A Very Animated Christmas

Long, productive day today!  Knocked off some Christmas shopping, got my car fixed, snuck in some writing work, did a survey downtown and met with The Daily Blank folks for brainstorming.  Throw in a trip to the comic shop and that's a full pull!

Comic based DVD gifts for Christmas!

Batman: The Animated Series

This is the greatest comic book cartoon series ever produced.  I cannot see this being topped.  No hyperbole there, that's how good this series is.  It debuted in prime time, that's how amazing this is.  It only got better as it went on.  This is the complete collection, they're all available individually too, but this is the definition of in for a penny, in for a pound.  Cannot recommend this any higher.  AMAZING.

Superman: The Animated Series

I'm a big fan of this, but it didn't click as well as Batman did.  I recommend it primarily because it's a bargain at this price.  It's very well made, but something was just off.  I loved Dana Delaney as Lois but never warmed up to Tim Daly as Supes/Clark.  Very Kirby-centric, which is cool.  It leads into our next offering, which is...

Justice League: The Complete Series

Great series that got off to a slow start.  It had a lot of the problems Superman had.  Something just didn't feel comfortable about the first season.  Green Lantern wasn't fully realized and they were very formulaic about the adventures.  It actually mirrored the way the early years of the actual JLA comics played out.  Pairing up leaguers to go on individual adventures.  Second season and when it became JL Unlimited were VERY good years.  They got over their fear of dumb viewers and just told fun comic stories.

Green Lantern: First Flight

DC and Marvel have both finally got off their duff and have been producing fantastic direct to DVD movies in the last few years.  Some have been better than others.  On a whole, I've enjoyed DC's more than Marvel's.  I think it's the Bruce Timm influence that most of the DC ones have.  The two best are Green Lantern: First Flight and Justice League: The New Frontier.  GL is a fun, well done succinct origin story of Hal Jordan.  If you read my comic recommendations then you know I love GL.

Justice League: The New Frontier

New Frontier is The Right Stuff mixed with Justice League.  Slick animation design based on Darwyn Cooke's amazing series puts the DC Silver Age firmly entrenched in early cold war 1960's space race.  Green Lantern takes main stage in this one and it's highly recommended.

Marvel Animation

Spider-Man: The 60's Series

This is the one you remember the theme song from.  Poorly drawn animation and simplistic storylines are the staples here.  But still, the charm cannot be denied.  There are a lot of episodes here, and they all feel the same, one after the other.  But I still love it!

The best Marvel TV animation isn't on DVD, and that's the problem.  Their rights are so crazed, I think with the Disney merger some things will get straightened out.  Specifically, the 90's Spider-Man series should have been released years ago.  Also, where the hell is Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends????  How about 1980's Hulk?  Where are the 1960's fumetti ones ripped right from the pages of the comics?  Arg!!!

They did release the 90's FF, which sucked balls.  They've just recently released the 90's X-Men with no fanfare and I was never a huge fan of it anyway, so I can't recommend here.  TV animation has always been Marvel's weak spot and it continues in the DVD market.

Hulk Vs.

The Marvel ones tend to a chunkier animation style.  The best of the Marvel bunch, by far, is the Hulk Vs.  This pits Hulk against Wolverine in one chapter and Thor in the other.  Both are a lot of fun and the animation is slick throughout.  I'm very much looking forward to the World War Hulk upcoming one.

Marvel Animation Six Pack

This is a good bargain for those of you new to all these direct to DVD's.  The quality swings here, but included in this set is...

Dr. Strange - Well done.  I'm not a big Strange fan and I enjoyed this.
Iron Man - Not great.  Done before the film came out and relied too heavily on his Mandarin foe.
Ultimate Avengers 1 & 2 - Ok animation based on a solid book.  The sequel is really Black Panther heavy.
Next Avengers - Did not expect to like this, REALLY enjoyable.  Aimed at a younger set, it has heavier future distopia themes that would appeal to the adult here.
Hulk VS. - See above, best in this set.

The biggest drawback that Marvel would appear to have with the direct to DVD's is the big guns are tied up with other companies.  Spider-Man and X-Men I'm looking at you.  Yes we have Wolverine in the Hulk movie, but it's not a Wolverine movie.  Fantastic Four is also guilty here.  I long for the day when all the rights are back under the Marvel roof.

MotD: Whatever Works

Woody Allen's latest piece has Larry David being Larry David, which is good enough for me.  I love Larry David and while this feels a bit more stilted than I like seeing him on Curb Your Enthusiasm, it's still laughably enjoyable.  Pessimism and a sardonic look at life here, typical Woody Allen.  If you like Larry, you'll get a kick out of this.

It's Christmas time, there's no need to be afraid...

Every day I get people asking me, "Malone, my boy/girlfriend loves comics, but I think they're infantile and for idiots.  What should I get him/her for Christmas?"

Typically, my first reaction is "Awesome that you're apparently dating a tranny.  Wouldn't it be easier if they just picked one gender pronoun and went for it?"

Then I follow that with some suggestions based on their tranny partners interests.  So here we go, with some comic referral gifts for the Holiday Season...

Today we'll cover some Marvel Comics

Astonishing X-Men Omnibus

This series was so good.  If you like the X-Men but feel encumbered by the seemingly too complex backstories, this is the collection for you.  Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy, Firefly, Dollhouse and other riffs on the scooby gang dynamic) teamed with John Cassady for a straightforward action epic.  If you're not familiar with Cassady's art, he has a gorgeous, clean line.  His best work was on Planetary, but this stuff is epic and wonderful.  This arc reminds us what the X-Men should be.  Tight knit family, bicker amongst themselves, high stakes adventure and occasional outer space excursions.

Avengers Forever

The complete opposite end of the spectrum is Avengers Forever, by Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco.  This book is a deep read loaded with continuity for Avengers fans.  Not deep as in spiritual, deep as in every single panel is packed with some kind of reference to Avengers past.  Kang, Immortus, Space Phantoms all the classics are here.  Avengers from the past, present and future are plucked from their time and thrust into an adventure to save reality.  I always loved this series for it's slavish devotion to continuity.  This one's for the nerds!

Captain America Omnibus

If you're not reading Captain America, then you're a card carrying Commie and you should go back to China.  This book has been a MUST read for the last 5 years, since Ed Brubaker breathed new life into Steve Rogers.... and then killed him.  That they were able to continue the book's momentum, unabated and with even more vigor, while the titular hero was literally dead, is amazing.  This omnibus covers the return of Bucky, one of the saints of Marvel, never to be resurrected for real, but Bru pulls it off wonderfully and now they've got a vital, fan favorite new hero on their hands.  Also, the art here is amazing.  Epting, Perkins, Lark, Weeks and Guice all mesh their styles to one cohesive look for this book that has served it well.  Highest Recommendation here!

MotD: Match Point

Woody Allen channels Hitchcock here.  I enjoyed this movie much more than I ever thought I would.  It's got enough red herring twists in it to keep you guessing and the story moves briskly.  Love, betrayal and what it takes to clean up the mess you've made with your life.