Batman Beyond: Your First Look At Darwyn Cooke’s New Short
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We don’t talk a whole lot about traditional superheroes here at GFR. That doesn’t mean we’re not fans, there’s just a bunch of other folks out there covering that beat. Sure, we’re giving Guardians of the Galaxy a lot of love, but that shit takes place in deep space and has a talking raccoon, so how can we not? Batman Beyond enters into our purview due to the futuristic nature of the show, and though there haven’t been any new episodes in well over a decade, that’s about to change when a new animated short debuts this weekend at Wondercon. It sounds like a good time, and if you’re not lucky enough to be there, check out this sneak peek at Darwyn Cooke’s addition to the cannon.
This release just so happens to coincide with the Dark Knight’s 75th anniversary, and though this clip doesn’t offer much in the way of details about the plot or characters or any of that stuff, but it certainly is fun. It just brings a smile to your face to watch the Caped Crusader back in animated action kicking some ass.
Cooke has worked on Batman: The Animated Series and contributed to various Batman titles, including teaming up with Ed Brubaker for a solid run on Catwoman. The Canadian artist and writer has also worked on The Spirit, Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter, and too many more to reasonably name in a timely fashion.
Batman Beyond is set in a futuristic Gotham City, one that is just as infested with crime and degradation as ever, despite Batman’s best efforts. Bruce Wayne, however, is getting old and can’t hang quite like he used to. But that’s okay, he’s got a new protégé in the form of a 17-year-old troubled teen named Terry McGinnis. Because it’s the future, there are all sorts of cool technological innovations and fun new gadgets. The series definitely skews towards the darker side of things, especially for a show targeted at kids, but that’s part of why people are still interested. It ran for 52 episodes from 1999 to 2001, and a direct to video movie before being put on hold for a Justice League cartoon.
Cooke’s new Batman Beyond short debuts this weekend, and we’ll be keeping an eye out this week to see when the full video hits ye olde Internet.
