(Nicholas Dye/ Staff Writer)

This past week has given us our first look at not one but TWO new Batman animated films that don’t feature the vocal talents of Kevin Conroy! Somewhere, Two-Face’s nipples just got hard! Drawing from all-new material and set in feudal Japan is Batman Ninja. Now I know that sounds like a shitty ploy to get you to buy your kids new toys of Batman as a ninja and Joker, as a ninja, and Harley Quinn as…wait for it…a ninja, but it isn’t. This is a very beautifully detailed anime of Batman as he faces off against the craziest Joker we may have seen since someone thought Jared Leto would be an awesome Joker. Either way it looks 100% badass. The trailer gives us a glimpse at Robin, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Clayface, and Grodd. Yup…you heard me…mother-effing Gorilla Grodd as, what appears to be, a warlord! An english dubbed version is coming with a voice cast that is yet to be revealed but, I for one, cannot wait to miss most of the movie reading subtitles just to hear Wataru Takagi do the creepiest scream as the Joker when he attacks batman with a katana in hand. After this trailer, I dare you not to say shinseina tawagoto Batoman!

I mean…COME ON!! My only question is, how the hell does Batman have a Batwing and a few other tech gadgets in feudal Japan? Ah who cares!?

As if that wasn’t enough. DC Animation finally brings us an adaptation of one of my favorite Batman Elseworlds titles in Batman: Gotham by Gaslight. Set in Gotham in 1889, Bruce Wayne returns from a trip to Europe and takes up the mantle of the Batman to stop the legendary Jack the Ripper who has come to Gotham. While the translation to animation doesn’t quite convey the gritty style of the comic (originally drawn masterfully by Hellboy’s Mike Mignola), it does look like it follows the story arc beautifully. Finally there will be a viable reason for those damned steam-punk cosplayers to be at SDCC with their damned Dr. Floobert’s Amazing Gizmotron-Doohickity-Pew-Pew Ray Gun or whatever the hell they call it. Either way, check out the trailer below and, look for Gotham by Gaslight on January 23rd 2018 with Batman Ninja later in 2018.