Is Marvel getting ahead of DC with their anime series?

You know, there was always this question in the back of my mind over if ultimately manga and anime have taken over Western comics.

Nothing further from reality as Western comics still have the largest demand in the world and Manga style comics are a genre/niche that is growing as we speak, but it's still far from being mainstream.

The day we see a manga published in the United States by either DC or Marvel, that'd be the day we can say that manga is mainstream.

That being said, what is Marvel's interest in making X-Men, Blade and Iron Man anime series?







The answer can be in the fact that Marvel is looking to get the younger audiences or younger generations that are wayyy more interested in manga/anime than they ever will in Western comics.

Or they just want to experiment what could be the result of a crossover between these two radically different styles and approaches for diverse audiences.

Or even a simple wish to join creative forces for the sake of going beyond, such as Stan Lee and Hiroyuki Takei in their series Karakuridoji Ultimo, which is serialized in Jump SQ magazine and is being sold as a graphic novel on Amazon.

Western comics are all about realism and being anatomically correct as possible, yet at the same time with a certain degree of styling of forms and figures, but manga is expressionistic and relies more in characters, but that doesn't mean that the story can't be equally complex. You can say that manga is realistic in its own way because of the expression it conveys in each panel.

Right now, a crossover of these two styles of visual storytelling (and cultural approaches to life, actually) have either proved to be succesful or simply a failure, as in the case of the Wolverine anime, so it is still an ambigous land.

And DC is doing nothing? 


DC is just not being as vocal, but series like 'Young Justice' and 'Teen Titans' show a certain shift towards anime style, without necessarilly abandoning the traditional animation style of 'Superman: TAS', or 'Justice League Unlimited'. They want to cater to younger audiences without compromising too much of themselves.



And don't forget about the 'Batman: Gotham Knight' animated shorts, that was already a mild insinuation towards anime style in 2005, with studios Madhouse, Studio 4 °C and Production IG working with David Goyer, Brian Azzarello and Greg Rucka.

As for the upcoming comics relaunch on September and the new character design? It may be only me but I'm already seeing mecha influences in Superman's new suit.

Who's not to say that with the upcoming Superman movie in 2012, directed by Zack Snyder, and assessed by the Nolans, we may get anime shorts of Superman?

The answers are still in the open for open minds.

BATMAN'S DETECTIVE COMICS By DC COMICS is Now In the Guinness Book of World Records!!

Recently, DC Comics President and Publisher Paul Levitz accepted an award on behalf of DC from the Guinness World Records, recognizing DETECTIVE COMICS as the longest-running comic book periodical in the United States. Pretty cool, huh? The event took place yesterday afternoon at the DC booth, with Paul accepting the award from Guinness’ own Craig Glenday, VP, Publishing and Editor in Chief. Shown up above is the very 1st issue of this classic comic book title & then next to it is issue #27, the very first appearance of Batman! Congratulations to DC Comics for their award!!

The Very Very Very First Appearance of Batman!!

Recently I have been thinking about how this year, 2009, is the 70th Anniversary of one of the greatest comic book characters ever, Batman! The weird thing is that DC Comics ( Warner Bros ) has not been hyping that fact very much. Oh, they have mentioned it a little but there's NO huge fanfare like I would like to see. So, then later I got to wonder what was THE very very first appearance of Batman? I'm not talking about Detective Comics # 27 where they introduced the character. I started to wonder if they showed him in any other way as sort of an introduction or teaser. Well, here it is! The graphic you see up above is the VERY FIRST TIME anybody, mainly children, got to see the Dark Knight! This image is from the 1939 issue of Action Comics # 12. It hyped the fact that there would be a brand-new superhero added to their lineup & said to look for the May issue of Detective Comics! Now, you really have to wonder...what did kids think when they 1st saw this small image of the Caped Crusader for the very first time? Wow! That must have been really cool!! Looking at the sale figures for that book they must have loved it, ha ha!

GOOGLE SEARCH Celebrates San Diego Comic Con With Special Logo!

Just a quick post: If you go to GOOGLE SEARCH today ( July 24th, 2009 ) then they have a special Google Logo that celebrates both DC Comics & the San Diego Comic Con 2009! The artwork was created by none other than the famous comic book artist Jim Lee!! I like that it features both Batman & Robin, plus it's kinda cool how he drew Plastic Man!! Another weird thing is _ Where's Superman?!! Oh man, I wish I was at SDCC this year, ARRRGGHH!

Killer Frost

Killer Frost or also known as Crystal Frost is a fictional DC comic’s character who first appeared in Firestorm #3 during June 1978. The origin of this character was start when she was studying to be a scientist in Hudson University and get falling in-love to his teacher named, Martin Stein but didn’t get her feelings back by the man she loved. While in the project in the Artic, Frost she accidentally locked herself in the thermafrost chamber but somehow get survived. After the accident she was transformed and got the ability to absorb heat from external sources and transmute it into waves of cold (similarity to the power of Iceman of Marvel Comics). But sad to said that Killer Frost was died after she absorbed too much energy from the Firestorm.

Eclipso - DC Comics Super Villain

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Eclipso is one of the super villain fictional individual characteristics in DC Comics which owned of being the incarnation of the wrath of God which is an angel of reprisal which turned to bad and has been restoring by the Spectre. His first look was on #61 of “House of Secrets” in August 1963 which the article was in writing by Bob Haney and Drawn by Lee Elias. The cosmos and the creator made Eclipso, a god who would search reprisal and proceed as an agency of balance in the universe. Eclipso was flawed because he was not tethered to a human owner, owned persons at will, and needed human empathy. Eclipso was tricked in the Heart of Darkness, and the Spectre was conceived to restore him, a being that blended fairness with compassion.

His power was tremendously powerful, almost invulnerable and could levitate. Most of his god-like forces were lost and moved into the Heart of Darkness diamonds. When he retains one of these very dark diamonds to his eclipsed eye, it tasks a chilling beam of very dark lightweight that types an impenetrable field. When held to his usual eye it blazes mighty laser beams. Eclipso's forces were at their strongest while he resided on the moon. He could manifest himself on Earth only at evening and only when summoned by a possessor of a very dark diamond. Eclipso was summoned by sentiments of storm and revenge, and he manifests himself in two distinct ways. A hard-hitting character kind who summoned Eclipso was instantly changed into an Eclipso type of him/herself, keeping their own adeptness but furthermore profiting those of Eclipso. A summoner who has a passive character rather than evoked a distinct Eclipso, who takes on the characteristics of the individual's power fantasy. After Eclipso manifested himself in a individual, communicate with the very dark precious gem is no longer necessary. Each Eclipso was compelled to persuade the revenge fantasy of its owner body before being free to chase its own agenda. Eclipso's consciousness resided simultaneously in all living versions of himself, and one time he took contain of a individual he stayed a part of them until he chose to issue them, or he came in communicate with sunlight. Sunlight is Eclipso's prime flaw; it disintegrates his corporal pattern on contact.

The Flash - 1990 TV series music Danny Elfman Shirley Walker

"I'm the fastest man alive"

The Flash is a fictional comic superhero character from the DC Comics Universe which once been called as The Scarlet Speedster. The character possesses “super-speed” which includes the ability to run and move extremely fast coming from the use of superhuman reflexes and seemingly violate certain law of physics. The Flash was also featured or rejoined in the animated series group the justice league.

All incarnations of the Flash has the ability to move, think, and react at superhuman speeds; and vibrate so fast that the Flash can walk through walls. However, when Barry Allen pushed himself further more he appeared to waste away as he was converted into pure kinetic energy, traveled back in time, and was revealed to be the very bolt of lightning that gave him his powers. He could run on thick snow clouds. Most unusual was Allen's complete control of his molecules, allowing him to vibrate through solid matter and, on one occasion when transformed into a mirror, "melt" him and reform as a human to defeat his foe, the Mirror Master.

Joker || The Dark Knight - Movie Trailer

“I’m the Joker, your clown as well the psychopathic murderer of the Gotham City. Be aware for me… Batman!!! ”

The Joker as fictional character is one the super villain and widely considered as prime archenemy of Batman which had his first appearance during the spring season of 1940. He is the master of criminals with a look of a clown that has bleached white skin, red lips, and a green hair. Initially he portrayed as violent sociopath who commits crimes and murders for his own amusement and later on it written as a goofy trickster-thief that became a vicious killer.

The origin of this character had start happen when he was dropped into vat of chemical waste of Batman. In the story, he was formerly an engineer at a chemical plant which decided to quit his and became a stand-up comedian but it turns out miserably. He desperately aggress to help the two criminals to break the plant company where he formerly been employed and his only way to support his pregnant wife. On their planning process, the police officer contacts him just to inform him that his wife has already dead because of household accident.

Update: In the upcoming American superhero film called “The Dark Knight” by DC Comics, Health Ledger will be the Joker as a psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy. Meanwhile, Christian Bale was still the actor in the character of Bruce Wayne, a billionaire who been dedicated to himself as the protector of the Gotham City in the form of Batman, The Dark Knight. It was another sequel and a must seen movie of the year, 2008.