Random Reviews: Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths is a direct to video animated movie featuring the Justice League versus their counterparts in the Crime Syndicate.  It has a bit of an odd history as it started its life as an entirely different direct to video animated movie called Justice League: Worlds Collide. 

Justice League: Worlds Collide was part of the DC Animated Universe continuity and was intended to bridge the gap between the Justice League animated series and its replacement series Justice League Unlimited.

Ultimately, Justice League: Worlds Collide was never produced because they lacked the staff to produce both the movie and the television show simultaneously.  The storyline was too good to leave on the shelf indefinitely though, so references to the television show were removed and it was released as a stand alone movie with a different animation style.

This unusual history does make Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths a bit of an odd watch for fans of the DC Animated Universe Justice League though.  While there are no overt references to the show, several plot threads carry over.  Specifically, the expansion of the Justice League and the origin of Wonder Woman’s Invisible Plane are addressed.  On the other hand, the league lineup is somewhat different, so it can’t be viewed as a lost episode either.

Despite this, the important question is how does Crisis on Two Earths hold up on its own?  Thankfully, the answer is very well.

The basic premise of the movie is simple.  The Crime Syndicate is a group of evil doppelgangers of the Justice League from an alternate earth.  Ultimately, the evil Crime Syndicate comes in conflict with their heroic counterparts in the Justice League. 

Despite this simple premise, it is the little details that make this movie.  One nice touch is that each member of the Crime Syndicate is the head of their own criminal organization.  Each of these organizations is filled with evil versions of existing DC heroes.  For the DC Comics fan, this provides a ton of Easter Eggs as you try to determine if that is really an evil version of Vibe that just came on screen.

Another highlight is that James Woods puts in an amazing performance as Owlman (a Batman analogue).  Cold, calculating, and utterly nihilistic, Owlman is more chilling than an animated character has a right to be.

If you are a fan of the DC Animated Universe or simply a fan of DC Comics in general, Crisis on Two Earths is definitely worth taking a look.  With a story as good as this one, I can see why Warner Brothers decided not to let it sit on the shelf forever.

Animated Spider-Man is dead, long live animated Spider-Man?

I am a huge fan of the Spectacular Spider-Man animated series.  It probably shouldn’t be a surprise, since Greg Weisman, the Supervising Producer of the show, was the creator of the immensely popular Gargoyles series.

Perhaps even more importantly, Greg Weisman was a lifelong Spider-Man fan.  Weisman was interviewed more than once on the Spider-Man Crawlspace Podcast, and his enthusiasm and respect for the character never failed to shine through.  He was dedicated to creating the best Spider-Man animated series he could and it showed.

Spectacular Spider-Man managed to be contemporary while maintaining the excitement of the Lee-Ditko and Lee-Romita days.  It was accessible to kids while rewarding the long-time fan with subtle references.  Frankly, I consider Spectacular Spider-Man the platonic ideal of what a Spider-Man animated series should be.

Nevertheless, the series was troubled nearly from its inception.  The series originally aired on Kids’ WB, but was not renewed due to the merger of WB with CW.  The second season of the show, which was already produced, was eventually picked up by Disney XD. 

By the terms of the contract Disney XD had to wait a year before they could broadcast Spectacular Spider-Man.  Once they could, they decided to run the first season before airing the second.

The net result was that there was an unusually long gap in production which would make a third season unlikely at best.  After all, the people involved with the show have to eat and many had moved on to other projects. 

Nevertheless, I held out hope that Spectacular Spider-Man was the little show that could and that we would see a third season materialize.  Then Disney bought Marvel.

At first glance, this might seem like a good thing for the show.  After all, Spectacular Spider-Man was airing on Disney XD.  The problem is that the series was originally produced by a subsidiary of Sony Pictures.  While the rights had reverted to Marvel in the interim, it seemed likely that Disney would like to create their own Spider-Man project rather than revive someone else's take on the franchise.

On April 13, 2010, this is exactly what happen.  Marvel announced a new animated series called Ultimate Spider-Man would be added to the Disney XD.  Tom Brevoort confirmed that this was the final nail in the coffin for the Spectacular Spider-Man series.

So what do I think of the prospect of a new Spider-Man animated series?  I am trying not to judge Ultimate Spider-Man before I see it, but I have a hard time believing it will be an improvement over Spectacular Spider-Man.

One strike against it is that it will be based off of the Ultimate Spider-Man comic series, which is a series I have mixed feelings about.  Many of the best elements of the Ultimate Spider-Man comic series had already been incorporated into Spectacular Spider-Man anyway. Making a series that is even more like the Ultimate Spider-Man comic simply doesn’t add to the appeal for me.

Another concern is that Marvel has announced that this series will feature Spider-Man teaming up with various other Marvel characters.   I really enjoyed the self-contained nature of the “Spider-Verse” in Spectacular Spider-Man.  It allowed the stories to focus on Peter Parker’s character development, rather than spending half the episode explaining who Doctor Voodoo is.

I wish Marvel the best of luck with the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series.  I love the character of Spider-Man and I want him to gain a brand new generation of fans.  To be honest, good or bad, a new animated series is probably the best way to ensure this happens.

I just hope Ultimate Spider-Man is something I will want to watch as well.

Are motion comics important?

Like a lot of print publications, comic books are in trouble.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect Marvel or DC to go belly-up anytime soon, especially since they both have a stable of licensable characters and are owned by much bigger companies.  I am more concerned about the fate of individual comic book issues which you buy off the shelf.

The economics of comic books are broken in the digital era.  The problem is that the costs associated with printing comic books continue to rise.  As readership declines, this increased cost is passed on to the consumer via increased cover prices. 

Unfortunately, these cover prices can only go so high before they drive consumers away.  Looking over the comics I picked up this month, the majority are $2.99 while a few are $3.99.  This seems a little pricey for a mere twenty-two pages of entertainment!

I will admit that if the price point hits $4.99 I will probably bail out on comics altogether.  As it is, I have cut back on what comic books I read considerably.

The people in the comic book industry are not idiots.  They are aware that price point is a problem and have been trying different tactics to fix the issue.  DC has been placing eight page backups in certain titles, allowing them to charge a little extra while increasing the perceived value.  Marvel has started a subscription based digital comic service which allows customers to read any title on the service, which is not their full line, for $9.99 a month (less if you pay annually).

One potential solution that both Marvel and DC have dabbled in is releasing titles as motion comics.  A motion comic is similar to full-fledged animation, except that it relies heavily on static images against moving backgrounds.  This gives the illusion of motion without incurring the cost of fully animating it.  If you want to see an example, check out the Spider-Woman motion comic preview.

Late last year, DC released the Watchmen motion comic on DVD, on X-Box live, and on iTunes to help generate buzz around the Watchmen movie.  Marvel has been a bit more aggressive on this front, releasing Spider-Woman to iTunes at the same time as it hits the stands.  More importantly, at $1.99 an episode or $8.99 for a “season”, it is selling for less money that its physical counterpart.

Despite this, I feel that motion comics will continue to be a niche market.  Standing uncomfortably between animation and comic books, I don’t feel they will appeal to a broad enough market to justify the cost of making them.  Its true that they undoubtedly cost less than traditional animation since they are reusing art created for the comic. 

Unfortunately, I feel that this very fact will prevent them from being an adequate replacement for paper comics.  Right now, the creative costs are shared between the paper and digital version of the comic.  If the motion comic had to shoulder the full cost by itself, I imagine the profit margin would clear up pretty quickly.

I will admit that there is a lot of curiosity about Spider-Woman motion comic at the  moment.  However, this seems to be because of the novelty of releasing the motion comic concurrently with the traditional comic.

The question then becomes, if motion comics are not the future of comic books, then what is the future?  I foresee a couple of possibilities:

One is that traditional comic books will become like most web comics, free online but supported by ads.  This may be unlikely in the short term (i.e., in the next five years), but in the long term it is not as far-fetched as you might think.  After all, characters like Batman or Spider-Man are much more valuable a licensable characters than as comics nowadays.  If it comics cease to become economically viable to produce, generating mindshare for the characters may trump other concerns.  Not to mention that the big names will probably not have issues finding advertisers to support them.

Another option may be an iTunes like model.  Illegal file-sharing of CBR files is rampant on torrent sites.  As I have mentioned before, this kind of rampant file sharing means there is an interest in your product, just that consumers feel that the price is disproportionate to the value.  iTunes has proven that it is possible to enter a market where piracy is rampant by providing a reasonably priced legal alternative.

Of course, this all assumes they don’t cripple their future digital offerings with overly onerous DRM!

The Dragon’s Graveyard a.k.a. Dragonborn kicking it old-school!

In honor of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen opening, I thought I would take a little time to highlight some of Peter Cullen’s work.  Not his work as Optimus Prime, which would be way to obvious.  Rather I wanted to talk about his work as Venger, the primary antagonist on the Dungeons and Dragons Animated TV series.

Of course the best way to talk about Venger is to talk about The Dragon’s Graveyard, which is probably the best episode of the series and a great episode showcasing Venger.

There are some startling revelations in this episode, which is posted in three parts on YouTube.  So feel free to watch the videos before reading my comments on them.  Unless you are Greg Leeds.  If you are, please forget you ever heard of this site.

The Dragon’s Graveyard - Part I

The episode starts with the group randomly fighting a frost giant.  It does not take them long to dispatch him with their ancient Arkhosian artifacts (more on this later).  It is revealed that the main reason they are wandering around the arctic is that the Dungeon Master told them that they could locate a portal home.  They are able to open the portal home despite piss poor instructions, but Venger shows up to cock block them again.  He decides to entomb them in ice, then inexplicably leaves the scene.  This gives the kids an opportunity to escape.

The kids seem to be taking this failure to get home a bit harder than usual.  So hard that they decide that Venger has to pay.  Hank decides that since they haven’t been up to the task that the best solution is to sic Tiamat on him.  I have to admit, as half-baked plans go, this one could actually work.

The Dungeon Master, obviously concerned at the turn his game is taking, shows up to give his typically cryptic advice to the group.  He begins to talk about how the '”Duke of Darkness” has taken over some distant land, evil must be vanquished, etc.

This time, Hank is having none of it.  He demands to know how they can find Tiamat and how they can trick her into taking Venger out.  Hank and the rest of the group surround the gnome-like little man and make it clear that saying “no” is not an option for him.

Realizing he has a full-fledged player revolt on his hands, Dungeon Master spins some nonsense about them needing to go to the Dragon’s Graveyard.  When they ask where that is, he only says that “they carry the way with them”.  No longer surrounded, he quickly makes an exit stage right.

I think I speak for all DM’s when I say that we have all had to deal with a player revolt at some point.  Looks like he managed to spin it well.  Good for him.

The Dragon’s Graveyard – Part II

The group mulls over Dungeon Master’s advice and realize the obvious.  Since they carry artifact weapons from the Dragon’s Graveyard, that must be what Dungeon Master was referring to when he said that they “carry the way with them”. 

(Not Dungeon Master’s best work, but he did have to come up with something fast)

Anyway, while they are attempting to puzzle out how to use the weapons to reach the Dragon’s Graveyard when they are attacked by Venger again.   Totally outclassed, the kids run for a nearby cave.  Venger takes out his wrath on Uni, blasting the young unicorn with his evil magic.  The group manages to reach the cave, but Venger collapses the cave entrance on them.

Now trapped in the cave with a dying unicorn, the group is really pissed.  Nevertheless they manage to activate the magic to enter the Dragon’s Graveyard, which is apparently on the moon.

The kids wander among the bones in the graveyard when… HOLY CRAP IS THAT A DRAGONBORN SKELETON AT THE 5:54 MARK?!?

It seriously is.  Not the last appearance dragonborn skeletons will make in this episode either.  In fact a ton of them litter the graveyard, and all of them are holding ancient Arkoshian magic items!

All this time I figured dragonborn represented the worst excesses of 4E.  Now I realize they are old-school.  Well, at least early-eighties old-school.

Back to the episode, like any adventuring party worth its salt, the group begins to loot the dead bodies for their magic.  They find many items, including a horn that apparently summons Tiamat.  She is less willing to talk when she first arrives, so they decide to shoot first and ask questions later.  This causes them to realize that their weapons are more powerful in the Dragon’s Graveyard.  We then abruptly cut to:

The Dragon’s Graveyard – Part III

After a perfunctory battle Tiamat, she realizes they want her to kill Venger.  She won’t, but she does clue them in that they can do the deed themselves with their enhanced weaponry.  Tiamat also offers to serve up Venger to them on a silver platter before teleporting away.

Bored, the kids decide to play around with some of the loot.  Specifically, Eric is scared by a trident that spews lightning and the thief finds a net that feels “alive”.

Tiamat arrives at Venger’s castle, sending him to the Dragon’s Graveyard to battle the kids.  Not wanting to play fair, Venger casts a spell to raise the dragonborn as skeletons.

The group figures the skeletons will be pushovers, but as noted before all of them are wielding their own artifact weapons.  That battle initially goes poorly for the party, but in the end the skeletons are no match for them (probably due to their low hit dice).

The party gets the drop on Venger and Hank ties him to a rock with his magic arrows.  The party tells Hank that it is up to him whether or not to kill Venger.  He obviously considers it, but realizes that as a 1E ranger that he needs to maintain a good alignment.  Knowing Dungeon Master will probably be a dick about the “killing in cold blood” thing, Hank opts to let Venger go.

Speaking of Dungeon Master, the smug little gnome appears as soon as Venger is freed.  He uses the “living net” that the thief found earlier to heal Uni.  While the party is gathered around Uni, Dungeon Master tells the vanquished Venger “rise my son” before sending him back to the Realm. 

Returning to the kids, he spews some more B.S. before transporting everyone back to the Realm where they can continue to do his bidding.

Player revolt averted.  My hat is off to you Dungeon Master!

Random Reviews: Spectacular Spider-Man Season 2 Premier: Blueprints

I am very glad to see this series return to the small screen.  The first season of Spectacular Spider-Man did an amazing job at putting a new spin on old classics while still remembering what made us love it in the first place.  After the show was dropped in the wake of the WB/CW merger, I wasn’t sure that this series would find a new home.  Luckily for us, a second season of Spectacular Spider-Man was picked up by the Disney XD channel.

I will try to keep my review of the season two premier, Blueprints, fairly spoiler free.  Still, read it at your own risk, as some spoilers are inevitable. 

This episode begins with Peter dealing with the fallout from season one’s finale.  He is concerned about the disappearance of Eddie Brock/Venom, confused about the kiss he shared with Gwen Stacy, and unsure of how to help his Aunt May, who is still recovering from her heart attack.  Oh, and he is trying to figure out how to keep from freezing his butt off in the middle of winter wearing a costume he designed in spring.

All of this is complicated by the arrival of Mysterio, who interrupts an animated cameo by Stan Lee.  I am not sure I buy Stan the Man as a dock worker, but that hardly matters.  Good to see you Stan!

Another complication is in the form of that wild, untamed creature known as the cheerleader (to paraphrase Harry Osborn from season one).  Namely, Liz Allen has set her sites on Peter Parker, and quickly manages to distract him from talking to Gwen about their kiss.

Spidey has a number of skirmishes with Mysterio that do not go well.  I won’t spoil for you who wins, although I thought renaming the show The Marvelous Mysterio was a bold move.  Not that you should read anything into that.

By the end of the episode, several new status quos are set up.

1. Peter becomes an exclusive freelance photographer for The Daily Bugle.
2. Peter resumes his student internship at ESU.
3. Norman Osborn takes an unhealthy interest in mentoring Peter.
4. A mysterious new villain named the Master Planner (well, new to the series) is introduced.

So, what did I think?  Well, it was a very strong season opener.  It managed to setup a number of subplots that will likely continue throughout the season and still fit in a respectable amount of web-swinging action.  I also continue to be impressed by how well this show caters to the old-school fan while remaining accessible to young children.

So if you like Spider-Man and enjoy animation, you should definitely check it out.  I also cannot recommend it enough for parents with Spider-Man loving children.  After all, I used to watch tons of Spider-Man as a kid, and I turned out fine! 

Right?

More Watchmen Mania

Get ready for the Watchmen cartoon series!  I am psyched, aren't you!

Alan Moore approves of this message! Ok, maybe not.

Tales of the Black Freighter

With Watchmen mania continuing to grow, I was curious if one aspect of it was going to make it to the big screen.  Namely, the infamous "Tales of the Black Freighter" comic book within a comic book.  While it appears that it will not, it will at least be making it to the small screen!

Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter & Under the Hood will be released on March 24th. It will not only include an animated version of "Tales of the Black Freighter", but a live action version of Nite Owls tell all biography, "Under the Hood".

But just don't listen to me blab about it. Check out the trailer yourself!

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Arrrgh! Pirates!

One of these (Batmen) is not like the other

I have finally had a chance to see a preview of Cartoon Networks upcoming Batman: The Brave & the Bold animated series.  Much like the comic series it was named after, the premise is showcasing Batman teaming up with various other superheroes.  Plastic Man, Blue Beetle (Jamie Reyes version), and Green Arrow (with a Golden Age look) all make appearances in the preview.

What surprised me most is the tone.  This is not the brooding Batman, tormented by his parents death that we have seen in most modern adaptations of the character.  Rather, it is Batman as costumed adventurer.  The art and tone seem much more reminiscent of the light-hearted Batman of the 1950s-60s than of today.

Or to put it another way, there is more Adam West than Christian Bale in this Batman.

While I have to admit I tend to like my Batman a bit more on the grim and gritty side, I actually want to applaud the creators of the new series for going in a different direction.  While I loved The Dark Knight, it wasn't and appropriate movie for kids.  Even worse, the kid-focused merchandising seemed as out of place as marketing a line of Godfather toys to eight-year olds.

Plus, bringing back Kite-Man?  Now that is just pure genius!

 

Holy Braveness and Boldness Batman!