Batman
Jack Nicholson is so outrageously over-the-top as the Bandit Buffoon that The Joker may never be the same again. And all the anticipation over this film is dead-on - it's a wild hoot from start to finish. The plot is thin, naturally, and involves The Joker spraying some kind of happy cosmetic over the good people of Gotham. The perfume or whatever it is, puts a smile on their faces - a cold, dead smile.
Michael Keaton plays his Batman as straight as an arrow. He's introspective, brooding and complex, wrestling with his own demons from the past that involves the death of his parents at the hands of the criminals.
Kim Basinger sexy and sensuous as Vicki Vale, news photog, who fall for Bruce Wayne (Batman out of costume). Parental guidance ****

Arkham Asylum, Legends Of The Dark Knight Scheduled
Written By Cliff Biggers
1989 has been quiet a year for Batman: several mini-series -within-a-series, hardcover and trade paperback collections, button sets, caps, pins, t-shirts, and more have brought the familiar Batman image to virtually everyone. Comic fans who thought that it couldn't get much better than this will be pleasantly surprised in October, though, when DC will release a long-awaited hardcover graphic novel and the first issue of a new, hard hitting Batman monthly comics series. Arkham Asylum, the long-discussed graphic novel by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean, will go on sale in comic shops on October 5th.

The hardcover graphic novel is fully painted by McKean in the same stunning art style he first displayed to American fans in his Black Orchid mini-series last year. Morrison's story focuses on some well-known figures in the Batman mythos: the Mad Hatter, and Killer Croc. Under the Joker's direction, the inmates take over the asylum and hold the guards and adminstrators as hostages.

They were willing to release the hostages, though, if a simple trade is carried out: for the lives of the hostages, they want the Batman turned over to them. The graphic novel is described by Bob Wayne of DC as "a hard-hitting pyschological horror story"; there's no doubt that this is a much more serious, grim story than will be found in Batman or Detective Comics. DC recommends this graphic novel for mature readers.

The graphic novel will be released in hard-cover with a $24.95 price-tag--quite a bargain when you realize that this book contains 120 pages. Ten pages are used to open and close the book, and another ten pages present Grant Morrison's interpetation of each of the main characters in this gripping story. This leaves a massive one hundred pages to tell the story, making Arkham Asylum one of the longest original graphic novels ever produced.

DC says there will be no trade paperback release of Arkham Asylum any earlier than Spring 1990. Collectors are urged to let their local comic shops know that they want one of these graphic novels immediately, to avoid being left out as many collectors were when the hardcover Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told sold out last winter. A week later, the first issue of the new Batman title Legends of the Dark Knight will reach comic shop racks.

As CSN readers were told in Comic Shop News #102, this new monthly deluxe-format book will feature a continuing series of "mini-series-within-a-series." Denny O'Neil, Ed Hannigan, and John Beatty are the all-star creative team for the first storyline, which is a five-partner that begins before Bruce Wayne becomes the Batman. This story will explore the elements of superstition on the Batman mythos, and will develop more fully Bruce Wayne's choice of a bat as his alter ego.

Legends of the Dark Knight will be more mature and hard-hitting than the other Batman books; the stories in this series will be in the Dark-Knight-Killing Joke mold of serious stories for more sophisticated tastes, and will not be Comics Code approved. Each issue will be priced at $1.75; the first issue is scheduled to reach comic shops on October 12th.

Gotham City Action
Adam West wore the cape and cowl in the 1960's, and Michael Keaton put them on for the 1989 movie. Then in 1997, heartthrob George Clooney took on the role of the Caped Crusader in Batman & Robin. You can see how the former ER star fares in the role of this classic superhero tonight, but watch out - George Clooney isn't the only star in this one. Chris O'Donnell plays the Boy Wonder, and Arnold Schwarzenegger takes on the role of the evil Mr. Freeze. And joining in the action are Uma Thurman as the seductive Poison Ivy, Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl and model Elle Macpherson as Julie Madison.

Batman Year Three Flashes Back On Robin
Written By Alex Kirkland
1989 will certainly be memorable to Batman fans. The Batman film, the 3-part Batman story by Sam Hamm and Denys Cowan, the Joker hardcover, and the upcoming Arkham Asylum graphic novel are certainly guaranteed to capture the interest of Batman fans everywhere. This summer, the Batman comic will generate some more excitement of it's own when it goes bi-weekly--and kicks off Batman: Year Three in the process. Batman: Year Three unites Marv Wolfman, Pat Broderick, and John Beatty for a four-part story that introduces one of the most crucial characters in the Batman mythos: Robin. The story takes place in the present, where Batman is virtually on a rampage in Gotham City, almost out of control because of his grief over the death of Jason Todd. A contemplative moment leads Batman to recall his first exploits with the original Robin, Dick Grayson--and those exploits are the focus of Batman: Year Three, which will run in Batman #436-439. The first segment of Batman: Year Three will reach comic shops on June 15th; the next three installments will be published at bi-weekly intervals throughout June and July. Each issue will be priced at 75 cents.