What's Wrong With Comics - An Opinion

I just read a post by Steve over at KFR concerning the cancellation of Blue Beetle at the same time that the character is being heavily used over at Cartoon Network to promote the new Batman animated series, The Brave & the Bold. His post brought back some of the bile that I've been holding on to for about a year or so. Below is my way to detox my system of this mess:

DC (and Marvel, to a lesser extent) has lost its way as far as delivering compelling, character-driven books that are independent of the latest crossover du jour. It appears that both companies have been seduced by the retail successes of Identity Crisis and Civil War, respectively and are now basing their entire business model on this mode of creating these all-inclusive and ever-encompassing mega series that intertwines the majority of their individual titles under its publishing umbrella. Poor selling books (such as Blue Beetle and Manhunter) who are not vital cogs in this machine are left to fend for themselves and sit back to wait for their appointment on the chopping block. If things stay the same, the comic book industry will be back to the early 90s when multiple variant gimmick covers, millions of #1 issues (with zero possibility of a continuing series in their futures) and readership leaving in droves were the norm.

It's truly sad when you read stuff like Steve's or DJ Coffman stating that people who love comic books need to take back the industry due to the dumbing down of comics based on what creators think that they can sell to Hollywood. Personally, I can see why they're throwing their figurative hands in the air. I know that I have ceased buying new comics as I've become disenfranchised with how the business side of comics is driving what content is being created and how it is delivered to the readers. I definitely won't return unless it's for the purposes of buying collected editions of older comic books. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that I am not the only one.

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Would you like to watch the Watchmen?

Just a quick weekend post but it's all about the upcoming Watchmen movie. First, Steve over at KFR posted a link to the new Watchmen trailer at Apple's website. The 2+ minute trailer is both thrilling to see these characters come to cinematic life yet the look of the "Batman & Robin"-style costumes still makes me more than a little hesitant about how faithful the adaptation will be.

Then, Entertainment Weekly has a great article (which you can read online here) about the movie and the development hell that it went through to get to the point where it is today. Here's the cover to said EW:

Lastly, in the same EW issue, there is a link to download what is being called a "motion comic" for the first chapter of the Watchmen mini-series. I have watched the comic and for what it is, it's a great companion piece to the movie. Hearing the narration and having a score behind the comic does give the show more depth than I thought it would. I can definitely see this being on the eventual double DVD disc release near the end of 2009. To download the 24+ minute chapter, you need to have iTunes installed and click here.

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Upcoming DVD Release - DC Superheroes: The Filmation Adventures

DC Super Heroes: The Filmation Adventures

Saw this in a press release from Warner Bros and knew that it had to be mine. For those of you who may not be old enough to remember, these cartoons were the only place you would get to see the non-Big Three of DC on TV; especially the groovy Teen Titans (with a raven-haired Kid Flash and no Robin due to contractual reasons) and the Justice League of America. Sure, they're dated and somewhat preachy but that's what makes them so good. Pick it up and show it to that special grade schooler in your life and relive being a kid a half-hour at a time.

The DVD is due on August 12th with the following list of episodes:

Disc 1:

The Atom Cartoons
Invasion Of The Beetle-Men (1967)
The Plant Master (1967)
The House Of Doom (1967)

The Flash Cartoons
The Chemo-Creature (1967)
Take a Giant Step (1967)
To Catch a Blue Bolt (1967)

Green Lantern Cartoons
Evil is as Evil Does (1967)
The Vanishing World (1967)
Sirena, Empress of Evil (1967)


Disc 2:

Hawkman Cartoons
Peril from Pluto (1967)
A Visit To Venus (1967)
The Twenty Third Dimension (1967)

Justice League Of America Cartoons
Between Two Armies (1967)
Target Earth (1967)
Bad Day on Black Mountain (1967)

Teen Titans Cartoons
The Monster Machine (1967)
The Space Beast Round-Up (1967)
Operation: Rescue (1967)

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Happy 4th of July

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DC Animation Seasons Available at iTunes

As I was importing some George Carlin concert mp4s onto the old iPod, I went to the store and saw the ad for new DC shows added (image below). Those shows (all 1st season episodes) are:

• Adventures of Superman (Live Action)


• Aquaman


• Batman Beyond


• Batman - The Animated Series


• Superfriends


• Superman - The Animated Series


• Superman - The Fleischer Cartoons

Once I clicked the link, I was immediately both happy and sad - happy for the fact that these shows are available for download and sad because I already have them all on the DVD. I mean, I wouldn't be a fanatic if I didn't.

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