In his State of the City address today Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell made a pretty great DC Comics analogy.

In his speech, he said:

If New York is Superman; and Chicago is Batman; and Los Angeles is the Flash; then Austin is the Green Lantern.

We are a city without fear. We are a city that can create anything we can visualize, through sheer force of will. We are a city with a special charge to shine a light into the darkness and lead the way to a new and better day.

I’m not sure if the mayor himself is a major geek, or one of his speech writers, but they both deserve to be commended. This is not only an incredibly appropriate and accurate use of superhero metaphor, but the crafting of the words is actually pretty spectacular. I’m a bit of a politics nerd (my dream last night was that I was in the State Legislature, seriously), and this is just good political writing.

Hell, just reading it gave me goosebumps.

This goes to show how far comics have come into the mainstream, and I am pretty happy to see it.

Our own Citizen-Bot was covering the event and sent it in, even though he didn’t have time to write it up on his own, he wanted it passed along.

Now if he would have only made everyone in attendance recite the Green Lantern’s oath…

On the heels of the release of All Star Superman this week, we’ve got the trailer for the next direct to video animated movie from DC.  Green Lantern: Emerald Knights will be similar to one of the previous animated movies, Batman: Gotham Knight,  in that it will be an anthology. It will have different stories featuring Lantern Corps members Sinestro, Abin Sur, Kilowog, Mogo, and Rori Dag. The Batman film was supposed to be set in the same continuity as Christopher Nolan’s “Bat” films, but I’m not sure if this one will follow that and be set in the same universe as the upcoming Green Lantern movie. The trailer does say that it is brought to us from the producers of the movie so take that as you will. The voice cast includes Henry Rollins as Kilowog, “Madmen’s” Elizabeth Moss as Arisa, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper as Bolphulga, and fan favorite Nathan Fillion as Hal Jordan. Set to release on June 7th of this year, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights will be available 10 days before the live action film hits theaters on the 17th of June.

The first cinematic from the upcoming Green Lantern video game has been released:

And I have to say it looks like it could be okay. My only real complaint is that we don’t get more badass side scrollers out of these movies. Sure, this looks like it’ll be a great game, but wouldn’t it be cool if we got some great 2D virtual console content out of these big summer tentpoles?

Maybe I’m just old, but I’d rather drop $10 on a side-scroller I can download than $60 on some overly complicated game that will most likely confuse me and get boring after four levels.

This cinematic also raises an interesting question: This game is clearly set after Hal Jordan gets his power ring and as far as I know the Manhunters aren’t part of the plot of the film. That would make this set AFTER the film, right? And Sinestro is in this as a Green Lantern, being a badass and defending the Guardians. Does that mean we won’t see Sinestro turn against the Corps in this film? Leaving the possibility of a sequel open that utilizes our favorite Yellow Lantern as the villain?

Only time will tell.

How many of us have wanted Nathan Fillion to be Green Lantern? I mean, Ryan Reynolds, sure, but according to a WB Animation press release, we’ll be getting a Fillion-Hal Jordan on June 7, just more than a week before we get the Ryan Reynolds live action version in theaters.

Even better, we have an amazing supporting voice cast: Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men, The West Wing), Henry Rollins as Kilowogg (YES!!!!!! Best choice since Dennis Haysbert did the voice on the Justice League cartoons), Arnold Vosloo (he was the mummy in The Mummy) as Abin Sur, and Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy from Harry Potter) as Sinestro.  Are not these just spot on choices? I

Really, I thought the only thing wrong with Green Lantern: First Flight was Chris Meloni as Hal Jordan. Give me David Boreanaz any day from New Frontier.

Also, I like the look of the character designs, as seen in this promo image below, courtesy of MTV.

The cartoons that Nathan Fillion's and Elisabeth Moss's voices will inhabit

Speaking of, we have a strange geek diagram of everyone who played Hal Jordan emerging: Ryan Reynolds and Nathan Fillion both got their start on Two Guys, a Girl, and Pizza Place (still one of my favorite sitcoms of all time), Fillion and David Boreanaz both inhabited the Buffyverse, and somehow I’m sure Kevin Bacon fits in there.

So here’s the official press release from WB.  What do the rest of you robots think about this?  Are any of you as excited as I am?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATHAN FILLION, ELISABETH MOSS LEAD STELLAR VOICECAST FOR GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD KNIGHTS

ALL-NEW DC UNIVERSE ANIMATED ORIGINAL MOVIE COMING JUNE 7, 2011 FROM WARNER HOME VIDEO

BURBANK, CA, (February 8, 2011) – Primetime television stars Nathan Fillion (Castle) and Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) lead a diverse array of performers as the voices behind Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, the next entry in the popular, ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Building up to the release of the highly anticipated live action film, Green Lantern, in theatres June 17, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights arrives on Blu-Ray™, DVD, On Demand and for Download June 7 from Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation.

Fillion provides the voice of the animated film’s central character Hal Jordan, the human Green Lantern assigned to Sector 2814 (which includes Earth). Fillion has starred in several primetime television series including Desperate Housewives, Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He has also developed a popular cult following as a pair of Joss Whedon’s heroic captains: Capt. Mal Reynolds in the space-western series Firefly and follow-up film, Serenity; and Captain Hammer in Whedon’s internet sensation Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. Fillion returns to the DC Universe after his successful turn as Steve Trevor in the animated film Wonder Woman, and has performed voice work on Justice League, Robot Chicken, The Venture Bros., and several Halo video games.

Moss gives voice to Arisia, a young recruit forced into her first mission on just her third day as a Green Lantern. Prior to starring as the ever-evolving Peggy Olson in AMC’s ground-breaking series Mad Men, Moss was featured on The West Wing, Invasion and Picket Fences. Moss has been active in voiceovers for animation with previous roles in Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, Freakazoid! and It’s Spring Training, Charlie Brown!.

The voice cast for the animated Green Lantern: Emerald Knights also features actor/spoken word artist Henry Rollins (Sons of Anarchy, The Henry Rollins Show) as Kilowog, Jason Isaacs (the Harry Potter films) as Sinestro, legendary professional wrestler “Rowdy” Roddy Piper (They Live) as Bolphunga, Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy) as Abin Sur, Kelly Hu (The Vampire Diaries) as Laira and Wade Williams (Prison Break) as Deegan. Radio Hall of Fame commentator/talk show host Michael Jackson voices the esteemed Guardian, Ganthet.

Bruce Timm is executive producer of Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. Directors are Lauren Montgomery, Jay Oliva and Christopher Berkeley.

The full-length animated Green Lantern: Emerald Knights complements the Warner Bros. theatrical release of the highly anticipated live-action major motion picture, Green Lantern. Green Lantern: Emerald Knights will be distributed by Warner Home Video as a Blu-Ray™ Combo Pack and 2-Disc Special Edition DVD, as well as single disc DVD. The film will also be available On Demand and for Download.

IGN UK has revealed a new cinematic for DC Universe Online produced by Blur studios. This cinematic follows up on the one that was debuted last year which saw a bleak future with heroes and villains killing each other. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but one of the heroes believed to be dead isn’t as we find out in this new movie. Blur has also done beautiful cinematics for the forthcoming SW: The Old Republic MMO along with The Force Unleashed II television spots. They are also working with producer David Fincher on the upcoming movie “The Goon” based on Eric Powell’s comic book from Dark Horse. I think this is a beautiful looking cinematic and helps progress the story of DCUO as we learn whether or not we can trust Lex Luthor. If you want to see some of their other work you can check them out on their official website.

Also released today was a teaser video for the first bit of “monthly” content we will see. Each month will spotlight or revolve around a different character. February will see a group of quests revolving around Catwoman. This new content that will be coming out February 15th. A breakdown of what will be included in the update will be after the video:

SOE has been hyping a classic character playing a large role in this batch of content, and it turns out it’s Catwoman. Selina Kyle is going to factor into a few new parts to DCUO.

New Duo: A two-player Bane duo will be available for players.

Level 30 Catwoman Episode: Here, your character will race to Gotham Museum and find Catwoman robbing the joint. Then, some ancient Egyptian artifacts turn people into lions and tigers that you have to fight. Look for five boss battles in this mission.

Buy and Sell: Auction houses will go live in the Watchtower and the Hall of Doom so that places can swap gear on a massive scale.Additions: New collections, races and investigations will be added.

Legends PVP: Catwoman will now be playable in “Play as Iconic” PVP.

Multiplayer Race: Chase Catwoman with your friends.

New Loot: You’ll now be able to collect the “ancient Mayan Armor” and “Cat Burglar” gear.

Collectable Hearts: Completing races, participating in PVP and other actions will earn you hearts that you can use to purchase chocolates and gifts to give to other players.

Valentine’s Day ContentBelieve it or not, February is for lovers — and now, DCUO is, too. In a rather interesting move, the Goddess of Love is pissed and has put down fountains across Metropolis. Enter one of these, and you’ll be transported to a 100-person instance where you’ll play as a cherub and battle “to determine the true meaning of love.”

New Tier 2 Raid: There’s a new eight-player raid zone for the Batcave. You’ll fight alongside Batman against Brainiac and Brother Eye.

PVP Battles: Dunk the other team into the fountain.Love Alert: This is a four-player boss fight against the Goddess of Love, Devotion and Scorn.

Loot: There’s a new harlequin clown suit with hearts and a cherub disguise to earn.

Mock the Boss: When you replay boss fights, you’ll be able to give them “be mine” cards for Feat points.

PVP Expansion: There will be a new Gotham PVP zone.

DC has revealed 14 different 3 issue minis that will tie-in to their upcoming “Flashpoint” event. It seems to me that something will happen that will cause a splinter earth or alternate timeline to take effect. The event will be helmed by a 5 issue mini written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Andy Kubert with inks by Sandra Hope. Now I’m sure you won’t be lost if you don’t pick up every single mini series. So you’d only need to pick up the ones that interest you. DC has been posting the following teases on their blog over the last few weeks:

The mini-series that will accompany the event are:

Whatever Happened to Gotham City?

FLASHPOINT: BATMAN KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: DEADMAN AND THE FLYING GRAYSONS #1-#3

Whatever Happened to the World’s Greatest Super Villains?

FLASHPOINT: CITIZEN COLD #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: DEATHSTROKE & THE CURSE OF THE RAVAGER #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: THE OUTSIDER #1-#3

Whatever Happened to the Aliens?

FLASHPOINT: ABIN SUR THE GREEN LANTERN #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: PROJECT: SUPERMAN #1-#3

Whatever Happened to Science & Magic?

FLASHPOINT: FRANKENSTEIN & THE CREATURES OF THE UNKNOWN #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: SECRET SEVEN #1-#3

Whatever Happened to Europe?

FLASHPOINT: EMPEROR AQUAMAN #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: WONDER WOMAN AND THE FURIES #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: LOIS LANE AND THE RESISTANCE #1-#3

Everything You Know Will Change in a Flash

FLASHPOINT: KID FLASH LOST #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: THE WORLD OF FLASHPOINT #1-#3

The Monitor Tapes episode 4
Every week Martin J Dekay and Ken Derrick discuss DC Comics, movies, video games, and toys This is:
The ranting episode…

Martin J Dekay was sick this week and didn’t do a lot of book reading. We briefly discuss a few comics:
BATMAN #706
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #53
POWER GIRL #20
YOUNG JUSTICE #0

And then we rant and rave about:
MR. Twister
The Batman Casting news
Wonder Woman
Grant Morrison??
MJD has STRONG feelings about Marvel, Batman and more!

Get it via iTunes

I’m sure if you’ve read comics for a while you’ve seen the symbol above. It is the seal of approval for the Comics Code Authority. The code was a form of censorship that was created in 1954 in response to questionable content in comic books such as violence and gore in horror comics among other things such as sex. While publishers weren’t required to follow the code, many magazine distributors refused to carry comics that didn’t have the seal on it. In 2001 Marvel comics dropped the code completely to use their own ratings system like the one that DC will be using.

Starting this month DC titles will no longer carry the Comics Code Authority seal and move to their own rating system. I didn’t even know anyone still published comics under the Comics Code.  Jim Lee posted this official statement on the official DC blog, The Source:

As of January 2011, DC Comics titles will no longer carry the Comics Code Authority Seal of Approval. In 2011, DC Comics will employ a rating system consistent with that of the rest of the industry, as well as with our digital releases, which already utilize a rating system. As for our Vertigo comic books, they will not utilize the rating system, because they will continue to be labeled as “For Mature Readers”.

Beginning with our April 2011 titles, all DC comic book covers will utilize the following rating system:

E – EVERYONE

Appropriate for readers of all ages. May contain cartoon violence and/or some comic mischief.

T – TEEN

Appropriate for readers age 12 and older. May contain mild violence, language and/or suggestive themes.

T+ – TEEN PLUS

Appropriate for readers age 16 and older. May contain moderate violence, mild profanity, graphic imagery and/or suggestive themes.

M – MATURE

Appropriate for readers age 18 and older. May contain intense violence, extensive profanity, nudity, sexual themes and other content suitable only for older readers.

After doing some research and looking around I found that now there are only two publishers left that still use the Comics Code, Archie and Bongo.

Big Shiny Robot! Has been gracious enough to host The Monitor Tapes podcast With Martin J Dekay (Mandroid) and Ken Derrick (Clobber-Tron). Every week we discuss DC Comics, movies, video games, and toys and episode 3 is HERE

SHOW NOTES:

SUPERMAN #707
BATMAN AND ROBIN #19
BATGIRL #17
RED ROBIN #19
KNIGHT AND SQUIRE #4
SECRET SIX #29
TITANS #31
WONDER GIRL #1
R.E.B.E.L.S. #24
JUSTICE LEAGUE GENERATION LOST #17 is NOT discussed
HITMAN Vol 1

Leave us feedback on the BSR forum HERE

Early last week subscribers to the PS3’s premium service, Playstation Plus, got full access to the beta for Sony Online Entertainments upcoming MMO DC Universe Online. I’ve been excited for this game since they announced it a couple of years ago and have been patiently waiting for it to come out. So what does this diehard DC fan think of the game so far? I like it!

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As the video shows the story of the game starts off in the future with all the heroes fighting all the villains. Everyone ends up killing each other and Brainiac invades earth. We come to learn that Brainiac had been stealing powers from all the powered people in the DCU which caused both sides to lose. Jump to the “present” and you see Lex Luthor from the future talking Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman into helping him stop that future from happening. He then infects the world with nanobots that give normal people like you and me powers. That is where your character comes in. You play your own character that fights with the heroes or villains. When making your character you have your choice of 6 mentors. This choice determines where you start and what your opening line of quests are. For heroes you have your choice of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. And for Villains you choose between Lex Luthor, Joker, and Circe. After that you choose your main attacks. This ranges from energy hand blasts to dual pistols, to melee weapons. Next up is what kind of power set would you like to have. Do you want to wield the powers of Fire or Ice? Do you prefer Gadgets? Or how about Telekinesis? For my character I chose Ice as my power and a Staff as my weapon. I would say the combat in the game is a mixture of Phantasy Star Online and WoW. Your skills and powers are  hotlinked to certain keys (Holding L2 or R2 while pushing one of the 4 main buttons), while your weapon attacks are done mainly with the square button. As you progress you get new combos you can do with your weapon that are based on the timing of how you hit square.

I started off in Metropolis getting mission assignments from my mentor, Wonder Woman. The first quest line revolved around saving Zatanna from Felix Faust, then tracking down Faust and teaming with Zatanna to fight him. Most of the quest lines follow that loose guide. You save or assist a character, then you team up with that character to fight the bad guy. Eventually you can go up to the JLA Watchtower, which is also how you travel between Metropolis and Gotham. There are lots of side missions to do. My favorites are the “Wanted” or “Bounty” missions. When you hit certain levels bounties become available in the form of really strong characters that you usually have to be in a group to take on. I’ve faced Bizarro and Solomon Grundy. But the toughest one became available during my favorite quest line that I’ve played so far. I got to team up with the Green Lantern Corps against the Sinestro Corp in downtown Metropolis. The bounty came in the form of Arkillo, one of the stronger members of the Sinestro Corp.  For a comic geek like me, getting to do something like that was so much fun!

The level cap on the full game is going to be 30. Although for the beta it caps out at 20. While that may seem low for an MMO I have heard that a lot of the content in the game is “End Level” content. I am ok with this. Past MMO’s I have played, like WoW, I would get bored and lose interest in the game once I got to around level 30.

Now is that to say it is without fault? No, it isn’t. However it is a beta test, this is the phase of a game meant to work out all the little bugs. On the PS3 the biggest problem for me has been freezing issues where the whole console locks up. This issue is getting better though. On Thursday when I started playing the game it froze more times than I could keep track of, but by Saturday it only froze on me a couple of times. SOE seems to be getting a bunch of the problems worked through which gives me hope. Past that I haven’t had any big issues other than  some minor bugs, and most of those all seem to have been fixed already. An example would be checkpoints for quests not showing up, or areas for a quest being inaccessible to some people but not all.

Overall I think this is a fun and enjoyable game. Will this game be for everyone? No it won’t. Do you have to be well versed in DC continuity to enjoy it? No, you don’t. My roommate is not well versed in DC past knowing who the iconic characters are and he has had a good time. Its has also made him curious about other characters that he isn’t that familiar with. With the low level cap I don’t know how much “end game” content there actually will be, but  expect a report when I get the full game in January.  I’ve been excited for this game since it was announced two years ago and I’m even more pumped now.

When the full game does come out I’m thinking of starting a BSR “League” (DCUO’s equivalent of a guild) on the PS3. Is there anyone out there also planning on getting the game? And if so would you be interested in joining. Go to my forum post here to continue this discussion.