Superman vs. The Elite: PP as LL

I really enjoyed the new animated feature from DC, Superman vs. The Elite. I agree with Chris Sims of the Comics Alliance site that it is better than the [comic book] source material. This movie was a lot of fun and I liked the art style more than many reported to from early viewings. The Fortress of Solitude, Superman Robots and the pre-Ad Nauseum Crisis relationship between Clark Kent/Superman and Reporter Lois Lane made me miss the old DC Universe so darn much.

Actress Pauley Perrette as a new voice for Lois Lane was the thing that stood out most for me. Voice actors can really make or break a show. I still wince when I hear the boyish pitch of Tony Stark in Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Perrette has a great-sounding voice and delivery cadence that suited the character without sounding too similar to the manic, hyper-caffeinated Abby of NCIS. The Lois personality really comes through with Perrette ably voicing the character. In fact, Perrette was considered so effective as Lois that that as a mark of respect the animators created their own "cross-over event" by copying Perrette's real spider web neck tattoo onto Lois, thereby making it a part of the DC Universe continuity. That's just great.

Think about it

It’s clever using the telepathic link so much in the Young Justice - Invasion animated television series. The link, which I first recall seeing used a lot in the X-Men comic book years back, is a science fiction device that allows covert communication between team members and information dumps. It is used to great effect in the YJ show, more so than in any other media I've seen. In X-Men and any number of other similar print and video series once the link was comprehensively Claremonted onto the continuity and back story it was just a given that the characters were using the telepathic link. In Young Justice the mental interaction between the characters is integral to the pacing of the show. One of the aspects that is clear about the teen team is that they don't want to share very much with the adult members of the Justice League. This is very much in keeping with the premise of the show of the junior league chafing at the leadership and their perception that they are together only at the sufferance of the elder heroes.

The big deal about the link in Young Justice is not in driving the story but that the animators and presumably the budget really gets some breaks when the characters are able to just  stare at each other without moving during expository voice-overs. Did the creative team understand at the start how much time and money would be saved per episode from not animating the characters speaking, including all the realistic body gestures that would have to accompany such scenes? I wonder if cost considerations come into play and the use of the mental link to cover the majority of the animated speaking was the solution or was that just a beneficial circumstance of a plot device.

Edited from original post June 6, 2012 at the LTMS Tumblr.

Shirts and Skins

Even without counting Metallo, who is technically nude (Hey, sexy robot women count, why not men?), Bane and the Evil Martian are showing about the same amount of skin. But let's face it, there are some basic differences in the way these costumes are presented. The togs of Star Sapphire and the Cheetah are designed to be sexy and titillating as a  typical male fantasy fulfillment. The clothing of the men are not to excite but meant to display power and prowess albeit of the "Jersey Shore ab-display" variety.

On the plus side Star Sapphire is depicted as having more fabric in her outfit than the comic book version but that probably has more to do with the standards and practices of a video meant for a somewhat younger audience.


Image from Justice League: Doom (2012)

Nobody digs a word we say

Nearly 50 years after it was first unleashed upon the world the love song Eep Opp Ork Ah-Ah as performed by the multi-talented Howard Morris for The Jetsons animated television show is a cultural and Valentine's Day classic. Originally broadcast in 1962 in the episode "A Date With Jet Screamer" Eep Opp Ork Ah-Ah has outlasted many of the "serious" pop songs of the day and has been sampled and covered by such bands as the Dickies and most famously, the Violent Femmes. Plus: Starkids reference.

More on Howard Morris: Wikipedia, YouTube and as Professor Lilloman!

It's a process

The character of "Racist" Bannon in the 1964 animated Johnny Quest adventure series was quickly re-imagined when he didn't scale well with focus groups.

See the original Johnny Quest title sequence here and the fantastic stop-motion homage here.

This is vewy, vewy distuwbing

If you have not watched any episodes of the new animated Looney Tunes show then you are missing scenes like this.

-Elmer Fudd Grilled Cheese Sandwich song-

Another example of a cartoon not really made for the kiddies.

A lazy, slightly creeped-out Sunday post.

Cry havoc and let slip the hogs of war

Archer is currently one of my favorite animated shows. The adventures of Sterling Archer and the dysfunctional spy agency ISIS and the cast of characters is wrong on many levels. The show is obscene, rude and pushes boundaries. The delivery of H. Jon Benjamin, who voices Sterling, is comedic and note perfect. The recent two part episode where Sterling battles breast cancer and goes on a deadly rampage when he discovers his costly, life-saving medication was replaced by sugar and Zima was the funniest television I've seen in ages.

While the animation is what brings people to the show it is the characters that make them stay. The entire cast is great and they play horrible, flawed people with few redeeming qualities seemingly effortlessly.

The title sequence is awesome and retro, capturing the pastiche of the 1960s-1970s era of spy thrillers perfectly. You can view the lead in to Archer at the website The Art of the Title Sequence which breaks the creation of the opening credits down a bit.

Visiting hours are 24-7, so click the picture and get your visitor pass!

A lazy Sunday post.

But will it play in the Borscht Belt?

Today's musical video comes from an episode of the animated Batman: The Brave and the Bold series. The clip has been out there for a while and while I usually watch the show, I passed on that particular episode due to my general dislike of the Matches Malone character. That is a choice I now regret.

From September 2010 here is Catwoman, Huntress and Black Canary singing the Birds of Prey Song. Words by Gail Simone, sounds by Nika Futterman, Tara Strong and Grey DeLisle.

The entire act is pretty naughty for a show that is supposed to be for children and it was reported that the US release was delayed to reanimate some of the more suggestive scenes. I have no idea if this is the reworked version or not. For those of you who don't understand all the innuendo, the Birds are rating the male members of the DCU superhero club by size and stamina.

A lazy, kinda risque Sunday post.

The Saga of the Family Guy

In the December 13th episode of Family Guy the character of Peter Griffin takes over his Father-in-Law's company and becomes a power-mad tyrant who abuses his employees. During the show one of the things that came to my mind was: "It sure would be funny if Swamp Thing made an appearance in some sort of parody to The Anatomy Lesson."
Well, that's exactly what happened. So while the 'Swamp Monster' gag was not knee-slapping hilarious it was a nice homage that should get the notice of any fanboy.

Motion Comics: Animation of the Past, Today!

Does no one remember Clutch Cargo?

Click for a look at what childhood horrors your Dad had to deal with!

I don't see the lure in the "new" Motion Comics. Unless they are viewed on something about the same size as a book I can't be all that interested and that has more to do with my age and how my eyes work than my fear of new technology. But I get why they are being produced. Motion Comics can give the public their movie fix in between animated specials and live action films. It also serves as one of many intermediary steps before publishers finally pull the plug on the long, slow death that is print media.

One of the things I have noticed by observing the younger generation and the media empires that produce content for them is that their entertainment is disposable to them. This is much as it was for both the companies and consumers of decades past before the notion of collectability and preserving the content of the past for use in the future became as widespread as it did starting in the late 1960s. Today more than ever everything is only momentarily cool and amusements are consumed on-the-go and rarely revisited. I think this is why comic book companies cater mostly to the aging, hard core fans that began reading and collecting at the end of the Silver Age.

There is an inevitable evolution to these things. Originally the stepped-down animation style of a motion comic was little more than a digital version of a Power Records album. Given the high cost, slow internet and CPU speeds a character would rarely do more than shift a few degrees in place, giving the illusion of action in the narrative. One of the more understated yet quite effective use of motion effects in still frame cartooning was the use of blinking eyes of the characters in the online For Better or Worse strips. If you were not paying attention it would really creep you out.

As technology improved the expectations of both the creators and the readers increased and currently motion comics are typically made with pretty high production values, the Watchmen motion comic being a good example. Eventually Motion Comics will probably get to the point were the line between full animation and the simplified Syncro Vox-style will be blurred.

Reverse Evolution

The Transformation of Henry Limpet

The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964).

Daffy and Nothingness

Snagged another original sketch from professional animator Arland Barron when he stopped by work the other day.

New original art

Two new sketches from animator Arland Barron. Snagged them when he visited my work place the other day.