Kevin Conroy on providing the voice of Batman

Regarded by fans as THE voice of Batman, Kevin Conroy has added his dulcet tones to the caped crusader in the award winning Batman Animated Series and Justice League series. In a major surprise move, Conroy will be once again be acting the part of the world’s greatest detective in the upcoming animated anthology film released on DVD this summer, Batman Gotham Knight.

Below Conroy discusses his voice acting history and his unique relationship with Batman.

Kevin Conroy Discusses Voicing Title Character In DC Universe Animated Original Film “Batman Gotham Knight” Kevin Conroy had studied for and starred on the stage, advanced his career through soap operas, and was featured in television series like “Dynasty” and “Tour of Duty.” He had no idea that stepping into a sound booth in 1991 to audition for his first cartoon voiceover role would forever cement his place in the annals of animation and help to extend the Batman legacy to untold legions of fans.

Conroy quickly became the Batman voice by which all others are judged – and rarely assessed as an equal. He has cast a loud shadow in voicing the Dark Knight and Bruce Wayne for 17 years, beginning with “Batman: The Animated Series” and continuing through 16 films, video games and animated series (covering more than 220 episodes). He reprises the role in triumphant fashion in “Batman Gotham Knight,” the highly-anticipated third film in the ongoing series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 movies.

“Batman Gotham Knight” will arrive July 8, 2008 on DVD and Blu-Ray disc, and will also be available that day On Demand via digital cable and for download through broadband sites. The film is produced as a collaboration between DC Comics, Warner Premiere, Warner Home Video and Warner Bros. Animation. The film will receive its world premiere at Wizard World Chicago in late June.

From his home in New York City, Conroy spoke at length about the film, his ongoing relationship with the character, and the surprising manner in which he first approached and procured the role of Batman.

Question:
What are your impressions of the film?

Kevin Conroy:
It’s a really rich experience. The artwork in this film is so beautiful, so amazing. I love the adult-themed animated shows like “The Simpsons” and “South Park” and “King of the Hill.” I love the appeal of their writing, the irony, the sense of humor. Those are great animated productions. But you forget just how rich animation artwork can be until you see a film like this. There’s just no comparison. I’ve never seen anything like this in terms of diverse and rich animation in the industry – it’s like getting six movies in one.

The story is very interesting, especially the way it weaves in and out of Bruce Wayne’s history – like the flashback to him training in India, learning to endure pain. It’s very well conceived story and I think it enhances a lot of the Batman mythology.

I don’t think there’s any question the fans will love it, because it’s such a deep animation experience, and it gives such great background into a character they already love. It’s a very positive piece.

Question:
After three years away from the character, what were the challenges of donning the cape once again?

Kevin Conroy:
Getting back into the Batman voice was not hard – after so many years, it’s so familiar to me now that it’s like putting on an old coat. As you live with a character over the years, you fill out the skin. You don’t even realize you’re doing it. Sometimes they ask during a recording session, “What sound would Batman make here?” or “What would he say here” and they trust me to do that. They know I’ve been living with him for so long, I know what he’d say, and how he’d react.

Question:
Batman Gotham Knight has essentially 12 different looks at your characters – nine of Batman and three of Bruce Wayne, varying in design and age range. Were there any challenges to maintaining the consistency of your performance despite voicing to so many different image variations?

Kevin Conroy:
In the past, we’ve always treated the shows like a radio play – we recorded the lines and then the animation took place. This time, the artwork came first, and that made the process interesting. Sometimes the artists put extra mouth flaps in, or they made the cadence different from the way I’d usually deliver a line. So we had to work within those parameters and try to time the acting to fill the space.

Interestingly, they originally they were going to cast another actor to do the younger Bruce Wayne, and Andrea (Romano) convinced them to let me take a stab at it. I had done the younger voice in a number of the “Batman: The Animated Series” flashbacks, so Andrea knew that I could do it. And once I got into the studio and gave them a sample, they were convinced. The challenge is making the distinctions – you have to make concessions for youth and give the character the sound of a younger man, while still believably being the same guy.

Question:
At its core, this film represents several different perspectives of Batman, providing many different layers to the character. Can you discuss that range of emotions the film explores, and to what depths you reach to capture those emotions?

Kevin Conroy:
It’s that delicate balance you get in voices. As an actor, it’s still the same job – it’s acting – except that you only have your voice, and you have to be a little more precise in finding the balance. You have to keep it very minimal and you don’t want to be too cartoony, but at the same time you only have your voice to tell the story – so you have to juice it up a bit. Sometimes the hardest acting is in the non-dialogue aspects of the performance. As an example, there was one long scream when Batman is falling down a series of ladders into a pit. They recorded that over and over and over again, trying to figure out how to do it just right, and not overdue it. I had to give them lots of variations and I’m sure they picked the best one later. Overall, it was a little challenging with the different artistic styles and the different stories, but it was still Batman.

Question:
The legions of Batman animation fans have hailed you as the definitive voice of the character. How did you originally settle on that particular voice?

Kevin Conroy:
To tell the truth, after reading the original script, I really went to audition for the character voices – like Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock. Like most actors, I really love to be challenged, and I thought they’d be more interesting and really push me. And then Bruce (Timm) and Andrea (Romano) said they wanted to hear me do Batman. The only exposure I’d had was the campy Adam West live-action series, and they said that wasn’t what they wanted. So I put myself into a very dark place in my voice, and my voice got deeper and darker and huskier, and it came out very mysterious. I really just took a stab at what I thought the voice would be, and then I saw Bruce and Andrea and Paul (Dini) running around the booth, so I knew I either was very good or very bad. That’s how it started — just me in a sound booth, them on the other side of the glass describing the character, and then the voice just came out of my imagination. And it worked. So initially I was much more interested in doing the character voices, but luckily they talked me into Batman.

Question:
Do you require a certain mindset to approach the voice of Batman?

Kevin Conroy:
There’s an emotional place I go to – Bruce (Timm) says he see it in me in the booth. It’s much more a psychology than just producing the sound. Batman is very complex. The Bruce Wayne voice is the real put-on. This is a guy who saw his parents murdered in front of him, and nobody would be normal and together after that. He feels like a freak inside. So to do the voice, you have to take on all that drama.

That’s why everyone relates to Batman – because everyone feels like a freak inside. Everyone has ghosts that they don’t want to show anyone else. All of us feel like we have that inside us. For me, that’s one of the most interesting aspects of the character – that a super hero would ultimately be based on that inner-freak that we all feel that we have.

Question:
In your mind, what’s special about playing Batman?

Kevin Conroy:
I think what I didn’t anticipate about voicing Batman was the fact that I was playing an icon – I just didn’t take into account how much Batman meant to so many people. Coming from a very conservative background, and not having extensive exposure to comic books and the character, it just never occurred to me. So in the beginning, I only thought of it as an acting job.

Question:
And now … you’re an icon in the Batman universe?

Kevin Conroy:
I’m always flattered that people actually know who the voices are. It seems to me such an anonymous job. But periodically, somebody recognizes me – it happened in a furniture store recently. To me, that’s truly amazing – first that someone knows who does the voice, and it’s even more amazing that someone would know the face of the voice. I think a lot of the reason that I’m so linked to Batman is because I’ve been doing it for so long. Before “Batman: The Animated Series,” there really hadn’t been a voice aside from Adam West. People knew Batman from the campy live action series, and the fans knew the Dark Knight comic books, but there hadn’t been a voice associated with the character, and certainly not a dramatic voice. I think I just lucked out because I was the one who started with it, and people grew up with that voice.

Spectacular Spider-Man: ‘Persona’

A black feline, black space goo and a potential dark shift in a super hero’s attire spotlight several new challenges for “The Spectacular Spider-Man” in an all-new episode entitled “Persona” premiering this
Saturday, May 17 at 10 a.m. ET/PT on Kids’ WB! on The CW.

In the episode, Spider-Man learns the hard way not to judge a book by its cover, when another Spider-Man starts making headlines … as a crook! It’s the Chameleon, master of disguise, looting the city and laying the blame at Spidey’s feet. The Web-Slinger’s forced to team up with another crook, the lovely Black Cat, to stop his foe’s faux-Spidey crime spree and clear his name. The episode is written by Matt Wayne and directed by Dave Fausett. “The Spectacular Spider-Man” is produced by Culver Entertainment, a Sony Pictures Television Company.

Prior to the premiere of “Persona,” Kids’ WB! will air a repeat of “Natural Selection,” the episode which introduced Lizard, at 9:30 a.m. ET/PT.

Making the leap from the first issue of Amazing Spider-Man to the small scree, the Chameleon is one of the stranger Spider-Man villains simply because he is so ‘normal.’ With a rogue’s gallery consisting of lizard men, sand men and goblins, it’s surprising for a master of disguise to give old Spidey a run for his money. Personally, I think the villain was the invention of Steve Ditko who was very interested in the mob mentality and how easily it can be steered.

The new episode premiers this Saturday!

Spectacular Spider-Man- The Uncertainty Principle

For “The Spectacular Spider-Man,” Halloween arrives early this year –in the all-new Saturday, May 10 episode – but it still comes with all the traditional goodies, including a goblin, lots of spiders, a very large tombstone and even a black cat.

“The Uncertainty Principle,” this Saturday’s premiering episode at 10:00 a.m. ET/PT on Kids’ WB!/The CW, presents a number of perplexing situations for Peter Parker and Spider-Man as they both try to find clarity amid the masks, mysteries and menace of Halloween. While Colonel John Jameson struggles to land his damaged space shuttle, Spider-Man continues his ongoing battle with Green Goblin, who also threatens Hammerhead and Tombstone. Still, Peter’s greatest challenge will be facing the awful truth when he finally learns the Goblin’s “true” identity.

This week’s episode was an all out blockbuster that was full of plenty of action as well as twists and turns that show how far this series has come. The revelation of the Green Goblin’s identity was a shocker, but nowhere near as interesting as the fallout. Peter Parker’s life is getting very complicated and with the special hint toward next week’s episode involving a certain outer space black ooze, it’s not going to slow down any time soon.

If you are a Spider-Man fan, you have got to start catching up on this series. Each week a new episode is paired up with a repeat, so it’s a perfect opportunity to see what is becoming one of the best super hero cartoons on TV.

Alan Burnett on Batman: Gotham Knight

AWARD-WINNING WRITER ALAN BURNETT
DISCUSSES “BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHT”

Alan Burnett has spent more consecutive years “in the Batcave” than
anyone in animation history.

Not counting his stint on “Super Friends” in 1983, Burnett has
constantly helped bring the Batman’s legacy to animation since 1991 –
when he began scripting episodes of “Batman: The Animated Series,” the
Emmy(R)-winning production widely considered a pivotal moment in
American animation.

This summer, the latest animated venture into the Dark Knight’s mythos
takes an altogether different approach than anything produced during
Burnett’s 17-year association with the character. Burnett served as
movie story editor and the writer of the anchoring segment of “Batman
Gotham Knight,” the third in the ongoing series of DC Universe
animated original PG-13 movies.

“Batman Gotham Knight” is a fresh and exciting new film weaving six
interlocking stories that reveal Bruce Wayne’s journey to The Dark
Knight, each with stylish art from some of the world’s most revered
Japanese animation visionaries. The film features stories written by
several of the most talented scribes of film, comic books and
animation, including Burnett, Academy Award(R)-nominated screenwriter
Josh Olson (”A History of Violence”), David S. Goyer (”Batman
Begins:), Jordan Goldberg (Associate Producer, “The Dark Knight”), and
award-winning comics writers Greg Rucka and Brian Azzarello.

Burnett, Azzarello and Josh Olson, along with producer Bruce Timm,
have already confirmed their participation on the panel following the
world premiere of “Batman Gotham Knight” at Wizard World Chicago in
late June. “Batman Gotham Knight” will arrive July 8, 2008 on DVD and
Blu-Ray disc, and will also be available that day On Demand via
digital cable and for download through broadband sites. The film is
produced as a collaboration between DC Comics, Warner Premiere, Warner
Home Video and Warner Bros. Animation.

An anime fan, Burnett said he was very intrigued and inspired by the
idea of allowing Japanese directors to have relatively free reign on
the animated look of Batman.

“From a visual point of view, this is the most stylized Batman that’s
come out of Warner Bros. — what they’ve done is really eye-catching,
and it truly expands his world,” Burnett said. “Their visualization of
Gotham City is stunning, and it’s very interesting to see how they’ve
envisioned Batman, his environment and his action and movements.”

Burnett’s stellar talents have merited four Emmy Awards, three Annie
Awards and two Humanitas Prizes. His work within the Batman realm
includes as a series producer on “Batman and Superman” and “Batman
Beyond,” and most recently as supervising producer and story editor
for Warner Bros. Animation’s four-time Emmy Award-winning series “The
Batman.” In the direct-to-DVD arena, Burnett co-produced and co-wrote
the animated feature film “Batman: Mask of the Phantasm,” was
supervising producer and writer for “Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman,”
and served as producer on the feature-length “Batman Beyond: Return of
The Joker.”

For “Batman Gotham Knight,” Burnett served as story editor for the
entire film, and writer of the sixth and final segment, “Deadshot.”
The segment ties together threads from all the film’s chapters as
Batman must thwart an unerring assassin whose love of guns and
disregard for human life lets him cross lines that even a Dark Knight
shies away from.

Burnett said having the opportunity to finally bring the villainous
Deadshot to the screen was instant motivation to pen the script.
First, “Batman Gotham Knight” provided the perfect vehicle for a
villain associated solely with guns – an attitude that flies in direct
opposition to Batman’s anti-gun approach to heroism. The anti-gun
theme is prevalent throughout the film. Moreover, because television
standards do not allow the use of “real” bullets in children’s
programming, Deadshot has been kept out of Batman’s animated legacy.
For Burnett, this was the first opportunity to portray Deadshot as he
is known in comics.

“I’ve always liked Deadshot as a villain, and I really like stories
with assassins,” Burnett explained. “The fact that they’re killers,
and what they do has impact, automatically heightens the energy of the
story.”

In addition to writing the script “Deadshot,” Burnett also
story-edited the film, ensuring all six scripts – from six different,
widely-acclaimed writers – worked fluidly together to interconnect
into one story. The ever-modest Burnett said his job entailed little
more than a few alterations for flow and continuity while he attempted
to maintain each writer’s individualism.

“I thought it was important to keep the integrity of each writer’s
words,” Burnett said. “The writers all pretty much had the same voice
for Batman, so I had to change very little dialogue – just small fixes
to tie up loose ends, and reinforce transitions and connections
between the stories. But I did as little editing as I could because I
respected what the writers wrote, and I thought it was important that
their voice was heard. Just as the artists made their segments their
own, so should the writers.”

Overall, Burnett is pleased with the final product, and excited to see
the fans’ reactions to the film – particularly the use of shorter
segments to tell great Batman stories.

“For my segment, I think the first Deadshot murder is quite good –
there’s a lot of eye candy within the cityscape. The artists added
fireworks and balloons and a lot of interesting elements to what
ultimately is a cold-blooded murder,” Burnett said. “I like the
short-form for Batman, because it feels almost like a 22-page comic
book story. In short form, the stakes are elevated from the beginning,
and it gives you a chance to really heighten the action quickly – so
you can make your points hard and fast and get out.

Batman The Dark Knight Rogue: Two Face

Is this the first glimpse of Aaron Eckhart’s Two Face from this summer’s Batman The Dark Knight film? Many are saying that it’s an early version of what will be the final effect mixing prosthetic make-up and CGI effects. Whatever the case, it’s sure to scare the living crap out of the auduence.

Introduced in 1942 by Bob Kane and Bill Finger as a new super villain to join Batman’s burgeoning rogue’s gallery, Two Face was a riff on the old Jeckyll and Hyde routine. Harvey Dent, a well-meaning district attorney badly scarred by acid thrown at him during a court case (bad luck, huh?), the scars went deeper than just his face. His entire psyche was scarred, leading him to see life in simplistic duality. At the flip of a coin, he would decide his fate. To match his visage, the coin was scarred on one side. If the coin landed scarred side up, Gotham City would be in for some trouble.

The character has enjoyed the status as the number two most loved villain (after the Joker), despite the fact that he seems to be used so sparingly in the comic book series.

Forgotten as a villain, it was Denny O’Neil that brought the villain back the fore during his run on the Batman comic book in 1971. An essential part of the third Robin’s origin, Two Face played a vital role in the story ‘A Lonely Place of Dying.’ It was perhaps Frank Miller’s brief homage to the villain in 1984’s classic Dark Knight Returns that made it apparent just how much power and relevance the character has. Matt Wagner developed the character further in his fantastic tale ‘Faces’ in Legends of the Dark Knight. Heroes TV series developer Jeph Loeb used Two Face as the lynch pin of his epic mini-series ‘The Long Halloween’ in which he retold Two Face’s origin, adding and changing certain details.

Animator Bruce Timm brought Two Face into a new light in his 1991 two-part story featuring the character’s origin. While DC Comics had recently published a story suggesting that Harvey Dent was abused by his father as a child (at the flip of a coin), Timm presented another angle. As a young boy, Dent had kept his rage in check until a school bully pushed him over the edge. Young Dent struck the other boy who ended up in the hospital. The hospitalization had nothing to do with Dent (the boy was coincidentally sick from another ailment), but to Dent this made an impact. He kept his rage deeply buried until it developed into another persona, ‘Big Bad Harv.’ After being facially scarred, Dent accepted that he must make a pact with this negative aspect of his persona and allowed this violent monster to run loose… at the flip of a coin.

Whichever version of the character this summer film decides to bring us, I am sure it will be very impressive and leave a lasting mark on the comic book character.

Unlike… other versions.

Recommended:

Batman: The Long Halloween
Batman: FacesBatman in the Seventies
Batman vs. Two-Face
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

Brian Azzarello on Batman: Gotham Knight

Batman: Gotham Knight Trailer
( DVD release date July 8, 2008 )

EISNER AWARD-WINNING WRITER BRIAN AZZARELLO DISCUSSES WRITING FOR THE
UPCOMING DC UNIVERSE ORIGINAL ANIMATED FILM, “BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHT”

One of the most sought-after writers in comics today, Brian Azzarello is one of the six acclaimed scribes to pen a segment within “Batman Gotham Knight,” the third in the ongoing series of DC Universe
animated original PG-13 movies.

Unlike many of his past works, Azzarello’s segment – entitled “Working Though Pain” – takes a decidedly non-violent direction. The segment, which falls chronologically as the fifth of the six segments, explores
an early chapter of Bruce Wayne’s training as a mysterious and exotic Indian woman named Cassandra introduces Batman to techniques that would help him to conquer the physical and spiritual consequences of what he does.

Azzarello achieved widespread notoriety – and garnered multiple Eisner Awards – for “100 Bullets,” a collaboration with artist Eduardo Risso which was published by Vertigo for DC Comics. He has continually
broken new ground with offerings like Vertigo’s “Jonny Double,” “Hellblazer” and “Loveless” series. Azzarello is no stranger to Batman, having written for the character in “Broken City,” “Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire,” within the “Batman Gotham Knights” series and in “Lex Luthor: Man of Steel.”

A Chicago resident, Azzarello will travel across town to join fellow “Batman Gotham Knight” writers Alan Burnett and Josh Olson, along with producer Bruce Timm, for the film’s world premiere at Wizard World
Chicago in late June. “Batman Gotham Knight” will arrive July 8, 2008 on DVD and Blu-Ray disc, and will also be available that day On Demand via digital cable and for download through broadband sites. The film
is produced as a collaboration between DC Comics, Warner Premiere, Warner Home Video and Warner Bros. Animation.

Azzarello took time away from his Mac Power Book to discuss “Batman Gotham Knight,” the character of Batman, the motivations of a writer, and a little cooking, too.

Question: For starters, what was your overall impression of “Batman Gotham Knight,” and were you pleased with your segment?

Brian Azzarello says: I liked the film – it’s a very interesting take on the Batman character. It holds together cohesively, yet each episode is strikingly different. And I loved (my segment) – it’s great. I really liked the animation. It was fascinating seeing my words moving around. When I write, I see it in print – I don’t see it moving. So it was fun and it was a good experience.

Question: How did you find the translation from your written page to the vision of the Japanese director and artists?

Brian Azzarello says: I was surprised how seamless the translation was. I definitely got what I wrote. The hospital scene is almost exactly the way I thought of it, while the fight scenes – that’s where the animators really put their “wow” into it. But I expected that. Usually that’s where the animators just go crazy.

Question: Were there any particular visuals that struck you within your segment?

Brian Azzarello says: Seeing wounded Batman – now that struck me. I enjoy wounded Batman. It humanizes him. It showed a true physical struggle, and that’s something you can relate to. And the character Cassandra was a bit hotter than I thought she’d be … but that’s okay.

Question: When you’re writing for comics – and now for animation – do you put fairly detailed direction between the dialogue, or is it more of a collaborative process for you and the artist/animator?

Brian Azzarello says: I wrote the script and then I handed it off, and that’s pretty much the same relationship I have in comics. I really trust my collaborators, and I try to leave them plenty of room so they can bring their strengths to the work. I think that happened in this film, and definitely for my segment – the animation is just amazing. Really amazing.

I have more of an affinity for the stage than I do for the screen, so I’m very conscious of the dialogue. And because I’ve always worked with collaborators, I tend to leave the visuals up to them – on purpose. It’s my belief that if I get the dialogue right, and the artist understands what motivates the characters and what they’re saying, then the visuals will come.

Question: You’re fairly particular about the projects you accept. How’d you get involved with this film, and what made you say yes?

Brian Azzarello says: Gregory Noveck of DC Comics talked to my agent, then I had a conference call to discuss the story. They explained the film to me in broad strokes, and asked me to come up with an idea. I chose to focus more on Bruce Wayne, and they liked my pitch. As always happens, they needed the script yesterday, and I was I was on my way to Europe at the time. All I can tell you is that the hotel room in Barcelona was pretty nice, but I can’t tell you much about the city.

Question: You were quoted in a UGO article as saying “Hollywood is nowhere I aspire to be” … and yet, here you are. What happened?

Brian Azzarello says: Well, the production may be in Hollywood, but I’m in Chicago – and I’m going to stay here. Is that semantics? I’m not sure. I enjoy doing the work, and I really liked writing for this project – I’d like to do it again. And I know there are people that would kill to work in Hollywood. I’m just not one of those people. I’ll do it, I have done it, but the project has to be right. I’ve been asked to write a lot of
things that I’ve declined mainly because the projects didn’t interest me. If I were just writing to pull a paycheck, there’s a lot of other things I could be doing.

Question: What’s your motivation for writing?

Brian Azzarello says: If I have a story, if I have something to say, that’s my motivation. For this film, I had something to say about Bruce Wayne as a character, what his motivations are. That there’s something dark and wrong about what drives him. Batman is a super hero and he does good. But I think the Bruce Wayne part of the character’s motivation is slightly twisted. Bruce’s motivations don’t come from a good place.
He’s angry and, in that revenge is really his goal, he’s a dishonest character. That’s why he has to wear a mask. He’s doing good, but he’s not doing all the right things for all the right reasons.

That plays into this story. It should be a story about non-violence, but that’s the lesson that Bruce doesn’t learn. On the surface, Bruce is on a spiritual journey, but his spirit was corrupted when his parents were killed. And it’s not something that I think he’s even interested in fixing.

Question: How much research was involved in scripting a story set in India that focuses on the mind-over-matter theme of conquering your pain from within?

Brian Azzarello says: I spent a lot of time surfing (the Internet) – it’s a wonder how we all have libraries at our fingerprints these days. I needed to do research on India, and I gathered a lot of information on pain
management. What I learned is that a lot of pain management practitioners are con men.

Question: You’ve had some notable experience working on Batman – can you compare the differences in working on this Batman tale vs. “Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire” and “Broken City” or the “Batman:
Gotham Knights” comics?
Brian Azzarello says: Every time I approach Batman, I like to come from a different angle. In Deathblow, I saw him as a James Bond-type but on an urban level. For Broken City, he was the bitter private eye. On this project, I guess he’s lying to himself. He’s not intentionally conning Cassandra, but he does ultimately con her. He wants to learn what she knows, but he doesn’t want to know it for the reasons she teaches it. She finally figures out that he’s doing it for the wrong reason, but it isn’t until the end – and it’s not until then that even he understands that he’s been lying to himself.

Question: What are you reading these days?

Brian Azzarello says: I have a stack of books – The Crime Writer by Gregg Hurwitz; one of Jason Starr’s novels; and then I’ve got Mario Batali’s Italian Grill cookbook. I actually read a lot of cookbooks – I grew up around cooking, and cooking really relaxes me. Nine times out of 10, I’m cooking something Italian, but the weather is turning, so my grill has been fired up a lot lately. I love barbeque – it’s great to cook
something for 8-10 hours. That’s such an American way of cooking, but I try to bring a lot of Mediterranean influences into that.

Question: So if you could hand-pick your next achievement, what would it be – win another Eisner, write the next Batman, or have your own show on Food Network?

Brian Azzarello says: Well, having my own cooking show sounds like no work at all. Winning another Eisner would be nice. But I think I’d have to pick writing the next Batman – that would be the biggest challenge for me. As a freelancer, if you’re not challenging yourself, nobody is. Every day I have to paint myself into a corner and then write my way out of it.

Batman: Gotham Knight is released on DVD July 8, 2008

pre-order it on Amazon!

Batman - Gotham Knight (Two-Disc Collector’s Edition)

Eight Arms to Hold You

Doc Ock takes center stage this Saturday, May 3 in “Reaction,” an all-new episode of “The Spectacular Spider-Man” airing at 10:00 a.m. ET/PT on Kids’ WB! on The CW.

In “Reaction,” Peter Parker and Spider-Man learn that actions have consequences when nebbishy Dr. Otto Octavius becomes the megalomaniacal Doctor Octopus. The cause: Green Goblin; the effect: Mayhem!! The episode is written by Randy Jandt and directed by Jennifer Coyle.

Interview with voice actor Peter MacNicol below:

The next time you drop the “I’m too busy” excuse for some undone deed, consider the career of Peter MacNicol.

Over the past year, MacNicol could be found pulling the unheard-of simultaneous double duty as a core cast member in two hit primetime television series – “24″ and “Numb3rs” – and was still able to devote an afternoon every other week to creating the voice of Dr. Otto Octavius and his villainous flipside, Doctor Octopus (aka Doc Ock), for the breakout animated series, “The Spectacular Spider-Man.”

Now THAT’S busy.

While Dr. Octavius has had a submissive role in the first seven episodes of the series, Doc Ock makes his explosive debut this Saturday, May 3 in an all-new episode entitled “Reaction.” The episode premieres at 10:00 a.m. ET/PT on Kids’ WB! on The CW.

MacNicol has crafted an extremely diverse and successful career, balancing primetime series starring roles (the aforementioned following the likes of “Ally McBeal” and “Chicago Hope”) with numerous guest performances (“Boston Legal,” “Cheers,” “Tales From The Crypt”), not to mention feature film appearances (“Ghostbusters II,” “Sophie’s Choice”) and, of course, his first starring role as Galen in the fan favorite, “Dragonslayer.”

Despite all the on-camera work, MacNicol maintains a steady flow of voiceover roles in animated television series and movies, as well as being very popular in the books-on-CD arena. MacNicol’s animated voiceovers cover a wide range – from lighter series like “The Wild Thornberrys,” “Olive, the Other Reindeer” and “Buzz Lightyear of Star Command” to the super hero-laden “Justice League,” “The Batman” and now, “The Spectacular Spider-Man.”

“Cartoon work is pure recreation for me, pure playtime,” said MacNicol. “But ‘Books-on-CD’ – now that’s work! Keeping even the minor characters straight in my head, giving each bit-part his/her/its own voice, working for days in that airless chamber of the recording booth, with my eyes playing tricks on me as the hours drag by, and the pages I’m narrating, which must be noiselessly turned, and the sheer whiteness of those pages, which begins to create a kind of snow-blindness by mid-afternoon.

“Once for an epic fantasy series, I had to voice literally dozens of elves, fairies, and ogres, all of different ages, sexes, and from many lands – with the hill dwarves needing to sound different from the valley dwarves. Had there been a window I would have jumped out of it.”

Still, there is joy for MacNicol within the world of animation voiceovers. “My favorite moment on the job is that magic instant when you’ve got the voice just right and you can let go of the steering wheel and let the character drive.”

MacNicol has found great pleasure in bringing villains to animated life – Doc Ock follows his previous portrayals of Chronos and Manbat (”I was very proud of the possibly-too-piercing shriek I devised for him”). For Doc Ock, MacNicol opted to channel the persona of a classic actor far outside the reference points for most Spidey fans.

“The voice I chose for Dr. Octopus was something of an homage to Laird Cregar, one of Hollywood’s greatest ‘heavies,’ and I do mean ‘heavies,’ ” MacNicol explained. “Throughout his brief 1940s career, Cregar waged a war to the death against his own obesity, ultimately losing too many pounds too quickly; he was barely 30 when he died. In his two greatest movies, ‘Hangover Square’ and ‘The Lodger,’ he seemed so haunted and hulking, and I loved that soft menacing voice of his. Still, I’m no mimic and it was Cregar’s quality rather than his voice which gave me my model.”

MacNicol admits he enjoys devouring the role of a villain, pointing out the extreme texture the dark side adds to any story – particularly in super hero tales.

“It’s all relative – this business of hero or villain,” MacNicol said. “After all, villains are somebody’s hero – certainly they’ve won the devotion of their cronies, their parents, and perverse fans like myself who actually prefer them over the title characters. Yep, it would be a pretty dull universe if we didn’t have Rhino, Sandman and Doc Ock trying to destroy it.”

Spectacular Spider-Man May Schedule

The newest animated series version of Marvel’s famed flagship web spinner continues on KidsWB! This Saturday the arch nemesis Green Goblin makes his mark on the program in the premiere of ‘Catalyst’ (which also sees the introduction of a certain red-headed bombshell).

“Catalysts” takes place on the night of the Midtown High Fall Formal, and Peter Parker finds his overconfidence is nearly his undoing – as both a teenager and a super hero. While his date, Mary Jane Watson, threatens to invert Midtown’s social structure, Pete lets her popularity go to his head. So when the mysterious, murderous Green Goblin tries to force L. Thompson Lincoln (a.k.a. Tombstone) to step
down as NYC’s Big Man of crime, will Spider-Man take this new threat seriously enough – or will he be so cocky that he loses his big head?!

Voiced by veteran voice-over actor Steve Blum, the Goblin will certainly take Spidey to task.

Blum has been called the “King of Anime” for his monumental number of credits within the industry. Blum’s trademark voice can be found in a variety of characters within the anime realm, though his prolific voiceover career has moved seamlessly between all animated mediums, including voices for traditionally animated cartoons and films, commercials and video games.

Beyond his recognizable work as the voice of Tom, the announcer of Cartoon Network’s Toonami, Blum can be heard in “The Powerpuff Girls,” “Naruto,” “Ben 10,” “Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law,” “Loonatics
Unleashed,” “What’s New, Scooby-Doo?” and as the title character in the upcoming “Wolverine & the X-Men.” His favorite voice acting role is as Spike Spiegel from the popular anime series “Cowboy Bebop.”

Blum is highly regarded as the second (and last) voice actor to voice Canaan in the Xenosaga video game series, and is the voice of Wolverine in the video game, “X-Men Legends.” He has also been featured in the interactive arena on innumerable video games, including “Halo 3,” “Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Mysteries of the Sith,” “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” “Transformers: The Game,” “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” “Spider-Man 3,” “Call of Duty,” “Call of Duty: United Offensive,” “Mission: Impossible - Operation Surma,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”

Blum is also the voice of Vincent Valentine for the dub cast of the direct-to-DVD release, “Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.” His many anime credits include “Goku Midnight Eye,” “Kyôshoku sôkô Guyver,”
“Akira,” “Ôritsu uchûgun Oneamisu no tsubasa,” “Amagaedun uzu,” “Jûichi-nin iru!” and “Hokuto no Ken,” “Chôjikû seiki Ôgasu.”

Below is the schedule for May.

Saturday, May 3
9:30 a.m. – The Invisible Hand (repeat featuring Rhino, Tombstone, Mary Jane)
10:00 a.m. – Reaction (premiere)

Saturday, May 10
9:30 a.m. – Catalysts (repeat featuring Green Goblin, Tombstone)
10:00 a.m. – The Uncertainty Principle (premiere)

Saturday, May 17
9:30 a.m. – Natural Selection (repeat featuring Lizard)
10:00 a.m. – Persona (premiere)

Saturday, May 24
9:30 a.m. – Market Forces (repeat featuring Shocker)
10:00 a.m. – Reaction (repeat)

Saturday, May 31
9:30 a.m. – Competition (repeat featuring Sandman)
10:00 a.m. – Group Therapy (premiere)

Bring Back My Gobby to Me

Here’s your exclusive first look at The Spectacular Spider-Man’s Green Goblin. The web-slinger’s most notorious nemesis makes his first appearance on the CW’s Saturday-morning ‘toon in the episode “Catalysts,” airing April 26 (at 10 am/ET).

From the design to the left here it looks like the Marvel Animation Studio has decided to go with a more modern take on the character. With so many choices, I can see why. The sick design will fit in perfectly with the other new takes on the web slinger’s rogue’s gallery.

Green Goblin is an important villain in the Spider-Man universe for a couple of reasons. Firstly, he’s the first major super villain that crossed the line into Peter Parker’s personal life. Secondly, he’s the villain that split up the Lee/Ditko team that pioneered the series. The story goes that the mysterious Goblin who was often seen removing his costume in private was to be revealed as a major player in Peter’s life. Ditko objected to this, wanting instead to stick to the anonymity of criminals. The feud (probably fueled by many other factors as well) ended with Ditko leaving Marvel Comics and the revelation of the Goblin’s identity (Peter’s best friend Harry’s dad Norman Osborn!) taking place under the apt pen of John Romita.

In his early appearance, the Green Goblin was a smart thug with a satchel of Halloween-themed gizmos and traps from flying bats to pumpkin bombs. One of the ‘inventor’ set of characters that littered Marvel in the 1960’s, Goblin was not above recruiting others into his schemes, including anyone from the Enforcers to the Incredible Hulk (though it was really a fortuitous accident).

With the arrival of the Green Goblin in the new Spectacular Spider-Man series, expect the drama and danger to hit a higher mark than usual as this nefarious villain plays for keeps!

The Green Goblin makes his debut April 26.

Recommended:
Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus, Vol. 1 (Variant Version)
Amazing Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Vol. 1

Batman Gotham Knight Premiere

DC UNIVERSE ANIMATED ORIGINAL MOVIE
BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHT
WORLD PREMIERE SLATED FOR
JUNE 28, 2008 AT WIZARD WORLD CHICAGO

Third DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movie to Screen at Popular
Comics Convention; Post-Premiere Panel Planned for Filmmakers, Voice
Talent

BURBANK, CA, ( April 10, 2008 ) –DC Comics, Warner Premiere, Warner Home
Video and Warner Bros. Animation will present the World Premiere of
the DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movie, Batman Gotham Knight,
at Wizard World Chicago on June 28, 2008, it was announced today.

Scheduled for an evening presentation, the Batman Gotham Knight
premiere will be followed immediately by a panel featuring members of
the film crew and cast, including legendary animation producer Bruce
Timm (Superman Doomsday, Justice League: The New Frontier); acclaimed
comics writer Brian Azzarello and Emmy Award-winning television writer
Alan Burnett. Other filmmakers and voice talent are expected to
participate.

Batman Gotham Knight is a fresh and exciting new entry into the Batman
mythos, spinning out of a 40-year history in animation including the
Emmy(R)-winning Batman: The Animated Series, widely considered a
pivotal moment in American animation. A cross section of distinguished
creators, award winning producers, and acclaimed writers weave six
interlocking stories that reveal Bruce Wayne’s journey to The Dark
Knight, each with stylish art from some of the world’s most revered
animation visionaries.

Batman Gotham Knight will arrive July 8, 2008 on DVD and Blu-Ray disc,
and will also be available On Demand via digital cable and for
download through broadband sites.

DC UNIVERSE ORIGINAL MOVIES
DC Comics, Warner Premiere, Warner Home Video (WHV) and Warner Bros.
Animation (WBA) began the production and distribution of “DC
Universe,” a series of original, animated PG-13 movies in July 2006.
This original made for DVD movie is part of the DC Universe series of
animated PG-13 films written and directed by acclaimed comic book
creators and animators and featuring recognizable talent. WHV will be
the exclusive worldwide home entertainment distributor for all DC
Universe movies, which will include a slate of 2-3 action-packed films
per year. Superman Doomsday and Justice League: The New Frontier were
the first DC Universe original animated movies. Other DC properties
with films in development include Justice League, Green Lantern, Flash
and Wonder Woman.

About Warner Premiere:
Warner Premiere is Warner Bros. Entertainment’s new direct-to-consumer
production company focused on the development, production and
marketing of feature-length content, as well as short form digital
content for the growing home entertainment market. Warner Premiere is
committed to being at the creative forefront in the evolution of
quality product in the direct-to-DVD business and the digital space,
creating material that exemplifies the commitment to story, production
and brand equity for which Warner Bros. is known.

About Warner Home Video:
With operations in 90 international territories Warner Home Video, a
Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution
infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video’s
film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new
and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures,
Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and
New Line Home Entertainment.

About DC Comics:
DC Comics, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is the largest
English-language publisher of comics in the world and home to such
iconic characters as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the Sandman.
These DC Super Heroes and others have starred in comic books, movies,
television series (both animated and live-action) and cyberspace,
thrilling audiences of all ages for generations. DC Comics’ Web site
is located at www.dccomics.com.

BATMAN and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and
(c) DC Comics.
( s08 )

If there are still tickets available, you may want to book that flight today! This film is looking like a real treat for fans of old long ears. While the comic is great and the movies are… sometimes fantastic, many fell for Batman after seeing the Bruce Timm Batman The Animated Series in the 1990’s.

There’s just something about this character that translates so perfectly into animation. Perhaps it’s the innocence of the long underwear hero crossed with the high drama and near-operatic level of suspense that makes Batman such an ideal character for a cartoon. Or maybe it’s the effect that Batman has on deeply talented animators. In any case, this film ‘Gotham Knight’ should whet everyone’s appetite for more Batman cartoons… more on that later.

Recommended:
Batman Animated
Batman - The Animated Series, Volume One (DC Comics Classic Collection)
Batman Beyond - Return of the Joker (The Original Uncut Version)
Justice League - The New Frontier (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Batman - Gotham Knight (Two-Disc Collector’s Edition)