Due to the length of what I wrote, I split this piece into 3 posts. Each is my thoughts on a different part of this DVD release.
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: Batman: Gotham Knight, DC, DC Universe, DVD, Green Lantern: First Flight, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Justice League: The New Frontier, made for dvd, movies on dvd, straight to dvd, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Wonder Woman | Leave a comment »
A “bonus” feature (as far as I can tell, included with the barebones DVD, the special edition DVD, and the BluRay) is an animated short starring The Spectre.
This is a bit of an unusual piece to me–I’ve really only known the character as the primal/cosmic/universal force-of-naturehe’s been for the last 10 1/2 years. This short focuses on the character with Jim Corrigan as his “host,” where Corrigan grounds the Spirit of Vengeance a bit.
This short delves into some dark, disturbing territory…whether intentionally going there or taking advantage of less restriction due to being packaged with a PG-13 animated film, I’m not sure.
Not being particularly familiar with a down-to-Earth Spectre, I found it to be less interesting than I’d prefer in and of itself…but it’s still fairly interesting being exposed to this version of the character.
There’s also a preview of the next DC Universe project…Batman: Under the Red Hood, which is based on the 2003/2004 Under the Hood arc in the Batman comics.
While I have never bought into the “Return of Jason Todd” and everything that’s been done with that character for more than half a decade…as an animated project, it looks like this one has potential…at the least, this preview/”First Look” sold me on the concept. A large part of that, I think, is that it looks like the film will include material taken from A Death in the Family, which will more closely tie the Under the Hood story to that prior one, making it work as a unified whole in the film where it still has not for me as a comic story that essentially undid a key story in the Batman history.
Finally, there’s a short documentary that looks at the recent history of DC Comics, with brief interviews with the likes of Paul Levitz, Dan DiDio, Geoff Johns, Brad Meltzer, and others discussing Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis, and Final Crisis, and a lot about how the stories were crafted and made to build toward one another. The interviewees also discussed what got them into comics, and their influences…and in general, made for a very enjoyable piece.
Of course, it was also interesting to see several of their roles/titles, given changes announced last week for the organization at DC.
I’m a sucker for such documentaries/interview pieces…I enjoyed the Death of Superman retrospective, the Green Lantern/Blackest Night piece on the Green Lantern: First Flight release, and of course this one.
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My thoughts on Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
part 1: What Came Before
part 2: The Movie Itself
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: Batman, Batman: Gotham Knight, Batman: Under the Red Hood, Brad Meltzer, Crisis, Dan Didio, DC, DC Universe, Death of Superman, Doomsday, First Flight, Geoff Johns, Gotham Knight, Green Lantern, Green Lantern: First Flight, Jim Corrigan, Judd Winick, Justice League, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Justice League: The New Frontier, New Frontier, Paul Levitz, Public Enemies, Spectre, Superman, Superman/Batman, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Superman: Doomsday, Under the Hood, Under the Red Hood, Wonder Woman | Leave a comment »
Now we have the second Justice League movie. Though it is the second under the Justice League header, it’s really no sequel to New Frontier. This one is based on some classic Justice League stories known to me under their contemporary heading of Crisis on Multiple Earths. These comics–as I understand my comics history–were largely regular team-ups between the Justice League and the Justice Society…then situated on different Earths in DC‘s multiverse.
Though the multiverse has long since perished and recently been reborn, those stories still hold quite a bit of weight.
And so we have this movie, in which a Luthor crosses from his Earth to that of “our Earth”–that is, the Earth in which we find the DC super-heroes–and reveals this multiverse. He convinces the Justice League to help him on his world, to “free” it from the evil that terrorizes it. Whereas on our Earth, the most powrful beings are heroes, on Luthor’s Earth, they’re villains.
There’s a LOT to like about this movie. The animation is nice and clean–plenty of detail for what it is, without being overly detailed or trying to be some sort of “animated live-action.” The visual style doesn’t seem to imitate silver age comics that I’m aware of, nor does it exactly imitate contemporary comics. There’s something to it that reminds me very much of the Batman, Superman, and Justice League animated series–probably in part that Bruce Timm is heavily involved in this movie as he was with those series.
I was initially disappointed that we had more new voices for familiar characters…but as the movie kicked into gear, I didn’t really even think about it, other than to note that the characters all sounded perfectly fine and no one seemed out of place…I heard the characters, and not the actors…which for me is an important thing for any animated project.
To me, The Flash had several of the greatest moments–a comment about Luthor’s state when they meet him; a Star Wars reference, and a nice play on things when rushing out of the Crime Syndicate’s place after his teammates. Owlman had a great Harrison Ford moment, which I’m not sure was intentional, though it almost seems it had to have been. And toward the end, Wonder Woman’s “spoils of war” is just about my favorite silver age reference ever–legitimizing a concept I always saw as ludicrous.
The “meat” of the movie was solid stuff, as well. Granted, with a team movie, there’s not a lot of room for character development, especially in the relatively limited timespan for these animated movies. The only thing that really felt forced to me involved a romantic interest for the Martian Manhunter (even if there was a bit of payoff in his final comment on the matter).
This isn’t a character study on any single character…it’s an action/adventure pitting many familiar characters against many similar/opposite characters. There seems to be plenty drawn from the original 1960s comics…and yet, a strong dose of contemporary story-telling.
These DC Universe dvd movies just keep getting better and better, and though I haven’t yet digested this one long enough to decide if it surpasses the previous ones…it certainly keeps up with the best of ’em.
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My thoughts on Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
part 1: What Came Before
part 3: The Extras
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: Batman, Batman: Gotham Knight, Crisis, DC, DC Universe, Death of Superman, Doomsday, First Flight, Flash, Gotham Knight, Green Lantern, Green Lantern: First Flight, Justice League, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Justice League: The New Frontier, New Frontier, Owlman, Public Enemies, Superman, Superman/Batman, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Superman: Doomsday, Wonder Woman | 3 Comments »
While in many ways, an animated/movie adaptation of ‘The Death of Superman REALLY gets to my core as a comic person–it was largely that story that fully submerged me long-term into the world of comics, and so it has a special place in my memories–that first movie from DC Universe is probably my least-favorite. To this day, several years after-the-fact, I tend to hold that its only redeeming quality is the retrospective documentary on the Death of Superman in the comics. (It doesn’t help that they LATER released a special edition, while subsequent movies have had simultaneous “bare bones” dvd release and a Special Edition release).
Batman: Gotham Knight was an interesting piece, giving a taste of Batman with the anime style…I actually enjoyed it for the most part, and while that is not a style I’d care for long-term for Batman, it definitely worked.
Justice League: A New Frontier became an instant favorite for me. There was something to its story–and perhaps the fact that I had not read the comics first (and yet, had had them repeatedly recommended to me). I read a one-shot DC put out around the time of the movie’s release and enjoyed it, and shortly after bought the TPBs of the comics, and greatly enjoyed those, such that as a whole, the New Frontier is a definite DC classic to me.
A combination of things led to my NOT picking up the Wonder Woman movie, though I Netflixed it, enjoyed it, and numerous times now would have bought it, if any stores would stock the “Special Edition” WITH the stupid cardboard box/slipcase thing. (Petty, sure…but that’s a story for another time).
Green Lantern: First Flight sorta crept up on me, but with Blackest Night then just barely kicked off, I was on a Green Lantern high, and was very excited for the movie. Though it was kinda strange in its depiction of Abin Sur and others, in and of itself I recall really enjoying it–especially the use of Sinestro, AND his Sinestro Corps costume…as well as the way it was left open for “sequels.” That it came with an exclusive Hal Jordan DC Infinite Heroes figure (well, if one bought the boxed version at Best Buy, anyway) was an added bonus. I’ll also always remember buying a new DVD player the same day in order to watch the movie, as the old DVD player my roommate and I had been using refused to recognize the new disc.
A little over two months later we got Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, and in anticipation of that one, I re-read the original comics, and thus both enjoyed and yet nitpicked it a bit more than I may have otherwise. I particularly enjoyed the voice casting, getting the “original” actors from the Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series to voice Superman, Batman, and Luthor. That the art was so similar to the original made it even more of a treat.
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My thoughts on Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
part 2: The Movie Itself
part 3: The Extras
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: Batman, Batman: Gotham Knight, Crisis, DC, DC Universe, Death of Superman, Doomsday, First Flight, Gotham Knight, Green Lantern, Green Lantern: First Flight, Justice League, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Justice League: The New Frontier, New Frontier, Public Enemies, Superman, Superman/Batman, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Superman: Doomsday, Wonder Woman | 2 Comments »
Red Dawn
Story and Words: Peter J. Tomasi
Penciller: Patrick Gleason
Inkers: Rebecca Buchman, Keith Champagne, Tom Nguyen
Colorist: Randy Mayor
Letterer: Steve Wands
Cover: Gleason, Buchman, Mayor
Editor: Adam Schlagman
Published by: DC Comics
For the most part, this issue is Red Lantern Guy Gardner fighting against his friends, trying to kill them. As a Red Lantern he’s enraged at the Green Lanterns. Unfortunately (or rather, fortunately) for Guy, the very planet he stands on is a member of the GL Corps, and where the other Green Lanterns fail to stop Guy, Mogo is–at Kyle’s persistence that Guy not be simply killed–is moved to provide a solution for his miniscule-by-comparison comrade.
The story here is fairly simple, but it’s effective. A couple issues back, Guy was possessed by a red ring when his rage flared at what he thought was the death of his best friend. Though Kyle was brought back, Guy remained a Red Lantern and did some nasty stuff to wipe out a bunch of the Black Lanterns threatening Oa. With the immediate threat of the Black Lanterns taken care of by Mogo, the remaining threat became Guy himself, who was in possession of both a red and a green ring. Tomasi uses this issue to give us some serious Guy time, as we see the battle for his heart play out. The writing and art blend particularly with a double-page spread that shows us moments from throughout a lotta years of Guy’s history.
As usual, I’m not a fan of Gleason‘s visual style, but with that spread particularly, scenes are recognizable and that is definitely a good thing. The final page of the issue has a fairly iconic sort of image that works fairly well despite my not liking the style.
This issue feels fairly epic despite its localized setting and there really not being any Black Lanterns. We have the “redemption” of Guy, and a solidification of some important elements to the character. Though this could just as easily have been a send-off, it is more a celebration of the character, firmly establishing him (if there remained any doubt) as one of THE Green Lanterns. Mogo’s solution to deal with the red ring seems to be Tomasi providing a bit of retconning of Guy’s character…but in a way that keeps the past intact while fully freeing the character to move on without being tethered to the past.
Overall, a nice character-driven issue, and well worth getting–particularly for fans of Guy Gardner.
Recommended.
Story: 8/10
Art: 5/10
Overall: 7/10
Filed under: Blackest Night (Event), Comic Reviews 2010, DC, DC Universe, Green Lantern Corps | Tagged: Blackest Night, Comic Reviews, DC, DC Comics, Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, Guy Gardner, Keith Champagne, Patrick Gleason, Peter J. Tomasi, Rebecca Buchman, Red Dawn, Red Lantern, Tom Nguyen | Leave a comment »
Queen
Writer: Sterling Gates
Penciller: Jamal Igle
Inkers: Jon Sibal & Mark McKenna
Colorists: Nei Ruffino, Pete Pantazis
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Cover Artists: Michael Turner and Peter Steigerwald
Asst. Editor: Wil Moss
Editor: Matt Idelson
Published by: DC Comics
After quite a bit of foreshadowing, last issue provided the culmination (or so I’d thought) of Lana’s story. Where I’d thought it was going to be cancer or some other terminal illness and that DC would actually allow the character to be killed, that issue ended with Supergirl barging into the morgue and finding a cocoon where Lana’s body should have been. This issue opens some time after that with General Lane and his grunts finding the re-grown body of his daughter Lucy and discovering that she’s actually alive, despite being thought dead when her super-suit exploded awhile back. We then pick up wtih Gangbuster (in a new, weird-looking costume) busting into some alien hive and getting Supergirl out…as she’d been captured off-panel since the previous issue. The hospital Lana was in has been grown over by a cocoon, as we find out that the Insect Queen lives once again, having spent the past year preparing Lana’s body to be taken over. Supergirl and the Queen fight, and it’s not hard to guess what happens by the issue’s end. We have some definite closure to things, while elements are left open to coming stories…but this issue’s events are not likely to be simply brushed under a rug.
The art by Igle is quite good. In and of itself, I have no problems with the art.
The story is also quite strong as what it is. I have never had any interest in the Insect Queen stuff with Lana, and have zero nostalgia for the silver age stuff…it was actually the Insect Queen story in the main Superman book several years ago that led me to bail on the Superman titles entirely for a brief time. As such, I was quite dismayed to see it becoming a focal point for this storyline. To its credit, the actual, overt Insect Queen stuff is basically limited to a couple brief bits last issue, and now this issue, rather than being a huge part of the overall arc. I’m interested in seeing where Supergirl herself goes from here, as Gates has continued to grow the character and give her surprisingly realistic reactions to things instead of the usual, simplistic cliches one would normally expect.
What I dislike most about this issue is the ties back to the Superwoman story, as I to this day cannot be convinced that the Lucy Lane I’ve read for 15-some out of the last 20ish years is the same character…whether this is Gates claiming the character or simply doing the best with the hand dealt, I’m not sure.
In addition to the 40-page main story (which has a 26-page chunk with no ads!), we also get a short bonus tale by Jake Black and Helen Slater (the actress who played Supergirl in the Supergirl movie in the 1980s).
A Hero’s Journey
Writers: Jake Black, Helen Slater
Artist: Cliff Chiang
Colorist: Dave McCaig
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Wil Moss
Group Editor: Matt idelson
This short is pretty simplistic and straight-forward: it’s a recap of much of these first 50 issues of Supergirl. I recognize Black from his TMNT work, and it’s cool to see his name popping up like this. While the story is basically recap, it does add a bit to the Supergirl character, as we are reminded how far she’s come, and the changes over the past 17 issues or so have been brought both betterment and clarity to the title as well as the character in the title. I also quite enjoy the fact that Ron Troupe is still around and being used again lately…he is just as important a character to me as any of the supporting cast of the Superman family of titles…and I like a great deal better than, say, Steve Lombard or the current interpretation of Cat Grant.
The art for this story is clean and fairly simple, reminding me of any of a number of animated works that don’t use too much in the way of detailed lines to get things across. Again, that works for this story, though I don’t think I’d care much for the style on any ongoing basis for this title.
As a whole, I think the only “weak point” of the issue is the cover. Turner had a significant role in bringing this version of the character into contemporary continuity, but the art used for the cover just doesn’t work for me–it seems extremely out of place, especially given how far this title and the character have come over the past few years. Maybe it’s just over-nitpicky, but Supergirl’s ears on this cover make her look like an elf, and her physical build just seems out of proportion with the way she’s portrayed lately. As with most books, though…the issue can’t be judged solely by the cover.
Story: 3.5
Art: 3.5
Overall: 3.5
Filed under: Comic Reviews 2010, DC, DC Universe, Supergirl | Tagged: A Hero's Journey, Anniversary, Cliff Chiang, Comic Reviews, Dave McCaig, DC, DC Comics, Gangbuster, Helen Slater, Insect Queen, Jake Black, Jamal Igle, Jared K. Fletcher, Jon Sibal, Kara, Lana Lang, Linda Lang, Mark McKenna, Matt Idelson, Michael Turner, Nei Ruffino, Peter Pantazis, Peter Steigerwald, Queen, Sterling Gates, Supergirl, Wil Moss, World Against Superman | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Story: 3.5/5
Art: 4.5/5
Overall: 4/5
Filed under: Blackest Night (Event), cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe, Green Lantern | Tagged: Adam Schlagman, Blackest Night, Comic Reviews, DC, DC Comics, Doug Mahnke, Eddie Berganza, Geoff Johns, Green Lantern, New Guardians, Parallax, Parralax Rebirth, Randy Mayor, Rebirth, Rob Leigh | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Story: 2.5/5
Art: 3.5/5
Overall: 3/5
Filed under: Blackest Night (Event), Blackest Night: Flash, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: Adam Schlagman, Barry Allen, Bart Allen, Blackest Night, Blackest Night: Flash, blue lantern, Comic Reviews, DC, DC Comics, Flash, Geoff Johns, Kid Flash, Michael Atiyeh, Rob Leigh, Scott Kolins | Leave a comment »
Danse Macabre Part 3
Writers: Gail Simone & John Ostrander
Artist: J. Calafiore
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Colorist: Jason Wright
Editor: Sean Ryan
Cover: Daniel Luvisi
Published by: DC Comics
I’ve not been following this title to any great degree. I read the first 2-3 issues, and may have read one or two other issues prior to this Blackest Night tie-in. Still, I know enough of these characters to enjoy the issue, even lacking the full series’ context.
This issue sees the various members of the Six dealing with Black Lanterns, as well as Amanda Waller’s plan for combatting those same Lanterns. Essentially, the Six have to survive long enough for that plan to be put into motion–to retrieve an old Manhunter body to make use of its stored Green Lantern energy (which, along with another color light/energy is the only thing that can permanently put down the Black Lanterns). The end result of this gamble seems to indicate both change and revelation–at least to the reader, as Waller reveals her ultimate intent regarding the Six.
The story’s not bad, though it’s not terribly engaging, either. I don’t know all the characters well enough to get as much appreciation out of this issue as I’m sure others will get, but they’re not entirely unfamiliar. And though I am unfamiliar, I learned a bit more about a couple of ’em as I read this issue. Digging up an old Manhunter makes perfect sense to me, and a great solution for a bunch of essentially human characters to reasonably fight and have any hope at all of winning against multiple Black lanterns, when the bulk of the super-folks of the DCU aren’t around to intercede in this battle. It also roots the story in long-term history, as–and perhaps I’m wrong on this–the Manhunter is probably left over from Millennium. Waller’s presence seems like an added bonus, coming just after seeing Pam Grier taking the role of this character on Smallville‘s Absolute Justice movie/episode.
The art’s good stuff, too…while some faces seem to take on slightly different appearances here and there depending on their angles, on the whole the art is nicely detailed and the characters recognizable and distinct, and I really had no trouble following the action of the issue.
This issue wraps up what is one of the better tie-in stories to Blackest Night, as we see events unfold that appear to have contributed to the ongoing Secret Six arc, and yet plays well in the Blackest Night sandbox. This doesn’t really add anything to Blackest Night, but Blackest Night adds to this. Well worth picking up if you’ve been following the previous couple issues (this is the third of 3) and/or the main event.
Story: 7/10
Art: 8/10
Overall: 7.5/10
Filed under: Blackest Night (Event), Comic Reviews 2010, DC, DC Universe, Secret Six | Tagged: Amanda Waller, Black Alice, Black Lanterns, Blackest Night, Catman, Comic Reviews, Daniel Luvisi, Danse Macabre, DC, DC Comics, Deadshot, Gail Simone, J. Calafiore, Jason Wright, John Ostrander, Sean Ryan, Secret Six, Travis Lanham | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Booster Gold
Story: 3.5/5
Art: 4.5/5
Blue Beetle
Story: 2/5
Art: 3/5
Overall: 3.5/5
Filed under: Booster Gold, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, co-feature, Comic Reviews, Dan Jurgens, DC, DC Comics, Guy Major, Harvey RIchards, Hi-Fi, Matthew Sturges, Michael Siglain, Mike Norton, Norm Rapmund, Sal Cipriano, Second Feature, Steve Wands, The End of The End, The Tomorrow Memory | Leave a comment »
Comic Reviews by Walt 