Gotham: 1.04 – “Arkham”

Coming off the announcement that FOX has extended Gotham to a full 22-episode order, we seem to be gaining some focus. After a bit of a jumbled pilot, and a couple weeks of worth of oddball villains, Gotham‘s forth episode dove further into impending gang war.

The Griz Bin: Crazy Superhero Origins, Batman & Robin One-Liners & Inappropiate Toys

Here we are again with another look at the Griz Bin.

New Lego Arkham Asylum Set Announced – If you like Lego and Batman you’ll love this neat looking enormous new 1351 piece set. It also includes 8 minifigs – including Batman, Robin and The Joker. [Comics Alliance]

7 Completely Insane Golden And Silver Age Superhero Origins – Including Mr. Satan and The Zebra. These are definitely bat shit crazy. Perhaps you know of more bonkers ones. [Topless Robot]

Las Vegas Comic Expo 2012 Cosplay Pictures – Ok, so they’re not all comic book related but they do include Batman, Batgirl, Bane, Black Widow and even a great Lady Rocketeer. [Geeks Are Sexy]

Batman Fan Art – A plethora…a gaggle…a flock…a…what is the collective noun for a group of Batmans…Batmen…I give up. [Project: Rooftop]

The Ten Worst One Liners From Batman And Robin – Staying with Batman here is 10 truly terrible one liners from the most terrible Batman film ever. [Comics Should Be Good!]

DC vs Marvel At The Box Office – Sticking with films, here is an infographic looking at the U.S. box office performance of DC and Marvel over the last 50 years. Who will lose? Considering both Batman And Robin and Catwoman are on this list, I think we do. [Fancy Dress Costumes]

Weird And Inappropriate Toys – A look at some of the toys that really should have never have escaped. Including the infamous Wolverine inflatable hammer. [io9]

Probably The Greatest Wonder Woman Panel In Comic History – This is just…fantastic. [io9]

Avengers Pugs – And finally, here are 4 pugs cosplaying as the Avengers. They are so cute it’s unbelievable. [Gamma Squad]

‘Arkham City’ Sequel is Actually a Prequel?

The epic, geek manga carta I had in my pants for the inevitable sequel to the bestselling Arkham City video game released late last year has just taken a nose dive upon hearing the most recent plans Rocksteady Games has for the franchise. Trust me, it doesn’t start off bad at all. First we are told that (It’s still rumor mind you) the game will in fact be a prequel to Arkham Asylum, so that’s fine right? Maybe a lead up to the first game showing Batman clobbering the various members of the rogues gallery and sending them one by one to Arkham, the whole thing ending with Batman capturing the Joker and leading right up to the beginning of the first game. Sounds great right? But apparently they’re going in a whole new direction.

According to a video at IGN, Rocksteady is furthering this new direction by having the game take place during the Silver Age of DC… Silver Age meaning the flashier costumes and ridiculous storylines like Batman traveling through space and stopping the most asinine schemes that his foes can throw at him. I’m having some trouble understanding how they go from the dark grittiness of the Arkham games into the fluffy and bygone era of the Silver Age. I hope this is one rumor that doesn’t come true. They also report that members of the Justice League will show up and the game will involve the Justice League being formed. Why not just sever all ties completely with the Arkham games then? Don’t even call it a prequel. If Warner Bros. and DC are wanting to start showing off the Justice League before their much-anticipated movie (supposedly due in 2015) then why not do a game focusing only on them? And this isn’t even the worst of it.

Paul Dini, the writer of the past two Arkham games and Batman: The Animated Series from the early 90’s will not be returning for this prequel game. To me Dini and the group of voice actors from the animated show, along with the newcomers completely owned the Batman scene. The voices and story all fit perfect, having the same amount of dark edginess to it that I remember from Batman: The Animated Series that I watched as a youngster. I watched the show and felt a sense of wonderment because so much of the show’s subject matter leaned towards being more dark and adult themed. Paul Dini will be deeply missed and hopefully won’t have to watch the franchise completely go down the crapper.

What do all of our Bat-Fans think? Excited for this so-called prequel or is it too soon to pass judgment? Sound off below!

CCI 2012: Exclusive Figures Round Up

Comic Con is always an awesome time for us fan boys and girls. The smell of new comics on a mornings day, the greasepaint on some guy’s face who’s dressed as the Joker, and exclusive action figures.

Graphic Novel Review: Cages by Dave McKean

You may well know the artwork of Dave McKean without even realizing it. He has been leaned on heavily by Neil Gaiman in helping create the fantastical world of Sandman. You know those crazy Sandman covers that are part diorama, part painting and all cool? That’s Dave McKean. When you open a Sandman and the characters border on the edge of chaos as they vary between a mass on lines and a multicolored kaleidoscope of mayhem? That’s Dave McKean. He’s the man who made the maniacal Joker of Arkham Asylum, created the whimsical world of The Big Fat Duck Cookbook and again worked with Gaiman to bring Mirror Mask to the big screen. I guess it should come as no surprise that he has a talent for storytelling as well.

Enter Cages, a series that is by no means new but, if it flew under your radar as it had mine, is completely worth the time and effort. The series was originally published by Tundra and Kitchen Sink Press in the early 90’s, had a hardcover edition printed in 1998 and was re-released in a softcover collection by Dark Horse Books in 2010. Cages is a bleak and dark world inside which the characters struggle with inspiration, motivation and their collective grasp on reality. The pages are mostly bereft of color except for a couple of narrative dream-like segments and instead rely on harsh black lines and a grey/blue tinge to color their world. Cages‘ world is populated by a group of characters living in an apartment building each participating in their own struggle, each dealing with their own personal cage as it were. The main protagonist is an artist who is struggling for inspiration to create his next great piece of art.

As the novel progresses he encounters the other oddball members of his building and their lives intertwine as we discover each persons story. Above him is the Jazz musician/poet who crafts musical stones and blows away the local bar regulars with his unearthly performances. Below him is a renowned author who is hiding from the public because of the scandalously blasphemous nature of his last novel. Across from him is an alluring woman whom he sketches as she lounges on her patio and eventually becomes the subject of his artistic ruminations. Elsewhere in the building is an elderly woman who has delusional conversations with her parrot as she waits for her husband to return from his five-year absence. Threading them all together as a silent observer and sometimes participant is a black cat who seems to have an almost human intelligence.

Batman: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City and Beyond… What We Want Next

I didn’t think a sequel to Arkham Asylum would ever be able to outdo its predecessor. But in an age where video games are all about topping the previous installment in terms of scope and depth, Arkham City did just that. Arkham City was huge compared to Arkham Asylum with familiar locales such as Crime Alley and the Ice Berg Lounge to geek out the countless Batman faithful out there. And if you thought that Asylum sported a good amount of the Batman Rogues Gallery, it was nothing compared to Arkham City. From Two Face to Mad Hatter, Arkham city showcased over a dozen of Batman’s greatest villains in roles small and large. So the next question is; where does the story go from here given what happened at the end of Arkham City? As those of you who have beaten the game know, there was a death at the end which is a pretty large void to fill. What villains should be featured in the next installment? I can think of a few that didn’t show up and a couple from Arkham Asylum that were noticeably absent from Arkham City.

Below we will discuss which villains need to make the cut next and what the possible story could be for the next Arkham sequel. So please don’t read any further if you haven’t beaten Arkham City because I’ll dropping spoiler almost immediately.

So we all know that the Joker is dead. D-E-A-D. And I doubt he’ll be coming back since Mark Hamil has stated that he won’t be back to voice the Clown Prince of Crime in any future Batman material. I’m fine with Joker being dead by the way, and it’s for the best because I wouldn’t want to see anyone voicing the Joker again. Hamil owned that role and for as big of a Star Wars fan that I am, I think that Hamil’s career is defined by the excellent work he has done voicing the Joker these past twenty years. Luke Skywalker comes in a close second. I can’t see anyone else voicing the Joker as well as Mark Hamil and would like to tip my hat to him.

Now, if you did some exploring to past locales after beating the game and you happened to go back to the Joker’s hideout at Sionis Industries you’ll find an interesting tid-bit on the floor next to Harley’s Arkham Asylum outfit. Yes, it’s a pregnancy test that is POSITIVE!

Also at the end of the credits you’ll hear Harley singing Hush little baby to someone in her own twisted way. That means we may have a baby Joker on the way? Oh, boy…. If done right this could be very interesting indeed. This would also mean that the next game would have to take place years down the road. And if we’re introducing the son of the Joker as Batman’s next big nemesis then I’d be all for them bringing Damien Wayne into play as well. Son of Batman v.s. Son of Joker? Sounds like a dream come true if you ask me! Talia did die after all, before Bruce could have any knowledge of little Damien if they decided to have him be a part of this Bat-continuity.

Also, if the games just want to continue going bigger and bigger in terms of environment then I suggest Rocksteady break free of the Arkham aspect and simply call the game Gotham City or Gotham Knights. This way the entire city can be opened up to play in and we can see plenty of other Gotham locations such as Wayne Tower. Actually, Wayne Tower would be the perfect place for the game’s climax if there is a final fight between Bruce and Joker Jr. or Damien and Joker Jr. I’d like to see Wayne Manor (Bat Cave included), Blackgate Prison, the Wayne Botanical Garden and even a revisiting of good old Arkham Asylum.

Now to the villains and my favorite part. There were not a whole lot left out of Arkham City that’s for sure, but there are a couple that I think would make good additions to the third installment. One of the most deranged villains and a personal favorite of mine is Professor Pyg. Pyg has his own strange meaning to the word “perfection” which he forces upon his victims by bonding doll faces onto their own face in gruesome fashion. Then by some form of surgery or simple lobotomizing, Pyg turns his victims into his own personal soldier, known as a Dollotron. I think it would be far the creepiest aspect of the games yet when Batman is being swarmed by groups of hideously transformed Dollotrons who want nothing more than to present the Dark Knight to their master for “surgery”.

Garfield Lynns would also be a welcome addition to the game and provide Batman with an interesting boss fight. It’s one thing fighting Mr. Freeze on the ground with his freeze ray assailing you at every turn, but imagine a foe flying above and trying to incinerate you! Lynns would of course not have much story depth to him, but after being featured on the front page of a Gotham newspaper in Arkham Aslyum I think it’s time for the resident pyromaniac to be set loose upon our gaming systems.

In terms of crime boss villains such as Two Face and Penguin, I think that the Great White Shark Warren White would be a great addition. The once meek Warren White underwent a terrible transformation during his time in Arkham Asylum that turned him into the hideous, hardened crime boss that he is in the comics. White was once on top in the Gotham underworld in the comic book continuity and he would work great in the next game.

I envision all of the established crime syndicates to show up in the next game actually including the Maroni and Falcone crime families and the return of Two Face, Penguin and Black Mask. Roman Sionis, the Black Mask, in particular had a very brief role in Arkham City which disappointed me greatly. If you’ll remember he was at the very beginning getting the living shit beat out of him by TYGER guards. Unacceptable! Black Mask is one of the most ruthless crime bosses in Gotham and he needs a little more to do than get beat down in the next installment!

Aside from Black Mask, Penguin and Two Face being brought back I have a few other choices of villains that need to make a repeat, two of which were noticeably absent from Arkham City; The first being that of Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow. After being taken down by Killer Croc in the first game, Crane was not heard from in Arkham City except in a couple of instances. First, there is his mask and some hay laying atop a bridge just outside of Sionis industries.

Then close by on the little barge/boat in the water there is a secret door you can use your cryptographic sequencer to open which reveals a little laboratory of sorts. There’s even a tortured “patient”, containers of cockroaches and a shipping manifest made out to Dr. Crane from Falcone Shipping. The place is just straight up creepy. I suppose this means that our friend the Scarecrow is alive and well and Batman will have to stop him again sooner or later. I say later in the next video game.

Killer Croc was another who was missing from the game. You can have a little confrontation with him in the sewer after facing off with Ra’s Al’ Ghul but nothing beyond that. In the third game I want to see Killer Croc as a boss or someone’s enforcer. I enjoyed running from him in the sewers of Arkham Asylum but a head on fight would be most excellent.

Bane would be another foe worth running into again, this time as a head on enemy again and not a pseudo ally. This will more than likely happen depending mostly on the success of his character in the Dark Knight Rises which is already bound to be a box office smash hit. It would be nice if they use him a little better than just the Solomon Grundy type brute in the next game, maybe as a more calculating foe as he was in the Knightfall arc of the Batman comics.

It wouldn’t hurt to see Ivy return either, just because I’ve always had a thing for women with green skin who dress in skimpy prison clothes. I liked her small role in Arkham City but I think they could use her a little more somehow in the third game. Another huge favortite of mine would also be Clayface, who was my favorite rogue to show up in Arkham City. You know they’ll be doing something with him after he fell into the Lazarus Pit; perhaps he’ll return with some new mutation that will make him more dangerous than before.

On the bat family side of things I wouldn’t mind seeing more of Batman’s allies as playable characters in the third game. It was excellent being able to switch between Batman and Catwoman in Arkham City, and it was awesome to kick ass in the challenge modes with Robin and Nightwing. Hopefully in the third game it will allow you to switch between all of the characters to perform different missions throughout Gotham City. And I may go completely ballistic if the map is bigger than ever before and you are not allowed to use the batmobile. Vehicles seems like the next logical step in the franchise. It would be like Grand Theft Auto: Gotham City.

Well, that’s about all I have for now. Have I forgotten anything that needs to be in the next Arkham game? Locations, characters or otherwise? It’s probably a long way off from now but who knows, Rocksteady might be moving their asses off on this red hot franchise to follow up the release of the Dark Knight Rises.