Conan offers a glimpse of Green Lantern: The Animated Series

Last night on Conan, he visited Warner Bros. Animation to basically ridicule them about DC effeminate character designs. But then he met with DC Animated Universe pioneer, Bruce Timm... and I noticed something in the background:


Here's a couple of screenshots:

After a bit of research, I found out that there was an under the radar announcement of the series all the way back in May, and that it would premiere on Cartoon Network sometime after the big Hollywood film starring Ryan Reynolds.

But still, when I saw this on TV I was giddy as hell because Green Lantern has long been my favorite DC superhero, and having grown-up on Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, one can only hope that this new show follows in their footsteps and returns DC animation back to Bruce Timm's DCAU.

Not that there's anything wrong with shows like Teen Titans or Batman: The Brave and the Bold (the latter of which I really enjoy), but some shows I could never really get on-board with, i.e. The Batman and The Legion of Superheroes, and while the Young Justice pilot movie was okay, I still don't like the look of it. Regardless, color me excited!

Batman: Under the Red Hood Review

While I'm in the review writing mood, I may as well get to writing about something that came out at the end of July, the (sort of) latest DC Universe direct-to-DVD animated film, Batman: Under the Red Hood. I say sort of, because Superman/Batman: Apocalypse released just two weeks ago, and while I bought it day 1, I haven't had the chance to watch it yet. Here's to catching up!

Batman: Under the Red Hood is the latest film in the DC Universe series since Februrary's Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, which while I liked at the time, doesn't really hold up with repeated viewings. And unlike Crisis on Two Earths, Under the Red Hood returns to adapting an actual DC Comics story arc, in this case Judd Winick's "Under the Hood," making it the first full length animated adaptation for a Batman comic, as opposed to Gotham Knight, which was just separate stories that very loosely filled the gap between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

The Movie
The films centers around the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin, and his subsequent rebirth and rise to criminal power as the new Red Hood (a mantle once held by the infamous Joker, the man responsible for Jason Todd's death) and how Batman and company must deal with him.

I never read the "Under the Hood" stories because when I was younger, Batman: A Death in the Family was one of my favorite collected comic books; and when I learned that they basically retconned the events of those books to bring back an already dis-likable character, it honestly just pissed me off. So I can't really speak of this as a good adaptation, but I still think the process of bring back Jason Todd was a terrible decision and the movie still hasn't changed my opinion at all. Call me bitter, but it's just one of those thing I can't let down, and I only bought the film as a collector in the slightest sense.

However, stylistically, the film was more appealing than some of the more recent DCU films, and I found most of the voicework to be believable and close to the characters' personalities. It's not that I hated the film as a film, but the deep ties it has still bother me to say much more.

Jonah Hex
Speaking of mediocre films that came out in the summer, Jonah Hex. Now, thankfully this 12 minute short has no connection to that other Jonah Hex feature film, lead character aside of course. Presented in a traditional western fashion, the animation and character designs here are neat and far more mature than the lead title on this disc, and you could probably even argue that Thomas Jane makes a better Jonah Hex than Josh Brolin, but I refuse to take the time to find out. Plus, it's got Sarah Conner, that's kind of cool right?...

Extras
This section is slowly appearing to be a sign of the times, as the DVD sets slowly lose material to the Blu-ray editions of these films. And while I do have a Blu-ray player, I still prefer the DVD sets because all the packaging matches when placed on my bookshelf, and generally these films aren't that stylistically great that I need to see them in true HD.

What do I mean by this? For one, this is the first '2-disc special edition' DC Universe film to not include a Digital Copy (since the introduction of that feature at least), and the discs don't even have colored labels any more (I noticed this first on the new Superman/Batman, so maybe I'm wrong). And aside from that, there's just a brief look at the history of the Robin character, but more so Jason Todd as the likes of Stephanie Brown and Damian Wayne aren't mentioned. Plus there's a Batman: The Animated Series 2-parter, but, I could do without things I've already seen.

Final Thoughts
Overall, Batman: Under the Red Hood isn't a terrible film, but it doesn't blow me away either. It works better as an overall story then the previous Batman-centric DCU release, Gotham Knight, but the reasons for that are pretty obvious. However, I have deeper annoyances with this film than the actual film itself, which may have been one of the major factors preventing me from reviewing this, and not just my busy schedule. And when it comes to the extras, DC is clearly trying to make it more apparent that the DVD releases are becoming more and more inferior, which sucks.

Overall Score: 7/10

The Alternate DC Comics Covers of Fringe

There was a subtle (I can't say very subtle, there's a shot where the Red Lantern cover is right in your face) inclusion in last night's Season Two finale of Fox's Fringe, which you can read my full review of here.

While the episode, and other alternate universe episodes of Fringe, included the usual subtle differences: an actual bronze Statue of Liberty, money with different Presidents on it, photographs of older versions of people that were killed in our world, etc; "Over There (Part 2)" included alternate DC comic book covers, framed on the wall of Peter's new apartment. And thanks to a helpful post at DC's The Source Blog, the covers from the episode have been posted online:


Their World


Our World

As cool as the concept of the alternate covers may be, I still prefer our world's originals. I mean, in concept, alternate comic book covers are an awesome idea, but the execution's a bit off. For instance, the Red Lantern one which was featured front and center on screen is perplexing, as the titles are all Silver Age, but the art is far too over-rendered to be conceivable from that era. You could maybe excuse it because in the Fringe alternate universe, the technology is better than our own and perhaps that also means they could have digital inking in 1970... but that's going a bit too far.

I still like looking back and forth between the real and alternate versions, but the over-rendering of the fake versions really bugs me, and that's just something about modern mainstream comics in general that really bugs me.

If you missed last night's Fringe or just want to get a second look at these covers on-screen (or even better, watch Leonard Nimoy's fantastic final acting appearance), watch the episode over at Hulu.

Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths DVD Review

After a couple of lack-luster films (lack-luster in comparison to the VFH Seal of Approval winning Wonder Woman film at least), Warner Bros. Animation's DC Universe line is taking another crack at a completely original animated film, instead of adapting a pre-existing comic book story-arc, this time with the Justice League. Note, this is a review of the DVD edition, as have all the other DC Universe films on DVD and collector's OCD won't let me go Blu.

As stated, Crisis On Two Earths isn't based on a pre-existing DC book or story-arc, so it requires a bit more explaining. It should be noted that the general idea for this film was penned back when he Justice League animated series was on television, and a TV-movie, titled Justice League: Worlds Collide, was written as a bridge between that series and the then-upcoming series, Justice League Unlimited. But obviously that never came to fruition, and we now have this film, which follows a similar story as planned, but completely removes itself from the series by having new character designs, voice actors, and characters (i.e, no Jon Stewart Green Lantern, it's Hal Jordan).

The Movie
The film mainly centers around an alternate world's Lex Luthor, who has come to the familiar Earth after losing the final member of his Justice League to the Crime Syndicate, evil parallel versions of the good Justice League. The primary Justice League is a bit weary of this Luthor, but is soon in agreement to save his world, all except for Batman.

But, once in this alternate world, our Justice League learns that things are much different from their world, and this Crime Syndicate isn't afraid to use lethal force, even against the President of the United States and his family. But what seems like a regular Justice League TV plot soon gets a bit heavier, when the evil universe's anit-Batman, Owl Man, carries out his plot to not only destroy the good universe, but reality as we know it.

Overall, the film holds together pretty well, even if it does feel over-reminiscent of the television series, albeit a bit heavier and more mature in tone. I also found that due to the diversity of characters, there's never a big focus on just one, other than Owl Man (James Woods), and you end up forgetting that these characters have completely new voices from what you're used to. Like I'd like to say that Mark Harmon and William Baldwin did good jobs portraying Superman and Batman respectively, but you never even get to hear them that much. Even Nolan North, playing both the Green Lantern and his evil version, Power Ring, who you may be tired of by new after playing games like Uncharted, Prince of Persia, and Dark Void, isn't on screen long enough to even have an opinion. But, James Wood's Owl Man, who does get plenty of screen time is perfect, as the subtle, menacing mad man that he is. As for character design, gone are the super-bulked up characters from the animated series and Public Enemies, and these trimmed down designs move a bit more fluidly.

My only complaint about the movie is that there's some subplots that really don't have time to flesh out in this 75 minute film, and would have to rely on an unlikely sequel movie to make sense of their inclusion. I also found that the characters a persuaded a bit to easily, perhaps to make up for the short run time. And, please, some of the lines in this are just stupid, "well, I'm a murdering psychopath..." the whole thing that makes a murdering psychopath a murdering psychopath is that they aren't aware that they're a psychopath; you should know better Super Woman.

The Spectre
For the first in what I assume will be a regular feature on these DC Universe animated release, is a DC Showcase short, which focuses on lower-tier DC characters. The first one, included here is The Spectre, a ghostly crime fighter at night, and a detective by day. Running at just over 11 minutes, the film doesn't really have time to express itself storywise, but visually this short was awesome. It takes a page from Grindhouse, adding in film grain/scratches, lo-fi sound track, funk music, and surprisingly gory violence. It's a really nice treat, and hearing Gary Cole trying to be menacing in what is essentially a 70s noir is just awesome. Definitely worth watching.

Extras
As usual, the first disc extras are crap. Other than The Spectre short, you have re-hashed previews for previous DC Universe films, an interesting preview of the next film, Batman: Under the Red Hood, and trailers for other Warner Bros. projects, like the recently released Halo Legends. Otherwise, no commentary whatsoever.

The second disc is of course the actual special features disc, well at least you'd think it was. But when you boot up this disc, you'll be surprisingly shocked to only see two options on a bare menu. First is a 25 minute documentary called DCU: The New World which focuses on the various "Crisis" story-arcs in the DC Universe as well as the people and background behind the major events in the DCU. It's really informative if you're looking into the back-story of major comic book stories, but if you're someone that just likes the DC characters in film/animation, and don't care for the actual comics, then you might not have much interest here.

Then there's he two-part Justice League episode, "A Better World," which features a similar parallel universe storyline and is one of the better episodes of that series. But it also feels like a cop out for new content. If you want features, like more JL episodes and un-aired TV pilots, get the Blu-ray.

Final Thoughts
Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths is definitely a step above Green Lantern: First Flight and Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, both in visual appeal and storytelling, and just overall is a better film. However, it still falls flat in the extras department. Sure, The Spectre short film is worth the asking price, but the somewhat alienating Crisis documentary and the Justice League episode being the only features on the second disc is really upsetting. If there's one thing DC should learn from what made Wonder Woman so good it's that not only was the film great, but the extras were both informative and plenty. And it's a shame that a good film like Crisis On Two Earths suffers from a lack of proper supplementary material.

Overall Score: 8.3/10

White Rings with Brightest Day #1

I called this like three months ago! But DC Comics made it true today, the sequel series to the current Blackest Night comics, Brightest Day, will have a White Lantern ring come with its #1 issue when it releases this April. Though, this should not be confused with the series' #0 issue, which will arrive two weeks before hand, as Brightest Day will be a bi-monthly series, instead of the current once a month release schedule for Blackest Night (whose sevneth issue released today, one more to go!).

Also announced by DC today was that DC Direct will be selling a set of all 9 Lantern Rings (Black, White, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet). However, unlike the rings released with the comics, the rings included in the set will have the ability to light up. The recently announced Flash ring is not included in the set for whatever reason, but all I ask is that they don't release anymore, because I only have 10 fingers, and the White Lantern and Flash rings bring the DC ring set to a full set of fingers.

via DCU Blog: The Source

DC announces more rings!

Damnit DC Comics! Stop teasing me! Now that I'm actually finding out ahead of time (instead of telling you once the promotion is over), I'd like to inform you that DC Comics will be releasing two more promotional rings this April in conjunction with the upcoming Brightest Day story-arc. The first of which, The Flash #1, releasing April 16th, will come with a pretty cool looking Flash ring.

And Green Lantern #53, which will release April 21st, will also come with a Green Lantern ring, however, this one looks just like the one that released this past November, so I'm not sure how much of a rush there will be on these.

Regardless, DC has two more promotional rings for you to pick up, and now you can't blame me for not tell you well in advance.

via DCU Blog: The Source

Blackest Night Rings

This is a few days late, but the Thanksgiving break has had be a bit busy. On Wednesday, DC Comics released the final two promotional rings for their Blackest Night story-arc, and I was able to finish my collection and photograph it for you:

Originally, DC only released the Black Lantern rings back in July with Blackest Night #1, but because the promotion seemed to do so well, they went and released all of the Lantern rings this month. So the first week had Doom Patrol #4 with the Sinestro Corps (Yellow) ring, and the 3 following weeks had 2 rings each released with a Blackest Night tie-in issue. Personally, I felt I shouldn't open these, but I really wanted Green and Black Lantern rings to wear so I bought multiple copies of their issues.

For those who don't know, Blackest Night is DC Comics' current major story arc that spans across the whole DC Universe. Basically, all of the DC Universe's dead heroes are being resurrected as Black Lanterns, undead beings that can sense emotion and eat the hearts of the living to gain power, and now it's up to Hal Jordan and a new spectra of other colored Lanterns to defeat them. I haven't been keeping up with every tie-in issue, but I will say the Blackest Night monthly issues themselves have been really good, especially the latest issue, number 5.

Want these rings for yourself? Stop by your local comic shop and ask about the promotional rings for Blackest Night, I'm sure someone there will able able to tell you all the titles that come with which rings.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies DVD review

Despite each hero already having their own DC Universe release (Superman Doomsday and Batman: Gotham Knight), not to mention both appearing in Justice League: The New Frontier, Superman and Batman return to the direct-to-DVD scene with a film of their own. After the disappointment that was Green Lantern: First Flight, have Warner Bros. and DC Comics stepped up there game? Or has this DC Universe animated movies series lost its fuel?

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is actually an adaptation of the first story arc of DC Comics' monthly Superman/Batman series, "The Worlds Finest," which released in 2003. Myself, I never actually read the series, but I do remember when it came out, as I wasn't particularly fond of all the characters' obnoxiously muscular, bulky designs. And coming into this film, I still retained the same distaste, as the animated adaptation designed itself after the comics, giving Public Enemies a much different appearance than any previously release DC animated projects.

Story is simple, Lex Luthor (Clancy Brown) becomes President of the United States, declares Superman (Tim Daly) as a threat with a $1 Billion on his head... oh, and a kryptonite meteor is heading towards Earth. Along the way Superman enlists Batman's (Kevin Conroy) help, as they fend of DC villains and heroes alike and try to save Earth and stop Luthor. The film is just a predictable as any other Superman vs. Lex Luthor story, but it's still a fun watch. Design wise, I was surprised by some of the fluidity in the bulky characters, but then there's parts where it all just seems stiff. I still can't get over how ugly some of the character and CGI designs are though, that bothered me the most.

In terms of extras, the first disc, like the last few DC Universe releases before it, just rehashes the mini-previews for previous direct-to-disc releases, and nothing more, sadly. And once again, there's no movie commentary and the Digital Copy is Windows only (seriously, iTunes/Mac support is that hard?).

The second disc however, again like previous releases is where the real extras come in. There's two main features here, the 19-minute, "A Test of Minds: The Psychology of Superman and Batman," which is a pretty interesting comparison of DC's two big heroes. Next is the 26-minute "Dinner with DCU and Kevin Conroy," which has DC Universe's main people in charge, along with Batman himself, Kevin Conroy discussing the film at the DC animated history. Also on the disc is the first previous of the next DC Universe animated film, Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths, which looks pretty interesting and is wholly original story. Lastly, there's two episodes of Superman: The Animated Series, which happen to feature Batman. It doesn't sound like much, but considering what was lacking from their last release, this is a nice return to form.

Overall, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies isn't a bad film. It's certainly better than Green Lantern: First Flight, but not really near the caliber of Wonder Woman. Also, for my tastes, I felt the film was a little too much of a Superman story rather than a real combined Superman/Batman tale; so, Warner Bros., next time you try this, at least let us see Gotham City, OK?

Overall Score: 8/10

LittleBigWatchmen

Here's a surprise, guess what's coming to LittleBigPlanet? WATCHMEN? Why now? Why an R-rated franchise in an E rated game? I DON'T KNOW!



Now, I understand that you can only have four characters on screen at once... but why the Dr. Manhattan and Comedian costume snubs? I mean, at least Manhattan is represented on the wall there, but if you look, The Comedian is completely missing. I know he's dead for most of the film/comic, but in the part they recreated for this trailer he exists.

And again, why now? The movie's been long out of theaters, and the DVD already released (though the Ultimate Edition has yet to release). If any other DC Comics license was more fitting for now it would have been Batman because of Arkham Asylum. Or even at that, why base it on the movie version? I'd of gladly preferred a comic book environment to design/play with various DC Comics characters designed to fit the LBP world.

I guess this just shows the type of DLC variety we can expect...

Green Lantern: First Flight review

After Wonder Woman's stellar direct-to-DVD film, does DC's fourth ranked superhero reach the same level of success that the previous film did, or should Green Lantern: First Flight have been left on the drawing board?

As usual, I picked up the Two-Disc Special Edition DVD version (the bonus one from Best Buy actually, as it comes with a little Green Lantern figure), as I still have yet to be convinced that I need a 2D film in high-definition. The only difference between the Blu-ray and two-disc DVD release though is the addition of more Justice League episodes; so regardless of which you pick up you won't miss anything.

One dilemma that probably came to the minds of DC Universe fans was just how was this film going to work when Justice League: The New Frontier already focused heavily on Hal Jordan and his origin story as the Green Lantern. Thankfully, First Flight covers the origin story quickly, before the opening credits actually, and then rest of the film is completely off of Earth, which was interesting to see.

Because the film completely takes place in space, the film heavily revolves around the Green Lantern Corps, from the Guardians, to the Green Element at the center of Oa, it's all here. But essentially the film is a tale of "Good Cop / Bad Cop" between Hal Jordan and Sinestro; and if you're like me, and have a large awareness of the Green Lantern storyline and background, then the film doesn't feel very new, and in fact you can probably guess where it ends up long before the film starts going anywhere. Seriously, there's really no need for me to explain anything because all you need to hear is "Hal Jordan's first duty as Green Lantern" and "Sinestro" and you can pretty much get it you're first try.

But it's not just the story that fell flat for me, but it was the visual style too. While as intricate and stylized it may be, it reminded me way to much of Men In Black: The Series and Jackie Chan Adventures for me to really enjoy the film; it's the same reason I couldn't get into The Batman. I'm sure someone will enjoy the style, but when characters like Abin Sur and Kanjar Ro are completely unidentifiable from their traditional look, then something is definitely wrong.

For Extras, the first disc (what you get in the standard edition) of First Flight has a few offerings: a first look featurette at the next DC Universe animated film Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, some rehashed featurettes for Wonder Woman, The New Frontier, and Gotham Knight, some trailers, and a new featurette on the current Green Lantern comic story-arc, Blackest Night. But there is no commentary this time around, sadly, as it would've been nice to get an explanation on some of the creative decisions for the film.

AS for the second disc, that's where the real features are at. First off is an 8-minute long featurette on the Green Lantern's mythology, more specifically on Hal Jordan, obviously, so there's nothing about the other four Green Lanterns of Earth. Then there's two short background videos for Sinestro and the Guardians. Then there's an episode of Duck Dodgers, "The Green Loontern", and it's in my opinion the only decent episode of that show; and then there's the two-part Justice League Unlimited episode, "The Once and Future Thing", which is one of my personal favorite JLU episodes as it melds Justice League, Batman Beyond, and Static Shock, and even has Hal Jordan step in for a brief moment. And yeah, that's about it, no fancy 30 min featurettes, commentary tracks, its a nice variety, but nothing special. Oh, and like Black Frieghter, the digital-copy is Windows only, leaving us Mac users in the dust again...

Overall, despite being a decent film, I'm pretty dissapointed after watching Green Lantern: First Flight. Perhaps it's just due comparison of what DC Universe animated films have brought in the past, or that my expectations were set way to high after watching Wonder Woman, but there seems to be a lot missing this time around. There's no commentary, or cast interviews, really there's just no explanation for the creative decisions for the film, and they're what bothered me the most, particularly the visual style. As a Green Lantern fan, it pains me to say that this is the worst of the current DC Universe animated films, but it really is when compared to the rest and I hope the next outing fairs a bit better.

Overall Score: 7/10

SDCC 09: Jonah Hex poster

The Dark Knight may have been DC Comics' big film focus of 2008, and the success of that film arguably is what brought a lot of hype to Watchmen this year. So what's next for DC Comics' theatrical films? Other than the currently in pre-production Green Lantern, there's been one movie filming that you may not have heard about: Jonah Hex.

Let's ignore Megan Fox's rediculously tight corset for a moment and take a look the starring character, Jonah Hex, played by Josh Brolin. Being familiar with the character, I think it's nice to see his trademark facial scars are still in-tact, including that gross piece of flesh that comes in front of his mouth... Otherwise, this poster doesn't really tell me much, as it clearly looks like Warner Bros. placed Megan Fox there to catch people's attention.

Sadly, at least from the poster, I'm getting the same bad vibe I did from Marvel's Ghost Rider film. In that they're taking a reasonably obscure character from the comic universe, but instead of developing the lead character, they put the focus on an attractive woman that otherwise is unneeded in the film; and thus the film is a poor adaptation because you lose what make's the comic so unique. But it's just a poster, and I'm sure there will be more to judge sooner or later. Let's hope this isn't another Catwoman... I know Marvel has a lot of films on the way DC, but seriously, quantity isn't quality.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies

With the release of DC Comics' next DC Universe direct-to-disc (because it's now DVD and Blu-ray releases) animated movie, Green Lantern: First Flight, just a week or so away, it seems that Warner Bros. is silently gearing up for their next release: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, based on the "Public Enemies" story-arc from the first six issues of the 2003-present Superman/Batman comic series.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies website and trailer

Based on the trailer alone, I can say that this is certainly the most visually different work that DC and Bruce Timm have released in recent years. Other than Batman: Gotham Knight, which was made by anime studios, Superman-Doomsday, Justice League: New Frontier, and Wonder Woman all resembled past DC work, albeit slightly tweaked. Public Enemies (not to be confused with that new Johnny Depp as John Dillinger film...) instead aims to look like its source material, giving the character designs that very comic-booky, unreal design. Personally, it bothers me, because I've always liked the look of Bruce Timm's animated series/films for DC Comics, and this just seems to stray too far from that for me to visually enjoy. I'll be the final judge of that when it releases on DVD and Blu-ray this September 29th...

Wait what?!: Ryan Reynolds is the Green Lantern

Um, I'm not sure where I was, but I'm sure it's because I was face deep in the Scott Pilgrim books this weekend and busy writing the reviews for them. But, just incase you missed it as well, Superhero Hype reported on Saturday that Ryan Reynolds landed the role for Hal Jordon in the upcoming Green Lantern film adaptation directed by Martin Campbell. Campbell is best known as the director for the best James Bond films in recent years, Goldeneye and Casino Royale. Let's hope he and Reynolds can pull off the same magic for Green Lantern that he did previously for James Bond.

Personally, I'm a little uneasy about this news, as Green Lantern is one of my personal DC Comics favorites, and I'm not a big fan of Ryan Reynolds... not a good mixture. Also, Reynolds recently played Wade Wilson a.k.a. Deadpool in this summer's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and is also attached for a spin-off movie for the character. I'm curious as to how Marvel feels about this decision, and how they even planned to do a Deadpool movie consider Wolverine's ending... Only time will tell I suppose.

After Thoughts: Free Comic Book Day 2009

As you may have known, whether it be from my constant reminders or otherwise, today was Free Comic Book Day across North America. Being in the city increased my freebies, as I actually visited three shops, each with their own way of handing out the free books.

First shop of the day was Forbidden Planet, considered to be one of the premiere comic shops in New York City; and they even have some other global stores. I arrived early, because I found out last week that the first 300 customers would receive all of the day's comics, where as later customers would only receive a few. When I arrive at about 9:20, there was already a line of 50 or so people, so I was pretty much set. Apparently Hugh Jackman was at the store yesterday, so there was a lot of promo stuff left over for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In fact, I got me two foam claws, and a FCBD issue of Wolverine, actually signed by Hugh Jackman; lucky me!

As for exactly what I got? Where to start?! List is in same order as photos, left to right: G.I. Joe/Transformers Animated double issue (IDW), Worlds of Aspen (Aspen), Nascar Heroes (Nascar Comics), John Stanley's Melvin Monster/Nancy double issue (Drawn & Quarterly), Radical sampler (Radical Comics), Love & Rockets: New Stories FCBD (Fantagraphics), Impact University vol. 5 (Impact), Hot Lists (Wizard), DC Kids #1 (DC), Warhammer Online: Prelude to War (Boom! Studios), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 25th Anniversay reprint (Mirage), Contract #1 (First Salvo), Cyber Force/Hunter Killer: First Look (Top Cow), Cartoon Palooza #2 (Ape Entertainment), Bongo Comics Free-For-All! (Bongo), Comics Festival! (Legion of Evil Press), Cars: The Rookie #1 (Boom! Kids), Blackest Night #0 (DC), Atomic Robo/Drone/We Kill Monsters (Red 5), The Mighty Archie Art Players #1 (Archie), Arcana Presents (Arcana), Shonen Jump Special (Viz Media), Owly and Friends (Top Shelf), Aliens/Predator double issue (Dark Horse), Resurrection (Oni Press), Savage Dragon #148 (Image), Star Wars: The Clone Wars/FCBD sampler (Dark Horse), Sonic: Evolution of a Hero (Archie), Studio 407 Sampler (Studio 407), The Stuff of Legend (Th3rd World Studios), Attack of the Alterna Zombies! #1 (Alterna), Wolverine: Origin of an X-Man (Marvel), and a Magic the Gathering novel sampler. In short, I got a hell of a lot; like, it took me over an hour to get that all down.

The next shop I went to was just a few blocks away, St. Mark's Comics. It was the first time I've ever been to the store, and quite frankly, I can't find a reason to ever go back there. I didn't even bother getting free comics there, because they basically were only handing each customer one issue from the day's selections. I know they're free, but there's no need to hoard.

The last shop, Cosmic Comics, is shop I have been to before. It's not a place that will blow you away, but if you're looking for back-issues they have a decent selection. The way they set up their Free Comic Book Day was with a line up on the wall, a decent amount of the day's titles were available, and each customer was allowed to choose 8. I picked a few doubles of what I had already, but I also got a hold of a few I surprisingly didn't get from Forbidden Planet.

From left to right again: Mercy Sparx #1 (Devil's Due), Star Wars: The Clone Wars/FCBD sampler (Dark Horse), The Avengers (Marvel), Blackest Night #0 (DC), *explanation below*, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 25th Anniversay reprint (Mirage), William Shatner Presents (Blue Water), Fist of Justice (Digital Webbing Press), and Gold Digger #1 (AP Entertainment).

The middle comic is interesting. As I went to check out, what I assume was the manager handed me an old looking comic, Battlestar Galactica #1, published by Marvel. The book feels old, looks old, and I even checked inside and all I could find were copyrights for 1979, nothing about reprints or anything, and this thing is mint! So, luckily, I bought some sleeves with cardboard backing and I put the issue in right away. If this thing is for real, then that's pretty cool, but I'll have to look into it. Oh, I also bought the first issue of Scott Pilgrim while I was there, so you can hopefully look forward to a review later.

All in all I think today was good. I got a huge selection of comics thanks to Forbidden Planet's generousity, and the fact that I got stuff from two store. Personal highlights: Blackest Night #0 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1, if you try to get anything from today, get those. Sure a lot of the others may be crap, but it's crap I didn't have to pay for, and who can argue with that? How did everyone else fair with Free Comic Book Day?

Visit FreeComicBookDay.com for more info on all these comics.

Green Lantern: First Flight trailer

Warner Bros. has released the debut trailer for the next DC Universe animated film, Green Lantern: First Flight, set for release on July 2st, 2009:

Looks promising, and has a style different from that of the previous DC Universe films. Let's just hope it can surpass the stellar Wonder Woman film, just as that topped the previous direct-to-disc movies.

Tales of the Black Freighter DVD review

When Zack Snyder's Watchmen released earlier this month, there was a notable exclusion from the film adaptation: Tales of the Black Freighter, a comic book within the Watchmen universe that parallels particular events of the comic's story.

However, due to budget reasons, and at the risk of having too long of a theatrical film, this aspect of the book was removed from the film, instead opting for this stand-alone DVD (and Blu-ray) release. Also with Tales of the Black Freighter is another aspect of the graphic novel excluded in Watchmen's theatrical release: Under the Hood, which is Hollis Mason's book that tells of his times as Nite Owl.

Tales of the Black Freighter
Despite being the "main feature" of this disc, Tales of the Black Freighter is actually the short of the two segments, having a run time of only 26 minutes. Now, while that may sound short, viewers should take note that what you're watching is based of a part of the graphic novel that only appears every so often, and for only a few panels. So, if roughly three quarters of a 400+ page graphic novel translates into a 2.7 hour movie ... you see where I'm going with this? There's only so much that could be adapted before the animated film becomes much more than what the original book intended.

As for the film itself though? It more or less adapts the frames from Watchmen directly, however, a lot of the dialogue is reworded, and the colorful palette from the book is disregarded, opting for an overly dark, red palette instead. Stylistically though, I can see how the designers aimed for a very "comic-like" style, but to me it looked very Æon Flux-ish, a style I never really got into. But it's not all bad, Gerard Butler's voice is quite fitting for the unnamed Sea Captain, and by itself, Tales of the Black Freighter is a nice animated film if you're in the mood for brutal violence and gore, with a nice touch of hallucination. Though, from a personal stand-point, I don't think the animated film really stands up on its own without the support of the actual Watchmen universe, and really should have been kept in the actual movie.

Under the Hood
While it's not the focus of the DVD, Under the Hood outlasts Tales of the Black Freighter, running at 38 minutes. While the original version in the Watchmen book was entirely text based, this version of Under the Hood is a mockumentary, taking place in an episode of a fictional 1985 TV show, "The Culpeper Minute," which looks back at 1975 interviews with Hollis Mason/Nite Owl (Stephan McHattie), Sally Jupiter/Silk Spectre (Carla Gugino), and other "old" characters from the Watchmen film reprising their roles.

The film is set in a 4:3 aspect ratio, as opposed to Black Freighter's 16:9, in order to authenticate it's 1985/75 look; film grain and scratches are also added to "earlier" footage to further the effect. Personally, I found Under the Hood to be more enjoyable then the Black Freighter, mainly because it actually can stand on its own. The interviews gave a much deeper look into the characters that the Watchmen movie didn't give much focus on, and offers more history than what was given; as was the purpose of the text in the original graphic novel. I also liked how they utilized real DC Comics as inspiration for Hollis Mason, showing issues of Superman, All-Star Comics, and the Blue Beetle (the actual inspiration for the Nite Owl character). Another nice touch, and more or less a comic releif, were the comercial breaks during the "show", to really push that "old" feel. While, much like the film, many viewers may find themselves bored by this; but if you left the theatre wanting more, this may be your best bet till the Watchmen DVD releases

Extras
The main extra on the DVD is "Story Within a Story: The Books of Watchmen," which is a 25 minute featurette with the cast and crew of Watchmen, as well as DC Comics staff, discussing the importance of both Tales of the Black Freighter and Under the Hood, in not just the contect of the book, but with the film as well. It's quite the informative piece, and in a sense, may actually have been better to watch before seeing the film and/or the films on the DVD, if only for those who haven't actually read the book to have a good idea as to what they're getting into ... without actually reading. What I loved especially though, was that during the featurette, there were some clips from the film set showing the two Bernards as well as Hollis Mason's murder, two aspects of the book that were excluded from the theatrical release (and mentioned so in my review) that I at least have the comfort of now knowing were actually filmed.

Also included is the first chapter of the Watchmen Motion Comic, which I actually got for free a while back; and is now available on DVD/Blu-ray. And also included is the first look at Green Lantern: First Flight, which was already included on the Wonder Woman DVD, and is readily available online. So in terms of special features, this disc is pretty lacking in new content, which is a shame. The Blu-ray edition includes the same features, as well as two BD-Live exclusive features, which in my opinion have no reason to be BD-Live as they're not interactive content, and just seemingly a way for Warner Bros. to cheapen production costs by not printing it on the discs. And another gripe, the Digital Copy is Windows only, which makes no sense when the Digital Copy for Wonder Woman was PC/Mac accessible.

Final Thoughts
If you're a fan of Watchmen, both the book and the film, then chances are you'll have already picked this up. But for those who have only seen the film, but wished to get more out of the experience, this DVD will be your best chance at getting a deeper experience, without actually reading. But, buyers be warned, Zack Snyder has said it more than once that Tales of the Black Freighter would be incorporated into a Watchmen Director's Cut, and that fact alone may turn some people off from buying this now. But, nothing yet has been said about Under the Hood's fate, so if anything, you should check Tales of the Black Freighter out just for that.

Overall Score: 8/10

WALL-E + Watchmen = AWESOME

Thanks to GeekTyrant, I found one of the more ... well-produced(?) trailer mash-ups I've seen in some time. It's footage of Disney and Pixar's film, WALL-E, with the soundtrack of the first Watchmen trailer, with some original graphics added in as well. Take a look:



This isn't the first Pixar/DC mash-up we've posted, actually. A few months ago I posted a quite humorous mash-up of Toy Story and The Dark Knight. Nice to see these things go hand in hand.

Watchmen review

Hitting bookshelves in 1987, Watchmen has since become one of the greatest achievements of the comic medium. Now, in 2009, Zack Snyder looks to bring Alan Moore's and Dave Gibbons' book to life. Does Snyder do the book justice, or does he destroy the hopes of comic fans everywhere?

First off, I will say, I regret having never reviewed the graphic novel of Watchmen prior to this, because it's going to make discussing this much harder, bear with with me. I mean, really, it's your own fault if you plan to see this without first knowing the source material. Anyways, he's what you need to know: the was a costumed, crime fighting team in the 1940s called the Minutemen and people loved them. Come the second generation of heroes, called the Watchmen in the film (but actually the Crime Busters in the book) who end up being hated under the stress of the Cold War and banned by President Nixon's Keane Act.

The story starts of with the mysterious death of The Comedian, who murder is investigated by fellow hero, Rorschach, who in turn informs other fellow heroes: Nite Owl II, Silk Spectre II, and Dr. Manhattan; with Adrian Veidt a.k.a. Ozymandias getting mixed in the mess as well. It's one part murder mystery, one part action film, and most parts drama; don't expect this to be like any other superhero movie you've seen before, because it's based of a comic unlike any you've read before. That's pretty much as summarized as I can make it without making this a book review.

One thing that I want to make clear, this movie is a near perfect comic to film adaptation, visually. Not to say it's the perfect film, but as a fan of the source material, it was really awesome to see parts of the film look exactly as they did in Dave Gibbons' artwork; and to be honest, it'd be stupid for a director of a comic book film to not use the source material as a ready made storyboard. It should be noted though, that this is not a frame by frame recreation though. As fans will notice, after the film opens with Edward Blake's murder, viewers are treated to a vignette that basically shows off defining events from the history of the Minutemen all the way up to the 1985 Crime Busters (sorry, I can't call them the Watchmen); all completely new, but won't in anyway detract from the film. Scenes from the book are also omitted however, with things such as Holis Mason's murder, the home life of Dr. Malcolm Long, and The Tales of the Black Frieghter missing from the final film. Not to mention there's an alternate ending from the book; and being that Watchmen's final chapter may be one of my most favorite things ever in comics, I'll give the movie the benefit of the doubt to say the new ending works, but I'm still slightly disappointed inside. But hey, at least Dave Gibbons was the one responsible for storyboarding it.

From my observations of the crowd and just from watching the film, I think I can safely say that this really isn't intend for the casual viewer. Unlike Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man, Watchmen isn't about characters that the average person just happens to know about. True, you could say the same about Snyder's previous film, 300, but that film doesn't have the superhero film design that people come to expect, so it worked. With the theatrical release of Watchmen clocking in at over 2.7 hours, it feels quite lengthy when the film keeps its pacing the same as the book, which many movie-goers may be disappointed about. However, personally, since I read and enjoyed the book some time ago, I was fully engaged to the film the entire time and I'm sure other fans would be and will be as well. But don't go into this thinking it's the next Dark Knight, because honestly, it's just not that type of film.

Another key aspect of the film is bringing the book's characters to life, and that can only be done with good casting. In my mind, Dan Dreiberg/Nite Owl II (Patrick Wilson), Edward Blake/The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Jon Osterman/Dr. Manhattan (Billy Krudop), and Walter Kovacs/Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) really stood out for me as perfect adaptations from the book. Maybe not visually, at least in terms of Nite Owl's suit, which gave off a young tough guy look instead of the retired, chubby guy look from the comics; but as a character, and my person favorite at that, I think Dan's portrayal was spot on. Other characters however, especially Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias (Mathew Goode) and Laurie Jupiter/Silk Spectre II(Malin Akerman) I don't were good comic to film translations. With Goode, I just don't think he visually fits the part, he just looks too young, and I have no idea what was with his on/off European accent; I read him as a smug, white American man and not a young, European guy ... and his costume was completey different. As for Akerman, I think as an actress she did a decent job, but there was just something different about the character, maybe it was the fact that she wasn't always smoking like in the comic or she just sounded less bitchy, but it just didn't seem the same.

With a good cast, you also need a good director, and Zack Snyder believed he was the man for the part. With his only comic adaptation prior being 300, I guess you can say expectations for Watchmen were high. But, I never read 300, so the film really flew over my head. Watchmen however, I read, and have been a fan of for sometime, so really this film had to be faithful, for Alan Moore's sake. The end result is good, and is, if anything, truly faithful to the source material, which I'm very thankful for. As stated before, the translations of scenes from the page to the screen are really nice to see, and something I wish comic movie directors did more often. However, I think the film is a little too "Snyder-ed up" in that there's a lot of unnecessary slow motion, and over the top violence that isn't really needed, but I guess in the end it's just capturing the attention of those looking for a good time, and not analyzing the film like me.

In all fairness, Watchmen is a good film, and probably the most faithful to its source when it comes to comic-to-film adaptations. And I'd certainly go see it again, but this time in IMAX, as I wouldn't need to study the film anymore. But, it's not the type of film I can recommend to those who haven't read the actual graphic novel, because without prior knowledge, I think the average viewer may feel a bit bored siting through 2.7 hours of book paced story. It won't reinvent the superhero film genre, but it certainly shows that when the right people are behind the wheel, a good adaptation can be made ... let's just hope Alan Moore can learn that too.

Overall Score: 9/10

Personally, I wish the film was longer just so I could see more of the book come to life; and I can tell you now I'll be first in line when Tales of the Black Freighter, as well as Watchmen's Director's Cut release.

For a non-reader's look at Watchmen, read our article: Watchmen: A Non-reader's Perspective

Wonder Woman review

After years of taking a back seat to Batman and Superman, Wonder Woman finally gets her own spotlight in the animated DC Universe. But will her film stand tall against the work of her fellow heroes?

As a first note, I'm reviewing the two-disc DVD edition of the film; which is the same as the Blu-ray, but not in HD. The standard edition of the film only contains the movie, and few special features. On with the film shall we? The film opens up with a very 300-esque battle, which is actually in the past, setting up as to how the island of Themyscira came to be. Though unlike the previous DC outings, the battle lacks the blood we're used to seeing, despite overly brutal violence. And yes, I mean brutal, like beheadings, and axes to the face; don't let the title fool you.

It is soon after that the tale of Princess Diana (voiced by Keri Russell) is told. It's all here, from pilot Steve Trevor (voiced by Nathan Fillion) crash landing, to the famed contest to become Themyscira's emissary to the United States, even the invisible jet comes along; oh, and let's not forget Ares, the God of War (voiced by Alfred Molina), has escaped from his imprisonment. It is after this that Diana and Steve fly to New York, where Diana learns just how different man's world is from her own; and soon learns of Ares' plot to unleash Hell. And, as usual I'll have to stop there for spoiler reasons, but I assure you, the story will keep you engaged till the last frame.

As with previous DC Universe releases, Wonder Woman is not without a myriad of special features. On the first disc (same as the standard edition) you'll find audio commentary, and a new featurette on the next DC animated film Green Lantern: First Flight; the disc also includes rehashes of Wonder Woman, New Frontier, and Gotham Knight featurettes, as well as some trailers for other Warner Bros. films; a.k a. if you get the standard edition, sorry you.

However, the second disc is a whole other story, as it's specifically for special features (as well as the bonus Digital Copy). First on the disc is a 25 minute documentary, "Wonder Woman: A Subversive Dream," which focuses on Wonder Woman's creator, Dr. William Moulton Marston, and Wonder Woman as an iconic symbol. It's actually a really interesting documented, and one to watch for those that are interested in the character's upbringing. Next on the disc is another documentary, "Wonder Woman: Daughter of Myth," which focuses on the character's fictional origins, and is just as informative as the former. Lastly on the disc are two episodes from Justice League Unlimited, which focus on Wonder Woman's character, and are decent episodes in their own right.

Overall, Wonder Woman is not only a great addition to the animated DC Universe films, it's the best yet. The film excels in its storytelling in that it's straight forward and keeps you interested till the very end. In a sense, it work's better than the previous films, Superman Doomsday and Justice League: The New Frontier, in that the creative team isn't worrying about adapting a known story arc, they keep to the mythos of the character, but yet are able to do it, in a sense, without a boundary. But it's not just the story that does justice, the cast works really well too. Kari Russell sounds great as a serious Princess Diana, while Nathan Fillion counters that with his Captain Hammer-like charm and comedic sass that he channels into Steve Rodgers, and last but not least is Alfred Molina, who does just as menacing and foreboding a job as Ares as he did as Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2. This movie stands well enough on its own, that I feel if a live action film of the character ever comes to fruition, this is the film to beat, hands down.

Overall Score: 9.6/10

I'll be honest, I didn't care much for Wonder Woman prior to this, but the film, as well as the two documentaries have given me a renewed respect for the character. However, I don't think I can explain enough how much higher the bar has been set for future DC animated films because of this. And the funny thing is, I actually planned to not purchase this, because of my disinterest, but I bought it anyways because I have the previous DC Universe films and felt it would be unfair to skip one. Sure, as an animated film, I've seen better visually, but it works for what it is, and excels everywhere else. Not to mention, we failed to give out a VFH Seal of Approval for February; so we'll just call this belated, but much deserved.

Green Lantern: First Flight

With Wonder Woman hitting stores today, Warner Bros. and DC Comics decided to shed some light on its next direct to disc animated feature: Green Lantern: First Flight. Along with an official website, a featurette about the project is also now available:
Green Lantern: First Flight - Behind the Scenes


Full press release at SuperHeroHype