The WW cover is from issue #22 of George Perez's run and it's him on cover art.

Oh, that one in the third row is the George Perez cover, yes. I thought people were trying to figure out who did the one in the top row. Sorry.

Interesting. In the latest issue of Entertainmeny Weekly, they report that Warner Bros. has a Justice League animated movie in development, and that it's "likely to be based upon a famous comic saga." The story is "Exclusive in EW," so that could explain why I haven't read about it elsewhere. No word on who's working on the movie, either, but here's hoping Timm and company are somehow involved.

Any speculation on what this famous comic saga could be? EW thinks Identity Crisis is one possibility. Personally, I think it'd be hilarious if they tried to do Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Doesn't Identity Crisis involve the rape of Sue Dibny? How're they gonna animate that?

I read that there was initially going to be a dtv movie that covered the gap b/w Justice League and JLU. That movie was going to deal with the Crime Syndicate, an evil version of the League from another dimension. It would also explain where WW got the invisible jet. For some reason, it never got greenlit.

Maybe they finally got the funding to complete it.

Problem: We've been there with the Justice Lords. I know they're not the same as the Syndicate, but it might be seen as a retread.

I'd actually rather see someone besides Timm & Co. take a crack at the DC Universe. It's been their exclusive territory for what, almost 15 years? Time for a new perspective. They are not the definitive interpretation.

Not if it turns out like "The Batman" or "Brainiac attacks". To me Timm and Co. are definitive.

I'm actually open to the idea of a new take on the DCU. Though I'm a bit surprised it'd come so soon following the end of JLU.

I just hope that the animated movie isn't drawn like The Batman. Can you imagine Identity Crisis animated like that?

Well, it's not like there's anything that could be done to improve Identity Crisis anyway. It would get the treatment it deserves.

(This may be just one fan's opinion)

Actually, Stan Berkowitz let slip some very exciting news in an interview recently, and then the interview was edited with a note saying "Please keep whatever might have been here originally secret". So until that's officially announced, I won't believe the rumor. Because I don't want to get my hopes up.

I don't object to someone besides Timm and his team getting a crack at the DCU, but non-Timm projects of the last five years have been uneven to craptacular. There's a lot to like about Teen Titans, and a lot to dislike, and that's the best of the bunch. The Batman is just awful start to finish, and I can't bear to watch Brainiac Attacks just from the descriptions and reviews.

I have to say that I agree that Timm and company have been "definitive", insofar as anything can be definitive that is cobbled together from sixty to seventy years of history and god knows how many writers and artists.

Animation questions answered. And yeah...the projects look intriguing, don't they?

Getting back on topic...is there a timetable for more repeats on Boomerang? Hopefully with "Starcrossed" and the JLU episodes?

So is the animated movie a theatrical release or DVD? Because it was officially announced that Timm et al are adapting New Frontier. Is that what the article in EW was talking about?

New Frontier will be direct to DVD along with a bunch of other Timm/Co. projects from the sound of it. Which I'm soooooooooooooo psyched for! Darwyn Cooke was a storyboarder for B:TAS at one point, so adapting it should be a snap.

Considering EW and DC are under one big umbrella ultimately, I'm willing to bet this is the project EW's alluding to.

I'm thrilled to see Timm and co. doing more DC Universe material. On the other hand, I couldn't make it through the first issue of New Frontier despite the swingin' art (that "Hal Jordan, conscientious objector fighter pilot" crap caused the cables holding up my disbelief to snap, resulting in the crushing of several onlookers). It'll be interesting to see what changes, if any, are made to the storyline.

Too bad, really. NF is about the best reimagining of the Silver Age that I've read in a long time. I've never been a huge admirer of JFK, but by the end of the book, I will say I thought he had one hell of a speech writer.

Also, J'onn gets way more respect than he has in a long time -- including in JLU, actually. I was never happy with him being the Watchtower operator and then just disappearing for his Vision Quest or whatever. I cheered when he showed up in the series finale, but I felt his return was way past due by then.

Anyway, to sum up: ID Crisis bad, NF good. YMMV.

Wow. According to Comicscontinuum Timm's going to be doing the "Death of Superman". Scroll down.

ETA - unfortunately Duane Capizzi (Brainiac attacks) is writing it according to Newsarama

Yep. I went to the panel on Friday, and the last thing shown was a still of the bloodied Superman logo.

Anyone here want any details on the panel?

Yes! Please do tell us about the Timm goodness!

Yes. Details please.

Ok. Here goes, on a series by series basis. (Disclaimer: I'm going largely off memory, so things might have been said differently.)

Batman the Animated Series: Earlier he'd been working on Tiny Toon Adventures when, in order to capitalize on the hugely successful 1989 Batman flick, Timm was chosen by Jean MacCurdy to handle what would be the new Batman cartoon. As a huge comic book buff he was naturally excited but at the same time felt a lot of pressure from the whole prospect. Thankfully everything worked out and the rest is history. In retrospect, he felt that the animation quality, while still good, was not as strong as his latter projects.

Superman: By the mid-90s, "Superman Returns" movie project had come around, and Timm, fresh off of Batman, ended up handling the new Superman cartoon, which supposedly was meant to tie in from a property revival standpoint. Timm discussed the challenges of building compelling stories around the stoic, near-infallible Superman, and the later Batman/Superman adventures he created in response to WB's request for more Batman stories. The latter was his compromise given how he felt he'd already covered a lot of ground in the Batman-verse. It did have the benefit of opening up the gateway to more sci-fi, intergalactic threats that involved Batman, leading up to Justice League.

Batman Beyond: Timm was asked to create a new "teenage Batman" for the KidsWB, and he and his coworkers initially balked at the idea, but gave in a little later. The dark tone of the series was something that actually came up organically. Infact, Timm felt that BB was one of the "nastier" shows he had done, despite being part of a childrens' programming block. That said, he, as well as the audience that responded enthusiastically, saw the show as a major success. That said, it was a hellish period for him since he was still working on Superman. He and his coworkers at the time didn't know what they'd be working on when they came to the studio.

"Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker" was the favorite of his Batman animated movies. (He also liked "Mask of the Phantasm", but felt that it was one huge downer of a movie.) In response to a question regarding Terry's relation to Bruce Wayne, Timm actually had that idea kicking around since the beginning, passing on it only because it would be too edgy for the intended demographics.

Justice League/Unlimited: Timm's associate (I forget what his exact job was) had strongly suggested that he do a new Justice League cartoon IIRC after seeing some of the new JLA comics, but Timm originally refused, perhaps owing to the fact that the franchise had been in disarray for years with multiple variations that weren't selling well. Eventually Timm gave in, following the demand for more stories as JLA was getting quite the response, not to mention higher-ups at WB wanting in on the action, and the initial result was Justice League. He admitted the show took a season to find its footing, citing a wider roster and collective rogues' gallery, not to mention ironing the characterizations, namely Flash initially being the comic relief. At the time he also admitted that instead of him and his team raising the animation bar, it was X-Men Evolution and Samurai Jack. Regarding Secret Origins, Timm admitted to a bit of shorthand, including Batman already knowing Hawkgirl.

Timm apparently really hit his stride with Justice League Unlimited, which allowed him to do short anthology stories with many of the additional characters. Regarding the Batman character embargo (Nightwing, Batgirl, etc.) resulting from "The Batman", he was actually fine with it because he felt he'd already done a lifetime's worth of stories in that universe with B:tAS. With the Flash on the other hand, he actually wanted to do more with him, but got sidetracked by the other characters during season three (1 of JLU), which explains the lack of Flash there.

All of that and the montages aside, Timm's panel was concluded with a hint towards his next project, which was simply a projection of the blood-soaked Superman emblem on the projector screen, to which he (I assume) jokingly requested not to spoil, given that it was going to be officially announced the following day at the DC panel, which it was as, predictably, the Death of Superman.

Was JL taken off of Boomerang's schedule? I notice that it along with S:TAS & B:TAS aren't showing anymore.

I wonder how the Death storyline will playout - will we get the JL involved in the Doomsday fight as they were in the comics, or save them for the funeral? We already have Steel, we can't have Superboy, and the Eradicator would be too much like TAS Brainiac. Not to mention, we've already seen Doomsday in the JLU.

At any rate, as long as Timm's involved, I'll rest easier. If they can get Tim Daly and Clancy Brown back, so much the better. Especially CB.

As much as I'd like it to fit in the DCAU, I think it'll end up having too many continuity hurdles to get in the way: Reversing Luthor's disapearence with the anti-life equation, getting Doomsday out of the Phantom Zone, etc.

And we know with Capizi as writer, it couldn't be done since he doesn't know shit about anything outside of "The Batman". I hope that it's a comics based adaption, perhaps using the Dan Jurgens art style.

Boomerang's doing some sort of odd, one-week-only scheduling thing in which they're showing 24 blocks of one show (Duck Dodgers, Tom and Jerry, etc). According to my Tivo, they'll be getting to Justice League on Sunday the 30th. I'll be recording JL all day!

To whoever seeded the Tubey nominations with JLU options: good work! I think I voted for the show in every category in which it was nominated...

Server hiccup.

I didn't know what was going on over at Boomerang either, until I found a press release online. Mind you, I couldn't find anything at the Boomerang website. I'm not sure a one day JL marathon makes up for depriving me of my daily fix of JL, Superman and Batman with no explanation. I suppose the eps they will show will all feature Batman, since he's the featured animated star. It might have been fun to see Batman in Batman and Robin, TAS, Beyond, JL, JLU and the Superman and Static Shock crossovers.

Yes the marathon did end up making me happy. It seemed that they showed episodes that weren't in heavy rotation, which was great. A Savage Time was good, especially uncut, but it's a Batman episode only because Batman wasn't in it. They could have swapped out the second showing of that to make room for Starcrossed.

I did have to temper the praises I was singing for Boomerang, because it seems that to make room for Pokemon (hate!) they are dumping Superman. JL will air a half hour later, followed by Batman then the Flintstones.

I can't wait till they start showing JLU instead of just JL. I missed so many eps from the last season and the DVDs aren't coming soon enough.

I missed one episode of JLU. One. Only one.

I emphasize that because which episode was it?

The one where Wonder Woman does the classic twirl-change.

You don't even understand. A fellow poster in another thread who knows how much I love Diana posted immediately after the episode ended: "Alexias, did you see that? Diana did the twirl! I totally thought of you!"

I have yet to see it, even in repeats.

My life is incomplete.

Ok not really. But I REALLY want to see the episode!

Justice League is back on Boomerang. Right now it is the good season. That is: not season 1.

Having missed the bulk of this show first time around, I am really enjoying it. Can't figure out why I didn't watch it before.

But there is one thing that bugs to no end. Why is Flash such a useless character? Whenever he is on he get trounced in the first few seconds of combat. Heck he almost got killed by a rinky dink cosmonaut. Bleh. As one of my fave characters (right after GL) it is just kinda silly how weak they made him.

Its like he has the super speed but no reflexes to go with it. So he ends up running into whatever barrier the villain throws up at full speed. Boom - hes out for the count.

Yawn, and NO!

Heehee ya

Theres one thing that I've never understood about about the Justice League and the DC Universe in general.

Superman is basically all of the other Justice League members squashed into one convient superhero. Now I know none of the rest of them are 'allergic' to Kryptonite and come in handy when the green stuff is about but other than that why does he bother hanging around with them ?

Think of all the time he could spend saving people but instead wastes at union meetings and arguing about who used the last of the milk.

Yeah supes is the shiznit. And I'm Ok with that, even tho he isn't my fave character - too bland. But someone has to be the best of the group.

But Flash should always be able to out run supes. By far. I guess thats part of the problem tho. How do the villains stop a speedster who is SO fast that he can be practically in two places at once.

As far as supes and the rest of the group, I don't think supes overlaps too much Take GL: He is just is a heck of a lot more flexable than supes. GL is especially good at defense and transportation. For that matter Jon has the phasing and Telepathy, so he doesn't overlap either. WW, too has the lasso with her interrogation abilities. And Bats - Well maybe because the writers had to prove he was a useful member of the group, he was constantly proving himself.

I liked the space that each member operated in, except for poor Flash.

And then there is the really hosed Hawkwoman, but that is another post.

Bats is only there becase he has enough money to bank roll an orbiting space station ;)

Are you kidding? Her mace was such a portable plot device that I kept expecting to find out that only the worthy could lift it.

Yeah but look how many "I hate Hawkgirl" webrings there were. I thought that was pretty funny.

Not quite. Barring J'onn J'onzz, he's the brains of the outfit.

They made Flash progressively more useful throughout season 2. Always loved watching him dismantle weapons within seconds.

There was an episode of Seinfeld where Jerry was trying to make a sick friend at a hospital feel better by doing a routine about the rest of the Super-Friends being redundant when you have Supes there: "You're gonna tell me Superman can't cover everything? He's Superman!"

I think in the comics there is a distinction between Flash and Superman's super speed. Put simply, Superman just moves fast, but his mind opperates at normal speed. So, he can get here and there really quick or throw a mean punch, but while moving fast there is a limit to what he can mentally do with this ability. Flash has no such limit. He not only moves fast, but can percieve at the same rate. Thus, he can move so fast that the world seems to have slowed down. Superman would never perceive things that way, while that is precisely how the world is to Flash while he's speeding about. This distinction makes Flash's abilities far more impressive and imposing than Superman. I think this was hinted at in the Timmverse when showing what Flash could do, but I can't say for certain that they never had Superman exhibiting similiar power management.

I never got such a distinction in the comics. Just that Flash was faster, but that both moved and could think at super speed.

Nope. The only difference, in terms of speed/perceptions, is that Superman is slightly slower. Flash, in the comics, also has more esoteric speed related abilities, like giving/stealing speed or vibrating through objects.

Flash is also not a dreadful bore.

There's gonna be a Justice League episode in Smallville !

Yeah and they can't have WW which the producers are NOT happy about. And neither am I quite frankly!

Bumped because I just sat and watched the two part series finale on Cartoon Network. Just got lucky and happened to catch it. So my question is - Is this a one-off just to fill an odd hour of programming or are they bringing the series back? If the latter, then the finale would seem an odd choice unless they mean to start some "new" series and this is to set up some sort of continuity. Or something. That actually made a lot more sense in my head, btw.

Point being - are they bringing JL or JLU back? (I set my TiFaux to record any and all episodes just in case.) Anyone? Bueller?

They had to scramble to fill that slot since Princess Monoke didn't end up airing. Lucky for us, such a kick-ass pair of episodes.

Yeah, if you noticed they kept saying the Justice League Unlimited 'finale' over and over just to make sure for us to not get our hopes up.

Why was Ironside's Darkseid voice off during these episodes, it was very noticeable imo. It just didn't have that same tone to it from earlier episodes of STAS and JL.

I lucked into seeing the two episodes as well. I was pretty happy. They had a commerical for Ultimate Avengers II on during the shows as well so that was a bonus--set the Tivo for it.

It struck me as funny that the last two episodes were the same names as KISS albums "Destroyer" and "Alive".

It seemed to be part of the superhero theme of that night. It could also be an attempt to drum up interest in the JLU dvd being released next week. Seasons 1 and 2 of JLU, along with a set of extras that seem to be designed for season 1 only. I think the original plan was to produce three sets, but instead they merged season 1 and 2 without bothering to add any season 2 extras. I guess the Cadmus commentary will have to wait.