17 Minutes of Gameplay from ‘Batman: Arkham Origins’

Batman: Arkham Origins releases in just four days, and to get you warmed up for its release, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has released an extensive gameplay clip. The video- which showcases The Dark Knight gliding around Gotham City, beating up thugs, using some of his classic gadgets, and even traversing the Bat Cave- should set the minds of any doubters still left at ease.

Clearly, Warner Bros. Interactive was able to build on what Rocksteady perfected, and you can see that for yourself in the video below.

Perhaps the most exciting new aspect shown in this gameplay trailer is the Bat Cave, which will allow you to upgrade your gear throughout the game, and serve as the in-game hub for challenge maps, among other things. What I'm most looking forward to, though, is what is being teased at the end of the video; we see a young Barbara defending Batman to her father, who, along with the rest of the police force, isn't quite ready to trust Bats just yet. We all know how this ends up, but it should be a treat to see this play out. The only issue I noticed in this video was Batman's cape, which, while usually incredibly realistic, was sort of phasing right through him and things around him.

Be sure to put in your pre-orders so that you can get the Black Mask Challenge Maps, and, if you have an iOS device, you can check out the Batman: Arkham Origins mobile game to unlock exclusive content for the console version.

[ComingSoon]

NEWZ FM 98 RADIO Series of Funny Foreign TV Commercials Featuring Batman!

Here's a few really short, but extremely clever, Foreign TV commercials for NEWZ FM 98, a Morning News Radio Show. I forget the name of the country that they are from but I'm guessing Brazil or Peru! They all feature Batman in some humorous way & are pretty good quality!

Looking For The NEW 1:18 Scale Hot Wheels 1966 Batmobile Car? CLICK THIS LINK!

FREE JOKER INTERNATIONAL POSTER The Dark Knight Movie

If you buy the current issue of TOTAL FILM magazine it has a Giant-Size "FREE" Poster of Heath Ledger's JOKER from THE DARK KNIGHT International Movie Poster. It's folded into 8 sections but pops open to measure about 23" X 32", that's pretty HUGE!! This is a magazine published in the UK but you can find it at better bookstores in the USA. The cost is around $6.00. Greedy "Scalpers" have been selling these on eBay for $20+. That was, until people found out they could get them in this magazine...those bastards!

Funny BATMAN BATMOBILE Humor Photos, Ha Ha!

I swear that I am NOT sucking-up when I say that I really love my readers, for real! They send some really great stuff in to me & to be honest it's my favorite part of doing this blog. There's nothing better than getting cool source material just mailed to you, it's like a gift or something, ha ha! Here's 2 examples: The 1st photo is one sent in by Jeff, from California, he said he saw this car at a shopping mall & had to get a photo. The guy had a custom airbrush art graphic of Batman on the hood of his car ( we also like the gull-wing doors, ha ha ). The next picture is one found on the internet by our friend Mary who said it was from a major fan page for the Miata Car. She told us about how he had a ton of funny pictures, featuring the Miata of course, that had been photoshopped & when she saw this one she knew she had to send it to us! Thanks for sending these in guys, they're great! We wanna invite ALL of our Bat-Blog readers to keep sending us cool bat-stuff. We love it!

Video: FIRST LOOK At BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT Anime Animated Movie

Remember, you saw it here first! This is the 1st look at the soon-to-be-released BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT Anime Batman Film by Warner Bros. For people living under a rock & have not heard of this DC UNIVERSE Animated Movie it will come out as a DVD just before the DARK KNIGHT Motion Picture is released in Summer 2008. It's gonna feature state-of-the-art animation done by some of the most major Japanese Anime artists & directors. The story will bridge the gap between the 2 Batman movies: Batman Begins & The Dark Knight. New information, featured in this video, will be that the villians in the story will be Deadshot, Scarecrow, & Killer Croc...kick ass!

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER Movie DVD Desktop Wallpapers

On February 26th, 2008 Warner Brothers will be releasing the much anticipated DC Universe Animated Movie titled JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER on Blu-Ray Hi Def & DVD. So, here's some really cool Desktop Wallpapers you can use as a background on your computer to remember to buy it...it's gonna be great! Also, Please help support the Bat-Blog by buying it here:

NEW 2008 Batman CORGI BATMOBILES and STATUES

OK, I'm not quite sure what the deal is here but at last year's 2007 TOY FAIR Corgi was showing off their new line of Batman 1:43 Scale Batmobile & Bat-Vehicles that came with a special statue & they're not being released until now. Well, they were worth the wait! Here are the 1st six sets of Corgi Cars with the Statue Figures. We have Golden Age Batman with Red Roadster, Joker with the Jokermobile, Killer Moth, Two-Face, & 2 more Batman figures: a 1960's version & a modern-day one...sweet! Now, I'm really loving these figures/statues. I mean, when was the last time you saw Killermoth? Ha Ha! Be sure to click on the image above for a larger, more detailed, photo! Also, Please comment on your thoughts about these sweet new figures.

Batman The Animated Series Costume Model Sheet

While surfing the net the other day I came across this very interesting graphic somebody made that showed the evolution of the bat-costume from modern-day Batman TV cartoons. It starts with the Animated Series from 1992 & goes to present day with the new THE BATMAN version. I like that BATMAN BEYOND was also included, nice! I forgot to bookmark the page & now wish I knew so I could direct people there. If anyone knows please leave a comment, thanks.

New Batman Toy News: THE DARK KNIGHT ACTION FIGURES Batman & Joker

OK, We finally get to see what the Joker "Dark Knight movie" Action Figure's face looks like! Not bad, it does resemble Heath Ledger a little bit, that's cool. I'm wondering why one Joker is very realistic while the other one is sort of "cartoony". I'm sorry, these Joker pictures were sent to me without any explanation except that they are made by Mattel. The next set of photos are some different variations of Batman figures from Hyper Force. Now, I know my personal opinion isn't worth that much & I shouldn't really say this but I hate when action figure companies just "make stuff up"...I mean, "Aqua-Lung Batman with Atomic Sonar"...really? come on! But I gotta admit that the 2nd one on the top/right is kinda cool with the jet-pack & the black/red coloring.

New Batman Toy: HARLEY QUINN Lego Figure

Just a quick post to let Batman Lego Fans know that in the next wave of Batman Play Sets they're gonna make a special Harley Quinn figure & vehicle play set. Isn't she cute?! I like her HUGE mallet & she comes with a gun too. She will get a Bank Truck Van & Batman will have a Bat-Cycle...cool! Plus, the reports I've been reading is that Lego is gonna keep the characters & playsets all "Comic Book Batman" related & will not be doing any that tie into the Dark Knight movie. That's cool. I like the "regular Batman" the best anyway & don't worry, there will be tons of TDK merchandise to buy, believe me, ha ha!



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New 2008 BATMAN & CATWOMAN Barbie Dolls from Mattel!

It's really exciting to be a Batman Collector right now! There are a ton of new bat-toys coming out this year so you better start saving your money now, ha ha! It's been extremely stressful the last few months because there has been a HUGE drought of Batman merchandise in the stores. Well, look for that to change very soon! One new toy that's gonna be super-popular with Batman collectors, because they're so gosh darn cute, is the BATMAN & CATWOMAN set of Barbie Dolls by Mattel. These are the 2 "Barbie Family" members named "Tommy & Kelly", who are precious little children. For readers who don't know, my name is Tommy, so I should be expecting a lot of major teasing in the future, ha ha! But, I can already tell that I am gonna have to get these 2 dolls because they are soooo adorable, goo goo!

BAT-MANGA: The Secret History of Batman in Japan!

This September 2008, Pantheon Books will release a brand new book titled "BAT-MANGA: The Secret History of Batman in Japan". Compiled by book designer and comics connoisseur Chip Kidd, along with fellow collector Saul Ferris and photographer Geoff Spear, Bat Manga! presents a collection of original Japanese Batman stories written and drawn by Jiro Kuwata, the artist of 8-Man. Now, the amazing thing is that both DC & the Japanese company have never had file copies of this material & it had to be gathered by collectors hunting down the original magazines. So, in other words, this material has not been seen or read in over 30 years, a RARE treat! Chip Kidd is pretty well known among us Bat-Nerds ( I mean that in a good way, ha ha ) for putting together a super-great Batman vintage toy collector book a few years ago titled "Batman Collected". Which, is an incredible book! He's also known as an extremely famous book designer ( he created the Jurassic Park Dinosaur logo & many other very famous book covers ) so all his stuff is very high-quality. The photos up above show the hardback cover ( left ) & paperback version ( right ). Oh my God, I can't wait!!

Batman + Fine Art = Cool!

Our friend Brian sent us this extremely cool Black & White Art Photo that shows Batman waking up & getting out of bed. Apparently, he lives in a super-minimalist house ...Awesome!

The next picture was one that I found from an art gallery that had a show of "Blotter Acid Art". Blotter Art is a movement that gained popularity a few years ago where they print designs on a perforated-sheet of actual LSD Acid Blotter Paper. They look kinda neat when framed & have sort of a political statement automatically attached because of the "drug culture" aspect of the paper. For non-druggies this is the kind of paper drug dealers use to sell LSD. They drip the chemical onto each square & when addicts buy them they tear off some squares. If you don't want a full dose you just tear a piece in half, or a "half hit". Of course these Batman ones don't have the drug dipped on them. They're just for looks.

DVD REVIEW: Justice League, The New Frontier

OK, I want to say, 1st thing, that I received a free copy of this DVD for review but that in NO way affects my opinion here. I'm gonna be very honest about what I feel about this movie. This movie is AWESOME! Justice League, The New Frontier is Warner Brothers' latest DVD film that is being released to stores today, Feb 26th! It's the adaptation of Darwyn Cooke's popular graphic novel from a few years ago. He was an adviser on the film so it totally retains the look & feel of his famous artwork. The graphic style is sort of an homage to the animation art that was popular in the 1950's. Very simple & minimal with strong color palettes. The art direction of this film is beautiful. The sound effects & voice acting are top notch! There are too many great actors to name here but the voices were all wonderful. The storyline starts out in the Korean War & ends when John F. Kennedy is president so it's almost all about the Cold War era. The DC Comic Book characters are the ones from the Silver-Age of comics so that has a great nostalgic appeal. There's a few political statements here & there but they're kinda watered down ( The general public thinks The Flash might be a Communist because his costume is RED, ha ha ). The basic story is how the Justice League got together & formed a team. There's a huge event that places the earth in danger & they all get together to fight it. Overall I really enjoyed this movie & highly recommend it. My only gripe is that at 75 minutes it seemed a little short. Other than that small detail the artwork, sound e/fx, voices, storyline, is really very good. I guess if I was to rate it by number I would give it a 7 or 8 out of 10. If you liked the graphic novel then you'll love this animated version!

2 FREE BATMAN WALLPAPERS Every Wednesday!

A couple of days ago a friend of the Bat-Blog, named Perry, sent us some really wonderful photos. I posted one of them the other day of a dog named Cassius who's wearing a Batman Costume, ha ha! Well, here are the other 2 photos he sent. They were so BIG & at the time I needed a neat-o "graphic idea" for "Wacky Wallpapers Wednesday" so I decided to make them desktop wallpaper. I mean, the photos are very well-done & extremely cool. Plus, being that they are Batmobiles they are "Batman-related" so that works for me! Anyway, here are 2 Batman Desktop Wallpapers you can use to beautify the background of your PC...enjoy. Oh yeah, Thank You Perry for sending these wonderful photos, I really appreciate that & know my readers will like them too.

Vintage Comic Book Ad: Here It Is... BATMAN # 1!

Can you imagine being a little kid in the early 1940's & seeing this ad in your favorite magazine? Like, "Who are these Batman and Robin guys?!" Yeah, we need a time machine, ha ha!

MATT POTT, A Commercial Artist Inspired by Batman!

People know that I love art so a friend at MySpace told me about this commercial artist named Matt Pott. He has a very cool online portfolio & you can tell from a few pictures he did that he's a HUGE fan of Batman, ha ha! Here's a few examples right here: Batgirl & Catwoman. He has a pretty cool style, very cartoony with a 50's retro feel about it. Here's a link if you're interested in seeing more, enjoy.

BATMAN, ROBIN, & BATWOMAN Bootleg Movie Ads From The Philippines!

The other day I came across a really cool website with a weird twist. It features many vintage newspaper ads for bootleg films & exploitation movies that were made in the Philippines. One is titled BATMAN VERSES DRACULA & the other one is BATWOMAN AND ROBIN. It's a shame but these movies are lost in time with no known copies to exist. Oh man, these would be really great to watch. Too bad they're lost forever. The site is called Video48 & has a lot of wacky Pinoy film history. Here's a link to check it out.

GOTHAM KNIGHT New Images From The BATMAN ANIME DVD!

There's been a lot of excitement about the new animated project from Warner Bros where they will release a special DVD movie just before the release of THE DARK KNIGHT Feature Film. It's called GOTHAM KNIGHT & the story takes place between BATMAN BEGINS & THE DARK KNIGHT movies so I guess it sort of like a prequel. We have talked about here a lot ( check the Bat-Archives ). Anyway, here's some amazing scenes from the anime-style animated film & they look awesome!! I can't wait to see an actual movie trailer for this, it's gonna be great.