Here’s a quick review/rundown of the “Extras” included with
BATMAN: YEAR ONE…
* A “Sneak Peak” at JUSTICE LEAGUE: DOOM - Looks cool, but all we’re getting here is basically an advertisement. Apparently, It’s loosely based on the Justice League story “Tower of Babel” where Batman’s kinda the bad guy…sorta.
* Audio commentary with Alan Burnett, Sam Liu, Mark Carlin, and Andrea Romano - Nice, but I liked the other stuff better.
* BATMAN: YEAR ONE, Chapter 1 Digital Comic Book - Haven't we all already read this and got the graphic novel on our bookshelves?
* Two episodes from BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES handpicked by Bruce Timm - If you dig Catwoman, you’re going to be happy. The two episodes included are “Catwalk” (featuring a blonde Selina Kyle) and “Cult of the Cat,” which is sort of bizarre.
* The two “Featurettes” -- “Heart of Vengeance: Returning Batman to His Roots” and “Conversations with DC Comics -- are pretty darn good. I’m a history buff, so these sort of things are right up my alley. Basically, it’s a bunch of Batman gurus -- including my friend, the great Michael Uslan -- talking about The Batman and YEAR ONE. Awesome.
DC Showcase Animated Original Short: CATWOMAN - Written by Paul Dini, this is probably the one extra that fans want to see. Hey, it’s Catwoman and she’s arguably the greatest Batman villain -- though I don’t really think of her in that way -- next to The Joker. All I’m going the say is that this short is well done, but it may be the most risqué thing that DC/WB has put when it comes to these animated films and shorts. I made the mistake of watching it with my 14 year old son and 16 year old daughter and was, well, a bit uncomfortable during a certain part of it. (While I’m sure that many ‘o “fanboy” will get a bit of a kick out of said segment, but it does make one wonder if this sort of stuff that helps perpetuate the negative image of fandom.)
