Category Archives: DC
Larfleeze is Kinda, Sorta, Maybe Gonna Get His Own Series!
Larfleeze, the Orange Lantern, is one of my absolute favorite new comic book characters introduced in the past couple years. He’s crazy, in a fun way, and he rocks the color orange almost as well as Otto. He’s been kind of a stinker in the pages of Green Lantern: New Guardians in the New 52, so it seems that DC is going to give him his own series, written by space and joke master Keith Giffen!
Or actually, Larfleeze is going to get some back-up features in a new cosmic superhero comic entitled Threshold.
Reach harder, you lovable bastard!
Giffen is one of the geniuses that wrote Marvel’s Annihilation series, which was this huge space-based Marvel story that completely rewrote the entire Marvel space landscape. You know the Guardians of the Galaxy movie coming out in two years? That movie exists because of the work that Giffen did with Marvel’s space characters. So now that he’s working for DC, they’ve decided to let Giffen have similar fun with all of DC’s space characters. Could be a real blast.
But I’m mostly interested in the Larfleeze back up stories that are going to be a part of Threshold.
For those who don’t know, Larfleeze is the Orange Lantern; similar, of course, to the Green Lantern. A few years ago, writer Geoff Johns blew up the Green Lantern mythos, introducing some stellar new concepts and ideas that remain popular to this day. One of those is the idea that ‘Green’ is just one color in the entire Lantern spectrum, and that there are other groups out there, not just the Green Lantern Corps. There’s the Sinestro Corps, the Red Lantern Corps, the Star Sapphires, the Indigo Tribe…and then there is Larfleeze, the only Orange Lantern. The color orange represents greed in the emotional spectrum, and Larfleeze is an alien psychopath who is obsessed with his own power and owning stuff.
He’s comedic gold! And I’m very much looking forward to this series now.
Giffen had this to say about Larfleeze:
Yeah, there’s always going to be humor in everything I do, but with Larfleeze, he’s just such an outrageous character that you can do a lot with him. His first adventure is going to be dark humor, because he is, of course, greedy and self-centered and mean. So if you find that funny, then you’re going to find this story hilarious.
Sounds excellent to me! You can read the whole interview at Newsarama.
DC Comics is Going to Try Again With Superman
This can’t be good news for the replacement writers on Superman and Action Comics. But DC has announced a brand new Superman comic – called Man of Steel – that will be written by superstar writer Scott Snyder and drawn by superstar artist Jim Lee. It will come out next year, not so coincidentally alongside a new Superman movie that is also titled Man of Steel.
Look at him break stuff like a pro!
Jim Lee, of course, is one of the most popular comic book artists of the modern day, and one of the big wigs at DC Comics corporate. He was also the artist entrusted with starting the New 52’s flagship Justice League series.
Scott Snyder is currently writing the spectacular and incredibly popular Batman series, and is the mastermind behind both the Court of Owls and the current, highly rated Joker storyline.
So clearly DC Comics is banking hard on this new Superman series.
But that makes me wonder how the new creative teams of the current Superman comics – Action Comics and Superman – must now feel. I mean, jeez, why don’t DC just hang big signs around their neck that their comics won’t matter in the wake of Man of Steel? I can’t imagine that the Superman comics are doing so well that Superman could support three ongoing series. Batman is doing it, but just barely. And Superman is not as popular as Batman.
DC has actually had a bit of trouble with Superman in the New 52. Grant Morrison has been writing a pretty popular Action Comics, but he’s leaving in the new year, to be replaced by Andy Diggle. Not to talk down on Mr. Diggle’s work, but he’s no Grant Morrison. Nobody is Grant Morrison. Though personally, I haven’t been a big fan of Morrison’s Action Comics. Considering it was supposed to be the main Superman title in the new reboot, Morrison went really insane really fast, which I thought was disruptive in the context of a reboot.
And then Superman the series has had four different writers in just one year, with Scott Lobdell taking over in September. And readers of my blog will know that I’m no fan of Scott Lobdell’s work on Teen Titans – though I am sort of enjoying his work on Red Hood and the Outlaws. But Scott Lobdell is no Scott Snyder or Grant Morrison or anybody else. Not to be mean, but he’s not an A-list talent in the comic book world. After losing George Perez – who was very vocal about why he left Superman – and Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens, it seems like DC just looked around their office for someone who wasn’t mad at DC Comics and just threw Lobdell into the slot.
So clearly Superman has been floundering in the New 52, whereas characters like Batman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman have exploded out of the gate. This new Man of Steel comic may turn things around and give us some quality Superman stories…but why not put Snyder and Lee on one of the existing Superman books? Why try to support 3 identical Superman comics?
Though I definitely think I’ll be buying Man of Steel when it comes out. Snyder and Lee are great!
Review: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1
Another faithful animated comic book adaptation has arrived, and I continue to be only mildly impressed by what the DC animators have cranked out. I’ve mentioned this in the last few reviews of these animated DVDs, but nobody seems to be trying very hard. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 is very ordinary. The animation style is the same as they’ve always used. The voice actors are mediocre at best, with a few clunkers. The adaptation is almost faithful to the word, and the few minor changes don’t really add anything new or interesting to the show. This DVD is basically just the same people cranking out the same product they’ve always been.
But that’s not to say we shouldn’t be eternally grateful that we now have a fully animated adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns, one of the greatest Batman stories ever written.
Movie rating: 4/5: Good.
Don’t let my nitpicking keep you away from a good adaptation of the classic Frank Miller comic. The animation is top notch, the action is very good and, like I said, the cartoon is an almost exact replication of the comic. And considering that comic book fans tend not to like change, that’s probably for the best. Could you imagine the firestorm if DC Animation had rewritten parts of this story? Sometimes minor changes to the story works, like with the Watchmen movie, but sometimes it could be terrible, like all other planned adaptations of Watchmen.
That The Dark Knight Returns has been stretched into two films is unfortunate, but for the best, considering the lengthy tale. Once both parts are out, I’m hoping it’s a better experience overall. But Part 1 has its own stories, so we’re not lacking for content by only getting the first half of the comic on film.
Though we are missing out on what could have been a powerful artistic interpretation. Anyone who has read the original comic knows that The Dark Knight Returns has a very unique and hectic art style. It’s a little jarring and confusing at first, but quickly grows on you in the reading. The animation in the new DVD is the same kind of animation DC has been cranking out since Batman: The Animated Series nearly 20 years ago, which is a shame. While it’s solid animation and looks great, it loses that unique, emotional feel that came from the original art.
Same with the voice acting. Peter Weller is a terrible Batman. The producers may have been super excited to get Robocop to do the voice, but he stinks. Weller’s performance is flat and emotionless, in a story that calls for Batman to be full of rage and power. It’s a complete failure.
Was Kevin Conroy busy that week and couldn’t do the voice? Join me after the jump for more.
Solomon Grundy Does Not Fight Girls – Though it Looks Like He Found Some Pants
The latest episode of Super Best Friends Forever (or the SBFFs!) is finally here! Supergirl, Batgirl and Wonder Girl team up to take on the villainous, zombie-like Solomon Grundy, and it is as adorable as it sounds! We need more of this show now, and then forever more!
Hopefully Solomon Grundy has learned his lesson.
And if you didn’t get my ‘pants’ reference, join me for a Cartoon Network classic after the jump.
Review: Teen Titans #0
Well, that was disappointing. Tim Drake, my all-time favorite DC superhero, has a completely new origin. I thought writer Scott Lobdell was only changing his name, but it turns out Lobdell decided to change almost everything. Tim Drake is not even Tim ‘Drake’ anymore. All of his clever origin quirks from the original continuity have been altered for no good reason. Seriously, there was no reason to change Tim’s origin. His old origin fit in just fine with what’s been happening in the New 52 so far. These changes are completely superfluous, and because of that, they’re more disappointing than actually anger-inducing. It’s not like he did anything drastic that would warrant or justify the changes.
Teen Titans #0
DC has made me care less about my favorite character. I don’t think that’s what they want to accomplish in selling their comics.
Comic rating: 3/5: Alright.
If I’m being fair, this issue of Teen Titans is alright. It’s not a bad issue. If I’m being extremely generous and unbiased, it’s mediocre. The origin and its changes aren’t all that exciting, but it doesn’t defy logic – for the most part – or take a crap on the English language. There are a lot of stupid changes, which I’ll mention in the full synopsis. Overall, the issue is OK. But I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody. I wouldn’t tell a person that they’ve got to read about this really cool guy named Red Robin. None of these changes alter Tim Drake as a person or a character. He’s still pretty much the same guy. So that just means these changes are pointless. I can’t imagine anyone being excited by the new changes.
But I can definitely picture a lot of disappointed and even angry Tim Drake fans. I realize that comic book companies just want to get a rise out of their fans. But couldn’t they have been a little more creative this time? Couldn’t they have tried to do something original?
Just look at what they did to Jason Todd’s origin. Same writer even, with Scott Lobdell penning Jason’s altered origin. So why did he drop the ball in rewriting Tim’s origin? Join me after the jump for more.
Henchman-4-Hire 