Visiting the 2017 Ottawa Comiccon and let's talk about Starlog Magazine while we're at it

Just like last year, the Ottawa EY Centre was host to this year's Ottawa Comiccon. This year's event felt packed with lots to see and do. There literally was something for everyone:

-Are you a Star Wars fan? The Capital City Garrison was in attendance, so there were plenty of professional Star Wars cosplay photo ops.

photo source: Adrian K

-Are you a Dr Who fan? Peter Capaldi (12th doctor), Alex Kingston, and Jenna Coleman were there for photo ops. I'd probably guess that one fourth of the cosplay was Dr Who related -- for a fan of the good doctor, this probably seemed like a mini Dr Who convention.

Peter Capaldi. Photo courtesy of Ottawa Comiccon media relations.

-A comic book fan? Mike Zeck, Michael Golden, Ty Templeton and Bob Layton were in attendance doing commissions, selling prints and signing comics. Comic book fans had a lot of amazing talent under one roof to buy art from. [More on that later]

-A steampunk fan? There was a pretty significant steampunk presence, but not as strong as last year's event.

-A cosplayer? You were in the right place. Lots of great cosplay this year, as well as panels and workshops discussing cosplay. Actually. I'd say this year's Ottawa Comiccon had a stronger cosplay presence than last year, and we saw a lot of creative and innovative costumes. [see photos later in this article]

-An 80s pop culture fan? The original cast from 1987's Degrassi Junior High made a special appearance. Jon Cusack [Sixteen Candles, Say Anything, Grosse Pointe Blank] was also there for photo ops and a Q&A session. The car from Knight Rider, KITT, was also on-site for photo ops.

Hey, it's the cast of Degrassi Junior High! Which Canadian teen didn't watch Degrassi growing up in the late 80s?

-If you're into board games (or just needed to get off your feet for a while), The Kessel Run had a gaming area set up near the back of the convention where you could sit down and try out some new games.


The actual event -- Friday:

We were lucky enough to obtain media passes for the Friday opening. Friday had a pretty modest turn-out (more so than last year, it seemed). Typically, Fridays are only open to media and convention goers with special three-day or VIP passes (it's kind of a perk to be there on a Friday afternoon before everyone else arrives). The convention centre really started to fill up around 4pm and this was a probably a result of attendees getting off from work and coming straight to the convention, and John Barrowman (The Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Torchwood, Doctor Who) and Bob Morley (The 100) signing autographs that evening.

Upon arriving at the EY Centre on Friday, we wasted no time in trying to secure interviews with the creators we hoped to talk to. Reality check: nearly all of them were swamped with commissions and unable to talk. One of the harsh realities about being a comics journalist for a DIY fanzine is that, when attending a comics convention, you don't always get to interview the creators you'd like to (mainly because they're too busy with signings and commissions). We were spoiled last year when Mike Grell allowed us to sit down and interview while he worked, but that was pretty much the exception and not the norm.

Bob Layton was pretty busy from the get-go, and was hard at work getting his commissions done before the end of day. He was pretty enthusiastic to chat with us, but we just couldn't make our schedules sync. Thankfully, he took a few moments to pose for us. Ty Templeton interviewed him in a panel on Saturday afternoon and Layton managed to answer most of the burning questions we had for him.

smiling Bob Layton

The ever-elusive Renee Witterstaetter appeared at this year's Ottawa Comiccon. As an added bonus, she was publicist/booking agent for both Mike Zeck and Michael Golden -- two creators we had hoped to interview. "Mike doesn't really say much and doesn't do interviews", she explained. I looked over, and Mike Zeck was furiously sketching something in ink for an attendee. Michael Golden was equally busy working on something really cool for another attendee, no doubt. "I can't talk right now, but e-mail me or call me when this event is over...", Renee replied when I told her I wanted to interview her about her time at DC comics in the late 80s working as assistant editor to Mike Carlin. I plan on taking her up on that offer very shortly (maybe I'll even throw in a few questions for Zeck and Golden).

Mike Zeck working hard, with Renee in the background.

Michael Golden hard at work

Other creators included Geof Isherwood, who actually lives near Ottawa, so we hope to grab an interview with him in the very near future:

Geof Isherwood

Other comic book creators in attendance were Ty Templeton (we interviewed him at last year's Montreal Comiccon), Richard Pace (we also interviewed him at last year's Montreal Comiccon), Janet Hetherington and Ronn Sutton (we recently interviewed them as well), and Dan Parent. Richard Pace was by far the most entertaining creator we spoke to with lots of interesting insights into the industry, and I really hope to get a round 2 interview out of him soon.

Richard Comely appeared at this year's Ottawa Comiccon. If you don't know who Richard Comely is -- he's the creator of Captain Canuck. Captain Canuck (published by Comely Comix) first appeared from 1975 to 1981 in his own self-titled series, took a brief hiatus, and resurfaced again in 1993 under the Semple Comics imprint. Captain Canuck was probably on par with Captain America as far as being considered a patriotic/national symbol was concerned -- this went a long was since Canada didn't have much of a presence in DC or Marvel comics (unless you count Marvel's Alpha Flight or Wolverine originating from Canada). Comely casually mentioned to us that Captain Canuck had been licensed out to Chapterhouse Comics and will be appearing in many more comics in the future. I don't believe he's drawing or writing the title(s) anymore, but I do believe he is being regarded as a creative consultant for these projects.

Richard Comely in center

The actual event -- Saturday:

With an attendance of 42,000 visitors, it's not surprising that Ottawa Comicon needed to turn a grassy field across the street from the venue into a makeshift parking lot on Saturday. We arrived around noon and had to park in said field, and took a shuttle bus to the front doors of the convention. Immediately upon arrival, I was told that if I hurried I could make it to the John Barrowman Q&A, which apparently had everyone in stitches. I could not make it in time. All attendees told me that Barrowman puts on a great show and it's worth the price of admission to see him in a panel.

John Barrowman bio photo. Courtesy of Ottawa Comiccon media relations team.

Speaking of Barrowman, if you're a fan of the DC-themed TV shows, both Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham) and Laura Vandervoort (Smallville, Supergirl) appeared on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Madelaine Petsch, who plays Cheryl Blossom on Riverdale, was on site for a Q&A, autographs and photographs. In case you were wondering -- no, we didn't interview any of them.

Here's a PRO TIP for you: the best way to get the most for your money at ANY comic convention is to try to sit in for every panel you possibly can. A lot of attendees don't realize that half the fun is sitting in on Q&A sessions with actors, actresses, creators and general persons of interest. Most attendees pay the full admission fee without realizing there's a programming schedule full of Q&A sessions, panel discussions, workshops, etc.  I implore you -- check these programming guides and see what is available to you. You will be delightfully surprised. I, personally, missed a panel discussion with Chapterhouse Comics and a Q&A with John Cusack because I misread the programming guide and thought it was going to occur later in the afternoon than it actually did. Live and learn.

There was a variety of creative cosplay this year, and we tried to snap as many pics as we could. Last year, in connection to the upcoming Suicide Squad film, we saw a lot of Harley Quinn cosplay. We still saw a lot of Harley Quinn cosplay this year, but we also saw a bit more diversity with an emphasis on Wonder Woman and Teen Titans cosplay. For some reason, Aquaman was a popular theme this year (probably something to do with the Jason Momoa Aquaman film coming out next year). Batman and Batman-related characters (ex: Joker, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Riddler) are always a hit and were seen in full force this year.

TITANS TOGETHER! Photo source: Adrian K

Shazam! vs Black Adam

Amazons looking very stoic and proud

JLA family (includes baby Robin)

Dawn of Justice armored Batman and Babs Batgirl. Photo source: Adrian K

cosplay from my favorite Batman movie ever

Batman and Damian Wayne

We couldn't resist taking a few pics of Marvel cosplay we thought was pretty nifty:

Spider-Man, Deadpools, Cable and Angela [?]. Photo source: Adrian K.

Jean Grey Phoenix. Photo source: Adrian K

Dr Strange and Black Knight. Ty Templeton in background. Photo source: Adrian K.

X-Factor's Polaris. Photo source: Adrian K.

Cosplay you probably won't recognize if you're under the age of 35:

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em robots (at first I thought they were cosplaying Tron)

Cosplay you probably won't recognize if you're over the age of 35:

Ms Frizzle from The Magic School Bus cartoon. photo source: Adrian K

Rick of Rick and Morty. Photo source: Adrian K.

This year's Ottawa Comiccon offered lots of panels on cosplaying including such popular hits like Electronics for Cosplay 101, Level Up your Cosplay Makeup, Cosplay on a Budget, Cosplay Masquerade Basics, The Business of Cosplay (featuring Indra Rojas), How Special FX Makeup can work for you, Female to Male Crossplay Dress-up, and Dyeing and Painting Fabric for Cosplay. (I wasn't kidding when I said Ottawa Comiccon was extremely cosplay friendly). Furthermore, there was a designated Cosplay Lounge (for cosplayers to unwind and make adjustments to costumes) and lots of signage about Cosplay & Consent (which is very forward-thinking on behalf of the convention organizing committee). Above all, Ottawa Comiccon wanted to make sure it was a safe place for cosplayers.


When we're not trying to get interviews or taking photos of cosplayers, we're typically walking the floor taking pics of whatever interests us and conversing with vendors and fans. Often, I enjoy looking up the 80s toys I owned and finding out how much they go for today. I like to imagine how much my toys would have been worth had I saved them in the box and never opened them. I'm glad I didn't, because that would've led to a pretty lame childhood.

The coveted Super Powers Collection from the mid-80s still fetches a fair price.

The DC Super Heroes action figures from the late 80s were slightly more affordable.

Loose figs are probably the best way to go. Many of them were in various conditions, and if you didn't know what you were buying, you may have ended up with a fig missing an accessory.

Another item that caught my eye was this diorama on display in the Endalyon booth. It got my attention because it looked like one of those cool, elaborate 3D board games that were so popular in the mid-to-late 80s.

Endalyon's display. photo source: Adrian K

A quick chat with the owner, Dylan Montgomerie, revealed that it's actually part of a tabletop strategy game released by Knight Models. It's actually a Batman Miniatures Game that is celebrating its fifth anniversary. I'm a big fan of tabletop strategy games involving DC characters, so I will definitely be following up with Montgomerie for more information about this game in the near future.

Batman Miniatures Game up close. photo source: Adrian K

Another exhibit that I found noteworthy: Glitch Artwork had a booth in Artist Alley that sold shadowbox art displays of scenes from my favorite NES games. I spoke to the artist, and he told me that the individual pieces were cut out of foamcore with a laser printer and then assembled to created a 3D diorama.

These pics really don't do them justice, so I'd recommend checking out their Facebook page for better views of their work. In a way, they kind of reminded me of Todd Reis' excellent 3D shadowbox dioramas (which are a highly coveted item among silver age comic book collectors).


By now it's no secret that I have an unusual fascination with trading cards. My big acquisitions from this event were the 1994 Sandman widevision set I've been seeking for a while. From a 'what hell, this looks interesting' perspective, I picked up a Topps Robocop 2 set (complete with stickers), a 1993 trading card set commemorating Starlog magazine, a complete set (minus the checklist) of those trading cards Marvel was including in their 1993 Annuals (introducing BRAND NEW characters) and a mysterious DC Who's Who trading card set I was previously unaware of until I stumbled upon them at this convention.

I've pretty much collected all of the card sets on my 'MUST HAVE' list, and am now just picking up whatever looks interesting to me. If it's a DC cereal box insert from the 1980s, or a promotional card set that was offered with a magazine (or a household product), there's a good chance that I'm all over it. All in all, I was pretty satisfied with the items I managed to find at the Ottawa Comiccon vendor tables and now have more cannon fodder for future trading card reviews.

All the cool stuff I picked up at this year's Ottawa Comiccon

This pretty much wraps up our review of the 2017 Ottawa Comiccon. Due to Mother's Day, I was only able to attend Friday and Saturday -- but judging from the turnout from those two days I have no doubt that Sunday was just as packed. I really look forward to see what Ottawa Comiccon brings to the table next year, as I feel this year's event was extremely successful.

I want to thank Leeja Murphy and all of her beautiful & talented staff from Agence Pink for all of their hard work in marketing and coordinating this event.

----

Starlog magazine

I'm going to switch gears for a minute and talk about the 1993 Starlog: The Science Fiction Universe trading card set I picked up (because I'll probably never get another chance to talk about these again). I had no clue these existed until I saw them on a vendor's table in the $5 pile.

For anyone who doesn't know, Starlog magazine was one of the few reliable sources that gave you info about upcoming sci-fi movies during the pre-internet days of the 80s. Since nobody was really giving extensive coverage to comic book movies (and you could argue that they were considered 'sci-fi' as well), Starlog was covering those, too.

I don't remember the first time I ever saw a Starlog magazine -- it may have been sold in specialty bookstores among a few other magazines aimed at niche audiences -- but I do remember it's sister publication, Fangoria. Fangoria was a magazine that focused on horror films, and all the older (aka 'cooler') kids in the neighborhood were into horror films, so I'd often catch glimpses of various Fangoria issues trading hands. At the time, I was too squeamish for horror films, so I was kind of horrified by them. This is no longer the situation. [As of this writing I just discovered there's a Fangoria trading card set from 1993 floating around out there. Note to self: got to get these.]

Fangoria #64 (1987). As a kid, this cover would've terrified me

Anyways, to make a long story short, before Wizard Magazine and *other* comic book magazines started over-saturating the newsstands in the early 90s, if you wanted insider info on a new comic book themed movie coming out, Starlog was IT.  I do remember the Starlog issue with Michael Keaton as Batman on the cover. This was right around the time Batmania was starting to invade North America and we were all getting excited for the new 1989 Tim Burton Batman film. I think my neighbor owned this issue because I do remember thumbing through it quite often, but don't actually have it in my collection.

Starlog magazine #142 (1989)

While Starlog was mad legit as far as film/sci-fi journalism went, it was rather expensive at the time. Sure, those covers were really eye-catching and enticing, but for $4.50 CAD I could've purchased two or three DC or Marvel comics. Other than the cover feature, there was probably a good chance I wouldn't read the rest of the magazine. Yes, this is why I didn't collect Starlog when I was 10 years old. My best bet scenario would've been to have had an older sibling or cousin who collected them, and who would've let me borrow their issues when I wanted. Alas, no dice.

Things have changed -- I now recognize that Starlog played an important role in building comic book and sci-fi fandom. I should probably mention that didn't *just* cover films, but sci-fi fandom in general -- this included interviews with artists/directors/actors, reviews of sci-fi books and tv shows, comic book updates, and convention announcements (among other things). Starlog magazine was also notorious for having ads to some of the coolest and most obscure sci-fi/fantasy trinkets and collectibles you never even imagined:

ad from Starlog #76 (1983)

On a more nerdy note, you really had to give Starlog props for being a fanzine that actually 'made it' and had an actual subscription base, was being sold in stores, was 'mostly' full color and was actually reputable (as opposed to being xerox'd in someone's dank basement and being mailed out in non-descriptive envelopes). It goes to show that there was a market out there for magazines that discussed the coming and goings of sci-fi fandom, and it could actually be lucrative. I'd probably consider Starlog to be the golden standard of what I hope DC in the 80s/Baxter Stock could become.

full-color interior pages from Starlog magazine #119 (1987)

SO, all this to say, you can probably understand why I HAD to own this trading card set as soon as I saw it. Getting down to the details: this trading card set consisted of 100 trading cards (not including the 6 checklist cards, 4 space art promo cards, 2 holograms or the 5 Star Trek mail-in cards) and had a slick glossy feel to them. I initially thought these Starlog trading cards were inserts included in the magazine, but apparently they were sold in packs of nine. You probably guessed it -- the hologram chase cards are Star Trek themed.

The trading cards themselves are a nice trip down memory lane featuring all of those aforementioned 'catchy' covers of Starlog magazine. I'm guessing these covers were chosen by the editors? Either way, all the good ones are here. I've compiled a collection of cards that showcased DC-themed covers:

collection of 1993 Starlog trading cards. do you remember any of these covers/issues?

The front of the card has an image of a Starlog Magazine cover. On the reverse? A puzzle piece for an art scene, of course. You can tell that World Class Marketing (the company that published these cards) were doing their best impression of a Topps trading card set (complete with HUGE 25 card puzzles) -- but with glossy fronts and backs.

Front and reverse of a 1993 Starlog trading card

What did the card backs form to create? One of several puzzles featuring kool space art fantastic images (see below). Okay, I'm lying -- I really would have preferred the card backs joined to recreate a huge Starlog magazine cover -- but I guess you can't win 'em all, right?

kool Space Art Fantastic art. artist unknown

Looking back through these cards reminds me of all the big blockbuster movies of my youth (i.e. Robocop, Indiana Jones, Gremlins, Ghostbusters II, etc) and brings back a sudden pang of nostalgia for when you actually had to buy your film news off the stands. I really like how crisp and vibrant the colors on these cards turned out, and I was overall impressed with the quality. As mentioned, I will be seeking out that Fangoria trading card set.


-Justin

Thanks to Adrian K for accompanying me as my photographer for this event.

Replaying SEGA's Batman: Revenge of the Joker (1992)

This article was primarily inspired by my buddy Shaun Robinson, who had fond memories of playing an 8-bit console game in which the Batman battled Killer Moth. I had no clue which game he was talking about and, using our collective retro-nostalgia skills, determined he was referring to the Batman: Revenge of the Joker SEGA Genesis game released by Sunsoft in 1992. Shaun grew up a SEGA kid (as opposed to a NINTENDO kid, which is a story in itself). I just HAD to track this game down, having completely missed it the first time around.

Similar to my last video game review, I'll be reviewing this more as a DC comics fan first, and an aficionado of retro video games second. My main drive for this review is to determine if Killer Moth actually does show up in this game. It would be pretty rad if he does.

Batman: Return of the Joker is the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) successor to Sunsoft's Batman: The Video Game NES console game released in 1990. Batman: Revenge of the Joker, which is what we'll be reviewing in this article, is the 1992 SEGA Genesis remake of the Batman: Return of the Joker console game for the NES. So... two different games: 'Return of...' and 'Revenge of...'. We'll be reviewing the latter.

If you were old enough to remember 1989's Batmania, then you're probably going to remember seeing this ad in select video game magazines sometime around 1992:

At a glance, the art in this ad tells me that this game is based on the comic book - Batman is wearing his blue & grey costume (whereas if this had been a game based on the movie, he would've been wearing an all-black costume). Note how the ad doesn't have any screenshots of the game or tell you what type of game it is (ex: fighting game, shoot-em up, strategy, platform, etc). All we can presume is that at some point in the game we will be fighting Joker and, since this game is on a 16-bit system, it will feature better graphics than an 8-bit console game (i.e. NES).

The protective case for the game itself is pretty ubiquitous... it really doesn't give you any new info we didn't learn from the ad - except that it's meant for 1 player.

source: zonesega.com

The back cover of the case gives us another view of the Joker and Batman going at it. Who illustrated the cover and back cover? I wish I knew. Instinctively, I want to say Norm Breyfogle, since he was the MAIN Batman comic book artist around this time period, however... I've been known to be terrible at identifying comic book art - so don't take my word on it. The Joker fighting Batman while wielding a giant mallet was not an uncommon sight to Canadian kids growing up in the 80s. A very popular lunch box around this era had a very similar design:

image source: www.terapeak.com

This image was inspired by the Kenner Super Powers Collection action figure toyline (notice Joker's mallet has his face on it? Exactly like the toy!) and was most likely illustrated by José Luis García-López (since I *believe* he was illustrating all of the official artwork for the Super Power Collection merchandising).

If you want to read the play-by-play and my experiences playing the game, keep reading. Otherwise jump to the overall review of this SEGA game.

One of my favorite complaints from the early 90s NES and SEGA era is "The art on the case of the game led me to believe that the in-game graphics would be much better than they actually turned out to be." I'd say that complaint is justified when you boot up the game:

Not shown (because these aren't animated gifs), the purple sky background moved independently and quicker than the foreground, alluding you to think that this game was going to be using some high-end graphics.

That was our opening: First an image of Joker, crouching on the sidewalk (with Batman in the far distance), and then a shot of Batman looking at the Bat signal. That's it. No context as to what's going on. Did Joker bend over to pick up a dime and this alerted Batman? Hence, the mystery. But really, who cares? This was 1992 and it's not like we had a glut of Batman video games to choose from [, yet]. We'll take any excuse to fight the Joker.

The opening sequence music is 90s chiptune at it's best. This game has quite a few memorable beats which helps you get into the spirit of the game (and shows just how hard the developers were trying to work with what they had). You can listen to the ENTIRE game soundtrack thanks to Classic Vgm Soundtracks' YouTube channel.

When you start a new game, this screen appears:

Prior to this game review, I've never heard of Ringler Studios. A quick internet search tells me that they've developed Mario Lemieux Hockey (SEGA), ESPN Sunday Night NFL (SEGA, SEGA CD, SNES), Super Slap Shot (SNES) and ClayFighter (SEGA). I wasn't much into sports games, but ClayFighter I *do* remember. ClayFighter was released in 1993 for the SNES (and one year later for the SEGA Genesis) when interest in console fighting games (i.e. Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, Fatal Fury, etc) was at an all-time high. ClayFighter was promoted as a 'kid-friendly' game that still delivered intense action without the bloodshed and gore. I remember playing the SNES version at a friends' house or two - this was always a 'weekend rental', I don't remember anyone ever having purchased this game for their own private collection. ClayFighter did relatively well on the SNES console market, and the SEGA port was hailed as almost identical to the SNES version. Let's see if Ringler Studios can deliver on this Batman game.


Starting with level 1-1, I was pleasantly surprised to discover this game didn't look terrible. Having seen no screenshots whatsoever of this game prior to playing, I really had no clue what to expect. The colors are nice and bright, and Batman and his enemies are easy to distinguish from the background.

Again, you can't see this because these aren't animated gifs, but the light blue strip at the top of the screen moves quicker and independently from the rest of the action on the screen, so it gives it an interesting visual effect.


The game begins with Batman on a rooftop (familiar territory to most Batman video games) as he works his way across the level taking out thugs. In this game, Batman has a wrist-mounted blaster and you have the option of changing the type of projectiles he fires [boomerang shot, spread shot, etc] every time he destroys a crate. In this way, this game sort of reminds me of Konami's Contra for the NES (1987). It's not long before Batman is dodging booby-trapped corridors, battling sentient gargoyles and jumping up platforms - and suddenly I'm reminded of Konami's Castlevania for the NES (1986).

About mid-way through level 1-1 I hit a snag, and it took me some time to figure out how to get past "the row of sentient gargoyles that are too high to jump over and seem to be impervious to blaster fire". Thankfully, the SEGA controller only has three buttons (jump, shoot, kick) and a directional pad, so you know the solution will either involve a) jumping, b) shooting, c) kicking or d) a combination of a, b and/or c. [Hint: depending on your health meter, mashing all three buttons can activate 'invincible' mode.]

So far, I'm not seeing anything that would lead me to believe that this is based on a Batman comic. I don't remember Batman battling any living gargoyles, unless the Spectre was somehow involved. Let's also not forget that Batman is against guns, so him using a wrist-mounted blaster to take out thugs is a little out-of-character for him. More on that later. But... I'm willing to overlook all of this if we can start fighting some comic book-themed villains.

Level 1-2 has Batman on a rooftop, again, but this time there's a blimp in the background lobbing rockets at him as he traverses the level shooting thugs. I really didn't expect this coming. At this point, I've forgotten about my search for comic accuracy and am thinking this game is quite entertaining.

The level ends with Batman (possibly) shaking his fist at the ominous blimp that was reigning napalm on his the entire level.

Level 1-3 - our first boss battle! I was hoping this was coming soon. So... who do we have here?

Hmmm... they seem to have omitted his name. The only villain I immediately thought of when I saw this guy was Agent Orange - a disgruntled Vietnam vet who fought Batman and the Outsiders in issue #3 of the comic of the same name back in 1983,..

...but upon further inspection, it's looking less and less like him. The drones he keeps calling to attack me really leads me to believe I don't know who this is. Blimp man? Crash Man from Capcom's Mega Man?

Seriously, though. Who is this?

It doesn't matter. I'm not going to bore you with the details of my victory (a lot of sliding and shooting), but once the boss has been defeated, you are rewarded with this cut scene:

Level 2-1 has Batman fighting thugs in an industrial warehouse. Not bad. Pretty accurate to a Batman game - especially if he's fighting the Joker (who also seems to have a plot involving chemicals or something).

Level 2-2 gets a little nuts as Batman is now flying with a jet pack on a side-scrolling shoot 'em up stage. While this game MAY not be comic accurate, I AM wildly entertained. [Besides, I'm sure Batman has used a jet pack at some point in the comics.]

Surprisingly, there is NO level 2-3 or final boss for level 2, and level 2-2 concludes with another congratulatory cut scene:

Level 3-1 now finds you on snow-covered terrain. This initially got me excited, thinking that if there was ever a level for Mr Freeze to appear, this would be it. This level was more difficult than the previous ones, as we're starting to see slippery terrain and booby traps that are really difficult to evade (i.e. random bolts that shoot out at you with no warning) - it's just a matter of memorizing where the traps are triggered and dodging them. Thankfully, dying only sends you back to the beginning of the level, and not the beginning of the game.

Level 3-2 was the longest level yet. My hopes of a Mr Freeze appearance were dashed when the locale was now moved to a cave. The hardest part about this stage is that there's not much room to navigate and you have to jump off and on conveyor belts while getting shot at by thugs and avoiding falling stalactites.

Just when you think the level's over, there's even more to go... like the chamber of ceiling spikes that descend on you:

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - up to now this game has been very challenging and enjoyable. It requires a lot of maneuverability on Batman's part (with all the dodging, ducking and weaving), but is quite satisfying to play,


Level 3-3 - alright - our second boss battle! I'm genuinely excited. Can you tell? Who have we got here?...

Okay. I have no clue who this is supposed to be, but whoever it is, Batman looks damn near repulsed. The first Bat-villain I thought of was The Squid (wearing some sort of power suit) - but that seemed like a long shot considering The Squid never wore a costume:

Batman v1 #357 (1983) - The Squid: a vewy vewy dangewous man. 

When the boss battle actually starts, we're getting a very Mega Man-esque opponent (aesthetically speaking). Notice the build? Huge shoulders with spikes on them, an exaggerated torso with tiny legs, and a helmet with a diagonal line on it. Actually, this whole battle is very Mega Man-esque and involves a lot of jumping, sliding and shooting. Unlike Mega Man, you DON'T have the option of switching to a weapon that will exploit the enemy's vulnerability. Whoever this was supposed to be, this boss was damn near impossible to defeat. Your shots barely hurt the boss, while his bullets take a HUGE chunk out of your health. As you can see, there isn't much room to navigate and dodge his attacks (which seem to take up most of the screen).

Tell me this doesn't look like a Mega Man villain...

After an incredibly grueling fight (and sore thumbs), you are treated to this cut scene:

Level 4-1 has Batman fighting villains on the top of a train. The screen moves, and if you somehow get stuck in a trap as Batman is moved off the screen, Batman gets KO'd.  Batman fighting thugs on a speeding train fits right in with Batman's MO... so this works for me. I'm not going to lie: the levels are getting more challenging - I must've jumped and landed between boxcars (and landing to my death) at least two dozen times before completing this level.

Level 4-2 is in an industrial area of some sort, and it involves conveyor belts, elevators and things shooting at you. It was a tricky level and took me quite a few dozen tries to complete it in one piece. A lot of it relies on memorizing where the 'surprise' villains pop out and trying to trigger the trap without being in the direct line of fire. I'm also learning that kicking (and slide kicking) is a stronger attack than shooting at enemies.

Level 4-3.. boss battle!

Okay. I give up. Even if I were to stretch my imagination to it's limit I'd still have no clue who this is supposed to be in the DCU. The Idol-Head of Diabolu? Dzamor (that mystic thing that gave Enchantress her powers)? I've pretty much given up on the hope of this game actually being based on the Batman comic book, and have abandoned all hope of seeing Killer Moth by this point. Yet, I just can't stop playing.

House of Mystery v1 #144 (1964) - Idol-Head of Diabolu

Strange Adventures v1 #187 (1966) - Dhzamor

These boss battles are getting more and more difficult. Once you've overcome this... Aztec Idol-Head, you are rewarded with a congratulatory cut scene that is the same as level 1's [seen above]. That's a bit of a let down. I was figuring after battling something like this, the least they could do was grant me the privilege of viewing a new cut scene. This review is about 2 weeks later than it should be because this Aztec Idol-Head boss took many many MANY tries to finally beat (due to little careless errors on my behalf).


Level 5-1 has you fighting your way through a sewer. If I was hopelessly naive, I'd be half expecting Killer Croc to appear in this level. By this point in the game, I don't think we'll be seeing any DCU-related villains unless it's the Joker. This level requires a lot of skillful jumping and dodging, as enemies pop-out EVERYWHERE.

Level 5-2 is another side-scrolling jet-pack level. So far, the jet-pack levels seem to be the easiest and simply involves a bit maneuvering to avoid enemies and flying obstacles.

Level 5-2 ends with the same end-level cut-scene as Level 2. I'm a little irked that they are re-using previous cut-scenes. I've actually been looking forward to seeing these. Nothing says 'good work' like a pixelated image of Batman posing in a triumphant matter. I'm not even being sarcastic.


Level 6-1 is frustratingly difficult. Enemies are firing weapons at a more rapid rate and jumping around. There are some traps/obstacles that make it impossible NOT to take damage. IF you make it past the onslaught of enemies and the force fields, you need to leap from drop-away platform to drop-away platform.

Level 6-2: This level caught me by surprise. I'm sure there was a really cool 16-bit effects happening on this level, but I was too busy trying to stay alive to notice. Lots of things going on onscreen - there's a fall-away floor, grenades being lobbed at you from a rolling tank and mines that are falling from the ceiling. This is one of those levels where you NEED to keep moving or else you'll die. You just need to stay alive long enough to make it to the end of the level, which feels like an eternity.

Level 6-3: Alright - the main event! Batman vs Joker! Up to this point, this has been the most comic accurate character representation in the game.

In this very long boss battle, the Joker floats around on a platform shooting bubbles at you. Thankfully, you have lots of room to maneuver around his aircraft and take the occasional shot at him. He's not impossible to defeat - but it's going to involve plenty of jumping and kicking, sliding, and shooting upwards. There was a mixture of relief and disappointment when I finally beat the Joker. Relief that this long battle was over, but a bit of disappointment that this was the last boss and that the game was over - and this wasn't nearly the most difficult boss battle. I mean, I've just defeated the head-lining villain - the game's over right?

The level ends with the same cut-scene as level 3. No unique end of game cut-scene? Interesting.

To my surprise, there's a Level 7. Just when I though I'd beaten the final boss of the game, there's another level.

Level 7-1 starts in a jungle (again with the Aztec theme) and somehow ends in a futuristic cave. There's a lot of build-up here, and... oh boy... is the last part of this level ever tricky. Timing your jumps from moving platform to moving platform (without hitting spikes) takes several tries and will involve quite a bit of trial-and-error. Prepare to redo the first part of this level quite a quite a few times.

Level 7-2 - We battle the Joker...again...

Or is it?

What the hell is this thing? The green-and-purple color scheme says Brainiac (which would be pretty cool, admittedly), but the face [?] says Predator:

After some fierce dodging, jumping and shooting, the Joker is once again revealed:

This was a really LONG boss fight and take a really REALLY long time and many MANY tires to complete. In short, it felt like what a final boss should feel like. Defeating the Joker in his cyber battle suit armor [?] resulted in an animated cut-scene of an island blowing up and Batman flying away on his jet-pack. I was a little sick of this game by this point, as I'd felt I had sunk many hours into a Batman game that yielded no Killer Moth (or any other Batman villains besides Joker) - which was the main motivation behind this review.

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Batman: Revenge of the Joker was only released in the United States (and by extension, Canada, I'm assuming). As previously mentioned, the NES and Nintendo Game Boy versions go by the name of Batman: Return of the Joker. The Japanese version, released as Dynamite Batman for the Famicom system, was released in 1991 (same release date as the NES version, I believe). So, a short chronology would go:

Dynamite Batman & Batman: Return of the Joker (Famicom, NES) - Dec 1991
Batman: Return of the Joker (Game Boy) - May 1992
Batman: Revenge of the Joker (SEGA Genesis) - 1992

A noticeable difference between the NES version and this SEGA remake is that the NES version contains a lot of blacks, oranges, reds and greys in its color palette, while the SEGA version is noticeable brighter with a different array of colors and more detail. Between the two, I'd say the SEGA version looks a lot better. Batman is slightly larger in the SEGA version. He takes up more of the screen [at the expense of screen real estate to navigate in], thus making it a bit more difficult to battle bosses in close quarters and etc.

NES vs SEGA screenshots

Both the NES and SEGA versions of the game have that 'independently moving background effect' that leads you to believe these games were operating beyond their 8-bit weight class - they actually had some of the nicer graphics of all the other NES and SEGA games out there available on the market at the time.

An interview with Dave Siller (VP of Product Development for Sunsoft during the early 90s) revealed that Famicom's Dynamite Batman was meant to showcase the new Sun FME-7 chip developed by Sunsoft: 

"That game, "Dynamite Batman" started off as a "tech demo" for the new Sun FME-7 chip, which enabled larger characters made from more and better sprite manipulation. An upgrade so to speak from the then standard "Castlevania" type/sized character which was most common in that era for serious action games. Apparently the dev-team in Nagoya, Konan City more specifically, built a demo with a larger character with some action techniques and some horizontal flying capabilities. The US marketing people of course wanted to tie-in a license and since Sunsoft was already in the Warner Bros. fold, it got finished off as a Neo-Batman games with Dark Knight tendencies." (Famicom World forum, 2014)

Here's more info from Dave Siller about the Sunsoft FME-7 chip (if you're into that sort of thing):

"Essentially, the FME chips enabled a great color palette choice and didn't require complex solutions to add more colors. Better sound was also achieved by adding a music synthesizer that played through the fewer channels allocated by the famicom's original audio channel architecture."

"There was a new third generation stable of Famicom/NES games that would have been killer if they would have seen the light of day. Unfortunately, the Genesis and later the SNES killed that development. It always seems that once developers get a good handle on producing greater software, the hardware changes and it's an all new ball game."

"I did not have NES/Famicom development started in the US, as we worked with Sunsoft Japan on development. That was also because Sunsoft was now using a line of enhancement chips known as FME 5a, 5b and 7. They did not want to orientate us in the US regarding their tools. It was agreed that we would design and plan and then let Japan develop. The third generation of NES/Famicom were going to be killers! I kid you not!"

"The reason that Konami and Sunsoft pursued enhanced chips was because the Famicom needed the help. Of course more color palettes and better sound were the natural extensions as well as greater sprite manipulation. It was not possible to add channels to the famicom, but having a better "Yamaha" style synthesizer was. It was inevitable that newer hardware would eventually come and take over the marketplace. It would not have evolved much further than that, but we can only speculate."

...and there you have it. This game was originally planned as a demo and was re-cast as a Batman game. This explains why there are nearly NO comic accurate elements in this game.

From the same interview, Dave Siller tells us why Batman had a gun in this game:

"We were able to convince WB to allow Batman to have a weapon in "Dynamite Batman", also known as "Return of the Joker". Batman was at that time entering a creative phase where he would be older and known as the Dark Knight. It was imagined that Batman would then resort to the use of weapons as criminal elements were getting armed more heavily themselves. It was always a fight when dealing with "licenses", something that frustrated both Japan R&D and myself, but that was the direction that we were heading due to the zealous nature of Sunsoft of America's marketing director." (Famicom World forum, 2014)

So, they tried to justify Batman shooting thugs by sliding it into the Frank Miller Dark Knight Returns cannon? That's interesting. All things considered, I feel sorry for the people who bought this back in 1992 thinking they were getting a Batman game. Noticeably absent was Batman's ability to generate a 'swing line' or an ability to throw gas pellets at villains.

And what of all that unique chiptune music? Why didn't they go with a chiptune version of the Danny Elfman film score? Dave Siller replied:

"I simply don't know as I was not there at that time. I would suppose that the original Batman theme would require an additional license that would make the costs unacceptable unless it was a HOT seller beyond what was possible."

Other notable differences between the NES version and the SEGA version is that the NES version had a two-button controller function, so your only option with Batman was to jump and/or shoot. The option to kick and slide in the SEGA version most likely gave the designers the justification to make it more difficult than the NES version.

The 1989 Batmobile and 1989 Batwing do appear in the NES version, but only in cut-scenes and not as playable vehicles. Additionally, if we're to believe the Angry Video Game Nerd (and really, why shouldn't we?), the NES version had hit detection issues that would send Batman reeling backwards every time he was hit. This is somewhat corrected in the SEGA version.

What's the replay value on this?

This is NOT an easy game. There is no option to select the difficulty mode. It's an unrelenting and unforgiving game. For a careful player, there's a lot to take in. As you progress throughout the game, the levels have more enemies 'pop up', more booby traps and more moving platforms - it progressively gets more difficult. A game that is sometimes so difficult, that you'll just say to 'hell with it' and try to speed your way through the level trying to take as little casualties as possible.

Based on this, if you're going to play this game, ensure that you have a responsive controller. If your control pad sticks because at some point you spilled a soft drink on it when you were younger [face it, we've all done it], then you will not be able to navigate any of these levels very well. You're going to need to be able to leap, slide, dodge, shoot and duck with precision.

Dying sends you back to the beginning of the level. Thank God for the unlimited continues and the Password system. (Pausing the game gives you a code that you can input when you boot up the game to take you to the level you left off at.)

The levels are short, but fierce. It feels rewarding to complete a series of levels and see a cut-scene. If you can overlook that this isn't *really* a Batman game, and just a guy who looks like Batman fighting Mega Man look-a-like villains, you'd probably enjoy this. The short, challenging levels make this perfect as a time-waster while you're waiting for a phone call or whatever. (To be totally honest, if this wasn't a Batman-themed game, I would've quit after Level 4.)


-Justin


I couldn't have completed this article (especially all that cool stuff about Sunsoft's FME-7 chip) without Rob Strangman's wonderful book, Memoirs of a Virtual Caveman. If you're into the history of gaming, I'd recommend you check it out.