July 8th.
If I had a lot of time and money, I’d hire that Greystone dude to make to me a Six.
…lalala spoiler alert lalala…
I wouldn’t mind seeing Thalia in a future Batmovie. Liv Tyler should be perfect for that role.
Agreed!
Red Rain’s the one where Superman lands in the USSR?
No, that’s Red Son. Red Rain is where Batman becomes a vampire.
WHAT!? Does Netflix send it to you on the 8th?
And why does the Region-2 version not come out until the 18th! That is frakked up, it doesn’t take that long to ship stuff over here, and they’re probably making the DVDs in Mongolia anyway. :mad:
Brainiac is the cleverest thing in the universe, the pinacle of thought, he looks at the idea of good and evil as childish and he considers himself, and his actions above it.
Problem is, that sort of thinking doesn’t work in the real-world, let alone the comic worlds, and also, not that big a revelation to Batman, who could have dealt with the Earth-2 situation on his own anyway…
That’s the plan. 
And why does the Region-2 version not come out until the 18th! That is frakked up, it doesn’t take that long to ship stuff over here, and they’re probably making the DVDs in Mongolia anyway. :mad:
Why do they still bother with the whole “region” system? They wonder why so many people obtain their products by “other means”. :rolleyes:
Some thing with Hulu not letting me watch BSG because I’m outside the US. If they could, they’d compartmentalize the internet into regions, like here’s a website in Egypt that only Egpytians can visit so that people from Tunisia don’t buy products in Egypt.
That was the first time I’d noticed it, mate.
Why do they still bother with the whole “region” system? They wonder why so many people obtain their products by “other means”
I’m not too familiar with Blueray DVD. Do they use region coding?
What a surprise. 
Would Robin ruin the last of the three Christopher Nolan-directed Batmovies?
Do you mean like how Batman & Robin ruined the previous Batman film franchise? I don’t think Robin per se is what ruined that movie. In fact, for the most part, his story was fairly dark, with the dead parents and seeking revenge and all, very parallel to Batman’s origin. They also didn’t keep him in the brightly colored leotard (although it’s acknowledged in the circus costumes), something which looks fairly cartoonish in live action films. Then, of course, they went the rubber suit with nipples, hardly an improvement.
But, bottom line, Robin could definitely fit in with the Nolan films if they avoid the camp.
When we were kids, it was Superfriends. It was total fluff, mostly unrelated to the comics. Justice League was on the Cartoon Network in the past several years, with much more complex storylines and a broader sampling of the DC universe, if not necessarily being directly relatable to the comics.
I always used to feel bad for Aquaman
Batman: Justice League, there’s trouble downtown, lets go team!
Superman: I’ll fly and meet you there! Up,up and away!
Wonder Woman: I’ll be there too, in my invisible plane!
Aquaman: Um…is the trouble near like any water? A river? Stream? Harbor?
Batman: Umm…No. Sorry Aquaman.
Aquaman: <long dejected sigh> Okay. Oh well…I guess hang around here then. See you guys later.
Which is why they gave him a badass “Warrior-King of the Seas” makeover in the mid-'90s. I’m not sure that was all that successful in re-energizing his image, though.
And Ronald Reagan was an actor (and fairly crappy one at that), but he still became president of the US. Politics makes strange bedfellows.
I wouldn’t be above giving a movie with Robin a chance, but as I agreed before, it’d be really hard to pull that off convincingly and without an abundance of campiness. If they do a story like when Robin gets orphaned (whichever Robin that might be) or when Jason Todd gets killed, that could work. Even though of course Todd gets killed by the Joker and I doubt they’re gonna re-cast another actor for that role, that wouldn’t be fair to the memory of Ledger.
I’m not sure how they could pull off a film version of A Death in the Family without spoiling the movie for non-comic-geek viewers. These movies have done well financially because they appeal to the general public, a public that associates Robin with the old TV show. These people are not ready to see a Robin – any Robin – brutally murdered onscreen, IMO.
One of the benefits of the HD-DVD scheme was that it didn’t do Region Encoding. Also, less encryption.
I was really rooting for that one…
I think you just explained exactly why it failed. 
Yeah. I knew it was a loosing battle when it opened up. The bene is that it lasted so long that it may not matter. 
Is hysterical and can be found here: http://my.spill.com/profiles/blog/show?id=947994%3ABlogPost%3A355506
Just thought I’d share.
With “The Dark Knight” just over the horizon, io9.com compiled a list of their Top 10 Batman novels:
The Classics
The Dark Knight Returns: Frank Miller’s 1986 reinvention of Batman is still one of his best-known and most well-regarded stories. Sure, a lot of it may not have aged well - all of the Ronald Reagan scenes, for example - but no-one can deny how good it is to see Bruce Wayne come out of retirement to kick some mutant ass and save the world.
Batman: Year One: Going from Batman’s retirement to his origins, Miller’s follow-up to Dark Knight (illustrated beautifully by David Mazucchelli and Richmond Lewis) provides not only the tone for Batman Begins but also for most Batman comics for about the next two decades. Don’t hold that against it, though; melding noir to superheroics with skill and restraint, this may be the best Batman comic ever.
The Killing Joke: The potential secret origin of the Joker, courtesy of Alan Moore and Brian Bolland, both at the height of their powers. For the first time since his creation, Batman’s most famous nemesis comes over and scary and dangerous, and a million miles away from Cesar Romero… sadly enough for poor Batgirl.
The Obscure
Batman: Year One Hundred: Paul Pope takes a jump to 2039 (100 years after Bob Kane invented Batman, hence the title) and shows us how a totalitarian police state deals with a vigilante Pope describes as “someone with the body of David Beckham, the brain of Nikola Tesla, and the wealth of Howard Hughes, who is pretending to be Nosferatu.” Like Blade Runner, but with costumes and punching.
Gotham Central: Unresolved Targets: What happens when the Joker discovers the internet? Why, he starts killing people live on webcam and holds the city hostage to the idea that they might be next, of course. This collection from the sadly short-lived Gotham Central series by Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark (all currently to found on Marvel’s Daredevil series) shows us the terror from the point of view of Gotham’s cops… who aren’t exactly Batman’s biggest fans.
JLA: New World Order: Anyone who’s read Grant Morrison’s take on the Justice League of America knows that Batman can do anything if he puts his mind to it. That’s a fact demonstrated best in this first collection, where the Dark Knight single-handedly defeats an alien invasion and saves all the super-powered heroes with only his wits and a box of matches. Garishly-colored superheroics the way you need it.
Batman: Dangerous Dames and Demons: An anthology of comics based on the old animated series from the '90s, all written by that show’s executive producer Paul Dini and drawn by various artists from the show, including Bruce Timm. Worth it to see Harley Quinn cut loose in Mad Love alone.
[b]
The Admittedly Goofy[/b]
A Death In The Family: Post-Killing Joke, the regular Batbooks decided to try out this new murderous Joker for themselves, letting fans decide via phone vote whether or not he’d succeed in killing Robin the Boy Wonder. Fans voted in their thousands, and poor Robin was toast… Well, until they brought him back from the dead a few years ago.
Showcase Presents: The Brave And The Bold - The Batman Team-Ups Volume 2: While both Brave and Bold collections are full of enjoyably stupid Batman stories from the late '60s and early '70s, the second volume is by far the greatest, if only for the stories where Batman meets the ghosts of his dead parents and fights the devil. Here’s a clue how that one ends up: The devil wins.
All-Star Batman Volume One: It seemed like a no-lose proposition for DC Comics: Pair up your hottest artist, Jim Lee, with Frank Miller returning to the character that made his name. The problem was that the result was a dark-natured parody of the character who’s given to saying things like “Are you dense? Are you retarded? I’m the goddamn Batman” to people who ask why he’d dressed in that ridiculous outfit. Completely over-the-top fun.
I have to say, they sure got the classics right, but what they file under “obscure” really is REAL obscure!
So, after the absolute A-list best books like Dark Knight Returns, I take it Long Halloween is the one to get, right?
The Long Halloween is an absolute A-list book! - I’d even say it’s either the best Batman book or it shares that honor with The Killing Joke/Year One. I’m a little disillusioned about Miller’s works as of late.
Yes. I 'm surprised it wasn’t on that top ten list. The new movies are based on both Year One and The Long Halloween. I imagine the new movie borrows a little from the Killing Joke. A great book if you’ve never read it. As for the obscure, I’ve only read Year 100.
As for the obscure, I’m gonna give that Gotham Central series a shot.
Oh, and one more thought about Robin:
I liked the book about Jason Todd’s return, I think it was called “Under the Hood” - something like that would work way better than a campy Robin.
I read the first few Gotham Centrals after finishing up 52, Mainly because I fell in love with Renee Montoya.
It’s not really, exactly a Batman book, it’s a lot closer to NYPD: Blue… with slightly less of Denis Franz’s ass showing up.
I now own Long Halloween. Four pages into it, I’m embarassed that I didn’t have it already. Sorry, DC – you burned me too many times during the 90s.
Now, depending on whether the kids copperate, and how long I can ration it out, I’ll either finish it over the next two months, or immediately.
Or… Get Catwoman: When In Rome and Dark Victory by the same creative team… Oh, and Superman: For All Seasons
And then go over to Marvel for Daredevil: Yellow (Bonus points for spotting the crossover) Hulk: Gray and Spider-Man: Blue. Tim Sale and Jeph Loeb bring out the best in each other.