DVD review: Ruby-Spears Superman
The 1988 “Superman” animated series was the first version of the character to come to television since comic-book writer/artist John Byrne’s noted revamp of the character in the 1986 “Man of Steel” miniseries. In the new “Superman” comic-book line, Byrne and writer Marv Wolfman introduced the idea of Lex Luthor as a corrupt industrialist instead of mad scientist. That characterization is followed up here, as Wolfman was the animated series’ head story editor.
Even though the Christopher Reeve film series was over by the time this series aired, after the dismal failure of 1987’s “Superman IV,” the 1988 animated series still paid homage to those films. Luthor’s assistant, Jessica Morganberry, is a version of the film’s Miss Tessmacher, and Luthor, though an industrialist, speaks in a manner consistent with Gene Hackman’s Luthor from the films. Furthermore, the theme song for the Ruby-Spears “Superman” uses a bit of the famous John Williams “Superman” score. The series calls back to Superman’s past in another way, too: The opening narration was the same as the 1950s “Adventures of Superman” television show.
Superman/Clark Kent was voiced by Tulsa-born Beau Weaver, who later voiced Mr. Fantastic in the 1990s “Fantastic Four” animated series.
Each episode of “Superman” featured an 18-minute Superman adventure followed by a 4-minute segment called “Superman’s Family Album,” which touched on his days as a youngster in Smallville.
While “Superman,” produced by Ruby-Spears, only lasted one season, it provided an intermediate step between the silliness of the “Super Friends” of the 1970s and the more modern take of the 1990s series.
— Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Oklahoma writer Sterling Gates creates World’s Finest team-ups
World’s Finest #1, kicking off a miniseries teaming Superman and Batman family characters, is in stores today, written by Tulsa native Sterling Gates.
At DC Comics’ official “Source” blog, Gates is called a “writer to watch.”
“Gates has made a name for himself for his tight plotting and knack for strong and precise characterization,” blogger Alex Segura writes.
Meanwhile, at Newsarama, Vaneta Rogers has an extended Q&A with Gates about the series.
“The Batman universe is so full of change right now. So is the Superman universe,” Gates tells Newsarama. “Bruce Wayne is dead and Superman has left the planet Earth to be with his own people on New Krypton. The world is suddenly without its two greatest heroes. To me, that makes it a very exciting time for the DC Universe. You’re seeing new and different characters come to the forefront and stepping up to fill the void left with Superman and Batman gone.”
Gates talked to Nerdage back in September about the project:
“Each issue focuses on a different Batman-Universe hero and villain teaming up with a different Superman-Universe hero and villain,” Gates said. “So, you’re getting four great characters coming into conflict, and you just have to sit back and watch the fireworks.”
Gates said ” World’s Finest” also has some of his “all-time favorite villains.”
“Catwoman’s in there, Mr. Freeze, Penguin, Kryptonite Man, Toyman,” he said. “It’s gonna take all of these heroes working together to rein these supervillains in!”
- Matt Price
DVD review: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
The Man of Steel and the Caped Crusader team up in this direct-to-DVD animated film based on the comic books by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. Loeb has plenty of screenwriting experience, as the writer of “Teen Wolf” and “Commando,” and his story translates relatively easily to film. The screenplay was adapted by Stan Berkowitz, who also adapted Darwyn Cooke’s “Justice League: The New Frontier” into an animated movie.
McGuinness’s blocky, muscular style is recreated in the style of the movie, which is heavy on action but lighter on character development.
The movie reunites Tim Daly, who voiced Superman on “Superman: The Animated Series,” with Kevin Conroy, voice of Batman in “Batman: The Animated Series.” The two hadn’t worked together since 1998’s “World’s Finest” animated movie. (George Newbern took over the role of Superman for the “Justice League” animated series.)
The United States, in the throes of wars and recession, turns to an exonerated Lex Luthor, who is elected U.S. president. Luthor fixes the immediate problems but also insists all superheroes work solely for him. When a giant Kryptonite meteor threatens Earth, Superman and Batman — now “public enemies” in Luthor’s regime — are forced to come up with their own plan to save the planet.
The first half of the movie zips along, but the ending isn’t as strong.
It’s great to hear Daly and Conroy working together on their signature characters, but the film doesn’t exceed the past decade of animation with Superman and Batman.
— Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Quick thoughts about Smallville 9th season premiere – Savior
A few quick thoughts on the season premiere tonight. Light spoilers ahead.
* I’m OK with the new Matrix-y suit. It’s at least closer to a superhero suit than a red jacket. (Though just get the red and blue suit already!)
* Lois pining over the Blur is great.
* Callum Blue has great presence as Zod.
* Good scenes between Tess and Zod.
* OK, you knew they’d go there, but the kneeling before Zod, pretty sweet.
* Lois and Ollie had a nice scene together as she reminds him that she knows he can be a true hero.
* Clark has a good fight scene with solid FX.
* Touching, difficult scene near the end with Chloe and Clark.
* Brian Austin Green put in a nice, suitably unsettling performance as John Corben (whose destiny was more or less revealed in the trailer for next week).
I like how the premiere set up a premise for the season and put Clark on a timeline. I thought season 8 also started with a bang, but had some slowdowns in the middle and end. We’ll see if season 9 can stay on an upward climb.
Your thoughts?
- Matt Price
Smallville’s 9th season promises to be ’spicy’
WORD BALLOONS
“Smallville” kicks off its ninth season tonight, as the young Clark Kent (Tom Welling) comes ever closer to his eventual destiny as Superman.
Clark gets closer to the traditional “Superman” costume this year as well, wearing a long, black coat and a shirt bearing the “S”-shield. Clark also finds himself drawn closer to Lois Lane (Erica Durance).
“Lois is dealing with being smitten with Superman, and also still kind of finding Clark irritating,” Durance said at the “Smallville” panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego. “It’s going to be really spicy.”
Welling isn’t just starring in “Smallville,” he’s also a producer.
“I enjoy the production side very much,” Welling said at Comic-Con. “For the last few years, my interest in what happens before we get to set has increased. And this year, I play a larger part in that.”
At the close of season eight, Tess Mercer, played by Cassidy Freeman, encountered the Kryptonian villain Zod (Callum Blue).
“The first episode starts with me and Zod,” Freeman said in a recent interview. “I figure out who he is.”
Zod appeared earlier in “Smallville” when he possessed Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum), but now Zod appears in Smallville in the flesh. Mercer replaced Lex Luthor as the head of LuthorCorp after Luthor’s disappearance.
“The relationship between Zod and Tess is very loaded,” Freeman said. “She’s kind of all business.”
“Smallville” moves to Friday nights this year, but Freeman said it shouldn’t be a problem for the long-running show.
“We already have a pretty strong fanbase,” she said. “With Friday nights, you might need a big gun to draw people in, and we hope ‘Smallville’ can be that big gun.”
- by Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Whiteout writer Greg Rucka joins Oklahoma native Sterling Gates in Hunt for Reactron
LOS ANGELES — A U.S. Marshal investigating a murder at the bottom of the world is the premise of “Whiteout,” the graphic novel by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber, which was adapted into a motion picture starring Kate Beckinsale.
The comic-book limited series “Whiteout” from Oni Press was a big success in late 1990s. The sequel, “Whiteout: Melt,” nabbed the Eisner Award for best limited series.
At the press conference for the film “Whiteout,” Rucka said it’s an honor to see his creation make the jump to the silver screen, as a lot of comic books and graphic novels never make that jump.
“I’m still in awed shock that it made it this far, honestly,” Rucka said. “Steve Lieber and I created a comic to tell the story we wanted to tell. … All you can really be is incredibly flattered that this idea that you created in one format, because that was the format that you were working in, is something that somebody wants to take the time and the effort to translate.”
This month, Rucka’s moving from the icy wasteland of “Whiteout” to the heated action of “The Hunt for Reactron.”
The four-part crossover between “Action Comics” and “Supergirl” follows the “Codename: Patriot” storyline and features Supergirl, Nightwing and Flamebird on the hunt for Reactron, the villain who killed Supergirl’s father, Zor-El.
Supergirl and Flamebird, best friends in childhood, have been at odds since Zor-El’s death. But both want 
the man who killed Zor-El brought to justice. This Nightwing isn’t Dick Grayson, but is Chris Kent, Superman’s adopted son.
Rucka is co-writing the crossover with “Supergirl” writer Sterling Gates, a University of Oklahoma graduate.
“Sterling is fantastic, he’s a great collaborator,” Rucka said at the “Whiteout” film junket. “I’m loving writing with Sterling. He and I are doing two issues of ‘Action’ (and) two issues of ‘Supergirl’ together.”
The crossover begins in Wednesday’s “Action Comics” 881 and continues in “Supergirl” 45, on sale Sept. 23. The story concludes in October’s issues of “Action Comics” and “Supergirl.”
- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
DVD review: Smallville Season 8
Young Clark Kent moved closer to his eventual fate as Superman in the eighth season of “Smallville.” Clark Kent (Tom Welling) becomes a regular reporter for “The Daily Planet” and begins to have feelings for Lois Lane (Erica Durance).
The eighth season of “Smallville” was the first without show creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, or Clark’s former girlfriend Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk). The show also had to replace Michael Rosenbaum, who had played Lex Luthor on the show since its inception. While the shadow of Lex still looms large over Smallville, two new players held their own as villains of the piece.
The new head of Luthorcorp is Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman), a marine biologist turned hard-hitting executive with ties to Green Arrow’s secret ID, Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley).
Davis Bloome (Sam Witwer) is an EMT who develops a crush on Clark’s best friend, Chloe (Alison Mack). Chloe, however, is engaged to Jimmy Olsen (Aaron Ashmore). But the reasons that Bloome is drawn to Chloe may be something more sinister than a simple romantic spark, as Bloome’s character darkens as the season progresses.
The season starts strong and has a great run through episode 11, “Legion,” written by Geoff Johns, who has written some of the best “Superman” comic books of the past decade.
The midseason arc with the return of Lana Lang slows down the Lois-Clark romance and puts a hiccup into the season-long momentum. Some of it is regained in “Eternal,” as Tess figures out Bloome’s secret, but the season doesn’t finish quite as strongly as it began.
- Matthew Price
NewsOK Comics Podcast: Superman World of New Krypton 6, Doom Patrol 1, Irredeemable 5, Captain America Reborn 2, Ultimatum: X-Men Requiem
It’s Boom! and Doom this week on the NewsOK Comics Podcast. Irredeemable from Boom! Studios just is 99 cents, and Doom Patrol launches a new series – with a Metal Men backup! Also find out the latest about Captain America, Ultimate X-Men and Superman.
1988 Superman cartoon coming to DVD
Superman Cartoon 1988 Intro - Click here for the funniest movie of the week
According to TV Shows on DVD, the 1988 Ruby-Spears Superman cartoon will come to DVD this November. In addition to the Superman adventure show, this series contained mini-segments called “Superman’s Family Album,” about growing up in Smallville.
The release will contain 13 episodes on two discs, and a special feature about the rise of LexCorp, the 1980s corporate housing of Lex Luthor, who, prior to the 1980s, had been more mad scientist than corporate raider.
- Matt Price
Quick hits from Smallville panel at Comic-Con
Tom Welling’s first appearance at Comic-Con was a hit, as a very full room cheered for the stars of Smallville at today’s Smallville panel at Comic-Con, moderated by Jeph Loeb. Callum Blue, Cassidy Freeman, Allison Mack, Justin Hartley, Erica Durance joined Welling on the panel, as did Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson.
Here are a few quick notes and impressions from the Smallville panel:
* Clark is finally in some version of a Superman suit, with a black shirt bearing the S-shield and a flowing black overcoat, in preview footage shown at the panel.
* Geoff Johns will write a Justice Society episode.
* Season premiere will touch on the flight issue.
* Green Arrow will be in more episodes this season, as will Lois Lane. Lois will be in 18 episodes.
* Lex is absolutely not dead.
* Tom Welling is directing two episodes this season; Allison Mack will also direct.
* A possible Green Arrow sidekick story is being explored.
* In the first eight episodes this season, we’ll see Green Arrow hit “rock bottom.”
* Smallville is moving to Fridays this fall, debuting Sept. 25. The DVD and Blu-ray of Season 8 hits Aug. 25.
- Matt Price
