A new Geek Report after so long.... (reviews, interviews)
Hey all.
Decided to post some fun stuff for folks today after a long while. Decided to start with a review of the new animated film All Star Superman.
Finally.
Someone has produced a good animated Superman movie.
Not a Superman / Batman movie… not a Justice League movie… but one focused specifically on the last son of Krypton. There’ve been other good ones where he’s shared the story , particularly since WB Animation has started doing more films based on the DC Comics superheroes. However, this is the one that can make just about anyone who watches understand why Superman is an iconic character.
There have been comic fans who’ve said it’s impossible to have a good Superman story because he’s so powerful he can do anything. But there are also good writers who’ve found this to be a falsehood and produced excellent works about the Man of Steel. From the folks who produced the 90s animated series, to comic creators such as Alan Moore (“Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow"), Alex Ross & Mark Waid ("Kingdom Come"), Mark Millar ("Superman: Red Son"), John Byrne (“The Man of Steel”) and others, there have been people who understand a character is only as good as the conflicts and situations he has to overcome. A few years back, writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely did the comic series "All Star Superman", which gave this character a unique challenge.
After rescuing some astronauts near the sun, Superman returns home to find out Lex Luthor has finally killed him. He has weeks to live and there is nothing he can do about it.
This is a premise from which to examine who Superman is and what motivates him, while playing out some excellent stories. Morrison’s narrative takes advantage of how this would affect the supporting cast, particularly Lois Lane (whom Superman has not revealed his identity to) and Lex Luthor who comes off in a way as a secondary protagonist here. There are some great moments throughout where his total hatred of Superman simmers until it boils over (as does his megalomania) and we come to understand why this hatred exists (beyond him being the “bad guy.”) We also get to see some good action scenes with an ending that’s just about as perfect as anyone could expect from this piece.
For the animated film, screenwriter Dwayne McDuffie ("Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths") had a tough task adapting what has become a highly regarded work into a 75-minute piece. For the most part, he has done so successfully. There were some elements from the comic, which, although decent, would be a bit distracting for a movie as there’s only a set time to tell a story. Gone are bits such as the Bizarro world and Jimmy Olsen’s mini-adventure. Unfortunately, there was also a poignant section dealing with the death of Jonathan Kent that is not included in the film. At a premiere screening, McDuffie expressed regrets about not being able to include this scene for time constraints (which I really wish Warner would drop to let animators produce longer films). However, there is a nice remembrance where Clark talks to his father for a bit. McDuffie’s screenplay retains the stronger elements of the story though and makes for an interesting change at the end which is said to have been approved by Morrison himself.
Director Sam Liu makes the most of this and does beautiful animation work based on Quitely’s designs. Much like he did on the adaptations of “Planet Hulk” and “Superman/Batman: Public Enemies,” Liu delivers fluid action sequences and tight pacing for the script and has emerged as Warner’s best director currently working. One of the best sequences is a fight with the villainous Parasite that is visually chilling (particularly for his victims) that happens while Clark Kent is interviewing (and clandestinely protecting) Lex Luthor.
The other important behind-the-scenes member is voice director Andrea Romano, who once again gets the best out of her actors and is a strong reason the DC animated films are so highly regarded. Pacing and aural nuances can make or break a product and she takes great pains to make sure the actors play well off each other without clashing. From the days of Tiny Toons and Batman Animated series to the most recent DC -based films, Romano has delivered more often than not. Here she has screen actors James Denton (Desperate Housewives) as Superman, Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) as Lois Lane and Anthony LaPaglia (Without A Trace) as Lex Luthor all turning in brilliant performances.
Warner’s animation teams have been steadily improving since launching this series of direct-to-video comic adaptations. Their first one, “Superman / Doomsday” had incredibly lame writing. Conversely, “All Star Superman” represents the higher end of the quality spectrum alongside “Wonder Woman” and “Batman: Under The Red Hood.” It is one of the finest DC adaptations to date and very much worth buying at the first opportunity.
Also, here's a couple more I've posted recently for Otaku USA's website. The first is an interview with the creators of the anime Eden of the East.
http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/SearchAudience/News1/The_Minds_Behind_Eden_of_the_East_4077.aspx
Next up is a a few words with Japanese singer May'n, whose most notable work was in the anime Macross Frontier..
http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/SearchAudience/News1/The_Mayn_Attraction_4052.aspx
And finally, a look back at a classic anime about the origin of Captain Harlock, as told in the film Arcadia of My Youth.
http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/SearchAudience/News1/Arcadia_of_My_Youth_4007.aspx
Additionally, on the local anime scene, I'll be working (clandestinely) at the convention Momocon on Saturday March 12 where I'll be doing a panel about classic anime in the name of Anime Weekend Atlanta, who will also have a table and several folks promoting things. Drop by and chat them up, willya?
Oh, and there's this one convention called Anachrocon this coming weekend focusing on Steampunk it seems. Honestly, it's many of the folks who work at Dragon Con who want to hang out in a less frenzied but still fun atmosphere. It was pretty cool last year. Looking forward to it again.
Oh, and to close, here's a look at the new trailer for the upcoming movie Thor. See you soon!
Bonus bit: Lord Darkseid's list of the 10 best comics-to-animation films to date. (listed alphabetically)
All-Star Superman
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Batman: Under The Red Hood
Doctor Strange
Hellboy: Sword of Storms
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
Justice League: The New Frontier
Planet Hulk
Wonder Woman
Decided to post some fun stuff for folks today after a long while. Decided to start with a review of the new animated film All Star Superman.
Finally.
Someone has produced a good animated Superman movie.
Not a Superman / Batman movie… not a Justice League movie… but one focused specifically on the last son of Krypton. There’ve been other good ones where he’s shared the story , particularly since WB Animation has started doing more films based on the DC Comics superheroes. However, this is the one that can make just about anyone who watches understand why Superman is an iconic character.
There have been comic fans who’ve said it’s impossible to have a good Superman story because he’s so powerful he can do anything. But there are also good writers who’ve found this to be a falsehood and produced excellent works about the Man of Steel. From the folks who produced the 90s animated series, to comic creators such as Alan Moore (“Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow"), Alex Ross & Mark Waid ("Kingdom Come"), Mark Millar ("Superman: Red Son"), John Byrne (“The Man of Steel”) and others, there have been people who understand a character is only as good as the conflicts and situations he has to overcome. A few years back, writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely did the comic series "All Star Superman", which gave this character a unique challenge.
After rescuing some astronauts near the sun, Superman returns home to find out Lex Luthor has finally killed him. He has weeks to live and there is nothing he can do about it.
This is a premise from which to examine who Superman is and what motivates him, while playing out some excellent stories. Morrison’s narrative takes advantage of how this would affect the supporting cast, particularly Lois Lane (whom Superman has not revealed his identity to) and Lex Luthor who comes off in a way as a secondary protagonist here. There are some great moments throughout where his total hatred of Superman simmers until it boils over (as does his megalomania) and we come to understand why this hatred exists (beyond him being the “bad guy.”) We also get to see some good action scenes with an ending that’s just about as perfect as anyone could expect from this piece.
For the animated film, screenwriter Dwayne McDuffie ("Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths") had a tough task adapting what has become a highly regarded work into a 75-minute piece. For the most part, he has done so successfully. There were some elements from the comic, which, although decent, would be a bit distracting for a movie as there’s only a set time to tell a story. Gone are bits such as the Bizarro world and Jimmy Olsen’s mini-adventure. Unfortunately, there was also a poignant section dealing with the death of Jonathan Kent that is not included in the film. At a premiere screening, McDuffie expressed regrets about not being able to include this scene for time constraints (which I really wish Warner would drop to let animators produce longer films). However, there is a nice remembrance where Clark talks to his father for a bit. McDuffie’s screenplay retains the stronger elements of the story though and makes for an interesting change at the end which is said to have been approved by Morrison himself.
Director Sam Liu makes the most of this and does beautiful animation work based on Quitely’s designs. Much like he did on the adaptations of “Planet Hulk” and “Superman/Batman: Public Enemies,” Liu delivers fluid action sequences and tight pacing for the script and has emerged as Warner’s best director currently working. One of the best sequences is a fight with the villainous Parasite that is visually chilling (particularly for his victims) that happens while Clark Kent is interviewing (and clandestinely protecting) Lex Luthor.
The other important behind-the-scenes member is voice director Andrea Romano, who once again gets the best out of her actors and is a strong reason the DC animated films are so highly regarded. Pacing and aural nuances can make or break a product and she takes great pains to make sure the actors play well off each other without clashing. From the days of Tiny Toons and Batman Animated series to the most recent DC -based films, Romano has delivered more often than not. Here she has screen actors James Denton (Desperate Housewives) as Superman, Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) as Lois Lane and Anthony LaPaglia (Without A Trace) as Lex Luthor all turning in brilliant performances.
Warner’s animation teams have been steadily improving since launching this series of direct-to-video comic adaptations. Their first one, “Superman / Doomsday” had incredibly lame writing. Conversely, “All Star Superman” represents the higher end of the quality spectrum alongside “Wonder Woman” and “Batman: Under The Red Hood.” It is one of the finest DC adaptations to date and very much worth buying at the first opportunity.
Also, here's a couple more I've posted recently for Otaku USA's website. The first is an interview with the creators of the anime Eden of the East.
http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/SearchAudience/News1/The_Minds_Behind_Eden_of_the_East_4077.aspx
Next up is a a few words with Japanese singer May'n, whose most notable work was in the anime Macross Frontier..
http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/SearchAudience/News1/The_Mayn_Attraction_4052.aspx
And finally, a look back at a classic anime about the origin of Captain Harlock, as told in the film Arcadia of My Youth.
http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/SearchAudience/News1/Arcadia_of_My_Youth_4007.aspx
Additionally, on the local anime scene, I'll be working (clandestinely) at the convention Momocon on Saturday March 12 where I'll be doing a panel about classic anime in the name of Anime Weekend Atlanta, who will also have a table and several folks promoting things. Drop by and chat them up, willya?
Oh, and there's this one convention called Anachrocon this coming weekend focusing on Steampunk it seems. Honestly, it's many of the folks who work at Dragon Con who want to hang out in a less frenzied but still fun atmosphere. It was pretty cool last year. Looking forward to it again.
Oh, and to close, here's a look at the new trailer for the upcoming movie Thor. See you soon!
Click to viewBonus bit: Lord Darkseid's list of the 10 best comics-to-animation films to date. (listed alphabetically)
All-Star Superman
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Batman: Under The Red Hood
Doctor Strange
Hellboy: Sword of Storms
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
Justice League: The New Frontier
Planet Hulk
Wonder Woman