Sunday, May 01, 2005

Comics In Other Media Comments



I spent the night catching up on some of the comic book tie in shows I had TIVO'd during the week, and was surprised at the number of them.

Cartoon Network's Krypto The Superdog show continues to be a real hoot to watch. With the highlights being episodes like the ultra serious Ace the Bathound having to team with the silly Streaky the Supercat when Krypto is off on a mission with Superman. Plus a hilarious episode where Metallo Cat turns the Space Canine Patrol into puppies, thinking they would be easier to handle.

This series is just a lot of fun, that offers innocent and fun adventure for viewers of all ages who enjoy to laugh.

Meanwhile, Marvel's Man-Thing movie was just atrocious, and one of the worst comic book movies I've ever seen. From stiff acting that never seemed like more than anyone reading a bad script, to a story that was older than dirt and boring to boot.

Add in that the movie barely even shows its title star, and when it does he mainly just stands around. Makes this movie fail in all ways, from a stand alone movie to even just something to make readers wonder about the source material.

Finally I've been tuning in to the new Batman animated series that has been coming on CN Saturday evenings. This series follows a fairly younger Batman than the Dini & Timm series did, who is in his first year or two as a hero.

It is fun to see a Batman who isn't ultra serious, and that can actually laugh at himself at times. Not that he isn't driven, but he is heroically inclined to help people first not scare and intimidate them into doing what he wants.

Plus his relationships are much better explored, from the "father and son" connection he has with Alfred. That even when they bicker still shows a connection that has love from both sides.

Even more surprising is the glimpses that show that Bruce has had a bit of a life outside of his Batman persona. Such as his long time friendship with one of the pair of police officers who have been assigned to arrest Batman.

On the other hand the villains haven't been that interesting at all though. Probably because the show trends towards a younger audience, so the villains all have to be clearly bad and unsympathetic.

This was made especially obvious in last night's episode where Mr. Freeze went from a scientist whose drive was out of tragedy that happened to his wife. To now being just a thief who had an accident involving cryogenics when being pursued by Batman.

I'm curious to see how they handle Catwoman's appearance next week, to see if they have the attraction between the two or not.

It is an enjoyable show that offers a take on Batman that I wish we could see more of in the comics themselves. And with Krypto and the Justice League Unlimited show offers a good time from fans of comics to see their heroes in other media.

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