I found this first video via Geeks Are Sexy. A full 2:35 seconds of cartoon Robin being an idiot.

And if that wasn’t enough, here’s Burt Ward doing the same.

“Holy contributing to the delinquency of minors”? Are you serious?

DC Universe Animated Original Movies have been damn good in the past, and this one, due Oct 18th, looks like no exception.

My friend Ish sent me a link to this, and while I don’t agree with the assessment that Batman x 2 = Wolverine, it is still pretty awesome.

Original at moss.fm

Via DC’s The Source

Via MajorSpoilers.

EDIT: NPH IS IN THIS TOO?!

As someone raised pretty religious (Catholic, for the record), I find it interesting to see the level of detail that different characters religious backgrounds play into who they are. It also raises a few questions. Is this written explicitly in the characters? Definitely in some cases. X-Man Nightcrawler, a devout Catholic, comes to mind. Iron Fist is Buddhist.

But in as many cases, it seems to be more inferred by the contexts that various writers and artists have put them in. The way events which have a religious component are represented reflect how the creative team pictures those events more than the characters themselves. Weddings come to mind, but more often in superhero comics – funerals.

What language is used in services, what religious passages are read, and what garb is worn tells you a lot if you care to pay attention. Edward Blake, the Comedian from Watchmen, receives a burial service that includes a prayer that is used in many services. Among them a number of fairly non-denominational Christian services used by various militaries around the world (including the United States and Australia), but more interestingly (I think) Anglican services.

The fact that Alan Moore (the writer of Watchmen, in case you’re one of the 12 people who haven’t read it) is English means he probably has some background experience with the Anglican Church – despite his own self-proclaimed status as a magician, and his “complete hoax” set of religious beliefs.

To me, the religion of a superhero says more about the writers than the character. Hell, even Seigel and Shuster (both Jewish) creating Superman (who is widely regarded as being Christian) tells you a lot. To me it just reinforces the themes of being an immigrant and trying to fit it in America – something that has been a parallel of Superman and the American Jewish Immigrant experience since his rise in popularity in post-war America.

No point in all of this, just my thoughts on the links I’m sharing.

(and thanks to tumblr user nerviosismo for the above image)

I’m an unabashed Batman fan (wearing the emblem hoodie right now), so I was naturally bummed out when Bruce Wayne “died”. I know he’s not REALLY dead, just elsewhere in reality somewhere, but seriously, this is not what I think the character needs.

I think Batman is at his best when he’s kind of insular from the rest of the DCU. This is why I like Legends of the Dark Knight and Batman Confidential so much. They don’t worry too much about canon, and they let him just be Batman, and defend Gotham City, and not have to worry about Darkseid or JLA or whatever. They let the character just be Batman.

That said, I’m both excited and nervous to see where they’re going with the current storyline, and I certainly have opinions about how they should handle this now that he IS gone (for however long or short that may be).

So far, they’re keeping away from the cosmic and most of the super-lofty stories that pull the Bat-Family away from what they do best (in my opinion and as defined above). This I like.

I like how they’re not really letting it become too apparent who will be the front-runner. But really, let’s be honest: it’s going to be Tim or Dick.

Jason Todd will want it, but he won’t get it.

Damien will probably have some kind of stupid argument about how he should be Batman – and he’ll duke it out with Tim again.

Hush will do everything to defame Batman and Bruce’s name.

This stupid Batman-with-Guns character will make a mess of things (and hopefully be dealt with quickly. I’m sick of this shit).

But really? To make it anyone but Tim or Dick is an insult. Plus, DC already cancelled Nightwing and Robin as titles.

My favored scenario:

Then when they bring Bruce back:

Or maybe Damien will work with Hush, when Bruce chooses Tim over Damien as his Robin. That could be sweet too.

Anyhow, these are just my thoughts, although I have to say that so far this story arch is already superior in my mind to Batman RIP.

Lets hope DC can pick up the pieces of the mess that Grant Morrison left us with.

Ian!

I don’t think I’ve seen this level of immersion in media outside of the Grand Theft Auto games and the “Internet” in the game. The beautiful part of it is that while there is a ton of stuff out there, none of it is over the top, and very little of it is being pushed down people’s throats, almost as if Gotham is a real place, with a real online presence.

Wired ran a piece on it a while back, and holy hell does it look awesome. I’m not in love with Anime, and Japanese-style storytelling might not suit the Batman well (a lá Batman: Death Mask – which I’m still waiting on the last issue of to make a verdict on) but this could be fun. I like some of the animators better than others, which is to be expected. I guess we’ll see how it turns out on July 8.