DC Comics Super Heroes – The Filmation Collection (Atom/Flash/Green Lantern/Hawkman/Justice League Of America/Teen Titans/Warner Animation DVD/1967)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B Episodes: B
Along
with their hit versions of Superman,
Aquaman (both on DVD and reviewed
elsewhere on this site) and Batman,
Filmation’s contract with DC Comics included bringing additional characters to
life in shorts that were part of the rotation of The Superman/Aquaman Adventure Hour when the shows were being rerun
together. Only three episodes of each
(less than 9 minutes each) were made, but they have never been released on home
video and have been rarely seen.
It is not
only the animated debut of many of the characters, but in most cases the first
time they appeared on screen anywhere and despite budget limits, do a great job
of capturing the characters in the glory of their 1960s comebacks. The
Atom was a newer character, The Flash
was in his popular revised form sometimes joined by Kid Flash (whose colors were
the reverse of his usual print and action figure form), Green Lantern and Hawkman
were decent versions of their new selves and both team comics were
represented. Justice League Of America included Superman, but not Batman, while Teen Titans were here with their
original team of Kid Flash, Aqualad, Speedy (despite no Green Arrow in any of
the Filmation shows) and Wonder Girl (despite no Wonder Woman in any of the
Filmation shows) and hold up well.
Amusingly
some innocent moments inspired the Saturday
Night Live/TV Funhouse/Robert
Smigel animated spoof The Ambiguously
Gay Duo, but these were also derived from the classic comics very closely
and you can see their close resemblance to the recent Justice League – The New Frontier animated feature, meaning they
are just as relevant today as ever. They
are must-see (and for serious fans, must own) Superhero animation that are
minor classics of the genre.
The 1.33
X 1 image on all the shorts look good, but some are a little softer than we
would have liked and need some work.
Color looks good at least and very good at its best, typical of the
Technicolor-processed work that helped put Filmation on the map. The Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono is cleaner in most
cases than expected, though all the shorts still show their sonic age. Extras include previews for other DVD
releases, a Lego Batman preview and the outstanding 40-minutes featurette Animation
Maverick – The Lou Scheimer Story about the amazing force behind the
company that gave DC and so much more classic life on the small screen.
For more
on DC Comics and Filmation Animation, try these links:
Justice League – The New Frontier DVD
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6645/Justice+League:+The+New+Frontier
Blu-ray/HD-DVD
Combo
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7049/Justice+League:+The+New+Frontier
Adventures Of Superman (1966) New Adventures Of Batman (1977)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5638/The+New+Adventures+Of+Superman
Adventures Of Aquaman (1966)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6251/The+Adventures+Of+Aquaman
- Nicholas Sheffo
