Amph Batman in print and animation

Agreed, Volderon. The anime component added nothing, which is a shame because I've loved the other DC animated Batman films.

 

Oh, jeez, that's what I was referring to, actually, got the names mixed up. Yes, get Chronicles, it's much cheaper for more content.

I really enjoyed it; I think it actually handled bringing Jason back better than the comics did (Not that's tremendously difficult when you're competing with "Well this one time Superboy Prime punched reality and..."), the voice acting was really stellar all around, and John DiMaggio nailed Joker about as well as you can hope for anyone other than Mark Hamill to nail the Joker.

Also, the included short was Thomas Jane as Jonah freaking Hex written by Joe R. Lansdale. Were all else to fail I think I'm obligated to love it because of that.

 

Yeah I love Red Hood too. Bruce "John F Kennedy in Thirteen Days" Greenwood was a great Batman and Doogie Howser as Nightwing was a treat. Plus I really enjoyed the idea of Jason, unstable due to the Lazarus Pit, coming back to hit at Batman where it hurts the most (his perceived failures). I still prefer TDKR (again, due to my infusion of book-love into the film) but Hood edges out Year One in my opinion.

I'm just not sure how I feel about Jason as Red Hood in ongoing continuity. Him staying dead was a far more interesting narrative tool than being alive again.

But, I suppose, I don't mind Batbarbs Gordon being back...

 

Yeah Jason being alive in the comics wasnt good, his story was just for Red Hood and now hes just loafting. And no question, Hood beats out Year One any day of the week. Ben Mackenzie did nothing for me as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Even though I like him in Southland.

Captain Pike was a good voice for Red Hood however.

 

The thing that has always annoyed me about them bringing Jason back was it was pointless. The reason behind his return was dumb and then they didn't do anything interesting with him once he was back.

I would have preferred Barbara to stay Oracle too. The Killing Joke is to me the definitive Batman story and giving her back the ability to walk undercuts it. Maybe I'm just resistant to change.

 

No I liked her as Oracle too. I dunno if you've read Black Mirror but Dick and Barbara have some good scenes in that. One of my favourite stories.

 

Black Mirror is excellent, mostly because we finally figure out what happened to James Jr.

Barbara should have stayed as Oracle, IMO - Stephanie was fine in the role, and Cassandra as Black Bat was great, but because Barbara has returned, it seems DC won't let Cass or Steph back in. I suspect they're saving them for some big "DC BRINGS YOU FAN FAVOURITE CHARACTERS" moment, but they've held them back this long, the fans just won't care, or won't react beyond, "Well, we've wanted them all this time, why now?"

 

Don't get me wrong, Oracle was a great character and I enjoyed that they gave a disabled character such a prominent role in the Bat family. But there's something inherently right about her in the black, purple and gold that I just dig.

Speaking of Black Bat, etc - what do you think of the Batman Inc concept?

(And nerd closet time - anyone play Heroclix?)

 

Batman INC was interesting. It was a cool concept and the stories were well done in the first volume of the new 52 but after that Morrison kind of fell apart and focused more on Batman and relegated the INC characters to the background.

I liked Batman in Japan and Lord Death Man, concepts that Morrison dug from early Batman comics.

 

This looks awesome(except the price).



I want.

 

I'd like Batman, Inc. if they played it up as being more secretive and more of a match for Leviathan. As it was/is, it was really just the Outsiders - which is fine - but it never felt like something more.

I guess, to sum it up a bit better, it's really just a Batman title that features the extended Bat-family and then some. It never really stood out, although the Leviathan Strikes! special was pretty awesome.

 

Or they kill them off in the next 'major' 'earth - shattering' DC 'event.'

 

I don't usually have a problem with them killing off a character. It's the bringing them back to life that usually bothers me. Especially if they kill them just so they can bring them back six months later.

 

Couldn't resist But that's essentially what happened with Bruce Wayne. Always take a comic book death with a grain of salt, and always assume that you'll see them again.

 

Bruce is who I had in mind when I said I hate that sort of thing. Before someone points it out, I know he wasn't actually dead just displaced in time but the whole thing was a cheap stunt and one of the many things that made me give up comics.

 

The Return of Bruce Wayne is one of my favorite Batman stories and the Batman & Robin series by Morrison was also good for me so the cheap stunt paid off for me

 

I realize I'm probably in the minority on this but I always feel like having death be a revolving door lessens the impact to the point where it doesn't matter if a character lives or dies because either way they will just be back in a couple of months.

I did like the Batman & Robin series too. I wish they would have given Dick more of a run as Batman.

 

If you want more Dick as Batman there is this http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Batman:_Prodigal

 

Does anyone else believe that Andrea killed the Joker at the end of Phantasm? For me, the '92 series is separate from every subsequent production in the Timm-verse, so I look at that movie as the finale.

Andrea murders the Joker, loses her soul, leaving Bruce to reclaim his reputation as Gotham's protector.

 

I'd have to see it again. I'm still stunned from Morrison pointing out on Fat Man on Batman that Batman breaks the Joker's neck in The Killing Joke at the end.

 

Just putting this out there - Frank Miller's post-TDKR Batman work. Does everyone but me completely hate it? The interwebz would seem to suggest that this is the case.

Of course it doesn't, nor could ever hope to, come close to the masterpiece that was TDKR, but I thoroughly enjoyed both The Dark Knight Strikes Again and even the notorious All-Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder. I didn't take either too seriously, they might as well have been Elseworlds stories, but great fun nevertheless. I'm genuinely hoping that Dark Knight: Boy Wonder might yet see the light of day.

 

Hypothetical question.

If one wanted to get into the Batman cartoons, what's the correct order to watch it? Is any prior knowledge needed?

 

I just watched "Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox" last night and while it is primarily a Flash led story, Batman is a huge part of it. Since it's fairly new, I hid the HUGE spoilers.

Spoiler

I loved that Bruce died in the future and that Thomas Wayne became Batman while still running casinos in Gotham. I also loved that it's implied that Mrs. Wayne became the Joker over the loss of her son.

The final scene really surprised me. Seeing Bruce cry after getting a letter from his father was awesome and moving.

Pretty much every scene in this movie is stolen by Bruce/Thomas. It was very well done.

 

You're not the only one, but yes I'd say the majority of folks dislike anything he's done recently. His art in TDKSA is very abstract and bizarre, and I think didn't sit well with the majority of folks, who thought it was poorly done. I can't blame them for thinking that, because it's pretty apparent that the art in TDKR and TDKSA is like night and day. Again, this is the opinion of the majority of people, not everyone. I for one am not a fan of The Dark Knight Strikes Again, but that's just me.

I actually didn't mind All-Star Batman that much, thought it was entertaining though only as some kind of crazy else-world's story. The art by Jim Lee was fantastic in All-Star, and it's probably one of the biggest reasons I actually didn't hate it. Frank Miller's writing in All-Star Batman is...interesting, to say the least. I can see why it got a lot of hate, since it was such a turn from his older style. Some say he may have become disenchanted with Batman and the public's perception of him, and that he wanted to portray the Bat more realistically, as someone who went out and fought crime every night would really act.

People had problems with Batman's psycho-behavior and swearing in All-Star, but frankly, he's a man who chooses to go out every night and beats criminals to a pulp. There's no telling what his personality might be.

So at the end of the day it comes down to opinion (like everything else, really) but the majority seem to dislike Miller's newest works.

Oh and if you ever want to read something else by him, read Ronin if you haven't...I think it's excellent!