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DC Comics is releasing a 75th Anniversary Collection of their most prized theme songs, which will have to wait for it's chance at my wallet until after I've bought a couch, a bookshelf, D&D Essentials, and Metroid: Other M (read: after Christmas). The compilation has some glaring omissions - for example, the failure to acknowledge anyone in satin tights, fighting for her rights.  Also missing is the theme song from Batman: The Animated Series, one of my all time favourite cartoons.

For those who haven't seen the show, it was heavily influenced by Tim Burton's Batman films from 1989/92. The portrayals of Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy) and The Joker (Mark Hamill) here are still considered the standard by many fans, myself included. Several elements from the show even made their way into the comics, including new characterization for Mr. Freeze and the completely new character, Harley Quinn.

If you're a fan of the show already, I recommend this audio recording of the show's composer, Shirley Walker, as she walks us through the music from the show. It gets the blood pumping. Near the end of the clip, she touches on the similarity between the themes of the cartoon and the films.  I may be the only one that sees the need to have both themes in the Anniversary Collection, since 1) I think the show is gangbusters and 2) Batman Returns is one of my top three favourite movies.

Ah, this show is one of those children's programs that's even better as an adult. I watched it when I was a kid of course. I was mesmerized by the grotesque villains like Baby Doll, The Ventriloquist, and Clayface. And the heroes... Nightwing was one of my first TV crushes, though at the time I didn't know why I got so excited when he showed up. 

Incidentally, I've just recently gotten into comic books, and I'm hoping some readers could suggest a good story arc that showcases Dick Grayson being awesome.

Hel-lo, Mister Mullet.

As I explored the music of Batman: The Animated Series on YouTube, I came across several recommendations for Batman: The Brave and the Bold. It's the current animated Batman series. Whereas the 90's cartoon took the noir approach to Batman, the new show takes the classic camp approach. I've seen a couple episodes, and it seems like a lot of fun. A lot more promising than The Batman from a few years ago.