Batman’s new suit

Finally the new Batman costume is revealed. While the one designed for Batman Begins was quite good, it still shared the problems of every Batman costume since the Adam West cloth ensemble… bad mobility. This is a big no-no given that our hero spends at least 50% of his time Boffing and POWing enemies on screen.

Finally someone addressed this and it looks like the new suit will allow Bale to truly fight on the streets of Gotham.

Here’s a glimpse of Michael Keaton in his first costume (notice the oddly redesigned bat insignia on his chest) with Batman creator Bob Kane. I don’t mean to take anything from the 1989 movie as it set a new standard for super hero flicks, but the thing is basically a gigantic heavy rubber boot.  A landmark, yes, but it also cemented in place an obsession with rubber that has been married to comic book movies ever since.

Keaton must stink to high heavens of petroleum products and body odor and you can see how his face is just pushed through the opening. If this is supposed to scare criminals, why isn’t Meg Ryan a vigilante?

If you look at poor Michael Keaton in Batman Returns you’ll see that not much progress had been made from the previous model. Designed by Anton Furst, it is a beautiful costume, yet it looks like torture on the human body. His field of vision and lack of physical movement turns the Red Triangle Circus fight into an unplanned slapstick routine.

Val Kimer (who?) was at least a more dashing figure than Keaton in the stinkburger film, Batman Forever. A much more sculpted design lead to absolutely no mobility at all, aside from my own… out of the theater.

The costume is less body armor and more erotic male night thief. With a sculpted texture that begs the straightest of men to run his fingers lovingly over Val Kilmer’s cartoon contours, there ain’t much time for fighting.

Doesn’t George Clooney look fab as he tries to hide his shame in Batman & Robin?

In Batman & Robin the nipples introduced in the previous Shumacher film had taken center stage and became as much a part of Batman’s logo as the bat symbol itself.

Finally, Adam West’s Batman costume from the 60’s TV Show. This suit could really mooove, be it fighting crooks or doing the batusi.

I doubt there will be any dancing in the next Batman film, The Dark Knight, but then I look at Spider-Man 3… so who can ever be sure?

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Obi Wan buys a car

Jon Culshaw of the UK TV show Dead Ringers does a dead-on Tom Baker, I had no idea he could do an Obi Wan Kenobi as well!

Finally! R2 D2 Speakers!

My buddy Scott is kicking himself right now that this did not make it to his wedding registry.
Item Star Wars R2-D2 Speakers
Banpresto
Update: June 13, 2007
Taito shapes audio speakers into the likeness of R2-D2 and adds another “must have” product for the uber fan who has everything remotely related to the Star Wars franchise. The R2-D2 speaker measures 12cm or 4.72″ tall and connects to a laptop computer or MP3 player by way of standard 3.5 mm stereo plug. The preorder solicitation doesn’t mention if a USB cable can be used to draw power from a laptop but we’ll update this information once we receive the speakers and test them. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late December 2007 at US$20 per speaker.

Please purchase “2″ if you want a matching pair.

So you like Fantastic Four, or think you do?

There’s a new Fantastic Four movie coming out tomorrow, which leads to one of a few possibilities:

1. You haven’t read the comic in years and are all geared up to jump back in, what to do?
2. You’ve never read the comic and are curious about what the hooplah is.
3. You have this blockbuster movie bonfire to hist and have no idea what to bring.

I can help you.

A series that started in the 60’s on the back of monster comics by Kirby, Ditko and Ayers, the Fantastic Four is an odd mixture of a family sitcom, fisticuffs, super heroics and mind-bending sci-fi. In the olden days you’d have to actually go to a comic book store for back issues or steal them from some nerdy kid who bagged and boarded them all.

No more.

In the current age of consumerism, we have this invention called the trade paperback. In a trade (as the kids call em) you can find either a series of consecutive issues or handpicked comics that fit a common theme.

Here are my Fantastic Four reading suggestions for you, the comic fan, you the uninitiated and you the fascist book burner.

1. Essential Fantastic Four #1- Obvious choice, sure, but if you have to get one book, this is the one. A great read by Stan and Jack as they stumble along the path of greatness creating a mythology of heroes and villains. In this collection you’ll find the first 20 odd issues of the series including the introduction of Doctor Doom, the infamous time travel/Blue Beard story, the introduction of the Skrulls and other fan faves as Marvel’s first family gallantly marches into fame.

2. Fantastic Four: 1, 2, 3, 4 – Grant Morrison and Jae Lee teamed up to produce one of the most inspired pieces on the Fantastic Four with this one. With everything from the sexual tension between Sue and Namor, Ben Grimm’s extreme desire to regain his humanity and Reed Richards almost complete alienation from everyone, this is a series worthy of your book shelf.

3. Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules – Independent comic book fans got taken by surprise by this one. James Strum (The Golem’s Mighty Swing ) and Guy Davis (The Marquis, Sandman Mystery Theater) collaborated on a very odd tale that sits the comic book fantasy next to the twisted and socially awkward Fantastic Four in a story that was so amazing that I feared it might be terrible. To me, that’s always the sign of a great work of art.

4. Maximum FF – Stan and Jack’s issues are analyzed one panel at a time by mystery novelist Walter Mosley. With the panels blown up to the size of an entire page, the experience is completely altered. If nothing else, the oddest FF bok ever produced (unless you count the Marvel Fitness Book).

5. Marvel Knights FF : The Wolf At The Door - While at first I doubted this series which promised a more sophisticated and adult look at the FF, it turneed out to be an incredible series. Steve McNiven (of Civil War fame) and writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa team up to give you the FF like you’ve never seen them before (and let me tell you, THAT is something!).

The team loses their fortune almost overnight and must find jobs and a new place to live. This was a throw-away idea that Stan and Jack used in an old FF issue way back and this series improves on the concept. Perhaps the most touching tale is Reed Richards‘ first day at an office where he finds he cannot get into the building because of a suicide jumper. Reed stretches up and has long talk with the distraught man that belongs in the old ‘Best of Marvel’ books that used to come out.

Oh, and Steve draws the sexiest Sue.

6. Fantastic Four Vol. 1- by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo arrived in 2002 to revitalize the ailing title and boy did they achieve their goal! A thrilling and exciting series that returns the characters to their rightful place as a dysfunctional family fighting alien menaces, this collection is a neat coffee table book and Wieringo’s art looks outstanding blown up on the oversized pages. The closer story is, in my opinion, one of the best Doctor Doom tales ever.

Waid is a capable and skilled writer (proven several times over by his extraordinary work on Superman, the JLA and the Flash), but it seems like he really hit a stride with this series. Unfortunately Wieringo, who became one of my favorite FF artists, does not work on every issue so that impairs the enjoyment of the series to an extent. But when he is on the book, he makes it glitter with that old Marvel shine.

There are of course runner ups recommendations on the FF and feel free to throw in your own take, but I just wanted to give the average guy a place to start.

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