Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Legion cartoon???

Yeah, there's no doubt that there has been some poop superhero cartoon in the last few years--not to mention that excerable Marvel Action Hour of a few years ago with Hulk, Iron Man, et al. But DC properties seem to have been able to avoid that kind of cheap cashing in.

I find JLU and TTG both very good. So does my son, who isn't even 3 yet. From what I can tell, both series are done by people who are 1) big fans of the source material, and 2) very smart about how to package that source material for a new generation of audiences. As fans of the "source material," it's hard to see how we could ask for anything more, especially given how bad other super-hero media adaptations tend to be.

What I am shocked by is that the TTG comic only sells 14,000 copies a month!?! This really demonstrates how DC, and other comics publishers, have fallen into the fan-boy niche from hell. They need to figure out how to get some sort of Teen Titans publication into the eager hands of the kids watching the show.

Weren't those two done out of that horrible animation house based out of Korea?

They need to figure out how to get some sort of Teen Titans publication into the eager hands of the kids watching the show.

The real problem is that I'm not sure how much they care. DC and Marvel are both making huge amounts of money off of licensed properties and movies. Comics really seem more like a resource to be mined to make money in other ways. So, whatever is going on in the current comic doesn't really matter, to the bottom line or to the average Time/Warner executive. The only thing they really need to do to get TTG into the eager hand of the kids watching the show is to get them displayed prominently in every Wal-Mart. I myself would prefer spinner racks. Until comics become an impulse item again ("Mom, can I get a comic book?" as they shop for groceries) instead of a specialty item they need to wheedle Mom into taking them to a special comic store to get, 14,000 will be all they sell.

They only sell 14,000 copies of the TTG comic in *comic book stores*.

I'm sure they sell quite a few more in 'regular' book stores and in grocery stores. I've seen them in Kroger's before. I don't think there's any source for sales in these alternative venues (for us, alternative-- for kids-- these'd be the main places they'd pick them up... definitely not in comic book stores).

Hmm, I *would* take the LSH toon 'news' in the DC Logo press release with a bit of salt. They also mentioned Birds of Prey DVDs, and when that news was followed up on, it was found out there are actually no plans for such a thing.

Likely, whoever wrote the press release saw some mention of the LSH cartoon from years ago, and dropped that in there.

J

I would be overjoyed if there was a Legion cartoon, but Kinetix is probably right. We know that the people who make these things have been toying with the idea for a few years, but there's no evidence that it ever got beyond the 'kicking ideas around' stage. I have a feeling that it's the same here. Until I see anything more concrete, I will consider this another unconfirmed rumour for now.

And I would *love* to see an anime-style Legion cartoon. Not the half-assed psuedo-anime style of the Titans cartoon, but a real full-blown anime art style, with the big eyes and tiny noses and everything! I'm always amazed when I read comic forums (not this one but the DC forums and others) about how vehement and venomous western comic fans are about the manga/anime style. Am I the only one out here who's a huge fan of both?

I don't get it. When done properly, anime style art can be absolutely breathtaking. I can only imagine that the people who say they hate it with such passion have only seen the bad stuff.

I wish that more western comic fans would give anime style artwork a chance!

Sometimes I think I'm not even sure what anime is.

Is 'Spirited Away' anime? Or 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'? I enjoyed them. And I *really* like the kind-of half-anime that they use in the Teen Titans cartoon. But in my head I've always thought to myself that I don't like anime. Maybe its like you say Drura and I've just seen too much bad anime.

Wait, wait - is manga the same as anime? Maybe its manga I don't like. Though Lord knows there's a lot of bad 'Western' art out there too. All I know is that if it came down to the choice between good 'Western' art or good anime I would probably go for the former.

I guess... to me at least... and I'm no expert in art or style by any stretch of the imagination... but I have watched a lot of cartoons over the years... but anime and manga are faily close in my mind. Manga seems to put an empahsis on Big Eyes and curves and cute... like Toad or Toadette in the Nintendo games.

Anime puts more of an emphasis on Big Eyes and angular features (ie: chins and noses) but there is also an economy of movement that I associate with anime. What I mean by that is that an anime sequence starts out with a drawing and the camera draws back to show the rest of the frame but the characters never move, although the illusion of movement is created by the camera moving. Yu Gi Oh uses this technique a lot and I would think of that as anime for kids.

That's just my take on it. I'm sure there are alot of manga and anime purists that would vehemently disagree with my take, and I couldn't say that they would be wrong either.

As for The Legion cartoon... If it gets produced, I would prefer it to be in the Timm style. If it were to be produced like TT Go I would end up shaking my head too much at what could have been. I'd still watch it because that's the type of geek I am but I wouldn't be ecstatic about it.

I'm a huge anime/manga fan, probably more so than an American comic fan really. I've taken two years of Japanese language studies and have been to Japan, and I have over 200 Japanese doujinshi or fan comics. I'm not sure how many actual manga I have, but it's quite a lot.

I don't tend to think of things as being in "anime style" or not... what's seen as "anime" style was originally based on the art done by Disney. "Anime" just means "animation" really, anyway. Although the big-eyes pointy-nose cliches are very common in anime and manga, they aren't universal. And manga varies even more than anime in my experience--between romance comics, sports comics, fighting/action comics, mystery comics, cutesy 'magical girl' comics, or dramatic space opera comics, there's no reason why someone couldn't possibly find at least one series they liked. I'm not sure where the idea that manga focuses on cute more than anime comes from, except maybe seeing more romance or magical girl or magical pet manga. I wouldn't say that's true at all, sorry. As for the economy of movement... anime is produced on much smaller budgets than the kinds of cartoons we see here in the west. It's gotten better than it used to be, but there's no denying that most anime cut corners wherever they can with still frame shots, hiding mouths when talking, and recycling or cycling animation. I think people tend to see a few anime or manga and characterize all anime and manga by them. But the Japanese comic industry is far more diverse than the western industry, which is dominated by superhero comics with things like romance comics being unusual.

When I say I'm an anime/manga fan, what I really mean is that I'm mostly interested in some of the stories that are currently being produced in Japan. But I tend to be fond of animation from any country, and I really do hope this Legion cartoon thing actually goes through and isn't another false hope. I mean, I REALLY REALLY REALLY HOPE that it goes through. Although I'm not a huge fan of TTG!, I would kind of be fascinated by the "anime style" gags and the J-pop opening if they went that way with the Legion. But I preferred the Timm style cartoons too.

By the way, if anyone knows anything about whether or not TTG! has aired in Japan, please let me know. I've tried to find information on it, but haven't been able to. Searching for related merchandise on YahooJapan Auctions was also a bust.

That would be just my luck. They make an LSH cartoon, and they go and make it anime. Ugh.

J

Mearl makes some good points. Basically, anime = "cartoon" and manga = "comic book". It's like when you hear people say "I don't like comic book movies", or demeaning something by calling it "cartoony". We all know cartoon and comic books are capable of more than the general perception. The same is true for the japanese versions. We've been mostly exposed to either the low-rent end of things like Pokemon or narrow themed genre pieces. There's no inherent "style" to an anime or manga, just as there isn't an inherent type of story that can be told in a comic book (and we know how we feel when people think comics are all adolescent stories about superheroes and nothing more).

Hmm, I wonder why they are doing that is that because the Legion will celebrate their 50th year soon? This year is Krypto's 50th year (dog year = 350 years arf arf!) and we have Krypto's cartoon show. Hmmm...

I don't mind the Manga look at all or them being little kids. I actually loved that pic of them battling the Fatal Five.

Now as I state every day atleast once I hate the Legion as puny teenagers. But for the cartoon I would love to see them as kids. Infact I remember talking about a Legion movie before and I hoped they would be 6 to 10 years old! (as well as Superboy)

The one thing I hope for is this doesn't affect the regular title in any way. As in the cartoon is a hit lets make them look even younger! Infact I hope this warrants a new title based on the cartoon where we can see a 9 year old Saturn Girl...and hopefully in the main title everybody gains a couple pounds, years, and inches.

Sorry, Jorg, but i would hate to see them 6-10 years old. That would be worse to me than the archie legion. I know its personal tastes, lol, but still.

The legion came together as teenagers. Thats how they started, thats what i would like to see for the cartoon.

A Legion Cartoon? I hope it will finally come to pass,but they had started rumors about it a few years ago, and it did not come to pass...

I will not get my hopes up until confirmed!
:rolleyes:

Personally, I'm surprised people don't take a moment to think that the cartoon might be BETTER than the comic books (difficult in the current boot though). Justice League Animated is a hell of a lot better than any of the garbage we've gotten from it in years. It's a return to old style storytelling where demons and monsters are slain while the heroes are heroes.

Evangelion is wonderful but it's NOT a comic book. It's morbid and depressing (which admittedly IS most of DCU's comics lately).

Whatever the story, the storyline of the Legion is probably going to be bright and optimistic. It'll probably be a tad more serious than the Teen Titans show though but probably had a lot of Futurama noises because...let's face it, a lot of Futurama is based on ideas that the Legion built on save played seriously.

I thought Futurama was more based on "Buck Rogers" if anything (granted, I've only seem some of that show).

Futurama was based on all sci fi speculation (Zap RANNIGAN was based on Flash Gordon-Buck Rogers) but largely it was based on quite a bit of Asimov and "optimistic-bright" sci fi speculation.

I call it, the 'Pre-Phillip K. Dick' years.

Check out what " SaturnKnight " is saying about the cartoon over at Newsarama!

Who is Saturn Knight again?

*sputtering* H-h-h-happen, you stupid cartoon!

HAPPEN I tell you! I COMMAND IT! Argh! Happen! Happen!

Please! Happen!

I want it to happen to the point that it makes me incoherent just to think about it!

Happen! Happen! Happen! Happen!!

Man! The word "happen" looks like gibberish to me now.

I don't know. Maybe we should ask him to join up here?

I agree with other users there, it's incredibly frustrating for someone to claim inside information and be smug about it while they can't resist dropping little hints.
gggrrrr...attention hog.

edit: clicked on his profile and followed his homepage link.
http://gayleague.com/members/index.php
There appears to be a BUNCH of gay Legion fans there! Looks like a very interesting site too.

When there's trouble you know who to call...THE LEGION
From their Rocket they can see it all, THE LEGION
When there's evil on the attack, you can rest knowing they got your back.
Cause when the galaxy needs heroes on patrol
The Legion of Superheroes GO!