News, Reviews and Previews

Welcome to the reviews and previews section on International Hero. I've been asked several times by people writing in to me about what books, comics and DVDs I'd recommend checking out. I'm not sure why anyone thinks my opinion is more valid or interesting than anyone else's, but since people have persisted in asking, I'm going to start a semi-regular reviews section where I cover the odd new release, as well as the odd older gem that takes my fancy. I'll warn readers now that anything I review here is probably going to get a positive review, simply because if I don't like something, I'm unlikely to buy it or waste my time writing about it. As ever, comments below are my opinion only, and your feelings may differ stuff about the stuff I like or dislike.

Superman: The Complete Animated Series

Available on DVD November 24th.
Check out the Official Site. Own it on DVD!

The success of Tim Burton's Batman movie was directly responsible for the birth of the Batman: Animated Series, still the most successful (commercially and artistically) of all the Dark Knight's cartoon incarnations. It, in turn, gave rise to what would prove to be the single largest comics adaptation animated shared universe, the DC Animated Universe, which now includes Batman: Animated, Superman: Animated, Batman Beyond, Static Shock, Zeta Project, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, between them running from 1992 (when Batman started) to 2006 (when JLU ended). But while Batman: Animated's success got things started, it was this series, Superman: the Animated Series, that proved that first success wasn't a fluke. While it's arguably not as good as most of its DCAU brethren (only Zeta Project is weaker), being one of the lesser lights amongst that illustrious competition doesn't mean it's in any way a poor show - it's still the best of all the animated Superman cartoons (no mean feat, given the stiff competition dating back to the 1940s).

Running from 1996 to 2000 and 54 episodes in total, the series begins with a three part recounting of Superman's origin, with a slight twist that ties old comic foe Brainiac into Krypton's destruction. As the series progressed, most of Superman's main comic villains are given the opportunity to strut their stuff in animated form, with notable performances by Clancy Brown (Highlander, Earth 2, Carnivale) as Lex Luthor, and Michael Ironside (V, Seaquest 2032) as Darkseid. Like some of the other DCAU series, this animated Superman also managed to add to the comics' mythology, introducing characters popular enough to make the leap back to the parent medium. Batman: Animated gave us Harley Quinn, while here it is Lex's henchwoman Mercy Graves and supervillainess Livewire who later made it into the printed page.

This DVD box set consists of seven discs, including several special features - commentaries on several episodes and documentaries including Superman: Learning to Fly, which looks at the series' creation; Building the Mythology, which examines the cartoon's use of the comics' supporting cast; Menaces of Metropolis, which does the same for Superman's villains; Behind the Cape, which features the cartoon's creators; and the Despot Darkseid, which looks into the influence of Jack Kirby's Fourth World characters, which takes up the whole of the seventh disc. It's a great set, and at $53.98 rrp, it's markedly cheaper than the other DCAU Complete sets. Sadly, part of the reason for this is probably one of the few flaws in this collection - several of the discs (but bizarrely not all) are double sided, meaning you have to handle them with extra care if you don't want to have your discs scratched. Another small let down was that the episode Apokolips...Now! Part II isn't exactly the original broadcast version, with a funeral scene done as a homage to the then-recently deceased Jack Kirby slightly altered, presumably to remove the nod-and-wink scene which shows some of Kirby' Marvel creations in attendance. While I understand copyright issues might have caused this change, I still wish something could have been worked out with Marvel to allow the original version to be included, given the context of why it was there and the cameo nature of the appearances. Still, despite these minor grumbles, this is a series well worth having if you are any sort of fan of animated adaptations of the comics.

Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Volume 2

Available on DVD October 27th.
Check out the Official Site. Own it on DVD!

Like its 1960s counterpart (below), this is a mixed compilation of cartoons from American Saturday morning TV. Perhaps it's because it is more my own childhood era, or perhaps it's the larger action/adventure component, but I have to admit I much preferred this DVD to the 1960s one. Running a bit over 5 hours, this set includes examples of action cartoons Sea Lab 2020, Shazzan, Valley of the Dinosaurs, the New Adventures of Batman and Robin, and (from the Banana Splits show) Arabian Knights and the Three Musketeers, alongside the comedic escapades of Yogi Bear, Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, Tom and Jerry, and Inch High Private Eye - overall, imho, a much stronger selection than its fellow release below. As with any compilation, some parts hold up better than others - I wouldn't miss the Hair Bear Bunch if they hadn't been included in this set, but Valley of the Dinosaurs brought back pleasant memories of Saturday Morning Swap Shop (the show which hosted it in Britain, for non-UK readers of this site), and there's really no such thing as a bad Batman cartoon.

Special Features? As seems to be the Warners' standard, they are few but good quality - in this instance, you get a mini documentary The Power of Shazzan, looking into the backstory and future cartoon influence of Shazzan.

Do you want to get this? It's really down to your tastes. I prefer full series box sets, and will always do so. For me, this set has been an enjoyable way to pass several hours and reminded me that I really need to pick up the Banana Splits DVD set and lobby for Shazzan and Valley of the Dinosaurs to be released in their entirety. I probably wouldn't have gone out and bought this compilation set. That said, I definitely enjoyed the set, and even the cartoons I might not have bought as a series set were worth seeing again. And if you are more into the genre as a whole rather than individual series, or if you just want a selection to spark your childhood nostalgia, this is an excellent set at an excellent price. Though I did chuckle when I noticed the warning on the back of the set, a collection of stories that I grew up watching, which notes that the set is "intended for Adult Collectors and Not Suitable For Children."

For the record, the full list of cartoons represented in this set is Hair Bear Bunch, New Adventures of Gilligan, Sea Lab 2020, Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, Shazzan, Yogi's Gang, Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour, Valley of the Dinosaurs, Tom and Jerry/Grape Ape Show, Banana Splits Adventure Hour, Inch High Private Eye and New Adventures of Batman and Robin.

Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1960s Volume 2

Available on DVD October 27th.
Check out the Official Site. Own it on DVD!

This compilation DVD is a strange beast, carrying, as it does, a selection of widely varied cartoons which were shown on American TV on Saturday mornings. If you are nostalgic for the era in general, there's no question you get your money's worth, as you get a wide selection, from Quick Draw McGraw to Bugs Bunny to Atom Ant to the Jetsons to Tom and Jerry to Road Runner to Young Samson; all told, just shy of 5 hours worth of cartoons on this 2 disc set for just under $27 (and cheaper on many sites). But that wide selection, in one respect this collection's strength, is also its weakness. It's neither truly fish nor fowl, with funny animal comic short features lurking alongside longer adventure cartoons. Watching all these different shows back to back, you tend to notice more the similarities between certain character designs (something the extra features actually mentions, pointing out the physical similarities between Magilla the Gorilla's pet shop owner Mr. Peebles and the Jetsons' Cosmo Spacely), as well as the use of the same voice artists across multiple cartoons. It also lends itself to unfavourable comparisons - watching Hanna Barbera comedy shorts followed immediately by Warner Bros comedy shorts only makes you realise just how much funnier Bugs, Sylvester, Wile E. Coyote and (the non-Warners) Tom and Jerry are than Quick Draw, Wally Gator and Peter Potamus. It isn't really fair - Hanna Barbera tries hard, and their shorts aren't bad by any stretch of the imagination (okay, Hillbilly Bears is no gem), but they don't hold a candle to the Looney Tunes' antics. Some fare better than others - Touche Turtle retains his charm, and Atom Ant remains a strong contender, but where Hanna Barbera does better is the less comedic action shows, like Young Samson and Goliath or Adventures of Young Gulliver - though simplistic compared to some modern cartoons, they are still fun romps, and because they aren't trying to go for laughs every few seconds, they aren't outperformed by their neighbours.

Special Features, as with most Warner Bros' cartoon releases, are minimal but well done - there's an interesting featurette Completely Bananas discussing the Magilla Gorilla show's development and impact on cartoons. The main meat, as always, are the cartoons themselves - the DVDs contain samplings of Quick Draw McGraw, the Space Kidettes, Young Samson and Goliath, Bugs Bunny, Sylvester (both with and without Tweety Pie), Porky Pig, Adventures of Young Gulliver, Wally Gator, Lippy the Lion, Touche Turtle, The Jetsons, Peter Potamus, Breezly and Sneezly, Yippie, Yappie, Yahooey, Road Runner, Atom Ant, Precious Pupp, Hillbilly Bears, Tom & Jerry, Magilla Gorilla, Punkin Puss and Ricochet Rabbit. I personally lean towards collected series rather than compilations like this - if you are into Jetsons for instance, you'll already have the episode here as part of your Jetsons Complete Collection DVD. On the other hand, there's several cartoons here whose series haven't been released as a set, and perhaps never will be. If you are a fan of the wider genre, or seeking to refresh the feelings of a childhood of Saturdays in front of the TV, then this set is probably for you. For me, it has simply whetted my appetite for Complete Series collections for Atom Ant, Samson & Goliath and Touche Turtle, as well as more sets of Tom & Jerry and the Looney Tunes.

Plastic Man: The Complete Collection

Available on DVD October 20th.
Check out the Official Site. Own it on DVD!

An excellent addition to the growing library of DC comic-related cartoon releases, this set includes all 35 episodes (around 5 and 3/4 hours spread over 4 discs) of Plastic Man from the Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show, a surprisingly fun show which sees Plastic Man as a jetset adventurer travelling the world foiling a variety of outrageous villains that wouldn't look out of place if they turned up in the 1990's Tick cartoon (which is a good thing, in case anyone was wondering). With a few exceptions - notably Carrot-Man and Doctor Dome - all Plas' foes are created specifically for the cartoon. I'm not sure if those in charge of producing the show felt Plastic Man's comic villains lacked pizzaz (which seems unlikely, because the comic ones are just as bizarre), but the weird and wacky villains help make this a suitably kooky show. Similarly replaced is Plastic Man's comic sidekick, Woozy Winks, with the equally bumbling Hula Hula. The adventures themselves are a mixed bag - running around a quarter hour long apiece, none are really as funny as the comics that inspired them, with Scooby Doo's mystery solving format clearly an undue influence instead, but they are still a largely entertaining and amiable watching experience. However, caveat emptor! Though the title of this box set identifies this as the "Complete Collection" that's not entirely accurate. While every Plastic Man episode is included, none of the related Baby Plas and Plastic Family episodes, nor the unrelated cartoons that aired as part of the show (Mighty Man & Yukk, Fangface and Fangpuss, and Rickety Rocket). That's a shame, because while conceivably those last three could one day get their own individual releases, there's probably neither sufficient content nor market to release Baby Plas and Plastic Family independent of the main cartoon.

There's some nice stuff on the extras front too - the 15 minute Plas-tastic: A Brief History of Plastic Man featurette is nicely informative if you are new to the character, but the really cool addition is the 10 minute long unaired pilot for Cartoon Network's 2006 Plastic Man series that never came to fruition. Though the lack of true completeness in this "complete" set is slightly disappointing, this remains a box set I heartily recommend.

Available on DVD August 25th.
Check out the official site. Own it on DVD!

As befits a show now entering it's eighth  year, Smallville has built up its own mythology, having gradually incorporated its own take on much of the comic version of Superman's history, supporting cast, villains and fellow heroes. But the question on fans' lips this year was "can the show survive without Lex Luthor?" For seven years Michael Rosenbaum's morally ambiguous Lex provided many of the strongest character moments the show enjoyed. With his departure two characters stepped in to fill the void: Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman), LuthorCorp's new head, and Davis Bloome (Sam Witwer), who discovers he is the Kryptonian living weapon Doomsday. Having learned from Lex that the best villains are sympathetic ones, the ones you hope might avoid becoming irredeemably evil, Witwer turns in a stellar performance as a man trapped by his destiny, modifying him from the one-note villain he was in the comics. Another element of Smallville's ongoing success has been that it hasn't remained static - it has some idea of where it is eventually heading, and isn't afraid to slowly move its cast in that direction. Thus we now see less of Smallville itself, as Clark becomes a Daily Planet reporter in Metropolis, the romance between Clark Kent and Lois Lane hots up, and Clark begins fighting crime at superspeed dressed in red and blue; but the show doesn't forget those that could so easily have been left behind in the midst of this progress, with Kristen Kreuk's Lana Lang returning to star in a multi-episode arc in the middle of the season. We see more of Clark's fellow heroes, particularly Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley), a.k.a. the Green Arrow, now a series regular, and even more elements of Superman's mythos are successfully and enjoyably added to the mix, with the best example being the introduction of the 30th century's Legion of Super-Heroes. All told, it's an excellent season, and though Lex is missed, the show proves it has the legs to stand without him, as the tension builds to the season finale and the final clash between Clark and Doomsday.

The box set comes with commentary tracks on two episodes, a slew of unaired scenes, and two featurettes, "In The Director's Chair: Behind the Lens and Calling the Shots with Allison Mack" which follows series regular Mack as she takes her debut turn behind the camera directing the episode "Power", and "Smallville's Doomsday: The Making of a Monster" which looks at how the show went about building its own version of the classic comic villain.

All in all, the Season 8 set is definitely recommended if you are a fan of Superman or this show.

Super Friends The Lost Episodes
Available on DVD August 11th.
Check out the official site. Own it on DVD!

The so-called Lost Episodes are an oddity. In the 1980s, older Super Friends cartoons began to get syndicated runs during the weekday. Meanwhile, a new series was produced to run for the 1983 to '84 Saturday morning slot - 8 episodes each consisting of 3 seven minute shorts (hence the 24 "episodes" touted on the DVD cover) were produced before someone at ABC bizarrely decided they didn't want the new stories "competing" with the old, and pulled the plug. Super Friends returned to Saturday morning the next year, and one of the three parters aired then, while the remainder eventually got syndicated release as part of Superman/Batman Adventures in 1986, thus only really being lost to Saturday mornings. Nonetheless, they remain a curious blip in the long running Super Friends cartoon saga.

As with most of the Super Friends installments, the stars are the Justice League stalwarts Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman and Aquaman (with Green Lantern, who makes the cover, actually only guesting in a couple of stories - Hawkman and Hawkgirl also turn up). Joining them are the cartoon creations the Wonder Twins and their space-monkey Gleek, as well as the cartoons' well meaning but cringeworthy attempts to introduce some diversity to what otherwise might have been the Super WASPS, Apache Chief, Black Vulcan, Samurai and El Dorado. Opposing them are classic comic foes including the Legion of Doom, Brainiac and Mr, Mxyzptlk, and far less classic, created for the cartoon, villains such as (I kid you not - see the images below) Hippohulk and Superfrog. There are some great stories in here - Superman returning to Krypton prior to its destruction to meet his parents, the Phantom Zone villains using time travel to attack Superboy in Smallville, Gorilla Grodd taking on the entire assembled Super Friends, and a visit to Bizarro World - but be warned, there's also some of the worst stories the Super Friends ever had too, such as when Batman and Superman get turned into a humanoid bat and eagle respectively, though even they are watchable in a so-bad-it's-good way.

There are no special features beyond the option to download some comics digitally and some trailers, which is somewhat of a disappointment, but it's nearly 3 hours of cartoon fun on 2 discs for $26.98, which isn't an unreasonable price (and you can get it cheaper on places like Amazon).

Yes, it is Batman and Superman, looking kind of dumb, though not as dumb as...

but to show you it isn't all like this, here's how it normally looks.

Check out the official site. Own it on DVD!

Original Spider-Man Season 1 Volume 1
Available on DVD August 24th.

Despite being Marvel's top character (then and now), Spider-Man was far from the first of Stan Lee's heroes to be made into a cartoon. In 1966 "The Marvel Superheroes" had brought no less than five of Spidey's contemporaries to cartoons - Captain America, Iron Man, Namor the Sub-Mariner, the Hulk and Thor. Though it may not look it to contemporary eyes, used to the slick cartoons of today, Spider-Man, debuting only a year later, was a quantum leap forward for Marvel cartoons.  The animation was smoother, unlike its predecessors which had had minimal animation over static backgrounds, and it had original stories, while The Marvel Superheroes mostly adapted comic storylines verbatim. Alongside Spider-Man's comic book adversaries like Dr. Octopus, viewers were introduced to new foes created just for the cartoon...though to be fair, most of them weren't that memorable. Nevertheless, for a generation of kids, this was their introduction to Spider-Man, and the series' catchy theme tune remains in the public consciousness to this day.

It does have some links to The Marvel Superheroes though - voice actor Paul Soles, who provides Spider-Man, also provided Bruce Banner's voice in the Hulk segments of The Marvel Superheroes (and in recognition of this, recently appeared in a small role in the 2008 Incredible Hulk movie). Peg Dixon, who voiced Peter Parker's love interest, was quintuple timing him, as she was also Namor's love Dorma, Bruce Banner's girlfriend Betty Ross, Thor's paramour Jane Foster, and Iron Man's secretary and secret admirer Pepper Potts! And J. Jonah Jameson's voice, Paul Kligman, might have been antagonistic to Spider-Man, but as Thunderbolt Ross he was adversarial to the Hulk, and he was downright evil as Captain America's foe the Red Skull.

Trivia aside, back to the DVD at hand. The 1967 Spider-Man jumps straight in at the deep end without wasting time on an origin story. This set includes the first six episodes, which see him taking on Dr. Octopus, the Lizard, alien Plutonians, Electro and others, running a little over 2 hours. The plots are hardly complex, but they aren't meant to be; the cartoon is not pretentious, and all it tries to be is good clean fun, and on that count it succeeds. My only hesitation in recommending this set is that this series ran for 3 years and a total of 52 episodes. On that front, there's several volumes to come. If you are the kind of buyer who just wants to dip in, then smaller volumes like this are ideal; if you are a collector, you might want to wait for the inevitable full series box set.

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