I found this amazing pumpkin carver’s work in the web, he does amazing works of art and this time he did a wonderful CLOWN PRINCE OF CRIME. Just look at this masterpiece and a fast paced summary of the artist’s work. The master-carver is ANDY BERGHOLTZ.
I didn’t know THIS could be done with a pumpkin…..
And here is the time-elapsed video of the creation:
And another time elapsed video of the creation process…
The LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT digital comics keep surprising fans with the development of interesting and twisted plots. Though some of the art in the series has not impressed me, the writing on the other hand has been capable of keeping me hooked in the series for twenty issues (when my average is just about ten issues before I call it quits if I don’t like it). The new story arc starts with issue #19 and involves a violent reaction from Maxie Zeus inspired by a mysterious voice only he seems to see. As it appears, Maximillian has been part of a new brand of therapy that might have lead to this deadly reaction, and he’s not the only one…
LODK: ISSUE #19
Joker seems to be hearing the very same voices and you would not believe what they seem to tell him to do… I don’t know what to make of it, after all it is quite a serious and permanent turn on the character, but we will have to wait till next week to find out. I hope this does not become a trend in comics too…
SPOILERS BELOW, WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK…SPOILERS BELOW, WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK…
LODK ISSUE #20
It’s been close to a week since they showed the trailer at NYCC and now it is available to share with the world. It was about time DC….
This is the second part of the animated adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel of the same title and promises to keep the same grade of quality that the first one , keeping the essence of the original Miller story and art. This time with an added bonus, Joker plays a mayor part in the story and Jokerholics will rejoice to see what Mr. Michael Emerson has done with the character (I know since more was shown at NYCC, trust me on this one guys). Here is the trailer for your enjoyment.
(Originally presented at NEWARAMA report HERE)
The guys at CBR have a nifty sneak peek at the upcoming CATWOMAN #13 (a prelude to the Joker story arc in the Bat-titles), an issue that helps set the gears in motion for Joker’s confrontation with the Feline Femme Fatale. Without giving much away of the preview, I like the way the mystery is woven at the beginning. A memory that ‘was taken away from Selina”? Really? What secret does Joker know about Selina to force her to her knees and surely out of the Batfamily??
I guess we’ll just have to read the whole issue that goes for sale this WEDNESDAY (October 17) at your local comic book shop. Please click on the picture below to be taken to the preview at CBR.
I was going to tell my on impression of the panel, but found a much more detailed recollection of the events that transpired in the panel. Here is CBR repor which is basically a transcript of the panel. My insights are indicated in bulleted items in italics:
In the last day of the Comic Book Convention in New York DC brings the creative teams of most of his Batman titles for a summary of where it is heading with the Joker return and the future of the titles.
At the New York Comic Con DC Comics: Batman — Death Comes To Gotham panel the writers and artists behind the Batman family of titles at DC Comics gathered to speak to fans about the books and the Joker “Death Of The Family” storyline begun with “Batman” issue #13.
As scores of fans bearing Batman and Court Of The Owls masks poured into the crowded convention hall, Moderator and DC Entertainment SVP of Marketing John Cunningham began the panel by introducing the panelists: artist David Finch (“Batman: The Dark Knight”), writer Kyle Higgins (“Nightwing”), writer Gregg Hurwitz (“Batman: The Dark Knight”), writer Grant Morrison (“Batman, Incorporated”), writer Scott Snyder (“Batman”), artist Greg Capullo (“Batman”), colorist FCO Plascencia (“Batman”), inker Jon Glapion (“Batman”), writer Peter Tomasi (“Batman & Robin”) and writer James Tynion IV (“Talon”).
“Don’t kill Nightwing!” fans from the audience yelled at Higgins as the panelists sat down.
“Why does Nightwing have to be Dick?” Higgins countered as the audience laughed and gasped.
Snyder then showed the image for “Batman” issue #16 where Joker grinned at the audience, festooned with costume parts from Robin, Batgirl and all the other Bat allies. Snyder said Joker believes that he truly is Batman’s jester and it’s his job to challenge Batman because “He believes if Batman survives them he comes out stronger, he’s a better king,” Snyder said.
“A year ago he allowed his face to be cut off…and he also has a secret on Batman that’s going to come out later on,” Snyder said adding, “Joker [says to the Bat allies], ‘You don’t deserve him….I’m going to show you how he loves us more than you and he wishes you dead, and then we’re going to make you dead.’”
- Joker wants to involve all the other Bat-foes, because he sees them as he sees himself, serving society by securing the strength of the Batman. It is the foes duty to make sure the king is strong and so be the best Bat-king he could be
- In Joker’s mind: “My doings will make him [Batman] stronger”
- Joker is convinced that the Batman has gone astray and the presence of the Batman family is a mistake that has made the Bat-King weak, and sees the need to eliminate the whole family so this ‘wrong’ could be righted and his king could regain his strength and be the Bat King he deserves and his city deserves
Capullo then admitted he read the internet buzz over the comic and asked the audience if they thought “Batman” lived up to the hype, smiling as the audience screamed back in unison, “Hell yes!”
“He’s so nice…but behind that mask, he’s got this deep, dark black well that’s a very frightening place — I’m afraid of the guy!” Capullo joked about Snyder as the audience laughed.
“I’ll call him about what the Joker should do…and he’s like, ‘Hold on, I’m at a soccer practice. I’ll be right there, kids! So he’ll cut off his own face,’” Higgins said as the crowd laughed again.
Cunningham then brought up “Batman Incorporated” writer Grant Morrison and artist Chris Burnham as the audience cheered.
Talking about “Talon” Tynion told the audience he didn’t want to spoil too much about the storyline but promised, “new characters, brand new corners of Gotha’s history to explore,” Tynion said.
The audience gasped as Higgins brought up an image of “Nightwing” wearing the Joker’s makeup and grinning like the Joker under his mask. “I was walking on the show floor and people are building the sticks from the Gotham City game…the fact there are things people are making from a character I’m working on is awesome,” Higgins said.
“I don’t want to get into what the Joker perceives about Nightwing’s [fears]…but it ties into and dovetails into everything we’ve been doing for the first year and a half now, with Dick’s nest in Gotham,” Higgins added.
Batman group editor Mike Marts took to the podium and asked the audience if there was any better group of creators at the con, to which the audience screamed in unison, “Hell no!” He then showed cover images for “Batgirl,” “Red Hood” and “Teen Titans,” all also looking like Joker.
Tomasi showed the image for “Batman and Robin” #16 where Joker-faced Damian and Batman fight each other. “It’s been great to explore this cool character Grant created and take him to some hard places emotionally,” Tomasi said of his book.Tomasi also told the audience there was a “kick-ass” cover by Andy Kubert coming out soon for the “Batman and Robin” annual.
Marts labeled the “Catwoman” Joker tie-in as, “Lots of fun,” adding that seeing Ann Nocenti’s Catwoman take on the Joker.
- Catwoman has always dancing between good and evil, and now she will dance the real prince of evil and this will affect her deeply.
- In the JLA panel was revealed that Catwoman will be part of the newly developed JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA along with Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, and other new and old characters.
An image for “Batman Incorporated” issue #7 came up on the screen and Morrison told the audience, “We’re not part of ‘Death Of The Family’ but we do have family and there will be death!”
Labeling the issue as the wrap-up of everything he’d been working on and that issue #5 would revisit the future Damian world. “There’s things I’ve never done with Batman before that I’m doing in this storyline,” Morrison added.
“Batman: The Dark Knight” issue #15 was the next image teased showing Scarecrow and Batman. “This story just gets bigger and darker and enormously grand in this huge scope,” Hurwitz said. Marts showed an image of new “Dark Knight” artist Ethan Van Scriver’s beginning of Batman showing Batman climbing out of the Mad Hatter’s hat.
“The one guy I wanted more than anybody else was Ethan,” Hurwitz said, adding, “I called and…the first thing he said was, ‘Hey I’ve been looking into you all morning because I heard Finch is leaving the title!’”
Fans then rushed to the floor microphone as Cunningham opened the floor to audience questions and Marts told the first fan questioner that there were no plans to involve Huntress in the “Death” storyline.
“Harley has a really big story in Suicide Squad with Joker,” Snyder told the next Harley Quinn fan, adding that readers will see more of the Red Hood gang after the Joker story, before launching into the next arc that may involve the Riddler.
A Scottish fan asked what Morrison thought of Snyder’s work and vice versa.
“Grant’s probably the greatest influence on me as a writer…his fearlessness, issue to issue and to take these visionary ideas…seeing that play out is something that, even though our writing is different, challenges me,” Snyder said.
“Scott Snyder who?” Morrison joked as the audience laughed. He then told the audience more seriously, “Having to keep up with him is great, it’s inspiring me to do better work…this is the best time to be a Batman comic fan, and a Batman movie fan.”
A fan who Morrison advised to try magic out four years ago told him, “It worked!” He then asked if what the Bat group was working on would actually change things forever.
“Yes, it will,” Snyder assured the fan, explaining that the Joker idea organically arose from the writers. “It’s not like there’s one big death and that’s it…each book is changed because the Joker challenges the characters in each one of those books…and that will have massive ramifications,” Snyder added.
Higgins told a “Nightwing” fans that there was no Titans cameos coming up but Dick had adventures with some of the old Teen Titans. The audience then cheered and whistled as the fan pleaded for a Tim Drake solo book.
The next audience member to the microphone wanted to know if there were plans for Bat Cow. “We’re taking Bat Cow on the darkest journey he’s ever been on,” Morrison joked.
“I just called Bat Cow him, but he’s a lady!” he added as the audience laughed.
Snyder stated that in his mind the Batman continuity stood, but he didn’t want to trip up fans with trying to talk about every single detail of the past decades. “We’re moving forward with him as a character who has a rich history,” Snyder added.
To a fan who labeled himself a Damian fan Morrison asked the audience, “Do you remember when people hated Damian?”
“It’s a likeable hate!” Tomasi said as the audience laughed.
The panelists stated what they loved about Batman, all of them citing the fact that he has no superpowers — he’s a man yet has to tackle “his inner demons” to fight for good.The next audience member told the panelists he loved how each one had such a distinct tone.
“No one’s ever mistaken me for Grant Morrison,” Higgens joked.
“Who wants to watch me shave Kyle Higgins?” Morrison asked as the audience laughed.
A man dressed as Starro ended the panel by asking what Joker though what Batman’s mission was and why he wanted to make them stronger. “Joker sees himself and the villans as Batman’s real family and having the family is forsaking his family…he doesn’t see it as Batman as serving his mission, he sees it as being abandoned,” Synder said, closing the afternoon’s panel.
ADITIONAL COVERS
(The panel is reprinted from CBR transcritp posted HERE today)
First things first:
After a short visit to the Artist’s Alley for some autographs and visual self gratification (like I bought some nice art at the alley…) and a few panels on writing for comics (Yes, I STILL want to write for comics someday…never too old for dreaming) I had my happy run through the Exhibition Floor and grabbed the newest Joker wonders to hit the market this year and the next. Can’t wait to set my hands in some of these cuties…
1. From the Toy Masters at Mattel, there is more Joker coming out next year with action figures:
ATTACK IN THE BOX JOKER
MINI MALLET SMASHER JOKER
2. Kotobukiya Craftmanship to release a series of figures based on iconic moments of the clown’s comic history:
DARK KNIGHT RETURNS ARTFX STATUE:
THE JOKER: KILLING JOKE SMILE ARTFX STATUE
HARLEY QUINN BISHOUJO STATUE
3. Kai Play Arts to release a TDK version of the Clown:
DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY PLAY ARTS THE JOKER FIGURE
4. DC DIRECT releases Joker and Harley Quinn figures
DC DIRECT JOKER BUST
DC DIRECT AMI-COMIC HARLEY QUINN VERSION 2
ARKHAM CITY HARLEY QUINN STATUE
5. HEROCLIX figures available in sets
6. HALLMARK TDK JOKER FIGURE
Literally Jokerholics.
If you want something really bad, you have to be swift, and sneaky…at the same time be VERY patient.
First it started for me early. Even though today all main attractions (and mostly I am talking about the exhibit show) started at 3 pm, I was there at 11 and the line was already building up. It was fun to talk to other fans, but it was even more fun to see what boredom and anxiety makes some fans do. Let’s just say we had a lot of fun in the waiting line. Everyvody was a real trooper, and made the wait tolerable.
THE DOORS OPENED AT 2:45 and it’s a run to the booths for the so desirable collectibles. My first stop was at the DC booth to get my copies of the NYCC Exclusive Batman 13 Die Cut cover. While I just needed a few copies, for friends and family…I saw people buying hundreds of copies, literally. For a moment I was concerned about the stock of covers, but DC was prepared for the contingency. Also got my wristband to have Scott Snyder sign my copies in the evening…
Then ran to the ZAPP booth to get my second target: A NYCC Bearbrick TDKR Joker figure. Along with him, I found a NYCC exclusive Funko Pop! Marvel Wolverine Bobble-head brown costume that was just too cute to ignore.
With some time to spare, ran through some booths that I know always have some good stuff…and had to take some home:
1. Some nice Joker and Harley Quinn magnets:
2. A super cute LEGO Super Heroes Loki keychain:
3. Two art prints of Joker and Harley (post pics tomorrow since the prints are too large to use my scancam app with it…)
4. Set of two Joseph Campbell sketcbooks signed:
It was past midnight and could not help myself. Even when I have a few copies of BATMAN #13 reserved and waiting for me at home in Fla. I had to read it so I bought a digital copy and OMG!!!
You have to start reading this Joker story arc. I was a little concerned with the characterization after all the radical changes they have made to Joker since his reboot, but after reading BATMAN #13 I guess I can put my fears aside because Joker seems to be in good hands with Snyder and Capullo.
This is definitely no pre-52 Joker but is not a Ledger Joker remake either (thank God for that). Like Snyder had promised, this Clown is all Joker at the core but reinvented with a nightmarish twist and so far I am pleased with wha I’ve read in this first issue.
1. It is a normal day in GCPD until a “Forget Me Not” delivery truck arrives with a very special package…
Truth be told. Joker’s wa arrival to GCPD was quite theatrical. From theirony in the name on the truck to the whole set up, it is all just a big performance for the Clown. He enters GCPD and delivers his own brand of mayhem and death leaving corpses behind and torturing Gordon along the way. This Joker is much more personal as he asks “How is Barbara?” and teases Gordon with a hide and seek game.
2. Everything returns to the begining.
And when I say the beginning, I mean the 1940’s beginning, as Joker announces he’s going to take down the mayor in a scene that reminds readers a lot of Ledger’s “Are You the Batman” video scene from TDK. The Joker has spoken, but that does not mean he has to follow the same old script he did so many years ago. This Joker is improvising, renewing his act andthis time it is not the Mayor, but the Mayor’s protective escort who get snuffed. Batman is left in the fog, as he himself realizedhis was not what he has expected. The Clown has become really unpredictable.
3. Harley as the Red Hood…just delightful.
She’s wearing the clothing, but she’s not the heart. It is the Joker’s voice all through the re-enactment at the ACE Chemical company. Joker is bringing everything back to the beginning and Harley serves as messenger that things are now very different as she stated…”this is not my Mr. J” anymore. This scene makes much more sense after reading the backstory which is Joker’s reunion with Harley…and the new chemistry that comes between them. Now if this is not Joker….where the hell is the Clown?
4. The ending… totally AWESOME!
Joker makes a visit to the Wayne Manor and finds Alfred Pennyworth an unwilling victim. Makes you wonder if Joker DOES INDEED know Batman’s identity or he’s simply selecting random victims he knows are somewhat related to the Batman…
5. The backstory…literally terrifying.
Forget the Harley-Joker chemistry of the BTAS, this is just humilliating and taunting. Joker plays with Harley in every level possible, beating on her emotionally and mentally…all this without a single punch or push. Joker reminds Harley HE MADE HER to his image, and that there was no emotion or physical attraction in the process of creation. Joker is totally detached from any emotion as he focuses on Harley as part of a plan, much like a wheel is part of a car. I am sorry for those of you who were expecting a…more romantic reunion, but I think this Joker is more attoned to his reality within the comics. I am not saying they should not be together…is just that this Joker has become much more than one can really handle, even Harley.
I personally think that Snyder and Capullo have been able to bring forth the best of all posible worlds (comicverse, Nolanverse, Arkham City, maybe even more) and mix it in a pot to reinvent a Joker that respond to his surrounding world with such a violence that I don’t know if even Batman knows what he has in his hands. And it promises to get even more personal.
It is really early to say if this story arc is going to be successful or not since many Joker stories started with so good intentions only to disappoing on the execution and conclusion, but while speaking with Mr. Snyder briefly during a signing today, he promised that there is much more to come. That Joker’s revenge has just started and that the Clown’s mind was a “strange and dark place to be”. From previous interviews and what I have just read in this issue, I think he does have a grasp of the Joker’s psyche, and this might just be one of the most interesting exploration of the most iconic villain of all times, and this might change Batman deeply as he is unable to keep Joker far, but instead…like a cobra, the clown keeps hissing and attacking at the Achilles’s tendon of his enemy.
I am willing to follow Snyder and Capullo on this journey so far.
Can’t wait to read what happens in the next chapter….oh, and don’t forget the tie-ins! Let’s see where all this takes us.
Ryan K Lindsay had the great honor of reading BATMAN #13 and shared his insight with the crew at CBR this week. His assertive comments makes my anxious self calm down a little, maybe this will not be a flop, but the beginning of a new chapter in Joker characterization and writing.
WARNING!! SPOILERS AHEAD!! WARNING!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!
“Batman” #13 kicks off “Death of the Family” as Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo introduce their take on the Joker. After a year’s absence from the DCU, the Clown Prince of Crime returns to bring his deadly humor to Gotham and the Bat family. Joker is the obvious choice for a Bat villain and most “Batman” creative teams take a shot at the character. With this weight behind them, Snyder and Capullo manage to craft an intensely horrifying and delightfully creative set up for an amazing Joker story.
The issue opens with a worried Jim Gordon, whose fears come to gruesome life when the Joker suddenly appears in Gotham City Police Department as the lights go out. Snyder’s densely structured action makes readers feel the palpable tension and violence of the moment. Pages run up to twelve panels to slow down each beat of the Joker’s maniacal plan within the darkness around Commissioner Gordon. Snyder emphasizes that while the Joker’s presence is one of brutal violence, the true underlying terror comes from knowing the psychological manner in which he destroys his victims. It’s a shiver-worthy moment when the Joker reveals how close he is to his marks.
Snyder offers a familiar and comfortable, yet completely new, take on the Joker and keeps the brutality on a high stakes level. The scene of the Joker on television re-enacting his first threat to Gotham is delivered in a terribly dastardly way — a testament to Snyder’s handle on the character’s voice.
Over the past year, Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion have demonstrated their profiency in the world of Batman. Snyder’s story allows them to depict an even darker edge of Gotham and they bring the horror. Brilliantly, the art doesn’t try to revel in the goriness of the danger, but rather the underlying visceral horror of the mind. Capullo and Glapion give a peek at how the art team renders the standard Joker in an early panel, which makes the shocking reveal at the end all the more frightening.
The back up co-written by Snyder and James Tynion IV with Jock on art is superb. It’s difficult to compare a six-page tale to the 20-page main feature because each is structured to do something different. The bulk of this issue starts an arc and sets all the pieces in motion. The co-feature is like a deleted scene presented for more character background. It’s set between the raindrops of the main title, which means the reader knows what is going to play out, but the story is more about how it all takes place. “Tease” is about the Joker bringing Harley Quinn into his plan with a pace and razor edge tension that creates an example of a perfect back up. It adds more to the main tale while not being overtly necessary. This is a perfect vignette in every single way.
“Batman” #13 is the sort of introduction every story deserves. The Joker is dramatically presented and reintroduced across multiple scenes. Snyder and Capullo deliver some excellent sequences of terror that cut to the quick of the Joker as a real threat. Apart from a few slower pages, this issue zings along with threats and terrible moments of sheer glee at a villain being the worst. The Joker is out to kill the whole Bat family — and this issue makes it feel like he might be able to pull it off.
Man….I can’t wait to read this issue now!!
(Orignal aticle appeard in CBR HERE. Pictures courtesy of Comicvine)
Another great review from Newsarama’s own David Pepose adds to the anticipation of the release of BATMAN #13 tomorrow. Check this one out…David gives it a 10 out of 10!!! I am intrigued indeed:
Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s first arc was to bring back the Bat — to show that he was the top dog, the biggest badass of the DC Universe. By the end of “Night of the Owls,” that mission was handily accomplished. And now, for their second epic on Batman, Snyder and Capullo are upping the ante even further.
You can almost hear the sick chuckle. The Joker has returned to Gotham City — and like any good showman, his entrance is pitch-perfect.
While I enjoyed Scott Snyder’s plotting and pacing during “Night of the Owls,” there was always a part of me that felt that it was Greg Capullo that really made that story, that it was a hit more because of the stellar art rather than just the writing.
Well, Scott Snyder is making me eat my words right now — his Joker is downright terrifying, a monster in the shadows that very much evokes Heath Ledger’s guttural anarchist from The Dark Knight. “Stop me if you’ve heard this one before!” Snyder’s Joker is a shark, a force of nature that by his very gravity pulls in the rest of the Batman family in his wake. For better or for worse, he is a member of Bruce Wayne’s nearest and dearest — in Snyder’s hands, the Joker gives everyone else context.
And that’s just the exposition. There’s plenty of suspense and action to this book, with Snyder and Greg Capullo really knocking it out of the park. I love the strobe effect Capullo works in as the Joker begins picking off victims in a darkened room. Capullo’s edgy lines also really bring up the heightened tension as Batman shouts his frustrations — and his fears — into the darkness. There is one moment near the end where the storytelling does take a hiccup, but a second reading will only heighten the danger Batman finds himself in.
Since the New 52, Batman has been blessed with an indomitable winning streak, thanks to Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. But it’s even more exciting that this issue is their best one yet. The Clown Prince of Crime might be at his most murderous, but make no mistake — he’s going to put a smile on your face.
(Review originally appeared HERE)
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