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DC’s 1982 Character Style Guide is a Beautiful Treasure Trove of Comic Book Nostalgia

If you’re a fan of classic DC comics, then it’s probably the artwork of the ‘80s that is burned into your memory—more specifically it might be the art featured in the rare, never-released-for-sale 1982 style guide. While bits and pieces have made their way online in the past, we’ve never had a chance to see … Continued

io9Books & Comics

How Batman’s Butler Alfred Evolved from a Joke Character to a Total Badass

Bruce Wayne has always been a vigilante and billionaire. Since a vigilante needs a lot of help around the house and a billionaire has the money to buy that help, most Batman fans assume that Alfred was in the comics from the beginning. Maybe he wasn’t in that first issue back in 1939, but surely … Continued

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DC Comics’ New Formula For Success: Stop Shaking Things Up

It’s not been a good day for DC Comics. Earlier this morning, the company announced that it was down over $2 million in its total revenue and expenditure for the last financial year. It’s getting worse, though: DC’s reaction to the bad news is apparently to get editors to stop experimenting with its comic books. … Continued

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Supercut: All the People That Batman Has Killed Throughout His Movie Career

One of Batman’s most recognizable features beyond his costume, gadgets, and awesome cars is his first rule of crimefighting: No Killing. But as this supercut shows, the Dark Knight’s movie incarnations certainly don’t mind breaking that rule every once in a while. The excellent video from Youtuber Mr. Sunday Movies tallies up each time a … Continued

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The Young Joker Is Getting a Bit Heath Ledger-y in the First Gotham Season 2 Trailer

There are an absurd amount of villains being added to Gotham’s second season, most of which are featured in its first trailer above. But the real treat is seeing Cameron Monaghan’s return as Jerome, a.k.a. The Kid Who Will Probably Become the Joker, because he might be the character who actually saves this show. I … Continued

Tech NewsSploid

All the people that Batman has killed in movies

Batman’s not supposed to be killing people but when you’re a dark and reckless vigilante who is careless about explosions and has the emotional capacity of a Richie Rich gone wrong and is basically an insane person running the streets at night in black, it’s inevitable that you’ll punch out someone’s ticket. Here’s a collection … Continued

io9Books & Comics

Are Green Arrow and The Flash the New Batman and Superman?

Greetings, whippers of snappers! You guys sent in a bunch of (short) questions this week so I have a bunch of (long, rambling) answers! More of those, please! Meanwhile, let’s keep dissing Fantastic Four, discuss whether Hugh Jackman is trolling fans, and stop people who want to send movie studios free money. The Brave and … Continued

io9Television

RIP Yvonne Craig, TV’s First Batgirl

Yvonne Craig, who originated the role of Barbara Gordon in the 1960s Batman show, passed away Monday night at the age of 78. Craig’s family announced that she passed away due to breast cancer that had spread to her liver. She was in her home in Pacific Palisades, CA. In her long career, Craig appeared … Continued

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Important PSA: No, You Can’t Take Your Batarangs Through Airport Security

See? This is why Batman has to be Bruce Wayne, multi-billionaire. He has to be able to afford the Batplane because you lose all credibility once the TSA is patting down your utility belt. These four batarangs were seized by the TSA last week in Boise (yes, Boise. No, we don’t know what the Dark … Continued

io9Movies

Why Batman Shouldn’t Be the Center of the DC Movie Universe

No matter where he appears—comics, movies, television, Lego toys—Batman is a hit. Now, according to the latest reports from the production of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Warners executives were so wowed by Ben Affleck’s performance that they’re planning to build the DC cinematic universe around him, too. So what’s the problem? A lot … Continued

io9Books & Comics

11 Years After It Was Announced, Batman: Europa Is Coming This November

Hell, it’s about time. In 2004, DC announced Batman: Europa, a miniseries from Brian Azzarello, Matteo Casali, Jim Lee and Giuseppe Camuncoli. Europa promptly disappeared from solicitations, before briefly re-emerging in 2011, only to vanish once more. That is, until now: Europa is finally hitting shelves! The series, which was originally announced back in 2004, … Continued

io9Movies

Ben Affleck Might Be Directing A Batman Trilogy  

Warner Brothers recently held a well-received screening of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice for the crew and studio. Based on his performance as Batman/Bruce Wayne, it’s looking like Ben Affleck commitment to direct a stand-alone Batman film will be expanded to a trilogy. Den of Geek is reporting that the deal is in progress, … Continued

io9Books & Comics

See What Happens When The New Batman Catches Up With The Old Batman

A few months ago, Bruce Wayne died—and Jim Gordontook on the heavily armored Batman-mantle. But, this is comics: a magical, wonderful land where Death is more a temporary check-in at a fancy hotel than a permanent rest. As we’ve known for a while, Bruce Wayne is very much alive, but the kicker? He’s done being … Continued

io9Movies

The 50 Most Cringe-Worthy Moments In Comic-Book Movie History

There have been hundreds of movies based on comic books, going back to the earliest days of both media. And that cinematic flood has come with a certain amount of “holy crap, what was that” moments. Here are the 50 most shudder-inducing comic-book-movie moments… according to you. Check out our new video, created in honor … Continued

Tech News

Steampunk Batman Is An Internet Fever Dream Turned Into An Action Figure

“The kids love the Batman! They love the gears and the steams and the punkiness! They also love mashing things together!”—someone, somewhere at Square-Enix, before deciding to unleash this wonderfully insane action figure onto the general populace. Yes, the DC variant line from Play Arts Kai that has already given us Cowboy Batman and Giant … Continued

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10 Examples of Comics Art So Good, They Don’t Need Words to Tell a Story

Comics are a visual medium—but most comics still rely heavily on narration and dialogue. Once in a while, though, a series, a single issue, or even one great scene in a comic will forgo text, or keep it at a minimum, to tell a gorgeous story with just images. Here are 10 pieces of comic … Continued

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Gotham Adds More Villains, More Heroes, More Worries

As the official io9 reviewer of the first season of Gotham, I thought the show had an unfortunate tendency to merely trot out proto-Batman characters in lieu of decent storytelling and actual character development. Now that the show is adding an absurd amount of new characters for season 2, I don’t think this problem will … Continued

io9Books & Comics

The 10 Worst Parents in Superhero Comics

What makes a hero? Is it bravery? Sympathy for others? Uncompromising morals? Or is it just having really terrible parents? I’m not sure about the latter, but being raised by horrible people clearly doesn’t hurt. Here are 10 moms and dads that being a good guy clearly isn’t genetic. 1) Corsair, Cyclops and Havok’s Dad … Continued

Tech News

A Fun Peek at How the Worlds in Lego Dimensions Got All Mixed Up

Playing as Back to the Future’s Marty McFly while he battles Batman, or controlling Superman while he goes up against The Lord of the Ring’s Gandalf sounds pretty awesome. But how all those worlds and characters got so mixed up in Lego Dimensions is partly revealed in the game’s latest trailer. The trailer also gives … Continued

io9Books & Comics

Mark Hamill Will Voice the Joker One More Time for The Killing Joke Film

Mark Hamill will always be the Joker we want and deserve. This time, he’s back for an animated direct-to-video version of Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s The Killing Joke. To be honest, can anyone else really fill his shoes for that famous a story? At this point, Hamill’s career as the Joker is like a … Continued