Tagged: Batman

Justice League Season 2 Comes to Blu-ray

Our affection for the animated adaptation of Justice League of America is second to none. It’s one reason we raved about the Complete Series collection which came out last holiday season. Now we’re jealous since each season is being released on Blu-ray for even better definition heroics. Here’s the formal release for the July offering:

BURBANK, CA (May 25, 2011) – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and their DC Comics super hero comrades burst onto the scene in dazzling high definition as Justice League: Season 2 arrives on Blu-ray™ for the first time. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, the series’ 26-episode second season will be distributed on Blu-ray™ by Warner Home Video on July 26, 2011 for $39.99 SRP. Order due date is June 21,2011.

 

Amping up the action, intrigue and epic storylines from its successful first season, Justice League: Season 2 crossed new boundaries in its portrayal of the greatest fighting force in the universe. Comprised of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl, the Justice League wages war with their own personal demons and internal issues of mistrust and insecurity, all the while battling a most heinous collection of villains led by Darkseid, Brainiac, Solomon Grundy, Amazo, Joker, Vandal Savage and more.

Justice League Season 2 was produced by Bruce Timm and James Tucker. The core voice cast features George Newbern (Superman), Kevin Conroy (Batman), Susan Eisenberg (Wonder Woman), Michael Rosenbaum (Flash), Phil LaMarr (Green Lantern) Carl Lumbly (Martian Manhunter) and Maria Canals Barrera (Hawkgirl).

The guest cast includes many topline actors from film and television, most notably Mark Hamill (Star Wars) as Joker, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. (The F.B.I.) as Alfred, Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street) as Felix Faust, Powers Boothe (Deadwood, 24) as Gorilla Grodd, Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Sons of Anarchy) as both Clayface and Orion, Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond) as Lobo, Dennis Haysbert (24, The Unit) as Kilowog, Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan) as Metamorpho, Eric Roberts (Runaway Train) as Mongul and Robert Picardo (Stargate) as Amazo. (more…)

FORTIER GOES BACK TO THE THRILLING DAYS OF ‘YESTERYEAR’!

ALL PULP FICTION REVIEWS by Ron Fortier
YESTERYEAR
By Tommy Hancock
Pro Se Press
180 pages

One of the most widely recognized facts regarding American comic book heroes is that they actually evolved out of the Depression Era pulp magazines.  Fans of both media are well aware that the likes of Batman and Superman were the literary children of characters such as the Shadow and Doc Savage.  Tommy Hancock employs this historical theory against which to set his first novel, “Yesteryear.”  Hancock, the winner of this year’s Pulp Ark Award for Best New Writer, had earned that title based on his short fiction. Now with this novel length drama, he cements that position soundly with a work of deft imagination heralding past days of American glory.

J.C.Smithenson is a one time crime fighting boy detective who has grown up to become a writer and publisher.  He has put his hero days behind him, though his good friend, Detective Donovan Bradley, suspects he still harbors longings to get back into the fray.  Then one day a mysterious package is left on Smithenson’s steps containing the journal of newspaper man, Ramsey Long, who was part of the Golden Age of Heroes back in the 30s and 40s.  Thought to be a myth, Ramsey’s musings are said to be a tell-all book that honestly rips aside the veil of public relation mumb-jumbo to detail the true history and exploits of those early mystery men and women.
Which is why when it is learned that Smithenson possesses the book, factions both political and private, begin targeting him and his loved ones to guarantee the journal never sees the light of day.  For J.C., it is an eye-opening revelation that some of the people he once admired are flawed enough to want to destroy him rather than have their human failings exposed publicly.  Still, he is determined that the truth will be told regardless of the consequences.
“Yesteryear” is a marvelous homage to all those great pulp characters and golden age comic heroes who followed in their footsteps wonderfully told with a true sense of time and place.  Hancock knows his history and the richness with which he paints the times adds much to the book’s plot and appeal.  So on a purely literary basis, I recommend this book highly, it was tons of fun to read.
But I do have one criticism and it deals with the book’s packaging, not the story.  I don’t often make mention of actual production values but in this case felt compelled to do so because in the end, it did lessen my overall enjoyment of “Yesteryear.”  Hancock is also the book’s producer and he’s filled many of its pages with some truly fantastic drawings of many of the fabulous characters described in the text.  All to the good.   Alas, that’s where his design musings should have stopped.
Instead he also chose to change the fonts and styling of the text throughout the entire book so that the reader is confronted with bold type, cursive scribbles, light, thin fonts constantly changing, many difficult to adjust to after finishing a chapter presented in an entirely different way.  I understand the concept he was trying to achieve with this mixing, but it does not work and instead becomes a physical flaw to an otherwise stellar offering.   Hopefully his next book will have a more conservative presentation.

BookExpo America: Where is DC Comics?

DC at BookExpo America

Where is DC Comics?

Rizzoli is here with their licensed art books, as you can see at right– the proofs for The Joker look great (you can see the cover over the gentleman’s shoulder). Andrews McMeel Publishing has [[[The Batman Files]]] ready for an October release. Chronicle Books has a preview copy of Michael E. Uslan’s [[[The Boy Who Loved Batman]]], which will be out in time for San Diego Comic-Con and that I’m very much looking forward to reading.

But DC Comics itself is nowhere to be seen, save for one person passing by the Diamond booth. Random House, their distributor to the trade, isn’t pushing their books at all. Marvel is somewhat better represented at the Disney booth, but not well.

Do they think they’ve saturated the market? Or do they just not care about the bookstore and library markets anymore?

Related articles

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Begins Shooting

christian-bale-batman11-300x212-6842725Here’s the release with all the current information, reminding us of how much we’re looking to seeing how this wraps up:

BURBANK, CA, May 19, 2011 – Principal photography has begun on Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ The Dark Knight Rises, the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s [[[Batman]]] trilogy.

Leading an all-star international cast, Oscar® winner Christian Bale (The Fighter) again plays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.

The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar® winner Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake.

Returning to the main cast, Oscar® winner Michael Caine (The Cider House Rules) plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar® winner Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby) reprises the role of Lucius Fox.

In helming The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan is utilizing IMAX® cameras even more extensively than he did on The Dark Knight, which had marked the first time that a major feature film was partially shot with IMAX® cameras.  The results were so spectacular that the director wanted to expand the use of the large-format cameras for this film.

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Henry Rollins Trains as Kilowog for ‘Green Lantern: Emerald Knights’

Henry Rollins is so many things to so many people.

One moment, he’s the uber-tattooed punk rock front man for [[[Black Flag]]] or [[[The Rollins Band]]]; the next, he’s stealing the spotlight as one of the memorable cast of [[[Sons of Anarchy]]]; and while that’s airing, he’s ranting live for hours to sold out crowds as one of the most popular spoken-word artists of our day, easily translating that mad-as-hell attitude and undying curiosity into his thought-provoking KCRW talk show. His quarter century of globe-trotting has recently added National Geographic to his resume, the latter-day Renaissance man now filming documentaries for the renowned publication.

Intelligent? Beyond your dreams. Intense? Absolutely. Restless? Without a doubt. But does Henry Rollins ever pause long enough to be playful? Animation fans know it all too well.

When he isn’t perusing the Sudan, performing in Prague or recording for public radio, Rollins takes to another of his true passions: voiceovers for animated projects.

Rollins’ latest animated incarnation is in the guise of Kilowog for the next DC Universe Animated Original Movie, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. Produced by Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights will be distributed by Warner Home Video on Blu-Ray™, DVD, On Demand and for Download June 7, 2011.

Rollins voices one of the most beloved characters in the entire universe of Green Lanterns – Kilowog, the hardcore drill sergeant-style trainer of Green Lantern recruits.  Written by Peter J. Tomasi (based on “New Blood” by Tomasi & Chris Samnee) and directed by Lauren Montgomery, the “Kilowog” segment of the film depicts the gruff character’s initial days as a young recruit under the abusive tutelage of Deegan, an equally gruff character who shows Kilowog the true “tough love” principles of training. As the segment play out, Kilowog must assume an integral leadership role within the ranks.

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights is far from Rollins’ first venture down the animated path. For Warner Bros. alone, Rollins has recorded over the years for Batman Beyond, Teen Titans and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. And then there’s his more recent forays into voiceovers for series like Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time and the primetime series American Dad!

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights weaves six legendary stories of the Green Lantern Corps’ rich mythology around preparations for an attack by an ancient enemy. As the battle approaches, Hal Jordan mentors new recruit Arisia in the history of the Green Lantern Corps, telling tales of Avra (the first Green Lantern) and several of Hal’s comrades – including Kilowog, Abin Sur, Laira and Mogo. In the end, Arisia must rise to the occasion to help Hal, Sinestro and the entire Green Lantern Corps save the universe from the destructive forces of Krona.

Rollins is joined in the voicecast of the intergalactic animated film by Nathan Fillion (Castle), Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men), Jason Isaacs (the Harry Potter films), Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy), Kelly Hu (The Vampire Diaries), Wade Williams (Prison Break), professional wrestling legend Rowdy Roddy Piper and Radio Hall of Fame commentator/talk show host Michael Jackson.

No stranger to the spoken word, Rollins spent some significant time after his initial recording session chatting about his character, his love of great literature, Too Much Coffee Man, his need to travel the Earth, and much, much more. Read on…

QUESTION: How did you approach the character of Kilowog for this story?

HENRY ROLLINS: For me, Kilowog is a man who’s pure of heart. He’s a warrior. He’s a soldier. And he loves his rookies. Deegan is the guy who broke him in – in boot camp – and kind of brought him into command position. So Kilowog came up through the ranks by being brave and by being a take-charge leader. In the Kilowog segment, you see that he had a grasp of the leadership idea from the get-go. He’s with other recruits and he immediately takes the leadership position. So I think he’s a good guy, but he always knew he was gonna be running things.

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DC Comics August Releases – Covers & Solicitation Copy

 

We’ve received all the covers for DC Comics August solicitations, and Flashpoint promises that worlds will live, worlds will die, and the DC Universe will never be the sa– oh, sorry, that was the tagline for Crisis On Infinite Earths, back when I worked at Flashpoint. I’m so confused…

My favorite item for the month is pictured above, the Sergio Aragones version of Batman from Batman: Black & White. But there are some absolute art gems here, including Darwyn Cooke’s JSA cover, and Frank Quitely’s redoing of Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson’s cover for [[[Green Lantern]]] #52.

As for the rest of the books, take a look… as usual, spoilers ahead:

 

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Gregory Noveck Leaves DC, Takes Helm at Syfy Films

The press release came out late yesterday:

Gregory Noveck has been named to the newly created position of Senior Vice President, Production, Syfy Films, charged with launching projects for the new film company which the two companies announced in December. Noveck will report jointly to Mark Stern, President of Original Content, Syfy and Co-Head of Content for Universal Cable Productions, and Co-Chairman, Universal Pictures, Donna Langley. Noveck will work closely with the Universal and Syfy creative teams to find projects to develop by leveraging Syfy’s experience in developing genre content.

Noveck most recently served as Senior Vice President, Creative Affairs and Executive Producer for DC Comics where he established a new Film and TV division to help deliver quality content by mining the extensive DC Comics library. Feature projects included Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Watchmen, Red (for Summit Entertainment), and the upcoming Green Lantern, with television projects ranging from Smallville and Human Target to over ten animated DTV features. Prior to that he was Senior Vice President of Silver Pictures Television, developing and producing series and pilots for producer Joel Silver. Noveck previously served as Senior Vice President, Creative Affairs and Producer at Platinum Studios, where he established and grew the Creative Affairs department for Film and Television, overseeing all aspects of production and development. Projects included Cowboys & Aliens (Universal/DreamWorks) and Jeremiah (Showtime).

Syfy Ventures and Universal Pictures joined forces in December 2010 to create Syfy Films, a new film company that will develop and produce Syfy branded theatrical motion pictures to be distributed by Universal. The new entity will leverage Syfy’s genre expertise to produce human and relatable theatrical releases from the worlds of science fiction, fantasy, supernatural and horror. Beginning in 2012, Syfy Films will distribute one to two films a year through Universal Pictures. Mark Stern and Donna Langley jointly oversee the operation.

Very interesting. Diane Nelson is consolidating her position.

As for Gregory, he’s certainly shown the ability to do a lot with limited budgets, which will serve him well at his new job, as Syfy, and Universal’s new owner Comcast, have a reputation for keeping a tight control on purse strings. We wish him the best of luck.

Amazing Spider-Man

Window Closing Wrap-Up: May 9, 2011

Amazing Spider-ManBefore I lose the last of the laptop’s battery power, a bunch of things you should catch up on:

Anything else? Consider this an open thread.

Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles

Hanna-Barbera ruled Saturday morning television in the 1960s, cannily finding trends and adapting them to their pint-sized audience. Working in tandem with CBS Saturday morning chief Fred Silverman, they spotted a fad and capitalized on it. As the lids were galvanized by the super-hero trend which led to ABC’s surprise smash success with Batman in January 1966, it is little surprise that the fall 1966 cartoon season was festooned with colorful heroic figures. Among the dozen new series to debut that September there was Filmation’s earliest offerings: The Lone Ranger and The New Adventures of Superman, plus H-B’s Space Ghost and Dino Boy, The Super Six, and, notably, Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles. The latter series was split evenly between the two properties, each offering something for its viewers. The former show was about boy genius Buzz Conray (Dick Beals), who constructed the thirty-foot tall robot improbably dubbed Frankenstein Jr. Buzz’s scientist dad (John Stephenson) was perfectly okay with the pair heading out to tackle the colorfully-clad criminals that plagued Civic City with regularity.

The second half was an odd blend of rock & roll, secret agents, and super-heroics, the three leading fads of the decade. The Impossible were Multi Man, Fluid Man, and Coil Man (Don Messick, Paul Frees, Hall Smith), secret agents posing as rock stars to disguise their heroic deeds. Regardless of venue, their performances were invariably interrupted by an even more rainbow-hued assortment of evil-doers. The bubblegum music and pop art color scheme were indicative of the pop culture that was filtering down to the kids.

Until recently, fans could only enjoy a sampling on Warner Home Video’s 1960s cartoon collection but now, all eighteen episodes have now been collected by their Warner Archive division. For those of us who love tripping down memory lane, rewatching these episodes is an instant reminder of what it was like crowding around the television, surrounded by cereal bowls and siblings, to watch the silliness unfold.

Of course, when you’re eight, as I was, this was serious entertainment. The show was never one of my all-time favorites but seeing these again, I’m reminded of the goofy fun. The “Frankie” stories are incredibly formulaic and the villains are more dumb than evil. It’s also hard to take foes with names like Junk Man, the Mad Inventor, Mister Menace, or Dr. Hook (without the Medicine Show) very seriously.

Still things moved along at a clip and with a sparkle of youthful enthusiasm, especially as Buzz shouted “Allakazoom” as they launched into the sky.

The pop trio was given their assignments from Big D, via a mini-screen embedded in the guitar, and then they shouted a rousing “Rally-ho!” and donned their outfits. They took on similarly silly threats from the Fiendish Fiddler, the Terrible Twister or the Diabolic Dauber.

At the time, my untrained ears had yet to recognize the limited voice cast that H-B tended to use on all their shows. Now, though, Ted Cassidy, Messick, Frees, and the uncredited Paul Winchell come through clearly.

Interestingly, this relatively tame series was one of the first to be attacked at being too violent for children, which is one reason it was canceled after running on CBS for two seasons. Uncut, though, it was resurrected on NBC a decade later, running from November 1976 until September 1977. It’s certainly one reason the 1960s collection ran a warning the cartoons were “intended for the Adult Collector and is Not Suitable for Children”. Thankfully no such warning appears here.

There is no restoration nor are there any extras, but the quality is good enough for those of us wishing to relive our youth in high-definition.

http://youtu.be/DEYrXzFnsjA

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