‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ Animation From Marvel; ‘Court Of Owls’ Animation From DC
Marvel and DC both made animation news at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday. DC announced a couple of new animated movies centered on Batman and the Justice League, while Marvel offered a sneak peek at the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series -- which boasts a style that may mark a depature for Marvel Studios' animated arm.
Marvel revealed a minute of early footage for its already announced Guardians cartoon and revealed that the team will make guest appearances in all of Marvel's other animated series -- Ultimate Spider-Man, Hulk And The Agents Of SMASH, and Avengers Assemble -- as the studio tries to cement their place in audience's imaginations.
It's perhaps too early to make any pronouncements about the Guardians Of The Galaxy cartoon, but what we've seen thus far suggests it's one of the most stylistically interesting works to come out of Marvel Animation. Marvel's cartoons haven't generally offered much in the way of originality, but more interesting art direction may be a sign of Stephen Wacker's influence since becoming vice president in charge of current animation projects. Wacker's eye for great art and great artists was a hallmark of his time as head of the Spider-Man office.
Across the metaphorical street at DC, the DC Animation panel announced plans for two new animated movies in 2015. Batman Vs. Robin is based on the comic story "Batman: The Court of Owls," by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, while Justice League: Gods And Monsters is an original story by Bruce Timm, who of course made his reputation as co-creator of Batman: The Animated Series in the early 90s.
These two productions join the already announced Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, starring Matt Lanter as Aquaman, which continues the story begun in Justice League: War with Jerry O'Connell as Superman and Rosario Dawson as Wonder Woman.