Pierre vs The Great Darkness Saga

Editor’s Note: Today Pierre presents a review of the Deluxe Edition of the Great Darkness Saga and shows how it reveals lazy storytelling is in new DC 52 Justice League. Warning: If you haven’t read the original story, there will be some spoilers in his review. - Jim

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I can't say that I am a fan of the Legion of Super-Heroes comic book series. I bought the occasional LoSH comics here and there, but I never bought their comic on a monthly basis.

I first discovered the LoSH in some treasury edition showing the wedding of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl, and damn how that was a great comic. It had action, intrigue, and was filled with over a score of super-heroes for you to discover.

This was my first Legion comic, and although I only knew Superboy, I had no problem understanding who the main characters were, as there was a nifty Who's Who at the end of the comic. Damn how I loved that comic.

Then the next time I saw the LoSH (at least some of them) was in the pages of the Karate Kid comic which featured the Legion’s master martial artist stranded in our own time.

There were also some Legion short stories as a back-up feature in Kamandi. Those were some cute tales, although the story with Karate Kid and Nemesis Kid joining the Legion was kind of spoiled for me from reading the Karate Kid comic.

Then I finally got a LoSH comic, the first issues were a 3 parter which told how R.J. Brande started the Legion. It seems those stories were from a comic called Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes. And then the series continued with what was issue 284 of the Legion comic. But somehow I ended up missing a bunch of issues until I got the last 2 issues of The Great Darkness Saga (TGDS) by Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen.

In Canada, the LoSH comic was merged with the New Teen Titans comic, and that is how I got to read the end of TGDS, as the second half of the Legion of Super-Heroes/New Teen Titans comic. Talk about a Fan-tastic combo!

 And although I missed most of the TGDS story, I was still able to understand what was going on. However, I always regretted that I had missed the beginning of the saga. So imagine my delight when over a decade later, I got my hands on TGDS TPB, and at last I was able to read the whole story…or so I thought. It was incomplete in a number of ways which I discovered when I recently got the Deluxe Edition of TGDS.

The Deluxe Edition starts about half a dozen issues before the TPB, and ends a couple of issues after the TPB. Although it is missing the story The Curse that was at the end of the TPB that seems to be setting up a possible sequel to that story. I recall a story that was called The Quiet Darkness Saga. Forgive an ignorant fool, but, was that a sequel to "the Great Darkness Saga"? (Editor's Note: Not really. Written by Al Gordon, it is viewed more as a thematic sequel.)

Also there are some pages that are not quite as I remember them. In issue 291, there is a short story called Leaders and Lovers that is not drawn quite like what I remember. It almost looks like they redrew those pages for the TPB.

About 3 decades later, it is easy to see why this remained one of the defining moments of the Legion. It was an Epic tale that felt BIG and important at the time - but it did not start as such. It started slowly but surely with Bouncing Boy reminiscent of his fallen comrades. Then the tale continues with Timber Wolf who wants to undergo a procedure to look more human. Not sure why, I loved Timber Wolf's look, but I would not be surprised if this was done in an attempt to distinguish him from a certain mutant from the Great White North who was starting to be popular at the time. ;)

And from there, it keeps on building, very slowly. Through the adventures of the Legion, we get some nice character moments, but we also get the bits and pieces that would lead to TGDS as they are slowly put into place.

The first minions are put into play, and then the mystery of this mysterious enemy that is pulling the strings from the shadow, until we get the great reveal: The master of the great darkness is Darkseid!

During my original reading of the story, I had not yet read the New Gods, so I was unfamiliar with Darkseid. Yet, while this was my first encounter with him, Levitz still was able to convey a great sense of epic evil in the character such that even a newbie like myself understood what a dire menace he was. You really got the impression that the Legion were in way over their head. Ultimately, it took no less than the entire Legion, and a whole planet of Supermen (Daxamites) just to make him retreat.


Since that was MY introduction to Darkseid, I cannot help but think of the GDS every time I see the character. This results in the unfortunate comparison to any story he is in and the GDS.

That is probably why when I saw what was done with him in the pages of the NU 52 Justice League, I could not help but feel how it diminishes this once great character. Nothing in that Justice League story makes us feel that Darkseid is any threat.

Geoff Johns tried to use the DCU's biggest badass (as the kids would say) to make the League look formidable, but it’s just not that easy. Simply putting all the toys on the table does not make a great story. In those NU 52 JLA’s we aren’t really shown why Darkseid is a credible menace. Compared to our memory of a Darkseid from BEFORE the NU 52, this incarnation of the character comes across weak and damaged.

Darkseid was made into this HUGE threat in the LoSH. He was made into a galactic level threat. But not out of thin air, through his actions. He made a clone of Superman, a clone of a Guardian of the Universe, and others to test the might of the Legion. Then he took control of Daxam and arranged for the planet to be under a sun yellow, turning them into a whole planet of Supermen.
 

He was established as a galactic level threat before the reveal of his identity was even made.

But how was he revealed in the NU 52 Justice League? When he had done nothing more than send in random Parademons to attack the Justice League. They completely diluted the character. He was there just to get his ass kicked and show how badass the League was supposed to be. Johns relies too much on our own memories of who Darkseid is to create drama in the story without ever taking the time to properly establish the character as a true cosmic threat.

DC was too busy wasting splash pages with the Justice League fighting each other and acting like immature teenagers to try and properly establish Darkseid as some sort of a threat.

So, as fun as it was to reread the GDS, it had the unfortunate side-effect of reminding me how sorry most comics are today.

And it is not just with DC, the same thing is true with Marvel. Take the Sentry for example, they were so busy telling us that he had the power of a million exploding suns (whatever that means) but they never showed him doing anything important. (Editor’s Note: Not until way late in the game.)

To modern comic’s writers, I would say this: Show. Don't Tell.

When Wolverine first started, no one was saying how badass/cool he was. He was just Wolverine, and through his actions,. the readers decided that he was badass, that he was cool. And only then did they start describing him as the best there is at what he does, but what he does best isn't very nice.

TGDS is a great example of a multi-issue storyline that is masterfully told. If you don't already own a copy of it in some form, then I highly recommend the Deluxe Edition. DC has put a lot of love and care into this edition. The colors look impressive with the higher grade paper and hard bound cover.

In my opinion, this is one of the best mainstream comic stories ever told. It can hold its own against Jim Shooter’s Korvac Saga (from the Avengers), Claremont and Byrne’s Dark Phoenix Saga and Wolfman and Perez’s The Judas Contract.

Until next time.

- Pierre

How are the Legends of the Dark Knight Collections?

Editor's Note: Today Pierre tells us about several Batman Graphic Novel's he's recently bought. - Jim

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I have always been a big fan of Batman, or Batman-like characters like the Phantom, the Shadow or Marvel's Nighthawk, but for the past 10 years, I have not been getting many Batman comics. I think the last time I bought a monthly Batman comic was when DC published a Batman comic based on the Bruce Timm animated series or getting my Batman fix from the various Bruce Timm animated series or movies, or from older comics like the Brave and the Bold Showcases.

But lately DC has been releasing some comic compilations labeled Legends of the Dark Knight. I just got the Alan Davis one, and I did get the Jim Aparo one before that. Strangely enough, although I have been a big fan of Alan Davis since Wolverine: Bloodlust and his Batman: Full Circle, I only Had 2 Batman tales by Alan Davis.


The one issue he did that was part of the Batman Year Two TPB, and the Batman: Full Circle that serves as a sequel to Year Two. That was all the Alan Davis Batman that I had until now.


Did his Batman: Full Circle sell so poorly that it did not allow him to do more Batman One-shot?? Was Davis unhappy with the result that he did not want to do any more Batman comics??? II have no idea.

But there are about 8 comics and a short black and white short story in that book.

Reading that book was strange, it made me realize how much the Batman we actually see in Full Circle is pretty much the Pre-Crisis Batman. It highlights how much Batman did not change all that much after the Crisis. The biggest differences concerning Batman seems to have been the changes made to Catwoman, and the Joker being more of a homicidal maniac, but the Joker was actually changed with Killing Joke more than because of Crisis.

But it was fun to see where characters like McSurly and his Club actually came from. And the short black and white tale at the end was a fun and touching little story.

And there was a short tale with the Elongated Man by the Legendary Carmine Infantino. I loved his run on the Flash, and Elongated Man was a guest star on that book from time to time. It was fun to see what I assumed is the last Elongated Man tale by Infantino.


So although not that long, Legends of the Dark Knight by Alan Davis is a fun comic that is a nice contrast with the current Batman comics - worth every penny!

As for the one by Jim Aparo, Damn how the cover is god-awful.


They did a piss poor photoshop job putting that cover together, and damn the colors are way too dark. There wasn't much thought put into that cover. They poorly recolored a B&B cover and slapped the Legends of Dark Knight type on top of it.

The cover of the Alan Davis one was not colored as darkly as the Jim Aparo one, so that cover is not that bad. It is still a cover were they simply slapped the type on top of the cover, but it almost looks fine in this case.

Luckily, the inside artwork by Aparo is not as messed up as the cover. Although with the glossy/shiny paper, the colors are a little oversaturated, but that is a nitpick compared to the cover. I bought a Phantom HC by Aparo not that long ago where the printing was not of the best quality. But with the Batman one, the print quality is fine.

Just so you know how big of a Jim Aparo fan I am, I bought that Batman HC by Aparo even though I already own the same stories in the Showcase format. Damn how he is the PERFECT artist to draw Batman. And the good news is that this seems to be only the first volume of Batman tales by Jim Aparo. Let's hope we don't have to wait too long for the rest of Batman comics that he did.

There are many fine interpretations of Batman, Bolland, Davis, Giordano, Norvik, but Jim Aparo's Batman is the definitive interpretation of the character in my book.

Enjoy.

Until next time.
- Pierre

John Byrne's Fantastic Four Omnibus

Editor's Note: Last Week, Pierre talked about John Byrne's new comic, Trio. This week, he gives us his thoughts on another John Byrne book he bought: The Fantastic Four Omnibus. - Jim

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If you want a comic that is even MORE fun than TRIO, then go get yourself the Fantastic Four Omnibus by John Byrne. Damn that is a GREAT comic. Although I almost wish the Marvel Omnibus it was using the same paper as the TRIO comic.

Yes I know that some people are pissed when they don't uses the shiny glossy paper when they make comics in the Omnibus format (yes I am looking at you Chris Sims ;) ), but I think the shiny paper does not always make older comics look good. Some older comics artwork don't look too flattering when printed on that shiny paper. So, personally I don’t mind that the Kirby Omnibi are printed on thick newsprint.

But maybe that is just me.

Although the Fantastic Four Omnibus does not look bad, but the colors do look a little bit oversaturated on that shiny paper.

But that is a very nitpicky thing.

It is an AWESOME looking comic despite that.

I was surprised that it started with the Marvel Team-Up issues with the Human Torch drawn by Byrne. Then it also had a Marvel Two in One issue by Byrne. And we got the first run of FF with Byrne written by Marv Wolfman and inked by the legendary Joe Sinnott.

The sad part is that I had bought the Search for Galactus Premiere HC that already had some of the first FF run with Byrne. So once more, when I bought the FF Omnibus, ended up buying comics that I already owned.

Although to be fair, I already had most of them comics in that FF Omnibus. The only NEW comics I got in that Omnibus were the Marvel Two in One #50, the Avengers # 233, the Thing #2 and the FF Annual #17.

Although as a kid, the FF comic that I bought was in black and white, and it contained two FF stories per issue. And we only had the cover of only one of those two stories. Si a lot of the covers in that book were new to me.

The Omnibus does not contain that many extras, but it does contain a few.

It has a lot of the characters that Byrne did for the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Some TPB covers. And a page 18 from FF#242 (see below) that was taken out when they made the Trial of Galactus TPB. But for some reason, it was not added back in for this collection. It was simply added in the extras at the end. WHY??? That makes no sense, why not put the page back where it is supposed to be??

Somtimes I sure do scratch my head at some of the decisions that are made when making them comics.

Some of the TPB covers that are in the extras were recolored with more modern coloring, and I have to admit that I like it.

I have to wonder why the Walter Simonson Thor Omnibus was recolored, but this one wasn't. What made Marvel decide that Thor should be recolored, but not the FF, or any other Omnibuses??

I don't get it.

But still, despite my few minor complaints, the FF Omnibus is an AWESOME comic that anyone should own. I can't wait to get my hands on the second volume, if Marvel ever decides to publish it. Heck we are still waiting for the second Uncanny X-men Omnibus with the end of the Dark Phoenix saga, and the legendary tale Days of Future Past.

I guess we have to be patient with them Omnibuses.

But if you don't want to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for the FF Omnibus, then go get the TRIO TPB for about $18.

So you guys have no excuses now,

, go get yourselves some fun comics.  ;)

Until next time.

John Byrne's Trio

Note from Jim: It seems Pierre and I are getting in a groove of posting every other week (more by providence than by planning.) As such, Pierre (pictured below) provides us with today's post: A look at a comic you may not have heard of, but may want to check out!

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I can't help but think that IDW are doing a good job in general with their comics, especially with their Artist Editions. If I was more of a foolish fool then I already am, I would be buying wayyy too many of their Artists Edition. I own the Wallace Wood one (which will require a blog all of its own at some point) and have to stop myself from buying more. But in one of my visits at the comic shop close to my place... I could not help but notice John Byrne's new series...TRIO.

No... It is not the logo, or the artwork that got my attention. It is the non glossy cover. It looks like some very think bond paper, and I liked that paper. I don't like the glossy paper because too often you have to tilt the comic in order not to have a glare on the page as you try to read it or as you try to admire the artwork, but the TRIO cover paper was perfect, and it fitted perfectly with Byrne's artwork.

 But I did not pick it up.

Why says you?

For the past, 10 years... I have been pretty much a TPB buyer. Sometimes I will get the single issues... but more often than not, I will decide to wait for the TPB. Why says you once more?? Because wayyyy too often I end up buying the same comics multiple times.

An example of that is the Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War. I just bought the Absolute edition... so now I have to find someone to whom I can give the HC that I have. So when I saw the Trio comics... I waited for the TPB as usual. (Ironically... the TPB has a shiny glossy cover. ;)

And I know what many are thinking... TRIO?? really??

Yes... really.

I know what you guys are thinking because I had the same thought at first.

That this is the Fantastic Three... a cheap lesser version of the Fantastic Four. Espescially in light that the first foes that this TRIO faces are a Sub-Marinner like character...

and something not unlike Galactus.

But although it is derivative from the Fantastic Four... I enjoyed it. I had a great time reading that comic. It has that retro feel not unlike what we tried to do at Flashback Universe, but as opposed to us guys who try to recapture the magic of the comic we read a few decades ago... here it is MADE by someone who was already making comics all them decades ago.

Classic super-heroes... huge monsters... EVIL Nazi villain, this comic has it all.

If you guys like our FBU comics, you have to get that TRIO comic. Heck we might as well stamp the FBU logo on the cover, this IS a FBU comic. Is it perfect??? Of course not,

My biggest complaint with the TRIO TPB is that it ends on a cliffhanger. I would have much preferred to have a complete story in the TPB, and I can understand if it is a turn off for some people.

...but it still is a fun comic.

Check it out!

- Pierre

Pierre vs the New 52 - One Year Later

Pierre recently was able to catch up on a lot of the DC 52 storylines as his animation work starts to wind down. Here is what he thought. - Jim

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"Omactivate!"



That one word sums up perfectly the OMAC series that was released with the new 52. If you find it cool, you will love the OMAC comic. If you find this stupid, the NEW OMAC is definitely not for you.

Since it was cancelled after what, 8 issues?? My guess is that most people found this stupid.

And I assume that sales must have been pretty bad since all we got was the softcover TPB as opposed to the hardcovers that other series got.

Oh well.


Which is sad... because for me, the OMAC series was pretty much the only series out of the new 52 that I really enjoyed when the new 52 was brand new.

But not being a complete fool, I did not really expect a series that was made up of faux Kirby artwork ...and filled with Kirby concepts from the 70s to be a hit. Odds are that it was too dated or not edgy enough or some such crap.

But if you are one of the unfortunate souls who did enjoy the OMAC series, I would suggest that you get the Essential Hulk volumes that cover the era when Herb Trimpe was working on the series (Essential Hulk volume 4, 5, and 6 I believe.)

My favorite issue from that run HAS to be HUlk 204... which is sadly pretty much the end of the Herb Trimpe era of the Hulk.

So I guess that I HAVE to agree with those who called OMAC DC's attempt at creating themselves a blue Hulk.

But it was pure fun from page one to the end.

But what of the rest of the NEW 52??

Well, from what I can tell, it started with strong sales over all... but a few months later it was pretty much back to square one.

Series with characters like Batman that sold well BEFORE the NEW 52 still sold well, but for most new series... sales took a dive. So series like OMAC were cancelled. Heck at some point it seemed like all DC were doing was cancelling new comics that were not performing well. And from what I can tell, their second wave pretty much went by unnoticed. Other then the hype around stuff like a gay Green Lantern or some such thing, no one really cared about the second wave of the NEW 52.  I guess people were too busy being excited about the new Before Watchmen comics to even notice that second wave.

I had pretty much given up on the NEW 52, but once in a while, I would give a NEW 52 series a try.

I tried the Demon Knights TPB.


Loved the artwork, but did not care one bit about the characters or what happens in the story. The NEW 52 formula seems to be to put as much gore... sex, and vertigo elements as possible. Demon Knights has plenty of blood and gore to satisfy the most bloodthirsty fan, but I was surprised that they did not have a scene with a splash page with Etrigan and Xanadu doing the wild thing. I guess they did refrain themselves from going there.

I guess they had a hard time establishing properly the setting and all the character for this series. So you never really care about the characters and don't give a rat's ass whenever they are facing some sort of peril. But being a foolish fool, I gave other series a try.

The next one I tried was the Batman.


I love Batman... despite the fact that there hasn't been a good Batman comic in more than 10 years. I think that last time I bought a regular Batman comic monthly was when I was buying the comic of the Bruce Timm animated version. But there seems to be a lot of praise around the Court of the Owl story... so I was curious and decided to try the TPB. Of course this being Batman... the TPB is a HC. But still I gave it a try, and I kind of liked it.


I remember really liking Greg Capulo's artwork on Spawn, but it was strange to see his work without Todd McFarlane inking it. Took me some time to get used to it. And I am always amazed at how Batman is often seen as a more realistic super-hero... but how we end up with holographic masks and computer contact lenses, since those do exist in reality, right??

The tech in this comic is so advanced that it shatters any hope of ever being able to call this comic realistic. I have the same problem with the latest Batman movies. They are labeled as being more realistic... but the tech in those movies is so advanced... it makes Star Trek look like the Stone Age (yes I am exaggerating).

But let's get back to the comic. Even ignoring the advance tech out of Total Recall, this tale is far from perfect. Right from the start... we can see some of the confusion around the NEW 52. It seemed obvious that the NEW 52 was some last minute thing. That very little thought or planning had been put into this NEW 52. And that they had some pretty piss poor communication or did a piss poor job at coordinating the whole thing.

The best example of that in Batman is how they took the time to establish that Tim Drake was a former Robin and how he was a member of the Teen Titans. Heck even in Teen Titans we saw a photo of Tim as Robin swinging on a rope next to Batman. But now it seems, DC are saying that "No... No Tim was never Robin".

Now that comes from either piss poor planning, or piss poor communication between the editors/creators. But despite the magic tech and the poor continuity... this has been a pretty enjoyable/intriguing tale. The Owl seemed like a cool villain... but it was quickly revealed as one of many... which was still pretty cool.

Although it was convenient how Batman knocked out the ONE tooth that was required in the scene to reveal... something hidden in the tooth (am trying not to spoil too much). He knocked out the ONE tooth with the evidence he needed. Not several teeth and one of them being the one he needed. He knocked out the ONE tooth required, and no more.


Sadly... the HC ends on a cliffhanger... but I was intrigued enough by the tale to try out the next HC TPB.

Next up was Action Comics.


People kept on raving how great this book was and how Morrison was a genius in his telling of the tale. So I said... "F it, let's try out this sucker."( And in HC no less.)

My dictionary must be outdated because... the word genius describes nothing that is in this comic. Heck I can't even call it a good comic. Nothing in this comic is established properly.

When the comic starts... you are left wondering, when is this comic supposed to be happening?? From the Superman jeans with them patches and the police cars at the beginning, you would think that this comic is set in the late 30s. Are they trying to set the NEW 52 Superman in the late 30s once again??

No.

From whatever info we could get online, this comic is supposed to be set 5 years in the past. But looking at Superman's jeans, I haven't seen jeans patched up like this since about 3 decades ago. The same with the police cars. But at some point we see a blackberry to remind us that this comic is supposed to be set in modern times.

Although turning the Superman comics into a period piece could have been a good idea. But that is not what they did. I could go on all day about that comic... but I will try to keep it short.

When you see new characters like the Legion of Super-Heroes, or the Anti-Superman, or the K-men, or the guy with the moustache at the end (no idea who he is)... the comics makes no effort to try and introduce them. The writer counts on the reader already knowing who those guys are.


The writing in this comic is so amateurish... it stands on a level all of its own. If there was some Olympics of amateur writing... this would win the gold, the silver and the bronze all at once. Damn that was not a good comic. And as far as being a retelling/update to the Superman origin, it was freaking pointless.

What pisses me off the most is that we had Superman Secret Origin like what? 6 months before the reboot? It was a nice retelling of the Superman Origin that should have been the definitive Origin for at least the next 10 years.  But noooooo. DC had to have their reboot.  Damn!

Next was Justice League Hardcover


I already mentioned what I thought about the early Justice League issues, but I tried the HC hoping that it would change my opinion once I would have read the whole story. It did not change my opinion.

Damn how that was a bad origin.

The characters act like immature children... which is to make them "cool" I guess. As I feared the comic is pretty much done like a paint by numbers painting. And I would complain that Darkseid has the worst redesign in recorded history, but sadly that title goes to Cyborg.  As much as I usually like Jim Lee's artwork, damn he is a piss poor designer. He has to be the worst designer in the multiverse. And now that we know how Superman got his Kryptonian costume, the question stands.

Why does Batman have the same costume?? Is he wearing a Kryptonian battle armor? Did they retconn Batman as being Kryptonian?

I know that the reason is that both costumes were designed by Lee. The same with all them matching collars. But damn how that is poor design and planning. What is most disappointing is that this comic should have been good. Geoff Johns is a good writer and he usually has good ideas... and Jim Lee is a good comic artist in general. But the pairing of those two titans of the comic industry gave us something that is not worth reading.

Very disappointing.

And last... the last NEW 52 comic I have tried, Aquaman, also in HC.


And this comics settles the issue... Aquaman is nothing more then the guy who talks to fish. And the more they try to convince us that he is more than that, the more they convince us that that is all that he is. Sorry if you are an Aquaman fan. At least the art is gorgeous... but the story is pointless.

And it uses the NEW 52 formula with some horror/vertigo injected in the comic, some blood and some guts. All that is missing is some sex, which I am surprised they did not put in this comic. Is it because Aquaman is married to Mera and once you are married, you no longer have sex?  ;)

But seriously that was a boring comic with some great artwork, so not a total loss.

So what of the NEW 52 after a year has gone by? Some good stuff that was cancelled. Some intriguing stuff, but a lot of piss poor stuff that was not worth it. All in all, the NEW 52 was the perfect jumping off point for me.

I guess that if I want my DC super-heroes fix, I will need to keep on watching the Young Justice cartoon, or keep playing DC Universe Online.

We shall see.

Until next time.

Pierre Reviews Young Justice

Editor's Note: For those of you just tuning in, Pierre is the co-creator of the Flashback Universe and a seasoned Animator for many studios in Canada. Currently, he is working around the clock on an animation project (name?) but he occasionally finds time to post his thoughts about other animated series/movies he's seen. Today, he gives us his thoughts on Young Justice. - Jim

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What do I think about Young Justice?

I will start by saying that I LOVE that show. I was a little disappointed when I first heard about it. I was hoping for more of a classic Teen Titans series inspired by the Perez/Wolfman series. Some announcements were made at some point of a direct to DVD movie with the classic Titans, but alas like too often it is the case in animation, the project never saw the light of day.


Anyway, I watched the pilot when it aired and realized this was sort of a weird mix of Peter David’s Young Justice with random Teen Titans stuff thrown in. I LOVED it.

For starters, the animation in general is pretty strong. They had a few weaker shows, but even the weaker shows were pretty strong compared to, let’s say, the Avengers cartoon. And the funny thing is that the design work is pretty busy. They have some very detailed designs, but seem to have found some strong animation studios that do top notch work.
And the characters are fun.

I know that some are annoyed over Miss Martian and her "Hello Meggan" line, but I like her. Heck I have a bit of a crush on her, but don't tell Superboy. ;)



The characters act for the most part like the characters we read about in the DCU comics. Sure this has an Elseworld feel to it sometimes, but it is a lot closer to the classic DCU then the DCnU can ever hope to be.

Superman looks and acts like the classic Superman. The same with Batman.



Or Captain Marvel. You read that right. Not Shazam, Captain Marvel. Damn how that character is great in that show. And they made him great without turning him dark and grim and gritty. Can you believe that??



So overall, the characters are similar to their classic DCU counterpart.
But the best part has to be the stories.

We read about these characters countless times, and we saw a lot of stories with these characters. Either in the comic pages, or the Bruce Timm animated universe. But still they manage to keep the stories fresh and interesting, even when they adapt a story that we already read in the comics, they manage to make it fresh and surprising.

Like the rise and fall of Speedy/Arsenal for example, they make what was a stinker of a story in the comic, into a great story in the show. So not only do they seem to have a strong animation team, but they seem to have a strong writing team as well.



I hope this show will stick around for many seasons because it is wayyyyy too good of a show. Sadly it is always iffy whether a broadcaster will renew a series for a new season or not. A good example of that is the Batman Beyond TV show. It was a show with critical acclaim and good ratings. Sadly it still was cancelled. Why?

No one was buying the toys.



There was no interest in the Batman Beyond toys and merchandising. Who will buy the action figure of Bat-Fake (to quote the Joker), when you can buy the action figure of the REAL Batman. So in that case, no toy sales, no show.
Let us hope that the Young Justice show does not suffer from a similar fate.
Guess we will have to wait and see.

Until next time,

- Pierre

Tips for Artists from a Guy Who Can't Draw

For the past couple of weeks, I've been reading and reviewing art samples from various artists who are applying to illustrate a book cover I am working on. (Not a comics project) This is an arduous process that usually leaves me feeling like this:

 

I have seen a LOT of good art portfolios by some incredible artists, but as usual, there are many new artists that make the reviewing process difficult. So today, I'd like to post a few tips to any artists that will help them get more art jobs.

Get a website for your portfolio

If you can't build your own, there are quite a number of free services (Flickr, DeviantArt, ComicArtFans) that you can use. It was at ComicArtFans that I saw Pierre Villeneuve art for the first time.

The best thing about such sites is that they give you a way to display your art with nice thumbnail previews. Like Pierre is doing here:

What is good about this is it allows a prospective editor or customer to see a lot of samples all at the same time. Then we can zero in on the one we like the best very quickly. (I really like this page by Pierre btw)

 

The other thing that is cool about ComicArtFans is that it gives you a nice way to group your art into categories. (I don't know if DeviantArt can do this or not)

Keep Attachments Small

Art samples in an email should never be bigger than 5 megs. I received one sample that was 24 megs.

I didn't even know Gmail could handle files that big. As it is, an editor may be reviewing your portfolio over a slow connection like a 3G network on their iPad or phone. They will not be able to easily view huge files. Make it easier on them and keep the file size under 500K if at all possible.

Don't send your art in a PDF

Not everyone even has Adobe PDF reader on their computer, so you don't want to lose a possible sale that way. Plus, there are some people who just hate the PDF format out of hand (as this graphic that I found floating around the internet will testify.)

Include references if you have them

If you've worked on other projects in the past, mention them. It shows a certain level of professionalism that gives people confidence in working with you.

Double check your email

This sounds like a no brainer, but I received several emails with no links to a portfolio site and no attached art samples. Just a sentence saying, "Hey. I saw your ad. I am interested." I don't know if these people forgot to send me a link or samples OR if they intended for me to ask them to send me more information. The sad truth is, I've only got a limited amount of time to review art, so their emails lose out to the people who sent me what I needed the first time.

Don't worry about your English

I've worked with people from all across the globe. It's nice when an artist can communicate in English, but I don't worry about it too much if they can't. We will find a way to communicate. :)

 Have a great day!

- Jim

 

 

Pierre Reviews The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

Today FBU Co-Creator and Animator Extraordinaire Pierre makes a rare appearance in order to give us a his review of the Avengers cartoon on Disney XD. - Jim

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And there came a day when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born.... to fight the foes no single super-hero could withstand.

That small paragraph sums up perfectly who the Avengers are. When I first saw some clips for "Earth's Mightiest Heroes... The Avengers".... all I could think of was of how poor the animation was.


There are many reasons behind that. The style used was not very streamlined for animation... and the character designs are wayyyy too busy to be animated easily. It must have been an Herculean task to do the animation for that show. Sadly... the producers shot themselves in the foot from day one with some poor decisions that made the animator's job next to impossible.

So I had no interest to watch the show. But I caught the first episode one night and decided to watch it. And despite all the flaws, despite all the poor decisions, I liked it. The broadcasters did a very smart move, the first episode they aired was supposed to be the sixth episode in the series. The first episode from what I understand was meant to feature only Iron-man. Then the second one was meant for Thor. Then Hulk. Then Cap. And finally after 5 episodes more or less of solo adventures, we would get the Avengers. So we would have had to wait 6 episodes before getting to see Earth's mightiest heroes.

But that meant risking disappointing those who wanted to see the Avengers. Not the solo adventures of Iron-man, or the solo adventures of Thor. If you want to do that, make a solo Iron-man series, or a solo Thor series.
But then again, I can pretty much tell you what the producers were thinking. At the time they made the Avengers cartoon, the Iron-man movie had been a hit (not sure if we had Iron-man 2 yet at that point). So the Iron-man movie being a hit, they figured that starting the Avengers cartoon with a solo episode starring Iron-man would have meant instant success. Yes producers can be funny that way sometimes.

 But luckily the Broadcasters had a much better idea. The broadcasters did a very smart thing and started with a bang. They started with an episode starring all the Avengers, or at least most of them and then after that they gave us the episodes that focused on the individual members.

You see, once the broadcasters buy a show, once they have the episodes, they can pretty much do what they want with them. They can decide in which order the episodes play on TV. Heck they can even decide to put the episodes on a shelf in some warehouse and NEVER play them on TV. They paid for the episodes, so they can pretty much do as they like with the show. In can be more complicated then that in some cases, but to keep things simple, the Broadcaster can pretty much do what they want with the show.

And in the case of the Avengers they have decided to start the series with the sixth episode that was already showing most of the team, and I have to agree with the Broadcasters. I believe that it was a mistake not to start with most of the Avengers roster in the first episode.

How do I know in what order the episodes were meant to be played as?? The director of Walter & Tandoori gave me the first season of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, The Avengers on Blu-Ray. So that is how I know the original intent of the producers.

Of course, I could be mistaken and it could all be in my head only. But I have been working in animation for quite some time now, and I pretty much know how producers and broadcasters think by now. So I like to believe that I can make a lot more than just a guess, but a HECK of an educated guess by now. But you never know for certain, I could be mistaken.
Oh well.

So if the animation is so bad, why did I like this show?? Because it did feature a more classic version of the Avengers then the movie did.  In the cartoon version, Hawkeye is the Hawkeye that I love. Iron-man seems more like the movie version, but Thor feels like Thor. Cap looks and act like Cap. And heck we get a lot of classic Avengers villains.

Any show that gives us the Kirby version of Arnim Zola is okay in my book. ;)


So most of the characters look and act like the comic version used to. Some elements from the movies did creep into the show like the Iron-man/Tony Stark from the movies, or the black Nick Fury. But it is mostly minor stuff. So the fun characters and engaging stories quickly made me forget the poor animation. I would not suggest this show to everyone. I would suggest this show to any classic Avengers fan.

Although I did try to suggest the show to some guys at the studio who love silver age comics, but they could not get over the poor animation. Guess they were not as forgiving as me. ;)

Sadly it seems that the second season of the series will be its last. Disney plans to replace it with a new Avengers show from what I hear. No surprise there, that was to be expected. I guess we will have to wait and see if the new show will be an improvement or not.

We will see.

Until next time.

- Pierre

Moving Comics

I postponed today's post a bit so that I could post this update I got this mornging from Flashback Co-creator, Pierre Villeneuve!. - Jim

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Hi guys, a question pops up  once in a while.... "What is Pierre doing?". As much as I love making comics.... the lion's share of my income comes from my working in animation. Until very recently... I was working on a series called Walter & Tandoori.


But I just moved onto another project called Ben's City.


Remember how Jim had mentioned about 2 years ago how I had received a promotion??? The promotion at the time was to be the Storyboard Supervisor on the first season of Ben's City. I had been doing storyboards corrections for a few seasons of Arthur and for a season for a show called Caillou.... and then I was offered the job of Storyboard Supervisor.

I had lots of fun working on that first season of Ben's City.... so when I was offered to work on a second season of that show.... I could not say no. Although I was torn.... I had fun working on Walter & Tandoori.... but I was dying to be Storyboard Supervisor once more. I loved that job. It's a lot of work. There are always tons of problems to solve. And you are constantly making decisions for the production.

But that job gives quite an adrenalin rush that is more addictive then crack. ;) Guess I was more then due for my next "hit". ;) Although I was offered to supervise the storyboards on a feature film.... I had to pass up on that one. The timing was not right for me to switch project then. I had to take care of some personal stuff (like finding a new apartment for example)... so I would not have been able to focus as much as I should have on a job such as a Storyboard Supervisor at the time. Also I was not sure who we could get to replace me on Walter.

My little heart was torn apart at the time because it seemed like a really nice project.... but I liked working on "Walter" and the timing was wrong. Also some of the people on "Walter" were more then colleagues... through the years of crossing paths in the same animation studios... many became good friends.

You have to understand that on some productions... we will work 40hrs, 60 hrs, heck sometimes 80hrs per week together. We will often spend more time together then we will with our own families. Heck sometimes we will spend more time together then some will spend with their boyfriends or with their wives. So leaving Walter meant also leaving some of my friends behind. Which is always sad.


But I got to see some of my other friends on Ben's City that I had not seen in a while. And odds are.... I will see my friends from "Walter" in another studio or on another production before long. We may even plan some sort of get together once in a while. We shall see. But it won't be the same as working together every day. As for finding a new apartment... I finally found something that will suit my needs. But I had to move just as I was starting on my new project. So it was a bumpy ride to get started as I was packing/moving/unpacking.

Although the moving part is now behind me... I have still about half a dozen boxes left to unpack. And once I will be done unpacking... I will still have the "fun" of sorting all of my comics. I had 5 bookshelves of comics. I am saying "had" because we broke one bookshelf while moving. And I have decided not to get a new bookshelf. Moving 5 bookshelves of comics is not fun.... not fun at all. So I used my broken bookshelf as an opportunity to trim down my comic collection a bit. I had already trimmed some of the fat before the move... but not enough. I had gotten rid of some comics that I had already replaced in digital format.... but somehow that I still kept in print as well.

But now with one bookshelf missing.... I will trim the fat one step further and get rid of those comics that I NEVER read again. I have some comics like Preacher or Sandman that I read once.... and although I liked them series when I read them at the time..... I have never felt the need.... the urge to read them once more. I have flipped through them quickly once in a while.... but as for reading them a second time??? No. Never.


These are comics that I am glad that I read them.... but that after reading them once...  have no intention of ever reading them ever again. So those will be the next to go. I have read the Dark Phoenix Saga, or the Search for Galactus, or the Demon in a bottle, or Avengers Forever, or the Korvak Saga, or other comics that I fail to mention way too many time. Loved them comics. Loved every second spent reading them.


Although... odds are.... At some point in time.... I will get rid of all my floppies/singles issues and I might only keep my Omnibi/Absolute Editions.

We shall see.
Until next time.
- Pierre