Batman: Brave and the Bold actually not bad!

If you haven't realized by now, we're bat purists here at Geekanerd. We prefer our Batmen to be of the Kevin Conroy persuasion, sans pun and eyebrow. So of course Cartoon Network's latest Bat offering, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, had me cursing its name. This was the Batman of the swinging 60's; dropping lamer puns than Bond and fighting campy villains with comically over sized death traps. This was the Batman that killed comics for a good 2 decades! How dare Cartoon Network glorify this false idol!

But then I watched it. Two episodes in fact. And, well, it's pretty good. Stepping outside my love of Batman for a second, I can appreciate what this show's going for. Its unapologetic fun; basking in the inherent silliness of comics (which is frankly a nice change of pace from current generation DC and Marvel books). Capitalizing on the pulp stylings of 60's entertainment, this show is driven by the same tastes that drive The Venture Brothers. However, Batman: BnB is more homage than parody (and its opening intro music is an even better approximation of the original Johnny Quest theme than the Venture Brothers').

Is 60's nostalgia not enough to get you on board? Well, there's a secret second reason why this show is a ton of fun. In fact the show should really be called:

Yeah, a HUGE dick. Sure, he has "pithy" one liners and obvious puns for the villains... but his crimefighting companions are the ones who truly earn his oozing contempt. You really see why no one in the DC universe is good friends with the guy-he's condescending to Everyone. In the Christmas episode, the adorably robotic Red Tornado asks him why he dislikes Christmas; to which he responds in the most condescending tone possible, "I don't dislike Christmas, I dislike crime." That shut him up. We even get flashbacks of lil Brucie during Christmases past... and guess what, he was a dick looong before his parents were gunned down in an alley (which this show suggests happened on a Christmas, so I guess you can cut the guy some slack).

So don't let the clunky and unappealing character design stop you (yes, I know, also a throwback... but still it's not that attractive). Even if campy fun isn't enough to get your attention, then let the asshole we all know Batman to be win you over. I promise, even if this isn't your cup of tea, you'll still find yourself chuckling.

Albo Raids Cartoon Network

Yesterday I donned my ninja gear and snuck into Cartoon Network and Adult Swim's headquarters with my spy camera in tow to bring you back a gaggle of photos. I had to silence an unfortunate amount of hapless cartoonists to get out alive, but as Grandpa Witwicky always said, "No sacrifice, no pictures of corporate offices." So without further ado, your ninja tour of Cartoon Network:

After exerting a lot of ninja energy on sneaking in, I was greeted at the door by these two charming children, who said they would show me around and introduce me to everyone.

I was having fun, but I was worried I wouldn't be able to sneak anywhere sneak-worthy with these tag-alongs so I shook 'em and struck out on my own to do some snooping.

First stop, Designer's Room, where I was sure I could unearth some unknown treasure...

And sure enough I did! The first look at the cover art for the upcoming Harvey Birdman game!

I poked around in some animator's offices, but nothing scandalous revealed itself to me.

I decided it was time to move on to Adult Swim, and took the elevator to...

...the undergound tunnel which ran alongside the studios where unspeakable things are said to happen.

I came up from the depths and was greeted by a decapitated cartoon serving as an ominous warning to any who would dare enter this sanctuary of the damned. I swallowed my fear and braved onward.

The hallway was littered with the bodies of ill-fated adventurers, some hanging from their necks, others frozen in carbonite:

I could only hope I possessed a cunning they lacked.

I passed a particular office that I recalled from legend: When a hapless minion left for a vacation, his co-workers lined his windows with trash to create the illusion they had filled it completely. Just the sort of prank you'd expect from the Adult Swim villains, the confirmation of which came with an added realization: If this is how they treat one of their own, what will happen to me if I'm caught?

I tiptoed into the conference room, where plans for some sort of ultimate music service [weapon] had been scribbled on the board. I couldn't deduce how a drawing of Earthworm Jim and a list of great video games factored into the equation, but you can click the picture to get a big version you can scrutinize for yourself.

As I entered the playroom, the doorway slammed shut behind me and I was met with silence. A deathly silence. I feared I had stumbled into a trap!

And I was right! Robo-Security fell from the ceiling and surrounded me. A familiar voice came over the P.A.:

"Oh, Albo, you're so predictable! Everything has proceeded exactly as I have foreseen it, and now you're in my trap, from which you will never emerge... Alive! Gahahahahaaaa!" It was my old nemesis Merrill Hagan, writer for Adult Swim dot com as well as some comics including a Wrecking Crew story for the soon-to-be-relaunched Marvel Comics Presents. Also an evil mastermind. Thankfully I had packed my ninja EMP that day, so I used it to disable the Robo-Security from which I harvested two energy cores which I polarized to opposing charges using an electromagnet I ripped from the microwave in the corner and then thrust the cores together at the reinforced key panel keeping the door locked, whereupon they created a small but powerful reaction as they repelled each other with atomic force, compromising the integrity of the panel enough for me to pry the cover off with a ping-pong paddle and reroute the signal wires making any button combination capable of opening the doors, including F-Y-O-U, which I typed before darting out the door, smiling to myself over Hagan's screams.