Yknow, when I was listening and reading all of the negative reaction to the Green Lantern film (a movie I liked a lot more than most - the action, performances and overall look made up for a less than inspired script for me), I was thinking about how spoiled we comic fans are nowadays when it comes to seeing our favorite superheroes in other media. When I was a kid getting up early in the morning to watch an episode of Super Friends that was in it's third re-run, I never dreamed of a day when so many comic characters would be translated into film and television properties. If I'd had a peek 35 years into my future to see what was in store, I think my little head would have exploded with excitement. Now, in an age when we have so many comic book movies and shows to choose from, we tend to focus on what they got wrong rather than how cool it is that these things got made at all. back in the 70's when Super Friends was the only game in town, it was a different story. I was never bothered by the fact that they were rarely called The Justice League or that nobody ever threw a punch, I was just thrilled that the guys from the comics were on my TV, in full motion! When they added more characters in later years, I loved it even more... and of course my favorite seasons were the ones where they had multiple stories per episode - Full team, Zan & Jayna adventure, Safety tips or magic tricks, and then best of all a team up between a Super Friend regular and a special guest star! It was like reading one of those 100-page comics with all the various features. I of course loved the Legion of Doom years, even though the episodes were somewhat repetitive in nature, it was just too cool to see so many comic characters in one big story. Sure the series looks very quaint and dated now, but I am glad I was at the right age to appreciate it because for most of the heroes featured on it, it would be decades before we got to see them animated again.
6 comments:
I also found the GL movie better than most of the people who've discussed it online. I thought the one flaw with the movie is that the script tries to fill some fan wishes in bringing in favorite Corps members when there's enough going on back on Earth to make a good story. The movie seemed to be trying to tell two stories at once, much like the third X-Men and third Spider-Man movies, both of which also received some extremely negative reactions.
amen, I agree with your comments 100% as a person that grew up on SuperFriends, Amazing Spider-man and Friends...
Love your covers, I check every day.
absolutely on point Ross. When "Spidey and His Amazing Friends" had the first appearance of the X-Men" guest-starring (wolverine had an australian accent!) my head DID partially expode that saturday morning.
I remember there was some despair at the SUPER FRIENDS cartoons that H-B had offered as well, because there had been prior efforts that seemed closer to the original. Before the shows ran on ABC, the company had a deal with Filmation to do superhero stories over a few different programs on CBS from 1967 through 1970, and there they were able to do things they couldn't do on ABC, like hit people and call themselves the Justice League of America. (Part of me wonders if the prior run with Filmation somehow affected what they could do when H-B got the license...)
Dave sez,
MEAN-while...at the Hall of Justice ~
That is one awesome cover! I read the Super Friends companion book! It's cool how amazing Ramona Fradon is! I like her work as much as Alex Toth. I had no idea until the DVD release that DC had cartoons on of characters other than Superman and Batman BEFORE Super Friends! Even a Teen Titans cartoon! I grew up watching the Marvel Super-Hero block...
I'm amazed at how DC can't seem to figure out their OWN characters...and how to translate a good, solid comic book story into a good, solid box office hit. Marvel seems to be learning (as quickly as they can to keep their momentum going...)
Well, I was exposed to Filmation's DC cartoons first, so I thought the Super Friends was watered down and about as heroic/violent as Scooby Doo (same studio being a coincidence). Any chance of doing a Filmation-based comic like DC's Teen Titans Retro comic several years ago?
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