The Birds of Prey are definitely under attack, and by the looks of it, Batgirl doesn’t have much other choice than to surrender, in this wonderfully detailed piece of comic book art by the art team of Indonesian native Ardian Syaf and Spanish resident Vicente Cifuentes.
Comic Book Art: Batgirl by Eddy Barrows and Eber Ferreira Comic Book Art | Comic Books 31 MAY 2013
Plunging down the side of a tall building must be made ten times worse if you can still see who pushed you over in the first place, something made all the more real through this fantastically dramatic piece of Batgirl comic book art, courtesy of Brazilian art team Eddy Barrows and Eber Ferreira.
Adam Hughes: Batgirl #5 Cover (2012) Comic Book Art | Comic Books 01 DEC 2012
Following DC’s massive late 2011 New 52 line-up shake-up and relaunch, constant fan favorite Barbara Gordon found herself able to walk again, which of course meant flying high in the boots of Batgirl once more. Issue 5 of the relaunch was written by Gaile Simone and featured the interior art of Vicente Cifuentes.
From the press release: “Still reeling from the shocking return of a major figure with secrets from her past, Batgirl goes on the hunt for the terrifying killer Gretel, whose eerie and violent power over the men of Gotham City leaves no one safe – not even guest star Bruce Wayne!”
Veteran cover artist and a personal favorite of mine, Adam Hughes was roped in to provide the cover, and he came up with this doozy, featuring a bloodied gloved hand approaching an obviously hurting young Batgirl.
Review: The Batman | Season 5 (2007-2008) My Reviews 22 MAR 2012
The final 13 episodes of what truly is an enjoyable animated series featuring everyone’s favourite vigilante dressed up as a bat, season 5 departs in a big way from what has up until now been a very Batman-centred universe, and instead introduces a number of different heroes from the DC universe Justice League line-up, turning this outing into very much a “Brave and the Bold” season!
Of course this means character and world development is out of the window in favour of super-powered team-ups and big brawls, which is not really that much of a drawback when you consider just how awesome and action-packed these resulting episodes actually are!
Interestingly enough, all of a sudden mainstays of the previous three seasons, Commissioner Gordon and Batgirl get sidelined to cameo appearances, with the Bat line-up settling into a more traditional Batman and Robin setup for just about the whole run.
In terms of the heroes we get to see on screen, we start things off with Superman, before being followed by the likes of Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, The Flash and Hawkman, never mind the entire Justice League who show up for the final story arc! Of course, the injection of new heroes comes with new villains for Bruce to tackle, including the likes of Lex Luthor, Mercy Graves, Metallo, Count Vertigo, The Wrath, Shadow Thief, Sinestro, Mirror Master, and the Terrible Trio (who actually aren’t all that terrible after all).
As per usual, Jeff Matsuda’s unique character design influence comes across strongly in the animated visuals, leaving us with a simple but extremely pleasing to the eye visual adventure that is jam-packed with action, intrigue, and of course a laugh or two, courtesy of course from a stellar panel of writers which includes the likes of Alan Burnett, Stan Berkowitz and Alexx van Dyne.
Overall this is a great looking show with an excellent voice cast (though I still lament the loss of the first season’s theme music from U2’s The Edge), backed by enjoyable and action-packed stories that bring the five year long franchise to a satisfying conclusion.
A lot lighter in tone than season 1 (a trend that happened across the seasons), season 5 of The Batman will definitely entertain all the boys, plus their comic book enjoying dads! :)
(Not so sure about the girls though – wifey didn’t really enjoy the last couple of seasons of the show. Too silly for her she said…)
(Complete Viewing)
Related Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Batman_%28TV_series%29
Review: The Batman (Season 4) Animation | My Reviews 29 DEC 2011
After three very solid seasons before it, the hit animated television series featuring everyone’s favourite caped crusader is back, and this time around it brings even more to the table.
With the Teen Titans show finally having closed its curtains, finally we get Robin added into the mix, and the decision is made to bring in a very young Robin, far younger than Batgirl who was introduced last season. One can only assume that the decision around this was twofold, one to carry on from where Teen Titans left off and try and poach those fans into coming over to this show, or two, try and broaden the market of kids actually watching the series.
Anyway, the addition of the young daredevil Dick Grayson brings even more light hearted moments to the show, and the childish and fun interactions between Batgirl and Robin adds another enjoyable dimension to the series, following the same “pulling back a little from the overwhelming dark” pattern that was first established by the third season when the decision to add Barbara and use her a bit like a comedic foil was carried out.
Nevertheless, despite this very apparent lightening of the tone of the show as a whole, Batman continues his further descent into the darkness, visibly maturing as he becomes even more confident and assured in his abilities as a vigilante, as well as in his role of being team leader to his young recruits.
As with the other seasons of the series, this season packs in 13 very cleverly written and action packed stories, though it still doesn’t feature an overarching storyline and instead opts to go the villain of the week approach. However, this series does pack in some brilliantly executed and pretty heavy stories, making it one again a thoroughly engaging and enjoyable watch from start to finish.
There are a couple of new characters thrown into the mix, and as such Jeff Matsuda once again manages to come up with some fantastic character designs, the result of which is a fairly stylized but well animated television show that uses its simple line approach to its fullest and provides the view with some brilliantly choreographed and then executed fight sequences!
Once again the voice artist team is top notch with Rino Romano leading the way as Batman/Bruce Wayne, backed up by a great soundtrack and theme music.
In summary, The Batman season 4 contains some of the strongest stories yet (like Artifacts and Seconds for example), features excellent action sequences with loads of new gadgets as per usual, and successfully expands on what is already a winning franchise – with the added bonus of some more than normal quips and light heartedness to make for an all around enjoyable and engaging show.
In other words, there is simply no way that comic book fans won’t be able to enjoy this one! :)
Related Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Batman_%28TV_series%29
Review: The Batman (Season 3) Animation | My Reviews 30 NOV 2011
Absolutely fantastic animated television, keeping alive the awesome work laid out in seasons 1 and 2, and more importantly, bringing even more to the table with season 3. If you enjoyed the first two seasons of the Jeff Matsuda designed, action packed The Batman television series, then you can sit back happily in the knowledge that you’ll absolutely love season 3! (And even if you haven’t seen the first two seasons, you’ll still enjoy it, so no worries there either)
With season 3 we now have a Batman who has been at it a bit longer than the original season, meaning a more assured Batman, an even bigger arsenal of weapons, greater police trust and of course even bigger capers from his ever increasing Rogue Gallery, this time being padded with some new faces like Poison Ivy, Gearhead and Toymaker. (Of course, the regulars like Penguin and Joker are still thrown in there, so you don’t have to worry about that).
However, the element which elevates this season even higher than the first two is the introduction of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, the young, tenacious and more importantly, unwanted and unasked sidekick who slowly manages to worm her way into Batman’s crime fighting world, and in the process inject some light-heartedness into what was threatening to become a very dark show (even if it was known for including puns and one-liners before!).
(You might be wondering why Batgirl before Robin, but thanks to the legalities around him appearing in Teen Titans which was airing around the same time… well you get the picture.)
Although the series still doesn’t feature an overarching storyline structure and pretty much sticks to the villain a week format, at least it maintains its own continuity and events from previous episodes have consequences in the subsequent episodes. The writing remains as fresh as always, meaning capers which are bound to spring a surprise or two on you, and the action, adventure and witty banter are top class as per usual.
Jeff Matsuda continues to excite with his distinctive character designs which dictates the cartoony but very stylized look of the show, and the animation is fluid, colorful and well presented, even if it follows the model of simple is better.
And while the entire voice cast does a great job of bringing their respective characters alive, it must be mentioned that Rino Romano continues his excellent work as Batman/Bruce Wayne, and newcomer Danielle Judovits also does a fantastic job at capturing the tone of the youthful Barbara Gordon/Batgirl. In-episode music remains top notch and although the theme music we’ve enjoyed up until now in the form of The Edge’s Batman track has been replaced, the lighter 1960s-esque theme does a good job of announcing the slightly lighter tone of the new show.
Overall, it is very difficult not to like The Batman. The animation is unique and engaging despite its simple, cartoony lines, the action if phenomenal with some well written episodes, the antagonist characters are all appealing in their redesigns and rewrites, and the introduction of Batgirl opens up the franchise to even more viewers by making it a little more accessible to girls. Thoroughly enjoyable, entertaining and a definite recommendation to anyone who enjoys their animated television or just cape and cowl adventures in general!
Related Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Batman_%28TV_series%29#Season_3
Comic Book Art: Batgirl by Mahmud Asrar Comic Book Art | Comic Books 17 OCT 2011
Turkish comic book artist Mahmud Asrar (M.A.Asrar) first grabbed attention through his work on the independent anthology Digital Webbing Presents, before moving onto much bigger and better things in both the American and non-American comic book markets.
Primarily associated with Image comics thanks to his run on Dynamo 5 in America, Mahmud is also known for producing some wonderfully muted palette pieces, like this beautifully rendered Batgirl bit of artwork as a prime example of his skill.
Review: Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998) Animation | My Reviews 12 MAY 2011
A thoroughly enjoyable film, even if the main stars are more Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon than the Batman!
It tells the story of Mr. Freeze, who is now eking out an existence in the Artic alongside the cryogenically preserved body of his wife. An unfortunate encounter ruptures his wife’s preservation tank and so Mr. Freeze is forced to return to Gotham in a hurry, in order to try and save his wife’s life. The end result? The need for an emergency full organ transplant operation, a procedure which unfortunately will kill the donor.
The only problem is, his wife has a very rare blood type, one with very few matches, though it turns out that there is a potential close by – one Barbara Gordon… daughter of police commissioner Gordon and someone who is perhaps better known as Batgirl to Gotham’s many street thugs.
What follows is a action-packed kidnap chase from Dick Grayson (Robin), a desperate search to find Barbara before it’s too late, a final climatic battle between the plucky Batgirl and the emotionless Mr. Freeze and of course a thrilling escape from certain fiery death to end it all off!
A thoroughly engrossing and well written story that keeps you guessing for the most part, and at the same time features plenty of fisticuffs and action for those viewers more easily appeased, complemented by some great animation and visuals, all styled from the same book as the immensely popular Batman: The Animated Series television show.