TDKPH officially launchs BatCon

Last year, The Dark Knight Ph introduced itself to the Philippine geek community during Batman Day at DK Collectibles, The Fort Strip, BGC. It was an amazing event. We showed Batman animated movies for free, we served food and batcookies, DK was on sale, and we gave away TONS of prizes! Everyone went home a winner.

Batman Day 2015 || TDKPH group launch

If is only fitting that this year we launch our road to BatCon™. The moment we created the group, we had a vision to organize a Batman Convention. While BatCon may take some time to materialize, we're starting it right now to create noise.

Yes, a passionate Batman group is here to make something extraordinary. Earlier this year, we promised the members of TDKPH a 5-year plan comicon. And now, the road to BatCon begins (pun intended)! Time to make some noise! See you when we get there!

BatCon™

#ComingSoon

™Trademark law protects a trademark owner's exclusive right to use a trademark when use of the mark by another would be likely to cause consumer confusion as to the source of origin. Trademark infringement is a violation under Republic Act 8293 and is subject to severe civil and criminal penalties.

A message from Selina Kyle to Bruce Wayne

 

Someone from our facebook group, The Dark Knight Ph, asked for help to send a message to Bruce Wayne. 

**but before everything else, we're not taking sides here. We do not know the story. One of our member just asked a favor**

She wants to tell you she's sorry and that the past few months have been the best DC experience ever and she couldn't imagine anyone who could fit the role better as the caped crusader. You'll always be her Batman and she wants to tell you she does love you and hope you'd always remember that you're her orange sky and her one and only moon.

Me right now:

TDKPH / AL.F.R.E.D. Initiative shirts!

The Dark Knight Ph, the premier Batman group in the Philippines, proudly presents its coolest shirts to date. Not only are these shirts fresh and crisp, the proceeds that we'll be getting will be donated to AL.F.R.E.D. Initiative (ALliance For Reaching Everyone's Dream). 

Each shirt costs P350 but you can also order the whole set for P1,500. You can choose any of the five designs bellow or you can just order all five. If you're interested, here's a link to the ORDER FORM. (or you can order bellow)

black logo on white shirt

black logo on black shirt

gray logo on gray shirt

white logo on white shirt

white logo on black shirt

ORDER NOW

AL.F.R.E.D. Initiative is an action taken by The Dark Knight Ph to help those in need. As we give importance to community building, we believe that we should take steps in helping the community and the people around us. Whether it be calamity disaster assistance or any charitable event, AL.F.R.E.D. Initiative will always be there, available for you guys. If you have a project in mind, maybe we can help you materialize it. AL.F.R.E.D. Initiative is our digital bat-signal. In times of need, or if you just need help with something, don’t hesitate lighting up the bat-signal. You dont have to do everything on your own. We’re here to help you out

Here's a list of beneficiaries that AL.F.R.E.D. Initiative has helped:

1. Komikon Indieket TDKPH guest artists
2. R.U.'s girlfriend for her dad's burial
3. Hero Hour
4. Heroes 4 Kids
5. Hope for Life: Johann's battle with Biliari Atresia
6. E.M.'s battle against a blood disorder
7. Project Hero: Sinag Comics
8. APCC TDKPH booth guest artists 

ORDER NOW!!!!

Samsung Note 7 BATMAN leaked!!!

Last June, Samsung launched its Galaxy S7 Edge Injustice Edition. If you missed our review on that gadget, here's the link to that article. We were able to play with it all thanks to Kimstore! If you still want to get one, try calling them up. They're the only distributor here in the Philippines of that model.

We thought that was the ultimate Batman phone available in the market... well, until a photo of the Batman themed Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Injustice Edition was leaked. And here's the first look at the sleek phone.

While its almost the same as the S7 Edge Injustice Edition, maybe you need something a bit bigger than the Edge. From what we remember, the theme is still the same and pretty much will have the same package as the S7 Edge.

What we're more excited about this phone are the innovations integrated in the Note 7! Let's be honest, Note 7 is the coolest gadget in the market today. With the eye verification and the mightier Note 7 pen, this will be the ultimate Batman gadget to your collection.

TDKPH villain of the month -- Deadshot

Whether you loved the film or not, Suicide Squad has taken the internet by storm. The movie is very unconventional. You have a bunch of bad guys set out to do something good.

One of the characters that really stood out was Deadshot. Will Smith was Will Smith. Its hard not to feel bad for the character. I mean, have you seen Pursuit of Happiness? He was able to melt a lot of hearts by making his character very relatable. He did the same for Deadshot. Smith broke down the character to its core and revealed Deadshot's humanity.

Despite Deadshot taking the center stage for Suicide Squad, we're not actually experts when it comes to the "I never miss" assassin of Gotham City. Floyd Lawtom (aka Deadshot) first appeared in Batman #59 (1950). Many thought that Deadshot is a one-hit wonder villain because after his stint in Batman #59, none of the writers made use of his character. Later on, Steve Englehart would revamp the elite assassin in his Detective Comics #474 "The Deadshot Richochet." From there on, the rest was history. Deadshot became a main staple in Batman's rouge gallery.

The Lawtons were a very affluent family. Their success was dependent on Floyd's parents. Once the marriage turned sour, everyone in the family started to do things their own way. Floyd found out that his mother, Genevieve, tried to convince his brother, Edward, to kill their father, George.  Floyd tried to stop Edward but accidentally kills his brother with a gun. Filled with guilt, remorse, and hatred, Floyd began a self-destructive path that he felt would not end until his eventual death. After cutting ties with his family, we went on to train with David Cain -- the famous assassin at that time.

Batman #59

As an adult, Floyd transferred to Gotham City and lived as a millionaire playboy. The life of a socialite bored him so he donned a domino costume and initially appeared as a vigilante trying to replace Batman. When Batman and Robin went on a vacation, Deadshot succeeded in replacing Batman. When the dynamic-duo returned to Gotham, they found out that Deadshot was working with Commissioner Gordon in order to distract the police from serious crimes. Batman easily defeated Deadshot and revealed his iniquitous ways.

Detective Comics #474

Deadshot was able to escape prison by snatching Penguin's laser monacle. Hardened by prison life, Deadshot blames Batman for making his life miserable. He made it his personal vendetta to kill the Batman. Renewed and rejuvenated, Floyd donned his new costume -- the one that we're accustomed to -- the classic red and gray suit with wrist magnums.

Other teams

In addition to his work with the Suicide Squad, Deadshot was also a brief member of the Killer Elite. It is a team of assassins including Deadline and Bolt (Justice League of America #105). During this time, he had begun dating Carmen Leno, a member of the mercenary team known as the Body Doubles. When the Elite and Doubles were competing for a contract, Floyd sabotaged Elite's chances.

In Suicide Squad (the movie), Deadshot was revealed to have a daughter. However, it is very different in the comicbook universe. In the comics, Floyd has a son named Edward -- same name as his brother's. He brought Edward to Gotham when he transferred there.

When DC revamped their whole universe and came up with the shtty New 52, they  also gave Deadshot an unusual loveteam in Harley Quinn. Well, kids, this is probably a "better #RelationshipGoals"

"I never miss"

TDKPH Artist of Month August 2016: Dexter Soy



Photo taken from Comic Odyssey Red Hood and the Outlaws signing event

TDKPH Artist of the month Dexter Soy (Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth)

Growing up with comics has certainly developed my imagination. When I was a kid, I used to write and draw my own comic books. My friends and I created these little stapled books and swapped them around criticizing each other’s work. It was a fun thing to do, but eventually we grew up.

It is a great joy for me to see artists doing amazing things in comic books today and Filipino artists are no exception. Dexter Soy has already made a name for himself illustrating Marvel and DC characters from Spiderman to Batman. With the recent launch of Red Hood and the Outlaws we have another Filipino artist helming the DC Comics Rebirth.

August last year we launched our very first artist of the month with Trese’s Kajo Baldisimo this year TDKPH is fortunate to have an exclusive interview with Filipino International Artist Dexter Soy to share his experiences and thoughts.

Here we go.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you start as an artist? There are some people who have a goal in mind and others who started with a passion and let their career grow organically. Which one are you? 

I’m the guy who is always drawing in class during my elementary and high school days with some of my classmates. I became more interested (specifically comic art) during my college days when I first purchased an international comic issue titled uncanny x-men by Scott Lobdell and Joe Madureira.

It looks like I'm the type that lets his career grow on its own. I'm not fond of setting goals. It's not that I'm afraid of disappointments, but it is easier to accept things at times. Why give in to pressure when I can just chip my way into improving my work, and if things go wrong it's still a good way to learn a lesson. I maybe wrong, but anybody can land a job as a professional artist nowadays--there's a tremendous amount of talent out there.  

2. I saw your feature on GMA about your big break that started with a Marvel Thor sketch that was retweeted by Trese’s Budjette Tan that ended with a message by C B Cebulski, Marvel SVP of Creative and Creator Development. What was your initial reaction when your received that message? How did it feel?

It was surprising of course. It felt surreal and I was actually nervous since I only had few experiences doing comic pages. So I started to study comic pages seriously again before I started with my first job from Marvel.

3. We see a lot of Filipinos making it in the comic industry. What do you think is the edge of Filipino artist compared to international artists?  What is your advice to new Filipino artists who wants to enter this industry successfully?

I thought we have an incredible amount of talent here in our country. Not just in comic art form but as well as other industries like game productions, having a good amount of artists working on big publishers is enough of an edge that we can be proud of, knowing it's not easy to break in from the amount of talent out there from the other countries. 

My advice is for them to do their thing out of passion, enjoy it and do it for fun. Making money out of it while doing what you love is the bonus. But this may not work for everyone but you can still least find something that can work for you.

4. You drew a lot of characters already. My personal favorite was your run on Batman Beyond. What particular character or project that you haven't drawn yet do you wish to be a part of? If given a chance would you do a project other than the big two? A creator owned Image, Dark Horse or even Valiant?

Anything that has Daredevil or Batman in it I guess. Yes, I'd like to work on something that's out of the mainstream titles--from Image or Dark Horse-- that would be exciting. 

5. We are The Dark Knight PH group and we want a Filipino to helm a Batman book in the near future! If given a chance to draw and also write a story about Batman, can you give us a brief glimpse of how you would do it?

I don't know, but If you see the titles I worked on like Arkham Knight Genesis and this Red Hood Rebirth-- I think it's already a tease of what I'd like to do visually if ever I would be given a Batman title.



Rev by Seb: Suicide Squad

Suicide Squad Review:

No spoilers from me, folks. As usual.

Let's start with what I liked about this movie:

This is the first truly “fun" DCEU movie which is a really good change of pace from Man Of Steel and Dawn Of Justice. Both WB and DC made sure that we’d walk out of this one smiling.

The acting was phenomenal with everyone from Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Cara Delevingne, Jared Leto and literally everyone else playing the characters and parts well and in a manner that was original and accurate with how these characters are supposed to be like. These actors fit this roles like a glove which I expected and definitely got.

The make up and effects were pretty great with the latter falling short sometimes. Adware Akinnuoye-Abaje’s Killer Croc being all prosthetics and all the costumes just looking really good. These characters looked as great as their acting. The action sequences were really brought to life too with strong CG. I say strong because I HAVE seen better. I have no real complaints about the CG though apart from some of the Enchantress scenes.

The action scene choreography was also really well-done. Superhero movies have to deliver great action sequences and this one definitely doesn’t disappoint, so there’s that.

The easter eggs that reference the comics are also pretty awesome. You’ll see what I’m talking about during one of the flashbacks.

And as a musician, the movie’s entire soundtrack was just wonderful ear candy.

With that being said, here’s everything I didn’t like about the movie:

The cutting and editing was GARBAGE. Let me repeat that one for everyone in the back. THE CUTTING AND EDITING WAS GARBAGE. Many scenes ran too fast and some important scenes for developing the main plot and subplots weren’t even there, making for a huge lack of character and story development. It all moved too fast and felt very rushed. Long story short, this movie suffers from the same sickness as BVS’s (Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice's) theatrical cut.

The overall screenplay just felt poor to me. It didn’t live up to the hype. Though fun, it wasn’t fun enough. Though serious, it wasn’t serious enough. The chunks that were taken out were chunks that if left, would’ve made this movie not just good, but great. Sadly, we didn’t get that version of this movie. We got this mess.

My overall take on this movie:

Somewhere out there, there’s an “Ultimate Cut” or a “Director’s Cut” of this potentially great film that will probably be released on blu-ray when the time comes, I’m sure. Or at least I hope. That’s the version of this movie that I know I’ll like and the one that I know the fans like me will like better too. This one though, this very tampered-with cut, this obviously corporately tampered-with cut, get’s a 5.5/10 for me. I’m sorry. Get it together, WB. Let DC and it’s directors and creative team do their work and fire the idiots that edit your movies.

Countdown to Suicide Squad: 1 and only reason to love Amanda Waller

 

One more day and its the premiere of Suicide Squad! For the whole week, we've discussed a lot of things in these countdown articles. This will be a bit of a shocker. But Justice League Unlimited fans wouldn't be surprised with this one.

If there's this one character in Suicide Squad that fans hate, it would be fcking Amanda Waller! She's a manipulative backstabber who only cares about herself. She always have an ulterior motive that gets people killed. Thats why she fcking established the Suicide Squad. The patsies. he indispensables. fcking Amanda Waller!

But if there's ONE thing she did right (not morally right though) for Batman fans is that she (sorta) created Terry McGinnis.

Yes, Terry McGinnis a.k.a. Batman Beyond. This shouldn't be a shocker for Justice League Unlimited fans. Unless you missed the last episode of the series, that is.

 

For most part of comicbook canon, animated series, and animated movies, Amanda Waller has been consistent with her hatred towards Batman (and even the Justice League). They had their differences but there wasn't any real battle between Batman and Amanda Waller. Their relationship is like a chess match--they're always at opposite ends and that both move or tries to defeat the other with the use of their intellects. 

Towards the end of Waller's career, she realized that the world needs a Caped Crusader (pretty much Scott Snyder's concept of his Batman clone story). Hence, in Justice League Unlimited: Epilogue, Waller manipulated the reproductive code of Warren McGinnis--Terry's father--using Bruce's genetic sample. She was to make sure that Terry would go through the same tragedy that led Bruce Wayne in becoming Batman. Waller was about to ensure the death of Terry's parents when she shut it down at the last minute.

Despite trashing project Batman, faith would land Terry to wear the cowl. Would you look at that. One way or another, the heir of Bruce Wayne knocks at his door! So there you have it. If there's one thing we can thank Amanda fcking Waller for, that's the creation of Terry McGinnis.

So yeah, thanks fcker! Hope you die in the film! haha!

 

 

Countdown to Suicide Squad: 2 interesting characters

TWO. MORE. DAYS. UNTIL. SUICIDE SQUAD! Are you ready for the most exciting comicbook movie this year? With a lot of combustible elements in the movie, Suicide Squad will surely be an entertaining movie. To say the very least, these are bad guys... The patsies... They're some sort of "suicide squad". As bad guys, it wouldn't be a surprise if some members of the SKWAD turn their backs against the team. 

Months back, someone wrote that all SKWAD members are possible villains in the movie. Although the article made "sense," it wasn't consistent to the reports and trailers that came out recently. From the initial list, there are two characters that made a lot of sense. And let us back it up with concrete evidences from the trailers and reports.

2. Katana

In the Suicide Squad trailer, WB revealed something interesting. Its a short frame that if you blinked your eyes at that moment, you'll probably miss it. Here's the exact frame from the trailer.

Is WB revealing too much about this frame? They could actually be. At first glance, it might seem that Katana is being spunned by that green alien thing. Its the same entity (we think so) from the alien in the subway station. But if you look closer, you'll see Katana weilding her sword towards Harley Quinn (bottom right or the frame).

This frame spells magic all over. With the absence of magic in BvS, Suicide Squad may be an important movie to the DCEU as it establishes the world of magic in the Extended Universe. We might be reading into the frame way too much, but it is a logical possibility. Remember, Katana was never a team player in Batman and the Outsiders. She even had a hard time finding herselve in the Birds of Prey.

Our wild guess: Katana is Batman's spy.

1. June Moon/Enchantress

This is where things get interesting. For months now, people have been speculating that Enchantress is the big bad wolf in the movie. Her absence in the SKWAD photos and her crying scenes suggest that she is the "TR-8R" of the group. She could very well be and here's why...

She was never chosen by Amanda Waller to be part of the SKWAD. From the frame above, we see the six characters chosen for the SKWAD--Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Killer Croc, Captain Boomerang, Slipknot, and El Diablo (Where's Katana as well? See... So Katana is a possible villain). These scenes begs the question--where the hell is June Moon/Enchantress? Then we freakin see her!

Apparently June Moon, the host for Enchantress, works for the White House. In this frame, we see June Moon discussing some stuff with some White House agent shit. Just look at that logo, she's some government loko who's probably one of the SKWAD's overseer.

In the comics, June Moon didn't join the team because she was a criminal, no! She joined the team in hopes to learn how to control the evil entity that possessed her. Ostrander and McDonnell's arc for Suicide Squad runs parallel to what the DCEU is marketing. With reports saying that David AYer used comicbook canon, it is hard not to look at Nightshade Odyssey as the blueprint for the movie. In that same story arc, June Moon lost control and Enchantress took over her body.

Our wild guess: Suicide Squad - Nightshade Odyssey will be adopted in the movie.

Countdown to Suicide Squad: 3 easter eggs you missed in the trailer

We're THREE days away from Suicide Squad the movie! THREE FREAKIN DAYS! Its time we brush up on our Suicide Squad knowlege so that if some fan calls you out, you can back it up with actual facts from the comicbook canon! HAH! Take that, you casual fan who learned-everything-about-the-suicide-squad-from-the-trailers!

Speaking of trailers, there are probably some easter eggs that you've missed. Some of these easter eggs come from non-mainstream comicbooks, and some were hidden in small details.

3. Harley Quinn's origin

Let's start with the obvious. Harley Quinn is one of the central figure in the movie. Before DC launch their New 52 reboot, Harley had a single origin. She was psychiatrist at the Arkham Asylum then she fell in love with the Joker. With the many rumors that the producers will make us of this Mad Love origin, many fans believed that they, in fact, will. The scene showing that Harley and Joker were at opposite ends of the table only confirms that they will use Mad Love to narrate Harley's origin. But this new scene from the trailers only show that the producers also integrated Harley's origin as narrated in the New 52.

Harley's origin is found at Detective Comics 23.2--Joker pushed Harley into a tank filled with chemicals.

2. Slipknot and bombs

Many have thought that Slipknot will detract from the SKWAD because he is not included in the team previews and promotional merchandise. Him, being a third-tier villain and his limited exposure spells "BOOM" everywhere. In the latest trailer, it can be seen that Slipknot is one of the six original members chosen by Amanda Waller.

However, we do not see Slipknot in the fight scenes nor the SKWAD montage shot. Slipknot may prove to be that character who would go BOOM before things get interesting.

1. Mr. Frost

In the latest Suicide Squad trailer, we can imply that Joker is the one responsible for knocking the SKWAD's chopper off the sky (or at least thats what the trailer suggests). We also see Jim Parrack operating the machine gun that eventually (or impliedly) brought down the chopper. A closer look at that particular scene, we can see a nametag of Jim's character. For quite some time, he was rumored to be Deathstroke but apparently he's playing a character with a minor role. He's none other than Jonny Frost!

Created by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo, Frost is one of the most reliable henchman of Joker. If you look closer, you'll also see a "JSF" patch on his right arm. Is it an abbreviation for "Joker Strike Team"? If you puzzle everything together, Joker having his own strike team actually makes sense.

Suicide Squad hits your favorite movie houses this Thursday, August 4, 2016. The Dark Knight Ph will also host a fan screening event in SM Aura IMAX Theatre this August 6 7:30 PM. Our event is for the benefit of the Cancer Institute of the Philippine General Hospital. For more information, click on this link. See you there!