Superheroes

If you're a comics fan with a few decades of experience under your belt, you will be familiar with the event that forever changed the comic book industry -- DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths, a 12-part maxi-series with tendrils that touched nearly every title the company published at the time. Whether it was a good idea is something we debate with 20/20 hindsight, but at the time there was no denying that it was a big deal, and it had everybody excited about what was going on in the comic books every week.

There have been numerous attempts to recapture this kind of "lightning in a bottle." The CW network did their version, with the cast limited to the lineup of their handful of superhero shows in an epic crossover. Now DC is bringing to a close their direct-to-disc animated universe with their own version of COIE.

As the DCEU ramped up anticipation for the theatrical release of The Flash, the CW series -- know for its inconsistent peaks and valleys of storytelling -- wrapped up its ninth and final season in typical fashion: by blending some great ideas and standout episodes in a way that still manages to lead to a milquetoast ending.

Being the final season, there was a sense that the writers were reluctant to create too large of an epic storyline. By this I mean that, unlike previous seasons where a conflict was established that carried through to that season's finale, we had instead two mini-events that wrapped up relatively quickly. The first of these was "The Mask of the Red Death" which (loosely) adapts a part of the DC Comics Death Metal series, in which multiversal variants of Batman go bad and take over or become other characters. In this case, it was a Batman who stole Barry's speed and became Red Death.

After a almost a year of waiting, tumultuous production changes, and an iffy future for the leading actor, "The Flash" finally crosses the finish line last for the Justice League movies that made up what fans call "The Snyderverse." And for that wait, fans get a montage of great fan service scenes that will have them remembering what they've loved about the DC pantheon of heroes over the years.

Sadly, very fiew of those scenes involved the movie's main character, The Flash.

First and foremost: "The Flash" is a comedy with a few serious moments. It's bloated with bullet-time special effects and then doubles them when Barry (Ezra Miller) learns he can time travel.

The release of SHAZAM: FURY OF THE GODS is a sign of good tidings for oncoming showrunner James Gunn -- because there's literally nowhere to go but up after this fiasco.

While the original comic book adventures of Captain Marvel (and Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel Junior, The Lieutenant Marvels, Uncle Marvel, and Hoppy the Marvel Bunny) had more than their fair share of comedy, this movie just makes them into a bad joke. The kids are not viewed as heroes but as incompetents. Zachary Levi's Captain Marvel acts more juvenile than does his young alter ego, Billy Batson (Asher Angel), exacerbating the already tiresome concept of a superhero movie trying to remake Tom Hanks' BIG.

One of the handful of titles that is making me optimistic once more about the publishing future of DC Comics has been Stargirl and the Lost Children. Written by Geoff Johns and illustrated byu Todd Nauck, the six-issue miniseries has chronicled the investigations of Stargirl and Emiko (aka Red Arrow) as they pursue clues about the sidekicks of the heroes of the Golden Age -- sidekicks that history has forgotten completely, except for an aging Dan, the Dyna-Mite (former sidekick to the explosive T.N.T.)

All-Star Superman is getting re-released on Blu-ray as part of the ongoing Warner Studios 100th anniversary celebration. As far as Superman animated titles go (not counting the actual ongoing animated series runs), this particular story is a good pick.

Adapting the limited series run by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, the animators manage to stick very closely to the style of the books, while also retaining most of the story elements.

The adventure begins when Superman (James Denton) sets out to rescue a spacecraft from falling into the sun. Now, Superman has flown into and through the sun before, but we're going to forget that because this time the full-on exposure overloads his solar-receptive cells, mutating him to give him some new powers... and also a death sentence. Superman is dying, and that's just how Lex Luthor (Anthony LaPaglia) planned it!

Anyone wanting to see the masterful Max Fleischer studios treatment of Superman has, for years, been able to get a cheap copy, due to the shorts having fallen into the public domain. So why would you want to pick up yet another copy just because it's on Blu-ray?

Because the transfers are infinitely better, cleaner, and brighter. Not only have all the pops, pits, potholes and scratches been cleaned up so that the animation is pristine, but the scans of the master prints take in even more of the artwork.

We tested the new Blu-ray side-by-side with previous releases of the shorts. As an example, the short "Volcano" had an ever-present pit during the opening scenes; this has been removed. Additionally, what we didn't expect to see was more artwork that had been cut off from all four sides in previous releases. So you're quite literally getting more for your money with this purchase.

The acquisition of Rooster Teeth by Warner Brothers Discovery is showing some of its first efforts both in comics and comics-related animation. Over on the publishing side of the house, we are getting a miniseries that teams up the Justice League with the team from RWBY, as the girls chase their monsters over into our world. But on the animation side, it appears to be the opposite -- but with a surprise twist.

Superman: Lost is the first of a ten-chapter miniseries co-created by Christopher Priest and Carlo Pagulayan, with inks from Jason Paz.

It has beautiful artwork with some snappy dialogue between the Justice League members as they take on an international incident in the China Sea that turns out to be far more than just a kefuffle between countries. In fact, if it's not handled quickly, it could cause a black hole to swallow the Earth. And of course of all the Justice League members there, only Superman can fly into the event horizon of the mess and keep it from doing just that.

But at a cost.

Sucked into the black hole, Superman finds himself cosmologically lost. We don't know where. Could be another galaxy. Could be another dimension. Could be he's still in that tiny little space the size of an atom that the black hole collapsed into, or the quantum realm. Whatever, he's there.

And he's there for twenty years.

Batman: The Doom that Came to Gotham is, unfortunately, one of the most plodding, soporiphic, and downright boring stories to have ever been committed to animation. The art is great. The voice casting serviceable. The concepts exciting. Yet somehow Jase Ricci's screenplay -- based on an Elseworlds imprint from DC Comics written by Mike Mignola and Richard Pace -- drags its feet as it shoehorns in the Batman characters into 1920s analogs while pitting him against H.P. Lovecraft creations.

BURBANK, CA (March 15, 2023) - A Warrior for Peace will stand as a symbol of justice for visitors and residents of Burbank to enjoy for generations to come. A seven-and-a-half-foot tall bronze Wonder Woman statue was unveiled today in a special ceremony at Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood as part of a partnership between Visit Burbank, DC and Warner Bros. Discovery. 

Today’s unveiling ceremony was attended by local government and business luminaries including Burbank Mayor Konstantine Anthony, Pam Lifford, President, Global Brands, Franchises and Experiences, Jim Lee, DC Chief Creative Office and Publisher, and Wonder Woman 1984 Director Patty Jenkins.

Marvel Comics has emasculated their fan-favorite vigilante, taking away the Punisher’s guns and replacing his skull emblem to make him kinder and gentler for modern readers, but fans of writer Mike Baron’s acclaimed five year run on the street-level sentinel can revisit his no-nonsense, gritty take on vigilante justice with Baron’s newest hero, partially inspired by Gerry Conway’s creation.

Mike Baron’s upcoming graphic novel is Private American and it marks a return to form for the Eisner winning writer of brooding, complex, and often violent protagonists. Hot on the heels of his hilarious Florida Man comics (American Mythology), Private American is a Cuban American living on the US southern border, whose frustration with the migrant crisis turns to retributive violence when its consequences touch his family circle.

After three controversial seasons, CW's Batwoman has finally reached the end of her bat-rope. Having initially lost its leading actress after the first season, the show tried to move in a new direction by having the suit land in the lap of homeless Ryan Wilder (Javicia Leslie), who took over the duties of the hero while the mystery of what happened to original Batwoman, Kate Kane (Ruby Rose) played out. Later, through an improbably sequence of events, it was found that Ryan had been given up for adoption by her fabulously wealthy CEO mother, Jada Jet (Robin Givens), who went on to have another child, Marquis Jet (Nick Creegan). Suddeny, poor girl Ryan is in charge of Wayne Industries... at least, until she's not.

It's hard to believe it was nearly 20 years ago that The Batman debuted on television (and don't even get me started on how many yesterdays it was since Batman: The Animated Series began!), but fans of the show can now binge the entire series with this 6-disc Blu-ray collection from Warner Brothers.

The DC Animated Universe projects have been a little hit-or-miss lately, largely when they tried to stay within a cohesive universe that was almost-but-not-quite the New 52. More recently, however, they have had successes with one-off stories that focus more on the tale at hand rather than with how to make it fit into the rest of the DCAU. The 70s grindhouse style Batman: Soul of the Dragon is a good example of this.

With Catwoman: Hunted, director Shinsuke Terasawa brings together several fun, nostalgic elements, delivering an anime-aesthetic film full of 1960s spy-caper style. The result is surprisingly fresh interpretation of the characters that doesn't diminish them but rather enhances.

Keeping with the 13 episode format of the previous season, I'm still left wanting more Stargirl. But perhaps the leaner season prevents any of those unnecessary padding episodes; there are almost no lulls when you have a half-season to deal with the big bad.

The new JSA -- Courtney / Stargirl (Brec Bassinger), Beth / Doctor Mid-Nite (Anjelika Washington), Yolanda / Wildcat (Yvette Monreal) and Rick / Hourman (Cameron Gellman) find themselves taking classes in summer school together since their grades slipped due to the time spent saving Blue Valley and the rest of the country from the threat of the Injustice Society -- a battle that left emotional scars on some of the team members.

The latest Marvel TV show is one that many didn’t expect to see. After years in the MCU as the target of countless jokes, Hawkeye has finally been given his own solo series, just in time for Christmas. Yes, Clint Barton is shooting to be home for the holidays and he’s got a secret weapon in his quiver; new protege Kate Bishop. Hawkeye has often felt like a secondary character when compared to more flamboyant MCU alumni like Iron Man, Thor and the Scarlet Witch, so it came as a surprise for many fans when Disney made the announcement that the faithful SHIELD agent would be given his chance to be the main man.

Perhaps one is officially old when the best versions of their favorite things date back beyond twenty years. I was pleased to find that Superman: The Animated Series was getting a Blu-ray collection of all three seasons. But I did blink at the fact that it had been twenty-five years -- a whole quarter-century -- since the show had debuted on television. And while Superman hasn't really been away from the animated theater, this particular incarnation, a by-product of the success of Batman: The Animated Series, was a show that understood the character, what he was about, and was able to tell engrossing stories that challenged the hero.

Over the years in comics we've seen various alternate storylines that have explored the DC universe should Superman have held different values other than truth, justice and the American way (which anyone can now say, since there's no trademark on it). We've seen him raised in Communist Russia, seen him raised in Nazi Germany, even seen him raied by African gorillas, all under different Elseworlds titles.

LEGO System A/S  has made many a fan happy, adult and child alike, by producing unique brick models of some of fandom's favorite franchises. From Star Wars to Harry Potter, from DC Comics to Marvel, movie scenes and props all come alive on your own table with you in control of the creativity.

The Infinity Gauntlet, the centerpiece of the last two Marvel's Avengers movies, is one of the latest of a set of pop culture prop pieces, released alongside similarly trade dressed packages of helmets of Darth Vader and The Mandalorian, and the 1966 Batmobile (which we did on a live build stream here).