As the ydear 2018 draws to an end, here at DC World we have taken a little time to reflect and discuss all things DC comics, bringing you some of our highlights.
LIVE ACTION MOVIES
We had to wait until December to get our only installment this year with the return to the big screen for Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, written and directed by James Wan. Our editor in chief Paul Edwards attended the London premier and this is what he had to say.
“Aquaman did not disappoint, after the controversy of Justice League in 2017, Aquaman has restored my faith in Warner Bros. and DC Comics and I now feel the future of DC Movies is going to be a great ride and fans are in for some real treats. Aquaman is Visually Stunning and gives fans some amazing scenes, a great story and a cool soundtrack too which works well and I give it a 9 out of 10. This is almost Superhero perfection for a Movie and can not wait for what else is in store”
TV SHOWS
The CW continued to be our main source of DC related TV this year with the return of Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomrrow and iZombie. 2018 saw the addition of a new show in the form of Black Lightning which debuted back in January being renewed for season 2 in October. The stand out highlight for this year was the annual crossover event called Elseworlds which took us to Gotham and introduced us to Bat Woman. Here is what the DC World team had to say about it during our round table discussion.
The Fox TV based Gotham season 4 wrapped with the news that Season 5 which returns in January 2019 will be the final season. With her views on season 4 our resident Gotham expert Claire Payne had this to say in her season review.
https://dcworld.org.uk/gotham/2018/12/20/dc-television-show-2018-gotham-season-4/
Another new addition to our TV line up courtesy of SYFY was Krypton, a show based on the grand parents to Superman. DC World writer Erin Marie Durcan was a big admirer and here are her thoughts on season 1.
“Fans of Superman were indulged in his home planet of Krypton on the SYFY channel this year. But the story isn’t your typical Superman story which has always started at the destruction of the planet. This story starts 200 years before The Man of Steel is even thought of. Well…until Adam Strange (played by Shaun Sipos) goes back in time with Superman’s cape which is vanishing. Adam finds Seg-El (played by Cameron Cuffe) the last of the House of El and Superman’s Grandfather and tells him what is happening to his grandson. Of course, Seg-El doesn’t believed him until he finds proof that backs up Adam’s story about Brainiac coming to Krypton to destroy the planet and rewrite history. But not only does Brainiac show up in the story, but also General Zod and Doomsday. I look very forward to what season 2 has in store. Especially with how the first season ended. Seeing a different story of Krypton and getting to know more background about Krypton and the House of El has been very interesting. Also introducing another comic character, like Adam Strange, into a story who you don’t expect to see is always interesting for me. I have just started collecting and reading comics. So it’s been fun going to conventions and comic books stores to see if I can find something with Adam Strange in it to learn more of his background and other storylines (and I have found a couple)”
Finally Preacher and Lucifer (Vertigo) both had their third season released on Amazon Prime. It was announced throughout the year that Lucifer was cancelled, only to be picked up by Netflix and set to return in 2019.
DC UNIVERSE (STREAMING)
This year the US got the launch of DC Universe, the new streaming app designed to compete with the likes of Netflix and Amazon prime. Hopefully 2019 will see the app make its way to the UK as the content lined up for release sounds too good to miss. The only show that we managed to get in 2018 from DCU was Titans. With their summary on the show is DC World writer Max Byrne.
“A breath of fresh air in every sense of the word, Titans exploded onto tv screens in October 2018 as the crown jewel of the DC Universe streaming service. Blowing away long time DC devotees and new fans alike, with its heady mix of bare knuckle brutality, sci-fi, supernatural horror, human drama and above all, expertly realised characters. It very much feels like a show made for the fans, with the case being that the greater your comic book knowledge, the more you get out of it. Rather than retreading overold ground and attempting to put a fresh twist on characters that have been portrayed ad nauseam, this small screen spectacular hasbeen ultra successful in giving beloved characters their long overdue live action debuts. Dick Grayson aside, the show has given the fans a first depiction of Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Jason Todd, Hawk & Dove, Trigon and Donna Troy. Just a few years ago, it would have been inconceivable to imagine such an array of excellence. And, lest we forget, it has also served as a back door pilot for a Doom Patrol tv show, coming in February 2019!Strictly an adults only affair due to it’s liberal use of profanity and occasional foray into the pleasures of the flesh, Titans isplayed with an ultra straight face, despite its high concept and zesty one liners. Not hampered by the restrictions imposed on other shows that feature on network television, the only limits facing Titans are those in the minds of its creators. With comic book royalty such as Geoff Johns and Bryan Edward Hill onboard, it feels like the sky is the limit and its future is in very safe hands indeed.Renewed for its second season before its pilot episode had even aired, DC knew they had a smash hit on their hands from an early stage. Clearly not afraid to play the long game, this feels like a property that can run for years, as the journey of Dick Grayson from Robin to Nightwing starts to take shape.With season two going into production imminently, it won’t be too long before the fanatical DC fan base gets to hear that kick ass theme tune once more…”
GAMING
The only major release in 2018 was Lego DC Super Villains on Playstation 4, XBox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. A fun addition to the Lego franchise and sequel to the Lego Batman games. There have been a number of character expansion packs announced from Justice League Dark to Batman The Animated Series as the game will continue to grow through out 2019.
ANIMATION
This was a big year for DC animation releasing 10 feature length movies on home release and 1 cinema release in the shape of Teen Titans Go To The Movies. This was the largest release calendar DC animation has seen and our DC World animation enthusiast James Stone gives you his thoughts.
“Scattered throughout the year we were treated to an array of animated titles. The flagship titles were from the DC animated movie universe Suicide Squad Hell to Pay, Death of Superman and Constantine City of Demons. The Death of Superman received worldwide praise with the terms “Best animated movie ever” being used throughout social media and I would agree with the praise as this was hands down the best animated movie of the year. DC continued its partnership with LEGO releasing 3 feature films, The Flash being my pick of the bunch as it was an action-packed fun ride featuring a vast variety of characters. Teen Titans Go to the Movies was the only cinema release and I went into detail in my review about how much I enjoyed it, it’s worth watching for the sheer volume of Easter eggs throughout.”
Justice league Action, Super Hero Girls and Teen Titans Go continue to be the only ongoing animated series with Teen Titans Go passing 200 episodes.
COMICS
Comics super fan and resident Guru of the panels Steve J. Ray highlights his stand out stories from the year here. /https://dcworld.org.uk/blog/2018/12/20/dc-world-2018-review-pt-2-dc-comics-highlights-2018/
From everyone at DC World we want to say a massive thank you for all your support and interaction throughout 2018. We hope you have a great Christmas and a happy new year, keep your eyes out for more great content in 2019.
