The Latest in Comic Book News

Call me a traditionalist, but motion comics have always been somewhat hard for me to swallow due to the fact that they lie somewhere between cartoon animated features, and comic books, but are neither one nor the other. I will be honest, most of the Marvel motion comics have really done nothing for me. I found them to be too flashy and in your face. Not to mention the fact that most of them have some really terrible music. I had sworn off of motion comics almost entirely until I stumbled across this Black and White Batman series. I have decided to post one of each for you guys to watch and enjoy at your leisure. Which do you prefer? What elements make them good or bad? Do you like motion comics? 
 

Astonishing X-Men: Episode 01 Gifted

    
 
  

BATMAN: Black & White Episode 03 Two of a Kind

  
After having watched the motion comic animated 'Black And White Batman' short I fell in love and wanted to purchase the entire series on iTunes. I thought I would never enjoy motion comics, but I feel like this series really proved me wrong. If you know me well enough, then you know that Batman is my absolute favorite comic book character, so anything related to the character I always find I have some appreciation fo; especially anything that is backed by Bruce Timmr. However, there is something really gorgeous about this series that I felt struck me. It feels so raw, and beautiful. Everything from the use of shadows, to the fact noir element that is captured in the style of the series is simply breathtaking.

You can purchase the Marvel motion comics here, and if you enjoyed the Batman motion comics series then you can purchase them here.

Which do you prefer and why? Do you like motion comics at all?

U.S. and UK viewers agree that Doctor Who is a great show.  We've had some friendly teasing over the fact that U.S. audiences have to wait to see the new episodes.  It's fair that it should air on British television before coming to America.  With Doctor Who: The End Of Time, we will see the beginning of the end for David Tennant as the Doctor.  The first part will air in Britain on Christmas Day.  When will U.S. audiences get to see it?
 
BBC America has announced that U.S. viewers will get to watch the episode on December 26, 2009 at 9 pm ET/PT, one day later!  That is great news!  I am both excited and saddened over these two episodes.  Check out the following sneak peak of the episode (I assume this video will only work in the US so overseas viewers may have to check with their local BBC website if you haven't already seen this):
 
 
  
What could possibly bring on the end of this regeneration of the Doctor?  I almost hate to find out.  The episode will guest star John Simm, Timothy Dalton, Catherine Tate, Lindsay Duncan and Bernard Cribbins.  The premiere date for Part 2 will be announced soon.

With Blackest Night in full swing, DC Direct, yet again, has more figures from the series coming out on Tuesday, 11/25.  In series one, we saw the release of Black Lantern Earth-2 Superman, Atrocitus, Saint Walker, and Boodikka. And with this next week, we see the release of Indigo, John Stewart, Black Lantern Martian Manhunter, and Kryb. 



These figures all are based off their likenesses from the current Blackest Night storyline

   All four figures feature multiple points of articulation and include a display base. John Stewart and Indigo each come with their own version of a lantern, and Kryb comes with a baby accessory that fits into the cage-like sack affixed to her back. 

Series one, to me, was a little bit of a let down. I picked up Atrocitus and Satin Walker. For this weeks series, I will be picking up every figure. The amount of detail within these figures is amazing. One of the best parts about this current Green Lantern Figure run is that each figure comes with it's own little accessory. Indigo has her staff, John has his lantern, M.M. has that wicked torn up cape (accessory?), and Kryb has two little babies that fit into her back... Anyone else creeped out by that? Each figure will range from $14.99-$17.99, depending where you buy it from. Sometimes it may seem like a little too much for a toy, but with the high quality DC Direct puts out, it is worth it.
 
If you are unfamiliar with these characters check out early 2009 issues of Green Lantern Corps for Kryb, current issues of Green Lantern for Indigo, Blackest Night 1 & 2 for Martian Manhunter, and current issues of Green Lantern Corps for John Stewart. 

The new episodes for The Super Hero Squad keep on coming.  With them we get more guest stars.  In the sixteenth episode, the Defenders must come to help save the day.  Debuting at 7:30 pm ET on Saturday (although I noticed last week the new episode still aired in the morning as well), the next episode will have Baron Mordo transform Iron Man into the evil "Iron Menace."  The Iron Menace is a deadly threat that overcomes both the Lethal Legion and the Squad!  When the Silver Surfer and Hulk team with Dr. Strange and Valkyrie to form "The Defenders," the forces of good will "Hero Up!" like never before!
 
Michelle Trachtenberg (Gossip Girl) reprises her role as Valkyrie on this action-packed episode.  Who do you think will show up next?
 
I also dig how they continue to spoof classic overs with these promos for the episodes.

 
 
 Diana has tossed away her bracelets and lasso.  She has renounced her Amazonian heritage. In addition, Ares is back and has a bone to pick with her. To top it all off, she's now in considered a criminal by her own people.  
DC's The Source released these images, along with a re-release of the solicit,  this morning highlighting next week's issue of Wonder Woman.  
 

 

 Wonder Woman’s world is turned upside-down as she finds herself branded a criminal by her own people. And who are the Crows, and what awful secret do they carry that will affect Diana forever? I can’t reveal it all here, of course, but I can show off a few pages from  WONDER WOMAN #38, courtesy of Gail Simone and artist Aaron Lopresti, which hits 11/25.    

Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti have both been working together on this volume for over a year now. You may know Lopresti's work from earlier issues of the current Ms. Marvel run, and Gail Simone from DC's Secret Six. And although this is midway through a current storyline, Diana is on the verge of being executed. Will this happen? Will she ever gain the acceptance of her people again?

I'm telling you, it's going to be a party in Asgard when the Thor movie is released.  Another Asgardian God has been cast.  Heat Vision has reported that Idris Elba has been cast as Heimdall. Heimdall is the guardian of the Bifrost Bridge, also known as the Rainbow Bridge.  The bridge is the way between Asgard and Midgard (Earth).
 
Elba is probably best known for his role as Russell "Stringer" Bell on The Wire.  He also recently appeared on seven episodes of The Office (U.S. version) as Charles Miner. 
 
The cast for Thor just keeps getting bigger and bigger.  While Heimdall might not be the biggest name in Asgard, the fact that he's included is pretty interesting.  We know that at some point in the movie, Thor will be traveling to Earth.  Natalie Portman has been cast as Jane Foster so we can assume Thor will appear as Don Blake as well.  Whether or not Elba will have a big role in the movie or just appear when it's time for Thor to go traveling will remain to be seen.

You love Marvel, right?  DC gets you excited too.  Now don't worry, I won't ask you to admit how much you dig Twilight.  The following video may be a dream come true.  Check out what ItsJustSomeRandomGuy does when he combines all three.
 
 

Comic Vine gives you the latest news update from the ruins of our studio!

 

  
Necrosha, Blackest Night, who can keep track of all the zombie story lines in comics these days? Check out our new weekly segment where we choose some of our favorite news stories from the past week and highlight them on our news show. This week we talk about Hawkman on Smallville, Catwoman, and zombies attack the Comic Vine studio! Will the staff get infected? Will they make it out alive? Will someone tell Babs to drop the awful faux British accent? Please?

Here we go, FrankenCastle.  Is there any way this will work?  The Punisher was sliced and diced by Daken in Dark Reign: The List - Punisher.  I really wasn't sure what to think when I first heard about this.  Let's have a look and see if it's any good.
 
 
  
I have to admit, I liked this.  I'm not completely sold.  I will be back for issue #12 to see where this will go.  Perhaps it's because the Punisher isn't at the top of my list of favorites, I'm okay with this...for now.  I want to see how thought out this is.  How far can they go with this?  How can they ever change FrankenCastle back to plain old Frank Castle?
 
Rick Remender does a good job here setting things up.  I'm hoping we won't just have Frank hanging out on Monster Island.  From what I've seen for the upcoming issues, it doesn't look like that will be the case.  I'm really digging Tony Moore's art the more I see it (check out this week's Victorian Undead from Wildstorm).  I'm curious what others will think.  I'm really curious what the die-hard Punisher fans will have to say.
 
The bigger question could be what will Norman Osborn, Daken and the rest of the Marvel Universe think?

On November 10, 2009, Warner Home Video released Justice League: The Complete Series.  What can I say about this series that you don't already know.  Not only does this contain all 52 episodes from Justice League, it also contains all 39 episodes from Justice League Unlimited.  That's a total of ninety-one episodes on fourteen discs.

In this action-packed adventure series, the world's greatest superheroes, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Hawkgirl and Martian Manhunter, join forces as the Justice League to battle powerful villains, supernatural creatures and evil entities determined to take over the world and destroy the League.

I've spent the past week re-watching all the episodes.  I realized that there were a couple I had missed.  Seeing them again, you realize just how great this show was.  This set is exactly what any comic book fan would want.  We're talking 2062 minutes of Justice League action.  The final three episodes of Justice League really shined.  My favorite part was when the League went to Wayne Manor for the first time.

While I enjoyed the first Justice League series, I think it really took off with Unlimited.  They set out to create a real world full of characters and they succeeded.  The option of having an 'unlimited' cast to choose from for each mission just makes sense.  It gave us the opportunity to see other parts of the DC Animated Universe.  The biggest (and only) problem with this show is that it ended.

The set has a nice presentation.  The two series are contained in separate plastic cases which both fit in a nice metal case.  A bonus fifteenth disc contains a special: Unlimited Reserve: A League For The Ages (16:48).  

James Tucker says it best, "We didn't go in thinking we were going to make the best superhero show ever but toward the end we realized 'hmm...we may have made the best superhero show ever.'"
 
     

The special has some nice insight from the creators.  You really get the sense that they are proud of these shows as they rightfully should be.  The extra disc also has some trailers: Ben 10 Alien Force, Lord Of The Rings Animated Film, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (two trailers), Batman: The Brave And The Bold, Barkugan.

There is the question for those that already own the separate seasons on DVD.  Aside from the fifteenth disc and the packaging, there isn't really anything different from those.  If you don't own the separate seasons or don't own them all, this is a must-buy.  I was missing some of the seasons so I just gave my old ones to my brother.  I'd imagine this would also make a great gift.  If you don't own it, try planting some seeds among your loved ones in the hope of getting it.

What rating would I give this set?  While I would love to have this set on Blu-ray, the only rating really possible, a 5 out of 5.  It was a great couple of series and it's unfortunate we can't get more.  I could go on and on about how much I enjoyed this show but if you've seen any of the episodes, you already know what I would say.  You can buy it HERE for just over sixty bucks.  Not a bad price for all the hours of entertainment you get.