The One Story Arc Test

I love comic books. That's fairly obvious from the fact that I run this blog. Unfortunately, I do not have the time or money to read every comic that is released (I can't even read all the good ones). Therefore, I came up with a self-imposed rule. When a series starts or changes creative teams, if I am drawn to it in any way, I give it the One-Story Arc test. I will purchase and read one entire story arc of the series. If the series can't grab me after that, it's unlikely I'll ever bother reading it. If I enjoy it, I'll continue reading it. Pretty simple.

I know other people have similar rules. Some people have a one-issue rule. I don't feel that one issue is enough to really decide if you like a story or not. It's akin to only watching the pilot episode of a television series before deciding you really don't like it. Give it a fair chance!

Justice League: The New Frontier (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Justice League: The New Frontier is a DC Universe Animated Original Movie based on Darwyn Cooke's DC: The New Frontier. Following the same general story line, Justice League: The New Frontier tells of the DC characters in the 1950's, when masked heroism is considered a crime against America. That all changes when an ancient power known as The Centre rises and threatens to eliminate all life on Earth.

Like any adaptation of a long story, this movie is the bare-bones version of the story. It's understandable, really. In comics, you have a series of issues to tell an entire story. In films, both animated and otherwise, the plot has to be boiled down to just the essentials to fit in a shrunken time-span. That being said, Justice League: The New Frontier tends to omit some of the best aspects of DC: The New Frontier, while still managing to keep the story flowing in a captivating and enthralling manner.

The animation quality of this movie is fantastic. Judging from the quality of all previous DC animated series, that is to be expected. But Justice League: The New Frontier takes it a step further. The animation studio beautifully adapted Darwyn Cooke's artistic style for the animated medium. There is a nice mix of classic 2D animation with just a touch of 3D thrown in to add depth. They even went as far as including original artwork from the comic series in the main title sequence.

For the most part, the voice acting was a real treat. When you have talent like Kyle MacLachlan (Superman), Lucy Lawless (Wonder Woman), Jeremy Sisto (Batman), Neil Patrick Harris (The Flash), and David Boreanaz (Green Lantern), you expect them all to bring their A-Game. Some, like Harris, Sisto, and MacLachlan, were incredible in their roles. As a Wonder Woman fan-boy, I was especially impressed with Lucy Lawless. However, some of the roles were lacking. David Boreanaz seemed bored and unconvinced that playing Hal Jordan was worth his time. Most of the lines were delivered very flat, almost as if Boreanaz didn't start to care for the role until the end of the movie. Still, this didn't detract from an otherwise stellar cast.

The music, done by Kevin Manthei, is perhaps the best featured thus far in any DC Animated movie. Anyone familiar with Kevin Manthei's scores knows that he never disappoints. His music in Justice League: The New Frontier is no exception. He blends his typical techno-horror with just enough of the 1950's to make it fit right in. I had been hoping for an isolated film score track on the DVD, but there isn't one. However, La-La Land Records released Kevin Manthei's score on CD.

While the story follows from DC: The New Frontier pretty well, they only got the gist without getting most of the depth. The film doesn't have the nuances of character development that the books carried across beautifully. In comics, we are privy to the innermost thoughts of the characters. In DC: The New Frontier, it is an important tool for character development, plot development, and motivation. The movie chooses to forgo the thoughts, and at times, it leads to confusion and plot holes. There are moments where, had I not read DC: The New Frontier, the movie would have left me scratching my head. It would have been much improved from the simple addition of voice-overs for the characters thoughts.

As I said, the source material has to be cut down to make the movie fit into the allotted time. This can lead to some pretty big plot holes (like the explanation for why The Flash was being hunted by the government). Sometimes, information which was very important in the book is merely breezed over in such a way that casual viewers may miss it (i.e., the dinosaur island at the beginning, the plight of John Henry, and J'onn's discovery of the humans fear of martians). For the most part, however, it doesn't effect the story. The overall theme of the story remains entirely in tact (though, I did miss the casual appearances from other DC characters, such as Selina Kyle, Dinah Lace, et cetera).

Overall: While not as good as the source material, Justice League: The New Frontier is certainly an entertaining and enjoyable movie. The artwork, based on Darwyn Cooke's art, is very evocative of the 1950's. The music and the voice acting both make for one of the best DC Animated features thus far. This is certainly a movie that any fan of DC Comics, DC: The New Frontier, the Justice League, or comics in general would enjoy.

I am very impressed with these DC Animated Universe movies as a whole. Instead of doing nothing but rehashed origin stories in animated form, DC has the guts to actually animate some of it's most popular stories (starting with The Death of Superman in Superman:Doomsday, to this, and many to come). I hope they'll continue this pattern, and perhaps start animating things like Crisis on Infinite Earths, Identity Crisis, 52, and so on. Perhaps Marvel will one day follow suit.

DVD:
Packaging -
I purchased the two-disc special edition of Justice League: The New Frontier. The artwork on the front of the case and slipcase is a beautiful piece of Darwyn Cooke artwork, created specifically for this movie. The back features images from the movie itself. The case is nothing particularly special. The case itself is a standard DVD case with two discs.

Special Features -
Disc One: Two Audio Commentaries (one with the filmmakers and one with the original writer/artist, Darwyn Cooke), a 10 minute sneak peek at Batman: Gotham Knight (much like a documentary, it features interviews about Batman, his history, and the movie itself), and an incredibly interesting and enjoyable 40-minute documentary about the history of the Justice League titled Super Heroes United!: The Complete Justice League History, featuring many people involved in the comic book industry. This documentary features some key insights by Darwyn Cooke into the creation of the original comic work.

Disc Two: The Legion of Doom: The Pathology of the Super Villain (33 minute documentary about the villains of the DCU and their nature), Comic Book Commentary: Homage to the New Frontier (10 minute featurette about adapting the comic book to a movie), and three episodes of the Justice League cartoon series that accent the story of The New Frontier (episodes Dark Heart, To Another Shore, and Task Force X).

Justice League: The New Frontier is available in a single-disc DVD, two-disc special edition DVD, and Blu-Ray disc at retailers such as Amazon and any other video retailers.

DC: The New Frontier

DC: New Frontier
Issues 01 - 06 [Prestige Format]
Written by Darwyn Cooke
Illustrated by Darwyn Cooke
Coloring by Dave Stewart
Published March 2004 - November 2004

In DC: The New Frontier, Darwyn Cooke takes us to an alternate 1950's. Masked heroes have been labeled vigilantes, “a federal offense, akin to treason.” The Golden Age heroes, the Justice Society of America, have removed themselves from the public spotlight, rather than reveal their identities and swear loyalty to American administration. Only Superman and Wonder Woman have taken the oath. But, when humanity is faced with possible annihilation, can the new generation band together and save the Earth?

At this point in the comic artform, a story where heroes are labeled vigilantes may seem a bit clichéd. However, Darwyn Cooke's exploration of the 1950's through the perspective of super heroes and war heroes is a fresh take on what many see as a played out story. The use of characters throughout DC's history, including the JSA, the Blackhawks, the Suicide Squad, and the characters that eventually make up the JLA, allows Cooke to show the same essential story through many different archetypes. This story is much more interesting and well-written than many previous stories of this caliber that I have read.

When I first started reading DC: The New Frontier, I expected the characters to be simple caricatures of themselves, echoes of what they once were. What I found instead were characters who knew who they were and what they stood for. Cooke managed to stay true to the characters, while placing them perfectly in the settings that surrounded them.

Superman shows his rural-raised sensibilities in his willingness to fight for America, while still proving he has a definite sense of what is right and wrong. Wonder Woman is depicted as a true Amazon warrior, a rare thing for her character. Intelligent, strong, battle-ready, and confident, Wonder Woman is depicted as who she was meant to be, not a cheap bastardization of herself (as tends to be the case with most representations of the Amazing Amazon). The Bat-Man was everything he should be. Terrifying, blunt, determined, intelligent, and an amazing detective. Even the characters newer to the scene of hero-ing, such as Barry Allen, Hal Jordan, and J'onn J'onzz knew when to stand and fight for what they believed in.

The character development in this story-line is something that can only be achieved by a truly great writer. Characters like Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Bat-Man, who have all clearly been around for years at this point, all manage to be who you expect them to be. It's the newer characters that provide the most interesting character developments. I like Hal Jordan being unwilling to kill for his country. It sets up from an early point the fact that he has his own idea of what morality is, and does not break it. Cooke even discusses what it would take to get Hal Jordan to kill. All of this is long before he ever takes up the mantle of Green Lantern. J'onn J'onzz has a different path. He comes to Earth entirely by accident and finds himself enthralled with the planet and its creatures. That is, until he discovers the prejudice that is overwhelming America at the time, and the fear most Americans feel towards the idea of Martians.

Darwyn Cooke's artwork, with the help of Dave Stewart's coloring, is beautiful and lush. The artwork is particularly exceptional when it comes to bringing to life the 1950's in which our heroes find themselves. Darwyn Cooke's art has always had a retro-50's feel to it, in my opinion. Setting a story in the 1950's just seems a logical step for him.

This story does seem to draw inspiration from other stories. The obvious example is Watchmen. Generally considered to be one of the greatest pieces of comic book history, it's hard for anyone post-Watchmen to not draw on it in some way. For DC: The New Frontier, it can been seen in both the treatment of the heroes as criminals and nutcases to the giant monster being the catalyst to bring the world together. The Centre (the giant monster in question) also reminds me a lot of the Cthulhu mythos. The being seems to cause hysteria and insanity in anyone who is mentally attuned enough to be effected by it. The Centre, much like Cthulhu, has also had many cults around the world as followers. Despite these similarities, DC: The New Frontier manages to mold the inspiration from these other stories into a new and exciting form.

Overall: I found DC: The New Frontier to be quite an amazing read. The writing and character development are superb. The artwork beautifully captures the era. The combination of these elements makes for an exciting and enjoyable twist on what could be seen as a stale plot-device in comics.

Availability: I've found that the single issues can be a slight challenge to find, though they are available online, and not too expensive. Check retailers like MyComicShop and Demolition Comics for single issues. The series was also released as two trades, currently available at most bookstores (including Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble), as well as the comic retailers listed above.

Also available is an Absolute Edition DC: The New Frontier. This version is generally harder to find, and certainly most expensive than the other versions available. I've seen a few high priced copies available online at places like Amazon and eBay. I'm fairly certain the Absolute Edition is out of print, which may explain the high cost of these copies.

Also check out:
If you like Darwyn Cooke's work, check out:
Superman Confidential HC Vol. 1 with Tim Sale
Batman: Ego and Other Tails with various writers and artists, a collection of Darwyn Cooke's work on both Batman and Catwoman, including Selina's Big Score.
Catwoman (Volume 2) TPB Volume 1: The Dark End of the Street, the first issues of the second volume of Catwoman, following the events of Selina's Big Score, with writer Ed Brubaker.

If you like DC: The New Frontier, check out:
Justice League: The New Frontier Special
Just League: New Frontier animated movie

If you like stories about heroes being treated as vigilantes by the government, check out:
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Marvel Comics Civil War storyline, by various writers and artists.

Batman: Gotham Knight (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Batman: Gotham Knight is an animated film comprised of six vignettes meant to bridge the gap between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Each vignette tells an independent aspect of the overall story: Batman's battle with the mobs in Gotham City, as well as various villains from the Batman universe. This movie is very similar to what was done for The Animatrix. Each of the short stories in the film is animated by a different Japanese anime studio.

Story One: Have I Got a Story For You
The first story was animated by Studio 4°C (Tekkon Kinkreet, Transformers Animated, Hikaru Utada's Passion music video). In this vignette, three kids share their individual experiences witnessing the Batman fighting a "man in black" around town to a fourth kid. As they share their experiences, each kid builds on the previous story, sharing what happened earlier.

I'm not generally a big fan of Studio 4°C's animation style, and this is no exception. The non-human aspects of the story were beautiful. The humans, however, looked strange and gaudy. Batman, at times, looked like a bloated old man, hunched over. The story, written by Josh Olson (A History of Violence), made the animation worth watching. It was interesting to see how each of these teenagers interpreted the Batman when they saw him. Each interpretation was vastly different from the others (a vampire-esque shadow, a bat in the style of Man-Bat, and a robot). He was almost mythical to these kids. At the end, the kids see the real Batman, and it becomes clear that Batman is none of the things the kids described, and all of those things.

This story was a strong opening to the Gotham Knight disc, and certainly piqued my curiosity in the rest of the disc.

Story Two: Crossfire
Crossfire was animated by Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell, Blood+, xxxHolic, FLCL). Batman has captured the man in black from the first story, and left him in the hands of the Gotham City Police Department. Anna Ramirez and Crispus Allen, en route to return the man to the penitentiary, discuss the Batman. When they arrive, they end up caught in the middle of a mob battle.

The animation for this story was much better than the first. Anyone familiar with Production I.G. (and if you've watched anime, you're probably familiar with them) knows that their art is very clean and beautiful. I was impressed with the voices for Ramirez and Commisioner Gordon, while Allen's seemed a little stale. The discussion in the car between Ramirez and Allen showed the dichotomy of opinions of the Batman. Allen doesn't support this vigilante; however, Ramirez, who grew up in Gotham, says she sees the difference he's making.

This story was written by comic veteran Greg Rucka. As such, it has the same feel as the Batman comics, which I really enjoyed. Also, a huge geek nod: when Allen and Ramirez are caught in the crossfire and calling for backup, they say they're on the corner of O'Neil and Morrison. This is a reference to comic legends Denny O'Neil and Grant Morrison.

Story Three: Field Test
Field Test is animated by Bee Train, perhaps best known for their work on Tsubasa Chronicle, Madlax, and various .hack series. Lucius Fox has worked out some technology to make a bullet-proofing mechanism for Bruce. In his first field test for the technology, it works as intented, but deflects a bullet into someone standing nearby. Batman, well-known for his distaste of guns, resolves not to use the technology.

This segment was written by Jordan Goldberg. I'm not familiar with him, and after some research I came across nothing else that he's written (though he is credited as Associate Producer on both The Dark Knight and The Prestige). As such, I was impressed with the writing in this segment, especially for someone who doesn't have a list of writing gigs under his belt. There was one line in particular that I felt gave very good insight into the character of Batman. You'll know it when you hear it.

Story Four: In Darkness Dwells
Animated by Madhouse (Black Lagoon, Death Note, Claymore, Ninja Scroll), one of the most popular anime studios in Japan, this segment featured the sleekest animation. Batman is searching for a man who was kidnapped. His quest leads him to the sewers of Gotham City, where he runs across Killer Croc and Scarecrow (who has a sizeable following). Batman gets a dose of the Scarecrows fear toxin; still, he manages to rescue the man he was sent to rescue, albeit not unscathed.

In Darkness Dwells was written by David S. Goyer, who wrote the screen plays for both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. This is the segment that seems to bridge the two live-action movies the most. The batsuit in this segment also looks the most like Christian Bale's batsuit.

The writing in this segment was very good. There were a number of memorable exchanges, as can be expected from David S. Goyer. The animation had its good and bad aspects. Madhouse is a great animation studio. The backgrounds of the sewer were surprisingly detailed. The character designs were, for the most part, interesting interpretations of the characters. I especially liked the look Madhouse gave the Scarecrow. However, Killer Croc looked very strange. I spent more time trying to convince myself that it was supposed to be Killer Croc than paying attention to his battle with Batman.

Story Five: Working Through Pain
This segment, also animated by Studio 4°C, is told mostly through flashback. In the present, a very wounded Batman is trying to escape the sewers. While doing so, he flashes back to events that lead him to being able to work through pain. First, we see Bruce Wayne volunteering with a relief organization. Then, we see him attempting to join a religious sect known as the fakir in an attempt to learn to minimize pain. Though they don't accept him, he learns the techniques from a former student of the fakir. Bruce learns to lessen the physical sensation of pain to a controllable point. But, his lessons end when a gang comes to assault his teacher, and he fights back. In the present, as Batman is making his way out of the sewer, he discovers a surplus of guns in the garbage around him.

Written by comic veteran Brian Azzarello, this segment was my favorite. The animation, though done by a studio of which I am not fond, looked very crisp and colorful. Even their designs for people, usually my biggest complaint about Studio 4°C, were human looking, and not caricatures of humans. The story fills in some gaps from the time between Bruce Wayne leaving Gotham and returning to Gotham to become the Batman.

Story Six: Deadshot
Also animated by Madhouse, this story is the finale of the Gotham Knight film. Bruce Wayne flashes back to the murder of his parents, as Alfred asks what he plans to do with the guns found in the previous segment. Assassin Deadshot is hired to end Jim Gordon's life, and Batman is called in to stop it.

Deadshot was written by Alan Burnett, who is no stranger to the Dark Knight. He's written a number of Batman animated series episodes over the years. This finale to Gotham Knight is, for me, all about character development. Everyone knows that Batman doesn't use guns. In this segment, he actually discussed why that is the case. That battle with Deadshot was very exciting to watch, and helped further Batman's character development in its own way.

Overall: I really enjoyed Batman: Gotham Knight. There were a few plot holes that I noticed, but they didn't detract from my enjoyment of the film. I highly recommend this to hardcore Batman fans. The casual viewer of Batman may enjoy this film; but, a lot of it seems to play to the hardcore Batman-philes. Anime fans would also really enjoy this film, as it's some of the best work from some of the best anime studios.

DVD:
Packaging -
I purchased the two-disc special edition version of this film. As a special features junkie, I like to get more bang for my buck, as it were. The packaging is pretty cool. The slip case features a cut out of Batman, which opens to reveal a holographic image behind it. The case it self is a standard DVD case with two discs inside.

Special Features -
Disc One: Audio Commentary by Gregory Noveck (Senior VP of DC Comics), Dennis O'Neil (long-time writer of Batman), and Kevin Conroy (voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman: Gotham Knight), sneak peek at Wonder Woman animated movie, and trailers for The Dark Knight, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Lego Batman video game, and Popeye the Sailor 1938-1940 DVD collection.

Disc Two: Two documentaries and Episodes from Batman the Animated Series
A Mirror for the Bat: The Evil Denizens of Gotham City - This documentary discusses Batman's Rogue's Gallery of villains, including their origins and insights into their characters, as well as Batman himself. It features interviews from many people involved in Batman over the years, including DC Editor Dan Didio, Writers Denny O'Neil, Brian Azzarello, and Greg Rucka, as well as many others. It features footage from Batman: Gotham Knight, as well as all animated incarnations of Batman, and artwork from Batman comics over the years. This 35-minute documentary is a very interesting watch, and at no point did I feel bored. As a long time Batman fan, I enjoyed hearing what people involved in writing the Batman over the years had to say about his villains. It's also a good watch for people unfamiliar with Batman comics, as it shares a lot of information about the villain's histories.

Batman and Me, A Devotion to Destiny: The Bob Kane Story - As a Batman fan, I was amazed to see just how little I knew about Bob Kane, the creator. This 38-minute documentary was a testament to the man behind Batman, and his life. I highly suggest this documentary to new and old Batman fans alike.

Four Episodes from Batman the Animated Series Hand Picked by Bruce Timm (Producer for both Batman: Gotham Knight and Batman the Animated Series) Anyone familiar with Batman the Animated Series knows in advance that these episodes are awesome. Batman the Animated Series is one of the greatest cartoon series of the 1990s. The episodes included are:
Legends of the Dark Knight
Heart of Ice
Over the Edge
I Am the Night

Two-disc DVD Special Edition, Blu-Ray, and Single-disc DVD editions available at most retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and wherever DVDs and comic books are sold.