Original 1943 BATMAN serials. #1 The Electrical Brain

Hawkman Sketch

a rather blurred sketch of Hawkman's face. sigh

Earth-Two DCU

With Batman Inc coming up and Bruce totally giving the cowl to Dick this time, reminds me of Earth-Two.
You know Earth-Two? The home of Clark Kent, editor in chief of the Metropolis Daily Star. Where Batman married Catwoman and had a daughter, Huntress. Where Hawkman and Hawkgirl were reincarnated Egyptian royalty and the home of the Justice Society of America and Infinity Inc?


Well....it's nostalgic. When I read Grumpy Old Fans, The singularities of Earth-Two over at CBR.

I say all that to note that this was nothing new for Earth-Two. DC introduced a number of second-generation superheroes in the ‘70s and ‘80s, almost all of whom adopted code names and costumes different from their “parents.” Dick didn’t take up Bruce’s mantle. Helena didn’t become Batwoman, Bat-Girl or Catwoman. Superman’s cousin Kara wasn’t Supergirl, but Power Girl. Wonder Woman’s daughter took the code name Fury, Hawkman’s sons were Silver Scarab and Northwind, and Green Lantern fathered Jade and Obsidian.

Now, it would be a bit disingenuous to suggest that we can compare Earth-Two to the current DC-Earth, because Earth-Two, like any number of rogue cops with good intentions, played by its own rules. Chief among them, I imagine, was the dictum that Earth-Two not be simply an “older” version of Earth-One. There were already characters unique to each Earth — for example, Earth-Two’s Doctor Mid-Nite and Doctor Fate, and Earth-One’s Martian Manhunter and Elongated Man. Similarly, although both Supermen had blonde cousins named Kara, DC already had a Supergirl.

This pattern of significant distinction (if not outright uniqueness) continued until the mid-‘80s and the debut of Infinity, Inc. Although the initial Infinitor lineup included one real legacy character, Brainwave Jr., the rest of the group was made up of “significantly distinct” members, including many named above. During Crisis On Infinite Earths, the team gained three new legacies, Doctor Midnight, Hourman II and Wildcat II. (The Crisis also took the Earth-Two Huntress and Robin out of the greater DC picture.)

Over on Earth-One, main-line legacy characters like Robin II (Jason Todd) and Black Canary II (Dinah Laurel Lance) were similarly rare. There had been a couple of varieties of Manhunter, as well as two Mad Hatters, two Killer Frosts, and (I think) two Two-Faces, but good-guy legacies weren’t often developed. Instead, multiversal counterparts took the place of straight-line successors.

With all that in mind, it’s a bit odd to see the ex-Earth-Two characters incorporated into various lineages. Silver Scarab went on to become both a Sandman and a Doctor Fate. Nuklon, godson of the original Atom, is now Atom-Smasher. Jesse Quick, daughter of Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle, briefly adopted her mother’s code name and costume; and Jade has been a Green Lantern, albeit in the Oan mode (once unique to the universe of Earth-One). Still, just as their uniqueness wasn’t unusual in the pre-Crisis days, so their legacy status has become common today.

Enjoy.

Philip Tan's Hawkman

This piece of art is from Philip Tan. He told me Hawkman is one of his favorite DC heroes. I hope they plan on giving him his own title again at DC comics. We'll still see how Blackest Night will treat the Hawks and hopefully see them fly the DC skies again.

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths: Executive Producer Bruce Timm offers New Insights on “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths” and “The Spectre”

Executive Producer Bruce Timm offers New Insights on “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths” and “The Spectre”
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Today at 8:25am
Executive producer Bruce Timm offers new perspective on the creation of “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths,” the latest entry in the ongoing series of DC Universe animated original movies, and “The Spectre,” the inaugural DC Showcase animated short, in an all-new Q&A with the guru of super hero animation.
Batman attempts to save the Earth, er, Earths as he faces off with his evil doppleganger Owlman.

Warner Home Video will distribute the full-length animated Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths on February 23 as a Special Edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def, as well as single disc DVD, and On Demand and Download.

Timm, the executive producer on “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths,” has been the creative force behind many of Warner Bros. Animation’s modern-day successes, elevating DC Comics’ canon of super heroes to new heights of animated popularity and introducing generations of new fans to the characters via landmark television series and made-for-DVD films. The latter task includes the creation of the current series of DC Universe animated original movies, which have drawn critical acclaim and further whetted the public’s appetite for comic book entertainment. “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths” is the seventh film in the ongoing DC Universe series.

And here’s what Mr. Timm had to say …


Question:
What excites you about Juctice League: Crisis on Two Earths?

Bruce Timm:
In a weird kind of way, this is a return to my favorite show Justice League Unlimited. The original script was intended to be the bridge story between Justice League and Justice League Unlimited to explain how we went from seven heroes to more than 50 super heroes. We loved the story and the script, and it floated around here for years while we tried to figure out what to do with it – it was considered for a comic, but fortunately that got shot down. Then we took a look at it and, with just a few slight tweaks, we jumped at the chance to make it a DC Universe movie.


Question:
What sets it apart from the TV version of Justice League?

Bruce Timm:
It’s a very satisfying, grand scale adventure movie with a big cast of interesting, quirky characters. It’s amazing how much it feels like a great episode of Justice League Unlimited as a big, epic film with slightly different visual stylings. That’s a good thing.


Question:
Did this film present challenges that the first six DC Universe movies did not?

Bruce Timm:
The biggest challenge, and this is kind of esoteric, was that we had to find the line between the original source material and making it feel like a stand-alone movie so anyone that didn’t watch JLU could follow it. We really didn’t have to tweak the script too much – I think about 95 percent remains untouched. In terms of visual styling, we also wanted it to stand on its own and not necessarily as a continuation of the old show. We have this brilliant character designer – Phil Bourassa – who draws in a style similar to my own in terms of simplicity, but slightly different. So it doesn’t look 180 degrees away from the old show, but it definitely feels unique.


Question:
What are the benefits of having two directors on the same film?

The positive for Sam and Lauren is that having two directors lightens the workload, because it’s a big movie. They have similar strengths, and they’re both very good at what they do. They’re both all around talented in terms of understanding story, acting, the emotional core of the story, and they’re both really good at directing big crazy action scenes. But they’re methodology is different. Sam thinks a lot, he’s very analytical. Lauren is more intuitive about everything. I just kind of stayed out of it when they had disagreements – fortunately I never had to be the tiebreaker, They just worked things out between the two of them.


Question:
What are Dwayne McDuffie’s strengths?

Bruce Timm:
Dwayne is really well-rounded as a writer – he knows comics inside and out, he understands the lore, he knows what makes a good super hero story, and at the same time he’s really good with character dynamics and conflict. Plus he’s one of the best dialogue writers in the business.


Question:
Of this fairly huge casdt, do you have a favorite character?

Bruce Timm:
In this story, it’s probably Owlman. He’s a fascinating character himself, but the dynamic with Superwoman is so messed up as a couple, and yet really appealing in a weird kind of way. It’s a little similar to JLU’s relationship between The Question and Huntress. Superwoman is this badass hot chick, and he’s the quiet, brainy, nerd guy. They’re an interesting, odd couple. Plus I loved both James’ (Woods) and Gina’s (Torres) performances – they were spot-on. The amazing thing is we like to get all the actors to record as an ensemble, but in this case it wasn’t feasible, So they never met or performed together, but they totally mesh. It’s such an interesting chemistry considering they’ve never even met.
Owlman explains his nefarious plot to destroy all Earths with a devastating weapon.


Question:
You’ve brought another all-star cast to this film. Anything fans don’t know about the casting choices this time around?

Bruce Timm:
There’s an interesting side note in that Vanessa Marshall, who plays Wonder Woman, came this close to playing the role in Justice League. We were down to the final two choices, and they were neck and neck. The thing about Vanessa is that she sounded perfect for Wonder Woman – exactly what she should sound like. But Susan Eisenberg had this vulnerability. We thought it would be interesting to not play her to type, which ultimately played really well. When it came to casting for this movie, we thought, “What if we go down the road not taken?” So we opted for Vanessa in a full-length movie and she is great.


Question:
“Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths” includes the premiere of the first DC Showcase animation short, “The Spectre.” How have the DC Showcase shorts changed your work day?

Bruce Timm:
The DC Showcase is fun because it gives us an opportunity to play with characters that maybe don’t have a broad enough marquee value to support their own movie. As much as I like Batman, Superman, etc., the more lower tier, offbeat characters are really fascinating to me. It’s fun to mess around with others characters in the DC Universe. Super heroes are great, but it’s nice to do a change of pace, and that’s a lot of what we’ve done here. “The Spectre” is a supernatural thriller,; “Jonah Hex” is a western, and so on. So the Showcase is giving us a chance to stretch different muscles.
The Justice League makes its pitch to stand and fight the Crime Syndicate to an alternate Earth’s President Wilson.


Question:
After taking a break from episodic TV for the past several years, are you enjoying a return to the short-form with the DC Showcase?

Bruce Timm:
The interesting thing is these are really short form – they’re half as long as a half-hour TV episode. So the story has to be really tight and condensed – you have to cut away the fat, but it can’t be just wall-to-wall action. It still has to be a story. Fortunately we’re working with some really great writers, and because of that, every time we roll tape on these shorts, they feel like you’ve watched a whole episode of something. There’s a clear beginning, middle and end – a full story. So mission accomplished.


Question:
What made Steve Niles the right guy to write “The Spectre,” and how did you lure him into writing an animated short?

Bruce Timm:
I’ve admired Steve Niles’ work for a long time and, honestly, it would have never occurred to me to approach him. That was Todd Casey’s suggestion. He contacted Steve, and Steve was thrilled to get the assignment. He’s a big Michael Fleisher/Jim Aparo fan, and a big fan of “The Spectre” – especially that 1970s era of the character. Steve is very into crime fiction and horror, so he was the perfect writer for it.


Question:
Does “The Spectre” hold any special significance for you?

“The Spectre” was one of my favorite characters back in the 70s. Even by today’s standards, those comics are pretty hard core, and they were written in 1974, I don’t know how they got some of that stuff past the comic code. It was so different from any other comic on the stands. It’s really dark, really nasty. The character is pretty easy to understand – he’s the dark avenger of the night, even more so than Batman. He punishes bad guys in horrible, horrible ways. He’s like the benign Freddie Krueger. I’ve wanted to use “The Spectre” for a long, long time and we never had a opportunity to do it, and this was our chance to go hog wild with him.


For more information, images and updates, please visit the film’s official website at http://www.JUSTICELEAGUECRISIS.com

Clearing my stuffs

I've been thinking of clearing some stuffs I have at our room. It's really inviting dust to settle. My old comic books collection although shelved needs to be boxed again. The only reason I shelved those in the first place was because flood waters entered our house way back in 2007 causing some books to be soaked. Also I need to arrange my DVD collections. I need to get rid of some really tacky DVDs I bought. Our room is getting smaller and smaller. The kids added some PlayStation disc to the fray so I really need to make room.

My wife always complains about my comic books which is leading me to clean house again.

Waiting for a new Hawkman book

It's 2010 and already I'm hoping DC comics publish a new Hawkman book.
Hawkman was created by Gardner Fox and Dennis Neville in 1939-1940 as a backup to The Flash comics. Since then it has endured as a comicbook characters. Originally an American Archeologist and later an Alien cop, Hawkman together with Hawkgirl (woman) has lasted 70+ years.

Over time Hawkman has had revisions and re-interpretations but his essence lives on. This year, Hawkman will be featured in Smallville. Can't wait to watch that.

Fly Hawkman fly.