Winner: Robot Chicken Star Wars Episode III

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Television, DC Comics,

In the pantheon of Star Wars material, my favorite movie is The Empire Strikes Back. My next favorites? The Robot Chicken specials.

So I was thrilled to read that over the weekend the writers on Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III just won an Annie Award for Writing In A Television Production.

The credited writers are Matthew Beans, Zeb Wells, Hugh Sterbakov, Matthew Senreich, Breckin Meyer, Seth Green, Mike Fasolo, Douglas Goldstein, Tom Root, Dan Milano, Kevin Shinick & Hugh Davidson along with one other guy: DC Comics' Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns.

Congratulation to all the winners!

The Brewmasters at Cartoon Brew have all the details on all the winners. Be sure the read through the comments while you're there!

[Artwork: Robot Chicken Star Wars Episode III]

Annie Awards: 2010 Nominations

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Television, DC Comics, Image Comics, Marvel Comics,

ASIFA-Hollywood announced their nominations for the 38th Annual Annie Awards this past week.

The essential animation blog, Cartoon Brew, has a complete list of the nominations.

If you like controversy, be sure to read the comments, too!

A couple of people with comic book connections popped up on the list of nominees.

Stephen DeStefano, artist on Lucky In Love from Fantagraphics, is up for Character Design in a Television Production for his work on the Cartoon Network series Sym-Bionic Titan.

Phil Hester and Andy Kuhn’s Image Comic Firebreather, the Cartoon Network original movie that aired at the end of November, got itself two nominations. In the category Production Design in a Television Production, Barry Jackson is one of the nominees. In the category Directing in a Television Production, director Peter Chung was nominated as well.

Click to continue reading Annie Awards: 2010 Nominations

A Marvelution Flashback

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,

Unless you’ve been living in a hole for the past week or infected with a Zombie virus that’s harmed your brain, you’re aware that DC Entertainment has made a significant restructuring move in their executive suite and put a team of 5 people in charge - Dan Didio, Geoff Johns, Pat Caldon, John Rood and Jim Lee - to replace the outgoing Paul Levitz.

The internets abound with excellent coverage and analysis. One of the best pieces is from Heidi McDonald who lands a short interview with Diane Nelson, the head of DC Entertainment who put the team together.

Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter runs through some very worthwhile bullet points in a “fingers crossed” sort of way.

And Dirk Deppey, no fan of the outgoing Paul Levitz, is optimistic about the new DC Team-Up.

I’m reminded of a time many years ago when Marvel Comics went on a buying spree that included the acquisitions of Panini, Fleer and Malibu Comics and culminated with the buying of Heroes World to be Marvel’s sole distributor. Under different circumstances, they also put a team of 5 in place as editorial shopkeepers. They called it “Marvelution.” A similar, “clever” phrase has yet to be made from DC’s name. “No Fear” might somehow stick in some way, but I think someone else already has that trademark. “High Five” is getting some play over at Bleeding Cool. And maybe if the DC gang do well, someone will tag them “The Superior Five.”

Click to continue reading A Marvelution Flashback

Review: DC Comics Adventure Comics #6

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics,

  Rating ****
Wow! That’s all I have to say about Geoff Johns’ final issue of Adventure Comics. It’s too bad Geoff is leaving this book because in the short time he was been on this title, I’ve really come to like the character of Superboy. There is a genuineness to the character of Superboy aka Conner Kent aka Kon-El. Johns really writes this character as a teenage boy who like all teen boys can be insecure, have girl troubles, go to school, and have trouble with their families. Now none of us have the trouble he’s going through, but no matter how old you are, you can definitely relate and feel for this kid. However, I think this issue is really more about the character of Lex Luthor than it is about Conner.

I think if I met someone who were new to comic books and wanted to know something about the character of Lex Luthor, I wouldn’t send them to Wikipedia to read up on who Lex Luthor is - I would hand them this issue instead. In this issue alone, Johns shows you who Luthor really is and just how evil of man he is. The story picks up where we left off in the last issue where Superboy rescued a girl named Lori and brought her back home only to be find out that she is the niece of Lex Luthor, the man who cloned him from Superman and his greatest enemy. Luthor is here to recover his property (Superboy), but the revelation of who Lori and her mother are gets in the way of things.

Click to continue reading Review: DC Comics Adventure Comics #6

DC Comics Review: Blackest Night: The Flash #1

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics,

Rating: ****
If you were a fan of the run Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins did on The Flash, this book is for you. I wasn’t a fan of Kolins’ work on The Flash at first, but the artwork grew on me and the stories that Geoff was pumping out were classic. This issue picks up during the Blackest Night event and after the Flash: Rebirth series.

I was a bit confused by the story in this issue at first because we see that Eobard Thawne aka Professor Zoom the Reverse Flash appears as a Black Lantern, which got me wondering how could he be a Black Lantern if he’s been resurrected? Then I remembered that when Zoom returned in the Flash: Rebirth series, he stated that he was from the future after he was resurrected by a friend of Barry’s. This is what happens when series get delayed. Flash: Rebirth has yet to end so we don’t know what has happens to Zoom at the conclusion to the series. One can assume that he’s still alive at the end. Who is the “friend” that resurrects Zoom? My guess is it’s Hal Jordan as it seems he will get possessed by Paralax once again in Green Lantern #50.

This series will also focus on the Rogues as they battle the Black Lantern Rogues. Geoff has done a great job in developing the Rogues characters. He really writes them as characters who walk the line between good and evil - especially Captain Cold, my favorite of the Rogues. The current Captain Boomerang Owen Mercer makes an appearance at his father’s grave here. I’m sure his father the original Captain Boomerang will be resurrected and we’ll be seeing father and son battling it out sometime during this series. Boomerang is buried at the special Rogues cemetery and it is here that a Black Lantern ring find the grave of Zoom and resurrects him as a Black Lantern.

Click to continue reading DC Comics Review: Blackest Night: The Flash #1

DC Comics Review: Superman: Secret Origin #2

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics,

Rating: ****

Wow! Fantastic! For someone who didn’t grow up reading the Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes stories, I have nothing to compare this issue to. However, I must say that this is a great story that I think longtime fans of those stories will agree that it can stand alongside those classic tales. If you didn’t read issue one, first off, go now to your comic store and get it; second, this issue can stand alone as a great story with some amazing art work. The creative team once again is Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. They introduced us to a teenage Clark Kent living in Smallville adjusting to his super powers and discovering where they came from. We’re also introduced to a teenage Lex Luthor who has an abusive, alcoholic father whom Luthor tries kill in the beginning of our second issue.

The issue opens with Lionel Luthor driving down a highway. There is rubble on the road and he tries to swerve and hit the breaks - unfortunately the breaks are out thanks to Lex. Lionel’s car goes over the side of the highway and is about to plunge into the water when Superboy saves the day. A beautifully drawn scene by Frank, but my one complaint is that I think Superboy looks more like a 10 year-old than a teenager in that scene. Lionel survives, but not for long as Luthor is successful in murdering his father at the end of the issue.

Click to continue reading DC Comics Review: Superman: Secret Origin #2

DC Comics Review: Blackest Night #4

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics,

Rating: ***

I’m a bit disappointed in this issue. After the first three issues blew me away and I proclaimed that this series was a future classic in the making, writer Geoff Johns stumbles a bit with this month’s issue of Blackest Night. For me, some of Black Lantern Firestorm’s dialogue was written poorly in the opening pages. We also jump to Gotham City for no reason other to see Jean Paul Valley aka Azrael resurrected as a Black Lantern while The Scarecrow whines about admiring the fear that the Black Lanterns are able to invoke (he can’t get scared because he’s used too much of his fear gas). Poor baby. He does have one fear of course - The Batman (cue dramatic Batman music).

This issue mostly focuses on Barry Allen - the Flash and his quest to take the reigns and try to “hold down the fort” here on Earth against the Black Lanterns. He’s with the Atom and Mera of Atlantis and he gives them a good pep talk to try to get them to step up and fight back against the Black Lanterns. The Flash then runs across the Earth continuing his pep talk and informing the other heroes of the situation. He tells them that Green Lantern is off trying to destroy the source of the Black Lanterns’ power and they have to keep fighting until that happens. 

Click to continue reading DC Comics Review: Blackest Night #4

DC Comics Review: Green Lantern #46

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics,

Rating: *** 1/2*

Another great issue by Geoff Johns and artist Doug Mahnke.  We pick up where we left off in the last issue with Sinestro and Carol Ferris being confronted by a bunch of Black Lanterns.  Sinestro narrates our story and talks about his friend the Green Lantern, Abin Sur, and his obsession with the prophecy of the darkness that would sweep across the universe - The Blackest Night.  The Guardians and Sinestro himself thought Abin was insane and Sinestro confesses that his biggest regret is not believing in his friend.  This is a much more sympathetic Sinestro than I’m used to.  I have a love/hate feeling when a villain is shown to have reasons behind his villainy.  I think some people are just bad and there’s no reason.  Still the back story is interesting.

The group of Black Lanterns that are attacking are lead by Abin’s brother Amon and they battle it out with Sinestro and Carol until Hal Jordan and the Indigo Lanterns arrive to assist in the fight.  Hal is upset because Indigo 1, the leader of the Indigo Lanterns, took Hal away from the other JLA heroes in their fight against another group of Black Lanterns.  Being long-time enemies, Hal and Sinestro of course end up fighting each other.  Indigo 1 interrupts their fight and talks to Sinestro about her past meeting with Abin Sur.  Sinestro wants to know what she knows of Abin, but more Black Lantern rings arrive and resurrect more of the dead.

Click to continue reading DC Comics Review: Green Lantern #46

DC Comics Review: Superman: Secret Origin #1

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics,

Rating: ****

There have been numerous Superman origins in the character’s 70 year history. From the original Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster origin, to the more recent John Byrne and Mark Waid origins or Superman’s early adventures that we’ve seen over the past 20 years. Now we get another new “origin” tale by Geoff Johns with this week’s Superman: Secret Origin. When I heard that they were doing this, I said to myself, “Is this really necessary?”  Well with the recent continuity changes that have been made over the past few years, I guess you can make an argument for it. If it were any other writer doing it, I would not be picking this mini-series up, but since it’s Geoff Johns and I loved what he and Richard Donner did with their recent run on Action Comics, I decided to pick it up.  Well, I’m glad to say that I’m not disappointed.

Our first issue opens in Smallville of course with Clark Kent as a teenager about to begin a pick up game of football with Pete Ross and some other Smallville teenagers. Clark catches the ball and runs into Pete, which breaks Pete’s arm. Distraught over the incident, Clark is confused by what’s happening to him. There to comfort him is his childhood sweetheart Lana Lang. She kisses Clark which gets Clark all hot and bothered, resulting in his heat vision to shoot off—he almost burns the school down.

Click to continue reading DC Comics Review: Superman: Secret Origin #1

DC Comics Review: Blackest Night #3

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics,

Rating: ****

Wow!  Blackest Night may be Geoff Johns’ best work yet and along with artist Ivan Reis, it makes the story that much better.  In the two previous issues we had a lot of fighting and an establishing of the situation, but with this issue we get a firm direction of where this series will be headed and what needs to be done to stop the Black Lanterns.

Our story opens up with the new Firestorm, Jason Rusch.  As we know from the previous Firestorm, Ronnie Raymond, Firestorm is not just one person.  It took the combination of Ronnie Raymond and Professor Mark Stein to form the Firestorm matrix.  Currently Jason’s other half of the Firestorm matrix is his girlfriend Gehenna whom he calls Gen.  The two are discussing their relationship.  Jason is able to read the thoughts of Gen when they are merged together as Firestorm and realizes Gen wants to get married.  Jason isn’t ready and Gen says that maybe they shouldn’t be Firestorm together.  But before Jason can answer that, his Justice League comm link goes off alerting him to some trouble.

Click to continue reading DC Comics Review: Blackest Night #3