Disappointment in a Nerdy Way

I feel a little bad for Jon. He's been eagerly anticipating the third installment of the new animated movies that DC Comics have been releasing, The Judas Contract, featuring the Teen Titans. I understand the sentiment. Not only were the Teen Titans one of Jon's favorite teams growing up, but that particular storyline was very good. DC announced the first three animated movies a couple of years ago. They were to be about the death of Superman, a Justice League movie based on an excellent graphic novel, and The Judas Contract.

They already released the Superman movie, Superman: Doomsday. I picked up my copy of the Justice League one, New Frontier, last night. Not having time to watch the whole thing, since we'd be watching Beowulf (also freshly minted on DVD,) I popped it in long enough to see the coming attractions. Imagine my surprise when I found that instead of The Judas Contract, the next DC animated feature would be Batman: Gotham Knights.

Disappointing, really. As cool as Batman is, he's had plenty of time to hog the animation lime light. He's even had at one animated movie play in the theaters, for Alfred's sake! So, finding out that the next animated movie would be a lead-in to the upcoming live action Batman film, while understandable, was a let down nonetheless.

I can only imagine how disappointed Jon is. That's not all, though. The sneak peak of Gotham Knights confirms what may be Jon's worst fear for the iconic super hero. He's going anime.

Yup, the DVD will feature six separate stories, all animated by different Japanese directors and art houses. That means not just one feature depicted in Jon's most loathed art style, but six!

I'm not averse to anime myself. I enjoy the medium. However, I can't say I'm looking forward to Bruce Wayne's foray into the dense, steamy jungles of Japanese animation. While Jon and I don't share a hatred for all things anime/manga, we do agree that its affect on mainstream American comics is lamentable. Manga, for those who don't know, consists of hyper-exaggerated expressions and movements as well as silly idiosyncrasies such as an abnormally huge drop of sweat on a character's brow when they're frustrated or kitten ears popping up on a character's head if they're being mischievous.

These affectations have their place, they just don't happen to be where Batman is trying to instill fear in the hearts of evil doers or when Superman is trying to stop a nuclear missile from exploding. I guess what I'm saying is that I believe in a segregation of styles. "You've got your manga in my comics!" "You've got your comics in my manga!" It just doesn't work as well as chocolate and peanut butter.

There was a trend recently when exactly that happened. It seemed to hit Marvel comics harder than DC, with manga artists drawing titles such as The Uncanny X-Men. It was Not Good. I think I understand why they did it. Just a glance at your local book store will reveal the densely populated manga section that probably dwarfs the graphic novel shelves. Kids like the manga. Marvel wanted to recapture that demographic. It didn't seem to work, since more traditional art has been gracing the pages of mainstream comics again. I sincerely doubt it will be the last time I see it there, though.

As for the anime stylings of DC, I'm not sure if I'll pick up Batman: Gotham Knights. It's possible that I'm wrong. Batman may lend himself perfectly to the anime genre. It's more probable that the whole thing will blow.

Superman: Doomsday

So, one day later, I got to watch Superman: Doomsday. I have to say that I agree on all of Jon's points. It certainly was much better than Superman Returns which shall henceforth be known as Superman: Teh S uck.

Superman: Doomsday surprised me, though. I knew it was not a Saturday morning cartoon from its PG-13 rating, but I didn't expect the amount of carnage and senseless violence that Doomsday wrought on his way to Metropolis. There was a lot of killing. Stacy pointed out that every scene illustrated part of his power, his invulnerability to fire or bullets, his strength, what have you. I thought it was a very insightful comment from someone that is prone to react with disgust at animated violence and not that interested in things of a comic book nature. I was very impressed.

I was thinking about Jon's reaction to Anne Heche as Lois Lane as I watched. I think I know why it was so bothersome. In her first scene, Lois is overwhelmingly - er - Hechey. Her lines were delivered with such Hechiness that it was impossible not to find it jarring. It seemed after that initial burst, that Lois toned down the Hechiness and got about the business of being Lois, though. Perhaps that's why over the course of the movie she becomes much more tolerable and even likable.

The voice acting was good. It was startling to see how they had made Lex into a little bit of a skeevy perv, but nothing compared with Toyman's delivery. Well done on both Marster's and Dimaggio's parts. Adam Baldwin did an excellent job with Supes. His lines as Dark Superman were chilling in their normalcy. It was all just so matter-of-fact. I knew I recognized Jimmy's voice, but when I saw who it was, I couldn't figure out why. Then I looked up Adam Wylie's IMDB entry and found that he's been doing voice over work for quite some time, as well as many television appearances. I think I knew him best as the little kid on Picket Fences back in the mid-nineties.

For those of you that saw Superman: Teh S uck and came away feeling vaguely disappointed, or outright outraged, I recommend you pick up Superman: Doomsday and see how a Superman story should really be told.

I give Superman: Doomsday five out of five Unstoppable Killing Machines on a scale I just made up that doesn't mean anything.

Happy Berfday to Me!

So, in case you don't read Jon's blog, it was my berfday yesterday. See, Jon made this!

It was in reference to his amusing question about whether or not I wanted Superman: Doomsday for Scott: Birthday, which I did, and I got. Thanks, Jon!

I also received a nostalgic scrapbook from Stacy. With the help of my mother, she crafted it using photos from my infancy until just before my mission to Ohio. It brought back a lot of great memories. Well, most of them. Seeing myself in my early teens reminds me of the one time in my life I was skinny. I lost the baby fat, stayed svelt for a few years, then started in on the pot belly that has since expanded to a spare 18-wheeler tire.

Man, I need to work out.

Anyway, Stacy and the girls also got me Metroid Prime 3 for the Wii (can't wait to try that out!) and a box of candy bars (cuz you know, I need the extra sugar to recuperate from the workout I'll be starting any day now...)

My mom, via my brother's shopping, sent me a Dungeons and Dragons book, The Book of Exalted Deeds. It should be interesting considering the current game we're playing has some part in the depths of hell. May come in handy there. Thanks mom!

Vince got me a CD I'd been thinking about getting for some time, Where's Neil When you Need Him? It's a compilation of tributes to and songs inspired by Neil Gaiman. I was going to listen to it at work today, but my Mac doesn't like it. It could be because the CD itself is black. It looks cool, but I have a feeling that the Mac can't handle it. It may have some weird pc app on it that is throwing the Mac for a loop too, either way, if I put this in my Windows machine at home and it works, then I don't think Apple has a leg to stand on when claiming that the Mac "just works". Either way, I will listen to it soon. Thanks Vince!

Stacy's grandparents, who I have adopted as my own, sent me the eminently useful gift of money. It came in very handy on a tight paycheck week. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Frisby!

I got an e-card from my sis, Julia, a phone call from my sis Tamara, and an entire ensemble rendition of the Happy Birthday Song from my brother David's family. Thanks guys!

It was a good birthday.