Interview with ‘Batman and Robin and Howard’ Author Jeffrey Brown

Damian Wayne has many fans. The popular Arab American character, son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al-Ghul, is an adorable crime-fighting — and previously murderous kid — whose fundamental charm and sincere desire to do good has captured the hearts of many DC fans, so much so that he has a current ongoing series. But we don’t see enough of Damian’s school life. When does he get to be a regular pre-teen who gets to have fun at school and make friends?

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Yoshi Sudarso is Finally Nightwing in Live Action ‘Batman: Wayne Family Adventures’

Well, it finally happened! Long time friend of the NOC, Yoshi Sudarso, has been cast as Nightwing in an upcoming live-action adaptation of Webtoon’s popular Batman: Wayne Family Adventures webcomic.

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Winston Duke and Jason Isaacs Headline ‘Batman Unburied’

Let’s face it folks, there’s a lot of Batman stuff out there. I don’t have to really tell you that. All you need to do is turn a corner and about twenty different Batmen will show up asking you to vote them as the best Caper Crusader (spoiler alert, it will forever be Kevin Conroy and TV’s Adam West in a landslide tie). 

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‘Gotham High’ Breathes Fresh Life into the Bat Mythos

Traditional superhero comics have been part of the American pop culture firmament for eight decades. And more often than not, those stories can feel staid and mired in nostalgia for long bygone eras. Which is why creators who come along with bold new interpretations of these characters are usually met with resistance. To wit, when the book trailer for Gotham HighDC Comics’ latest foray into the young adult book market — debuted, the fanboy set went apoplectic.

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Why Cassandra Cain is the True Successor to the Bat Mantle

With Batman being the most human of DC’s Trinity, there’s always the looming question of who takes over once Batman either retires or makes his final stand as the Caped Crusader. More than that, who could truly replace the Batman?

Gotham certainly doesn’t lack for champions. From Nightwing to the Robins to the Oracle and Batgirl, the Dark Knight has trained more than capable operatives to continue the good fight in his absence.

But are any of them as driven and intense as the original article?

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Track Commentary: “The Fire Burns Forever”

by Adam WarRock | Originally posted on tumblr

I’m doing track-by-track commentary on my new EP, Gifted Student. You should go grab the new EP at my bandcamp site.

My girlfriend has pointed out to me that these haven’t really been commentaries, more like “crazy ramblings that I just puke out of my brain.” So today, on what is undoubtedly my favorite song on the EP, I will give you my commentary.

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How Many Times Must We See Batman’s Parents Die?

If you were on the internet yesterday, you might have seen some images from the set of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice leak on to your computer screens. Part of the problem that comes with shooting on location in a real city — as opposed to in front of a blue screen inside a giant soundstage — is that there are real people with real cameraphones lurking around every corner.

BvS:DoJ has had its share of set leaks in the past, and this one isn’t all that revealing, honestly. But for me, it reveals something that I assumed we had moved past in a Batman movie. I won’t reveal anymore until after the cut, but if you’ve read the headline, you’ve already been spoiled. Sorry.

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When Gotham is Ashes, You Have My Permission to Die

Whatever issues you might have with The Dark Knight Rises, Tom Hardy’s portrayal of Bane is probably one of the most divisive. Either you loved it or you hated it. Nolan’s take on the villain deviated so much from the comics, it was a wonder why he even chose to go with Bane in the first place. Another strike against Nolan’s Bane is that you could also argue that the character was racebent from the way he’s depicted in the comics. Or not. Personally, I rather enjoyed Hardy’s completely wacky and out there interpretation of the character. Not only are his mannerisms and fuddy-duddy English accent so utterly imitable, but he made a character that is admittedly boring on page really compelling on screen.

The reason that I just spent 100+ words talking about Bane in The Dark Knight Rises is because last night’s episode of Gotham used the opportunity to introduce Venom, the drug responsible for Bane’s abilities in the comic. And the whole time, all I could think about was Tom Hardy in his ridiculous face mask.

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Who’s Gonna Stop Gotham’s Balloons?

Last week, I got some grief for writing about why I was done with Gotham. So naturally, I not only tuned in for Episode 3, “The Balloonman,” I live-tweeted it as well. The fact that this episode had nothing to do with the B-side to Prince’s “Batdance” was already strike number one for me.

I won’t go into all of the problems I have with the show’s premise — since I already did that. A couple times. I will say that I realize that the reason I’m so bitter about this show is because I always wanted a Gotham Central series, and that Fox’s attempt is just a half-assed one. Because Gotham Central is the non-Batman police procedural series we deserve, just not the one we’re getting right now, apparently.

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Why We Can’t Take Gotham Seriously

Okay, I give up.

I tried to like Gotham, honest, I did. Despite my previous reservations, I tuned into the first two episodes like everyone else in the geek-o-sphere did. And you know what, I didn’t hate it. At least not as much as I was anticipating. In fact, some of what I saw was quite good. But the problems I had remained. Namely, that the whole conceit of the show is that it exists in the Batman universe. Also, the acting is pretty horrible. I’m looking at you, Ben and Jada!

If this were just a typical police procedural, I’d find it pretty entertaining (even though I’m not a fan of the genre). Where the show loses me, though, is that it fundamentally misunderstands the universe in which it has chosen to partake. Case in point? They’ve just cast 34-year old actor Nicholas D’Agosto to play Harvey Dent.

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Monday Night Live-Tweet: Gotham and Sleepy Hollow

Monday nights are just full of nerdy goodness. First with Gotham and then Sleepy Hollow on FOX.  It’s been fun live-tweeting both episodes back-to-back. Here are some choice tweets for the second episodes of Gotham and Sleepy Hollow, “Selina Kyle” and “The Kindred,” respectively.

For more, check out the hashtags #Gotham and #YungGotham for the Batman prequel and #SleepyHeads and #SleepyHolla for everyone’s favorite

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Once Upon a Time in Gotham: A Storify

Since last night was the kickoff to the new fall season, I was tasked with watching the FOX network for two straight hours, with Gotham debuting and NOC-favorite Sleepy Hollow returning. Fortunately, I was joined by the lovely folks on twitter since I was live tweeting both shows on the official NOC twitter, using the hashtags #GothamPremiere and #YungGotham.

If you didn’t get a chance to follow along, here’s a Storify for my live-tweets of the Gotham pilot. Check back later for the Sleepy Hollow one. I’ve also highlighted some choice tweets below as well.

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Goin’ Back to Gotham, Gotham, Gotham…

Oh, I love me a good origin story. For those who loved Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy starring Christian Bale and a panoply of excellent actors, this fall’s Fox television series Gotham will be giving us a chance to revisit Bruce Wayne as a young boy when the city was as dank and gross as Times Square in the 70s.

Sensing it might have a hit on its hands, Fox’s marketing department has gone into overdrive promoting the show. After releasing an official trailer and first look preview, eight new character posters were just unveiled by Entertainment Weekly. Apparently, they’re celebrating Bat Week, too.

Here are some initial thoughts on the latest live action take on the Batman universe.

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Is a Show Without Batman Still Must-See TV?

On Monday night, during the broadcast of the much-hyped return of Jack Bauer in 24: Live Another Day, the Fox network treated viewers to a first look at a similarly hyped new series that will makes its debut later this fall. That new show is none other than Gotham, and on the same day the trailer was released, it was announced that the show was already greenlit for a full season, no less.

So here’s your first taste of actual real footage below, and I’ll share my first impressions on the other side of two minutes:

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