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Final Crisis (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Darren

This post is part of the DCAU fortnight, a series of articles looking at the Warner Brothers animations featuring DC’s iconic selection of characters. I’ll be looking at movies and episodes and even some of the related comic books. Later on today, we’ll be reviewing Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, so I thought I might take a look at a comic book tale which was heavy on Superman, Darkseid and Batman…

This epic elegy for a doomed civilisation, declining from splendor to squalor. This Final Crisis. This last ditch attempt to save creation itself from a loathing and greed beyond measure.

– Grant Morrison outlines the whole point of the book, in case you weren’t paying attention… in a narration which deserves to be read in the most pompously ridiculous style possible

Look, I could hitch a ride back with you. I have a real talent for gritty drama no one’s ever thought to exploit.

– Merryman makes a pitch for “relevance” in the hopes of escaping comic book “limbo”

Destruction or creation. Everything or nothing. A universe full or a universe empty. Life or anti-life. Grant Morrison certainly lives up to his reputation as a frustrating and challenging author – is Final Crisis the statement of a genre looking to make peace with itself, or nonsensical Silver Age surrealism repackaged for a modern world? Is it pretentious or profound? Insightful or devoid of interest? Can’t it be both, or are these mutually exclusive states?

We all knew Obama was Superman…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: analysis, anti-life, arts, barry allen, batman, batman r.i.p., black lightning, comic book, Comics, crisis, darkseid, dc comics, doug mahnke, final crisis, final crisis: submit, final crisis: superman beyond, fire, flash, fourth wall, grant morrison, graphic novels, green lantern, j.g. jones, jack kirby, jg jones, justice league, mandrakk, metafiction, monitors, Narrative, narratives, new gods, retrospective, silver age, stories, superman, superman beyond, the anti-life equation, vampire | 7 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Justice League – Crisis on Two Earths

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Darren

This post is part of the DCAU fortnight, a series of articles looking at the Warner Brothers animations featuring DC’s iconic selection of characters. This is one of the “stand-alone” animated movies produced by the creative team that gave us the television shows.

Okay, well maybe it’s not quite “stand-alone”, seen as it’s based off a script that was intended to bridge the two animated series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. Anyway, some of these movies – such as Justice League: New Frontier – are excellent examples of Western animation in their right. Some – such as Wonder Woman – are spectacular introductions to characters that perhaps never really got the attention that they so sorely deserved. On the other hand, some are just animated versions of a Jerry Bruckheimer blockbuster production.

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths is one of those.

Owlman is a bird of prey...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: batman, crime syndicate, crime syndicate of america, crisis on two earths, dc animated universe, dc universe, dcau, dcu, grant morrison, green lantern, Greenlantern, hal jordan, james woods, Johnny Quick, justice league, justice league of america, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Justiceleague, Martian Manhunter, non-review review, owlman, power ring, review, superman, william baldwin, wonder woman | Leave a comment »

Justice League: A Better World

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Darren

This post is part of the DCAU fortnight, a series of articles looking at the Warner Brothers animations featuring DC’s iconic selection of characters. I’ll be looking at movies and episodes and even some of the related comic books. Tomorrow I’ll be reviewing Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, so I thought it might be worth a look at what a world run by an evil Justice League might look like.

One of the central challenges that the iconic Justice League characters have had to face over the years has been the way that the comic book world has slow and sometimes subtly morphed into something far more sinister than the bright-coloured origin stories of the forties, fifties or even sixties. There was a time when supervillains were a relatively harmless sort, the hero would always save everyone’s life and there would be a “happy ever after” ending thrown on – most obviously in the Silver Age, which produced characters like the modern Flash and Green Lantern. Even the characters who were originally somewhat darker and edgier – Superman and Batman, for example, were originally relatively indifferent to human life – passed through this phase with a healthy respect for a game based around rules – the first being “thou shalt not kill”. However, times changed. Villains went from being theives and irritations to being murderers and rapists. Naturally, the fact that no prison could hold a popular bad guy long enough kinda undermines the good that these heroes do – the Joker is always going to kill more people unless he is eventually killed.Sure, there’s comic book logic at play here – the same way that having genius heroes hasn’t altered the way normal people live too much – but at some point the old fashioned values seem a little outmoded. Somebody suggests that a line should be crossed. Various iterations of the characters have tackled the issue in multiple ways, and A Better World is the attempt by Bruce Timm and the writers of the DC animated universe to address it.

Being the group's plucky comic relief isn't without risks...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: a better world, animated, batman, dc animated universe, dc universe, dcau, dcu, flash, gotham city, green lantern, justice league, justice league unlimited, justice lords, lex luthor, superhero, superman, wonder woman | 5 Comments »

Justice League Unlimited – Flash and Substance (Review)

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Darren

This post is part of the DCAU fortnight, a series of articles looking at the Warner Brothers animations featuring DC’s iconic selection of characters. To tie into the review of Green Lantern: First Flight today, we thought we’d take a look at an episode centred on that other iconic Silver Age DC hero, the Flash.

Justice League and its spin-off Justice League Unlimited were two very strange shows, at least from a structural perspective. They both featured expansive casts (the latter more than the former, admittedly) – most of which were crammed full of characters new to the DC animated universe. Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series had done a great job establishing the two biggest names, but the bulk of the characters were pretty much blank slates heading into the crossover series. So characters like the Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern relied on episodes centring on them to grow and develop character – although the focus was very much on the ensemble cast. However, my own favourite episode of the show is a more intimate character profile of a character frequently overlooked: the Flash.

Frenemies…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: alexis denisof, animation, batman, captain cold, dc animated universe, dc comics, dcau, diniverse, donal gibson, flash, flash and substance, green lantern, jl, jlu, justice league, justice league unlimited, Justiceleague, kevin conroy, lex luthor, mark hamill, Martian Manhunter, mirror master, rogues, Television, the flash, timmverse, wally west | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Green Lantern – First Flight

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Darren

In case you weren’t aware, director Martin Campbell (the man who saved the Bond franchise twice – with both GoldenEye and Casino Royale) will be bringing a big screen adaptation of DC comic’s Green Lantern our way next summer. I am really looking forward to it, which might seem odd – Green Lantern has never really had the popular exposure that Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman or even Flash has had. Of course, that might be down to the fact that nobody has produced a television show based entirely around the character – hell, even Aquaman had that aborted Ving Rhames pilot and that fictional movie. So, it’s understandable if Green Lantern isn’t exactly lighting up the radar in the same way that, say, Kenneth Branagh’s Thor is. That said, if you’re looking to get a taste for the character, you could do a lot worse than checking out Green Lantern: First Flight.

Shoulda put a ring on it, indeed...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, bruce timm, christopher meloni, comic book, Comics, dc, dc animated universe, dc universe, dcau, geoff johns, green, green lantern, Green Lantern: First Flight, hal jordan, martin campbell, Movie, oa, sinestro, victor garber, yellow | Leave a comment »

Green Lantern 101: A Beginner’s Guide to The Green Lantern Mythos…

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Darren

The trailer for Green Lantern arrived yesterday. I’m already excited about the release. However, I acknowledge that Hal Jordan isn’t quite the household name that Bruce Wayne or Clark Kent is. So I put together this collection of frequently asked questions about Green Lantern, which will hopefully give you a bit of an introduction to the character. If this proves popular, I might do the same for Thor or Captain America, the other major comic book releases of next year. Check out the trailer below.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Abin Sur, bruce wayne, clark kent, comic books, faq, film, frequently asked questions, GoldenEye, green lanter trailer, green lantern, green lantern 101, green lantern movie, hal jordan, Hector Hammond, iron man, Kyle Rayner, martin campbell, Movie, questions, ryan reynolds, sueprheroes | 14 Comments »

Nova: Annihilation (Hardcover) (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Darren

I’m currently taking a look at the modern history of the Marvel Universe. I kinda figured that I should go through at least one cycle of big continuity-heavy events to at least engage with this style of storytelling, so I can get a feel for it. Although I’m focusing on The Avengers (what with the movie and all), I’m also checking out cosmic Marvel and the X-Men at the same time. My review of the big intergalactic crossover Annihilation: Conquest is going out today, so this is a bit of a sidenote on that. Nova was the first relaunched on-going “cosmic” Marvel series, launched in the wake of Annihilation, so I thought I’d follow the first year of the book.

I have to confess that I quite enjoyed Marvel’s attempt to reinvigorate their line of cosmic comic books with the gigantic crossover event Annihilation. And it apparently did quite well, spawning a series of associated crossovers in the years that followed, as well as an on-going series following the character perhaps most greatly affected by the events of the miniseries. Although the character has had his own series in the past (no fewer than three times) and featured in a few high-profile teambooks, it’s good to see Nova returned to prominance, particularly written by two authors who clearly know and cherish him.

Iron Man expects Richard to show some Initiative...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: andy lanning, annihilation, annihilation conquest, art, cosmic marvel, cosmic marvel universe, dan abnett, geoff johns, green lantern, marvel, marvel comics, marvel universe, nova, Nova Vol. 4 | Leave a comment »

Richard Donner & Geoff Johns’ Run on Action Comics – Last Son, Escape from Bizarro World, Superman & The Legion of Superheroes & Brainiac

Posted on October 5, 2010 by Darren

In light of the recent announcement that the villain of Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot will be General Zod (brought to the screen by Terrence Stamp in Superman II), we thought we might take a look at the run which reintroduced Zod to comic book audiences (written by the director of the first two films).

You kinda figure that Geoff Johns would be the perfect fit for Superman as a character. I mean, no character needs to re-engage with his roots while seeming fresh and renewed quite like the modern Superman. Despite his iconic status, the character hasn’t really registered on global pop culture since Richard Donner brought him to life in Superman, the first of the modern superhero films. Fittingly enough, legendary director Donner joins Geoff Johns as co-writer for the first half of the run – if you needed any more indication that this was a pairing to be excited about, consider the fact that Donner gave Johns his first “in” in show business, working as the director’s assistant. If you needed any more, take a look at how perfectly illustrator Gary Frank draws the Man of Steel, making him look like Christopher Reeve. However, although the run is entertaining and engaging, it can’t help feeling a little incomplete – as if Johns is spending more times aligning the pieces on his board rather than playing with them. Still, it’s a pretty damn good collection of Superman stories that Johns and Donner have put together here.

Superman is adrift no more...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: adam kubert, arts, bizarro, brainiac, christopher reeve, clark kent, Comics, dc comics, escape from bizarro world, Fortress of Solitude, gary frank, general zod, geoff johns, green lantern, infinite crisis, jonathan kent, kandor, krypton, last son, last son of krypton, legion of superheroes, lex luthor, new krypton, Perry White, richard donner, superman, superman & the legion of superheroes, superman 2, superman and the legion of superheroes, superman ii, zod | 2 Comments »

Wednesday Comics

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Darren

Hawkman unsheathes his knife and crawls into the gasping T-Rex’s jaws, thinking “Sadly, this is not the craziest thing I’ve ever done.”

– Hawkman

Wednesday Comics is an amazing little experiment, a bit of comic book nostalgia delivered by some of the most talented people in the business with a smile on their face and a skip in their step. For those who don’t know, DC Comics – always the more boldly experimental of the two major companies – ran a twelve-week collection of newspaper comic strips. Fifteen strips bundled together, the reader was offered one page of a given comic at a time on a super-sized newspaper sheet, with a full story told week-on-week. It was a bold little experiment and while the whole is almost certainly greater than the sum of its parts, there’s much to love here.

There in a Flash...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: adam kubert, amanda conner, barry allen, batman, ben caldwell, beware the creeper, brenden fletcher, brian azzarello, brian stelfreeze, catwoman, comic strips, Comics, dan didio, dave bullock, dave gibbons, dc, dc comics, deadman, eddie beganza, eduardo risso, etrigan, flash, green lantern, hawkman, jimmy palmiotti, joe kubert, Joe Quiñones, john arcudi, José Luis García-López, José Villarrubia, kamandi, karl kerschl, kevin nowlan, kurt busiek, kyle baker, lee burmejo, metal men, metamorpho, michael allred, neil gaiman, nostalgia, paul pope, plastic man, retrospective, ryan sook, sean galloway, sergeant rock, sergeant rock and easy company, serialised, sgt rock and easy co, sgt. rock, strange adventures, strips, supergirl, superman, teen titans, the creeper, the demon, the demon and catwoman, the flash, vinton heuck, walt simonson, wednesday, wednesday comics, wonder woman | 4 Comments »

Geoff Johns’ Run on Green Lantern – Blackest Night, Blackest Night: Green Lantern, Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps & Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Darren

Wow. This is pretty much the climax of Geoff Johns’ five year run on Green Lantern, dating all the way back to Rebirth – where he reintroduced Hal Jordan, the original Silver Age version of the character. Since the very start of his run, he’s been dropping hints about the upcoming “war of light” and the prophecy first articulated in an Alan Moore short story decades ago – the prophecy of “blackest night”. Throughout his tenure on the title (and indeed his role shaping the DC Universe as a whole, as one of its guiding writers in the last decade), he has hinted again and again about big events looming on the horizon. Blackest Night is that event. And, in a way, it’s just as wild and crazy and huge as it should be.

Green Lantern reaches new heights...

Note: I am aware that the excellent Peter J. Tomasi wrote the Green Lantern Corps tie-in, but I thought it best to include it in the write-up here. I’ll actually be including my review of the tie-ins under the “Geoff Johns’ Run on Green Lantern” banner, even though he didn’t write all of them. If you’re looking for an opinion on Tomasi’s writing, it’s excellent and it’s highly recommended. Indeed, all four of these wonderful hardcovers are. Oops, did I just spoil my review?

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: barry allen, black hand, blackest night, blackest night: green lantern, blackest night: green lantern corps, comic book death, comic books, crossover, dark age, dc, dc comics, death, doug mahnke, event, geoff johns, green lantern, green lantern corps, guy gardener, hal jordan, hardcover, ivan reis, john stewart, nekron, patrick gleason, peter j. tomasi, rebirth, red lanterns, review, silver age, sinestro, tales of the corps, the flash, zombies | 9 Comments »