Superman guest stars on the 5th season premiere of "The Batman"

This season on The Batman, the Dark Knight joins the Justice League, and in the season premiere, he meets Superman for the first time (as seen in the video above). Superman is voiced by George Newbern, who provided the voice on the Justice League cartoons, with Lois Lane again voiced by Dana Delany. All season long, Batman will be teaming up with the various members of the JLA, so look for the season to be more like "The Brave and the Bold," the Silver Age Batman team-up title. Also confirmed so far are Green (Hal Jordan) Lantern, The Flash (Barry Allen), Green Arrow, with more to come.

The 5th season of The Batman premieres on Saturday, September 22 on the Kids WB! on the CW.

Justice League: The New Frontier

As I wrote earlier, Superman/Doomsday, out Sept. 18 is the first in the new DVD line of DC animated movies. The second, due in spring 2008, is Justice League: The New Frontier, based on writer artist Darwyn Cooke's homage to the dawn of the Silver Age of comics in the late 1950s, The New Frontier. The comic is about the beginning of a new age of heroes that leads ot the formation of the Justice League of America.

Here's the preview of the film that was shown during the premiere of Superman/Doomsday at the San Diego Comic-Con.

$240 worth of pudding

Aww, yeah....

Doomsday is coming

On Tuesday, September 18, the first of DC's new series of animated movie DVDs hits stores, Superman/Doomsday (see trailer at this link), based on the best-selling Death and Return of Superman storylines.

It debuted to great response at its San Diego Comic-Con premiere. Read an early review here.

And so, you don't forget when it comes out, check this out:

“Justice League” movie talk heating up

It’s been rumored for months now, but in the past few weeks, the stories about a Justice League of America (JLA) movie -- very few of them confirmed -- have been coming in fast and furious, mostly from genre movie news site IESB.net. The only thing that appears to be certain about movie is that neither Christian (Batman) Bale nor Brandon (Superman) Routh will appear in the film, though the characters they play will.

One of the hottest rumors is that Superman will be played by none other than young Clark Kent himself – Tom Welling from Smallville. The TV show’s producers, however, deny this is happening due to his Smallville contract for this season (and next?).

The movie is reportedly being fast-tracked for a 2009 release, which means it will likely debut before the next Superman movie, thought not before The Dark Knight, scheduled for next summer. According to the LA Times (registration required):

... even a roster of superheroes may not have enough special powers to repel the nastiest villain on Hollywood's horizon: an impending labor dispute that could devastate the local economy. JLA is but one of many projects caught in an industrywide scramble to assemble films that can be completed before a potential talent strike shuts down film production next summer... Warner Bros., which declined to comment, needs to hire a JLA director immediately to guide any further rewrites and attract actors. As it is, numerous directors have been passing on the project, although Happy Feet's George Miller may end up in the chair.

The plan is for the movie to serve as a launching pad to individual hero films, such as Flash, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman, all of which have been in various stages of development at some point. This plan is similar the X-Men movie franchise, which is now spinning off Wolverine and Magneto into their own films. The movie will likely feature as villains the OMACs and Max Lord, in a twist of the storyline that preceded last year’s Infinite Crisis.

Like everything about this movie, nothing is confirmed. For more rumors of storylines, characters and casting, check these stories from IESB.net.

Top 100 Action Figures

ToyFare magazine, a spin off of the comics-focused Wizard, has posted a list of the top 100 action figures of the last 10 years. It's a good thing they didn't have these when I was a kid -- Cioci & Unk would have gone broke trying to meet my ever-growing list!

Thought Balloons of an Aging Fanboy

Whew, has it really been 6 months since I last posted? Well, a lot's happened since February (and even more during the 3 months before that), but I'm going to give this another shot, and thought this was a good time to come back to it.

I've backed off on comics a bit, and am no longer buying monthly (or weekly) issues, deciding instead to wait for key trade paperbacks, without worrying about the ongoing continuity of the DC Universe. I've been disillusioned by the current direction, and its pointless to complain and not do anything about it, so now I'm saving a little bit of money, and hopefully putting some of that time back into regular reading.

That said, the summer comics convention season just ended and there's a lot to link to, though surprisingly little of it had to do with comics. So, I'll try to get the best of that stuff up in the next few days.

Also, the new TV season is starting up soon, with a lot to comment on this fall, both new and returning shows. This summer, there's a been a lot of great new shows on basic cable, and I've been checking them out to. I should comment on them as well.

Thanks to my DVR, I've been catching a lot of great movies and documentaries, new and old, and of course you'll want to hear what I think about them.

The animation DVDs never stop -- I've bought a few over the past 6 months, with a few more on the way.

I can't believe how little reading I do these days -- no thanks to the iPod and DVR, but I'd like to pick that up again, and share some thoughts there as well.

Speaking of the iPod, I've been listening to all kinds of great music, new and old, blues, rock, jazz, and a little bit of everything else. Music criticism is not a strong point of mine, but I'll try to get better with the music appreciation at least.

Wow, that's quite a To Do list, or maybe its a mission statement, but either way, there;s no shortage of topics, now that I've re-connected to the blog and even took advantage of some of the new features that have been added, and will keep doing so.

So, hopefully, there will be a reason to check this out again, for like the three of you that were -- and maybe a few more can join this time.

Check back soon -- and comment often.

My New Favorite Group

Toy Fair Fun

SpiDog? Plug your iPod into this speaker system, just in time for Spider-Man 3.

New animated DC Universe expands next season

Both The Batman and Legion of Superheroes have been renewed for new seasons. The best news about these renewals are the revealed plans for next season, which has both show reaching further into their comics roots with its characters and situations.

The Batman, which will introduce the Martian Manhunter at the end of the season (with a rumored Flash cameo), will expand to include Superman, The Flash and Aquaman next year, its fifth season.

As for Legion, according to Warner Bros. Animation, next season they will face "a daunting new villain - a destroyer of galaxies from the rich annals of DC Comics." This is assumed to be Darkseid, who appeared in a classic Legion tale in 70s, called "The Great Darkness Saga". Also, it appears that "Superboy" will actually be older in the second season, so calling him "Superman" will make more sense beyond legal reasons. Also the team will meet a "new ally from across the space-time continuum." I have no idea who this is, but it sounds like it will be another well-known character.

I'm enjoying the latest season of The Batman, with the addition of Robin, and a less anime-like animation style. Sounds like it's only getting better. As for Legion, I have only a passing interest in this show, as I was never a fan of that particular team, but if they are going to be drawing in other characters I'm more likely to be familiar with, not to mention an actual "Superman," then I think my interest in this show will only grow. We shall see.

It Shall Be Mine!

Good Day for Mignola fans

Today, two animated projects based on the work of comics writer/artist Mike Mignola hit DVD:

• Hellboy: Sword of Storms, which first aired on Cartoon Network and features some of the voice cast from the Hellboy movie. A follow-up is in the works;

• The Amazing Screw-On Head, which first aired on Sci-Fi.

Mignola talks about e feels abotut the animated versions of his comics creations here.

A Night at the Flash Museum?

Some potentially bad news for fans of superhero movies, especially DC comics fans. Last week, David Goyer has announced on his MySpace page that he is no longer attached as writer/director of the Flash movie, citing that Warner Brothers wanted to go in a different direction.

And boy, was he right! This week, Warner Brothers announced that Shawn Levy has been named as the new director for the Fastest Man Alive’s big screen debut. Levy directed the much critically reviled, yet high box office grossing Night at the Museum. He also directed the Pink Panther remake that featured Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau, as well as the Cheaper by Dozen remake and its sequel.

A spokesman for the studio indicated that while the movie will not be a comedy, it will be much lighter in tone than Batman Begins and Superman Returns, and may still incorporate elements of Goyer’s script, which reportedly featured both Barry Allen and Wally West.

Goyer, who also was told that his Blade TV series (spun from the film trilogy he wrote) would not be renewed. However, he still has his happy face on, because he also noted that he does other projects lined up ("one of them takes place in the DC Universe") that he will be announcing soon.

While its true that the Flash should not be treated with same solemnity as Batman (as seen in the failed Flash TV series of 1990, which did just that), Levy's critical track record does not give one high hopes for a movie that comics fans will embrace.

In related news, Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon has announced that he is no longer attached as writer/director the Wonder Woman movie. After turning in his script, Warner Bros. decided they wanted to do a different take.

In more related news, Joel Schumacher, who single-handedly destroyed the Batman movie franchise for a decade, wants to direct a movie based on Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. Yikes!

Here Comes the Justice League

Smallville returns with new episodes on January 11, with an episode called "Hydro" (directed by Tom Welling), but the one we've all been waiting for is the following week -- "Justice" -- featuring the return of many of the heroes who have appeared on the series previously, including Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg and Green Arrow. The Martian Manhunter does not appear in this episode, but he will return later in the season.

In preparation for "Justice," the CW will rerun the episodes that introduced these heroes to Smallville. This Thursday, watch back-to-back the episodes that featured Flash and Cyborg. Next Thursday will feature the Aquaman and Green Arrow intro episodes.

Fantastic new movie trailers

The best thing about going to the movies for me has always been the trailers. With most trailers avaialble online, I have one more reason not to go (too many other reasons to list). So with that in mind, here's a bunch of trailers for movies that I will be seeing at home in the next year or so (with a few exceptions, I'm sure).

First, let's start with the coolest -- the first teaser trailer for the new Fanatasic Four movie -- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. We already saw pic of the Silver Surfer -- but here he is in action being chased by the Human Torch. We also get a glimpse at the better make-up for the Thing.

Here's a few other trailers of note:

• 300 (based on Frank Miller's graphic novel)
• Shrek the Third
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Ocean's 13 (now with more Pacino)
• Grindhouse (Quentin Tarantino's & Robert Rodruiguez B-movie homage)
• Transformers: The Movie
• Live Free or Die Hard (Bruce Willis is back as John McClane)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The 50 Greatest Cartoons

Here is a list of the 50 greatest cartoons ever made, as compiled in 1994 by animation historian Jerry Beck and voted on by animation professionals. Even better than the list itself are all of the links to the actual catroons.

If you've never seen Bambi Meets Godzilla or Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs, here's your chance, along with plenty of other classics by Warner Bros. Disney, MGM and many more.

Of course, you'll see One Froggy Evening, a personal favorite as my profile photo indicates, and many other Chuck Jones cartoons. (What's Opera, Doc?, of course being #1 on the list)

Hours of online viewing fun, friends.

First Look at the Silver Surfer

Here's a first look at the Silver Surfer, herald of Galactus, as he appears in the upcoming Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which opens in June 2007.

The trailer is being shown this weekend in front of Night at the Museum, and will likely be online before the end of the weekend.

USA Today offers a little more info about the movie here.

Updated: Stephen King Talks "Dark Tower "Comic

UPDATE: Marvel has created a mini-site for its Dark Tower series that includes a trailer, screensaver and more.

Announced over a year ago, the first issue of Stephen King's comic adaptation of his Dark Tower series, the seven-issue The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born, finally hits stores in February. USA Today talked to him about the project, which focuses on the untold origins of untold origin of Roland Deschain:

"I had a lot of involvement in casting the course of the narrative," King says. "Beyond that, I wanted to give a lot of control over to these other imaginations, which I had come to respect. The first few issues, I should add, are almost entirely drawn from the books. Readers will recognize them and hopefully be as thrilled as I am."

A Very Clickable Christmas

The Christmas Spot is a site that compiles 101 Christmas shows -- everything from Christmas episodes of sitcoms old (Ozzie and Harriet) and new (The Office), to stop-motion Christmas classics (Rudolph, Santa Claus is Coming to Town) and even superhero cartoons (Justice League, Batman).

You'll even find the rare, universally panned Star Wars Holiday Special and much more (commercials, music videos, specials). Heat up a mug of hot chocolate and enjoy some Christmas past.

RIP Joe Barbera

Joe Barbera, half of the legendary animation team, that created Tom and Jerry, and revolutionized TV animation in the 1960s, has passed. He was 95. His partner, Bill Hanna, died in 20o1.

Together, they created Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, the Flintstones, Jetsons, Scooby Doo and many more famous cartoon characters and series.

According to Animation Magazine:

The animation industry has lost another legend with the passing of Joseph Barbera, who teamed with William Hanna to create famed cartoon studio Hanna-Barbera Prods. in 1944. At the age of 95, Barbera was still an active member of the Warner Bros. Animation team and was listed as exec producer for series such as What's New Scooby-Doo? and Tom and Jerry Tales. In 2005, he wrote, co-storyboarded and co-directed the new Tom and Jerry theatrical short titled KarateGuard. He died Monday of natural causes at his home in Studio City, Calf. with wife Sheila at his side.