Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too! has been announced as available on September 26… but there’s a catch. It’s not a bad idea to team up the Scooby-Doo gang with superheroes — I’ve enjoyed seeing the team work with Batman both in animated movies and comic books. The catch is that you can “buy” a copy of the digital movie on your favorite service on September 26 for $14.99 (or $19.99 at Amazon Prime Video — what’s that about?), or on DVD […]
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In 2011, All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely was adapted by Dwayne McDuffie into a movie-length cartoon. I reviewed the animated All-Star Superman back then. Now, as part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros. Studios, it’s been re-released on 4K. It features a Superman (voiced by James Denton) who decides to do everything he’s ever wanted when he thinks he’s dying, including revealing his identity to Lois Lane (Christina Hendricks), before a final showdown […]
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Out this week is a new DC animation collection on Blu-ray. The Adventures of Batman collects up the Batman cartoons that originally ran as part of The Batman/Superman Hour from 1968-1969. As you’ve likely envisioned, once I gave the timeframe, these are not outstanding examples of animation. They’re stiff, with minimal movement when they can get away with it, and even just watching one episode, I was already noticing repeated bits. The most memorable visual element for me was the […]
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The concept behind Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse isn’t a bad one: Take two cartoon team franchises and have them meet. Bonus points for using a currently hot buzzword, albeit one Marvel has had much more success with. (One’s cynical side supposes that Warner Bros. Entertainment wanted to be sure that their cross-town competitors didn’t get exclusive rights to the idea, as most people have been introduced to the Multiverse concept via the […]
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I checked out the new Steven Moffat TV series Inside Man (streaming on Netflix in the US) because of the cast and the idea of a “death row detective”, although I’ve been very iffy on his skills as a solo showrunner. The show lived down to my expectations, with outstanding acting trying to support a completely ludicrous core premise. The cast includes: David Tennant as Harry, the local vicar in a picture-perfect English village Stanley Tucci as Mr. Grieff (Dickensian, […]
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I’d about given up on the original DC animated movies. They’re either stories I already read as comics — and I didn’t feel a need to see the characters move, with added mature content — or they exist mostly for big battles. Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons was a pleasant change by focusing more on character interaction. I liked it a lot more than I expected — although it’s very male, with the only female characters being […]
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As the holiday season approaches, it’s good to know about a movie that a bunch of family members can enjoy. Based on how much we, a couple of adults, liked this movie, I nominate Minions: The Rise of Gru. (Screenplay by Matthew Fogel, directed by Kyle Balda, Brad Ableson, and Jonathan Del Val.) The previous Minions movie (also hilarious) was set in 60s England; this one moves to the suburbs of the 1970s, where Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) is […]
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Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released a deluxe edition of Batman: The Long Halloween. In addition to combining the previous two separate releases into one movie, this version is now available in 4K (although there is also a Blu-ray edition). There’s also “added mature content” and a 25-minute “Evolution of Evil” featurette about “the commonalities across the film’s heroes and villains alike” with commentary by clinical psychologist Dr. Drea Letamendi, original comic writer Jeph Loeb, executive producer Butch Lukic, and […]
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