Green Lantern (or how I want to learn to stop worrying and love the bomb)

His sight doesn't look too great in that
crappy mask. I'm sure I could escape it.

That headline is a little misleading, as you'll soon see. Recently I've found myself questioning whether I'm a DC person at all.

I mean, I love Batman : TAS, JLU, Young Justice et al, but I've never really gotten into the DC comic scene. Even as a kid, as much as I loved Batman and Superman, my exposure was limited to their various film and television incarnations. In fact, I think I may own precisely one Batman comic, yet thanks to the animated series, movies and video games (not to mention Wizard and general comic conversations) I have quite a good understanding of both his history and his mythology, rogues and relationships included. I have fond memories of watching Richard Donner's Superman as a young boy, particularly enamoured with the scenes of baby Kal-El lifting up the Kent's pickup truck, or young Clark outrunning a train. However I'm outright positive I've never owned a Superman comic, and I couldn't even tell you which few I have read. Once again though, I feel incredibly familiar with just about every aspect of his lore.

Green Lantern on the other hand, well... he's a bit of a mystery to me. You see, when it comes to comics,  you can make mine Marvel. I had a brief daliance with Image for a while there (thanks glossy pages and Michael Turner!) and had initially become a serious comic afficianado through the Dark Horse line of Star Wars books. I can specifically remember Marvel comics I had as a kid though, in particular a 'What If' Fantastic Four comic in which the Silver Surfer didn't betray Galactus. It was full of that wonderful Kirby and Lee madness and strange silver-age science-fiction, and I loved every panel of it.

Which is why I'm so routinely surprised that Green Lantern just doesn't do it for me. Surprised and disappointed. When Green Lantern : First Flight came out, that was my first real introduction to the lore. Once again, I was familiar with aspects of it from JLU, but those team shows never really give you the depth of a characters origins and the premise. I thought First Flight was okay, nothing more. I enjoyed Wonder Woman much more, which is a little shocking, maybe because I think there is just something so overwhelmingly silly about Green Lantern. I love Space Opera, so what the heck is going on here?

'Superman Classic' short film by Disney animator, Robb Pratt

It's not every day you get to see what a DC animated short might look like if it were owned by Disney instead of Warner Bros, but here it is! Veteran Disney animator, Robb Pratt, has directed and animated a fantastic Superman fan film called 'Superman Classic'. It only runs for about a minute, but it perfectly references that Fleischer era of Superman (with maybe a nod to Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow). It's a helluva minute, with detailed hand-drawn animation bringing Clark and Lois to life in a way that Warner Bros animation doesn't do. The exchange between Lois and Clark outside the Daily Planet is exquisite, and that's before giant robots arrive on the scene.

DC Showcase: The Spectre, Jonah Hex, Green Arrow and Captain Marvel

In my last post about Young Justice, I went on a tangent about how impressed I am with the some of the current crop of animation directors working in television. Within that crowd there is one in particular that I've been keeping an eye out for, and that is Joaquim Dos Santos. I loved every minute of G.I. Joe: Resolute and he'd contributed to some of the best episodes to Justice League: Unlimited and Avatar: The Last Airbender. With this in mind it was no surprise to see his name on the credits for the DC Showcase shorts.

That is to say, each of these short films is excellent.

Over the past few years DC, via Warner Bros Animation, have been delving into the direct-to-dvd market. The films have varied in quality, from average to oustanding, but they're always too short. Or too long. Either way, it's an awkward running time with each film playing like a three-parter of a well produced tv series.

Typically, these films have to focus on the big three, or at least the original power players of the Justice League. So far we've had Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, a couple of Batman films and a couple of Justice League films. While we occasionally get to glimpse some of the lesser known heroes, its always in a supporting role and usually in combat, meaning we get very little character. In response to this we have the DC Showcase, a series of awesome short films released alongside the larger features.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies - Review

The short version; 'Superman/Batman: Public Enemies' is an explosively enjoyable and stupendously stupid romp through the Superhero battlefield.

You really don't need to know much more than that. The title clues you in as to whether you're predisposed to liking it (I partially am), its typical of DC animation that its full of well animated destruction, however, it also finds itself lacking in the story and character department. I'm a Batman fan, at least in regards to animation, and one of the compelling aspects of that character is his intelligent approach to problems. This is not that movie. This story is essentially an excuse for a series of knockdown brawls, pushing anything resembling interesting character moments or intricate plotting. However, and its a big caveat, is that those brawls are awesome, and the roster of characters is some impressive fan-service, and it delivers some big and silly blockbuster entertainment.