The Joker takes over the Gotham underworld
I first mentioned the Batman: Black and White Motion Comic a couple weeks back and went on bit about how much I'm in love with ol' Bats and how we're getting married and planning our lives together. Hmmm, actually I may not have mentioned the whole marriage and lives together thing...until now.
Anyway, I finally got a chance to check out the first five episodes on iTunes and my initial reaction after watching all five is bring on more. Now.
Black and White is a motion comic developed by Warner Premiere, and is a direct translation of the Batman: Black and White comic book anthology from the 90's which featured superstar writers and artists, like Paul Dini, Alex Ross and Dave Gibbons. They've basically taken the art and added subtle and not so subtle animation here and there to mostly great affect.
My favorite episodes are "Good Evening, Midnight" (from episode four), which includes narration by Thomas Wayne (Batman's dad) and is juxtaposed with Batman's actions from that night. This episode makes me wonder if Blizzard was inspired by it to make the Wrath intro. Then there's "Two of a Kind" (from episode two) starring Two-Face in an interesting love triangle with twin sisters. Two-Face has always been one of my favorite Batman characters, and he's used brilliantly here. My favorite of all, though, was called "Case Study" (also from episode two) and focused on the Joker. It has a great back story and asked the question of whether he really is insane or not.
I have to put in the good word about the music here. Each story had its own score, and each does a great job at establishing the mood.
Each of the episode includes two stories and the episodes range from a little over 6 minutes to over 11. Unlike Watchmen, there are multiple voice actors used, including thankfully, real female actors. The voices are fitting for the most part, although Batman's voice did take some getting used to it as it sounded a bit too sinister at times. Also, I'm more a Kevin Conroy and Christian Bale man myself. It wasn't until another great episode, "Perpetual Mourning" (included with episode five) that the voice really started to grow on me.
Like I said, I can't wait for the next episodes. These are very well-done short pieces of entertainment. Perhaps a little too short, however. Some episodes are as short as 6 minutes, and although they include at least two stories, $0.99 may not be worth it for such a small morsel. Doing the math however, $0.99 per six minutes works out to be about the cost of a $20, two-hour DVD.
If you're a Batman fan, get them. All of them. Now. If you're just curious, I'd say the second episode is worth trying and if you like that, you'll at least like the others.
(Credit:
Warner Premiere)
Ever since I picked up an old, 1970s Batman comic when I was 12 years old, Batman has been my favorite comic book character.
While my first love was Wolverine, it was harder to relate to someone who could heal from any wound, and had an unbreakable skeleton and foot-long claws that could cut through anything. Even though Bruce Wayne was a rich boy, he had a childhood wrought with tragedy, and there is just something immediately endearing about a superhero with no powers who simply trained himself to be the best.
Since then I've been a fan of all things Batman. That is, when it's done well, i.e. The Dark Knight, and not offensively, i.e. Batman and Robin. Batman: Black and White was Batman done well. Originally published in 1996, it was a four-issue miniseries collection of short, black-and-white Batman stories written and drawn by some of comics greats like Paul Dini, Alex Ross, and Dave Gibbons.
On Tuesday, Warner Premiere announced the debut of its latest motion comic, Batman: Black and White. Warner Premiere is the same company responsible for the Watchmen motion comic that I've covered here and here. Motion comics basically take the original comic and add sound effects, music, and voice, as well as animation to a certain extent. So far, the results with Watchmen have been impressive.
... Read more
(Credit:
Pioneer)
Pioneer's HDTVs get high marks from Crave's resident TV expert David Katzmaier, so we're not sure why it would want to mess with such a good thing. But it seems that every electronics and computer maker must have a limited edition these days, so it must just be following the pack.
The most notable aspect of Pioneer's special offering, which is headed for the U.K. market, is the color of its frame: white. Other than that, the TV seems to have the same specs as its standard 50-inch plasma, with 1080p resolution and a lighting system called "Intelligent Brightness Control," according to Pocket-lint.
What's curious, though, is the name of this version of its successful "Kuro" line. Kuro means black in Japanese, which makes perfect sense because that's the ultimate goal for the best contrast. But because the new TV is white, it's called "Shiro Kuro"--which literally translates to "White Black." And when you're talking about state-of-the-art television, the last thing that comes to mind is a black-and-white TV.
As the skies have darkened, we at Crave understand the need to bring in some light whenever possible. So we offer you the option of viewing us with a white background (yes, with black type).
To get it, just click on the small white box marked "page options" at the top right of any page. To switch back, click the black box in the same place.
In addition to helping stave off seasonal affective disorder, you might find the lighter version easier to read too.
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