"For you see Rubin, I am not furshlugginer ordinary Batboy!..."
December 9, 2011 6:54 AM Subscribe
Here is the classic story "Batboy and Rubin" from Mad Magazine #8. (Another source.) And here is the story adapted to animation 57 years later on Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
I need to start watching Brave and the Bold again, it is absolutely brilliant and such a great antidote to the "kids love anime, right? LET'S MAKE EVERYTHING LOOK AND SOUND LIKE ANIME" school of modern animation. I'm afraid that if I ever have kids, I'm going to lock them in a room with a 60" television and reverse-Ludovico them into acknowledging the show as a high-water mark of American culture.
Also, the scene in season 1 where Felix Faust steals Dr. Fate's helmet only to find out that Dr. Fate has been practicing hand-to-hand combat remains one of my favorite comics-related moments ever.
posted by griphus at 7:18 AM on December 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
Also, the scene in season 1 where Felix Faust steals Dr. Fate's helmet only to find out that Dr. Fate has been practicing hand-to-hand combat remains one of my favorite comics-related moments ever.
posted by griphus at 7:18 AM on December 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
We've been going through the show in order and hit Bat Boy and Rubin a couple nights ago. It's amazing how well the mine Batman's history to come up with entertaining and hilarious stories to tell. I'm actually not a tremendous comics fan, but wow, this show makes me want to start picking up reprints.
In the very next episode Superman (finally) appears, and starts acting in an incredibly dickish manner due to the influence of red kryptonite. There's a scene where he picks up the Bottle City of Kandor, shakes it vigorously, and says tauntingly, "Earthquake!" There are quiet screams and a cloud of smoke can be seen spuming in the bottle....
This show has become every inch the equal to Batman: The Animated Series, just in an entirely different way. It is wonderful. There are times when the show feels just like The Tick reborn, and I've spotted at least one reference to that show.
posted by JHarris at 7:26 AM on December 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
In the very next episode Superman (finally) appears, and starts acting in an incredibly dickish manner due to the influence of red kryptonite. There's a scene where he picks up the Bottle City of Kandor, shakes it vigorously, and says tauntingly, "Earthquake!" There are quiet screams and a cloud of smoke can be seen spuming in the bottle....
This show has become every inch the equal to Batman: The Animated Series, just in an entirely different way. It is wonderful. There are times when the show feels just like The Tick reborn, and I've spotted at least one reference to that show.
posted by JHarris at 7:26 AM on December 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
I've been putting off watching this, but I think now's the time. That's amazing in a couple of ways.
posted by Huck500 at 7:27 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Huck500 at 7:27 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
If the B&B version of Aquaman doesn't make canon in the comics, I'd be very surprised. He's transformed from a "What's the point?" kind of character, vacillating between milquetoast and "grim'n'gritty" interpretations, into this amazing, huge-hearted doofus that brings a big smile whenever he appears on-screen, while managing to have a complex and interesting backstory.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:34 AM on December 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:34 AM on December 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
...this show makes me want to start picking up reprints.
Spend the five bucks on a used copy and pick up the Superman Family Vol. 1 phonebook reprint. It's back-issues of Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen. Now, it starts off a little slow, but gets wonderful.
posted by griphus at 7:35 AM on December 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
Spend the five bucks on a used copy and pick up the Superman Family Vol. 1 phonebook reprint. It's back-issues of Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen. Now, it starts off a little slow, but gets wonderful.
posted by griphus at 7:35 AM on December 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
Batman does not eat nachos!
posted by kmz at 7:59 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by kmz at 7:59 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
The heck with B&B. WALLY WOOD FTW.
posted by tspae at 8:18 AM on December 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by tspae at 8:18 AM on December 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
Hey, all you Mefites that have been "putting off watching this"--it's been canceled, so thanks for nuttin'.
posted by Larry Duke at 9:02 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Larry Duke at 9:02 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Now now, it's been cancelled, but they were saying the third season was going to be short even at the end of the second, and because they were able to end the show on their own terms they were able to give us an awesome metatextual last episode, Mitefall, where the characters react to the cancellation of their own show, the special guest hero is Ambush Bug, and they ended it with a terrific scene of all the characters, heroes and villains (including deceased characters -- oddly perhaps given the lighter tone, BatB wasn't afraid to kill people off for good from time to time), all having a wrap party in the Batcave while workmen took down the various Bat bits and carted them off. I think it's impossible for anyone who knows anything about comics to see Darkseid at the punchbowl and not have a good chuckle to themselves.
posted by JHarris at 9:20 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by JHarris at 9:20 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Hey, all you Mefites that have been "putting off watching this"--it's been canceled, so thanks for nuttin'.
Cartoon Network gives all of its in-house stuff a finite shelf life (with the possible exception of Ben10) - Nothing lasts more than a few seasons, even quality stuff with a good audience. (See: Teen Titans, Billy & Mandy, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Justice League.)
Kids' taste changes too quickly for one show to be "cool" for longer than a few seasons, and the network is in the business of selling advertising for children's products - bringing in ads for the adults watching quality television confuses the brand and drives away advertisers leery of having their cartoon cereal mascots following up an Axe or Old Spice ad.
One of the reasons why The Hub is probably not going to thrive as an outlet for original content are the Bronies... they've got a solid audience for MLPFIM, but no-one's buying the advertised products, either on the show or on the commercials.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:28 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Cartoon Network gives all of its in-house stuff a finite shelf life (with the possible exception of Ben10) - Nothing lasts more than a few seasons, even quality stuff with a good audience. (See: Teen Titans, Billy & Mandy, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Justice League.)
Kids' taste changes too quickly for one show to be "cool" for longer than a few seasons, and the network is in the business of selling advertising for children's products - bringing in ads for the adults watching quality television confuses the brand and drives away advertisers leery of having their cartoon cereal mascots following up an Axe or Old Spice ad.
One of the reasons why The Hub is probably not going to thrive as an outlet for original content are the Bronies... they've got a solid audience for MLPFIM, but no-one's buying the advertised products, either on the show or on the commercials.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:28 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
If Cartoon Network's stuff has a defined shelf life then explain to me Venture Bros. Also Dexter's Lab, Powerpuff Girls and (surprisingly, amazingly, wonderfully) Courage the Cowardly Dog had good long runs. Of course those shows are somewhat older, so your point may still stand.
The Hub's problem is that Pony is the only good thing on that channel. I have heard talk that there is a chance the channel will shut down. If that happens, Pony may well find a home on Cartoon Network. And Pony merchandise is certainly selling very well, because bronies are buying the stuff at least as much as the target demographic. I real Equestria Daily fairly often. That site is up to over 80 million hits with no slowdown in sight, and they compose lists of all the "blind bag" ponies sold and let out a huge collective SQUEE whenever one bears even a slight resemblance to a background character.
Mind you, word is that MLP:FiM itself is getting a shortened third season. If they cancel it early it will be one of the great examples of managerial clueness in television, and conclusive proof of the failure of The Hub's programming practices. It'd be like Nick cancelling Pete & Pete.
posted by JHarris at 9:38 AM on December 9, 2011
The Hub's problem is that Pony is the only good thing on that channel. I have heard talk that there is a chance the channel will shut down. If that happens, Pony may well find a home on Cartoon Network. And Pony merchandise is certainly selling very well, because bronies are buying the stuff at least as much as the target demographic. I real Equestria Daily fairly often. That site is up to over 80 million hits with no slowdown in sight, and they compose lists of all the "blind bag" ponies sold and let out a huge collective SQUEE whenever one bears even a slight resemblance to a background character.
Mind you, word is that MLP:FiM itself is getting a shortened third season. If they cancel it early it will be one of the great examples of managerial clueness in television, and conclusive proof of the failure of The Hub's programming practices. It'd be like Nick cancelling Pete & Pete.
posted by JHarris at 9:38 AM on December 9, 2011
Dexter's Lab: 78 Episodes
Powerpuff Girls: 78 Episodes.
Courage: 52 Episodes
B:B&B: 65 Episodes.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:47 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Powerpuff Girls: 78 Episodes.
Courage: 52 Episodes
B:B&B: 65 Episodes.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:47 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Venture Bros. is an Adult Swim property, and business-wise, AS is effectively a separate network from daytime Cartoon Network. Plus it's targeted at the same age group that supplies the Brony audience, with ads sold accordingly. So they actually [i]want[/i] to cater to those eyeballs, instead of considering them a peripheral interest at best.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:07 AM on December 9, 2011
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:07 AM on December 9, 2011
The Venture Brothers has also only had 57 episodes, although there's at least another season-and-a-half coming.
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 10:09 AM on December 9, 2011
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 10:09 AM on December 9, 2011
I thought I had deleted the VB part of that comment -- after writing it I realized VB was a problematic case. (I kind of write comments in a non-linear fashion sometimes.) But BotRKR is correct, and I knew, that VB still has a lot of episodes coming.
posted by JHarris at 10:13 AM on December 9, 2011
posted by JHarris at 10:13 AM on December 9, 2011
> word is that MLP:FiM itself is getting a shortened third season. If they cancel it early it will be one of the great examples of managerial clueness in television, and conclusive proof of the failure of The Hub's programming practices.
Since MLP is produced by Hasbro, I suspect that the survival of MLP:FIM is decided by Hasbro alone and Hub is merely its contracted point of distribution. From there, fan distribution on YouTube is at least as important if not moreso, and if Hub kicks it, Hasbro will have no qualms about shopping MLP:FIM (or its successor) to another network, and another and another. It's the profitability of the toy line, and the ability of the TV show to market those toys, that dictates its survival. The health of the network or its own ability to sell ads during the show has become nearly irrelevant; the cable spectrum is so saturated with competing topical channels that somebody, somewhere will always be willing to carry it.
posted by ardgedee at 10:40 AM on December 9, 2011
Since MLP is produced by Hasbro, I suspect that the survival of MLP:FIM is decided by Hasbro alone and Hub is merely its contracted point of distribution. From there, fan distribution on YouTube is at least as important if not moreso, and if Hub kicks it, Hasbro will have no qualms about shopping MLP:FIM (or its successor) to another network, and another and another. It's the profitability of the toy line, and the ability of the TV show to market those toys, that dictates its survival. The health of the network or its own ability to sell ads during the show has become nearly irrelevant; the cable spectrum is so saturated with competing topical channels that somebody, somewhere will always be willing to carry it.
posted by ardgedee at 10:40 AM on December 9, 2011
I can't believe I'm debating the relevance of network programming for My Little Pony in a thread about Batman. Please, somebody, get this thread back on topic. I got nuffin'.
posted by ardgedee at 10:43 AM on December 9, 2011
posted by ardgedee at 10:43 AM on December 9, 2011
Ah nerts, I'm gonna buy and watch this all weekend.
I've loved it since I saw this:
No one does it better than the birds of preeeeeeeeeyyyyyy!
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 10:50 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
I've loved it since I saw this:
No one does it better than the birds of preeeeeeeeeyyyyyy!
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 10:50 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Also to seal the deal for those not yet ready to dive into the series, here's a list of notable guest-stars:
Neil Patric Harris (who sings!)
Jeffrey Tambor
Wil Wheaton
J.K. Simmons
Tom Root
Henry Rollins
Alan Tudyk
R. Lee Emery
Paul Reubens
Henry Winkler
Weird Al
And Adam West and Julie Newmar as Tom and Martha Wayne
posted by Slap*Happy at 11:25 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Neil Patric Harris (who sings!)
Jeffrey Tambor
Wil Wheaton
J.K. Simmons
Tom Root
Henry Rollins
Alan Tudyk
R. Lee Emery
Paul Reubens
Henry Winkler
Weird Al
And Adam West and Julie Newmar as Tom and Martha Wayne
posted by Slap*Happy at 11:25 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
I really hope they will eventually make the whole series available in DVD sets. They seem to be taking their sweet time about releasing them. *grumble* *mutter*
posted by mkhall at 11:34 AM on December 9, 2011
posted by mkhall at 11:34 AM on December 9, 2011
Brave and the Bold is such a good show. It's hard for me to watch it with my son, as at only 16 months, he doesn't understand how IMPORTANT THAT IT IS THAT ADAM WEST IS DOING THE VOICE OF THOMAS WAYNE or that OMG THEY MADE IT SO THE WAYNES WERE MURDERED ON CHRISTMAS DAY AND IT WAS ALL BRUCE'S FAULT FOR BEING SPOILED.
In a few years, tho...
posted by robocop is bleeding at 11:57 AM on December 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
In a few years, tho...
posted by robocop is bleeding at 11:57 AM on December 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
The heck with B&B. WALLY WOOD FTW.
WHEN BETTER COMICS ARE DRAWN
THEY'LL BE DRAWN BY WOOD
posted by Spatch at 11:59 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
WHEN BETTER COMICS ARE DRAWN
THEY'LL BE DRAWN BY WOOD
posted by Spatch at 11:59 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
How have I managed to be completely unaware that this exists? Time to slink off in shame, and right one wrong in the world.
posted by owtytrof at 2:43 PM on December 9, 2011
posted by owtytrof at 2:43 PM on December 9, 2011
That Batboy and Rubin thing is cute, if only for the many many shoutouts in it, but the Birds of Prey thing OnTheLastCastle linked to is just brilliant.
posted by MartinWisse at 10:31 AM on December 10, 2011
posted by MartinWisse at 10:31 AM on December 10, 2011
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posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:06 AM on December 9, 2011