John Gushue . . . Dot Dot Dot

If cats ran the universe ..

... the trailer for Dark Knight Rises would go like this. (Notice that Bane has a purr (!) and that Catwoman is, um, a dog.) 

 

Robin raises a sensitive issue with Batman about Christmas

I love the Batman and Robin Comic Generator, and have used it in the past; I nicked this one from my friend Andrew's Facebook feed this morning. 

Would you see this movie?

I would. 

And I saw the original, too, and I do not remember it fondly. 

The alternative poster for Batman Returns was spotted here. 

There's a Robin among those Angry Birds

... and a bat, too. This is today's T-shirt design from RIPT.

Scream in Gotham

Seen through Tumblr via Sinapses.    

A reminder: Batman got his start in Detective Comics

This made me cowl. I mean, howl. As seen here.

Redundant

No need to do bat eyes, Batman. As seen here.

Batman helps Robin with his homework

"The Bat," from Bearskinrug. Brilliant.

 

The Beemer goes Batman

At the Geneva Motor Show today, BMW unveiled this forward-looking concept design, which looks kind of like what I would think Batman might like to drive. (Or just Bruce Wayne, perhaps.)

And that's only the exterior. Get a load of what would be on the inside:

Instead of traditional instruments and warning lights, the BMW of the future will display key information in a three dimensional head-up display in the direct sight line of the driver, eliminating the need for his eyes to re-focus on dials inside the cabin.

Check out more in the Telegraph.

Batman handles a bomb

This scene from the uber-campy 1966 Batman movie always makes me laugh:

 

Batman through history

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne is the latest rebooting of the bat-franchise ... this time, evidently, with a time-shifting story arc. (Um ... okay.) Above is a six-panel collection which shows Batman moving through time; click on the image to get a better look. If you look closely, you can see the bat logo in there. The series launches next month.

In the meantime, here's a closer look at the first cover.

Batman and Robin fight about the Fortis proposal

Just learned about the Batman and Robin Comic Generator. I put in a topic of some debate here in St. John's, about a proposal to build an office tower at a key location in the downtown.

You, too, can be Batman

Depending, of course. Click here for a Chris Brown item that aired on The National this week, on a theory about how anyone ... with hard work and dedication ... can become a crimefighter.

Holy crimefighting cake, Batman!

We use a merit-demerit point system in the house, to keep the eight-year-old boy moving in the right direction. If he does something well (especially without prompts), he earns a point; naughty behaviour takes a point away. It's worked well, with the kid earning points for a variety of things. His current objective: A Lego Batman game. By coincidence, I came across the above - which, believe it or not, is a cake made to celebrate the game's recent launch.

The Dark Knight is not for kiddies

The other day, I took my son to a matinee of Journey to the Centre of the Earth. (He liked it; I had a chuckle, mainly over the 3D stuntiness of it all.) At the popcorn stand, I was surprised to see a mom with a small boy of about three or four, loading up with snacks tied into the Batman promotion. And yup, into the Dark Knight they went.

I hadn't seen The Dark Knight by that point, but I had already been steered clear by parental warnings ... including one direct note from my friend Mike, who said, "Do NOT take Nicholas to it." I saw the movie, on my own, later on, and have to agree.

The Dark Knight is rated PG, and while it has almost no gore, it's pretty intense. It's a very well-crafted film, and it makes terrific, explosive use of tension, but it's way too much for my eight-year-old ... even though he's seen the preceding film, Batman Begins, on DVD. (Indeed, the film makes some very adult observations about using fear to manipulate people, but that's another kettle of fish.)

I'm not surprised parents would think the film might be appropriate: the stores are filled with child-targeting toys, products and spinoffs. But Christopher Nolan's film is aimed very much at adults, teenagers and mature children.

The choice is up to parents, but I'd stick to the more kid-friendly versions of the Batman story for younger kids.

A card for unsure Batman fans

As seen on someecards.com, the e-cards for "when you care enough to hit send," this example seems appropriate for some movie fans this summer.

Batman gets in a sing-song mood

A detail of an image on Dial B for Blog, for a piece that connects the darker movie Batman with the, well, sunnier TV version's theme music. 

A T-shirt that's damn interesting

I like the Damn Interesting website, which appeals to the curious. Here's the T-shirt to match, with a Batman-style (well, kind of) logo in the centre.

As seen here. Click on the tag below to see other T-shirts rounded up here.

Defying gravity in Gotham

What, you thought Adam West et al. on Batman risked life and limb to climb skyscrapers? Wicked.

Batmobile lore

Anyone who's paid more than a passing glance to Batman comic books, TV shows and movies knows that the Batmobile has had more than passing upgrade or two over the years. (The above is the first one ever, by the way.) The History of the Batmobile site has a comprehensive survey, although its organization could stand some tidying up.

Daily Dot: Meet Batman

On May 27, 1939, the 27th issue of Detective Comics was published, introducing Batman. The legend has held pretty tight ever since. I liked that in Batman Begins, the production design kept a retro feel while retelling Bruce Wayne's Gotham story.

Holy bootprint, Batman!

It's a little bit difficult to pick out, but the art on this hoodie says "Batman kicked my ass," with the batlogo firmly where, say, Penguin's posterior oughta be. Here's the logo, which came out of a stencil:

I normally go just for T-shirts on this blog, but the photo of the T-shirt on the site of Blade Diary, the vendor is, well, not as good as the one for the hoodie. More of my virtual T-shirt collection can be seen here.

Holy trip down memory lane, Batman!

[Surf's Up, as published in the St. John's Telegram on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2006, and posted here rather late. Click here to read more columns.]

Like millions of kids (mostly boys, I would wager), I was hooked on comic books when I was growing up. Spare change would go to my fix of Detective Comics, Spider-Man, Superman and dozens of other titles I tried to keep up with. I know I ought to have been reading more serious stuff - "Put those funnies away," my Nana would say with a wagging finger - but I never regretted hanging out with the superheroes.

I lost that chunk of my memories in 2001, a side effect of the flooding that Tropical Storm Gabrielle brought to our home. My wife and I had to throw out hundreds of books in all, and I hated having to trash them, but nothing beat the loss of the comic books for the sheer sentimental impact.

Great Comic Book Database
The Great Comic Book Database is dazzling, especially for those who've ever plunked down a dime or quarter for a copy of X-Men or Archie. (Dime? Quarter? If those prices strike you as reasonable for a comic book, you should get a load out of prices these days. My son makes a beeline for the comics stand these days, and I'm amazed - improvements in printing quality notwithstanding - what the going rates are now.)

For collectors, this database must be a hallowed resource: it aims to catalogue every issue of every comic, each listing detailed with credits information. I'm not in the collectors' league at all, but I have whiled away an odd hour here and there just browsing around and recalling the comics I once held in my hand. A time trip, indeed.

The Comics Review
Forget DC and Marvel: the Comics Review gives comic fans a heavy - and heady - dose of what's happening with independent comics right here and now. (Although it certainly keeps up with the X-Men, et al., too.) There's news, there's opinion, there's gossip, and there's sneak peeks galore of upcoming works to keep comic geeks well supplied.

Comic Geek Speak
Just how geeked-out is this podcast? Almost every episode runs at least 75 minutes, and often as long as two hours. I sample this podcast from time to time, although I'll cop to not having a clue what the hosts are actually talking about. Fans who cop to being just a teensy bit obsessive will likely be able to keep up, and outright fans will likely be uttering commentary out loud as the show plays itself out.

Elsewhere this week

Canadian Illustrated News
In the Victorian era - and on this side of the Atlantic - Canadian Illustrated News was a hallmark of journalism, and an innovator, too. Published in Montreal over a 14-year period, Canadian Illustrated News made a specialty out of taking what was then a revolutionary technology (photography) and adapting it for mass consumption. On this federally sponsored site, you can browse through scores of images from the magazine. The reproductions are pretty good, although I would have preferred that enlarged versions were indeed significantly larger; you can tell from even a casual glance that many of them could offer details far beyond what's available. You can also take a look at all of the content of the first and final issues of the magazine.

Canadiana Crossword
Wordsmiths can get a coffee-break fix with this online crossword puzzle, which emphasizes Canadian terms (place names, in particular, from my sampling). A handy feature for those who get interrupted by other things - work, for instance, or family duties - is that you can save your game and return to it later.

Number Logic
Knocking off a quick game of Sudoku is a pastime for millions, and naturally the game can be played easily on the web. I have to confess that I like playing the game traditionally - i.e., with a pencil and a newspaper - but it's fun to play online, too. Number Logic is one of your web-based options, and one of the nicer games sites, period, with its elegant design. Number Logic is also testing a feature where you can match your wits against another player, although no one else showed up while I played it recently. Registration is required to play any of the games, but it only takes a moment.

John Gushue is a news writer for CBC.ca in St. John's. Site suggestions always welcome at surf at thetelegram.com.

Batmania

Sure, this is the summer of Superman, but Batman will be back soon enough. A fan site worth keeping an eye on is Batman On Film.

Batman redux: bogus DVD subtitles

Chris Myrick has an entertaining post about what's missing (and what's included) in a bootleg DVD of Batman Begins that he picked up in Shanghai. What's included: three scenes that got the scissor treatment from Chinese censors for the theatrical version (admission of which cost about 10 times as much as the DVD). What's missing: a whole reel, Myrick thinks.

But, what's really missing is the dialogue - at least the real dialogue, as presented in the subtitles. (A warning: language on the fake subtitles is a bit strong.)