One story I wrote is of note to folks here, which is my article on Sam Register's running of Warner Bros. Animation and the studio's surge in production and success in brand building. One of the big examples is the upcoming DC Nation show, which is still hard to peg down in terms of content, but it will include some sweet-sounding animated shorts that I think fans will get a real kick out of. DC Nation is due to start airing on Cartoon Network next summer. The story ran in Variety and, if you're a subscriber and can get past the paywall, you can read it here.
A couple other stories I've done for the current issue of Animation Magazine that may be of interest include my story on the making of Batman: Year One, which I think is really good; and this story on MTV Animation, including the return of Beavis and Butt-head, as well as a new toon called Good Vibes that turned out to be a nice surprise.
I continue to be lucky enough for DC publicity to still be sending me all the New 52 issues, as I have had no time to even hit the comic shop for the past few weeks. I've had to refresh my memory on the rest of the releases from the second week of the New 52, and changed my initial opinion in a few cases.
Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1 was a bit of a disappointment even though there's nothing wrong with it. I love the title, but expected a little more crazy and a lot more fun. Instead, we have a fairly standard setup as Frankenstein is now working for the Super Human Advanced Defense Executive and is sent on a mission to save a town where monsters are stripping the skin off people. Also, Frankenstein's wife went in on the mission first and has gone missing. He's joined by a quartet of new, monster-like agents and there's a some nice fighting scenes. The art by Alberto Ponticelli is solid, though somewhat generic for a monster-themed title, and Jeff Lemire's script lacks the wit, characterization, or the kind of just plain weirdness that would have set this apart. I think the Wachowski Bros.' Doc Frankenstein series of a few years back was a much more fun take on a very similar idea.
A number of reviews of Green Lantern #1 say it's very much a continuation of the previous Green Lantern run. I don't know because I wasn't reading it before now. This impressed me, however, as one of the most new-reader friendly books so far. Written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy, this issue finds Hal Jordan no longer a Green Lantern and living jobless and in need of cash on Earth. Meanwhile, Sinestro somehow is once again a member of the Corps and would like to change that, leading to him approaching Jordan about some kind of deal. I think you could give this comic to anyone who saw the Green Lantern movie and they'd be able to follow it no problem. It features Hal, Carol Ferris and Sinestro, all pretty much as they were in the movie and easy to identify. The art is clear and I think the story has enough interest for such folks to enjoy it and want to read more. For die-hard fans, it's probably little different from reading Green Lantern #68.
