Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite Comic Book Animated Series

On August 18, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Animation, Comics/Manga, List, Superhero3 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The official topic this week was Favourite Places to Read, however, I’m going rogue once again and instead will continue my trend of looking at Comic Book adaptations. Recently I have been highlighting and examining some of the great multi-media features that are adapted from established comic book series. So far, I have looked at my favourite animated comic book films, ranked all the MCU films, and looked at some cool DC Comics films. These were very interesting subjects which really appealed to my likes and focuses, and I am having a blast writing about them. To keep this trend going, I thought that this week I would spend some time looking at some of the incredible animated series based on comic books.

I am sure that all of us can remember watching a comic book adaption on our morning cartoons when we were younger (I know I can, and several examples are featured in the list below). There is an intrinsic connection between comics and cartoons, and Hollywood’s attempts to turn great comics into fun animated entertainment have resulted in some of the best adaptions of the original content out there. I have long enjoyed watching animated series based on comics, and we are currently in a bright new age of animated adaptations, especially with the continued focus on all-things comic book and superhero. As a result, I thought that this would be a great opportunity to explore some of my absolute favourite animated comic book shows.

To produce this list, I pulled together all the best animated shows I have watched over the years that were originally based on some form of comic book. There are quite a few great shows out there that have some origins in the comic book world, and I had a big pool of potential entries to work with. I was eventually able to whittle it down to my absolute favourite 10 shows, with my typical generous Honourable Mentions section. The final list turned out to be pretty interesting, and I was quite happy with the range of shows featured. I have only included shows I have so far watched, so that means a couple of notable series are missing, such as Superman: The Animated Series. I have also tended to steer away from a few 90s classics, such as X-Men or Spider-Man. While I enjoyed these shows when I watched them and they successfully adapt some of the most iconic storylines, they really haven’t aged that well. I also excluded the most recent animated series, What If…?, mainly because there has only been one episode so far, and I want to see at least the whole first season before I make any decision about it, although I am sure it will appear on future iterations of this list. Despite these limitations, I ended up coming up with a pretty cool list, so let us check it out.

Honourable Mentions:

Men in Black

Men in Black Animated Series

While strongly inspired by the films, this awesome show had a lot of connections to the original Men in Black comic, and it is an outstanding animated series with some incredible opening credits.

Ultimate Spider-Man

Ultimate Spider Man

This was a really good modern take on Spider-Man that nicely tied into some of the other Marvel shows running at the same time. Featuring some unique and cool adventures, this was an excellent series.

Wolverine and the X-Men

Wolverine and the X-Men

A brilliant series that was cut off far too soon after only a single season (an unfortunate casualty of the Disney buy-out of Marvel). The first season was extremely strong, and if it had gone on for longer, it would have easily been in the Top Ten.

Generator Rex

Generator Rex

Based on an extremely short-lived comic, Generator Rex was an epic and entertaining animated show. Set in a world where everyone has been infected by nanites, it follows titular hero Rex, a teen who can control his nanites and turn them into weapons, as he fights monsters and great villains. A very cool show that had a great run, and which even featured a fantastic crossover with Ben 10.

Top Ten List (Unranked):

Invincible

Invincible

Let us start off with the recently released Invincible. Invincible is an exceptional and amazing adaption of the comic of the same name, which follows a young hero as he attempts to follow in his father’s footsteps. Featuring an awesome cast, this show really does the comic justice and is very dark and bloody. I loved the changes they made to the story, while also keeping all the best bits of the comic, including that incredible twist. I literally just finished the final episode a couple of hours ago and I am still reeling from how brutal it got. A deeply impressive show, if you have not checked out this first season yet, you are missing out.

Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn

From one of the darkest shows on this list to one of the funniest, Harley Quinn is another relatively recent animated show that is extremely cool. This hilarious show features an R-rated look at one of DC’s most popular characters as she strikes out on her own. Featuring the voice of Kaley Cuoco in the titular role, this witty and fun show contains a fantastic and moving story that dives into the heart of the protagonist, while also showing off some excellent supporting characters. I love the great combination of over-the-top humour, intense violence, clever parodies, and emotional storylines, and I am really looking forward to the third season.

Young Justice

Young Justice

I must admit that I was initially wary when Young Justice was announced, as surely no show about young heroes could ever top Teen Titans. However, the moment I watched the first episode I was an instant life-long mega fan. With a surprisingly deep and complex narrative about a group of sidekicks who become the covert-ops wing of the Justice League, Young Justice was an impressive and compelling series that quickly produced two fantastic and moving initial seasons. Featuring a strong group of core characters, this series adapted several great storylines from the comics, while also telling its own clever and unique overarching narrative. I loved all the twists and character development that occurred, and I was so very, very happy when DC eventually announced a third season. This third season was even more adult than its predecessors and it continued to expand on the series extremely well. There is another season on the horizon and despite knowing nothing about it, I am already immensely confident that I will love it.

The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

Avengers_Earth's_Mightiest_Heroes_Vol_3_2_Textless

As you can probably imagine, there have been several attempts to adapt the Avengers into an animated series, and in my opinion the best example of this is The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Taking most of its cues from the comics rather than the MCU, this outstanding series really captures the heart of the team and presents an exceptional take on each of the main characters. The first season is pretty perfect and comes together extremely well. The second season, while a tad rushed in places, is also incredibly cool, and features an amazing version of the Secret Invasion arc. Unfortunately, this series was cancelled well before its time, but while it was going, it was incredible.

Batman: The Animated Series

Batman - The Animated Series

There are many, many Batman series out there, but none have captured the titular hero, the outrageous villains, and the grim setting of Gotham City as perfectly as Batman: The Animated Series. With some deep and adult storylines, this series never pulled any punches, despite being a kids show, and for many, it was the best introduction to Batman and the world of comics that you can ask for. Serving as the definitive animated version of Batman out there, this incredible series features all the classic Batman characters, and even introduced a few new iconic faces, such as Harley Quinn. You also have to love the voice cast, especially with Kevin Conroy providing the quintessential Batman voice, while Mark Hamill is the ultimate animated Joker. I am lumping in The New Batman Adventures into this entry as well, mainly as it served as a continuation of the original show. I also must call out Batman Beyond here, which serves as a great end note to this series, especially with that dark and epic connected film, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.

Justice League/Justice League Unlimited

Justice League Unlimited 2

For this next entry I am combining the crowning jewels of the DC Animated Universe, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, as they are honestly just the same show. Continuing some of the great storylines from Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, this cool series brought together seven heroes who formed the Justice League to fight some of the DC Universe’s best and most dangerous villains. This series contains some incredible storylines, which are easily appealing to both a younger audience and veteran fans of the comics. I have a lot of love for both the original Justice League, which focused exclusively on the seven founding members, and Justice League Unlimited, which massively expanded the roster with a great cast of supporting characters. Despite how epic and captivating the other seasons are, my favourite storyline is the one surrounding the Justice League facing off against Project Cadmus, as it contains some of the best writing and some deep examinations of the nature of power and the potential threat that a group of heroes could pose. A must watch series for all fans of the Justice League and DC comics in general, you will love this show.

The Spectacular Spider-Man

The Spectacular Spider-Man

As Marvel’s most iconic and popular comic character, Spider-Man has had an insane number of animated shows over the years, but to my mind, the best is The Spectacular Spider-Man. Featuring a perfect take on the character without needlessly rehashing his origin tales, this series serves as a great adaption while also providing its own unique story. Every episode of this show is deeply entertaining, while also diving into the mindset of the teenage hero, his friends, and his menagerie of villains. Out of all the shows, I think this one captures the teenage years of Peter Parker the best, while also adding in some more modern twists to ensure it still holds up after all these years. I can honestly watch this entire series in one extended series, it is that damn good. Unfortunately, as with many of the best Marvel television shows, The Spectacular Spider-Man ended way too soon, although its final episode did wrap things up nicely. An excellent and compelling series.

Teen Titans

Teen Titans

When there’s trouble you know who to call, Teen Titans!!! Yeah, that theme song says it all when it comes to Teen Titans. This was a wonderful and spectacular show that had just the right mixture of silliness and darkness. Following the adventures of the titular superhero team, for four seasons, Robin, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy fought a series of outrageous villains, with a combination of skill and humour. With some very distinctive characters, a Japanese inspired art style and two versions of the same theme song, this was one of the most unique shows out there with a style all its own. While there was a definite focus on humour and friendship, many of the storylines have a deeper, more emotional edge to them that will appeal to watchers of all ages, and there is constant and compelling character development. This series also contains several outstanding antagonists, with the highlight being Ron Pearlman’s Slade (Deathstroke). I cannot express how much I love this fantastic animated series, and I have watched it many, many times.

X-Men: Evolution

X-Men Evolution

I have mentioned a couple of X-Men shows so far, but the one that I think is the best, by dint of being still watchable and having a decent run, is X-Men: Evolution. Evolution features an impressive X-Men narrative that focuses on teenage versions of most of the main characters. Featuring all your favourite X-Men, this was a really cool and compelling take on the iconic team, and it contains so many great story arcs, many of which dealt with the comic’s overarching themes of discrimination and prejudice. While there are a lot of great impacts of this series, easily the best thing this show ever did was introduce the character of X-23, Wolverine’s murderous female clone, who is one of my favourite X-Men characters. An impressive and important series that is well worth a watch.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 and 2012 series)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Joint

For the final entry on this list, I am going to combine two separate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shows, with both the 2003 and 2012 series. Based on the comics of the same name, I have a lot of love for both Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles adaptations, and I honestly enjoy both equally (hence the shared spot on this list). While both follow the same characters with similar adventures, these are very different series that go in some unique directions. The 2003 series was the one I grew up with, and I still really love its drawing style and darker storylines. The 2012 series on the other hand works its CGI animation and anime inspirations extremely well, resulting in more humour and homages to popular culture. Despite this apparent divide, the 2003 series did have some extremely funny moments and episodes, while the 2012 series got extremely dark in places. I also deeply appreciate that both shows feature appearances from my favourite comic character, Usagi, with the rabbit ronin teaming up with the ninjas in multiple fun episodes. As a result, I would strongly recommend both these series as they serve as excellent introductions to this fantastic franchise.

Well, that’s the end of this list. As you can see, there are some truly awesome animated comic shows out there, and I am really passionate about which ones I watch. I am pretty happy with how this list turned out, and I think the unique spread of shows really reflects my tastes and preferences. Each of the above shows is extremely good, and I would highly recommend all of them. This is probably a list I will revisit in the future, especially as there are more and more comic-inspired animated series coming out all the time. With shows like Invincible and What If…? bringing in a whole new generation of fans to animated adaptions, it is only a matter of time before the other companies start adapting all manner of comics into something cool. I am already excited about a couple on the horizon (they are apparently working on an Usagi Yojimbo animated series 😊 😊 😊), and I look forward to watching them in the future. In the meantime, let me know which of the above shows you enjoyed, and if you have any recommendations for other cool animated comic book series, I will be interested in seeing what else is out there.

Young Justice – Book Three by Peter David and Todd Nauck

On December 6, 2018August 23, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, Superhero, Young Adult1 Comment

Young Justice 3.jpg

Publisher: DC Comics

Publication Date – 4 December 2018

Amazon

Before the third season of the Young Justice television show debuts after its long hiatus, go back to the comic book series that inspired it all, with the third volume of DC Comics’ reprint of the 1990s Young Justice comic book series, which includes the full collection of the Sins of Youth crossover event from 2000.

Young Justice is an interesting comic series. Most people would probably be familiar with the 2010 television series of the same name. The original comic book series started in the 1990s and was created in a unique period of DC Comics. Many of the traditional sidekicks had grown up in recent years and taken on different identities to distinguish themselves from their mentors. For example, the first Robin, Dick Grayson, had has own identity as Nightwing; the original Kid Flash, Wally West, had succeeded his mentor as the Flash; the original Wonder Girl, Donna Troy, had become Troia; while the original Speedy and Aqualad had taken on the identities of Arsenal and Tempest respectfully. In order to fill the void, DC Comics creators in the 1990s created several new young sidekicks for their key heroes. At the same time, with most of the former sidekicks in their early 20s, DC needed a new group of young heroes to appeal to their younger readers. With the former sidekicks already formed up as the Titans, these younger heroes were placed into their own team, Young Justice.

Starting in 1998, this series ran alongside DC’s Titans series before both were cancelled in 2003 following the Graduation Day crossover event. Young Justice was a successful way to launch several of its featured character outside their mentors’ orbit, much like the original Teen Titans series did for the first round of sidekicks, and many of its key characters are still used in DC Comics to this day. Despite this, the series is probably best known for having the same name of one DC’s most popular animated shows, the Young Justice television show. The show, which started in 2010, features a team based more on the Teen Titans comics rather than the Young Justice comics, with only one member of the original comic run of Young Justice, Superboy, appearing in the first season, although other members of the team did appear in the second season. It did, however, make use of a number of storylines and villains from the original series, many of which were adapted into first-rate episodes. The show received high ratings, but was cancelled after only two seasons. However, continued petitioning from its dedicated fanbase has seen a revival of the show, with a third season airing in January 2019. A new comic book reboot of the Young Justice comic series is also planned for 2019 and will see several of the original characters reunite for the first time in years. Starting in 2017, DC started reprinting the original Young Justice comic run into a new set of collected editions, and this review is focused on the third volume of this reprinting.

Before this new reprinting of the original series I had not had much of a chance to read Young Justice, but it has always been high on my list of must-read comics. This is mainly because I am such a big fan of Geoff John’s 2003 run on Teen Titans, which followed several characters from Young Justice after their team was disbanded. This run on Teen Titans has to be one of my all-time favourite series and I was always very curious to see what happened to the characters during their Young Justice years. So I was very happy when DC decided to reprint this original run and I have been having fun seeing these younger versions of some of my favourite characters before they got more mature and serious after the events of Graduation Day.

They are the next generation of superheroes, but being the second round of sidekicks to the leading members of the Justice League is tough, and sometimes having your own group of friends is what you need. So Young Justice was formed: part superhero team, part friendship group. Originally made up Robin (Tim Drake), Superboy (Kon-El/Conner Kent), Impulse (Bart Allen) and Wonder Girl (Cassandra Sandsmark), the team was later joined by new heroes Arrowette and Secret, while also being monitored by veteran hero Red Tornado.

Recent events have rocked the group and exposed them to negative attention. The team have continuously been drawn into destructive fights and been forced to partially destroy Mount Rushmore, and Arrowette has been forced to retire after nearly killing a suspect. At the same time, a new superhero team, Old Justice, made up of the aging sidekicks of the Golden Age of heroism, have been calling out the actions of their younger counterparts. Railroaded by the press, politicians and even their mentors in the Justice League, the situation keeps going from bad to worse for the young heroes when they lose their base to an attack from a new superpowered group, the Point Men.

Attempting to regain public opinion, Young Justice and a supporting group of heroes attempt to hold a rally in support of young heroes, but a villainous presence wants to stop the young heroes from developing to their full potential. A mysterious organisation, Agenda, headed by Lex Luthor’s ex-wife Contessa Erica Alexandra Del Portenza, wants to discredit all superheroes and believes that Young Justice is their weakest link. Agenda uses the magical agent, Klarion the Witch-Boy, to cause havoc at the event, and Klarion’s magic leads to some accidental side effects.

The members of Young Justice have all been aged into adults, while their contemporaries, the members of the Justice League of America and the Justice Society of America, have all been turned into children or teenagers. Worse, these de-aged heroes now have the emotional maturity of their age, while the members of Young Justice have the patience and wisdom of their mentors. Forced to switch roles with the world’s greatest heroes, the members of Young Justice must find a way to not only stop the sinister machinations of Agenda but also find a way to reverse the effects of the spell. Can Young Justice grow up to be the heroes they were always meant to be, or is the future of the DC universe a whole lot darker than anticipated?

This third volume of the reprint is another fantastic collection of a great original storyline. I have been really enjoying this reprinting of Young Justice, and it was great to see this full collection of one of their most iconic storylines in full. Not only does this new volume contain issues #18-19 of the original series but it also contains a huge number of tie-in storylines that feature most of the other heroes of that period of the DC universe, following their adventures as they have been de-aged or aged up. As a result, this volume contains input from a gigantic range of DC creative talent, as the writers and artists of these other connected series do a one-shot version of the series they were working on at the time.

There is quite a lot going on in this volume and it definitely takes a while to get through. There are a also a lot of technical and obscure comic book characters and teams that become the focus of the various stories within Young Justice Volume 3, so it might become a bit confusing for some people. The volume is broken up by a couple of Young Justice storylines that introduce and finalise the story, while also providing the explanation for how this event unfolds and the villains responsible for it. Once this is established, the volume goes into a series of different short stories that focus not only on the members of Young Justice but on some of the other superheros that have been caught up in the events of this crossover. Each of these storylines show how the various heroes deal with being de-aged or turned into adults, and then follows up with an adventure, often with that particular team or hero working to find a solution to the curse afflicting them. The four best storylines deal with the aged-up sidekick members of Young Justice (Robin, Wonder Girl, Superboy and Impulse) as they are forced to team up with teenage versions of their mentors. There are some good jokes in this as the characters reverse roles and the younger heroes are forced to act as the mature anchors for their biggest heroes in the DC Universe. These jokes range from Bruce Wayne being forced to pretend to be a moody Robin while his sidekick takes on the role of Batman for the first time, to Wonder Girl being forced to reign in a destructive Wonder Woman while making several snide comments about the practicality of her uniform, to a very young Flash attempting to hit on his fully grown wife. There are also some quite heartfelt moments as the mentors are finally placed in their misunderstood sidekicks’ shoes and find a way to emphasise with them in a way they haven’t managed before.

In addition to these stories around the Young Justice sidekicks and their well-established mentors, there are a number of other interesting stories splashed through this volume. I particularly enjoyed the short one that featured a teenage Aquaman teaming up with an adult Lagoon Boy to stop a crisis under the water. This one is not only fun, as the teenage Aquaman is a bit of a bold ladies man, but it also shows how he was a hero even as a teenager, as he sacrifices a potential solution to his problem to restore a devastated city. There is also a story that focuses on the Titans, which brings its founding members back to their Teen Titans days, with a storyline that reminds the readers of their classic adventures. I was less of a fan of the storyline that focused completely on a teenage version of the Justice League, and I really disliked the storyline that contained an all-child version of the Justice Society going on an adventure. Overall though, this huge collection of stories comes together in a fun and cohesive narrative that not only presents a massive, whole DC Universe event, but one that focuses on the core team at the heart of the adventure.

A major feature of this volume is the examination of the negative perceptions that older people have for the world’s youth. Even 20 years later this is still incredibly relevant, as most older people these days are quite dismissive of today’s youth culture (those darn millennials). Young Justice goes out of its way to show a group of teenagers who try to do the right thing but are constantly dismissed by adults as nuisances who do not try to see their side of the story. After being hounded for a good part of this and the previous volume, Wonder Girl gives an impassioned speech to the media that gets the worlds attention, divides some of the older heroes and rallies several other prominent young heroes to their cause. The creative team follows this up by putting its young heroes in the position of responsibility and showing that they can act in a mature and responsible way when given the chance, while their established mentors act irresponsibly when turned back into teenagers. All of this is a great examination of how young people are perceived by their elders and how they can surprise you when given a chance. This is still a great storyline to enjoy to this day and one that will resonate with the modern youth culture.

While I have been having quite a lot of fun with this re-print run of Young Justice, it may prove a little harder to get into for people who are not as familiar with some of the other 1990s DC Comics storylines which were happening at the time. That being said, it is a series well worth getting into, especially for fans of any of the Teen Titan runs that followed the cancellation of Young Justice, as many of the members of these teams were originally featured in this series. Fans of the Young Justice television show will probably also get a lot out of this series, as several of the show’s best storylines and villains originated in this original comic series. Overall, Young Justice is a fantastic series that will appeal to both younger readers and well-established comic book fans. This third volume features a full and fantastic collection of one of this series’ most iconic story events, which provides an intriguing examination of youth culture perception and a great examination of the additional hazards of being a young hero. Extremely entertaining and a lot of fun to read, I am really glad that DC decided to do this re-print of Young Justice.