Skip to main content

The Death of Superman: Enjoyed it? Buy it.

Written by Gregg Katzman

The upcoming DC animated movie The Death of Superman has leaked way before its official release. I'm seeing a lot of positive tweets - some fans are even saying it's their new favorite DC animated movie - and that's not surprising since the movie's written by Peter J. Tomasi (Superman Rebirth, Batman and Robin New 52) and co-directed by Sam Liu (Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract) and Jake Castorena (storyboard artist for many great animated projects, like Justice League: Gods and Monsters, Batman: Assault on Arkham, and Beware the Batman).

On one hand, I'm really happy to see such enthusiastic comments about The Death of Superman. Taking on such an iconic story, especially within the confines of a relatively new animated universe's continuity (it started in Justice League: War), is no easy feat. But on the other hand, I'm concerned that people won't add a digital or physical copy of The Death of Superman to their movie collection when the animated film's officially released. After all, if they got a copy for free, why spend extra cash on it, especially when so many fans are working with such a tight budget?

Positive word of mouth ahead of The Death of Superman's official release is great. It reassures fans who may have not been won over by the trailer, gets others fans even more excited, and makes more people aware of the upcoming movie. Odds are The Death of Superman will have a presence at San Diego Comic-Con, and that's sure to build even more hype for it. Positive reactions are terrific, but sales are so much more important. In this case, money speaks louder than tweets. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is a business, and in order to keep producing a product, that product has to justify its existence by bringing in money. Where's the incentive to keep creating quality movies if they aren't flying off the digital and physical shelves? If you truly want to support this DC animated movie, you'll buy a copy when it goes on sale. It'll show that consumers are interested in this product (and the people who created it), and we'd happily welcome more animated projects like this one with open arms.




Buying The Death of Superman is also important because it continues to show that a DC animated movie can thrive without having Batman as the main draw. I regularly see people saying DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation needs to push for more movies that don't focus on Gotham's classic vigilante, but that's exactly what they've been doing. The Dark Knight didn't steal the spotlight from John Constantine and Zatanna in Justice League Dark. The Caped Crusader wasn't seen in Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (then again, he is incredibly stealthy). The World's Greatest Detective played no role in Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay. Now, the next Justice League animated movie is clearly focusing on Superman instead of adapting one of Batman's storylines.

How will it look if these movies sell poorly compared to Batman: Gotham by Gaslight or Batman Ninja? "Thanks for trying to highlight other DC characters, but Batman simply sells better - stop taking risks, focus on Batman." I want more Batman animated movies (I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for a Knightfall two-parter), but I also want to one day see animated projects inspired by the Sinestro Corps War or Red Son, and the best way to make projects like that happen is to keep supporting these movies with our hard-earned money. 

If you've already watched The Death of Superman and enjoyed it, sing its praise (spoiler-free, please) and tell your friends to check it out in August. But please, don't forget to buy it, too. And if you haven't watched it yet, just remember that good things are worth waiting for.








Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter and like the Comic Book Conversations Facebook page for site updates. The Death of Superman will be available to purchase digitally on July 24; the Blu-ray/DVD goes on sale August 7.

Comments

  1. As someone who always complain about Batman when reviewing his animated movies, I agree. I want other stuff beside Batman like a other animated Wonder Woman movie. So hopefully this does well because I am tired of talking about the Batman problem.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really loved the WW 2009 animated movie It was better than the 2017 live action movie .
      Hope they make another WW movie

      Delete
    2. Yeah, the Wonder Woman animated movie is so good - easily one of my favorite DC animated movies.

      Delete
  2. Man, Tomasi did an amazing job. Everything about the movie was fantastic and this is probably my favorite animated DC movie. Buy it guys.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy to hear that. Looking forward to watching it!

      Delete
  3. Good Article. Lukehero was here.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War - The End of an Era

Seven years ago, the DC New 52 Animated Movie Universe was born. I remember it well because I was lucky enough to attend the world premiere of Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox  at Comic-Con International 2013. I was writing for Comic Vine at the time, and I absolutely loved the movie. In fact, I liked it so much that I rushed back to my hotel room and began writing my review right away. While so many people at the convention met with friends, networked, and enjoyed being in San Diego on a Friday night, I sat in front of my laptop and started to type away. The Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox  premiere wrapped up around 9:30pm, and my glowing review was live on Comic Vine just a few hours later. Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert's Flashpoint  comic book event kicked off DC's slate of The New 52 comics back in 2011, but at the time of the animated movie's release, I had no idea that Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox  would actually spawn an entire universe of

Deadpool 2 review

Review by Gregg Katzman When many people think of Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool, they think he’s basically just a joke character. Lots of fans think he’s just a loudmouth who loves to crack topical jokes while enduring a barrage of bullets and slicing his enemies to pieces, and that’s totally understandable since there are quite a few comics and media appearances that use the Merc with a Mouth for just comedic relief and action scenes. But there’s more to Deadpool than just jokes and violence. The best Deadpool stories always go beyond the comedy and fighting to take a good look at the man behind the mask; the man who uses humor to hide his emotions. Deadpool is a man that can’t seem to obtain true happiness – no matter how hard he tries, it always seems to be just out of reach. Deep down, he thinks he may not deserve real happiness, either. He may not be a traditional hero and always do the right thing, but he always has the potential to rise above and do what needs to be done to s