Art from the upcoming Action Comics #1000. Fuck the red underwear though!
This has been a big week for comic book news. Ever since comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis jumped ship from Marvel to DC, fans have been wondering what projects he’d be working on and what characters he’d be writing. Bendis has been one of the defining creators at Marvel for almost 20 years, with legendary runs on books like Daredevil, Ultimate Spider-Man, and Avengers. During that time he created classic original characters like Jessica Jone and Miles Morales.
Now, DC has announced that starting in July, Bendis will take over writing the Superman books, Action Comics and Superman. Check out more of the art here:
According to IGN, Bendis will also be debuting a massive new villain with ties to Krypton’s past. I know some people won’t be on board for Bendis writing Superman, but I’ve always loved his work. My only complaint is that they brought back that fucking red underwear on his uniform. DC! I thought we were past this!!!
Scott Snyder is probably one of the greatest comic books writers in the history of the medium. His run on Batman with artist Greg Capullo is already a modern classic and some of the best work ever done on the character.
Left to Right: Beast Boy, Lobo, Batman, Lex Luthor, Deathstroke
Following the release of artwork by Francis Manapul, DC announced that Scott Snyder will writing the flagship book for DC, Justice League. Besides the incredible work he’s already done on characters like Batman, we’ve seen that Snyder has incredible talent working on almost any hero in the DC Universe. So this is something to be very excited about. Though it wasn’t formally announced I suspect that Francis Manapul will be the artist on the main Justice League book that Snyder is writing, considering his art was such a large part of the announcement.
Team: MysteryLeft to Right: Starfire, Superman, J’onn J’onzz, Sinestro, Behind them: (the weirdest damn inclusion) Starro The Star Conqueror
To kick off this new era for the JL, DC has also announced a 4 issue miniseries called Justice League: No Justice, that will set up the new status quo for Snyder’s Justice League book. The miniseries will be co-written by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV (Detective Comics) and Joshua Williamson (The Flash) with art by Francis Manapul. Issue #1 of that miniseries will be on sale 5/9.
DC unveiled artwork with a very diverse group of characters joining the League roster. It was a weird/awesome mix of classic Justice League members, villains, and younger heroes. There are a lot of cool possibilities with these characters. In fact each group of heroes was given subtitle to their team that I’ll include in the artwork captions. Apparently theses specific teams being brought together on separate missions, but with the same larger goal is part of the story in Justice League: No Justice.
As a side note, Francis Manapul is one of the most talented artists in the business. His gorgeous art is always a huge draw for me on any comic he works on. His run on The Flash in particular is absolutely beautiful.
Team: WisdomLeft to Right: The Atom, Harley Quinn, The Flash, Robin (Damian Wayne), Cyborg
This means there will probably be a few different JL books, each with a different focus. For example, one of the Justice League comics used to be called Justice League Dark and it featured all mystical based DC heroes like John Constantine and Zatanna facing supernatural threats. Writers James Tynion IV and Joshua Williamson were named as co-writers of the miniseries with Scott Snyder, so I’d bet that they’ll each be writing a Justice League book, probably with a specific focus like space or magic or something. But once again, the thing to be excited about is Scott Snyder writing the flagship Justice League book which will be your “classic Justice League style” adventures. Your Original Recipe Justice League, if you will
Team: WonderLeft to Right: Raven, Doctor Fate, Wonder Woman, Zatanna, Etrigan The Demon
After Justice League: No Justice wraps up, Scott Snyder’s Justice League will hit shelves shortly after. These are usually excellent times for new readers to jump on the comic book bandwagon. A miniseries like No Justice is usually designed to acclimate new readers to the status quo and they’re great jumping on points. Keep an eye out here as we’ll publish new info as it becomes available.
Are you excited for Scott Snyder’s Justice League comic book?
Out of the four teams we see, which was your favorite?
Which team has the most interesting combo of characters?
It’s Paul and I’m very excited to announce my brand new Podcast… PAUL’S PULLS! As you all know I LOOOOOOOVE comic books and superheroes, so this podcast is all comics all the time. It’s a shorter show than “The World’s Best Podcast with Paul & Tim”, but it’s perfect for the format. Each episode I’ll be recommending the best comics of the week and talk about comic book or comic book movie, Comic book TV, COMIC BOOK ANYTHING news! I really hope you’ll enjoy it. In the first episode I give an annotated breakdown of the awesome new DC series Doomsday Clock. Then I wrap thing up talking about the very cool new superhero show Black Lightning. The podcast will be available on iTunes soon but for now you can listen to it right here:
An R-Rated, animated Batman movie, that’s essentially, Batman Vs. Jack The Ripper? To quote the great Kevin Smith “Fuck you. Take my money.”. Batman by Gaslight adopts a storytelling device often seen in comics called ”Elseworlds”. “Elseworlds” are basically one off stories where you take a familiar hero and and put them in a unique setting or story they normally wouldn’t be in. It’s a “What If…” story, essentially. For example, What if baby Superman’s spaceship crashed in Soviet Russia instead of Kansas? Or What if Batman hunted Jack The Ripper in Victorian-Era Gotham City? The original graphic novel of the same name that the movie is based on, with art by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, was too short to be adapted to a feature length film. So, the filmmakers had to add to the story, which is fun if you’ve read the graphic novel because you’re getting something that’s both a strong adaptation and completely new tale at the same time.
A panel from the original graphic novel
It’s a great premise that’s a natural fit for the character. Batman’s often referred to as “The World’s Greatest Detective” in the comics, so I loved seeing Batman in a real mystery where he has to use his skills as a detective as much as his skills as a fighter. Batman’s incredible detective abilities are rarely utilized enough outside of comics. It doesn’t hurt that the whole story takes place in a world that looks very much like the city of fictions other great detective and one of the inspirations for Batman, Sherlock Holmes (there’s a small Sherlock Holmes reference that only true Sherlockians will get). The movie looks like it’s was pulled out of the pages of an Arthur Conan Doyle story, which adds to the movie’s cool, steampunk, murder mystery vibe.
A blimp crashing into a Gotham City building.
Bruce Greenwood plays Bruce Wayne/Batman in this film and besides Kevin Conroy, I think he’s my favorite Batman voice actor. He’s played Batman before in movies like Batman: Under The Red Hood (one of the best DC Animated Movies) and the excellent Young Justice animated series, returning for it’s third season later this year. Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter) does some great work as Selina Kyle, but I don’t think they ever call her Catwoman in the movie. Besides Batman, Selina Kyle has the most to do in this movie. She’s basically Batman’s partner in solving the murders. She’s taking matters into her own hands because she knows if the victims were rich, white men instead of poor women, the police would be doing a lot more. At the very end she has a little damsel in distress moment I wasn’t crazy about, but other wise she’s an ass kicking badass who is more or less Batman’s equal.
Batman and Selina Kyle
Of course, it fun to see Victorian-era versions of the wide array of characters from Batman’s world. I wont spoil all the fun cameos, but you get to see characters from Hugo Strange to Solomon Grundy throughout the story. Unfortunately, a lot of the supporting cast isn’t as fleshed out as Batman and Selina Kyle which is definitely a big weakness in the film.
Prof. Hugo Strange
This movie takes full advantage of it’s R-Rating. This is easily one of the more bloody and gorey DC Animated Movies made so far. The real life Ripper Murders always struck me as particularly brutal and vicious. The movie does a good job of conveying that THIS Jack The Ripper is a terrifying butcher as well.
Jack The Ripper
One of the things that made this version of Jack The Ripper work for me is that he was a physical match for Batman. This isn’t the same Batman that could kick the shit out of Superman. Batman gets pretty fucked up a few times in this movie. We’ve seen Batman fight armies of alien invaders and beings with all kinds of super abilities and come out fine. But the fact that The Ripper is just a man and he comes so close to killing Batman makes him much more frightening. Compared to other Batman animated movies recently, the stakes may seem lower but they feel higher than ever. This story isn’t “canon”, so characters who wouldn’t normally be on the chopping block could be taken out at anytime, which give the movie a nice edge.
Another look at The Ripper
Stylistically, this film has stepped away from the more anime inspired look that much of the other DC Animated Movies have adopted. Instead, the animation style is more traditional, without sacrificing quality. Including several great fights and action sequences. There a few showdowns between Batman and The Ripper that are particularly well done.
Having never read the original graphic novel, I didn’t know who The Ripper was while watching the movie (and this being Gotham City it could be almost literally ANYONE). So, it was fun not knowing where the story was going, but I did know The Ripper is NOT the same character from the original graphic novel. I’m definitely going to grade on a curve here, because as I’ve said before the quality of the DC Animated Movies has dipped over the past few years and I feel this is a huge step in the right direction. I have a feeling that the movie seemed a lot better than it actually was because the quality of the DC Animated films hasn’t been as consistent lately
Batman on his steampunk motorcycle
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight is fun little Batman mystery, taking place in a interesting setting. Whether you’re a fan of Batman, these animated movies, or you just happened to see the trailer and were intrigued, I would definitely recommend this movie. While not without it’s flaws, It is without a doubt one of the best DC animated movies that we’ve seen in a long time. Let’s hope they keep this momentum going into their next movies…
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight is available on iTunes now and the Blu-Ray will be released on 2/6/2018
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight – 8.4/10
Thanks for reading!
-Paul
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Hey, everybody! I’ve got a few cool trailers for a few upcoming DC Animated Movies for you to check out. The first is the new DC Animated Movie Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay. Check it out here and continue reading below after:
Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay takes place in the DC Animated Universe they began creating a few years ago, starting with Justice League: War. Usually each year they’ll do a Justice League, Batman, or Teen Titans movie that’s part of this Animated Universe and then a stand alone movie like Batman: Gotham by Gaslight. Apparently this year they’re adding the Suicide Squad into the mix. I liked seeing some of the big and more obscure DC villains they included. Besides the Squad itself, villains like Zoom, Two-Face, Professor Pym, and more are a part of the movie. The voice cast looks pretty solid as well. I’m cautiously optimistic that this could be pretty cool. God knows the bar isn’t very high for it to be better than the live action Suicide Squad movie. There’s no release date on it yet, but I would expect this to be released around March or April.
The DC Animated Movie I’m really looking forward to is the next movie, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, which comes out digitally on 1/23/18 and Blu-Ray 2/6/18. I enjoy thes movies whenever they come out, but there hasn’t been a truly great one in awhile. I’m hoping this film is the one that knocks it out of the park because it looks great. A Victorian era Batman going up against Jack The Ripper? I’m in. Here’s the trailer:
Looks cool, right? But back to Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, this isn’t the first DC Animated Movie to star the Suicide Squad. A few years ago they released Batman: Assault on Arkham and though the title says Batman, it was a Suicide Squad movie through and through. It actually technically took place in the same universe as the Batman: Arkham video games. It’s a solid, fun movie that’s definitley worthy checking out. When I rewatched it recently, I couldn’t help but think “This is exactly how the live action Suicide Squad movie should have been made.” Anyway, we’re going to put up reviews for both of the flicks, so keep an eye out on the site for those.
If you’re ever interested in buying like Batman: Assault on Arkham, please use our Amazon Affiliate link. It’s just like you’re everyday Amazon shopping, but when you go through our link, we get a small percentage from Amazon to help keep the lights on here at World’s Best Media. So we can continue to give you more great content. So, if you’re going to buy something on Amazon anyway, you might as well use our affiliate link to keep all your favorite World’s Best Media content coming. Thanks!
Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce AKA Black Lightning
Black Lightening Series Premiere Review
Written by Paul Wright
Black Lightning is the latest superhero drama from The CW, which has made DC superhero shows it’s bread and butter. Based on the DC Comic of the same name, Black Lightning follows Jefferson Pierce (played by Cress Williams), a former Olympic medalist and retired consumed superhero with electricity powers and who gave up the life of superhero/vigilante Black Lightning, to focus on his family. Today, Jefferson’s main focus is raising his 2 daughters with his estranged wife and helping his community in a different way as an award winning high school principal. His oldest daughter Anissa is a medical student who inherited here father’s desire to help her community by protesting against the violent local gang The 100. Meanwhile his youngest daughter Jennifer, a senior at Jefferson’s high school, is going through her rebellious teenage years. Which of course drives her father nuts.
What makes this series stand out is that it tackles issues of race, violence, and the antagonistic relationship between the police and the communities they protect, head on. Before the opening title is even shown, our hero, Jefferson Pierce is driving home with his two daughters and is pulled over and harassed by the police solely because he’s black. The police don’t even offer an apology or explanation when they realize they have the wrong man. It’s ugly and feels all too real. Like thousands of other police stops around the country that are a razors edge away from becoming a tragedy. It’s an opening that grabs you and gets your attention without any superheroics.
Black Lightning is a surprisingly intense series for a superhero show on The CW. Maybe it just feels that way because much of what happens in the story is so similar to what we see on the news everyday. Considering that the main character is a meta-human with electricity powers the show feels more grounded than any other superhero show on The CW.
Goddamn, that’s a sexy man…
MILD SPOILERS
There’s a great scene where Jefferson has to come to the rescue of his daughter Jennifer, when she gets in some trouble with members of the very dangerous 100 gang at a local club. Despite being out of the game for awhile, Jefferson can still kick ass and take names. After he absolutely fucks up the bad guys in the club, which is pretty damn cool, the cops show up as Jefferson is leaving and immediately pull their tasers on him (I should note that Jefferson is in formal wear throughout this scene). After yelling some racially charged orders at him, the cops tase Jefferson, at which point he’s had enough. When the taser has no effect on him, he electrocutes the 2 cops (without killing them) and blows up their police car. It’s a very cathartic moment. Cress Williams, who plays Jefferson, conveys very well that this is probably something that has happened to the character before and this time he’s not going to take any shit.
END SPOILERS
There’s a lot to like in this series. There’s even a little bit of a “Dark Knight Returns” vibe. An aging hero comes out of retirement to find his city worse off than ever and he’s forced to confront a particularly vicious gang. There are definitely some parallels there. Also, any big DC Comics fans could guess where some of the stories may go for certain characters.
Black Lightning in the comics as a member of the Justice League. Umm.. he’s the black guy. Man, the JL needs some diversity!
Overall, Black Lightning was surprisingly good and a welcome addition to The CW’s DC Superhero line up. It’s not completely clear if this show takes place in the “Arrow-verse”, but we are told that other superheroes exist in other cities in this world. Unlike those other DC Superhero shows, Black Lightning seems to have something of a bit more substance to say, which is always welcome in the genre. The characters are likable, especially Cress Williams in the lead roll, the story is appropriately timely, and there are some excellent action sequences. Black Lightning is definitely a show to check out. Highly recommended.
Another picture of Black Lightning from the DC Comics
Black Lightning airs Tuesday nights on The CW at 9PM!
I normally don’t give theatrically released Animated films much attention. I love animation in general, but not what’s been put out lately for the most part. However, I do love the idea of a big budget Animated Spider-Man Movie with the Miles Morales as Spider-Man. This could be interesting. This trailer has a very cool look. Check it out.
So this is it! We made it through 2017! Building World’s Best Media, writing articles and reviews, and recording podcasts have all been an absolute blast for myself and the incredibly talented people who contribute to World’s Best Media. We couldn’t have done any of it with the support of our listeners and readers. So thank you very much, it means the world to us.
Now with this being the end of the year and all, Tim and I decided it would be a good time to do a look back at the best and worst of 2017. We cover everything from the best and the worst movies, comics, TV shows, books, and more. It’s a 2-Part Episode and Part-One mostly focuses on TV. Or should I say content? A large portion of the shows we discuss in this episode come from streaming services. How we watch television has already drastically changed from 10 or even 5 years ago. With big companies like Disney and Warner Bros. starting their own streaming services in 2018 and 2019, things are going to change even more. It’ll be interesting to see where things go…
Also expect a Review of the Netflix show, Mindhunters, later this week. And of course keep an eye out for part two of this episode.
Anyway, THANK YOU! Have a safe and Happy New Year and check out part one the episode below or subscribe on iTunes:
Tim and I finish up our discussion of the best superheroes and super villains of all time and shit gets real deep. Infinity Gauntlets, the nature of good and evil, and we’re pretty sure we caught a ghost on tape! So keep an ear out for that! At the very least, it better than Part 1, so there’s nowhere to go but up! It’s a good one! Listen here or subscribe on iTunes:
Dr. Paul Wright of S.T.A.R. Labs (Formally with The Baxter Building) leading expert of Metahuman biology and Prof. Timothy Cuff of Arkham Asylum, the world’s premiere mind on vigilante psychology, came together to put together the DEFINITIVE list of the greatest super heroes and super villains in this 2-part symposium. Please enjoy! Listen here or on iTunes:
Review by Paul Wright
World’s Best Media 