Concept Art: Claw Island and Gotham Skyline

I still haven't gotten around to scanning all the Style Guide yet but here's two of the best pieces from it - two gorgeous paintings of Claw Island and the Gotham City skyline. Enjoy!

Batman Forever Merchandise Review – Question Bazooka Riddler figure from Kenner

This week we're looking at another Riddler figure - the Question Mark Bazooka Riddler figure. A cheeky little paint variant from Kenner. Basically they took the first wave Riddler figure and swapped the black and green colour around. Even more cheeky, they took the Question Mark Bazooka from their own animated series Riddler figure and used that as the accessory. Despite all this shifty designing, I still think it's a cool looking figure. The reversed back and green look great - kind of like it's Nygma's stealth suit for when he wants to sneak around in the shadows like Batman!

External link: The Bat Minute Podcast

If you're a fan of Batman Forever AND a fan of podcasts I hope you're aware that there's a something out there that combines both your interests!

Yes, it's called The Bat Minute - a podcast that covers each Batman movie one minute at a time.

The podcast is hosted by Jon Parker and Niall MacGowan who are joined by a series of guests. Each episode is around 45 minutes and is a fantastic balance of insightful analysis and warm humour.

One thing that's particularly nice is that it's not one long love-in. The guests range from fans who love the movie to people who have never seen to people who hate it. This really helps keep the podcast fresh.

I have to say I was only recently made aware of Jon and Niall's herculean effort. You see this podcast has already covered over 240 episodes - covering the first two Burton movies - and is currently around the 70 minute mark of Batman Forever.

Anyway, I highly recommend checking it out. They are releasing 3 episodes a week. If you can catch up, go for it, but the podcast is so accessible it's easy to jump right it on their current episode.

Here's the link:- http://thebatminute.com/

Batman Forever Merchandise Review – Fireguard Batman figure from Kenner

Hey remember that cool bit when Batman chases Two-Face and his goons into the sewers and Two-Face shoots a gun that causes a gas pipe to explode. And Batman has to cover himself in his cape and press a button on his belt to shield him?

This is sort of the figure that represents that. It's Batman in a bright red costume with a plastic mask that goes over his head. He's also got a shield and gun(?). I don't know, this is a kind of okay figure from Kenner. Not their best but not their worst either. Somewhere in the middle.

Magazine Article: Mean Machines issue 35

Another gaming magazine from 1995 that took a look at the lacklustre Genesis (Mega Drive) and SNES video game and a little bit at the end about the movie too.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review – Soft Toy Batman Plush from Hasbro

This week we're looking at a soft toy plush that was made by Hasbro. It's sort of weird in that the body is soft but the head is sharp and pointy. Like they couldn't decide which age group of kid to make it for. Anyway, it's... a pretty non-essential purchase. Two things I didn't realise at the time.

1) They not only made a Robin figure to accompany this but they made them in two different sizes (the one in the video is the smaller size). Annoyingly I picked up the Robin on eBay and got the larger size. So I now have a tiny Batman and GIANT Robin. Urgh.

2) They made a Justice League animated series plush using the exact same mold. They just made the highlights on the body bright white and removed the black around the eyes. Weird!

A look at the changes to the Batman Forever comic adaptation

This week we're going to look at the differences in the comic adaptation of Batman Forever. I used to love this (and the other adaptations) as a kid. Adapted by Dennis O'Neill, it's a pretty straight forward adaptation but there's a couple of deleted segments and alternate versions of scenes that allow it to move as a faster pace so let's take a quick look.

First off we see the deleted introduction at Arkham Asylum with Dr Burton finding out that Two-Face has escaped. Three things to note - firstly yes that is the opening to Akiva Goldsman's script. O'Neill used the same kind of idea in the adaptation of Batman and Robin which has the comic start with Joel Schumacher yelling "Action!"

Secondly, without any muffled cries from the guard and the red lettering on "The Bat Must Die" I think the implication is that Two-Face killed the guard here.

Thirdly, O'Neill is adapting the original cut of the film which had Bruce meet Nygma at Wayner Enterprises before being called into action as Batman to stop Two-Face's bank heist.

Next up is an alternate version of the Two-Face ambush. Instead of Two-Face pushing a pram and using a rocket launcher, he just chases Batman in his armoured van and instead of the Batmobile driving up the wall (note, this was Joel's idea supposedly and a last minute addition to the filming schedule), it just drives off a bridge.

Next up is a brief interlude with Riddler, Two-Face, Sugar and Spice all holing up at Nygmatech headquarters taking hits on Riddler's box receiver like it's a joint! This is bizarre but kind of fun. Particularly interesting to note they name drop Jim Morrison - a role Val Kilmer played four years earlier in Oliver Stone's The Doors.

Next is a little shot that got deleted from the film (there's stills out there so it was definitely shot). After Chase says that Batman will save her, the Riddler says "I'm counting on it" and then injects her with a giant syringe. I guess this was cut because it makes his kidnap darker and more disturbing.

Lastly, is the deleted original ending with Batman standing on a rooftop (a sort of reprise of the ending to the 1989 movie) only to be joined by Robin. I've got to say this would be cool to see. They definitely shot the blue screen element of this (see my deleted scenes post). But I don't think they finished the effects.

And there you have it. That's all the major differences. If you haven't read the comic adaptation check it out, it's lots of fun. The 1989 adaptation with artwork by Jerry Ordway is fantastic too.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review – Batboat Model from Eaglemoss

This week we're reviewing the Batboat model from Eaglemoss. If you haven't already check out my review of Eaglemoss' Batmobile on my youtube channel.

Eaglemoss are a company that makes small figures and packages them with fun, interesting magazines. Here in the UK they are sold in newsagents or via the internet. I think they've stopped doing this Bat vehicle line but it was fun while it lasted. They covered just about every movie, cartoon and comic Bat vehicle. Okay well maybe not every one but they did the Bat Train - that's how deep they dug.

I'd definitely recommend picking up this Batboat if you liked and enjoyed their Batmobile. The magazine is a fun addition and the lenticular backdrops and plastic case mean it looks great on your desk, shelf, or wherever you keep your Bat merchandise. Most of mine is currently in my attic. I need to fix that.

Concept Art: Storyboards part 2

A while back I posted a few storyboards that were used in the Making of Batman Forever book by Michael Singer.

I've now found a few more - these were taken from a recording of a 15 minute HBO special behind the scenes segment that someone recorded off TV. As such they are quite low quality. Still I hope you get a kick out of seeing them and can guess where they were all from.

Once again, if anyone knows where I can get my hands on more. Let me know.