Ack! No new Justice League Unlimited last night! But I did finally see, thanks to the Netflix, Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, the latest installment in the Batman: The Animated Series feature-length (well, 75 minutes, anyway) films. The animation was nice and clear, if not very smooth…near the beginning, the character of Kathy Duquesne is shown with a hip-wiggling walk that’s supposed to be sexy, but looks more like her legs are out of joint. Plus, there are some scenes where the action sequences look more like you’re watching a flip-book. And is every road in Gotham City elevated? Otherwise, the actual “mystery” of the Batwoman is played out nicely, with a twist that I half-suspected at the beginning, didn’t think they’d do, then was surprised when they did it anyway. The villains of the piece (the Penguin, Rupert Thorne, and an arrival later in the film) don’t exactly inspire a lot of interest, though I suppose they can’t draw from the Joker well every time. And it was nice to hear David Odgen Stiers as the Penguin.
One of the bonus features is the much-praised short “Chase Me,” which focuses on what Bruce Wayne would rather be doing instead of being trapped at some socialite gathering: chasing Catwoman through the streets of Gotham. The gimmick is that there is no dialogue or sound effects…the only soundtrack is a musical accompaniment, which is quite effective. You can see some screen grabs from the short here.
Overall — heck, worth a rental.
In other news:
- H at The Comic Treadmill has posted a theory on who he believes may be the killer in Identity Crisis…and makes a convincing argument. More convincing than Nightwing, for goodness’ sake. Plus, upon rereading…I don’t see anything that would really contradict this guess…and the killer standing in the shadows on page 14 does bear a passing resemblance to the character in question, given that he does appear to be drawn as being a little heavier-set now.)
Also, Comic Treadmill has put up a new poll asking who you think is the mystery killer in Identity Crisis. One option is we members of the Associated Comics And Pop Culture Webloggers of Ventura County California And Outlying Environs (which is, as always, ACAPCWOVCCAOE for short)…so of course, that’s the one I voted for, and far be it for me to perhaps suggest that others do the same, if you know what’s good for you. I mean, at least get us more votes than Yoko Ono!
- Speaking of Identity Crisis and the ACAPCWOVCCAOE, pal Dorian shows up Meltzer (and Marz, for that matter) for the pikers they are.
