GOTHAM WEEKLY NEWS #201

Thursday 4th March, 2004

"BATMAN BEGINS" FILMING

It's been 7 long years, but once again a BATMAN Movie is in production.

Jeff Robinov, President of Production, Warner Bros. Pictures announced today (4th March) that BATMAN BEGINS started filming this week on location in Öræfasveit and Skaftafell, Iceland. The start of filming seems to have opened a flood gate of reports on everything from major casting announcments, to costume design,  music score and the on-off rumors of Harvey Dent's appearence. For more on these and additional news and information check out the Movie News section below.

See You At MegaCon

This week's GWN is posted a day early as on Friday I'll be en-route to sunny (I hope) Orlando. So any GWN readers attending the Orlando Mega-Con this Saturday, keep a look out for a tall dude with a beard wearing a "Hypotheticals" T-shirt. If you see me walking the halls, stop me and say HI.

See you next week

- Alan J. Porter

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IN THIS ISSUE

• Comics News
• New Robin: Spoiler
• Comics Shipping
• In Stores - March 10th
• TV News
• B:TAS DVD set
• Cartoon Network Updates
• "The Batman" Updates
• TV Schedules
• Batman
• Justice League
• Teen Titans
• Super Friends
• UK Schedule
• Movie News
• Latest on Batman 5
• Catwoman Latest News
• In The Stores
• Last of the BTAS Toys?
• New Japanese Figures
• Meet The Bat Team
• Orlando - Mar 5-7
• London - Mar 6-7
• New Jersey - Mar 12-14
• Los Angeles - Mar 19-21

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COMICS NEWS

NEW ROBIN: SPOILER AHEAD

The latest issue of Wizard Magazine (#150) has revealed that the latest person to take on the mantle of Robin will be, no surprise, Stephanie Brown, aka The Spoiler.

Writer Bill Willingham told Wizard, "She breaks into the Batcave with her homemade Robin suit all sewn up - which actually looks pretty bad. While Tim showed up ready for the job, Stephanie has a lot to learn. "The whole idea of being a teenage sidekick is to look at how someone learns to be a hero. At least that's what's interesting to me."

Current (and third) Robin, Tim Drake will hang up his mask after a confrontation with his father over his nocturnal activities. The full story will be told in ROBIN #126 on sale in May.

Comics Shipping (March 10th)

BATMAN IN THE FORTIES - Written by Bill Finger, Jack Schiff and various; art by Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson, George Roussos, Dick Sprang, Jack Burnley, Charles Paris, Winslow Mortimer; cover by Fred Ray and Jerry Robinson - Continuing DC Comics' decades series devoted to the Caped Crusader, this volume looks at the Dark Knight's beginnings! Featuring Batman stories from BATMAN #7, 15, 20, 31, 37, 47, 48, 49, DETECTIVE COMICS #27, 33, 38, 49, 80, REAL FACT COMICS #5, STAR-SPANGLED COMICS #70, and WORLD'S FINEST COMICS #30, this volume includes Batman's first appearance and the debut of Robin, the first telling of his origin, and the debuts of the Joker, Two-Face, Catwoman and the Mad Hatter. - BATMAN  |  192pg.  |  Softcover  |   Color  |  $19.95

BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #177 - Written by Devin Grayson; art by Jean-Jacques Dzialowski; cover by Jock - Part 1 of the 2-part "Lost Cargo," a tale set in modern continuity told by Devin Grayson (NIGHTWING) with art by Jean-Jacques Dzialowski (BATGIRL) and Dan Green (Uncanny X-Men). With this story, LEGENDS returns to present continuity with stories that will impact Batman now and in the future! Catwoman is trying to crush a human slave trade run by the Lucky Hand Triad in Gotham City, but her timing couldn't be worse. While she's trying to wash the Lucky Hand off of the streets, another gang is looking to step into their place. The fireworks draw the attention of Batman and...Matches Malone? - BATMAN  |  32pg.  |  Color  |   $2.50

GOTHAM CENTRAL #17 - Written by Greg Rucka; art by Greg Scott; cover by Michael Lark - The pain and anguish over the losses incurred at the hands of the Joker still linger, but the detectives have a job to do. And their foremost priority is solving the murder of a businesswoman. With an angry mayor on their backs and a new shift commander making waves, the prospects of catching the killer are rapidly shrinking. - BATMAN  |  32pg.  |  Color  |  $2.50

JLA #94 - Written by John Byrne and Chris Claremont; art and cover by Byrne and Jerry Ordway - Powerhouse talents John Byrne, Chris Claremont, and Jerry Ordway team up to bring you the JLA event of the year: "The 10th Circle!" In this 6-part story, released biweekly, the JLA investigates a rash of child disappearances — but start to go missing themselves! And who is that mysterious group that seems to be watching their every move? - DC UNIVERSE  |  32pg.  |  Color  |  $2.25

NIGHTWING #91 - Written by Devin Grayson; art and cover by Patrick Zircher and Andy Owens - Blockbuster has thrown every assassin and cutthroat he could at Nightwing. Now, he's bringing in his biggest gun: Shrike! The gloves are off for the biggest rematch of the year! - BATMAN  |  32pg.  |  Color  |   $2.25

TV News

BATMAN ANIMATED SERIES AND SUPERFRIENDS DVD SEASON BOX SETS

Toon Zone, TV Shows on DVD and Animated Bliss all report that production is under way on new DVD boxed sets for both BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES and SUPER-FRIENDS. It seems that these will be the long awaited "season" sets.    The B:TAS set will include the "first" season, but how that season has been defined and what episodes are included hasn't been revealed yet. The Superfriends set will be titled "Challenge of the Superfreinds" and include 16 episodes. No ship dates have been announced yet, although they should be sometime this year, possibly as early as summer.

CARTOON NETWORK UPDATES

It has been confirmed that the new incarnation of the Justice League animated series, will launch in August on Cartoon Network under the title Justice League Unlimited, .Here's how the network describes the series:

"The heroes of the Justice League return in August with a new series, Justice League Unlimited, which incorporates a bold new look and a much larger scope. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern continue to lead the universe's most powerful superheroes in an effort to stop criminal plots and alien threats that endanger the universe. Now, in Justice League Unlimited, they are joined by an even greater collection of heroes, some of whom are well-known, like Supergirl, Green Arrow and the Atom, as well as some that are less familiar, like Booster Gold, Hawk & Dove, Elongated Man, The Question, Mister Miracle, Big Barda and Zatanna. Each half-hour will tell a power-packed story, combining some of the original heroes with new ones as they band together to battle alien invasions, powerful sorcerers, vast shadowy conspiracies and even ancient gods."

The network also announced that the second of Teen Titans will conclude March. The series eventually will be airing weekdays at 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

THE BATMAN - UPDATES

It seems that Bane will join the previously announced Joker, Killer Croc, Penguin, Catwoman, Clayface, Man-Bat and Mr. Freeze as a member of the rogues gallery featured in the new animated series.

The new "THE BATMAN" will be one of the features of the 2004-2005 saeson Kids WB Saturday morning lineup airing at 10:30 AM on Saturdays, which will mean "Teen Titans" will move to 11:30 AM.

TV Schedules

BATMAN - Adam West (TV Land)

• Fri 5th Mar  - 12:00am - #37 - Hot Off The Griddle
• Sat 6th Mar - 12:30am  - #38 - The Cat and the Fiddle
• Sat 6th Mar - 12:00am - #39 - The Minstrel's Shakedown
• Sun 7th Mar - 12:30am - #40 - Barbequed Batman?

JUSTICE LEAGUE (Cartoon Network)

• Monday 8th Mar - 10:30pm -  Twilight Pt 2
• Tuesday 9th Mar - 10:30pm  - Tabula Rasa Pt 1
• Wednesday 10th Mar - 10:30pm - Tabula Rasa Pt 2
• Thursday 11th Mar - 10:30pm  - Only A Dream Pt 1

TEEN TITANS (Cartoon Network)

• Saturday 6th Mar - 12:00pm - Titan Rising
• Saturday 6th Mar - 9:00pm - Winner Take All
• Sunday 7th Mar Feb - 1:00am -  Winner Take All
• Sunday 7th Mar - 10:00pm - Winner Take All

TEEN TITANS (KidsWB)

• Saturday 6th Mar - 9:00am - Deep Six

SUPER FRIENDS (Boomerang)

• Sunday 7th Mar - 11:00am -
• Sunday 7th Mar - 7:00pm -
• Monday 8th Mar - 3:00am -

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

• The major development of the week was the announcment that GARY OLDMAN has joined the cast as Lieutenant Jim Gordon, the last of the major roles to be cast.
• The Dark Horizons website has a report that claims to have details of the new Bat costume under development.: "The Batsuit is currently being made at a secret location in Hampshire and will be delivered to Shepperton late April. The other description online was probably the dummy cowl with the same surface material which is being used for camera testing only, this one may be in the Bob Kane 1930s design as a joke. The genuine suit appears to be in separate sections at the costume designer's Hampshire workshop, although the only parts missing were the utility belt and boots which weren't visible when I took a peek. The body and sections are dark grey and rippled somewhat to look like real skin, imagine how they portrayed Spawn and you get the right idea. The Bat symbol is across the chest armour and not in a yellow oval. The cowl and cape are black or dark blue, the cowl looks like the skin material too and is thinner and has realistic human features like cheekbones and forehead. The ears are fairly long like in the previous movies and the design of the eyes and jaw cutaways are similar. Overall the suit doesn't look as exaggeratedly muscular as it was before and the rubber like material is thinner. I would be worried if this was made for any of the previous actors but Christian Bale is carrying a bit of bulk and beef and this suit would have been made specifically for his larger frame."
• Batman -on-Film added this additional report on the costume " (It)is based on the Alex Ross designs from the graphic novels. Dark (very) grey bodice, black bat chest (with no yellow shield), tight-fitting mask (that moves - meaning, frowns and squints and so on - but do not hold me or my source to that as he/she? has only seen a 3rd level prototype of the cowl) with prominent ears, overall an extremely tight fitting outfit "
• BoF also added some details on the development of the cape, it appears that "The cape is made of some sort of advanced material that is super light, yet can become very stiff and tight when a electric current is run through it. The Batman, with a touch of a button, will be able to turn his flowing cape into "wings" and fly--or actually glide in the skys of Gotham.... And The Batman will be shown in some very "iconic" poses, with the cape really moving and flowing around him."
• Meanwhile Superhero Hype posted a note about the movies composer: "I just found out from a friend that works at Warner Brothers that David Julyan, who has done every score for Nolan in the past, is doing the score for 'Batman Begins.'"
• Superhero Hype also posted the following report on the filming in Iceland on Monday (1st March) " Filming of Batman Begins starts today near Skaftafell in Iceland. Actors Christian Bale and Liam Neeson and director Christopher Nolan arrived yesterday and are expecting to be shooting in one or two weeks. About 100 people from Warner (Bros are) with them (as) are Crew from SagaFilm, (in total) 150 to 200 people (are) working (on Batman Begins) here in Iceland. The Icelandic crew has signed a contract of confidence not to talk about the film or where it's being filmed. When filming is done here in Iceland, the crew goes to England to film there."
• It appears the confusion over Harvey Dents' possible appearence in the movie, as mentioned last week, has been clarified. Dent is NOT in the movie, but is mentioned as being a member of the current DA's staff. The active District Attorney of Gotham is named Fisk, as played by Larry Holden and listed on IMDB.com
• Superhero Hype reports that Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire will be used as the location for Wayne Manor. Information and Photos of the location can be found here.
• The excellent Batman-On-Film site has posted the following story synopsis that is reportedly displayed on the Warner Bros. intranet. "Director Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia) and screenwriter David S. Goyer (the Blade trilogy) join forces for another action-packed chapter of the Batman saga!  As a young boy, Bruce Wayne watched in horror as his millionaire parents were slain in front of him--a trauma that leads him to become obsessed with revenge. But the opportunity to avenge his parent's deaths is cruelly taken away from him by fate.  Fleeing to the East, where he seeks counsel with the dangerous but honorable ninja cult leader known as Ra's Al-Ghul, Bruce returns to his now decaying Gotham City, which is overrun by organized crime and other dangerous individuals manipulating the system. Meanwhile, Bruce is slowly being swindled out of Wayne Industries, the company he inherited.  The discovery of a cave under his mansion, along with a prototype armored suit, leads him to assume a new persona, one which will strike fear into the hearts of men who do wrong; he becomes Batman!!!   In the new guise, and with the help of rising cop Jim Gordon, Batman sets out to take down the various nefarious schemes in motion by individuals such as mafia don Falcone, the twisted doctor/drug dealer Jonathan 'The Scarecrow' Crane, and a mysterious third party that is quite familiar with Wayne and waiting to strike when the time is right. "

CATWOMAN UPDATES

• No new Catwoman information this week

IN THE STORES

THE LAST OF THE BTAS TOYS?

According to Toon Zone, it appears that a new 4 figure exclusive Batman action figure set is due to arrive at Toys-R-Us fairly soon. This will more than likely be the last figures released in the Dini/Timm animated style that we've been used to over the last 12 years. The good news is that rumor has it the set will contain one "fowl" villian we haven't yet seen in produced in this style of action figure.

MORE JAPANESE BATMAN ACTION FIGURES

Japanese manufactuer Takara Hobby has just published detailed photographs of two new Batman figures (Batman - Comics Version & Flight Gear Batman)  scheduled for release in Japan in April. More details and photos can be found on their web-site (but it is all in Japanese).

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.

LONDON FILM & COMIC-CON - London, England, - March 6th to 7th.

The major British pop-culture convention will be held at the Wembley Exhibition Center in North London and will feature appearences by 2 BATMEN - ADAM WEST (TV show) and VAL KILMER (Batman Forever)

SUPER MEGA-SHOW - Secaucus, NJ - March 12th to 14th

The largest NJ show to date features guests from TV, music and comics at the Secaucus, Crown Plaza Hotel. Among the featured guests are: Adrienne Barbeau (voice of Catwoman in B:TAS) and artist Ethan Van Sciver.

WIZARD WORLD - Los Angeles - March 19th to 21st

The first west coast Wizard World convention features an impressive list of guests including: ALEX ROSS, JOAQUIM DOS SANTOS (director of Justice League animated show), PAUL DINI, JEPH LOEB, TIM SALE and DEXTER VINES

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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