Freedom Reborn

Community Forums => Film, Television, Video and Music Discussion => Topic started by: Glitch Girl on June 10, 2012, 07:19:42 PM

Title: Marvel/DC Block bonus content discussions
Post by: Glitch Girl on June 10, 2012, 07:19:42 PM
I don't think we really have a place to discuss the pieces like the DC shorts and the Marvel info bits and so on, so...\

Here's what each company has to offer, including my own personal grades which just reflects my own impressions which you may disagree with.

DC NATION
DC's block shows two cartoons, "Green Lantern" & "Young Justice" over an hour period.  Bonus content usually runs about a minute or so and is in place of regular advertising.  There is no host.

[Untitled Comic Con interviews] - Short segments where an unseen host asks visitors cosplaying various DC characters a question and films the responses.  This is cute, nothing deep, mostly filler but cute none the less.  Only about two or three of these have aired, and seem to be sharing a slot with the next entry.  GLITCH GRADE: B

[Untitled Tech Demo] - Short segment showing things like the Batarang and the Boxing Glove arrow in "real world situations", if the real world used more hostile wooden targets.  ;)  Somewhat lacking on the "proof of concept" part (a paintball capsule isn't exactly a good stand-in for a gas capsule for example) and a little too much hyperbole.  Only about three of these have aired.  GLITCH GRADE: C+

(note: I'm not sure if either of these two have been phased out or if I missed a subset, I don't think I've seen any in a while, though since GL went into reruns, I haven't been checking as much)

DC Nation Shorts: The REAL meat of the bonus content.  Two air per block and run about 2-3 minutes, but WOW, what you can pack into those two minutes.  Content is extremely varied, from the current serialized "Sword of the Atom" story to the randomness of Aardaman's claymation Bat-family "interviews", from chibi Teen Titans and Super Best Friends forever to some of the better MAD superhero bits and a love letter to 80's cartoons from Vibe, there's a lot of freedom here for the various teams to do "whatever".  Like the Clone Wars micro series Gendy Tartakovsky worked on some years back, most of these are extremely efficient in their storytelling, and are a lot of fun.  It also seems to be acting as a testing ground of fan response, as one series (Teen Titans GO) has been since picked up after the shorts began.  I admit, not every one will work for everybody, but overall I really like this. GLITCH GRADE: A

(note: I'm not going to list ALL the shorts individually, there are too many, but if you want to cite certain ones in the responses, feel free)


MARVEL UNIVERSE
Marvel's block shows two cartoons, "Ultimate Spider-Man" & "Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" over and hour and 15 minutes give or take) to allow for longer bonus content.  These pieces are about 5 minutes long (give or take) and make use of a live action host to tie everything together.  I should point out I find the host extremely annoying, so this may color my reviews a bit...

"What would it take?" - Marvel tries to find real-world instances of stuff we see  in the comics and shows a professional at work intercut with animations clips.  Has included forging a shield (out of aluminum), pakkour, water jetpack, and more.  Obviously aimed at the younger crowd, seeing some of these skills in action has been fun, though I find the host and occasionally the clips to be distracting.  GLITCH GRADE: A-/B+  (I'm waffling on this one)

"Fury Files": Extended bios on specific characters, mostly those featured in the shows.  Contains a mix of Comic panels and show clips to showcase background and powers.  Nick Fury from Ultimate Spider-Man narrates.  Information tends to be a bit redundant at times, and the guy voicing Fury to me has a flat delivery.  GLITCH GRADE: B

"Marvel Master Class" - What is this?  It's not a "how to draw" because you really can't learn anything.  It's not a "meet the artist" because you don't really get to know much about them.  It's not a "Get to know the character" because the information is shallow at best.  It's not even a "Look at the cool drawing we did" because they cut around too much to watch the drawing develop, and the finish work is shown so fast, if you blink, you miss it.  GLITCH GRADE: F

"Marvel Mashup" - One guy (from the sound of things) redubs clips from the old Spider-Man, Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends, and Hulk cartoons.  Apparently, he thinks he's funny.  I've seen better on YouTube.  Honestly, I can't sit through these, especially when the voice guy tries to do a female voice.  GLITCH GRADE: F

Title: Re: Marvel/DC Block bonus content discussions
Post by: Glitch Girl on July 16, 2012, 08:19:35 PM
Previews of upcoming DC Nation shorts
http://comiccon.thewb.com/2012/dc-nation-at-comic-con/
It includes:
For the record, despite GL and YJ being in reruns, new shorts are still airing.  The Catwoman one last weekend could be described as Korra meets Okami.

Honestly, I have been completely floored by the DC shorts so far.  I was not expecting such a huge variety of styles and content with such quality.
Title: Re: Marvel/DC Block bonus content discussions
Post by: JeyNyce on July 16, 2012, 09:19:09 PM
zoo crew?  As in Capt. Carrot & the Zoo Crew?
Title: Re: Marvel/DC Block bonus content discussions
Post by: Glitch Girl on July 17, 2012, 12:46:38 AM
Not exactly, but I'm not sure what else to call the animals that appear to be analogs of superheroes.  The style seems to be inspired by John Kricfalusi.
Title: Re: Marvel/DC Block bonus content discussions
Post by: Cyber Burn on September 03, 2012, 04:55:59 AM
I thought I had already replied to this, but apparently not.

Marvel's shorts just aren't cutting it for me, the "Mash Ups" are kind of ruining some of my childhood cartoon favorites.

Dc, on the other hand, is almost completely rocking their short segments, minus the Tokyo Superman and the Claymation looking Batman segments. I actually am enjoying the tech demonstrations.