Dark Knight Rises at the 5 Drive-In!

"Don't you wanna know who he was?"

"I know exactly who he was... he was the Batman." — John Blake and Jim Gordon

5 Drive-In at Oakville

The Dark Knight Rises at the 5 Drive-In! The epic conclusion of the Nolan Dark Knight franchise shines in spectactular blockbuster glory.

Dark Knight Rises

The expectations were set unrealistically high both by Nolan's amazing cinematography and by the fans, and the gates were flooded with movie-goers for the event way before doors opened.

The evening was filled with the buzz and excitement of the fans, the flurry of the staff and artist panel, the anticipation of the raffle and prizes, and of course, the Dark Knight himself.

Suiting up in front of the Batmobile

This entire past month of preparation finally came together in the one event, and I must say that I am truly impressed by it all.  The set up crew got there around 6pm, and from there it was touch and go.

Everything came together as quickly and seamlessly as possible, the Drive-In staff were extremely helpful and accomodating for all of us, and everybody pitched in to make it all happen.

Even had me some face-time with Batman Glen from Orangeville, not to mention his gear (*silly grin*).

Adonis and Brittany

Caroline, Jill, and Adonis

The artists panel featured some amazing talent, headlining Adonis Howard, Brittany Marr, Caroline Austin Smith, Jill Dhakura, amongst others, all drawing free sketches after free sketches for Batman fans and movie-goers alike until the cows came home.

I have to give it up for these guys, because after the sun came down, and while everybody else were enjoying the movie, they were still drawing like nobody's business.

Batman Glen and fans

And Batman Glen.  Wow, I can't see any kid to have ever met this guy and then grow up to not like Batman.  What a public face and personality.  Kids were climbing up all over the Batmobile, and the guy just grinned and beared it.  He even gave me a couple of pointers as to building the suit and the batmobile during a short break.


Fans pay tribute to Batman and Batgirl

But of course we can't forget the fans.  The turn out for the event was absolutely amazing.  People were lining up to get pictures with Batman and the Batmobile, to get free sketches from the artists, and all in all the fans made such a wonderful day of it all, it was really incredible.

Movie-goers crowd the event

We did some special things for the fans as a special thank-you.  On top of the free sketches that were given away, seven prizes were raffled off at the event, including graphic novels and a Batman card game (courtesy of Todd from Image Collections), as well as an Arkham Asylum styled batarang.

Aside from a few minor hiccups here and there, all in all the event was, in my opinion, a huge success.  The whole cast and crew worked seamlessly to bring the whole thing together, the staff at the 5 were awesome, and the fans made us feel like it was all worth it in the end.

Adonis and Batman Glen

5 Owner Brian and Adonis

5 Manager Mike and Adonis

Don draws for 5 Drive-In staff

R I S E

Dark Knight Rises... And Shines!

"We were in this together, and then you were gone. Now this evil... rises. The Batman has to come back."
"What if he doesn't exist any more?"
"He must... he must..." – Jim Gordon and Bruce Wayne

Some days, it seems like the work of a masked vigilante leading a double life just doesn't seem to end.  While multiple things have been happening in the workshop lately, suturing the mask, doctoring tools and holsters for the utility belt, my "other mask" (that of Bruce Wayne) has been busy.

Wayne and the Batsuit

What possibly can a billionaire-playboy not push off to his butler/employees?  Well, a promise made and an opportunity of a lifetime.  Through a group of my good friends, specifically my comic book artist friend Adonis Howard and comic book store owner Todd Mara, I've come to be involved in a promotional crew for the new Dark Knight Rises movie (in theatres today!)

The 5 Drive-In at Oakville invited us to make a big event of this Saturday's showing of the Dark Knight Rises, the third and last installment of Christopher Nolan's epic Batman trilogy.  So for the past month or so we've been rather busy creating signs, banners, and artwork, and pulling the whole thing together.

Bruce Wayne dances with Selina Kyle

For our work we've been rewarded with admission to the advanced screening of this spectacular show last night, before the rest of North America even gets a chance to see the opening title.  Something that others would spend anywhere between $70-$150 per seat for in theatres.

But all the money in the world couldn't have prepared me for this.  This magnificient end to the Batman legend shines through all those that came before it, leaving all of us gripping at the edge of our seats right from the very beginning, all the way past the very end.  Every angle, every movement, every detail was true to the iconic mood and theme of the Dark Knight.

Catwoman, defiant

The care in putting detail into plot development is unbelievable.  What's more, as the plot develops, those of the audience who are initiated into the plot of the past two movies slowly come to realize, that Nolan's quite carefully and quite deliberately weaved these two prequel blockbusters in a way that seems like he was planning and building up to this climactic finale all along.

Now, I will admit, that I'm a sucker for certain parts, and I really do wish there was a bit more focus on Bruce Wayne (Batman), and on Selina Kyle (Catwoman).  But with this many layers to unfold in so short a time, and so many things to blow up...  Nolan quite successfully floored even a lifetime Batman fanatic like me.

In the grime and the wreckage of Gotham city under siege, the Dark Knight truly shines.

I can't wait until we all get to see it again on Saturday.

An Airdrop

"It's a problem with the graphite, sir. The next 10,000 will be up to specifications."
"At least they gave us a discount."
"Quite. In the, uh, meantime, Sir, may I suggest you try to avoid landing on your head?" – Alfred Pennyworth and Bruce Wayne

While work is ongoing to help bring the armor templating back on course, a care package came through across the border via a friend's planned visit, on relatively short notice, which deserves a rather gigantic personal thank you.



Adult Batman Full Mask



Even through a bout of baggage loss and holds, my friends find a way to pull through, which is absolutely amazing.

So for your visual pleasure, I present to you the Adult Batman Full Mask, Adult Batman Utility Belt, and the River Road Pecos Mesh Gloves.

For being the most expensive item on this particular trip, I'm thoroughly disappointed with the Adult Batman Full Mask.  While I completely understand that this is supposed to be a one-size-fit-all kind of item, and that I was probably going to have to make do with some foam lining on the inside, there were a number of manufacturer's imperfections on the item, the least of which being frequent bumps, scuffs and discoloration on the mask's exterior, no doubt due to a bad molding or mold release.

Aside from that, the nose sockets were uneven AND misaligned, and the eye sockets have imperfections in the edges.

A rip above the closure

The worst was the velcro on the back.  Not only did the terrible sewing job start to tear as soon as I tried to undo the velcro to inspect the closure, there was a gigantic dollop of a bump right at the top of the closure, which led the back of the mask to rip as soon as I tried it on for fitting.  Huge disappointment.

And this is supposed to be an officially licensed product.  For $34.99, us amateurs could've done better.  DC, it's time to stop outsourcing your manufacturing to China.  That said, I'm hoping with some work I could still recover this mask and be able to get some amount of use out of it.

River Road Pecos Mesh Gloves

On the bright side of course, the other two items were absolutely spectacular.  The River Road Pecos Mesh Gloves were exactly how I imagined for them to be, and because of the good tailoring, I am almost afraid of ruining it by adding any more features to them.

If I do, it'll be only to add some knuckle guards, and maybe a little bit of resistive thread on the fingertips for the touch phones.

I really can't say enough about these gloves.  They're comfortable, they're an absolute perfect fit (Thanks to the amazing online help at Motorcycle Superstore), not to mention the quality is just superb.  Very cool.

Adult Batman Utility Belt

Last but not least, the Adult Batman Utility Belt.  Overall, no complaints about the item.  The quality of the item is good, and it is exactly as ordered.  Plastic, which is a bit of a shame, as it will probably see less years than it should, but then again, the detail on this thing is just gorgeous.

While I'm probably going to do some work on this item, namely replace the velcro closure at the back with a plastic buckle, and add a foam and velcro lining in the front to accomodate an inner belt, I'm glad this item came as ordered, and will accomodate various standard-sized holsters with little difficulty.