News of her death broke on X (formerly Twitter) from fellow voice actor Neil Kaplan, who said, “It broke my heart to hear… the original voice of Harley Quinn, Arleen Sorkin has passed away. I adored her work as HQ & as Calliope in “Days of Our Lives.””

It broke my heart to hear… the original voice of Harley Quinn, Arlene Sorkin has passed away.

I adored her work as HQ & as Calliope in “Days of Our Lives.” pic.twitter.com/QtypvmvNUX

— Neil Kaplan – Voice Actor (@NeKap) August 26, 2023

Tara Strong, who took over the role of Harley Quinn in most animated versions after Sorkin, also tweeted out, saying, “Without this gorgeous, talented goddess, #HarleyQuinn would have never existed. She was the inspiration & the heart & soul of this iconic character. I was in awe as #Batgirl watching her alongside @MarkHamill & Kevin. Sending love to her family #RipArleenSorkin”

Without this gorgeous, talented goddess, #HarleyQuinn would have never existed. She was the inspiration & the heart & soul of this iconic character. I was in awe as #Batgirl watching her alongside @MarkHamill & Kevin. Sending love to her family #RipArleenSorkin pic.twitter.com/8zQdHsyOyM

— tara strong (@tarastrong) August 26, 2023

Arleen Sorkin voiced Harley Quinn in various pieces of media from 1992 until her last outing as the character in 2012 in the video game DC Universe Online: The Last Laugh. She also served as the inspiration for the creation of the character itself, as she was college friends with Batman: The Animated Series writer and producer Paul Dini.

Over her 20 year career as the Clown Princess of Crime, Sorkin could be heard on shows like The New Batman Adventures, Superman: The Animated Series, Gotham Girls, Static Shock, Justice League, and even the movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, as well as several video games, including Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Sorkin’s first big role was on the soap opera Days of Our Lives as Calliope Jones from 1984-1990, reprising the role several times throughout the years, even as recently as 2010. She also served as the co-host of America’s Funniest People alongside Dave Coulier from 1990-1992

Her passing comes less than a year after the death of the iconic voice of Batman, Kevin Conroy, making this even harder to accept. Arleen Sorkin will be greatly missed by us all.

R.I.P. ARLEEN SORKIN

1955 – 2023

The post Arleen Sorkin, the Voice of Harley Quinn, Passed Away At Age 67 appeared first on DC Comics News.

If you are as excited about this release as we are, you can check out the full, official press release and trailer below!

BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM

WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY CELEBRATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF HERALDED

FAN FAVORITE ANIMATED FILM WITH FULLY REMASTERED EDITION

FOR 4K ULTRA HD^TM

AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2023

BURBANK, CA (July 26, 2023) – Celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the most universally acclaimed film in the Dark Knight’s legendary cinematic history when the newly-remastered animated movie Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, comes to 4K Ultra HD for the very first time. From Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, the film will be available to purchase on 4K Ultra HD on September 12, 2023.

The release will also include an all-new featurette Kevin Conroy: I Am The Knight, which takes a look at the legacy of Kevin Conroy, who voiced Batman for 30 years in film, television, video games and more.

Rooted in DC’s acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series and released theatrically on Christmas Day 1993, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm has not only been ranked by Time magazine as one of the 10 best Super Hero movies ever, but is also arguably the core fans’ all-time favorite Batman film. The movie has been rated at the top of the Dark Knight film franchise by such popular entertainment media as Empire, Screenrant and Paste. And in the ultimate mainstream salute for its time, Gene Siskel & Robert Ebert didn’t initially review the film during its theatrical release, but later dedicated a portion of their At The Movies weekly TV series to pay compliment to the film – and voice their regret for not giving it the attention it deserved during its original run – when Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was distributed for home entertainment.

The 4K HDR/SDR remaster of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was sourced from the 1993 Original Cut Camera Negative and was scanned at 4K resolution. Digital restoration was applied to the 4K scans to remove dirt, scratches and additional anomalies, but special care was given to not touch the film grain or the animation cel dirt that was part of the original artwork. This is the first time since its theatrical release that it is presented in its 1.85 aspect ratio. The original 2.0 mix and the 5.1 tracks were remastered to remove or improve defects such as pops, ticks, dropouts and distortion.

The animated film features an all-star cast headed by the quintessential voice of Batman, Kevin Conroy, alongside Dana Delany (Desperate Housewives, China Beach) as Bruce Wayne’s love interest, Andrea Beaumont, Mark Hamill (Star Wars franchise) as the Joker, Stacy Keach (Nebraska, Prison Break, Mike Hammer) as Phantasm/Carl Beaumont, Abe Vigoda (Barney Miller, The Godfather) as Salvatore Valestra, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (The F.B.I.) as Alfred, Hart Bochner (Die Hard) as Arthur Reeves, Bob Hastings (McHale’s Navy, The Poseidon Adventure) as Commissioner Gordon, Robert Costanzo (Forget Paris, City Slickers) as Detective Bullock, Dick Miller (Gremlins, The Terminator) as Chuckie Sol, and John P. Ryan (The Right Stuff) as Buzz Bronski. Additional voices included Pat Musick, Marilu Henner, Neil Ross, Ed Gilbert, Jeff Bennett, Jane Downs, Vernee Watson, Charles Howerton, Thom Pinto and Peter Renaday.

The Batman: Mask of the Phantasm filmmaking team is composed of the award-winning core group behind Batman: The Animated Series. Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm directed the film from a screenplay by Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Martin Pasko and Michael Reaves, based on a story by Burnett.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm will be available on September 12, 2023 to purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu and more. 4K Ultra HD Discs will be available to purchase online and in-store at major retailers. Pre-order your copy now.

SYNOPSIS:

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm opens with the city’s most feared gangsters being systematically eliminated, and assumed blame falling on the Caped Crusader. But prowling the Gotham night is a shadowy new villain, the Phantasm, a sinister figure with some link to Batman’s past. Can the Dark Knight elude the police, capture the Phantasm and clear his own name? Unmasking the Phantasm is just one of the twists in this dazzling animated feature, which provides new revelations about Batman’s past, his archrival the Joker, and Batman’s most grueling battle ever – the choice between his love for a beautiful woman and his vow to be the defender of right.

SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE*:

Kevin Conroy: I Am The Knight (New Featurette) – For 30 years, Kevin Conroy defined Batman for multiple generations using only his voice, best exemplified in the landmark film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Conroy passed away in November 2022, but his legacy lives on in 15 films, nearly 400 episodes of animated television series, a dozen video games, and as a live-action Bruce Wayne in the Arrowverse’s 2019-2020 “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event. Several of Conroy’s contemporaries – including animation legend Bruce Timm, Batman producer Michael Uslan and revered voice actress Tara Strong – pay tribute to the star who remains the Dark Knight for millions of Batfans.

Bonus episode of Justice League: Unlimited featuring a cameo from Phantasm.

*Special features are not available in 4K Ultra HD.

Pricing and film information:

PRODUCT                                                                             SRP

Digital purchase                                                                      $ 14.99

4K Ultra HD + Digital Version**                                              $ 33.99 SRP USA

4K Ultra HD                                                                            $ 39.99 SRP Canada

4K/Blu-ray Languages: English, Spanish, French

Blu-ray Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Running Time: 76 minutes

**Digital version not available in Canada

About Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment (WBDHE) distributes the award-winning movies, television, animation, and digital content produced by Warner Bros. Discovery to the homes and screens of millions through physical Blu-ray Disc and DVD retail sales and digital transactions on major streaming, video-on-demand cable, satellite, digital, and mobile channels.  WBDHE is part of Warner Bros. Discovery Content Sales, one of the world’s largest distributors of entertainment programming.

About DC

DC, part of Warner Bros. Discovery, creates iconic characters and enduring stories and is one of the world’s largest publishers of comics and graphic novels. DC’s creative work entertains audiences of every generation around the world with DC’s stories and characters integrated across Warner Bros. Discovery’s film, television, animation, consumer products, home entertainment, games, and themed experiences divisions, and on the DC Universe Infinite digital comic subscription service. Learn more at DC.com

About Warner Bros. Animation 

Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) is one of the leading producers of animation in the entertainment industry, producing and developing projects for multiple platforms, both domestically and internationally. WBA’s current series include Batman: Caped Crusader, Bat- Family, Batwheels, Bugs Bunny Builders, Creature Commandos, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Harley Quinn, Jellystone!, Looney Tunes Cartoons, Merry Little Batman, My Adventures with Superman, Noonan’s, Teen Titans Go!, Tiny Toons Looniversity, and Velma. The studio is currently in production with New Line Cinema on the upcoming original anime feature film, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.  WBA’s full-length theatrical film, Teen Titans GO! to the Movies, was released in summer 2018. As home to the iconic animated characters from the DC, Hanna-Barbera, MGM and Looney Tunes libraries, WBA also produces highly successful animated films — including the DC Universe Movies — for DVD, Blu-ray^®and digital media. One of the most-honored animation studios in history, WBA has won six Academy Awards®, 40 Emmy® Awards, the George Foster Peabody Award, a BAFTA Children’s Award, an Environmental Media Award, a Parents’ Choice Award, the HUMANITAS Prize, two Prism Awards and 21 Annie Awards (honoring excellence in animation).

The post BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM Coming To 4K Ultra HD This September appeared first on DC Comics News.

Welcome to another episode of I AM THE NIGHT, a podcast dedicated to breaking down every episode of Batman: The Animated Series. Each week, the wonderful Steve J Ray (reviewer at DC Comics News, as well as Editor-in-Chief of our sister site Dark Knight News) and a guest will sit down and dive cowl first into an episode of the greatest animated series of all time.

In this episode, Steve is joined by fellow DCN and DKN writer, and his offspring, Adam Ray, to talk about the season three episode of Batman: TAS (aka The New Batman Adventures), titled “Joker’s Millions“. So sit back, put on your cape and cowl, and prepare yourself for a journey into the darkness!

Episode Synopsis: Crime boss Edward “King” Barlowe dies and in his will leaves his archrival, the Joker, a large fortune of $250,000,000. The Joker immediately goes on a shopping spree, even searching for a replacement for Harley Quinn, but realizes too late that almost all of the money is fake as a joke of Barlowe’s to trick him.

Our “Joker’s Millions” episode is also available on YouTube:

Steve J Ray: www.twitter.com/el_steevo
Adam Ray: www.twitter.com/IzzetTinkerer

“I Am The Night” Theme by David B. (www.twitter.com/DavidBMusic21)

Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play, and if you like what you hear, please give us a 5-star rating and review!

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The post Batman: The Animated Series 3×07 – “Joker’s Millions” REVIEW | I Am The Night #86 appeared first on DC Comics News.

Welcome to another episode of I AM THE NIGHT, a podcast dedicated to breaking down every episode of Batman: The Animated Series. Each week, the wonderful Steve J Ray (reviewer at DC Comics News, as well as Editor-in-Chief of our sister site Dark Knight News) and a guest will sit down and dive cowl first into an episode of the greatest animated series of all time.

In this episode, Steve is joined by fellow DCN and DKN writer, and his offspring, Adam Ray, to talk about the season three episode of Batman: TAS (aka The New Batman Adventures), titled “You Scratch My Back“. So sit back, put on your cape and cowl, and prepare yourself for a journey into the darkness!

Episode Synopsis: In an effort to further distance himself from Batman, Nightwing tries to go it alone to stop a smuggling ring and gets unexpected help from the seductive Catwoman, who attempts a somewhat sensual relationship with him.

Our “You Scratch My Back” episode is also available on YouTube:

Steve J Ray: www.twitter.com/el_steevo
Adam Ray: www.twitter.com/IzzetTinkerer

“I Am The Night” Theme by David B. (www.twitter.com/DavidBMusic21)

Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play, and if you like what you hear, please give us a 5-star rating and review!

Follow us on social media:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/DCComicsNews

Twitter: www.twitter.com/DCComicsNews

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Tumblr: www.tumblr.com/DCComicsNews

The post Batman: The Animated Series 3×05 – “You Scratch My Back” REVIEW | I Am The Night #84 appeared first on DC Comics News.

Welcome to another episode of I AM THE NIGHT, a podcast dedicated to breaking down every episode of Batman: The Animated Series. Each week, the wonderful Steve J Ray (reviewer at DC Comics News, as well as Editor-in-Chief of our sister site Dark Knight News) and a guest will sit down and dive cowl first into an episode of the greatest animated series of all time.

In this episode, Steve is joined by fellow DCN and DKN writer, and his offspring, Adam Ray, to talk about the season three episode of Batman: TAS (aka The New Batman Adventures), titled “Double Talk“. So sit back, put on your cape and cowl, and prepare yourself for a journey into the darkness!

Episode Synopsis: Arnold Wesker is released from Arkham Asylum, completely free of his Scarface persona. But Scarface’s old gang, needing their old boss back, begin working to drive Wesker back to his old ways.

Our “Double Talk” episode is also available on YouTube:

Steve J Ray: www.twitter.com/el_steevo
Adam Ray: www.twitter.com/IzzetTinkerer

“I Am The Night” Theme by David B. (www.twitter.com/DavidBMusic21)

Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play, and if you like what you hear, please give us a 5-star rating and review!

Follow us on social media:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/DCComicsNews

Twitter: www.twitter.com/DCComicsNews

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Tumblr: www.tumblr.com/DCComicsNews

The post Batman: The Animated Series 3×04 – “Double Talk” REVIEW | I Am The Night #83 appeared first on DC Comics News.

Our “Cold Comfort” episode is also available on YouTube:

Steve J Ray: www.twitter.com/el_steevo
Adam Ray: www.twitter.com/IzzetTinkerer

“I Am The Night” Theme by David B. (www.twitter.com/DavidBMusic21)

Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play, and if you like what you hear, please give us a 5-star rating and review!

Follow us on social media:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/DCComicsNews

Twitter: www.twitter.com/DCComicsNews

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The post Batman: The Animated Series 3×03 – “Cold Comfort” REVIEW | I Am The Night #82 appeared first on DC Comics News.

Episode Synopsis: Young orphan Tim Drake becomes Batman’s new ward when he becomes involved in one of Two-Face’s deadly plots.

Our “Sins Of The Father” episode is also available on YouTube:

Steve J Ray: www.twitter.com/el_steevo
Adam Ray: www.twitter.com/IzzetTinkerer

“I Am The Night” Theme by David B. (www.twitter.com/DavidBMusic21)

Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play, and if you like what you hear, please give us a 5-star rating and review!

Follow us on social media:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/DCComicsNews

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The post Batman: The Animated Series 3×02 – “Sins Of The Father” REVIEW | I Am The Night #81 appeared first on DC Comics News.

Episode Synopsis: This episode is made up of three holiday-themed vignettes:

(1) Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn kidnap Bruce Wayne and use his credit cards for a shopping spree.

(2) While shopping for a gift for her father, Barbara Gordon spots a group of shoplifters that turn out to be portions of Clayface.

(3) Batman and Robin race to stop the Joker from killing the crowd at the Gotham City New Year Celebration.

Our “Holiday Knights” episode is also available on YouTube:

Steve J Ray: www.twitter.com/el_steevo
Adam Ray: www.twitter.com/IzzetTinkerer

“I Am The Night” Theme by David B. (www.twitter.com/DavidBMusic21)

Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play, and if you like what you hear, please give us a 5-star rating and review!

Follow us on social media:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/DCComicsNews

Twitter: www.twitter.com/DCComicsNews

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The post I Am The Night #80: BTAS 3×01 – “Holiday Knights” REVIEW appeared first on DC Comics News.

In this episode, Steve is joined by fellow DCN and DKN writer, and his offspring, Adam Ray, to talk about the season two finale of Batman: TAS, titled “Batgirl Returns“. So sit back, put on your cape and cowl, and prepare yourself for a journey into the darkness!

**Episode Synopsis:** While Bruce is in Europe on a Wayne Enterprises business trip, the theft of a jade cat statue occurs at Gotham State University. Barbara Gordon again becomes Batgirl to investigate, only to run into Catwoman, who is also investigating, pointing out that the acid residue used to destroy the security system is not her style. The two team up to find the statue, with Robin tailing them, and things go from bad to worse when Roland Daggett is revealed to be involved.

“I Am The Night” is now also available on YouTube!

Steve J Ray: www.twitter.com/el_steevo
Adam Ray: www.twitter.com/IzzetTinkerer

“I Am The Night” Theme by David B. (www.twitter.com/DavidBMusic21)

Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play, and if you like what you hear, please give us a 5-star rating and review!

Follow us on social media:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/DCComicsNews

Twitter: www.twitter.com/DCComicsNews

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The post I Am The Night #79: Batman: TAS 2×20 – “Batgirl Returns” REVIEW appeared first on DC Comics News.

The actor, who has portrayed The Clown Prince of Crime across multiple media since 1992’s Batman The Animated Series, has declared recently that he will never voice the villain again. Further, he has also noted it has much to do with the passing of longtime Batman voice actor and collaborator, Kevin Conroy, last year.

Mark Hamill And Kevin Conroy, BTAS’ True Dynamic Duo

In fact, Kevin’s involvement in any Batman-related project was the tipping point in any pitch thrown at Hamill to step up to the mike again. “They would call and say, ‘They want you to do the Joker,’ and my only question was, ‘Is Kevin Batman?’ If they said yes, I would say, ‘I’m in.’ We were like partners. We were like Laurel and Hardy. Without Kevin there, there doesn’t seem to be a Batman for me.”

Mark’s words mirror a line that he read as The Joker in the BTAS episode “The Man Who Killed Batman.” With the Dark Knight believed to be dead, and his failure to appear at a robbery the clown had staged to draw him out, he told Harley and company to leave the goods behind.  A disheartened Joker finally declared, “Without Batman, crime has no punchline.”

Hamill was, in fact, not the first person to be cast in the iconic series as The Joker. Initially, it had been actor Tim Curry in the role. Mark had voiced the role of Ferris Boyle in the Emmy-winning Mister Freeze episode “Heart of Ice.” Winning Voice Director Andrea Romano over, he re-recorded the lines Curry had performed for the first few Joker episodes, and off they went. Mark went out of his way to make his laughter an indicator of Joker’s moods and based his take on Blue Meany from the animated Beatles project Yellow Submarine. And because he chose to stand and use manic body language as he read his lines, the animators took note of those gestures and incorporated them into their sketches. His take on The Joker was so defining and unique, Hamill has been the gold standard that every other Joker voice actor looks to for inspiration.

Since BTAS and its spinoff film Batman: Mask of The Phantasm, he had reprised the character on Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Batman Beyond: Return of The Joker, Justice League, Static Shock, Justice League Unlimited, Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?, Justice League Action, three of Rocksteady’s four Batman: Arkham games, DC Universe Online, and Batman: The Killing Joke. And yes, in every one of those aforementioned projects, Kevin’s Batman was there to trade quips and blows with Mark’s Joker. It seems poignant since the criminal never wanted to be separated from his nemesis that Mark would step away from the mic because Kevin would not be there to confront him. Regardless, there are no smiles in the animation fan community today, and no Joker Toxin will make any difference either.

RIP Mark Hamill Joker.  Thanks for the laughs.

Official Source – Mark Hamill Explains Why He Won’t Voice The Joker Again (comingsoon.net)

The post Mark Hamill Officially Retires From Voicing The Joker appeared first on DC Comics News.