Back in the 80’s, DC Comics were going through a period of constant creative shake-ups. They re-booted their entire universe with Crisis on Infinite Earths, deconstructed what it means to be a superhero with Watchmen, and breathed dark new life into Batman with Year One and Dark Knight Returns. They also re-imagined a long stagnant character, cut away everything but the name, and turned it into one of the greatest stories to ever be committed to the page. Neil Gaiman took Sandman from a 40’s pulp-style hero and re-sculpted the title into an existential trip through human consciousness and the history of myth. It’s a series with almost no faults and stands as a classic even amongst a decade that seemed to churn out classic comics weekly. Within that series, Dream of The Endless, the protagonist, traveled to many realms of legend. Early on, he made his way through Hell and held court with its ruler, Lucifer Morningstar.
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Posts Tagged ‘DC’
PILOT LITE: Lucifer (2016 tv series)
Posted: January 28, 2016 in Pilot LiteTags: Arrow, Constantine, DC, iZombie, Lucifer, Pilot Lite, Sandman, Vertigo
CBM Profile: DC Heroes
Posted: January 21, 2016 in CBM Profile, DC, UncategorizedTags: Arrow, CBM Profile, DC, Justice League, Supergirl
This profile is going to be a little different than others that have been posted. Instead of focusing on one character or team, I’m going to look at a few different DC heroes who have had a limited presence in expanded media. None of them have had enough of an impact to carry their own profile, so I’m combining. Enjoy!
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2015 CBM Year in Review
Posted: December 24, 2015 in Year in ReviewTags: Captain America, DC, Fantastic Four, Image, iZombie, Jessica Jones, Marvel, Suicide Squad, Walking Dead
As another year draws to a close, we here at Comic Book Media once again recount the best and worst of comic adaptations in film and television. This year, I am joined by Alasdair Stuart and Brian Baer. Big thanks to both of them for indulging me in this (truly, very important) yearly tradition. Alasdair is new to writing for the site, so please give him a big welcome! With that, we’ll get right into the categories. Enjoy!
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PILOT LITE: Supergirl (2015 television pilot)
Posted: November 4, 2015 in Pilot LiteTags: DC, Pilot Lite, Supergirl, Superman
Comic-based television shows have become big business lately. As mentioned previously, more shows are pulling from comics, and this trend doesn’t seem to be slowing. With that in mind, it’s easy to dismiss any number of shows premiering this year as the also-ran cash-grab to the first wave of this new phenomenon. And while there may be some cynical viewers who do just that, I think, if anything, this second wave of series would be more likely to out-perform what came before simply because they have the gift of hindsight. And if there’s ever been a premiere that has benefitted from hindsight, it’s Supergirl.
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Wonder Woman (2011 unaired pilot)
Posted: October 29, 2015 in DC, Wonder WomanTags: DC, Wonder Woman
Why is Wonder Woman seemingly so hard to adapt? She’s one of DC’s trinity of main characters (alongside Superman and Batman) but is the only one to not have a live-action film franchise, let alone multiple which the other 2/3’s have. In fact, the last truly successful depiction of the character in expanded media (that didn’t share billing with some other hero) was way back in the 70’s with Linda Carter in the lead. Since then, there have been attempts at brining her to the big screen with Joss Whedon’s failure in 2005-06 being the most notable. A live-action television series based on the Wonder Woman comic suffered the same fate of constant re-writes and non-starts until 2010 when David E. Kelly got a pilot commissioned at NBC.
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COMMENTARYCAST: Batman (1989 DVD)
Posted: September 26, 2015 in Batman, CommentaryCast, DCTags: Batman, CommentaryCast, DC
It’s very hard to really appreciate what a momentous film Batman was without actually living through it. In 1989, I was in kindergarten and was completely caught up in the Batmania that was gripping the world. For the first time in my life, I could go to the store and find an entire row of toys based on Batman (and Joker and…Bob the goon?) and every kind of tie-in and cash-grab imaginable. These days, that sort of thing is common place, it’s even strange if a comic book movie doesn’t have a bunch of advertising. In that way, Batman was very ahead of its time. In many, many other ways it’s still a product of the late 80’s. That’s not a bad thing, but it’s fairly dated and not nearly as beholden to the character as modern interpretations. As such, it’s kind of fun to look at it from a historical perspective and see just how much the character has changed over the course of two and a half decades. With that, enjoy Brian and I talking through Batman. Also, don’t forget the trivia question! Or do…I’d rather not have to come up with a prize.
Swamp Thing (1982 film)
Posted: September 2, 2015 in DC, Swamp Thing, VertigoTags: DC, Swamp Thing, Vertigo
In memory of Wes Craven, who recently passed away, I decided to take a look back at Swamp Thing, an early (and, at the time, DC’s only) attempt at adapting a horror comic book. It’s difficult to evaluate this film on its own merits for me. I am a big fan of the mystical universe established in DC’s Vertigo imprint, and that universe was created in the Swamp Thing comics of the time that this film was released. This movie retains very little of the flair and sophistication of those stories. Regardless, it has a definite love for the source material and despite a limited budget and an unintended tendency toward silliness, it manages to treat the story and it’s lead seriously.
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PANEL TO PIXELS: Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis (2003 video games)
Posted: August 18, 2015 in Aquaman, DCTags: Andrew, Aquaman, DC, Panel to Pixels
**Andrew Prenger wrote this article about his favorite worst game ever made. Of course one of DC’s worst video games was based on Aquaman. If they won’t take him seriously, how do they expect us to? Anyway, enjoy!**
COMMENTARYCAST: Jonah Hex clip!
Posted: August 18, 2015 in UncategorizedTags: CommentaryCast, DC, Jonah Hex
Here’s a rare behind the scenes photo of Colby forcing Baer to watch this movie.
Here’s a little clip from the most recent CommentaryCast in which we watch Jonah Hex. This is what it’s like if you listen and watch the movie at the same time…
COMMENTARYCAST: Jonah Hex (2010 Blu-Ray)
Posted: August 13, 2015 in UncategorizedTags: CommentaryCast, DC, Jonah Hex
Jonah Hex is an absolute failure of a movie on nearly every level. Directed by Jimmy Heyward, there are numerous anecdotes of how troubled the production was. The fact that there was barely 80 minutes worth of usable footage of a character that should be pretty easy to adapt is a decent indication of how much of a mess the filming and editing of said film was. This CommentaryCast features a distinctly different style than the last, since I had done research by reading the original script and Brian wasn’t three beers deep when recording started. This also marks the first contest we’ll be doing, but not the last . Listen along and see if you can answer the trivia question! With that, enjoy the ineptitude that is Jonah Hex…
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