Perry White
11-15-2001, 12:13 AM
Here is a review from Toon Zone Moderator, Frozen
Frozen is a concept artist for a computer games company, and a casual fan of comics and cartoons in general.
Firstly, let me say I’m no animation expert. I see very little TV, so I’m no expert on Batman: Animated (however much I do adore what little I’ve seen), nor am I an authority on the Justice League itself. I’ve read a few TPB’s here and there, mostly Grant Morrison’s stuff, so, when I settled down to watch the Justice League premiere, I did so with an open mind, with very few pre-conceptions, and little in the way of any ‘saga loyalty’ to the franchise itself. So, I thought, is the show going to be good enough to wow a casual viewer like myself?
The answer? Yes, yes, YES!!! I loved it! What a great idea – take the premise of War of the Worlds, one the greatest sci-fi yarns of all time, and pit the ‘Martians’ against the Justice League – arguably the greatest super-team ever. It truly was a confrontation that really engrossed me as the show developed. The alien antagonists were very well visualised, and the tripod war machines were particularly effective, as were the aliens themselves.
Which brings us neatly to the designs of our heroes, the Justice League.
Once again Timm hasn’t let us down, with some great versions of these classic characters. I loved the subtle touches like the immense size of Superman’s shoulders and arms which really emphasised his physical strength – which made the tripods, able to easily withstand his attacks, seem that much more powerful. Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl were suitably heroic, but the stand out design for me was Martian Manhunter. He is rendered with a quiet majesty and enigmatic presence that eclipses all the other team save Superman, Batman, and my other favourite design – the lovely Wonder Woman. As a long time fan of Diana, I wasn’t disappointed with her at all – and her trademark ‘deflecting shots with wristbands’ was SO well done I cheered! Add to this another spot-on Batman (I didn’t even notice the ‘big ears’), and you have a superb line-up that is a fitting tribute to this great team.
It was little things like that which made this show for me – tiny little attentions to detail, homages to the rich history of the JLA, and science fiction itself (the War of the Worlds element, for instance, and the reference to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Carter of Mars”…). References to the established backgrounds of the main protagonists (Thanagar, Themiscyra etc), and a great interaction between the characters (I loved the subtle exchange between Supes and Manhunter as Superman empathises with his new ally for being “The last of his kind”). The characters personalities leapt out of the screen at you with the exception of the much subtler Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl – I genuinely look forward to seeing these two develop and interact.
I’m also so pleased that the writers have managed to avoid one of the pit-falls of the ‘team’ show – the redundant character. Everybody here had something to do, everybody had a part to play. THAT’S the hallmark of a well-written show…
Personally, I loved this cartoon, and I simply cannot wait to see more – and if that’s what a premiere is meant to do, then it succeeds – in spades.
Frozen is a concept artist for a computer games company, and a casual fan of comics and cartoons in general.
Firstly, let me say I’m no animation expert. I see very little TV, so I’m no expert on Batman: Animated (however much I do adore what little I’ve seen), nor am I an authority on the Justice League itself. I’ve read a few TPB’s here and there, mostly Grant Morrison’s stuff, so, when I settled down to watch the Justice League premiere, I did so with an open mind, with very few pre-conceptions, and little in the way of any ‘saga loyalty’ to the franchise itself. So, I thought, is the show going to be good enough to wow a casual viewer like myself?
The answer? Yes, yes, YES!!! I loved it! What a great idea – take the premise of War of the Worlds, one the greatest sci-fi yarns of all time, and pit the ‘Martians’ against the Justice League – arguably the greatest super-team ever. It truly was a confrontation that really engrossed me as the show developed. The alien antagonists were very well visualised, and the tripod war machines were particularly effective, as were the aliens themselves.
Which brings us neatly to the designs of our heroes, the Justice League.
Once again Timm hasn’t let us down, with some great versions of these classic characters. I loved the subtle touches like the immense size of Superman’s shoulders and arms which really emphasised his physical strength – which made the tripods, able to easily withstand his attacks, seem that much more powerful. Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl were suitably heroic, but the stand out design for me was Martian Manhunter. He is rendered with a quiet majesty and enigmatic presence that eclipses all the other team save Superman, Batman, and my other favourite design – the lovely Wonder Woman. As a long time fan of Diana, I wasn’t disappointed with her at all – and her trademark ‘deflecting shots with wristbands’ was SO well done I cheered! Add to this another spot-on Batman (I didn’t even notice the ‘big ears’), and you have a superb line-up that is a fitting tribute to this great team.
It was little things like that which made this show for me – tiny little attentions to detail, homages to the rich history of the JLA, and science fiction itself (the War of the Worlds element, for instance, and the reference to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Carter of Mars”…). References to the established backgrounds of the main protagonists (Thanagar, Themiscyra etc), and a great interaction between the characters (I loved the subtle exchange between Supes and Manhunter as Superman empathises with his new ally for being “The last of his kind”). The characters personalities leapt out of the screen at you with the exception of the much subtler Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl – I genuinely look forward to seeing these two develop and interact.
I’m also so pleased that the writers have managed to avoid one of the pit-falls of the ‘team’ show – the redundant character. Everybody here had something to do, everybody had a part to play. THAT’S the hallmark of a well-written show…
Personally, I loved this cartoon, and I simply cannot wait to see more – and if that’s what a premiere is meant to do, then it succeeds – in spades.