Batman Turns 75 With A Year-Long Event-Filled Celebration
For a character who is 75 years old, Batman still looks pretty spectacular, doesn’t he? Like fellow DC superhero Superman before him, the Caped Crusader is getting a year-long celebration for his diamond jubilee anniversary, though I’d expect he want the diamond to be colored black. The special logo design seen above is just the first of many ways that DC will be showing the Dark Knight love this year, in addition to all of the previously planned releases that we already knew were coming in 2014. I feel the need to wear my Batman pajamas while writing this.
Today marks the launch of the anniversary-specific website Batman75.com, which will serve as the hub for activities and releases coming over the next year or so. The first thing you should do is clear your calendar for July 23, which has officially been deemed "Batman Day." (Greeting card companies need to jump on this, and in a hurry.) To celebrate, DC Entertainment is partnering with thousands of comic retailers, book stores and libraries across the nation to host celebrations, complete with a free Batman comic created special for the occasion. The new series Batman Eternal will hit stores in April, so we can probably expect that series to receive heavy promotion that day.
On the visual media front, this year marks the very first time the classically campy 1966 Batman series will be available on DVD for the first time. (Holy what the hell took so long, Batman!) As well, a 25th anniversary of Tim Burton’s Batman will be released on Blu-ray/DVD. As far as new stuff goes, we can look forward to the animated films Son of Batman, an adaptation of Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert’s Batman and Son comic arc as scripted by the ever-awesome author Joe R. Lansdale, as well as Batman: Assault on Arkham, which will take place in the same universe as the popular Arkham video game series. Take a peek at Batman's offspring in the trailer below.
Speaking of those games, we can look forward to the fourth game in that series, Batman: Arkham Knight, which comes out in October. In anticipation for that release, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is tasking fashion designer Asher Levine with creating a cape and cowl based on the game’s designs, and a group of contemporary artists will be able to use Levine’s prototypes to create their own versions of the iconic costume. These creations will be shown off at Comic-Con in July for a "Cape/Cowl/Create" exhibit. Take a peek at the digital duds below.
And that’s not the only good news for convention-goers. SDCC will be the home for a slew of variant comic covers, but the real prizes are coming to Anaheim’s Wonder Con in April, where Batman: The Animated Series’s Bruce Timm will unveil his exclusive animated short celebrating Batman’s 75 years, presumably in the same way that Zack Snyder honored Superman last year. Timm will also be taking part in the 75th anniversary all-star panel on Saturday, April 19. As well, comic book vet and animator Darwyn Cooke will present his own short film based on the fan favorite series Batman Beyond.
So while you’re waiting for all of these batty events and releases, which will in some way culminate in the production of Snyder’s Man of Steel sequel, go out and buy the recently released special edition of Detective Comics #27 (where Batman was first introduced) or try and find a screening of Brett Culp’s inspirational documentary Legends of the Knight. And I don’t think I have to remind you guys to keep up with our coverage of Fox’s Gotham pilot, which will delve into the early years of Detective James Gordon.
So how will you be celebrating?
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Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper. Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.