For The Love of Comics

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Warner Brothers has begun pushing The Dark Knight for best picture by placing “For Your Consideration” ads in trade papers and across the internet in attempts to sway Oscar voters.

Imagine - a comic book adaptation winning the biggest award of the year.

Fellow geeks, validation is at hand.

Technorati Tags: Oscars, Warner Brothers, The Dark Knight, Batman, Best Picture

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I may be the last person on the internet to see this, but just in case I’m not, I thought I’d share it with all of you who agree that Bale’s gravel-gargling was the silliest part of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight

Technorati Tags: Batman, Joker, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Spoof, Fan Film, Christian Bale

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First of all, I’m very sorry for the radio silence lately. Life has been very hectic, with the fiance and I merging two households and me going through a career change. I realize none of you want to hear my excuses or whining, but I feel that I at least owe you somewhat of an explanation.

Anyway, I’m mostly back and have a few quick bits of news that I wanted to throw out there. Hopefully regular, full posts and reviews will resume shortly - once I actually make a dent in my read list. On with the show!

~ David Goyer is telling Newsarama that Warner Brothers is pushing ahead on the Supermax/Green Arrow movie that he’s written a script for. For those not following this story, the original title of the movie was Supermax and is reported to feature Oliver Queen getting locked up in a Supermaximum Security prison and having to work with some supervillains to escape. The film is rumored to be filled with easter eggs and fan shout-outs, presumably with plenty of supervillain cameos.

~ Hollyscoop is spreading the rumor that producers want Johnny Depp to play Riddler and Phillip Seymour Hoffman to play Penguin in the next Batman movie. Put me down as “skeptical” on this one - I seem to recall hearing Christopher Nolan saying he wanted to stay away from the Penguin and I hope they’ve learned from Spider-man 3 that two villains in the third film is a bad idea. For further proof of this, see Batman Forever and Batman and Robin. The history just doesn’t look good for this idea, folks.

~ Newsarama has somewhat dispelled another Batman casting rumor, tracing the evolution of Julie Newmar’s stated opinion that Angelina Jolie would make a good Catwoman all the way to reports that Jolie is in final negotiations to crack the whip.

~ Okay, so I’m a bit Bat-happy this evening, can you blame me? The Dark Knight was awesome! So awesome, that while it may not be able to top Titanic’s $600.8 million, Variety believes that The Dark Knight could easily top $500 million, putting it into the number two spot in all-time box office earnings.

~ In even more Batman news, apparently some people aren’t terribly happy with Neil Gaiman’s upcoming “What Ever Happened To The Dark Knight?” story coming up after R.I.P.. Gaiman responded to one of these people in his blog:

I hope this reaches neil himself. Never have i ever known of anyone as full of himself as well as shit, than you. Now another milestone in your over-hyped career, Writing Batman. Not only are you under the impression you can write, but write batman? Fuck You. You Tried before and it sucked. It was just gaiman… With Batman in it. Fuck You.

If I’d known that Secret Origins of Batman Villains #1 had made that much of an impression on people, I would have… actually, probably not done anything different, really. I was rather fond of it.

If you think you won’t like the Batman comic I’ll write, probably you’d be best off not reading it. It’ll just be a two part Batman comic, you can save your money. Although if you’d bother to write me a letter like that you might buy it just to prove to yourself that you hate it as much as you know you’re going to…

~ Okay, last Batman rumor for now. Rich Johnston thinks he knows the future of Batman in his latest LITG column. He could be wrong, but it sounds totally plausible, so I’ll warn you to skip the following blockquote if you want to avoid even the possibility of being spoiled.

I understand that following the events of “Batman RIP,” both main Batbooks will be put on hiatus for a short period, replaced by a new title, “Battle Of The Cowl” by Grant Morrison.

We’ll see a struggle for the legacy of the Batman after the events of the “Batman R.I.P” storyline, between the likes of Robin, Jason Todd, Nightwing, Damien and who knows, maybe Azreal and Bat-Mite while they’re at it.

So “Nightwing” will be renamed “Red Robin” while “Robin” becomes… “Batman And Robin.”

It looks like Nightwing will be the new Batman with Jason Todd becoming Red Robin.

This sounds pretty plausible to me, since that is the one person I could actually conceive being Batman and there have been clues indicating the second part of this. Of course, we all know Bruce will take back the cowl at some point.

~ Finally, I’ve been asked to pass on a request for support. A group of fans are trying to get 80stees.com to make an Aquaman hoodie and need 200 people to sign this petition-type thing saying they’d buy one. I support this cause because, you know, “Yay irony!” and maybe, just maybe, if Aquaman gets some support, he won’t be so damn stupid.

And that’s all I’ve got for now, folks! I’m off to read some comics and, hopefully, something will strike me enough to review it soon.

Technorati Tags: Batman, The Dark Knight, Neil Gaiman, Riddler, Penguin, Catwoman, Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Aquaman, Whatever Happened To The Dark Knight, Battle For The Cowl, Green Arrow, Supermax

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The last time that some pictures of Aaron Eckhart as Two-Face from The Dark Knight appeared, the lawyers from Warner Brothers sent out letters demanding they be taken down. Hopefully they’ll enjoy the free publicity now that the movie is almost out.

These pictures also add some context to the previously released pictures of Joker dressed as a nurse. I had assumed that he was sneaking in to get someone; now we know that he was trying to get at Dent/Two-Face.

Edit: Sorry, kids. I was hoping that Warner Brothers would see the promotional value in these pictures being left out, or that they had actually been leaked by someone involved that was authorized to do such leaking, but I just got a (actually rather polite) letter from their lawyers asking me to take the pictures down.

I apologize if you came looking for the pictures and will now leave disappointed, but please believe me that judging from these pictures, they have done an excellent job in transforming Eckhart into Two-Face.

Go see The Dark Knight on July 18, 2008.

Technorati Tags: Batman, The Dark Knight, Harvey Dent, Two-Face, Joker, Pictures, Aaron Eckhart

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A new viral game kicked off today resulting in a new poster being released. If you don’t really care about the path taken, feel free to skip to the end of this post. Otherwise, read on!

Those who received phones from the Joker in one of the previous games received a text message today:

Wake up, clown! You have *one hour* to reply to be a part of today’s fun. /operator

Through past experience, it was quickly surmised that “/operator” referred to http://whysoserious.com/operator. Those that replied received:

Good. Do not reply again. I’ll be in touch…

…and once the deadline passed:

Work together, clowns. Your code-word: XXXXXXXX. Your partner: XXX-XXX-XXXX. Do NOT call until told to. Do not publicize this number.

Wait for a call - you will receive one or more code words. Relay these words to your partner.

You’re the first in the chain. Call your partner and relay your code-word NOW.

Once the relays were completed, chains dropped on the /operator page and we were shown five words.

All of the words can be followed by the word “house”. Enter this into the box at the bottom and we’re given a new game, “Punkdrop”.

I’m not going to lie to you here, I never could get the hang of this one - I had to wait for someone else to do it to get to the end of this thing, but I’m told that if you hit one of these punk thing, a light appears next to another one. Hit that dummy, and the light moves to another, and so on. If you can pull that off three times in a row, you’re taken to the final page, Stupid Bats”, where you receive a new poster featuring a defaced photo of Batman with scrawled messages all around.

Could that be the end of the Dark Knight viral, or will we get a bit more?

Technorati Tags: Movies, The Dark Knight, Batman, Joker, Why So Serious, Phones, Operator, Punk Drop, Stupid Bats, Poster, Viral Campaign

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Why So Serious, the main page for pretty much the entire Dark Knight Viral campaign, has been updated with the Joker’s to-do list as a creative way to recap the campaign up until this point. Each crossed off item has a date of completion and links to the corresponding page. The only things left on the list are “Be good to my guests”, “Gather all my fans”, and “Leave a big mark”.

The page also features souvenirs from all of the games so far, including a slice of cake, bowling shoes, and a defaced portrait of President Lincoln.

Technorati Tags: Movies, Batman, The Dark Knight, Viral Campaign, Joker, Why So Serious, To-Do List, Checklist

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Updating from the Ha Ha Times portion of my last post - the geniuses on the Superhero Hype Boards have figured out “the clue”!

enaxor in IRC ran the grid of letters through a simple substitution cipher…

A B C B D E F G E H F I
D G J J G K E L M J N E
M J G E N O G E J G A B
P K E C G N N G D E B Q
E N O G E Q B M D N O E
R B D K E N B E N O G E
D H S O N E B Q E G T A
O E A H D A C G K E Q H
U G E C G N N G D E R B
D K E N B E Q H P K E B
M N E R O G D G E N B E
S B E Q D B F E O G D G

which became (ie, A=C, B=O, C=L, etc)

color-me-imp
ressed-just-
use-the-seco
nd-letter-of
-the-fourth-
word-to-the-
right-of-eac
h-circled-fi
ve-letter-wo
rd-to-find-o
ut-where-to-
go-from-here

“color me impressed just use the second letter of the fourth word to the right of each circled five letter word to find out where to go from here”

look for the red circled words… on the hahahatimes… then follow the instructions…

…to find http://whysoserious.com/redballoons.

Clicking on the clowns’ noses will inflate the balloons. Inflating the nose changes the color of the eyes. Getting all the clowns’ noses blue at the same time gets you a ticket to a new site,
http://whysoserious.com/redballoons/ineptlackeys.htm, with a new message from The Joker.

Looks like Mr. J has decided to flex some muscle.

Technorati Tags: Movies, Batman, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan, Gotham City, Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart, Heath Ledger, Two-Face, Harvey Dent, Joker, Ha Ha Times

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I’ve been hardcore slacking on the blog front lately. I’m sorry about that. I’d like to give you a great excuse about how life has just been insane and busy and all that, and it is, but I also hit a slump that I couldn’t get out of and the longer I’ve slacked, the harder it’s become to stop slacking and get back to some serious posting. I’ll try to do better in the future.

Luckily, I’ve come across alot of news on my favorite subject - The Dark Knight - including a review, a new poster, and a viral update!

In the first bit of news, some lucky sumbitch has already seen the movie and submitted a review to Ain’t It Cool News! Tim Bisley, the author of the review, gives us a loose breakdown of the plot, thus there are obviously some spoilers, reaffirms that the movie is - at heart - the story of Harvey Dent, makes comparisons to films like Heat and Greek tragedies, and calls for a posthumous Oscar nod for Ledger.

You can, of course, head over to AICN to read the review, but I’ll quote it here for my fellow lazy bums:

Hi Harry and the rest of the crew,

Just after watching The Dark Knight. I see no reviews are online so I
thought Id send you my review.

Ive kept this review as spoiler free as possible as I dont want to
ruin anything like someone did recently with another Christian Bale
movie!!!

Ill start by saying that I was a fan of Batman Begins and am a huge
admirer of Christopher Nolan’s body of work. I had my faults with BB
mainly to do with how they shot and edited the fight sequences but
felt it was a great start to a much larger story and I jumped with joy
when Gordan pulled out the Joker card at the end.

The Dark Knight opens with a bank heist sequence that highlights how
the joker is always one step ahead of the criminals he is working with
and the police who are after him. Numerous men break into a bank
controlled by the mob wearing clown masks and comment on how The Joker
has put the whole thing together. This is the catalyst for which the
rest of the events in this movie takes place.

The heist does not go to plan well at least not for all the gang. Its
a great set up and payoff and a unique way of introducing the ace in
TDK’S whole or in this case its Joker.

Heath Ledgers performance of the joker is truly one for the books. A
man of no remorse or morals who simply wants to see things burn. There
is no back story or establishing the character. He is fully formed. He
does have some dialogue scenes that reveal a bit of his background.
Lets just say he has some issues with his father and that smile of his
is rooted in a gesture of love. He is far from a caricature and has
depth . He realises that without Batman he would not be. The Joker is
almost more of a terrorist than criminal. He is not motivated by
money. He wants to see people suffer. Its a damn shame that this was
Heath Ledger’s final major performance as it shows a whole different
side to him as a performer and I now know that he was endlessly
talented. To watch him walk away from an exploding hospital dressed as
a nurse is probably my favourite moment Ive seen on film so far this
year. Also look out for when he makes a pencil disappear such a cool
moment! Best supporting Oscar anyone?

Gotham is still engulfed by crime. Falcone’s reign as the head of the
mob is over and that seat has been filled by Salvatore Maroni played
by Eric Roberts. What becomes clear is that there are also numerous
other gangs within Gotham. Its no longer just one syndicate. They are
all in some way in cohoots but the arrival of Batman has made it
harder for them to operate.

Batman has inspired the city officials particularly Harvey Dent. The
DA for Gotham city. This is really his story. The rise and fall of the
white knight. He is Bruce Wayne’s hope for Gotham City. A hero who
doesn’t have to wear a mask. A man who can inspire hope in the masses.
If BB was about fear then TDK is about hope and is relevant in today’s
times. Harvey Dent is a good honest man who is willing to bear the
weight of bringing down all the criminals on his shoulders and what
that means for his own life and those he loves. In terms of his
transition to Two Face all I will say is that everything online that
Ive seen is fake. The moment we first see him in hospital when Harvey
Dent asks Gordan what his nickname used to be in Internal Affairs and
Gordan says Harvey Two Face and Harvey turns to him . Such a clever
way of establishing the character. Even down to his double sided coin.
Lets just say Aaron Eckhart puts Tommy Lee Jones to friggin shame!

The film feels more like a crime drama in a grand city scape than a
typical comic book movie. It feels like Heat except Batman is Al
Pacino and The Joker is Robert De Niro and just like in that film we
have a great scene between Heath Ledger and Christian Bale across a
table. There is also an element of a Greek Tragedy.. There is a vast
sense of morality at play within the film.

Dent is trying to bring down the criminals and wants to bring them in
under a RICO charge. To do this he needs Batman’s help as he has to
bring in the man who takes care of all their money. A glorified
accountant as Rachel Dawes puts it.Think Al Capones accountant in the
Untouchables. So Batman ventures to Hong Kong. It adds to the idea
that this is very much set in the real world and its not just Gotham
that Batman can access.

This all happens within the first third of the film. The run time is
two and a half hours. It doesn’t feel that long as there is so much
going on within the film. Ive always felt Christopher Nolan was able
to handle pacing unlike many movies that are over two hours these
days. This is also his first entirely linear film and he proves
himself to be a gifted storyteller and a master of utilising film as a
visual medium. He fills each frame with so much scope and detail. You
can tell he is enjoying himself with the amount of money he is being
allowed to play with and wants to better himself and the franchise.
Although this movie doesn’t feel like an instalment in a franchise.
The best thing I can think of for comparison is The Godfather Part 2.

There is no sign of the Batcave in this film. Although Alfred does
make mention of it saying how he looks forward to it being finished.
Bruce now lives in a pretty sweet penthouse apartment and his new
batcave is in an underground layer in the docks. Bruce and Lucious Fox
have been working on the suit and toys although to my surprise the
Batpod was in BB and nobody spotted it. It’ll put a smile on your face
when it makes its introduction.

Christian Bale owns this role. He is Bruce Wayne and he is Batman. He
is also a third character in some regards as there are almost two
sides to Bruce Wayne. The public figure, a playboy billionaire who
knows how to spend his money and the Bruce Wayne behind closed doors
who only Alfred and Rachel get to see. A man covered in bruises and
wounds who desperately wants be free of Batman but is compelled to
make a difference as no one else can. He can play the villain to be
the hero as he does.

The second third focuses on the capturing of The Joker. The city is
living in fear as he makes threats on national television that he
always follows through with. You simple have no idea what he will do
next. There appears to be no reason to his madness although that
proves to not be the case.

I don’t really want to give away anymore. I will say there is death
but not in the way some of the fan boys who have watched the trailer
are thinking. There is a prestige moment within the film that is a
true Chris Nolan moment. The scarecrow is in the film but has a very
minor role.

Just go see it on opening day in a room full of fans. Ill be doing the
same and have no doubt Ill enjoy it even more the second time round.

Enjoy.

Tim Bisley

Damn, this sounds like an awesome movie! I wish I had more geek friends around Orlando so that we could buy out a showing for this thing.

In our next bit of Dark Knight news, Comic Book Movie has released a new poster! Click the image below for a larger copy.

Finally, there’s a new edition of The HaHa Times!

Circled letters have been decoded to give us the following message:

page 1 - Herrings are red
page 2 - Corpses are blue
page 3 - You’re on the right track
page 4 - But you don’t have the clue

To my knowledge, “the clue” has yet to be found.

Technorati Tags: Movies, Batman, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan, Gotham City, Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart, Heath Ledger, Two-Face, Harvey Dent, Joker, Ha Ha Times

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The website for Gotham Cable News is live with many articles, includingHow You Can Vote In Gotham Elections. Here’s the main point:

Not living in Gotham? Can’t make it to a poll on election day? You can still vote! Head to www.gothamelectionboard.com right now and make your voice heard! The polls close at 11:59 on June 12th.

If you register to vote on the Election Board site, you can log into the system and make your voice heard in the Gotham City elections - just not for D.A., but several other propositions and elected officials. Just make sure to get it done before June 12th.

Technorati Tags: Batman, The Dark Knight, Viral Campaign, Gotham Cable News, Gotham City Election Board, Elections, District Attorney, Harvey Dent

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I heard through the grapevine that the first (of hopefully many) Television spot for The Dark Knight debuted after the season finale of Survivor: wherever the heck they are this time.

I don’t watch Survivor, so I obviously didn’t catch the trailer when it came on, but Youtube came through me once again.

WB Lawyers may or may not yank this, so watch it fast just in case.

Technorati Tags: Batman, The Dark Knight, Trailer, TV Spot, Survivor Sucks

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