday, I could adapt some of these into mainstream Batman stories. So who knows?

The full interview can be read here

DC COMICS SHIPPING IN MAY

This week DC Comicsreleased it;s preview of title shipping in May 2004. A full list of descriptions and some cover art acn be found here. 

Comics Shipping (February 25th)

BATGIRL #49 - Written by Dylan Horrocks; art by Rick Leonardi and Jesse Delperdang; cover by James Jean - Batman has forbidden Cassandra from being Batgirl. But a newer, deadlier form of the drug called Soul has been released on the streets of Gotham, and Batgirl has managed to trace the drug to the metahuman gang, The Lost Girls - only to find an even deadlier villain pulling their strings! - BATMAN  |  32pg.  |   Color  |  $2.50;

BATMAN #624 - Written by Brian Azzarello; art by Eduardo Risso; cover by Dave Johnson - Part 5 of the 6-part "Broken City" by the creative team of 100 BULLETS. As Batman continues his search for Angel Lupo, he must ally himself with some unlikely partners...namely, the denizens of Gotham's underworld. Can Batman trust the same people he's waged a seemingly never-ending war against? - BATMAN  |  32pg.  |  Color  |  $2.25

CATWOMAN #28 - Written by Ed Brubaker; art and cover by Paul Gulacy and Jimmy Palmiotti - Selina squares off with the Penguin in her hunt for the mysterious villain who's dogging her steps. But will she get the information she seeks? Or will she walk into the Penguin's trap? - BATMAN  |  32pg.  |  Color  |   $2.50

JLA #93 - Written by Dennis O'Neil; art by Tan Eng Huat; cover by Doug Mahnke and Tom Nguyen - The earth-shattering conclusion to the "Extinction" trilogy by comics legend Dennis O'Neil and red-hot artist Tan Eng Huat (DOOM PATROL)! The JLA races to prevent its once-friendly extraterrestrial visitor from destroying our planet. How can they stop a creature who can look like anyone — or anything? - DC UNIVERSE  |  32pg.  |  Color  |  $2.25

TEEN TITANS GO! #4 - Written by J. Torres; art by John McCrea and James Hodgkins; cover by Dave Bullock - Special Valentine's Day issue featuring guest art by John McCrea and James Hodgkins! Robin and Starfire go on a date! Can they block all of the distractions, including some meddling teammates? - DC UNIVERSE  |  32pg.  |   Color |  $2.25

TV News

BATMAN FOREVER ON HBO

HBO will be showing Batman Forever  in April, dates as follows: Monday, April 5 at 5 p.m.; Thursday, April 8, at 10 a.m.; Sunday, April 11 at 8:45 a.m.; Saturday, April 17 at noon; Thursday, 22 at 5:45 p.m.; and Monday, April 26 at 1:30 p.m.

TV Schedules

JUSTICE LEAGUE (Cartoon Network)

• Monday 23rd Feb - 10:00pm -  A Knight of Shadows
• Tuesday 24th Feb - 10:00pm  - Metamorphisis
• Wednesday 25th Feb - 10:00pm - Twilight
• Thursday 26th Feb - 10:00pm  - Tabula Rasa

TEEN TITANS (Cartoon Network)

• Saturday 21st Feb - 12:00pm - Date With Destiny
• Saturday 21st Feb - 9:00pm - Transformation
• Sunday 21st Feb - 1:00am -  Transformation
• Sunday 22nd Feb - 10:00pm - Transformation

TEEN TITANS (KidsWB)

• Saturday 21st Feb - 9:00am - The Apprentice

SUPER FRIENDS (Boomerang)

• Sunday 22nd Feb - 11:00am - Secret Origins of the Super Friends
• Sunday 22nd Feb - 7:00pm - Secret Origins of the Super Friends
• Monday 23rd Feb - 3:00am - Secret Origins of the Super Friends

UK TV SCHEDULE

Toonami, Turner's new UK cartoon Network has just started broadcasting. The following Batman shows will be running.

BATMAN OF THE FUTURE (Batman Beyond) :

• Weekdays - 06:30am, 10:30am, 3:00pm.
• Weekends - 07:30am, 12:00 noon, 3:00pm

JUSTICE LEAGUE

• Weekdays & Weekends - 00:30am, 05:10am, 11:30am, 02:30pm, 06:30pm.

Movie News

LATEST BATMAN 5 RUMORS & NEWS

• Filming of the new BATMAN movie is scheduled to in Iceland February 25th and will film for about 10 days.
• It seems that Warner Bros is still registering any possible web domain that could be connected to the movie as they signed up both batman-intimidationgame.com and .net this week. Fuelling speculation about a possible name change for the movie producer Emma has secured registered batman-begins.com and .net.
• The Batman On Film web site posted a note this week with a report on a possible description of the bat suit. The report quoted its source "Now, I haven't seen the costume. And I know that very few people have actually laid eyes on it. But this is a bit of the buzz I've heard about it. It is made of silicone and a material similar to the "Spider-Man" costume. It has a armored look to it around the chest area. There is no yellow oval--the Bat symbol is like it is in the current comics. It may be part of the chest armor. The suit is dark, but not totally black. From the descrition that I got, it's dark gray. The cape, cowl, boots, and gloves are black. I've heard two descritions for the ears. One report said that they are shorter than they were in the previous films. Someone else told me that they are "Kane-style;" based on the orginal look of Batman back from 1939. I've also heard two reports on the eyes. I've heard it had lenses, and I've heard it didn't. I'm sure that costuming experienced with both. The utility belt will have pockets, but with a sleek look to it (nothing like what Adam West wore). Also black, I've heard. Now, if you use this, make sure to tell your readers that this is mostly rumor, but coming from people who would know."
• SUPERHERO HYPE reports that Irish actor Larry Holden is up for a unspecified role in the upcoming Bat-film. Some suggestions for the role to be filled include Det. Sgt. Jim Gordon or Mob Boss Carmine Falcone.
• According to a correction issued by VARIETY , Liam Neeson is playing Henry Ducard, not Ra's Al Ghul as initially reported. VARIETY describes the role of Ducard as being a "mentor to Bruce Wayne."
• The website for London's Canary Wharf business area posted an article this week by reporter Allison Martin about a possible location shoot. The article reported that "BATMAN is headed for Canary Wharf as the caped crusader goes British. Wharf restaurant Plateau has a table booked for Batman's alter-ego Bruce Wayne, played by American Psycho's Christian Bale. Warner Brothers is in talks to hire the Canada-Square restaurant over a weekend in March or April - transforming it for a hotel restaurant scene starring Bale and love interest, Dawson's Creek star Katie Holmes."

CATWOMAN UPDATES

• The Scarlet Carpet recently talked to "Six Feet Under" matriarch Frances Conroy about her so far unpublicized role in CATWOMAN. "I play a very mysterious woman named Ophelia Powers, I play my scenes with Halle Berry. I'm not quite sure if Ophelia's real, or just a presence, but she's very important to Halle's character's fate and her life continuing. Ophelia is an essential character who appears at a very significant point in the script -- when Halle is given help when she needs it. I suppose I am sort of a catwoman in a way - a force who initiates Halle into the powers that she has acquired. I give Halle her life. I endow her with strengths. I'm sort of a conduit to enable Patience (Halle Berry) to bring alive this new persona." Conroy added that Ophelia is "sort of a spirit. You see her in a house, but I feel the house just appears for Patience to find. Then once it's served its purpose, it vanishes."
• Catwoman Unofficial web site reports "the way Patience Philips becomes the anti-hero, Catwoman is 'freakish and disturbing.'"

IN THE STORES

CORGI TO PRODUCE BATMOBILE LINE OF DIE-CAST VEHICLES

Press Release - Corgi Classics, an operating unit of Zindart Limited (Nasdaq:ZNDT), announced today that it has been awarded a global license from Warner Bros. Consumer Products to produce and market a line of high quality die-cast Batmobiles, inspired by DC Comics' Batman(TM) Comic Book series, for the toy and collectible market.

The new line, replicas of some of the earliest Batmobiles from the original Batman comic book series produced by DC Comics since 1939, have been already shown at the Spielwarenmesse, an international toy fair held in Nuremberg, Germany; and at Toy Fair, London; and are debuting for the American market at Toy Fair in New York this week.

"We are pleased to be working with such a high quality toy and collectible brand as Corgi, to introduce a new and inventive high-end line of products that will focus on the heritage of Batman," said Mark Matheny, Executive Vice President, International, Warner Bros. Consumer Products. "We are certain that this line will appeal to fans and collectors of all ages."

"Since the adoption of Zindart's Strategic Plan three years ago, Corgi's development efforts have been focused on expanding worldwide. Securing licenses with the kind of global awareness offered by Batman has been part of that effort," according to Peter Gardiner, Chairman, Zindart.

"Our licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, on behalf of DC Comics, is allowing us to create a whole new line of Batman products for global distribution," Gardiner said. "By fall, new Batmobiles, based on content from Batman comic books, will be in all the major markets: Japan, the UK, Germany, France, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, China and, of course, the U.S."

U.S. retailers already on board to carry the product this summer include Wal-Mart, Toys "R" Us, Shop Co and Kmart, as well as DC Comics stores and more than 1,100 specialty collector outlets. Corgi will also offer models direct to collectors from the Corgi site www.corgiclassics.com.

Corgi will produce 11 famous Batmobile models inspired by the Batman comic book series for 2004. Included will be the 1940s Batmobile, a Jokermobile and a Batbike, as well as the 1960s Batmobile and the 2004 See Through Batmobile. The total range includes vehicles from 1:43 to 1:18 scale. Prices will range from $7.99 to $29.99.

High end Batmobile models will come with a "Virtual Video" unit, a PDA-sized lenticular screen containing a voice chip that allows an animated Batman to deliver custom phrases, making this special series self-promoting on the retail shelf and a must have for collectors.

DC DIRECT BAT PRODUCT FOR 2004

At the recent Toy far in New York DC Direct announced several new products for the upcoming year. The Batman related items and their projected in store dates are:

MAY 2004
Batman Hush I action figure assortment which includes Batman, Poison Ivy, The Joker, Huntress, and Hush.

Meet The Bat Team

EMERALD CITY COMIC CON - Seattle - Feb 29th

The second Emerald City convention features GREG RUCKA, MATT WAGNER, DAVE JOHNSON and PETE WOODS among many other guests.

MEGA-CON - Orlando - March 5th to 7th

The first major convention of the season kicks off in at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando Florida with numerous guests including CHUCK DIXON, DICK GIORDANO and many others. Your GWN editor will also be at the event on Saturday.

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GOTHAM WEEKLY NEWS is a FOREST COMICS Publication.

 FOREST COMICS and GOTHAM WEEKLY NEWS are (c) and TM  - Alan J. Porter (1994 - 2004)

 "GOTHAM WEEKLY NEWS", "GOTHAM GAZETTE - The BATMAN Magazine On the Web" and "THE UNAUTHORIZED BATMAN COLLECTORS GUIDE" are not affiliated to, or endorsed by, either Warner Bros. or DC Comics.

BATMAN and all related characters and indicia are acknowledged as Trademark and copyright DC Comics Inc..

 BATMAN created by Bob Kane & Bill Finger