For The Love of Comics

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Hey folks, just wanted to let you know that I - and presumably anyone else who signed up with the I Believe In Harvey Dent website - just received the following message via e-mail:

Hello, Dent Believers!

It’s been great to see the response from all of you! We knew that citizens of Gotham would rally behind Harvey Dent and you have! (It was inspiring to see some of you on TV!) Gotham citizens have come out to meet the Dentmobiles, many of them using the Dentmobiles as an opportunity to meet up with other Harvey Dent supporters in their neighborhoods and build this grassroots campaign.

The momentum is building!

There have been sporadic reports of rallies being broken up by police, which is disturbing. Does it indicate a bias on the part of the men in blue? A backlash against Harvey Dent because of his campaign to stop corruption?

Harvey Dent is expected to make his decision whether to run for Gotham District Attorney within days, and seeing all of you out there with your signs and banners can only tell him that Gotham needs him! Gotham is asking for change! That we believe in Harvey Dent!

Spread the word. Make an impression! And don’t forget to check out the latest submissions at http://www.ibelieveinharveydent.com/youinaction.aspx . We’ve been told that Mr. Dent may be close to making a decision – so your efforts can make a difference!

Finally, don’t forget to check http://www.ibelieveinharveydent.com/ontheroad.aspx” to see if a Dentmobile is coming to a neighborhood near you this weekend.

Take Back Gotham!

I just checked out the submissions, and they are pretty sweet. Now if I could just get the Dentmobile to come to Orlando…

Technorati Tags: movies, The Dark Knight, Batman, Harvey Dent, Two-Face, I Believe In Harvey Dent, viral marketing

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Two new viral sites for The Dark Knight popped up this week, both seemingly related to Harvey Dent’s impending run for D.A. and both apparently under construction.

First is the website for the Gotham City Clerk:

Notices:

• Please excuse the inconvenience, as we are currently rebuilding our website and file system after server damage due to the recent Orange Line destruction. We hope to be back online serving Gotham City very soon.

• Forms and applications for the following services are still available at our N. 6th St. offices: Parking permits, business licenses, dog licenses, festival/block party/raffle/bazaar permits, nightclub licenses, oath of office forms, operator licenses, retail licenses, liquor licenses, street vendor licenses, medical registration forms, notice of claim forms, and garage sale permits.

• The Gotham City Clerk announces approval for extensive absentee voter support in the upcoming municipal election. Once the system is in place, we will post details and procedures for both online and mail-in absentee balloting.

The second site is for the Gotham City Election Board:

COMING SOON!

The Gotham Election Board will be implementing online voter
registration later this year. Watch this site for details.

I’d expect to see updates to both around the March 26th deadline for submissions to the I Believe In Harvey Dent site.

Technorati Tags: Batman, Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight, Viral Marketing, Gotham City, movies, comics

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A recap of my first day at Megacon is coming soon, but first things first - While I was sitting in the Indie Film Festival Panel, I got a recorded call from Harvey Dent! You can hear the call right here, courtesy of jokersminion of the Superherohype forum It sounded like a typical call that a candidate would do in order to drum up support for their campaign and it directed me to the I Believe In Harvey Dent website.

The site has been revamped to encourage us to drum up support for a Harvey Dent run for D.A. of Gotham City, via publicity moves similar to The Joker’s WhySoSerious campaign in the sense that instead of dressing up as clowns, fans are asked to print out placards, billboards and petitions and to find their own creative ways to drum up support for Dent.

There is also something called a Dentmobile coming to various cities around the country. This map already shows some cities, but you’re encouraged to enter your email for periodic updates, indicating that more cities may be added later.

There’s plenty more to check out on the site, like a section with suggestions on other things to do and, of course, a section to submit your…submissions. The deadline is Noon on March 6th. It doesn’t specify what time zone, which may mean your local time zone, but I’d probably try to make it by EST, to be safe.

Happy Campaigning!

Technorati Tags: The Dark Knight, Movie, Harvey Dent, I Believe In Harvey Dent, Viral Marketing

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The” >I Believe In Harvey Dent” site has been updated with the message of hope “We have the power to change Gotham City. Soon you’ll find out how.” along with an invitation to sign up to join the fight by entering your e-mail and phone number.

You know I signed up right away. I quickly received the following confirmation e-mail:

Citizens of Gotham! The future of our city rests in your hands! Alone, we are helpless against the thugs and killers menacing our city. Together, we have the power to take back Gotham. In just a few days, you’ll find out how. Please click … to verify your e-mail address. Keep an eye on http://www.ibelieveinharveydent.com and get ready to join a movement that will transform our city!

No phone calls yet, but I expect to receive a voicemail similar to the one that I got after submitting a tip at WeAreTheAnswer.Org within a few days.

So it seems that the speculation that the viral campaign’s focus would switch to Harvey Dent was right on. Whether or not that was the original plan before Heath Ledger’s death, only WB knows.

If I had to, I’d bet that this phase of the viral campaign will lead up to the rumored Dent-centric trailer debuting before 10,000 B.C. next Friday. I hope that the Arne Starr Movie Trailer Panel that I’ll be going to at Megacon will have it, otherwise I don’t think I’ll get to see it until the next Monday at the soonest.

As always, I’ll tell you more as soon as I know more.

Technorati Tags: Movies, The Dark Knight, Batman, Harvey Dent, Viral Marketing

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First of all, my deepest apologies for the dearth of content for the past few days. Life has interrupted, as it tends to do, and I’ve been trying to use what little free time I have to catch up on storylines so that I can post some reviews for y’all.

I was sitting on this because, like I said, life has been a bit busy, and I thought we all needed a break from The Dark Knight after that last big viral event. But it’s about to get stale, so I’m throwing it out there.

You may remember the voicemail that I received last week. On Tuesday, I received the following email:

Dear Citizen,

Today is a momentous day for Gotham and for all of us who have participated in We Are The Answer. Tips from concerned citizens like you are helping to bring corrupt officers to justice. You can be proud that you have aided your fellow citizens in taking the first step towards a safer city.

Due to the overwhelming citizen response, we at We Are The Answer are pouring through an avalanche of police corruption tips. We should be through with the current backlog of tips by the very beginning of the New Year.

Thank you again. The good citizens of Gotham have to stick together to fight crime and corruption. All of us have a brighter future to look forward to.

This would seem to indicate that the next campaign will center around We Are The Answer and start up in the New Year.

Like I said, I’ve been busy, so it took me a few days to get over to We Are The Answer, where I found the following press release:

UPDATE: First Police Officers Indicted Thanks To We Are The Answer

We Are The Answer has been overwhelmed by the reaction of Gotham citizens since we asked for your help. Thousands of concerned men and women who are outraged at how Gotham City has been betrayed by the very people who are supposed to defend us have flooded this website with tips.

All of your submissions are being investigated, and We Are The Answer today announces the indictment of two GPD officers for corruption. It is with sadness, not pride, that We Are The Answer seems to have shown in a matter of weeks how deep the corruption in Gotham goes.

These officers are Jason McCree and Larry Coniglia. McCree is suspected of accepting bribes. Larry Coniglia is under suspicion of interfering in an investigation, racketeering, and assault. Coniglia is also being investigated for the death of a Chechen gang member who died in a police holding cell.

It is important to note that these officers are innocent until proven guilty. We Are The Answer will continue to fight to clean up GPD, and ensure that police officers are working for the citizens of Gotham and not its criminals.

Working with GPD’s Internal Affairs and Assistant District Attorney Harvey Dent, We Are The Answer has taken the first step to taking back our streets from crime and corruption. Thanks to all Gotham citizens who have helped us in this essential endeavor.

NOTE: Due to the overwhelming citizen response, we at We Are The Answer are pouring through an avalanche of police corruption tips. We should be through with the current backlog of tips by the very beginning of the New Year

Jason McCree is one of the cops mentioned in the voicemail and Larry Coniglia is the cop who signed Document LC6551.

And that’s all I have on that front. I’ve heard rumors that the next round of Viral Marketing will involve all of the viral sites, and I’m going to try to get back to focusing on comics more, which means that I’m quite likely to fall behind and miss stuff, like I missed posting the updates about Document LC6551, but I’ll do my best to update when I can or at least link to people who are keeping up with everything.

For example, CBR has a good update on what the people who made it to the Why So Serious payoff events last night experienced. The short version is that they got to see that six minute prologue in all its IMAX glory. For the long, detailed version, you should click that link.

I’m going to get back to my comics now.

The plan is to review Messiah CompleX next, assuming I can get caught up and there’s actually something worthwhile to say about it.

As always, comments, criticisms, requests, and accusations of being the suckiest sucker who ever sucked in sucktown are always welcome. Contact info is on the “About Me” page.

tag: Comics, The Dark Knight, We Are The Answer, Harvey Dent, Jason McCree, Larry Coniglia, Batman

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I received a rather threatening voicemail this afternoon from phone number 000-000-0000. The call seemed to be regarding a message I left with a DA’s office and told me I should be more appreciative of the boys in blue putting their lives on the line for me. I could only assume that this was about a tip I left on Harvey Dent’s We Are The Answer webpage. I saved the message to transcribe it or transfer it onto my computer for posting, but it looks like someone already beat me to it, or at least the last 23 seconds of it:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSFhfcLHVzI&rel=1&border=0]

I’ve yet to figure out what “Document LC6551″ is, or where I’m supposed to look. Hopefully someone will figure it out soon.

UPDATE!! Those crazy kids at the Superhero Hype boards have got skills!!

In other news, page 4 of the Ha Ha Times has a clue leading to the next phase of the Joker treasure hunt, The Perfect Getaway:

This seems to correspond to maps strewn about the other Gotham sites, but I’m still working on how it’s all supposed to work.

For now, Superhero Hype’s message boards seem to have a good collaborative effort going.

UPDATE!! Via the geniuses on the abovementioned Superhero Hype message boards, I learned that if you map out the routes, they spell “Out of Time”, which leads you to this page, featuring a note from the Joker:

If you click on this image (on the actual webpage), you’re taken to this image:

On Page 4 of The Gotham Times, in the article “Crime Victim Sues Batman for Loss of Car”, the carjacker’s name is Frederick Alder. There is a rumor that Joker will frame Batman for the murder of a carjacker.

It looks like the final round of this game will be coming soon.

tag: batman, Document LC6551, Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight, The Joker, The Perfect Getaway, We Are The Answer, Why So Serious

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Some recent posts on Panels of Awesome, The Unofficial Dark Knight Movie Blog, and several other places reminded me that I haven’t really said much regarding the movie I am most looking forward to for the next year - The Dark Knight!

From what I’ve read, the movie will be drawing from the storylines of both The Long Halloween and The Killing Joke, both of which were superb stories. The main villains are set to be Joker, “Boss” Sal Maroni, and Harvey Dent/Two-Face, which probably indicates to alot of long-time Batman fans what plot points they’re likely to use.

Quite a few viral websites surrounding the world of Batman have sprung up, beginning with I Believe In Harvey Dent and I Believe in Harvey Dent, Too. Originally, the latter site featured a version of the former defaced to make Harvey Dent look like the Joker. The page now appears to feature nothing more than a “page not found” message, but if you highlight the text, you find the joker’s laughter.

Next up was Why So Serious, where The Joker sent us on a scavenger hunt to take photos of particular letters, eventually spelling the message “The Only Sensible Way To Live In This World Is Without Rules.” Under the right corner of this message, you can see what looks like the corner of a photograph. If you click that corner, you hear a sound clip of the Joker and the overlaying message burns away to reveal an image of Heath Ledger as The Joker:

Click on that and you’re taken to Rory’s Death Kiss, a play on the movie’s shooting title of “Rory’s First Kiss”. The Joker had left a message on this page encouraging “clowns” to go out to local landmarks and take photos of themselves in full Joker regalia.

The page now features the results of these instructions. Those who got their pictures accepted by deadline received a copy of The Gotham Times over the previous holiday.

During the same time, more viral websites popped up, including websites for The Gotham City Rail, The Gotham City PD, Gotham National Bank, The Gotham Times (and the corresponding Ha Ha Times from the Joker, both of which feature some of the images from Rory’s Death Kiss), Gotham Cab, Gotham Unified School District, Acme Security Systems, and the tribute to a girl killed in gang violence Remembering Gina.

In the meantime, a personality profile questionnaire popped up on Why So Serious, which eventually led to a “mausoleum” page featuring a safe and the clues necessary to unlock it. The crew at the Unofficial Dark Knight Movie Blog have already gotten in, but I won’t post those details until I work out exactly how they did it. That shouldn’t stop you, though… head on over there to see what else they know.

UPDATE: I finally got it. As the above link says, the bloodied letters are an anagram for “Time for Taffy”. In the Gotham times, the time of death mentioned for Johnny “Taffyface” Linata is 7:38 AM. Reset your clock to this time, and you’re in!

Inside is a note from the Joker congratulating you on thinking outside the box (and promising to have a new job soon), and some evidence:

One last thing, and then you will know everything that I know… Empire, a British film magazine, will feature Heath Ledger as The Joker on their January cover. They had planned on slowly revealing the image on their website over a few days, with the culmination (I believe) coming tomorrow, but someone accessed the image ahead of time and it is now alll over the web. Most people have probably already seen it, but since it is the most clear image I’ve seen of Ledger in the Joker makeup, I’m posting it again:

And that, my friends, is EVERYTHING I know.

tag: Comics, DC, Batman, The Dark Knight, Joker, Heath Ledger, Harvey Dent, Two-Face, Sal Maroni, Empire, Viral Marketing, Why So Serious

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Kellvin Chavez of LatinoReview.com has a scoop on the Joker’s first scene in The Dark Knight, apparently from having “dinner with an executive high up on the Warner Bros. food chain.”

According to Chavez and his anonymous source, Joker will rob the bank holding all of the Gotham City underworld types’ money, holding the money “for ransom”. Joker tells all of the crooks that if they help him take down Batman, he’ll give the money back. If they refuse, he’ll burn the money. This is where Joker gets his army to go against Batman.

There is speculation, uncomfirmed by this anonymous source, that this is also where Joker utter the line “Starting tonight, people will die. I’m a man of my word.” heard in the teaser trailer seen here:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfJeREVj95E]

In other The Dark Knight news, Batz over at the Super Hero Hype forums has scanned an excerpt of Eric Roberts’ (Boss Maroni) interview with FHM magazine wherein he discusses his character’s role in creating Two-Face and ultimate fate. Click here for the post.

tag: batman, Boss Maroni, comics, DC, Eric Roberts, Harvey Dent, Joker, spoilers, The Dark Knight, Two-Face

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