Comic Book Resources

Next up on the DCU DVD sked: Crisis on Two Earths

One thing I didn't mention in my review of Superman/Batman Public Enemies yesterday was that it came with a preview for the next DC DVD, Crisis on Two Earths. The story is the old evil superheroes from alternate earth versus our guys and seems heavily inspired by this book, as well as lots of old Pre-Crisis Silver Age tales. James Woods, Billy Baldwin and Chris Noth are among the celebrity voices. You can learn more from the video below, which I ganked from Topless Robot.

Just say no Kal-el: A review of 'Superman/Batman: Public Enemies'

Seriously, look at those necks

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is a new direct-to-DVD film set in an alternate DC universe where everybody takes ungodly amounts of steroids.

Seriously, that's the only conclusion I can come to as to why every single character in this movie, even the civilians, has a neck -- when they have a neck at all -- that's wider than their goddamned skull. Seriously, their heads look like they've been bolted on. And that's to say nothing of the endless oceans of muscles that ripple across everyone's bodies. The entire planet is obviously juiced to the max.

But the display of over the top physiques really shouldn't surprise me. At it's heart, Public Enemies is your typical uber-macho buddy action movie, and just as dumb and sexist as most of them to boot. It's the comic nerd's version of Tango and Cash.

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Box art reveals next DC animated movie

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies

World's Finest posts the box art for the upcoming Batman/Superman: Public Enemies DVD, which reveals the name of the next DC Universe Original Animated Movie they're working on: Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.

It also lists, as a bonus feature, "two bonus cartoons" by Bruce Timm on the two-disc version. I wonder if these are the animated shorts we've been hearing about, one of which is supposed to feature Jonah Hex?

Superman/Batman is due to come out at the end of September.

Via DVDs Worth Watching

Abin Sur was only a few days away from retirement: A review of Green Lantern: First Flight

Green Lantern: First Flight

The new DC Universe Animated movie, Green Lantern First Flight, is basically a cop movie with a sci-fi setting. Its cast includes a wealth of strange-looking aliens and fantastic action scenes that defy the laws of physics (more on that later on) but the basic plot of the film comes out of a million other TV and movie police procedurals, right down to where the hotshot rookie is blamed for a crime he didn't commit and forced to turn his badge in.

And really, that's as it should be. That basic premise -- "space cop with magic ring" -- is one of the most appealing things about the character (really the most appealing thing if you ask me) so to focus on that aspect makes sense. What's more, it remains a pretty sturdy premise, despite its age. You have to be either really lazy or incompetent to foul it up. Thankfully, the makers of this film are neither, making First Flight an entertaining, if somewhat shallow and unoriginal, film.

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SDCC | Friday's programming schedule

Comic-Con

Friday's programming schedule for the San Diego Comic-Con is up; you can check out right here. Let's take a look at some of the highlights ...

• Friday at the San Diego Comic-Con is Star Wars day, with seven panels themed around the space epic. It includes the "Lucasfilm: Star Wars Spectacular" panel, which will be aired on G4.
• The Brave & the Bold episode "Mayhem of the Music Meister" featuring the voice of Neil Patrick Harris, will be shown at the con. Harris isn't listed as being at the panel, but hey, it's San Diego -- anything can happen.
• Warner Bros. will show off footage from a number of upcoming movies, including Jonah Hex.

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SDCC '09 | Thursday programming schedule released

Comic-Con

Comic-Con International has released the programming schedule for Thursday, July 23, as well as some special programming for preview night. You can check out the entire day's worth of activities right here for yourself. Here are some of the highlights ...

• During preview night on Wednesday, Warner Bross Television will show some of their pilots for upcoming TV series -- Human Target, Vampire Diaries and the remake of V.

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SDCC '09 | Exclusives, Green Lantern, Farscape and more

The 2009 San Diego Comic-Con is less than a month away, with preview night kicking things off on Wednesday, July 22. If you are a publisher, creator, retailer or any other kind of exhibitor who would like to let folks know about any special plans you have for the show (panels, signing schedules, exclusives, debuts, etc.) drop me an email and I'll run it here.

Exclusives | Artist Daniel m. Davis, who does a webcomic called Monster Commute, will have an exclusive print at the show.

"Limited to an edition of 150 pieces, this print depicts the heroes and villains of this steampunk comic," Davis said over email. "Available only at the Steam Crow booth #4207, it measures 12 x 18 inches, and is printed on satin matte paper. A similar exclusive print sold out in about an hour at the 2009 Emerald City Comicon."

Signed and numbered by the artist, the print will sell for $20.

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Superman/Batman: Public Enemies arrives on DVD Sept. 29

Warner Home Video has announced that the sixth Superman/Batman: Public Enemies DVD will arrive in stores on Sept. 29.

The animated movie adapts the first storyline from the title of the same name, by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. In it, Lex Luthor claims Superman is connected to a Kryptonite asteroid heading for Earth, and Luthor puts a bounty out on the duo. This puts them at odds with various heroes and villains.

Is the new Warner Bros. mural a sign of the times?

The new Warner Bros. mural (photo by Jonah Weiland)

Honestly, I didn't give much thought to the new mural at Warner Bros.' Burbank studio lot when I saw the photo earlier in the week on CBR Live!

It's nice, with prominence given to animated versions of DC Comics properties the Teen Titans, Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Blue Beetle against the backdrop of the Hall of Justice. (At night, black lights reveal DC villains, and sometimes-villains, like The Joker, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, Catwoman and Harley Quinn.)

But Brooks Barnes of The New York Times points out that it's a fairly big deal, at least from a business-strategy standpoint: It's the first time in 15 years the mural has been updated.

Previously, Bugs Bunny, Fred Flinstone, Batman and Scooby-Doo were shown in a cartoon version of Mount Rushmore, with representatives from other WB properties scattered around the billboard. Now Bugs, Scooby, Sylvester, Tweety and Daffy Duck are in the background, peeping over the roof of the Hall of Justice.

Although the design was planned back when "the studio was still hot on making a tentpole movie featuring multiple heroes called Justice League," it certainly seems like a sign that Warner Bros. views cartoons such as The Brave & the Bold and the DC Universe Original Animated Movies as playing a big role in its immediate future.

'Green Lantern: First Flight' due July 21

Green Lantern: First Flight

Warner Bros. Animation today announced a change in the release date for the upcoming Green Lantern: First Flight DVD. It'll now hit stores on July 21, the same week as Comic Con International. I believe the original release date was July 28, so Green Lantern fans will get it a whole week earlier than originally planned.

The animated movie features Christopher Meloni voicing Green Lantern, as well as the voice talents of Victor Garber, Tricia Helfer and Michael Madsen. The story is set at the beginning of Hal Jordan's career as a member of the Green Lantern Corps, under the supervision of Sinestro -- you know that isn't going to end well.

I'm counting your heads as I'm making the beds: Chris reviews Tales of the Black Freighter

Tales of the Black Freighter

Let it be known that I did not care much for the Watchmen movie. While it had some already much-discussed merits (the opening credits sequence, some of the performances), I felt the Zach Snyder's adaptation focused too much on getting the tiny details correct and missed the comic's grander themes in place of adopting a "kewl" bone-crunching aesthetic -- a clear case of not seeing the forest for the blood-smeared smiley buttons if you will. (The possibility that Snyder was being tongue-in-cheek, as some claim, doesn't make the juxtaposition between the content and the visuals any less jarring.)

So it was with some trepidation that I popped the new Tales from the Black Freighter DVD into my Xbox. For those who don't know, this is a supplemental animated version of the "Black Freighter" story that runs co-currently in Watchmen alongside the central plot. Rather than excise the sequence completely, the filmmakers decided to create a separate cartoon that supposedly will be incorporated into the final, four-hour (or whatever) version of the film.

Having been so disappointed with the screen adaptation, I expected this to be a dreary more of the same.

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Superman/Batman confirmed as next DC animated movie

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies

AICN confirms that Warner Bros. Animation and DC Comics will follow this summer's Green Lantern: First Flight with Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, based on the 2003-2004 comic-book storyline by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness.

Superman/Batman will be the sixth in the series of direct-to-DVD DC Universe Original Animated Movies that began in 2007 with Superman: Doomsday. Bruce Timm reportedly is executive producer.

The official synopsis appears to follow the source material -- the initial arc of the Superman/Batman comic series -- pretty closely, with President Lex Luthor claiming that a kryptonite asteroid heading toward Earth is part of a sinister plot by Superman. Luthor then offers a $1 billion bounty for the Man of Steel and his "partner in crime" Batman.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is expected to be released this fall.