Newsflash: 1997's "Batman & Robin" might be the most important film that the comic book movie genre has ever seen.

Hey, don't shoot the messenger—those words are coming straight from the mouth of Marvel Studios bigwig Kevin Feige.

The LA Times recently reviewed the career of Akiva Goldsman, the producer-director-writer with involvement in comic book properties such as "Jonah Hex," "The Losers" and—that's right—"Batman & Robin," the George Clooney-starring film that nearly destroyed the superhero movie genre in the late 1990s.

But Feige, one of the many creative minds behind "Iron Man" and the newly reinvigorated Marvel Studios lineup, said that the current renaissance of comic book movies wouldn't be possible without the widespread critical failure of "Batman & Robin." Read more...

When Alicia Silverstone dropped by MTV HQ recently to talk about her new book "The Kind Diet," you can probably guess what topic was at the top of my list for Splash Page. Yes, I made sure to slip in a few questions about 1997's "Batman and Robin"—widely regarded as the film that killed the last Batman movie franchise.

Filmed at the height of Silverstone's popularity, "Batman and Robin" featured George Clooney as Bruce Wayne, and in the following video, the actress weighs in with some of her fond memories of the film—including Clooney's attempt to offer her "advice" about handling her fame. Silverstone also tells MTV News whether she realized the effect the film would have on fans while she was making it.

Read more...

Brett Ratner returns to the Twitter Report today. I like to think of myself as your comics-oriented Tweet jockey (TJ, if you will), and since he's been posting adamantly about his comics interests this week, I wanted to put a follow-up to his tweet yesterday at the top of today's report.

Apparently, Ratner owns one of the holy grails for comics collectors and as well as a lot of "Youngblood," which he'll be adapting to film.

Meanwhile, Cameron Stewart tweeted his excitement about reforming the "Seaguy" team by joining Grant Morrison on "Batman and Robin", Bryan Lee O'Malley mourned the ending to John Allison's long-running webcomic "Scary Go Round," and Gail Simone contemplated a move into video game development.

Check it all out in the Twitter Report for September 11, 2009. Read more...

When you're a writer with as much clout as Brian Michael Bendis, life offers you certain occasional luxuries—like bicycle valets! Meanwhile, creators Andy Diggle and Brian Keene discussed what's in their word processors right now, and "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" creator Bryan Lee O'Malley shared his new poster for the upcoming Penny Arcade Expo.

Elsewhere, a certain comics writer seems to have the Twitter Report in his sights, according to a message he sent Splash Page editor Rick Marshall last night. Click on through to find out who it was, as well as a Green Lantern sketch by Jill Thompson, a "Batman and Robin" opinion from Paul Pope and birthday wishes to a favorite writer of mine, Mr. Anthony Johnston of "Wasteland" fame.

It's all in the Twitter Report for August 25, 2009. Read more...

[EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm both honored and thrilled to present the following interview with comics legend Grant Morrison, which was conducted by Eisner-nominated writer, musician and producer Percy Carey, a.k.a. MF Grimm ("Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm"). Over the course of the interview, Carey covered a wide range of topics with Morrison that we'll present over the next few days here on Splash Page. But first, a message from Carey...]

I've had my share of run-ins with comic book legends, hall-of-famers even, but I'm a little animated at the moment. Who can blame me? "Animal Man," "The Invisibles," "JLA," "Batman R.I.P"...

Recently, I was given the opportunity to interview Mr. Grant Morrison. Morrison continues to be one of the comic book industry's most revered writers and is currently sitting atop the New York Times best-seller list for his graphic novel efforts. I hope you all enjoy this video interview as Morrison talks in detail about "Batman and Robin," "Final Crisis" and other topics. I know I did!

- Percy Carey

Thanks go out to Percy Carey and the great folks at Meltdown Comics, as well as the video team of Milo Popp and Vito Lapiccola of Comics on Comics, the WebTV series where the greatest comic minds meet the greatest minds in comics. Check it out!

"Batman and Robin" #1 hit shelves today, brought to you by the critically acclaimed team of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (“All-Star Superman”). Not only does this series have the beginning of a new man under Batman’s ask, it also features a brand new Robin.

A while back, Batman had a fling with Talia, daughter of his arch-enemy Ra’s al Ghul. The product of that union was Damian, a boy who has been trained almost since birth to be a warrior and who has all the arrogance and impulsiveness of an undisciplined adolescent. This will no doubt make it an interesting new take on the Dynamic Duo, as the older, more seasoned Batman (Dick Grayson) must now keep the new Robin in check.

However, Damian is not the first new Robin or even the second. There have been several versions of the character over the years. Here's a roundup of which characters we think have made the best Robins over the years. Read more...

Today marks the debut of the new “Batman and Robin” comic series, presented by the acclaimed team of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (“All-Star Superman”). Since the conclusion of the Morrison-penned DC crossover “Final Crisis,” Bruce Wayne is believed to be dead by the rest of the world. Now Dick Grayson, Bruce’s adopted son who was the first hero to be called “Robin,” has become the new Batman.

But he's not the first person to become a new Batman. There have been a variety of other Batman alternates over the years. Some were successors and replacements. Some were from parallel worlds. Let’s take a look at some of the coolest. Read more...

There were a lot of options this week for readers interested in comics with crossover appeal. Everything from adaptations of fan-favorite and cult-classic properties to the continuing adventures of popular superheroes with established big-screen presence. Here's what looks good among the June 3 releases:

TOP OF THE STACK: "BATMAN AND ROBIN" #1 (DC): If anything can wipe away the memory of Joel Schumacher's unintentionally campy 1997 foray into the Bat-verse, it's the superstar team of writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely. This is one of those rare occasions where I haven't read the issue yet, but feel perfectly comfortable recommending it.

From "All-Star Superman" to "We3" (one of my favorite stories put to page in the comics world), Morrison and Quitely have the magic touch that makes any book they collaborate on stand out from the rest. Can these perfect partners work that same magic with DC's Dynamic Duo, relaunching the team-up title with a brand new story? Put it this way: If they can't do it, no one can. Read more...