Countdown to Birds of Prey: Day 69

69 more days until the DVD release of BIRDS OF PREY The Complete Series!!!

The DVD set, due July 15, 2008, includes the 13 aired episodes, the unaired pilot and the complete web-series GOTHAM GIRLS!

About GOTHAM GIRLS (edited from Wikipedia):

Gotham Girls is an animated Flash cartoon series about the females of Gotham City, created and produced jointly by Warner Brothers and Noodle Soup Productions. Episodes starred Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Batgirl and Catwoman in short stories of varying length about the daily lives of the characters.

Gotham Girls is one of the few series of Flash animations made by a professional publisher of mainstream cartoons, and features professional voice-acting by the same actresses and actors as those who voiced the television series.

The series lasted for three seasons (10 episodes each), with each episode released month-by-month. While the first two seasons featured primarily comedic episodes, the third season attempted to make the show more serious. These episodes linked directly to Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero. Dropping the magician Zatanna from its lineup and adding a host of new characters to the cast, including Detective Renee Montoya, each episode from this series tied into the next, forming a collective thirty-minute whodunit. The storyline also dealt with issues not seen since Batman: The Animated Series, such as the corruption of the Gotham Police Force, Poison Ivy's environmental crusade and Commissioner Gordon's wavering faith in costumed superheroes.

Voice cast

• Adrienne Barbeau – Selina Kyle (Catwoman)
• Arleen Sorkin – Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Harley Quinn)
• Diane Pershing – Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley (Poison Ivy)
• Tara Strong – Barbara Gordon (Batgirl)
• Bob Hastings – Commissioner James Gordon

Pre-Order Birds of Prey: The Complete Seriesfrom Amazon.com
Buy Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZerofrom Amazon.com
Buy Batman - The Animated Series, Volumes 1-4from Amazon.com

WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN Trailer

Really, it's been a long time since I've had any interest in a Marvel animated series. But this one looks like it could be alright. There appears to be a lot of influence from the movie series, but it's still obviously steeped in the comic book mythology. I just might have to check it out.

Official Press Release

The first, official trailer for Marvel's upcoming animated series, "Wolverine and the X-Men," is here! Packed with more mutants than you can shake a stick at, check out what's in store for a world in which Professor X has been taken out and Wolverine must lead the X-Men into a very uncertain and dangerous future!

"Wolverine and the X-Men" begins as an explosive event shatters the lives of the X-Men and takes away their mentor, Professor X. The beaten heroes, including Beast, Storm, Cyclops and Nightcrawler, walk away from it all but then they are given a rare glimpse into the future, where they see a world in utter ruin…ruled by giant destructive robots. They discover the world has spiraled out of control because the X-Men have given up. So now the most legendary of all X-Men, Wolverine, must take the lead on the ultimate mission -- to prevent the world's destruction -- while fending off enemies Magneto and The Brotherhood.

New DARK KNIGHT Trailer

from Newsarama:

The new trailer for The Dark Knight hit theaters this weekend, and has hit the web.

The new footage in the trailer offers the largest look yet at the world of this Batman film, including more chilling footage of the Joker, his plan, explosions, more Batcycle, Harvey Dent in action (and hints of what he may yet become) and a flying Batman.

Deja Vu

Everything you touch just falls apart like shattered glass...

Superboy-Prime from
INFINITE CRISIS: SECRET FILES & ORIGINS


ACTION COMICS 864


SUPERGIRL 30

TRINITY: First Look!

Check out MySpace Comic Books Blog for an EXCLUSIVE 5-page first look at the new DC Universe weekly series, TRINITY!

TRINITY 1-4
Written by Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza
Art by Mark Bagley & Art Thibert, Scott McDaniel & Andy Owens, Tom Derenick & Wayne Faucher and Mike Norton & Jerry Ordway
Covers by Carlos Pacheco

DC's new weekly series TRINITY explodes in an extra-sized debut issue featuring art by fan-favorite Mark Bagley (Ultimate Spider-Man) & Art Thibert with lead stories and dialogue by Kurt Busiek (SUPERMAN, ASTRO CITY)!

The lead feature explores the unusual bond - and importance - of DC's top three characters, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, as a mysterious dream links them together and may prophesy important changes in their trinity!

Plus, a co-feature in issue 1 explores the mysterious connection between several villains who are watching the Trinity -as well as the near future for these characters and their surrounding world! Co-features in issues 2-4 fill in back-story on some of the other important players in this major storyline. These stories are written by Busiek & Fabian Nicieza with art by Scott McDaniel & Andy Owens (NIGHTWING, GREEN ARROW), Tom Derenick & Wayne Faucher and Mike Norton & Jerry Ordway (ALL-NEW ATOM, INFINITE CRISIS).

Issue 1 40 pg, issues 2-4 32 pg, FC, All $2.99 US

Issue 1 on sale June 4; issue 2 on sale June 11; issue 3 on sale June 18; issue 4 on sale June 25

New INCREDIBLE HULK Trailer

This trailer does a lot better job of selling the movie than the teaser trailer did.

Just for Kicks

Everyone needs a laugh once in a while...It's Genetic by Kyle Baker

Countdown to Birds of Prey: Day 80

80 more days until the DVD release of BIRDS OF PREY The Complete Series!!!

Despite any mention you may read on the web (including a review by some moron on Amazon of the DVD set THAT HASN'T EVEN BEEN RELEASED YET WTF!?) RACHEL SKARSTEN does not portray Black Canary in BIRDS OF PREY. She does portray Dinah Lance (known early in the series as Dinah Redmond). But this takes place on an alternate earth known as fictional, so you'll just have to get over it. Yeah, geeky fanboys had problems with this show from the beginning, and most of those problems had nothing to do with the quality of the writing or the acting...

It's not like my comic, WAAHHH!!!

Here's a short blurb and Q&A theWB did with Rachel back in 2002 leading up to the series premiere:

For 17-year-old Rachel Skarsten, joining Birds of Prey was the chance of a lifetime. Yet once upon a time, acting was not her career of choice. "Growing up, I studied hard-core ballet with the Royal Academy of Dance.Then I discovered [ice] hockey, which I love," explains the native Canadian. And now? "Moving out on my own [the show shoots in Los Angeles] is a little scary," admits Skarsten. "I'll probably have to get a cat or something."

My character is: "The damsel in distress. She is very naive and a little insecure. I suspect I'll be able to kick some 'behind' soon. Of course, it will just look like me. Those stunt girls make me look so good, but really all I do is grunt and throw fake punches."

To do Dinah justice I had to: "Lose the nose ring. They wouldn't let me keep it because Dinah is not that cool - yet."

My biggest fear is: "That I'm going to let the comic book's fans down. This book has a really strong cult following. Online they know more about me than I know about me."

Pre-Order Birds of Prey: The Complete Series from Amazon.com

Who is Wonder Woman?

You read a lot about writers saying that Wonder Woman is a hard character to write. Because she's supposed to be this ultimate warrior, but she's also supposed to be a deliverer of peace. And it's hard to make the two concepts work together. But I think Gail Simone gets it.

WONDER WOMAN #19 written by Gail Simone; art by Bernard Chang and Jon Holdridge

Diana has the ability to, and if need be will, beat your ass. But she'd rather not if there's any other option. She is determined to find a solution that leads to peace.
She could've beaten Procanon Kaa into submission, but she wanted the ending to be mutually peaceful and not just "Nyah, nyah, I kicked your butt!"

I've been reading Wonder Woman for over 30 years. And I've always enjoyed the super-hero stories to the "Ambassador of Peace" blah that's been shoehorned in since the 80s.
Gail gives me both and makes it work. I'm loving this.

PS - I've read a lot of online grumbling about how "bad" Bernard Chang's art is. I'm like "WTF?" I think the art on these past 2 issues has been great. True, he may not draw Diana as classically beautiful as Terry Dodson, but it's not like she's beastly by any stretch of the imagination. I don't know. Maybe I'm just stupid...

Countdown to Birds of Prey: Day 85

85 more days until the DVD release of BIRDS OF PREY The Complete Series!!!

DINA MEYER portrayed Barbara Gordon aka Oracle in the 13-episode series. Barbara was the leader of the Birds and the glue that held them together. She was also formerly Batman's partner Batgirl, until the Joker shot her through the spine, leaving her confined to a wheelchair. As Oracle, Barbara kept a cyber-eye on the streets of New Gotham and dispatched her operatives to battle crime.

Here's a short blurb and Q&A theWB did with Dina back in 2002 leading up to the series premiere:

Batman fans will tell you that Dina Meyer's character - the niece of Commissioner Gordon who moonlighted as Batgirl - is the one to watch this fall. To get into tough-chick mode, Meyer had to do some serious research. "People think I'm tough, but I'm really warm and fuzzy," admits the actress.

My character Oracle is: "Very complex. Oracle is a hacker who controls everything from the clocktower. The other two girls are her muscle."

Oracle's greatest challenge is: "Not being able to use her body. She went from being a young, eager crime fighter to a woman who has to sit on her instincts - literally."

When it comes to doing Birds of Prey justice, I have: "A lot to learn. I was never really a big comic book person. I was a real girly girl. I liked Wonder Woman because of the cool outfits and bracelets."

Oracle's greatest secret weapon is: "Stick fighting. Evidently, she is quite adept at escrima. That's the Filipino art of stick fighting. Other than that, we just don't know...yet."

Pre-Order Birds of Prey: The Complete Series from Amazon.com