Comics and Animation

Recently I've watched several of the new DC Comics animated superhero direct to DVD movies. I have to say that I've been very impressed with them.

Back in college "Batman, the Animated Series" brought Batman back to television, and done in a style reminiscent of the old 40s cartoons. Soon after an animated Superman followed, and I was thrilled. In the past few years some direct to DVD adaptations have been made of Superman stories.

"Death of Superman" was a retelling that did a pretty good job without going into all of the "Reign of the Supermen" after-story. There was also an okay story with Brainiac.

Then around the time of the live action "The Dark Knight" an animated anthology called "Batman: Gotham Knight" came out. Drawn in a more modern, but still realistic style, this collection had an almost anime feel at times in the old "Akira" type style.

One that I truly enjoyed was "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies". this one not only held very close to the original comic, but also was drawn in the style of the artist who did the original books.

Two of the newest adaptations have been Green Lantern and Wonder Woman.

The one about Wonder Woman is a blend of the old Wonder Woman with a Steve Trevor romance and the new Wonder Woman emphasizing her youth. It was entertaining and had some good lines in it.

The one about Green Lantern was exceptional, and will give the forthcoming live-action movie something to work with. There's going to be so many animated aliens and effects, that it might as well be a cartoon anyway.

I didn't have Cartoon Network for the animated Justice League, but I plan to catch up on that with Netflix. I did watch the animated Legion of Super-Heroes, but it just made me miss the old comics instead of really enjoying the show itself.

And I thoroughly enjoyed Batman Beyond. DC has even made the animated series canon by creating a more realistically drawn series that refers to events in the TV show. Whether it's a future world or an alternate-future world remains to be seen.

So yes, these keep me happy, and I have several new DVDs to look forward to with the introduction of Supergirl, and a Superman meets Captain Marvel. I'm pretty psyched.