I've heard that there's been more leaked photos from the set of THE DARK KNIGHT; one of the photos, which has already been taken down, is apparently a massive spoiler picture that's 'ruined the movie', as quoted by the people who got to look at it. It's a possible origin!key snapshot as to how Joker got his chelsea smile/make-up. I'm worried that it's a photo of him disfiguring himself =|

Also; another leaked photo was apparently of a Nolanized Catwoman leaning over Batman; as a cameo shot. It was.. described as 'too fantasy'; maybe she's got fur now? What the. Hopefully it's just a really, really clever photo manip. But it's worried a lot of batfans, so it's a pretty damn good manip. =/

Looking forward to reading some comics that are coming in next week; just got an update e-mail =D

Batman Chronicles Volume 2 & 3, Gotham County Line TPB, Batman Dark Knight Adventures TPB, and Chiropteran's getting his Gotham After Midnight #3.

Busy weeks to come. I've also bought Ultra-Pro magazine sleeves for my wider comics and magazines.

The Batman Dailies HC TPB will be hardcore.

Looking to pick up an order this week (amazing if it'd be today). I can't wait to read them =D

It was:
The Joker: complete series, 1-through-to-9, 2005 Villains Secret Files and Origins, Joker's Last Laugh Pin-Up Secret Files and Origins, and 2007 Villains Secret Files and Origins, Detective Comics #365 The House that Joker Built, several Harley Quinns, some of Chiropteran's additions (Bullock's Law, Nosferatu, etc), some others.. Another order included Robin: Wanted, Joker's Asylum mini-series, R.I.P #677 variant edition,  Batman Archives volumes.

I need to go find a copy of The Batman Encyclopedia; I've already got The.. can't recall the name, but it's an essential encyclopedia; volume 1 was Batman, and the other two were for Superman and Wonder Woman.

I need to change my e-mail here; Chiropteran let me borrow one of his forum!ones; as my other e-mails are private.

The Dark Knight can't come fast enough: damn it, July 17th! Although we can pre-order tickets on the 12th. =D

One of my orders arrived early this morning, so it was good =D Another big order arrived (see: Sony Bravia XBR), but that's not the topic of interest here.

I got:

The Joker's Last Laugh TPB
Catwoman #77
Gotham Underground #2 & #8
Batman R.I.P #673
Batman: Gotham By Gaslight The Search for Ray Palmer #1 (for Chiropteran)
Arkham Asylum Inmate T-Shirt

Going to read them tonight; first, I must go watch John Carpenter's The Thing on my new TV with Chiropteran. =D

I've made a new comic order; I can't get ahold of a copy of Batman R.I.P #674, so I have to dig around somewhere again. I've ordered a copy of R.I.P #677 (variant edition!), Robin TPB, World War III, Child of Dreams, The Joker's Arkham Asylum series, Ultra-Pro magazine bags. I've got one box and a half of MillCases to use; so I'm storing those until my american stuff arrives over the next two weeks.

Arkham Asylum inmate t-shirt, Ego and Other Tails, Batman Begins essays collection, and more need to be arriving this week or I need to make some calls.

I forgot- on the weekend the other half of the books order had arrived. 10/10 for all of them =D

I had bought:

The Art of Batman Begins

Batman Unauthorized: Vigilantes, Jokers and Heroes

The Forensic Files of Batman

Still got Inferno, the essays book, Ego TPB, the two or three American orders; also need to get copies of Fear Itself and Dead White.

I'm amazed that the Forensic Files book even put the crime channel here (CS&I, uncensored) to shame. There's excessive detail concerning crime scenes and activity, as much as the book should have a 'for mature readers' label; I don't think parents would be too happy if they caught little Timmy reading about poisons, stabbings and rape.

I'm not going to be too impressed with Morrison's #677. Honestly, I think the last we saw of ...the real Joker, back in Batman & Son when he got shot. From his 'reinvention' (a sleazy, 'inside!joke' twist on that then original and fantastic idea in Arkham: A Serious House) and onwards: The Joker, to me, is a fanfic writer's fantasy reinvention on their take of what a 'psychopathic mass-murderer with a taste for black humour in a gritty/noir/horror verse': Hannibal Lector, Pyramid Head and Sweeney Todd. The Joker needs finesse. He is not a vegetable. He does not need a pair of ye olde razors, a butcher's smock (his new outfit looks like it was swiped from movie!Silent Hill's Pyramid Head, just not human skin material) and Lector's psychological/quiet menace trademarks.

Morrison: leave your ideas in A Serious House. They remain original, brilliant, top-notch, and menacing in their original format and.. well, origin. Don't do a backflip and go 'Hey- I'll just use the basis of an OLDER comic I did decades ago as 'new material' for today's new generation of what a psycho killer should be: blood everywhere to prove how much of a bad-ass he is, with fashionable choice weapons!'. That's Johnny the Homicidal Maniac territory. Or, most of today's horror cult icons. It worries me that in Morrison's interview, he implied that he wishes to make his NewJoker more like Heatho's Joker.

Please- Batman on film canon should stay in the films. It's a bad idea to draw ideas and foundations FROM films into the COMICS. I applaud Heath Ledger and Nolan's Joker: classic, original Joker. Except for the make-up and the chelsea grin, which pretty much destroys the character. Might as well make Batman immortal and give him laser eye beams.

But that's just my opinion. =) In 'Batman Unauthorized': most of what I explained/ranted here was of course covered in it. Unfortunately this book was written before Heatho's passing; so it only mentioned briefly that they haven't seen Nolan's Joker, but there's rumours of make up, so they hope that Nolan wouldn't saddle Heath with prosthetics/make-up. Which turns out they did.

I have finished my clean out; got 30 or so comics I need to get rid of now. I had used 93% of my Mill Cases in total, which is great. I should have enough left over for the american orders.

I found a Grant Morrison interview about RIP, and it's done nothing but make me hate him and what he's doing to BATMAN even more. =/

thenightwing just gave me a heads up on the Batman: Lego video-game: anyone else just as excited as I am on buying it when it comes out in september?

My Mill Cases arrived; what can I say? They're bloody brilliant. Perfect.

I'm very pleased with them; 1/3 of the way through cleaning out my collection with, moving them all into their cases!

My Batman R.I.P comics arrived late yesterday.

I have nothing but two words: R.I.P, indeed.

And here I was, thinking Batman #663's atrocity couldn't continue in a downward spiral.

I have nothing that anyone would probably like to hear, regarding the extremely poor and tacky dialogue/writing, the hannibal lecter/sweeney todd absurdity, and the rest of it all. The Black Glove's members are nothing more than hilarious knock offs of some other cheap villain.

I'd like to end this with (ahah) one of the lines that Morrisson's butchered (pun!) Joker said: I don't know whether to laugh or cry. :|

Righto, so my massive order of Mill Case cases should arrive sometime this week. When it does, I'm going to finish the last phase of my Comic Cleanout '08.

You bet that I'm definitely going to put my He-Man comics in the cases FIRST; then my Batman collection. It was very difficult tracking down the entire He-Man (the millenium series by Emiliano), you know. I've got the alternate covers, the poster cover, the gold foil Boris Vallejo edition, the ones you get only at conventions and the online e-store.. They're currently in nasty NORMAL, comic store-standard disposable sleeves. They need their archival cases >)

It's going to be a long day when that phase starts.

Side note: going to go see Indy later this week!