SUPERMAN THE COMPLETE ANIMATED SERIES

Warner Bros Home Entertainment provided ageekdaddy.com a complimentary Blu-Ray box set of SUPERMAN: THE COMPLETE ANIMATED SERIES.

In honor of the 25th anniversary of SUPERMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES, which originally began airing in 1996, all 54 episodes of the television series have been remastered and are being released in a Blu-Ray box set on October 26, 2021. SUPERMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES provides an imaginative, heartfelt look at the Man of Steel's adventures in Metropolis alongside Lois Lane and opposite the villainous likes of Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Darkseid and more. The television series garnered 11 Emmy Award nominations and two Emmy Award wins, including top honors as the Outstanding Special Class Animated Program of 1998. 

SUPERMAN: THE COMPLETE ANIMATED SERIES box set features nearly 21 hours of entertainment spread over six Blu-Ray discs, which includes not just all the exciting episodes of the tv show but also lots of bonus content including an all-new series-defining featurette entitled Superman: Timeless Icon, a special video commentary episode and three specially selected episodes with audio commentaries by the showrunners.  Plus all 54 episodes have been remastered from the original 35mm Interpositive sources, giving special attention to extensive color correction, dirt and scratch clean up, and adding a grain reduction pass to create a pristine picture, all while making sure not to affect the original lines in the artwork of the animation. The audio was also retransferred from the original audio masters. The remastered episodes though are still presented in the series' original aspect ratio (4x3) to maintain their original look just with cleaner and crisper imagery and sound.

Following a precedent set by Batman: The Animated Series, these Superman cartoons featured numerous guest stars. Notable series guest stars featured Mark Hamill, Ed Asner, Dean Jones, Melissa Joan Hart, Robert Morse, Al Roker, Brian Cox, Jason Priestley, Peter Gallagher, David Warner, Michael Dorn, Christopher McDonald, Bruce Weitz, Andrea Martin, Miguel Ferrer, Ron Perlman, Bud Cort, Gilbert Gottfried, Robert Hays, Dennis Haysbert, Laraine Newman, Nancy Travis, Xander Berkeley, Jonathan Harris, John Glover, Sandra Bernhard, Jack Carter, Ernie Hudson, Henry Silva, and Robert Patrick. The cast and guest stars for SUPERMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES provided for a true A list of talent involved in producing the show whose resumes include one Academy Award and 10 Oscar nominations; 37 Emmy Awards and 186 Emmy nominations; 16 Golden Globe Awards and 54 nominations; five Annie Awards and 38 nominations; four Grammy Awards and 14 nominations; and nine individuals honored with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. There really was some super talent involved with this animated series!

Tim Daly (Madame Secretary, Private Practice, Wings) led the cast as Clark Kent and Superman alongside Dana Delany (Body of Proof, Desperate Housewives, China Beach) as Lois Lane, David Kaufman (Danny Phantom, Stuart Little) as Jimmy Olsen and Clancy Brown (Dexter, The Shawshank Redemption, SpongeBob SquarePants) as Lex Luthor. The star-studded cast included series regulars – and their characters – Lauren Tom (Angela Chen), Victor Brandt (Professor Hamilton), Corey Burton (Brainiac), Joseph Bologna (Dan Turpin), George Dzundza (Perry White), Brad Garrett (Bibbo Bibbowski), Shelley Fabares (Martha Kent), Joanna Cassidy (Maggie Sawyer), Lisa Edelstein (Mercy Graves), Mike Farrell (Jonathan Kent) and Michael Ironside (Darkseid).

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Superman Unchained

I recently read SUPERMAN UNCHAINED: DELUXE EDITION, which is a graphic novel collection of a nine issue comic book mini-series by DC Comics featuring the talents of the publisher's dynamic duo creative team of writer Scott Snyder and illustrator Jim Lee, and was thoroughly impressed.  It was an impressive read with artwork that popped your eyes to the pages bringing the story to life.  Superman Unchained embraced the classic elements of comic books and enhanced them with a modern taste of life to provide an action packed adventure that pits the man of steel versus a like powered adversary, the entire world, and himself. 

From the skies above Metropolis to the four corners of the globe to the star-streaked spaceways beyond, one man is synonymous with the word “hero.” Since his arrival marked the dawn of the superhero age, Superman has waged a never-ending battle for truth and justice, no matter when or where.

But before the dawn came the darkness. When another with incredible power, far more than that of mortal man, fell to the Earth. One who could spell the end for the Man of Steel.

                 DC COMIC'S SUPERMAN UNCHAINED BOOK BACK COVER

When I was a kid Superman's tag line was fighting for "Truth, Justice, and the American Way" and that fit pretty nicely into the geo-political landscape of the time when Christoper Reeve was playing the superhero fighting villains on the big screen while it was the United States versus Russia fighting it out for power and influence every night on the evening news. Times have changed but the theme of "American Way" is a big part of this story...just not involving Superman this time but rather is the focus of a brand new character. Superman Unchained is the story of another alien landing on Earth decades before Superman and being adopted, not by a caring and loving Midwestern farming couple like Kal-El was but rather being discovered by scientists and  soldiers who trained him to be the ultimate tool of military might for the United States.  This alien, named Wraith, becomes the U.S. military's ultimate secret weapon.  Superman Unchained opens with a scene from World War II showing the bombing of Nagasaki but readers notice it isn't an atomic weapon unleashing radiation upon the city...it is the Wraith.  The story reveals how scientists have used Wraith the enhance society's technological advancements during the 20th century and the military utilizes the alien as needed to protect the country's interests.  The Wraith himself believes his ultimate purpose in life is to protect and preserve "The American Way" as he is instructed by his handlers in the military. 

While you may think everyone in the world loves Superman because he always saves the day, a big focus of this story is on how no one trusts the Man of Steel believing that at sometime he is going to turn on the Earth for his own self-interests.  Superman Unchained shows how the Justice League led by Batman has created contingency plans to stop Superman if need be and the U.S. military has developed special weapons to deal with him and has Wraith ready to intervene if they believe the Kryptonian needs to be taken down.  And of course there are people like Lex Luthor who don't trust Superman because the hero stands in their way to power.  The story also delves into how Superman doesn't necessarily trust himself in being able to solve every problem he is faced with and deals with his need for perfection when it comes to saving lives.  In one scene Superman struggles with how can he save every life in a building when it is coming toppling to the ground.  Another scene has Superman distraught because while he was able to save the crew of a space station that is plummeting out of orbit he isn't able to keep all of the space debris from falling on a populated area of the Earth which of course would cause injuries and possibly deaths.

Yet the debris never landed and Superman is perplexed about how that collision was avoided and where it otherwise went to.  Clark Kent begins an investigation that discovers that the space station was brought down by a terrorist group called Ascension that wants to destroy the world's use of technology and take the planet back to a more simplistic existence.  It also leads Clark Kent to discover that someone else secretly intervened to save the space debris from hitting a U.S. military base ... Wraith.  Superman begins searching for Wraith leading him to "the Machine" which is a secret black ops division of the American government that General Lane (Lois Lane's father) was recently promoted to lead and which has been controlling events throughout the world since the 1930s thanks to Wraith who is an alien that may be more powerful than Superman who has been working for the U.S. government for over 70 years.

To go any further describing the story would be filled with spoilers, so we'll just say confrontations and conundrums ensue with Superman finally having to face the question how far will he and can he go to make sure no innocent human life is lost while he is serving as the planet's adopted protector?  Superman Unchained also examines can being too patriotic or passionate about something destroy one's practicality as Wraith's unbridled dedication and passion for the "American Way" leads to some destructive incidents that seem contrary to what he is trying to achieve.  The book also features the ultimate win-win scenario for Lex Luthor that reminds you that some of the most dangerous super villains use their brain power rather than brawn for some of the best confrontations.

You can pick up the SUPERMAN UNCHAINED graphic novel from Amazon.com.  This is a super comic book - check it out!

DISCLAIMER:  I received access to read a digital edition of this comic book from the publisher for this review.  Access to the comic book was concluded at the end of my reading it and a positive review was not required .  I did not receive any financial compensation for this post.  The opinions expressed are my own.

MAN OF STEEL DAY is on WEDNESDAY!!!

UPDATE (6/13/2013):  I had a fun trip with my kids to enjoy MAN OF STEEL DAY at the local comic book store.  We picked up the FREE Superman comic book and some other movie swag plus bought the new Superman Unchained comic and Star Wars #6 for me and an Ice Age one for my son and a My Little Pony for my daughter.  Than we read our comics while enjoying some Superman Ice Cream on the back porch. 

ORIGINAL POST:

Stop by your local comic book store this Wednesday (June 12, 2013) and you can pick up a FREE Superman issue!  To promote the release of the new Superman movie that opens at theaters next weekend, DC Entertainment has declared June 12 as MAN OF STEEL DAY.

People who stop by participating retailers on June 12^th will receive a complimentary comic book; ALL STAR SUPERMAN #1 SPECIAL EDITION by Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly.   The free comic promotion is provided through the generous sponsorship of SEARS.  In addition to the FREE comic book, Warner Brothers will be providing promotional posters and bags for the movie to encourage people to hit theaters starting on Friday to see the new MAN OF STEEL film.  Some comic book stores will also be holding other promotional tie-ins and contests to reward fans who stop in on Wednesday for MAN OF STEEL DAY.  

For those readers who don’t normally frequent comic book shops, Wednesdays are the day of the week when retailers stock new issues on their shelves.  June 12 will feature a brand new Superman title hitting shelves for sale as DC debuts a new series called SUPERMAN UNCHAINED by bestselling comic creators Jim Lee and Scott Snyder.  In addition to SUPERMAN UNCHAINED having extra value in being the very first issue in a new series, the comic will also have a bonus two-sided poster (11”x18”) that can be easily removed for display.

Can’t make it to the comic book store on Wednesday? DC Entertainment has also teamed up with SEARS to make ALL STAR SUPERMAN #1 SPECIAL EDITION available for FREE via online outlets such as  Comixology, iBook/iTunes, and Kindle).  Additionally, they will be having a .99 cent per issue MAN OF STEEL DAY sale making hundreds of Superman comics available all day on these online platforms at this special reduced pricing.

If you can’t wait until Wednesday, here’s a little secret for you … you can download ALL STAR SUPERMAN #1 SPECIAL EDITION as of today (June 9) on the DC Comics web portal for FREE:   http://www.readdcentertainment.com/free-comics or Comixology! I just downloaded it on Comixology right before posting this blog entry.  Beware there it is also posted at its regular price of on the digital store at $1.99 so you have to look for the FREE version. It also appears to still be $1.99 on iTunes and Kindle right now so if you utilize those platforms you may have to wait a few more days to download it.  The ALL STAR SUPERMAN series focuses on the classic aspects of the Superman mythos starting with his daring rescue of a doomed group of astronauts on the surface of the sun.  All the solar radiation affects Superman in a way no one would have predicted-well no one that is except for Lex Luthor!  ALL STAR SUPERMAN is an award-winning twelve-issue series and this FREE comic is the first one in the story arc.  If you like the first issue, but may not want to buy the rest of the issues, here’s a hint for you too: they made the series into an animated movie and you can stream it on Netflix.  I haven’t seen it yet but have added it to my Instant Queue to watch it online.  Note it is rated PG and recommended for a viewing audience of 12+ - also some of the reviews note that while it is a nice film to watch it is missing some elements from the comic books and not as good as actually reading the print series.

This week should be a great time to be a Superman fan! Enjoy MAN OF STEEL DAY on June 12^th and the movie starting on June 14^th.  I’ve picked up some Superman Ice Cream (peanut allergy safe – that was a superman task in itself) and will be enjoying that with my kids before we take a trip to the local comic book store. So we’re making a fun day out of the whole promotion!  If you have younger kids like me you may also want to check with your local library to see if they are hosting an event on Saturday, June 15.  1,000 libraries across the country will be hosting MAN OF STEEL events courtesy of Random House Publishing.  Children (note the word children) will receive FREE buttons, book marks, and Superman comic books at these library events.