News & Notes

I fall behind on everything over Christmas, so I'm just now getting caught up. I'll have another Riddler poll up over the weekend, I hope, but here's some news since the last time I updated:

• There's a teaser trailer and a list of likely villains for the sequel to the Arkham Asylum videogame.


• After the upcoming Crisis on Two Earths, the next direct-to-DVD animated movie from DC is expected to be Batman: Under the Hood, possibly written by Judd Winnick


• Book of Eli directors the Hughes Brothers claim they were working on The Dark Knight Returns, and that it would have starred Clint Eastwood. Eastwoood would have been perfect, but I still haven't seen a Hughes Brothers movie since Menace II Society that did anything beyond look fancy.


• Comic book rumor site Bleeding Cool believes that 2010 will see the return of inter-company crossovers, specifically mentioning a Batman/Daredevil crossover by Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack.


• I wish I'd posted it before Christmas, but Neill Cameron did a series of pop culture-themed Santa Clauses, including a Frank Miller Batman Santa.


• Fan Art Exhibit, where the incredibly popular Kristen Bell/Harley Quinn poster originated, posted a series of character-based posters. Their Riddler is pictured above (I think based on Guy Pearce).


• Wired ranks the actors who played Batman best. Christian Bale is not #1.


• Topless Robot had a video featuring every (I think) "Holy ___!" by Robin in the 1960s TV series, and showed off the Bat-limo-bile


• Super Not So Super features superheroes (including Batman) at their most ordinary.


• Io9 pits Alfred Pennyworth against Iron Man/Avengers butler Jarvis in Iron Butler America. Spoiler alert: had Jarvis won, I doubt I'd have posted it, because that'd just be wrong.


• Many TV series have something called a writers bible, which lays out the rules of the show. Like how it will look, story structure, long term plot goals, and defining characters. The bible for Batman: The Animated Series leaked online, and Chris Sims at Comics Alliance has the highlights.