MISC. MANGA, *Blade Bunny

Going back to their manga roots, Antarctic Press returned to doing black-and-white comics in their 90s Bad Girl-themed Blade Bunny. Writer Eric Kimball and artist Erwin crafted this fan service favorite set in a world packed with otaku tropes.

Bunny(also known as "Hare")is a lean ninja girl who happens to wear a pair of costume bunny ears. She gets hired to take out a wealthy lord, but is chased by the robotic assassin called Wolf Fang. She's rescued by the dragon Ao-Lung, and Bunny is then tasked to recover a mystical pearl. Bunny heads out with the dragon's pupil, the slinky Kyoto who has some supernatural moves of her own. After ditching a robot gunslinger, the two ladies arrive at the temple where the pearl was kept. They encounter the youth Jin who seems to be under the care of the temple monks, but is really this important immortal that currently has the pearl when everyone else but Bunny figured out where the pearl was. The electric cowboy rejoins them after failing to impersonate the head monk, and a handsome guy Bunny had her eye on turns out to be possessed by a demonic spirit that wishes to corrupt Jin's immortality.

The series was split into two volumes, 5 issues in the first and 11 in the next. This is slightly done because the first volume seems like a clean cut first entry in an anime series, while the second volume trails off into more of a character introspective with the supporting cast. The strange curve comes from Bunny's bizarre ability to know that the world she lives in is actually fictional, sort of like Deadpool but using her insight to further the plot. There's even a part where Bunny is thought to be killed off, so Kyoto dreams up a ghost version of her to give her advice until the real Bunny reappears. It can become an almost Douglas Adams-type of storytelling mixing in with a Go Nagai inspired manga.

ANI-MOVIES, Twice Upon A Time

An early 80s movie that in its own way ahead of its time, as well as slightly behind them, Twice Upon A Time was a cutout animated feature-length film that took the best of what Terry Gilliam did for Monty Python, and what might eventually influenced future projects like South Park. This modern day fairy tale done in the spirit of Little Nemo In Slumberland was produced by George Lucas right of the heels of finishing up the original Star Wars trilogy. It didn't get much exposure in theaters during its initial release, but gained much attention from its later screenings on HBO, making it a cult classic similar to other 80s animated films.

In the "real life" land of Din, it's inhabitants known as Rushers live out their daily lives rushing around, but they sleep thanks to an ordinary wall clock called the Cosmic Clock, and their dreams are distributed by the small wizard Greensleeves and his figment creatures. The sleazy Synonamess Botch wants to replace the Rushers' dreams with nightmares that are carried out by his vile vultures. Botch kidnaps Greensleeves, with hopes of getting a magic spring in the Cosmic Clock to stop time. Meanwhile in the dream-making realm of Frivoli, the silent Mumford and Ralph the All-Purpose Animal(a shape-changing doglike creature)are demoted to taking out the trash where they encounter Greensleeves' niece Flora who finds a letter from him about his abduction. Botch heads out in his long ride to intercept the amateur heroes before they can even begin their rescue. Botch convinces Flora to star in some of the nightmares he films, while conning Ralph and Mumford to obtain the magic spring. The dippy duo manage to find the spring, but one of Botch's vultures takes it back to him, however Ralph and Mumford's fairy godmother(or "FGM")appears to let them know how they were both duped. FGM gets superhero Rod Rescueman to help them bust into Botch's HQ, free Flora and Greensleeves, plus stop Botch's plan to unleash a chain of nightmare bombs upon the sleeping Rushers.

The original theatrical release of Twice Upon A Time was not exactly successful for the soon defunct Ladd Company, but its publicity as a "George Lucas" movie helped keep it afloat until fans fell for it on cable TV. There are in fact several cuts of the movie, some which included extra scenes, but most of the re-edits deal with the improvised dialogue as there is a bounty of adult humor used by the cast's initial material. The cast featured veterans like Paul Frees, and Lorenzo Music pre-Garfield, who helped bring a sense of maturity to what would seem to most viewers as a standard fairy tale movie. The fresh change in a somewhat scrutinized form of animation makes for an eye-popping experience.

ANI-MOVIES, *Batman: Hush

Even though it was based on a pre-New 52 DC Comics continuity, Batman: Hush has been rewritten to be part of the current DC Animated Movie Universe that began with Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. This is an usual fit for the plot as it takes place after films that have killed off at least 2/3 of Batman's rouges gallery, plus as part of the existing timeline which has the Dark Knight as part of the active superhero community, or as yet another chapter in the ongoing saga of Damien Wayne as Robin.

Set sometime after Superman's resurrection, Batman confronts Bane when he kidnapped a child, but the ransom money is stolen by Catwoman, who is under Poison Ivy's influence. Ivy gets away, so Batman and Catwoman team up while following her to Metropolis, where Ivy gets a hold of a special Kryptonite formula to control Superman. Managing to break Superman out of it, Bruce and Selina start seeing each other out of their masks, but a date their on is interrupted by Harley Quinn chases them to the opera with intentions on killing Bruce. Harley was following the orders of a mysterious new villain called Hush who kidnapped Joker, and allows him to escape. However, Batman believes Joker killed one of Bruce Wayne's friends, Thomas Elliott, who previously helped Bruce with an injury. Batman then captures Riddler who clues him in on Hush's intentions, which Batman concludes that Hush knows his real identity, and warns Catwoman by revealing his own alter-ego to her. Batman and Catwoman spend the next few days fighting crime together while Selina stays at Wayne Manor. Batman looks into the office of his deceased friend Thomas which was broken into, while Nightwing and Catwoman fight Scarecrow in a graveyard. It turns out that all the villains were either manipulated or controlled by Hush in his scheme to get Batman, leading to a very different climax than the original source material!

Compared to most of the other Batman entries in the "New 52" DCAU, it progresses well enough on its own, but does require you to be at least slightly aware of contributing DC Comics plots, like Lex Luthor now being a part of the Justice League, or Robin not being available since he's with the Teen Titans. One of the biggest things left out was the inclusion of Batwing and Batwoman into the Bat-Family, and don't even get a mention here, despite the fact that Batgirl follows up her brief appearance at the end of Batman: Bad Blood with a gratuitous cameo. This production would have worked better if it had been removed from the DCAU and was in its own continuity like The Killing Joke. The dub is acceptable, with Jason Spisak making his premiere as the Joker, even if only for two scenes in the whole movie. Its worth seeing if you appreciate the more detective aspects of Batman's character, although the stark change in the movie's conclusion might leave a sour taste with some fans.

The Dark Crystal's Archer (Danger Zone)

Wake Captain America when September ends.