Animation

If you're a comics fan with a few decades of experience under your belt, you will be familiar with the event that forever changed the comic book industry -- DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths, a 12-part maxi-series with tendrils that touched nearly every title the company published at the time. Whether it was a good idea is something we debate with 20/20 hindsight, but at the time there was no denying that it was a big deal, and it had everybody excited about what was going on in the comic books every week.

There have been numerous attempts to recapture this kind of "lightning in a bottle." The CW network did their version, with the cast limited to the lineup of their handful of superhero shows in an epic crossover. Now DC is bringing to a close their direct-to-disc animated universe with their own version of COIE.

It's been a big finish for The Venture Bros, Cartoon Network's adult take on the animated adventure genre that blends shows Jonny Quest and Birdman with the sheer banality of ordinary existence -- even if your ordinary existence consists of secret agents, fringe science, and villains who are evil for the sake of being evil.

In back-to-back releases, fans can now get The Venture Bros: The Complete Series on DVD (no doubt a special Blu-ray set is in the works), showcasing the daily lives of Doctor Rusty Venture (James Urbaniak), his indefatigable bodyguard Brock (Patrick Warburton), and his two adventurous sons, Hank (Christopher McCulloch) and Dean (Michael Sinternicklaas), as they explore super-science, deal with their feelings of inadequacy, fend off attacks from their arch nemesis The Monarch (also McCulloch) and his band of butterfly-themed minions as well as his mate, Dr. Mrs. The Monach (Doc Hammer).

All-Star Superman is getting re-released on Blu-ray as part of the ongoing Warner Studios 100th anniversary celebration. As far as Superman animated titles go (not counting the actual ongoing animated series runs), this particular story is a good pick.

Adapting the limited series run by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, the animators manage to stick very closely to the style of the books, while also retaining most of the story elements.

The adventure begins when Superman (James Denton) sets out to rescue a spacecraft from falling into the sun. Now, Superman has flown into and through the sun before, but we're going to forget that because this time the full-on exposure overloads his solar-receptive cells, mutating him to give him some new powers... and also a death sentence. Superman is dying, and that's just how Lex Luthor (Anthony LaPaglia) planned it!

Anyone wanting to see the masterful Max Fleischer studios treatment of Superman has, for years, been able to get a cheap copy, due to the shorts having fallen into the public domain. So why would you want to pick up yet another copy just because it's on Blu-ray?

Because the transfers are infinitely better, cleaner, and brighter. Not only have all the pops, pits, potholes and scratches been cleaned up so that the animation is pristine, but the scans of the master prints take in even more of the artwork.

We tested the new Blu-ray side-by-side with previous releases of the shorts. As an example, the short "Volcano" had an ever-present pit during the opening scenes; this has been removed. Additionally, what we didn't expect to see was more artwork that had been cut off from all four sides in previous releases. So you're quite literally getting more for your money with this purchase.

The acquisition of Rooster Teeth by Warner Brothers Discovery is showing some of its first efforts both in comics and comics-related animation. Over on the publishing side of the house, we are getting a miniseries that teams up the Justice League with the team from RWBY, as the girls chase their monsters over into our world. But on the animation side, it appears to be the opposite -- but with a surprise twist.

Batman: The Doom that Came to Gotham is, unfortunately, one of the most plodding, soporiphic, and downright boring stories to have ever been committed to animation. The art is great. The voice casting serviceable. The concepts exciting. Yet somehow Jase Ricci's screenplay -- based on an Elseworlds imprint from DC Comics written by Mike Mignola and Richard Pace -- drags its feet as it shoehorns in the Batman characters into 1920s analogs while pitting him against H.P. Lovecraft creations.

Scooby-Doo is an icon of animation that people just never tire of. The talking dog and his teenaged friends in Mystery, Inc. seem to always have a new series going, with older shows remaining in syndication.

Growing up, one of my favorite runs was The New Scooby-Doo Movies, because each episode would have a celebrity guest star -- many of whom I knew about -- which somehow made the cartoon just a bit more real to me, or at least made the Scoobyverse a bit broader. This tradition began anew when Hanna-Barbera and Warner Brothers delivered Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? which brought us a new stable of contemporary celebs and fictional characters ready to join in the mystery solving.

It's hard to believe it was nearly 20 years ago that The Batman debuted on television (and don't even get me started on how many yesterdays it was since Batman: The Animated Series began!), but fans of the show can now binge the entire series with this 6-disc Blu-ray collection from Warner Brothers.

The DC Animated Universe projects have been a little hit-or-miss lately, largely when they tried to stay within a cohesive universe that was almost-but-not-quite the New 52. More recently, however, they have had successes with one-off stories that focus more on the tale at hand rather than with how to make it fit into the rest of the DCAU. The 70s grindhouse style Batman: Soul of the Dragon is a good example of this.

With Catwoman: Hunted, director Shinsuke Terasawa brings together several fun, nostalgic elements, delivering an anime-aesthetic film full of 1960s spy-caper style. The result is surprisingly fresh interpretation of the characters that doesn't diminish them but rather enhances.

I'm an animation snob. I grew up in an era when cartoonists hand-drew twenty-four frames  on celluloid to produce one second of movement, with attention given to background and basic anatomy. As the styles trended more toward the CalArts method of bean-mouthed strobe-animated characters, I felt no compunction in shunning these new shows, shows like Steven Universe, The Regular Show, and others. And while Rick and Morty didn't have quite the same lazy approach to visuals, a sort of 'guilt by association' rubbed off on it, such that my first real, true, sit-down-and-watch exposure of it came with the opportunity to review this fifth season steelbook Blu-ray collection.

Rick Sanchez is a world-weary, cynical old man who's seen it all and done it all -- on this planet and every other. He's invented science miracle devices just to see what they would do and what kind of adventures he could have with them.

Perhaps one is officially old when the best versions of their favorite things date back beyond twenty years. I was pleased to find that Superman: The Animated Series was getting a Blu-ray collection of all three seasons. But I did blink at the fact that it had been twenty-five years -- a whole quarter-century -- since the show had debuted on television. And while Superman hasn't really been away from the animated theater, this particular incarnation, a by-product of the success of Batman: The Animated Series, was a show that understood the character, what he was about, and was able to tell engrossing stories that challenged the hero.

Over the years in comics we've seen various alternate storylines that have explored the DC universe should Superman have held different values other than truth, justice and the American way (which anyone can now say, since there's no trademark on it). We've seen him raised in Communist Russia, seen him raised in Nazi Germany, even seen him raied by African gorillas, all under different Elseworlds titles.

Are you one who likes watching cartoons wither alone or with family and friends? Then here is the list of the best animated movies created recently.

Dogs and mysteries have been the peanut butter and jelly of children's cartoons for decades, featuring such sniffing sleuths as Woofer and Wimper, Dynomutt, Hong Kong Phooey, and the whole gang from Disney's 101 Dalmations. But, of course, the king of them all has always been Scooby-Doo, the Great Dane mascot of Mystery Inc. For years, Scooby and the gang have been busting mysteries and proving that the things that go bump in the night are nevery more than a greedy person in a rubber mask.

On the other hand, however, there's Courage, a little pink mutt from Nowhere who defends his family from true weirdness, monsters, alients, and the like, often without them realizing it and always without reward. But never has the weirdness been anything explainable as a prosaic prank.

Gambling is an ancient theme of storytelling that is often explored in Japanese culture. The country's modern anime industry has taken up this tradition. Over the years countless stories about gambling are told through the magic of Manga. Culturally, Japan’s history has been greatly impacted by games of chance. In fact, some of the most popular manga and anime tell the stories of people who engage with various games where there is luck of the draw, conniving, and not least, a fair degree of skill. Like any storytelling forms, some of these manga and anime really showcase the theme well. Today we will discuss a few of our favorites that are also considered to be some of the best:

The second part of Batman: The Long Halloween didn't take long to release, thankfully overcoming the expiration of expectations that can hamper a story cut into two pieces like this. And it doesn't waste any time rushing through a number of holiday murders during which time Batman... does nothing. Why? Because Bruce Wayne (Jenson Ackles) has been mind-controlled by Poison Ivy (Katee Sackhoff), and has been regularly signing over assets at her bidding to her boss, Carmine Falcone (Titus Welliver). Fortunately for Bruce, Catwoman (Naya Rivera) not only notices his absence but also knows his secret identity, mounting a rescue mission that brings Batman back into the thick of things after nearly four months of stupor.

Somehere in space live The Herculoids. That somewhere happens to be the planet Quasar, a quaint little rock inhabited by civilized cavemen and bizarre creatures. It's not much of a tourist attraction, but it must have immeasurable resources because the only visitors it ever gets either want to conquer the planet, take its resources, bury treasure on it, or enslave the inhabitants.

No wonder The Herculoids are such separatists. You land on Quasar, you get one warning and then you're done.

Kevin Smith's Masters of the Universe: Revelation dropped on Netflix today -- or, at least, the first five episodes have. And while many fans are already commenting and commiserating that He-Man is largely absent from this tale that is all about a bitter Teela's quest to save Eternia, there's a mix of good moments in this, albeit blighted by the nihilistic plot points that come up later in the run.

The latest DC Universe animated epic has been released, this time adapting the Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale graphic novel that took a novice Batman and forced him to forge his detective skills. The connective thread of this adventure was that a killer was taking out people close to mob boss Carmine Falcone, establishing the pattern of commiting the murders on major holidays. The Holiday Killer was a mystery to be solved, and each of the 13 issues that made up the series carried the reader through the year in near real-time, with various Batman villains popping up where appropriate.

For most anime aficionados, showing their love for the fandom means building a massive manga collection. The selection could comprise vastly of character figures, toys, and clothes. Although the love for anime originated in Japan, it’s now possible to amass different collectibles even when you’re from other parts of the world—all thanks to the rise of online shopping.

Now, you may have shopped online for your favorite anime figures and toys. However, though, anime-themed apparel may be a bit of a challenge to order online. There are several factors to consider such as the fit and the actual appearance of the products. Worry not because this guide is here to help.

How To Shop for Anime-Themed Apparel Online