Piles of news

Really just one big thing with a few attached footnotes, I guess - this Friday is the premiere of the new Cartoon Network smash-to-be, Batman: The Brave and the Bold! Which, I might have mentioned, is the show I've been working on for the last year. Rather than going on at length here, allow me to link you to a few interviews I've done in various corners of the internet, and when you're done with those, be sure to tune in to Cartoon Network this Friday at 8 (or Teletoon in Canada, November 21!)!

Not the show -



I think that was made by someone named Grimbot.

Oh, in other news, I don't know if you heard, but there was an election here in the States last week and the good guys totally kicked ass.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

I went to San Diego for the Comic-Con, natch. Okay, it was just three days, but that's all the vacation I get this summer. But the fun I had! After a interview for Batman: Brave & the Bold (check it out here), I went down to the belly of the nerdy beast and sat on a panel (recapped in a couple different places), did a signing and another couple interviews (like this one), walked the entire floor in four hours, and spent the next two days either drinking or resting. For those who couldn't go, here's what you missed-



Higher-res version here.

All characters in video ™ and © DC Comics.

Brave & The Bold development

It's always so exciting when the first animation test comes back from overseas. The culmination of months of development and hard labour crystallized into a moving image for the very first time - finally, glimpses of the finished show are available, and you can see if the animation meets, or in some rare and happy occasions, surpasses the vivid tableaus that have been playing in your mind for up to a year.



Anyways, it'll still be a while yet before anything comes back for Batman: Brave & the Bold. But I sure am looking forward to it.

Meanwhile...

I figured since my blog is getting a little extra traffic from unusual sources these days, I thought I'd mention a few other things I've been working on that you can all enjoy while you're waiting to see Batman: The Brave and the Bold air this fall on Cartoon Network.



First, I'm sure you're already watching Transformers Animated every Saturday morning at 10:30 already (also on Cartoon Network). On the off-chance that you haven't been, next Saturday's a great time to hop on board the Astrotrain* - Season 1 just wrapped up in an explosive climax, and that leads straight into season 2 on the 12th. Even if you haven't watched the show before, now's a perfect time to check it out, because this episode establishes a whole new status quo for the show.



Soon after, April 18th at 8 PM in fact, Cartoon Network (You know what? Just turn to Cartoon Network and throw your remote away) will be premiering the new Ben 10: Alien Force, which I did a few storyboards for. In fact, you can check out a brief sequence that I boarded here. Again, a great episode to start watching even if you haven't seen the original series - it's the ground floor for a whole new take on the characters.

Or if you're still focused on Brave and the Bold, I added some more obnoxious teaser material to the post below, and revealed one secret name. Enjoy!


*Astrotrain not appearing in this episode.

NAna Nana Nana Nana NAna Nana Nana Nana BLOG POST!

Once again, the Internet has unmasked my latest [secret project]. This one's called Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and I'm one of three directors on it, along with Brandon Vietti and Michael Chang, working for James Tucker, of Legion of Superheroes/Justice League/Batman/the-drawing-at-the-end-of-this-post fame, and Sam Register, executive producer of all kinds of awesome shows that you've spent so much time enjoying like Teen Titans, Transformers Animated, Clone Wars, Ben 10, and so on.

Of course, at this early stage, I can't post any actual images from the show, which are being kept under wraps, but there's nothing to stop me from posting this crude scribbling of Batman I did three or four years ago which (I must emphasize) has nothing to do with the show.



Also, here's a list of characters and guest-stars that will be appearing in the show - self-redacted, because 1/ I'm not allowed to spill these particular beans yet and 2/ it will annoy Colin. Keep checking in from time to time, though, and I will be unredacting names selectively, as I have been doing for my previous Transformers and Legion posts.

I wish I could talk about it, because we have [secret character], Black Canary and The Huntress appearing. How awesome is that? Also Blue Beetle (psst - it's Jaime in the suit) and the new Atom. We also have Green Arrow and Aquaman, rocking a decidedly more Silver Age appearance than they have in the comics currently. I also get to draw Speedy, who I haven't drawn since Teen Titans. We even have some really obscure characters popping up, like Adam Strange, Kamandi and fan favorite B'Wana Beast. Also James has promised that we'll finally see the return of Firestorm to the world of animation, which makes me happy, since I thought he should have been in JLU. Not to mention tons of Green Lanterns, including one who's never been animated before. And of course, my favorite, Red Tornado.

Oh, and the guest star voices! Can you believe we got R. Lee Ermey? We also got Tom Kenny, reprising his role as Plastic Man, and Michael Rosenbaum, but not in the role you might expect (he'll actually be playing Deadman). Plus the return of many familiar faces from shows I've worked on in the past, like John DiMaggio, Greg Ellis, [secret guest star], Wil Wheaton, [secret guest star] and [secret guest star]. So you can see why I would be excited!

Anyhow, the show is apparently airing Fridays on Cartoon Network, but not until the Fall. I will probably forget to remind you when it airs, but please, check it out!


Publicity drawing by James Tucker.

Batman, Blue Beetle, "Brave and the Bold", Green Arrow are all ™ and © DC Comics.