09.09.09

Nine! Nine! Nine! Nine! Let's sing the song of Nine! How many is Nine!?




Nine #9's from 9 decades!!!


BRINGING UP FATHER Series No. 9 [1925]


ALL-AMERICAN COMICS 9 [Dec 1939]


BATMAN 9 [Feb-Mar 1942]


SUPERBOY 9 [Jul-Aug 1950]


JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 9 [Feb 1962]


BATMAN FAMILY 9 [Feb 1977]


THE NEW TEEN TITANS 9 [Jul 1981]


THE POWER OF SHAZAM 9 [Nov 1995]


WONDER WOMAN 9 [Jul 2007]

On the Web:

9 Movie Trailer [09.09.09]

Nine Movie Trailer [11.25.09]

Recasting the Bat?

When I look at this cover for BATMAN: BATTLE FOR THE COWL – THE NETWORK #1, a soap opera announcer's voice goes off in my head:

"Today the role of Batgirl will be played by Power Girl..." WTH?

Cover by Ladrönn
On sale May 6 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

DC Goodness from Mattel

Every time I go to a super-center (like Wal-Mart or Target), I'll always have to make a pass by the toy aisle to see if there are any new DC goodies that catch my eye. I really don't know why I bother at Wal-Mart, because generally, if it isn't related to a Batman movie, Wal-Mart doesn't bother to carry it.

I actually found this one at Toys R Us, a place I don't go to very often, because their DC selection is usually 'boo':

BATGIRL BARBIE 2008

I like this one. Although it's not true to the color scheme she wore in the comics (which they did last time, anyway), I love the black look on her. Something slick about it. (Never cared for that Batgirl logo, thought...)

This one I actually did find at Wal-Mart (color me shocked!):

KELLY and TOMMY as
CATWOMAN and BATMAN

I have no idea who the hell Kelly and Tommy are, but these were just cute!! So I wasted some money on them!

The rest of the swag came from Target:

DC UNIVERSE: JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED
Fan Collection 3Pack
FIRE, GREEN LANTERN & ICE

I don't know if these are new or not, but I liked having Fire and Ice in one pack. They just go together.

DC UNIVERSE INFINITE HEROES
CRISIS: series 1
SHAZAM, GUY GARDNER,
PROFESSOR ZOOM, ADAM STRANGE

Sure as heck don't know what I need these for, but I'm a sucker for DC stuff. Just wish I could find the Atom, Black Hand or Black Adam. I want them all!!

DC Heroines Calendar @ BarbieCollector

BarbieCollector.com has got a desktop wallpaper calendar for September featuring their latest run of Barbie as the DC Comics Heroines!!
Walk don't run!! It'll probably be switched out by the end of the month!!!

Countdown to Birds of Prey: Day 25

Only 25 days left until the July 15th release of...

BIRDS OF PREY:
THE COMPLETE SERIES!!!

The DVD set will feature all 13 episodes of the series in matted widescreen, 4:3 ratio (boo). 30 episodes of the Flash-animated web-series "Gotham Girls," featuring Batgirl, Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. And the previously unreleased, unaired pilot!!

There are some minor differences between the original unaired pilot and the one that was finally broadcast. Past events leading up to the actual series were pretty much played out in the unaired pilot, while in the aired version, they were condensed and narrated by Alfred Pennyworth (Ian Abercrombie).
Slightly less minor: When we meet Wade Brixton (Shawn Christian), it is as Barbara Gordon (Dina Meyer) is ending their relationship. In the version that was televised, they did a 180 and we see the beginning of the relationship as Wade and Barbara meet.
The most major difference comes in the form of villainous (or villainess) Harleen Quinzell. In the pilot broadcast on the WB network, Harleen is portrayed by Mia Sara. But the role originally had been cast with Twin Peaks star Sherilyn Fenn. The story as to why Fenn left has been told many times, and usually never twice the same way, so we may never know the real reason.

For kicks and giggles, here's a scene from the unaired pilot featuring Sherilyn Fenn:

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For even more fun, compare it to the Mia Sara version:

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I prefer the Mia Sara characterization. I think Sherilyn plays her as just sort of evil and mean. Mia, on the other hand, has this slight unhinged-ness that is truly kinda creepy. I would expect Sherilyn to just walk right up to my face and tear my head off. With Mia: I'd be afraid of what she was going to do, when she was going to do it, and which direction she's be coming from! LOL!

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

Countdown to Birds of Prey: Day 30

WOO! WOO!

Only one more month until the release of BIRDS OF PREY: THE COMPLETE SERIES!!!
Starring:
ASHLEY SCOTT (Jericho) as Helena Kyle - The Huntress, daughter of Batman and Catwoman!
DINA MEYER (Starship Troopers) as Barbara Gordon - Oracle, formerly known as Batgirl!
RACHEL SKARSTEN (American Pie Presents: Beta House) as Dinah Redmond, who has a secret tie to the super hero legacy!
SHEMAR MOORE (Criminal Minds) as Detective Jesse Reese!
SHAWN CHRISTIAN (Days of Our Lives) as Wade Brixton!
IAN ABERCROMBIE (Seinfeld) as Alfred Pennyworth, trusted butler and confidant of Helena and Barbara!
- AND -
MIA SARA (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) as Dr. Harleen Quinzel, who plots to impress her precious Mr. J!

The set features all 13 episodes, the unaired pilot, and the animated web-series Gotham Girls!

Here's a clip featuring Mia Sara from the pilot episode. She goes from almost giddy from the thought of pain and suffering to anger that her plans were thwarted and back to loon in the blink of an eye. Awesome stuff!

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

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

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

Countdown to Birds of Prey: Day 93

It's been a long 5-year wait...but in just over three months, the Birds of Prey TV series will finally be on DVD!!! Yay! I'm so excited!!

For anyone who may have missed it, here's a description of the show:

On a terrible night seven years in the past, the Joker attacks the two women at the center of Batman's life: Catwoman and Barbara Gordon, who fought at Batman's side as Batgirl. With Catwoman dead, Batman mysteriously disappears from New Gotham. Barbara, now confined to a wheelchair, redefines herself with a complicated double life: by day, she is a teacher of computer sciences, but by night, she is "Oracle," a master of cybernetics and weapons design, who monitors the activities of New Gotham's criminals from her secret lair in the city's Clocktower.

Barbara takes under her wing the secret daughter of Catwoman and Batman, young Helena Kyle. Helena has inherited Batman's strong sense of justice, along with Catwoman's meta-human abilities. Although she longs for a normal life, she quickly grows into the fierce and beautiful "Huntress." The pull between good and evil is strong within her, and Barbara knows she must guide Helena carefully.

Into the lives of these two remarkable women comes an innocent teenage girl named Dinah who is drawn to the Clocktower by powerful, haunting visions. Unsure of her background, but impressed by her budding meta-human powers, the two crime-fighters take Dinah in, and the trio is complete. They are now the "Birds of Prey."

And here's a little video clip. It's 1.36 MB, so it might take a minute to load. And the quality is kinda iffy, but it's what I've got to share! Enjoy it! (You need Quicktime)

And, oh yeah, no; I'm not going to do this daily. I just wanted to have some fun with it. I'll probably bring it up a couple times a week, tho. LOL!

Upcoming Wonder Woman swag

Mattel has announced their Fall 2008 line and we get more Barbie as DC Superheroes. Including yet another Wonder Woman! Wahoo! Check out Barbie Collector.com for pics of the new Batgirl, new Supergirl and all-new Black Canary Barbies!

Mattel's DC Universe Classics action figures introduces Wonder Woman into the line with Wave 4. I assume since Waves 2 & 3 are scheduled for Spring and Summer (respectively), that this should be hitting stores in the Fall as well!!

In November, DC Direct is unleashing the Wonder Woman 1:4 Museum Quality Statue. Action-Figure.com calls it the second 1:4 Statue after Batman, except that there's also been an announced Superman 1:4 Museum Quality Statue. Not sure which is first, but Wonder Woman is obviously third. That's a shocker. Anyway...the price is $295. Good luck with that. Tell me how it works out for ya.
But damn it is pretty hot!! Check out more (and bigger) pics at Action Figure Insider.