Tagged: Justice League

Christopher Reeve Still Soars, by Alan Kistler

  • News
  • August 22, 2008

It’s been a rough week and I needed something to make me feel good about the world.christopher-reeve-american-flag-1179568

This past monday was the last day this year they were doing the Bryant Park movie. For you non-New Yorkers, HBO has sponsored movie screenings every Monday evening for the past 16 years during the summer, projecting films on a large screen at the edge of the Bryant Park. People gather with blankets and picnic baskets for when the lawn opens at 5 PM, and within 10 minutes there is an audience of well over 1000 people, all waiting for sunset when the movie begins.

This last week, it was Superman: The Movie (the director’s cut, specifically) with Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, Margot Kidder and Gene Hackman. I needed this and so I got a couple friends together to join me in the park. Some of us, myself included, were born after this film came out in theaters. Lucky for us, though, we still had the opportunity to see Superman: The Movie in something approaching that big-screen environment this week — because I’m quite certain that you haven’t truly experienced this film unless you see it on a massive widescreen surrounded by an enormous crowd. You can literally feel the electricity in the air that surges from a nearby person becoming a new fan.

When the "S"-shield blazed across the screen and the John Williams theme soared from the speakers, over 1000 people roared and cheered and applauded. When Clark Kent donned the costume for the first time, again, the entire park was filled with cheers and screams and shouts of "YEAH, CLARK!" It was like the moment in a sports game when your team makes an incredible play and you feel the joy of everyone around you. We laughed at Hackman’s sarcasm, we sighed at Lois and Clark’s flight over the clouds, and again, cheered our hearts out when Superman saved the day in the end and said "We’re all on the same team." (more…)

New Gods Breakdown: An Illustrated Guide to Jack Kirby’s Creations

  • News
  • August 4, 2008

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Back in June, comic book historian Alan Kistler provided ComicMix readers with a Countdown Breakdown, an illustrated guide to the 52-part event that preceded the Final Crisis storyline currently unfolding in the DC Universe. This feature was so popular that we convinced him to flex his creative muscles once again, and provide an analysis of one of the key groups of characters receiving the spotlight in Final Crisis: the Jack Kirby-created New Gods. Where do they fit in and what should you know ng-kistler_new_god_breakdown-6890502about them in order to understand Final Crisis? Read on and find out! -RM]

Well, readers, some of you have no doubt been checking out DC’s crossover Final Crisis. Personally, I’ve been enjoying the heck out of it. But I can understand that some of it might not have as much impact if you’re relatively new to the DC Universe.

For instance, a major part of the crossover revolves around those Jack Kirby creations known as the "New Gods of the Fourth World."

So who are these New Gods? How are they related to the Greek gods who speak to Wonder Woman on a regular basis? What do they have to do with that powerful giant called Gog who’s been appearing in the pages of Justice Society of America? Why does Darkseid say he’s from the “Fourth World,” whereas Gog claims he’s from the “Third World?"

Well, look no further, faithful fans! ComixMix is here to oblige! So, because you folks requested it after seeing our illustrated Countdown Breakdown, here are the New Gods in a nutshell:

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SDCC: DC’s Animation Panel

  • News
  • July 27, 2008

newfrontier-1533514An area DC Comics has been pushing hard is animated adaptions of the company’s comic book properties, including last year’s Justice League: The New Frontier, which earned an Emmy nomination.

At a Comic-Con panel, DC publisher Paul Levitz and others discussed upcoming animated projects, including Wonder Woman. Newsarama has a wrap up:

Noveck says “Wonder Woman” is not an adaptation of a specific comic, like “Justice League: The New Frontier.” Instead, it features an original story by “Wonder Woman” comics writer Gail Simone and Michael Jelenic, with the screenplay by Jelenic. That approach was decided on because the character can be a tricky one to get right, Levitz says.

Voice director Andrea Romano says they like to use a lot of name actors for these projects and joked that fans can often tell what she’s watching on TV and in the movies by who she casts. She says, for example, she liked very much the film “Waitress,” which played a role in her casting Keri Russell as Wonder Woman. Russell was right for the part because she can convey both strength and the vulnerability the character needs as she adjusts to living in the world of men.

Other cast members include fellow panelist Nathan Fillion as Steve Trevor, Alfred Molina as Ares, Rosario Dawson as Artemis, Virginia Madsen as Hippolyta and Oliver Platt as Hades. Romano says Platt had to record his lines in New York and couldn’t be filmed in the booth because of the distance — which turned to be a good thing when his starched shirt made so much noise he ended up having to work shirtless.

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Interview: Greg Weisman Talks ‘Gargoyles’

  • News
  • July 17, 2008

gargoyles-t-shirt-2166293When I was younger, there was a Disney cartoon that my friends and I loved and which impressed our parents with its maturity and layered story-telling. The series was called Gargoyles, and it told the story of a clan of warrior creatures from 10th Century Scotland who are brought to modern-day New York City via magical manipulation. Led by the noble gargoyle Goliath, the creatures find themselves to be strangers in a strange land, forced to hide while trying to find their new place in the 20th century. Soon enough, they wind up becoming superheroes, protecting the same humans who either fear them or don’t believe they exist.

Although the series lasted only two seasons (followed by the short-lived Goliath Chronicles series, which is considered apocryphal), its fan base remains extremely loyal — so much so, in fact, that a convention for Gargoyles fans, called the Gathering of the Gargoyles, has been held each year for more than a decade now. In recent years, we’ve seen much of the television series finally released on DVD, and Slave Labor Graphics has begun publishing an ongoing Gargoyles comic book series and spin-off miniseries, Bad Guys, headed up by series creator Greg Weisman and picking up where season 2 left off.

I spoke with Weisman (who also serves as story editor for the new Spectacular Spider-Man animated series) during the most recent Gathering of the Gargoyles event, and we chatted about the clan of winged Scottish warriors that he created so long ago and what the future holds for them. 

COMICMIX: So, we’re at the 12th annual Gathering of the Gargoyles convention. You have the new comic book series from SLG and the Bad Guys spin-off coming out now. You’re even talking about future spin-offs. All of this says there’s a decent fan base. So what’s happening that we still only have the first 26 episodes of season 2 on DVD?

GREG WEISMAN: Well, there’s a lot of turnover at Buena Vista Home Entertainment. You’ll have people there who are interested in the project and then you’ll have new people come in who aren’t so much. The ugly truth of it is that Season One sold very well, and the Season Two, Vol. 1 DVD did not sell so well. Even if, ultimately, it sold as well as the first season, we sort of lost Disney’s attention. So we need to get their attention all over again, and the best way to do that is by making sure that we continue to sell the DVDs that exist, show them that the comics are selling well. Gargoyles is SLG’s best-selling comic.

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‘New Frontier’ Earns Emmy Nomination

  • News
  • July 17, 2008

newfrontier-1710396The Emmy nominations are here, and the Justice League: The New Frontier animated movie is among the contenders.

The direct-to-DVD adaptation of Darwyn Cooke’s retro comics series is nominated as an animated program at least an hour long.

Competition is all surprisingly nerd-friendly fare: South Park and Family Guy.

ComicMix Radio: Dark Knight Breaks Box Office Records

And there hasn’t even been a showing yet. We’ve got some interesting facts and figures in how the next Batman film is poised to make movie history over the next 72 hours, plus:

  • Lost and The Justice League both get Emmy nominations
  • You might be Spider-Man on Broadway
  • Girls + Monsters =  IDW’s The Claws Come Out

Our warmup act for San Diego continues with a few new surprises – just Press the Button!

 

 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-8241169 or RSS!

 

ComicMix Six: Greatest Joker Victories

  • News
  • July 16, 2008

Sometimes the villain wins.

Sure, you might stick them in jail — or an asylum — for what they’ve done. You could even throw them off a rooftop, leaving them paralyzed for life. But that won’t change the fact that they already did it. They scored a victory, even if it was short-lived.

The Joker is definitely a villain with a better track record than most. Lex Luthor may have become President and nearly destroyed Superman a few times. But he never killed Lois Lane or tortured Ma and Pa Kent. The Clown Prince of Killers, however, has had quite a few shining moments.

What drives this evil mass murderer? Some have claimed the chemicals which altered his pigmentation also damaged his brain. Some have claimed he suffered such psychological trauma and simply snapped. Some believe his brain actually acts on a higher level of perception, forcing him to operate with a logic we simply aren’t equipped to understand. Half of his crimes seem to be a way of trying to bring Batman to his own way of thinking, that there is no hope in the world, only chaos.

The fact that we can argue about the Joker’s sanity (or lack thereof) is part of what makes him so interesting. And so, with the release of The Dark Knight — and the Joker — looming near, we’ve sifted through the long and bloody history of the Harlequin of Hate to find those victories which stand out above the rest. Steel your nerves and enjoy ComicMix Six: The Six Greatest Joker Victories.

And if you’re interested, you may want to check out our related article, 11 Batman Stories to read before The Dark Knight.

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E3 2008: PS2 ‘LEGO Batman’ Bundle Announced

  • News
  • July 16, 2008

lego-catwoman-1751830Is there anyone who wants a PlayStation 2 that hasn’t gotten one at this point? Well, the answer must be "yes" because, to the embarrassment of the next-gen game systems, people are still buying the PS2 in greater numbers than its online, Blu-Ray PlayStation 3 brethren. Not surprising when you consider the latter is a $400-500 purchase.

If you’re not billionaire Bruce Wayne, and you’re quite happy with regular DVDs and keeping your gaming largely offline, then you might want to consider Sony’s upcoming LEGO Batman bundle for the PlayStation 2, announced at the recent E3 technology convention. For $149.99 you get the latest model of the PS2, LEGO Batman, and a DVD of Justice League: The New Frontier. It’s a package that seems geared specifically for the comic fan.

Even LEGO Catwoman would consider that a steal.
 

Review: ‘The Spectacular Spider-Man’ Animated Series

Seriously, folks — [[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]] animated television series on the “Kids WB” network is one of the best superhero adaptations I’ve ever seen (and trust me, I’ve watched more than anyone will probably consider reasonable). It’s fun, it’s smart, it’s mature, it’s witty and every episode leaves me wanting more.

Supervising Producer and Story Editor Greg Weisman brings the same level of intelligence to the program that made his acclaimed Gargoyles cartoon series so succesful. Teamed up with him in developing the series for television is Producer and Supervising Director Victor Cook, whose resume includes working on the Hellboy animated film Blood and Iron, Darkwing Duck and producing the animated series based on the popular [[[Lilo and Stitch]]] animated feature film. Together, they have brought us a series that is updated for the modern-day audience but is completely faithful to the spirit and atmosphere of the first several years of [[[The Amazing Spider-Man]]] comics.

How does it compare to Sam Raimi’s interpretation of [[[Spider-Man]]] as someone who whines, mopes and cries a little more often than I’m comfortable with? Forget him. This animated incarnation of Peter Parker is a true New York teenager, cracking jokes on instinct — even when it’s not necessarily the wisest move.

spectacular-spider-man-vulture1-1945102

For example, let’s talk about a brief scene from the first episode. The high-flying villain known as the Vulture grabs businessman Norman Osborn and tosses him to his death from a great height. Spider-Man shows up, catches Osborn in mid-air and remarks, “You guys play hot potato hardcore!” The Vulture screams that the skies belong to him, forcing Spider-Man to concede, “He may be right. I only rent.”

Now that’s the kind of dialogue and Bugs Bunny-like attitude I wish I’d seen out of Tobey Maguire.

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Happy Birthday: Al Gordon

  • News
  • June 22, 2008

Born in San Francisco in 1953, Alan “Al” Gordon is actually the second comic book artist by that name—the first, who is no relation, was active in the 1950s and worked for Atlas Comics, Lev Gleason Publications, Toby Comics, and Trojan Comics.

The second Alan Gordon started out in the mid-1970s, working as a penciler and inker for independent publisher Star Reach. He began inking for Marvel in 1978, first freelancing on Captain America and then becoming the regular inker on Spider-Woman. In 1982 Gordon left Marvel for DC and began working on Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew.

He worked for Eclipse Comics next before going back to Marvel and inking Fantastic Four and other books. In 1987 Gordon began working on Justice League of America with Kevin Maguire and Keith Giffen.

A few years later he followed Giffen to Legion of Super Heroes, and even wrote four issues of the series. In 1992 Gordon created WildStar for Image Comics—Jerry Ordway penciled it and Gordon wrote, inked, edited, and produced it.

More recently he worked with Alan Moore at America’s Best Comics. In 2000 Gordon won two Eisner Awards, one for Tom Strong #1 and one for Tom Strong #4-7.

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