Tagged: Cartoon Network

REVIEW: Green Lantern the Animated Series

gl-animated-series-4645763Warner Bros. was counting on a home run from the misfire that was the live action Green Lantern film. As that film was in production, the animation division was producing their first CGI-animated DC series, also featuring the hero of space sector 2814. Arriving on the Cartoon Network with much fanfare, the Green Lantern: The Animated Series ran from November 11, 2011 to March 16, 2013 for a total of 26 episodes. I disliked its look and found little reason to watch when it was apparent it had little resemblance to the source material. I gave it a second look when Warner Archive recently released the entire series as a 2-disc Blu-ray set. I have not changed my opinion.

The series immediately takes Hal Jordan (Josh Keaton) away from Earth and his sector to send him to “Frontier Space” and establishes the Guardians of the Universe actually have limits to their sphere of influence which makes little sense. He’s partnered with Kilowog (Kevin Michael Richardson), who apparently is no longer needed to train recruits and they jet around space in a spaceship, The Interceptor, which also makes no sense. The ship comes complete with an artificial intelligence, Aya (Grey DeLisle), who takes humanoid form and as she gains independence actually goes from ally to threat in one of the few interesting touches in an otherwise wretched series.

Why are Hal and Kilowog dispatched to the edge of space? Because Red Lanterns, led by Atrocious (Jonathan Adams), are picking off these fringe GLs as an act of revenge for his homeworld being destroyed by the Manhunters. During one of their first encounters, Razer (Jason Spisak) abandons the Reds and accompanies the Corps aboard the Interceptor. The series also features various familiar Guardians and members of the GL Corps.

And just to keep things colorful, we get a bunch of Blue Lanterns, Star Sapphires, and good ol’ Larfleeze (Dee Bradley Baker) of the Orange Lanterns. The relationship between Carol Ferris (Jennifer Hale) and Hal is as tense as in the comics but doesn’t really make either character more interesting. In fact, the writing is perfunctory and not very interesting and it could be the unfamiliarity of the writing staff led by Michael F. Ryugan, Jeremy Adams, and Jim Krieg. Milestone and DC Animated writer Matt Wayne is the only comic veteran on hand.

I will credit the final episode, “Dark Matter” as a cosmic adventure that does a good job raising the stakes but it’s too little, too late.

I love Green Lantern and he’s probably my favorite of the DC heroes which may be why I am so hard on this series and the film. Such incredible potential is continually squandered.  Of late, the various incarnations are so busy being sweeping in scale while leaving characterization in the dark.

The transfer to Blu-ray is excellent with great audio and video. Being from Warner Archive, there are no extra features.

REVIEW: Sealab 2020

sealab2020-300x300-3451022“This is the year two thousand and twenty. The place is the Challenger Sea Mount, the top of an underwater mountain, a complex beneath the sea. Two hundred and fifty men, women and children live here. Each of them, a scientist pioneer. For this is our last frontier, a hostile environment which may hold the key to tomorrow. Each day, these oceanauts meet new challenges as they build their city beneath the sea. This is Sealab 2020.”

Hanna-Barbera had to change with the times and as the 1970s dawned, kids and adults alike were tuning into the difficulties planet Earth was facing. Ecology and Earth Day were on everyone’s lips. At the same time, parents’ groups were insisting Saturday morning cartoon shows do more than shill cereal and have characters hit one another.

http://youtu.be/8nGS0UbmGD8 (more…)

DC Comics July 2012 Solicitations

  • News
  • April 12, 2012

It’s that time again… okay, it’s a little past that normal time, thanks to the Mix March Madness wrapup, but here are the preview materials for DC Comics releases for July 2012.

What’s on tap this month? More of the Before Watchmen books, with the debut of Ozymandias from Len Wein and Jae Lee, the conclusion of the Court of Owls storyline and crossover in all the Bat-books, and the debut of the done-in-one book, National Comics, featuring the New 52 Debut (coming right at you) of Eternity.

And in the white elephant of desire category, there’s the $300 statue showing the climactic scene from The Dark Knight Returns.

Once more, into the breach? Banzai!

 

As always, spoilers may lurk beyond this point. (more…)

DC Comics May 2012 Solicitations

  • News
  • February 13, 2012

bm_earthone-288x450-8575253It’s that time again… here are the preview materials for DC Comics releases for May 2012.

As you can see, DC is clearly getting excited about the imminent arrival of The Dark Knight Rises with new movie statues showing Anne Hathaway, Christian Bale, and Tom Hardy, the return of Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham’s Batman Incorporated and the long awaited arrival of Batman: Earth One by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, and the Talon appearing in every single Batman book this month… and even All-Star Western?

Plus, with the return of Earth One, we also get the return of Earth Two– and the return of the World’s Finest.

Shall we get into it? Let’s!

As always, spoilers may lurk beyond this point. (more…)

Dwayne McDuffie by Glen Muramaki & Andrew Pepoy

Dwayne McDuffie tributes

  • News
  • February 22, 2011

dwayneinks-4961039
From all corners of the comics internet, the only word to describe the reaction to Dwayne McDuffie’s death has been shock… although dammit is running a very close second. His passing has become a trending topic on Twitter, which only partially shows how far his influence really was.

Andrew Pepoy sent the image above, which he inked over Glen Muramaki’s pencils. Dwayne liked it a lot and used it on his blog and Facebook page, it’s nice to see the original at a decent size.

From Peter David:

I will never forget sitting in his office as we worked out storylines. There was more than just his physical presence (he was well over six feet tall). He seemed to radiate confidence in his abilities, which was entirely warranted, and he was determined to roll with whatever curves Cartoon Network might throw his way and turn them into the best stories possible. He had boundless enthusiasm not only for his work, but for the sheer creative process. To say he will be missed is to understate it. I offer condolences not only to his family, but to the entirety of fandom for losing one of the great ones.

Geoffrey Thorne:

he was a great man. he was good friend to me. he was the only person in my life i’d refer to as a mentor. i can’t fucking believe it. i really am not a person right now.

(more…)

‘MAD’ Comes to Cartoon Network

  • News
  • September 10, 2010

alfred-3-2155511For those who missed it (including us, to be honest), on Labor Day, a funny thing happened; at 8:30 PM, Cartoon Network aired a ‘MAD‘  cartoon. And guess what? It wasn’t a one-time fluke! Our friends over at HeroComplex snagged the new animated sketch show’s producers Mark Marek (of Crank Yankers fame) and ‘Emmy winner’ Kevin Shinick (of Robot Chicken) and sat them down for an interview. For those who are too lazy to click that link and read their awesome interview, allow us to give you the 411:

The show is a 15 minute sketch cartoon show meant to carry the programming of Cartoon Network’s normal schedule to it’s [ironically bumpered] Adult Swim block of shows. Taking a ‘film festival’ approach to presentation, the MAD cartoon show will feature short cartoon sketches in a variety of styles. Mimicking the work and look of long time MAD contributors like Sergio Aragonés, the late Don Martin, and Al Jaffee, as well as including anything animated ranging from photo montages, flash animation, to stop motion sketches all in a single episode. Crediting the writing to “the Usual Gang of Idiots” means the material featured will provide wonderfully skewed takes on current events… targeting an audience that’ll range from the ‘kiddies about to say goodnight’ crowd to the ‘college frat kids just waking up’ demographic.

The show comes as a welcome surprise, as the last “MAD” penned show, Fox’s MADtv did little to take the real MAD brand to the masses. For those who tried to forget, we implore you to recoil in horror as you remember that the show provided the world with a sub-SNL quality sketch show with even more annoying repetitive characters (The UPS guy! Ms. Swan!), and literally no material ever gleaned from the pages of the long-running magazine. OK, that’s a bit of a lie. The show did feature a ‘Spy vs. Spy” cartoon, but it was cut after the second season, we assume because the average Fox viewer at the time was too confused by the high brow humor and subtle racial undertones of ‘Spy vs. Spy’.

Well, let’s wash our minds of that dreck, and check out ‘MAD’ on Cartoon Network… Mondays at 8:30 CST. I mean, if the show is as good as we think it’ll be, dare we say it… “What, Me Worry?”

Check out Cartoon Network for a short sneak preview.

‘Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster’ coming to Cartoon Network this fall

  • News
  • March 13, 2010

While it’s not one of our favorite characters, we here at ComicMix know there are plenty of Scooby-Doo fans so as a public service, we offer up the following press release:

mystery-inc-hedge-4702943BURBANK, CA – March 12, 2010 – Warner Premiere is in production on Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster, an all-new, live-action/CG movie follow-up to 2009’s record-setting Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, it was announced today by Eva Davis, EVP and General Manager, Warner Premiere.  The film commences principal photography on March 15 in various locations around Southern California.  The family-targeted feature will premiere on Cartoon Network in fall 2010 and release on DVD through Warner Home Video in early 2011.

Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster continues the Mystery Inc. gang’s adventures from the 2009 hit Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, which premiered as the most-watched telecast in Cartoon Network history, and set targeted demographic records across the board.  This new film will once again feature the familiar cast of characters in their high school years as they continue to develop and sharpen their combined sleuthing skills.

“After more than 40 years, the Scooby-Doo franchise continues to grow stronger as generations of audiences embrace these timeless characters, and that adoration has been clearly reflected in box office, DVD sales and television ratings,” said Davis.. “These new live-action films, with their contemporary approach, bring excitement and thrills to an altogether new era of Scooby-Doo fans.”

Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster finds the Mystery Inc. gang heading toward summer jobs at a country club owned by Daphne’s uncle, only to stumble onto strange happenings around the local lake – including mystical moonstones, creepy characters and a Frog Monster on the loose.  There’s mystery afoot and romance in the air that only the fearful foursome-plus-one – Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo – can solve in this Warner Premiere production. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will distribute the film on Blu-ray, DVD, OnDemand and For Download.

Director Brian Levant, producer Brian Gilbert and writers the Altiere Brothers return from their successful turns at the creative helm of Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins.  The Atlas Entertainment production also has the live action cast returning intact with Robbie Amell (True Jackson, VP) as Fred, Kate Melton as Daphne, Hayley Kiyoko as Velma and Nick Palatas as Shaggy. Scooby-Doo will appear via computer-generated animation courtesy of Animation Picture Company.

In conjunction with the start of film production, the Scooby-Doo Mystery Movie Sweepstakes launches March 12, 2010 with a Grand Prize package that includes a trip for four to the set of Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster during filming.  Fans can go to www.ScoobyDooSweeps.com to enter.

An animated creation from the legendary Hanna-Barbera studios, Scooby-Doo celebrated his 40th anniversary in 2009 and represents one of the longest running, most beloved franchises in cartoon history.  Starting with Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! in 1969, the awkward, snack-craving Great Dane and his four unique pals have been solving mysteries through 10 televisions series (spanning nearly 300 episodes, with a new series slated for debut in 2011), seven TV specials/telefilms, 14 made-for-video animated films (with No. 15, Scooby-Doo: Camp Scare, arriving in September 2010), and two live action theatrical features (Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed).

(more…)

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Who Lives In A Pineapple Under The Rubber Tree?

  • News
  • February 27, 2010

Tom Kenny, voice of beloved Spongebob Squarepants helped produce an unaired pilot for Cartoon Network. Even better, the celebrated voice talent lent his tenor to the pliable plastic hero.  While quality shows like “Johnny Test” and “Dude! What would happen!?” got the green light, sadly, this didn’t make the cut.

So, for your enjoyment (and don’t tell Geoff Johns, Dan DiDio, or Jim Lee) here now the unaired pilot for “Plastic Man”. We here at ComicMix think it’s a bouncing good larf.

‘Diary Of A Wimpy Kid’ teams with Cartoon Network to promote movie release

  • News
  • February 23, 2010

diary-of-a-wimpy-kid-2271631For one of the most popular book series of the last few years, the movie adaptation of Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid seems to be getting very little marketing push (as compared to, say, Percy Jackson and the Olympians) and it’s coming out in less than a month. But that may be changing.

Cartoon Network and 20th Century Fox are teaming up for a multi-week online and on-air promotion, including a behind the scenes look and exclusive clips from the movie which opens March 19th.  Beginning this week, viewers can go to CartoonNetwork.com where they can view digital diaries from cast and crew members from the movie and interviews as well as footage from the set and movie clips. The promotion caps off with a Diary of a Wimpy Kid on-air event when the movie’s star, Zachary Gordon, hosts “HarHar Tharsdays” on Thursday night March 11.

Check out our interview with Jeff Kinney here. And if you haven’t seen it yet, take a look at the trailer:

And if you look very hard, you can see Hit Girl in the trailer.

Review: ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold’

Since his debut in [[[Batman: The Animated Series]]], Warner Animation has seen to it Batman gets freshened every now and then.  Animators swoop in, streamline the look and adjust the stories as time and tastes change.  The most recent Batman series was perhaps the worst as it veered further and further away from its comic book source material so we suddenly had a Rastafarian Joker who knew martial arts. That incarnation has been mercifully retired and in its place we have [[[Batman: The Brave and the Bold]]].

As the title suggests, this is a Batman team-up show and owes much to the title where Batman co-starred with other characters for over 125 issues. The designs puff up the Caped Crusader so he looks as if Carmine Infantino or Mike Sekowsky was doing the model sheets.

Fortunately, the resemblance to the 1960s more or less ends there as the storytelling is quick and adventurous.  This is a well-adjusted Batman who recognizes his place in the super-hero firmament.  For example, in the debut episode, which airs on the Cartoon Network this coming Friday night, he specifically asks Blue Beetle along on a mission to check him out.

(more…)

Categories

Archives

Everything you need to make great comics!

comicmix-pro-300x69-2

Nucleus X

Bookshop Zaks