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Batman Is Not the Only Hero Celebrating a 50th Anniversary

The continued fan support does not necessarily rival the appeal of Batman, but the fact that two dark knights are celebrating in the same year must be noted!

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the 60’s television series, Batman, and most of the fanfare is coming from generation X’ers who grew up watching it and are working hard in the pop culture/entertainment industry.

In honour of this day, LEGO has announced the release of a drool worthy Batcave play-set inspired by the designs used in this show. This massive build includes the retro Batmobile, Batcopter, and Batcycle. Now who does not want that? This set is due to hit shelves March 2016.

Although there was news about Adam West and Burt Ward reprising their role in an animated product this year, sadly it was not released on this day. It will have to appear later in the year, perhaps coinciding with either Suicide Squad or Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Although a mark was missed, the year is still young! These two heroes have punched their way into syndication success. This series, however campy as it was, helped put DC comics on the road to further fame in other media. Superman can only do so much.

At the same time, plenty of other heroes are also celebrating their premiere on the small screen in 1966.

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Enter Arkenham Abbey If You Dare …. A Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Arkenham Abbey Poster(1)

October 15 – 31, 2015
Tickets available on site or online at

Craigdarroch Castle.
1050 Joan Crescent
Victoria, BC

Launch Pad Productions proves that they will fly high and soar through the cosmos as they take audiences on journeys of nerdom, Shakespeare (due in April in an adaptation of Shakespeare‘s The Taming of the Shrew) and beyond. First up is their homage to all things Batman. Arkenam Abbey wonderfully makes use of the Gothic tradition to show the decay of the soul as The Nightwatchman (Justin Carter) journeys through the hallowed halls of this ‘hospital’ and confronts its denizens. Most of them have a sordid past with him and they challenge him to face his fears than theirs as both sides — nicely represented by Black Jack (Trevor Hinton) — face the inevitable. Just who will dominate the night?

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Looking at Launch Pad Production’s Past, Present & Future with Arkenham Abbey, a Preview

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Arkenham Abbey Poster(1)

Christina Patterson and David Radford are the heart and soul of Launch Pad Productions, a Victoria, BC based theatre company, and they have a new production coming up that will be a delight to Batman fans. They are presenting Arkenham Abbey, a horror comedy which pays homage to the comics, TV shows and films about this Dark Knight. It will be playing at Craigdarroch Castle starting October 15th and leading up to Halloween.

I started noticing them when I decided to make attending shows at The Castle an annual tradition. They appeared in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2009) and Dracula: The Blood is the Life (2012/13). In alternating years, I saw what they did at 2011 the Victoria Fringe Festival was more than fun. They showed a true love for the medium. Tara Firm and the Lunar War Chronicles (2011), according to Radford, is a Teslapunk styled story than steampunk. His imaginative spirit is captivating and he knows how to write for his wife, Christina. I had always hoped for a continuation of this saga and was told that if there’s a venue to continue it at, it would be at the Victoria Event Centre. Hopefully I did not miss any advertising for it, but alas there were years where my nose was stuck behind many an academic book. In what I took from my past inquiry with Radford, I instantly knew he was a literary nerd and it seems there’s many in this community who are just the same. When the cast included my favourite one-man act, Charlie Ross (One Man Star Wars and One Man Lord of the Rings), I knew everyone in this company are big-time pop culture geeks.

Batman is loved by all. Ross will be putting on his condensed version next year in Vancouver and for Patterson and Radford, they have Arkenham Abbey to treat Victorians with. For the folks who thought Giggling Iguana Productions has left the building without leaving a surprise will be glad to know that Launch Pad is the group who is taking over.

“We were very privileged to have Ian pass this torch to us,” said Patterson, “We will continue to uphold the standard of great Halloween entertainment modelled by Giggling Iguana.”

To truly discover who they are, I had a chance to talk to this couple about their beginnings, their company and what’s in store for this play. When I look at the towering spires at this venue, I’m often wondering if there are bats up there or if a ghost is lurking behind The Castle’s walls.

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The Wind up Geek’s 2015 SDCC Trailer Review

SDCCLogo By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

The San Diego Comic-Con has come and gone and what a blast it was! But I wouldn’t know that would I because I wasn’t there. Trying to get to SDCC is like winning the lottery, if you win the golden ticket you don’t get Wonka’s factory, you do get bragging rights to your friends for years to come. But keep in mind nobody likes a smart ass.

I was able to enjoy what SDCC had to offer from the comforts of my own home thanks to the companies, the media and the fans who were there. What truly interested me was the plethora of trailers made available to the con-goers and to the world in general. I could’ve wrote a book on what was seen but to avoid annoying the readers I have whittled it down to a handful of trailers, feature films only. Although The Walking Dead and Con Man looked really good, throwing them into the mix would’ve muddied the article. And Fantastic Four is not here because I couldn’t say enough good things about it. I’ve been through two previous incarnations of the FF and this latest outing appears to follow the same fate as its predecessors.

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A Commentary on Justice League: Gods and Monsters

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

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Can creators Alan Burnett and Bruce Timm do no wrong in Justice League: Gods and Monsters? If you’ve loved their work in Batman: The Animated Series or Timm’s presence with continuations in a shared universe like Justice League in the late 90s, then just maybe. When this video release comes with a disclaimer that the story takes place in an alternate universe, I’m excited at what kind of re-imaginings of the holy trinity of DC’s main heroes (Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman) that Timm has in mind.

I decided to purchase the steel book release that comes with an action figure of Wonder Woman as a New God, The sculpt is quite good for a mass market item, and the bonus material is worth watching first, especially the short, New Gods. Watching this first helps gets fans up to speed to this part of the DC universe that draws heavily on mythology before catching the main feature. It helps flesh out the world that the writing team will no doubt go back to look at. But before I could watch the main movie, I had to check out the sneak peek at the next DCU movie, Batman: Bad Blood.

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Thoughts on the Batman v Superman Official Trailer

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

ahletwx18dkogwhiihxq Is Superman a false god or a prophet? Just who is he and what is his purpose on Earth? These are the questions raised in Zack Snyder’s reimagining of the DC Universe. In fact, this comics company has this “New 52” in place for sometime. and this director has been following along a similar line of themes for DC’s theatrical presentation and reimagining of some iconic heroes. In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, not everyone approves of this new mighty man of steel poised to look like Atlas holding the weight of the world upon his shoulders. In the voice-over, one individual asks if the biggest demon might be someone who fell from the sky — is this an allusion to Lucifer, the Morningstar? We’re not talking about the devil here, but that’s the feeling some folks might get. Literary analysts might wonder if this person is playing on the idiom, “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”

Given another frame where there are soldiers bowing to Superman, some may wonder just what kind of hold he has upon the fair people of Metropolis. The city has recovered from the events of Man of Steel, but not everyone approves. And is it a vault that he’s entering into?

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By the time Bruce Wayne aka Batman emerges, this version of the caped crusader is going to be nothing like former iterations seen on-screen. He’s staring at an old costume and is perhaps wondering if its time to put it on again. The dialogue is sharp as a new narrator speaks about how dark feelings can turn a good man to bad. There’s this fever and rage that festers, and that’s essentially Batman as visioned by Frank Miller. Viewers of this trailer get to see this version don some mechanical threads that gives him a wicked glowing eye look. Wayne is going to need it if he’s going to fight Superman.

Perhaps the biggest question here is just how far gone has Batman become? Is he there to do what’s right for the people of Earth? Does he even know about Superman’s weakness to Kryptonite? When this film’s subtitle is known as Dawn of Justice, that means other types of superheroes could potentitally emerge to side with either the caped crusader or man of steel in hopes to find freedom from being ostracized. The villain is not so clearly defined yet. As any follower of DC’s films will know, Lex Luthor is waiting in the wings.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwfUnkBfdZ4%5D