Son of Batman will make its Teletoon network debut on the Canadian channel’s “Teletoon at Night Superfan Movies” programming block on Friday, October 10th, 2014 at 9:00pm (ET/PT). The animated feature, part of the ongoing DC Universe Animated Orignal Movie line from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, is based on the “Batman and Son” comic book storyline published by DC Comics, which introduced Batman to his son, Damian Wayne. The weekly “Teletoon at Night Superfan Movies” programming block on Teletoon, airing Fridays starting at 9:00pm (ET/PT), features a mix of super-hero and sci-fi-based movies, both live-action and animated.
Official details on the Son of Batman animated feature, released by Teletoon, are available below.
Son of Batman Teletoon, Friday, October 10th, 2014 at 9:00pm (ET/PT)
Hidden atop a secret mountain stronghold lies the League of Shadows and its fearless leader, Ra’s al Ghul. Together with his equally dangerous daughter Talia, he oversees a trained army of assassins with plans for global domination. But an uprising from within the league now threatens to shift the balance of power and sends Talia and her young son, Damian, fleeing to Gotham City. With assassins on their trail, Talia seeks the protection of Batman, who, unbeknownst to him, is the boy’s father. With his son in tow, Batman wages war against the villain Deathstroke and the League of Shadows, all while teaching his headstrong boy that one can’t fight crime by becoming a criminal. With help from Gotham’s finest, including Commissioner Gordon and Nightwing, Batman will soon discover that his son and most trusted ally are one and the same!
Complete details on the direct-to-video Son of Batman animated feature can be found at the Son of Batman subsite here at The World’s Finest. Son of Batman airs Friday, October 10th, 2014 at 9:00pm (ET/PT) on Teletoon. Click on the links below to discuss both the new Son of Batman animated feature, its respective home video releases, and other related discussions.
Son of Batman is part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movie line from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, in co-production with Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment. Stay tuned for further updates here soon at The World’s Finest.
Cartoon Network has provided The World’s Finest with stills and a video clip from the new Teen Titans Go! episode “Vegetables,” airing Thursday, October 9th, 2014 at 6:00pm (ET/PT). The half-hour comedy/adventure series – which features two 15-minute episodes – airs Thursdays at 6:00pm (ET/PT) on Cartoon Network, with rebroadcasts airing at select times during the week. Teen Titans Go! follows the comedic adventures of the teenage superhero team as they deal with what happens between the major battles. The new Teen Titans Go! segment “Vegetables” will be paired with a broadcasting of a previously-aired episode.
View a clip from the new Teen Titans Go! episode in the video player below, followed underneath by a selection of still images.
Teen Titans Go!
“Vegetables” airs Thursday, October 9th, 2014 at 6:00pm (ET/PT) on Cartoon Network
Beast Boy’s healthiness persuades the other Titans into becoming vegetarians, but the converts take their new dietary restrictions a little too seriously.
Teen Titans Go! airs Thursdays at 6:00pm (ET/PT) on Cartoon Network, with rebroadcasts airing throughout the week. Stay tuned for further updates and more right here at The World’s Finest.
The World’s Finest caught up with writer Matthew K. Manning to discuss his latest project – the epic Batman: A Visual History tome – along with his thoughts on the classic DC Comics character and his storied past. Manning has a long history with DC Comics, particularly when it comes to the animated adventures of the World’s Greatest Superheroes, having written for some of the “animated” titles the last few years. And now, Manning is channeling all that history, along with his own love of the character and the mythos, into an epic hardcover release celebrating Batman’s 75th anniversary.
Batman: A Visual History – now available to own – is a massive hardcover collection which offers something new even for the most diehard of Batman fans, Manning promises. He dives further into the book, his past work, and his own personal influences, in the Q & A below…
The World’s Finest: First off – tell us about Batman: A Visual History Why is this massive tome worth adding to the bookshelf? And, secondly, why are you the perfect person to write it?
Matthew K. Manning: This particular Batman books is about as thorough as you can get. We start in 1939, and tell the character’s history from a real-world perspective month-by-month up until 2014. Not only do you get a bit of behind-the-scenes history here and there, but it’s essentially a complete summary of all the Dark Knight’s important adventures throughout his entire career. There’s not a book on the shelves that’s ever attempted quite this level of detail.
As for why I’m a good fit for this book, well, I mentioned on my website that I’ve been training for this book since the 5th grade, and I really wasn’t exaggerating. The Tim Burton Batman movie hit theaters back then, and it forever changed my life. I’d always liked Batman when he appeared on Super Friends and such, but I never really sought out the comics until that movie debuted. Since then, I’ve read over 10,000 Batman-related comics, and really enjoy every era of his history. I’ve also been lucky enough to write a dozen or so comics for DC about the Caped Crusader, and plenty of books on the subject. But none quite like this. I co-wrote a book called The Batman Vault for Running Press, but that was more of a general overview with great little pull-out “artifacts.” My book The Batman Files for Andrews/McMeel was a faux scrapbook/journal written by Batman himself about his entire history, told through the character’s voice. It dealt with his fictional timeline, rather than the real world one. So this book is unique in that it shows how the character’s history has changed and evolved with the times.
WF: You’ve commented this is the book you were born to write. Can you expand on that and tell us about how influential the character has been on you and why he’s a pivotal part of your life?
MM: Like most kids, I grew up a fan of superheroes. I was also fascinated with newspaper comic strips, and really wanted to write and draw them. Back then I started reading a few Marvel Comics, but didn’t get truly immersed into the superhero world until the ’89 Batman movie. It was a great time to be reading comics, with recent hits like Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns still on the shelves, and I was completely hooked. From there I branched out to the Outsiders and the Justice League, and eventually back to Marvel to see what Spider-Man had been up to. But really, those hours spent reading the likes of Denny O’Neil, Frank Miller, Grant Morrison and the like really influenced my worldview and my own personal morals.
WF: Why do you think Batman has remained so enduring all these years, and has been able to amass such a history? There are many other comic character who have been around for roughly the same time, but what makes Batman so…predominant among them?
MM: Firstly, I think kids can identify with Batman’s origin. They understand what that particular pain would be like. And both kids and adults are fascinated with the idea of a person literally being as good as he can be. It’s something we all wish we had the willpower to do, and like Batman, we want to be our personal best without the use of powers. Plus, there’s the simple fact that he looks cool. He’s fun to draw, so he attracts the best artists. And that makes for some great looking comic books, which in turn constantly attract readers.
WF: Can you walk us through your process for creating this book? The research, the writing, deciding what stays and what goes … how big of a project was this for you?
MM: Unlike past volumes of DK’s chronicle series, I attempted to write this one solo, so that meant a lot more work. The hardest part was the outline. It was a process of going through every single issue of my Batman collection, and flipping through hundreds of issues I haven’t read yet. There was an attempt to record the debut of every new Batmobile, Batwing/Batplane and costume, as well as every major and minor villain and supporting character. After the outline was finished, the rest was just reexamining those stories and trying to fit in all the important details in the limited space available. As it happened, a deadline change caused me to have to give up writing the 1960s and hand that chore over to the capable Matt Forbeck. I would have loved to handle that one as well, but I was content with just supplying the outline for it. All told, the book took at least a half a year to write.
WF: When some folks see these types of books, the “ultimate guides,” etc., they usually scoff at them because they assume they already know everything that’s going to be in the book. How is this book different? Why is this book a must-read for fans?
MM: I doubt there are many people that will know all the information in this book. It’s more than a summary of a handful of major story lines, and even I learned plenty in the course of writing it. This covers everything from the debut of Batmouse to an obscure future Batman of New York City from the old Hex title. There’s plenty of new info for diehard and casual fans alike.
WF: The animated adventures of Batman have played a huge role in the character’s popularity? Can you give us an idea of how you handle their importance and role in this month-to-month breakdown of major Batman events?
MM: Unfortunately, because of licensing issues, we weren’t really able to get into the movies or TV shows here. Those would require separate negations between DC and DK. While they shows and cartoons are mentioned here and there, this book remains mainly about the comic books themselves. Which is probably just as well. It’s already 350 pages as is…
WF: Now, you’ve been a part of the animated comic lore, having contributed to some of the popular DC “animated” comics. Care to run through some of your favorites with us?
MM: I absolutely love writing those types of titles, so it’s hard to pick my favorite. I really enjoyed my first issue of The Batman Strikes (# 10), the tie-in title to The Batman cartoon. We were able to tell the story through flashbacks in an interesting way, really adding to the mystery of the issue. Also, my final issue of Beware the Batman (# 6) was a lot of fun, as the entire story was told from Alfred’s point of view, like a first-person shooter video game. It was an interesting experiment that I think really worked thanks to the very fluid and lively work of the artist, Luciano Vecchio. And while not an animated comic, I was really happy with how my Calendar Man story ended up in Batman: 80-Page Giant 2010.
WF: You’ll be appearing at New York-Comic-Con, starting up later this week. Can you give us a rundown of your schedule and appearances?
MM: I’m signing this particular book at the DK table on Thursday (October 9th) from 5-6 and on Friday (October 10th) from 5-6 as well. I’ll also be at the Insight Editions table on Saturday (October 11th), signing The World According to Joker from 3-4.
WF: Before we wrap this up, can you tell us about your next related project – The World According to The Joker?
MM: Insight’s new “World According to” series are essentially small “advice” books written by the title character. They include lots of great paper pull-outs and the like, and have been extremely fun to write. My first book for them is out now, titled The World According to Wolverine. The World According to Joker is out on October 30th, but I think they might have advance copies of it at the New York show. It’s written entirely in the Joker’s voice (except for a guest spread by Harley and notes from Dr. Arkham), and gives you all the twisted advice you can every need. You can even spin the wheel of death, to decide which way you can kill Robin. I’ve also written two upcoming “journals” for Insight, which are essentially blank journal pads, with a short Batman and Joker story starting each one off.
WF: Now, to bring this to an end, can you give us one last reason to run out and pick up Batman: A Visual History, now available online and retail outlets everywhere?
MM: Without this book on your shelf, you may never read about the most Earth-shattering team-up between Batman and Superman in the history of comics: the day they went to a bar and drank milk. That story actually happened and was even penciled by the great David Mazzucchelli. But you have to read the book to find out when…
Special thanks to Matthew K. Manning for his participation in this Q & A!
The massive Batman: A Visual History hardcover book is now available at retail and digital outlets everywhere for $50US. Published by DK Books, the visually stunning, definitive guide by Manning arrives in a slipcase featuring specially commissioned artwork by DC Comics artist Jason Fabok plus two original prints. Check out the The World’s Finest review for this book here.
Stay tuned for further updates right here at The World’s Finest!
The highly-anticipated Batman: The Animated Series – Original Soundtrack From The Warner Bros. Television Series, Volume Three soundtrack CD title, released by La-La Land Records, is available to order starting today. Consumers will be able to order copies of the soundtrack through the official La-La Land Records website beginning today at 12pm (PT). Click here to order! The title will also be available through a host of specialty online retailers. The four-disc CD soundtrack release will feature the scores to such Batman: The Animated Series episodes as “Robin’s Reckoning,” “Eternal Youth,” “Day of the Samurai,” “Mudslide,” “The Underdwellers” and “The Clock King,” among many others. The following press details, including pricing information and more, are provided by La-La Land Records.
BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES: VOL. 3: LIMITED EDITION (4-CD SET)
MUSIC BY SHIRLEY WALKER, CARLOS RODRIGUEZ, PETER TOMASHEK, TODD HAYEN, HARVEY R. COHEN, MICHAEL MCCUISTION, LARS CLUTTERHAM, STUART BALCOMB, MARK KOVAL, LOLITA RITMANIS, RICHARD BRONSKILL, TAMARA KLINE, CARL JOHNSON, STEVE CHESNE AND JAMES STEMPLE
LLLCD 1322
LIMITED EDITION OF 3000 UNITS
RETAIL PRICE: $59.98
PRODUCED BY JOHN TAKIS AND NEIL S. BULK
MASTERED BY JAMES NELSON AT DIGITAL OUTLAND
LINER NOTES BY JOHN TAKIS
ART DIRECTION BY DAN GOLDWASSER
La-La Land Records, Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Animation and DC Comics travel back to Gotham City for a third time and unleash this massive 4-cd set of Batman: The Animated Series. Episodes like “Robin’s Reckoning, Eternal Youth, Day of the Samurai, Mudslide, The Underdwellers and The Clock King are just a few incredible scores that have been included in this third volume of music. John Takis’ liner notes continue where he left off on Vol 2, digging deeper into the heart and soul of this classic tv series with exclusive interviews of the various composers and how their timeless scores changed the face of television.
The first 200 people who purchase the score through the La-La Land Records website (www.lalalandrecords.com) will receive a signed front tray card autographed by composers Lolita Ritmanis, Michael McCuistion and Carlos Rodriguez at no extra charge. Quantities are limited. You are NOT guaranteed a signed copy. Orders are based on a first come, first served basis.
CD 1
Robin’s Reckoning, Part I (Carlos Rodriguez)
Robin’s Reckoning, Part II (Peter Tomashek)
P.O.V. (Shirley Walker)
The Clock King (Carlos Rodriguez)
Tyger, Tyger (Todd Hayen)
See No Evil (Shirley Walker)
CD 2
Cat Scratch Fever (Harvey R. Cohen)
The Forgotten (Shirley Walker)
Be a Clown (Michael McCuistion)
Dreams in Darkness (Todd Hayen)
The Underdwellers (Lars Clutterham & Stuart Balcomb)
Terror in the Sky (Shirley Walker)
CD 3
Night of the Ninja (Mark Koval)
Day of the Samurai (Carlos Rodriguez)
Prophecy of Doom (Shirley Walker)
Eternal Youth (Lolita Ritmanis)
What Is Reality? (Richard Bronskill)
Mudslide (Shirley Walker)
CD 4
I Am the Night (Michael McCuistion)
Heart of Steel, Part I (Richard Bronskill & Tamara Kline)
Heart of Steel, Part II (Carl Johnson)
Blind as a Bat (Steve Chesne & James Stemple)
Paging the Crime Doctor (Shirley Walker)
The Man Who Killed Batman (Shirley Walker)
The Batman: The Animated Series – Original Soundtrack From The Warner Bros. Television Series, Volume Three soundtrack four-disc CD release is available to order starting today. Beginning today at 12pm (PT), consumers will be able to order copies of the soundtrack through the official La-La Land Records website and a host of specialty online retailers. Click here to order! Stay tuned for additional updates on this title right here at The World’s Finest.
After waiting over two years, the latest Batman: The Animated Series soundtrack collection from La-La Land Records has arrived. Collecting an abundance of scores over a massive four-disc set, Batman: The Animated Series – Original Soundtrack from the Warner Bros. Television Series, Volume Three includes some of the most sought-after music in television history. After two incredible collections, La-La Land Records has dug into the vaults once more to pull out more amazing work by Shirley Walker and her amazing team of composers. Involved in the soundtrack’s production is John Takis, producer for many of an assortment of DC Comics animation-based soundtracks for the specialty label. The World’s Finest caught up with Takis to talk about the scope of this release and the legacy of this monumental music. Click on the image below to check out the interview.
Complete details on Batman: The Animated Series – Original Soundtrack from the Warner Bros. Television Series, Volume Three are available at the The World’s Finest Batman: The Animated Series subsite. To discuss this interview and the soundtrack release, click on the link below.
Batman: The Animated Series – Original Soundtrack from the Warner Bros. Television Series, Volume Three is a four-disc set with over five hours of music 24 full episode scores, including the two-part epic crossover “Robin’s Reckoning” and “The Clock King,” “Dreams in Darkness” and more. The soundtrack CD release from La-La Land Records will be available to order directly from La La Land Records starting Tuesday, October 7th, 2014. The soundtrack will be available through the label’s official website and a host of specialty online retailers. Stay tuned for additional updates and news, right here at The World’s Finest!