It's no secret I'm an avid comic fan and as such I do tend to give most animated TV show adaptations a fair shake. In the last 15 years DC Comics has given us a number of great animated shows whether it be the kid oriented Teen Titans or the universe producer Bruce Timm brought to the forefront with Batman, Superman, Batman Beyond, and the Justice League. Now that all those fine shows have left the air, Timm and DC have turned their attention towards taking classic comic book stories and bringing them to life in DVD animated films. First up was the Death of Superman adaptation that came out this fall. While I haven't seen it yet the reviews were mostly negative but no one seemed to lose faith since next up on the agenda was and adaptation of Darwyn Cooke's legendary graphic novel, Justice League: The New Frontier. Sadly that faith may now be shaken.
New Frontier is a tale of the classic Justice League lineup with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter set against the backdrop of the late 50's. The specter of communism haunts the nation and many of the heroes have been the victims of McCarthy like hearings. When a new menace emerges from the very core of our planet the heroes unite and in the process renews the world's faith in them and in each other. It's a brilliant tale in Cooke's original work and the movie does its very best to do honor to it but sadly it falls flat. The story often feels rushed, characters are given short shrift in what really amounts to the Hal Jordan/Green Lantern show, and in the end you're left with a feeling of "that's it". If DC is making this a straight to DVD effort why not give the filmmakers more time. I don't think anyone who calls themselves a fan of the Justice League would cry about a 3 or 4 hour version of the story. Still despite my ranting I'd say that to someone not familiar with the original work this DVD will impress. The animation is stunning and mixes Cooke's style with the style established by Timm's previous work. The voice work by such geek idols as Angel, Agent Cooper, Doogie Howser, and Xena is top notch and while I don't find the overall film great it's still pretty decent. The extras on the DVD set include commentaries, great docs on the League and their villains, and 3 episodes of Timm's previous series Justice League Unlimited. It was in watching these 3 episodes though that the realization hit me that New Frontier just doesn't hold up in the light of Timm's finer work. Here's hoping the next direct to DVD film lives up to the standards geekdom and Timm himself expect.
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