I was having a horrible day thus far…this news has absolutely turned it around. I am stoked for this!

One of the greatest stories in comic book history? What a load of crap.

Who cares, I want to know where is New Teen Titans: Judas Contract???

Ugh. At least Superman/Batman: Apocalypse comes out fist, in the fall.

I thought DC said they were not going to make any more animated movie since last set made very little money.

Awesome news, though I’d KILL to see Tom De Haven’s IT’S SUPERMAN! turned into a animated film in the style of Max Fleischer.

Only Danny Dark would be right for this Superman (the guy who voiced him the entire run of the original Super Friends).

Sadly he died in 2004.

All-Star Superman was fantastic, and in my opinion flawless, but it’s FAR too recent to yet be called “one of the greatest stories in comic book history.” I’m also worried it’ll lose so much of what made it great (the contant nods and winks to 70 years of history) in the compression required to make it 75 minutes. But hears hoping!!!

It’s certainly one of the best Superman stories in recent memory. For some reason, DC just can’t do truly great and memorable stories for their flagship character (Exhibit A: The interminable New Krypton storyline and the Dead On Arrival “Grounded”).

Say what? That’s great news!!

Doing Superman and Batman movies are all right. But I’d like to see some other arcs done, too.

“Chain Lightning” from the Flash (2nd series).

“Tower of Babel” from JLA (which admittedly would have some Batman focus).

I also think a feature continuing the DCAU continuity would be something to see, too.

One point they mantioned possibly doing “Kingdom Come” as a CGI film. Expensive, yes, but that’d be worth seeing.

I know that DC says they need to make money off these, but how are some of the lesser-know characters going to GET the attention they need without some other media outlets? It’s a “chicken-or-the-egg” debate…

“All-Star Superman was fantastic, and in my opinion flawless, but it’s FAR too recent to yet be called “one of the greatest stories in comic book history.””

What does a things age have to do with it’s greatness? You’ve just said yourself that the story is flawless, so other than a lack of flaws what makes a story one of the greatest in history? Does the writer have to go back in time and write it in the seventies?

I feel that Tim Daily’s voice has too much vulnerability. It was perfect for the Superman animated show from the 90s b/c that show featured the less powerful post-Byrne Superman that was being used by DC when the show aired. But I agree with the poster who wanted the voice from SuperFriends. Morrison’s whole point with the series is to portray Superman as a benevolent god whose mere presence causes awe. The Quitely art towards the top features a Superman who you know will take care of everything (even if he dies).

We should have a voice that immediately commands respect. I do like Daily’s voice, but I’m not sure it’s entirely appropriate for the vision of Superman from the All-Star series.

Of course, I have no idea where to get a voice perfect for the film.

I am FAR from a “teenage-minded Troll.” I enjoyed All-Star Superman. It was a really good story building upon the Weisinger years. But I don’t consider it “one of the best of all time.” I think “The Judas Contract” is a much better story, personally. Why can’t people have different opinions without some of the immature and insulting comments?

As for New Krypton – it was a good overall storyline – it just drug down a bit too much, and the Nightwing/Flamebird/Rao/Jax-Ur component was way too long.

I’d rather see “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow” made into a movie. I’d put that storyline way way above this Superman story.

Here are a few of my choices to voice Superman (a few of these were suggested by folks over at CBR):

Patrick Warburton (years of voice acting experience and has already played a Curt Swan-esque Superman in the AmEx commercials)

Kyle McLachlan: Voiced Superman in New Frontier

Kevin Conroy: yeah, I know: he’s Batman. But his Bruce Wayne voice from B:TAS could work if he deepened it a bit. Would be a neat twist.

I’ve turned too many non-comics readers into comics readers with All Star Superman for it to ever be considered as anything less than a stellar artistic achievement. Even Mark Waid has said it is the greatest Superman story ever told, and he’s read them all! This will the first DC animated title I pick up since New Frontier.

Oh, yeah, and I vote for Tim Daly.

Didn’t know Mark Waid had said that All-Star was the greatest Superman story ever, but I do agree. Much as Alan Moore is, in his own right, untouchable, Whatever Happened…? is NOT superior or even equal. As a standalone feature, it would be operating with outmoded portrayals of several characters (Brainiac in particular springs to mind) that would not be recognizable to many modern-day fans.
Now someone’s going to post that any Superman fan could buy into Brainiac as the big-bad or whatever, but, as a thirty-year-old, I can’t. What about a twenty-four-year-old whose main encounters with Supes are on the silver screen? No Brainiac. Zod has more stature in the present, but anyone other than Luthor is a bad call.
All-Star is the best because of many, many reasons, and the fact that it stands completely on its own doesn’t hurt that at all.

All-Star Superman will not be improved by animating it. I don’t know how they’d even include the series’ most moving scenes — like the entire 6th issue — if they have to boil the series down into a coherent, single story that will fit the limited run-time of a DTV. Maybe they could make it work if they break the movie into distinct chapters, but I doubt they’ll do that.

I’d kind of prefer WB to create new stories to animate, or at least adapt comic stories with good concepts but with room for improvement. If you take something that is already so great, like All-Star Superman, which is extremely unlikely to be improved upon, then there’s only one direction to go: down.

Still, the last few DTVs have been good, so I’ll try to stay open until I see it.

figured that if Grant was going to have any of his work animaited it would no doubt bet his super man run or worse batman rip. judas contract dead never going to happen. Warner’s will never give the okay. kingdom come. Bruce just stated at comic con no plans to animate it. even though he would personaly like too.

@Mel: “I thought DC said they were not going to make any more animated movie since last set made very little money.”

No, they said they would just be doing movies with Superman or Batman in the title because those were the only ones that sold as well as they wanted. Although they’re making an exception with GL: Emerald Knights, because of the movie I’d guess. Luckily we still get other corners of the DCU animated in the form of the DC Showcase shorts.

I’ll get wrapped in the mouth for the following thoughts, but I can take it. If you’re gonna go at this 70 minute style you need to hit stories that are shorter. I personally would go for Morrison’s DC 1,000,000, which was good (Technically this story was about Supes). Zero Hour (yes I said Zero Hour) and I’ll tell you why. While not the greatest comic story it’s one that would translate well into a 70 minute story. These were both 5 issues and wouldn’t require as much pairing down.

And while I wouldn’t mind those being made, if I had my druthers I’d like to see Crisis on Infinite Earths (never happen) or the Sinestro Corps war (which IMO is also one of the greatest comic stories ever).

Personally I’d like to see DC do miniseries events on CN or somewhere. That might be a better route than chopping up greats to fit into 70 minutes. But I’ll probably be getting All Star Supes as I did really like the series.

So what gets cut? The Future Supermen and the death of Jonathan Kent? Zibarro? Jimmy Olsen as Doomsday? There’s just so much great stuff! I’m glad I don’t have to make those choices.

As far as what I’d like to see animated:

Kingdom Come ( seeing the DCU Online trailer would give give you an idea of how I’d like it to look.)

Superman: Red Son

Legion: Great Darkness Saga

JLA: Tower of Babel or Hyperclan

Lets review what movies they’ve done since last year or coming soon:

Superman/Batman – 2 movies plus an upcoming feature
Batman – Under the Red Hood
Justice League – Crisis…
Green Lantern – with another coming next year (I think)

Batman – Year One

And now: AllStar Superman

Why is Frank Quitely always being nominated for Eisner’s. Its like the Grammy’s of comics. Overrated wins, always.

I’m one of those who preferred George Newbern to Tim Daly so I’d be OK with Newbern doing the voice. Otherwise, just go with the rest of the S:TAS cast. Dana Delany, Clancy Brown, Mike Farrell, they were perfect! But, really, I don’t understand taking an epic, 12-part story and condensing it down to 90 minutes (or, likely, less).

I don’t know if it’s “one of the all-time great” stories yet, but I think it’s right up there… At the very least, it’s one of the best of the past decade. I’m not even a Morrison fan, really, but I loved All Star Supes. Unless this were a miniseries for Adult Swim or HBO, however, I just don’t think this can work.

I also wonder how well this well sell. A lot of fans of the book, like me, probably think it’ll be a hatchet job but this also isn’t a typical Superman tale where he triumphs over an obvious villain and all’s well that ends well. At the very least, it’s not something that the kiddies are going to fully comprehend. Assuming it’s true to the source material. Hell, I’m not even sure I understood it all! They used to say Watchmen was unfilmable… It certainly didn’t translate terribly well, and now I wonder if All Star Supes isn’t a similar case.

With that in mind, I’ll have to break those out and read them again.

Oh, and it’s really a shame The Judas Contract will never get made.

There’s simply way too much in the original 12 issue series to even begin to put into a 70 or 90 minute film.
No this sounds like a interesting idea, but only as a 2 hour plus flick.
And that’s not going to happen, I like the D.C. universe animated films but they do have that annoying limited running time.
Most of them suffer for it. (Public Enemies)
No do an anthology of different Superman stories from the comic, or original material.
Batman/Gotham Knight: was outstanding in it’s diversity.
Do that instead, I’m thinking about:
a Golden Age story,
a Silver age story,
Modern or Bronze age.
Their really not being allowed to do the really good stuff just right.
Just what will sell under a tourniqueted time limit, that’s a shame but that’s life in the real world.
But I’ll be checking it out like everybody else.

Man, it already takes Quitely a long time just to do a three-issue arc on Batman & Robin; how freakin’ long’s it gonna take him to animate a whole cartoon? (he said, tongue firmly planted in cheek)

This is probably the only of the (latest wave of) DC animated movies that I’m actually interested in watching (and possibly buying).

They really ought to have the same voice actor play Luthor and Quintum…

ASS is okay. Certainly nothing to make me go out of my mind.

Fact I always thought it over hyped. Not really getting Supermana wrestling angels and so forth. i just don’t connect with that kind of story where Superman plays god. It is not what Superman is about to me.

I would much prefer Kingdom Come as my choice of Superman/JLA movie over this. Just go and look at the DCU on line gaming trailer vid and you will see if a CGI Kingdom Come ever came it would redefine animated movies…cause it has the a fabulous story and it has the kind of theme that would make other fans sit up. It is up on youtube and the response is amazing. DC should take note. Jim Lee take note.

I cannot see non DC fans wetting themselves over the choice of movies they have been making anyway.

They want to expand the fan base? Do Kingdom Come.

smith – which comic sells the best demonstrates popularity and trends, not quality.

All-Star Superman is the most well-received, critically acclaimed superhero book DC has published in the last 10 years. The only real competition it has for that title is DC The New Frontier and Secret Identity. All-star Superman tops just about everything else going back to the mid-90s, to the heyday of Kingdom Come, Animal Man.

It’s a whole other level of brilliant. Likely the best Superman story since Alan Moore’s Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow.

Which was 25 years ago.

@Clegane Sandor. That is your opinion. In my mind it is not on another level of brilliant. I don’t like Morrison’s writing on the whole and many other people don’t either.That does not make us stupid. Fact is many people’s opinions are varied. Since when do critics and what fans want is the same?

Look at Superman Returns. The fans hated it and the critics thought it was fine. What is the point of the DCAU? Is it to make money or not?

So please, what resonates for you may not resonate with other people, nor make non Superfans go whoa…Superman is great.

Be real. It is rare thing to get that synergy of all fans and critics alike raving over a single story. And I am not talking about Superfans alone. Kingdom Come I think has more fans than ASS cause of the scope of the story and the characters in it.

I have seen more reaction to that same DCU gaming trailer people talked about than I have for anything DCAU has announced. Fans needs are simple. Entertain them. Don’t patronize them. or lecture them.

I love how smith throws up anecdotal observations as some kind of “proof” LOL what a buffoon.

Ahhhh, all you whiners shut up. This is going to be GREAT.

Hey look, I’m some guy on the internet posting opinions:
1) I love this book, but I really wonder how it’s going to [inadvertently] suffer translated into a movie.
2) As far as introductions, for any age, to the best things about Superman, can’t think of anything better. The more you know about the Sups’ history, the better it is, but it works across the board because of the universal appeal (I’ll call it “open-ness”) of the writing, and the panel-for panel iconic ideal of the art.
3) Judas Contract better then this? Kingdom Come? Seriously people … hand either of those to any non-comic reader and see how turned off/confused/left-in-the-cold they are. Should “outsider appeal” count over fan fav stories? In this case, hell yes.
4) Despite my hopefulness, I am very wary it can be done well enough to haev the same impact as the book. Although, New Frontier is my fav’ of the movies, and they nailed that perfectly (as perfect as possible).

When I got back into comics in the 90s and Kingdom Come was about to be released, some people were all abuzz about it saying “it’ll be the next Watchmen / Dark Knight”. Then it was released and the feeling was “It’s good. But not at the Watchmen / Dark Knight level”. Now it’s being help up as a standard that ASS can or can’t match.

This is not a knock on Kingdom Come (which I like), but just a reminder that 15 years can give a lot of perspective on things. Given the praise it’s received thus far and its current standing as an “instant classic” , I suspect that 20 years from now, ASS will be considered among the top works of this period. I know that I’ll certainly remember it far better than I remember the latest issue of .

weeeeeeeeeeeel its Superman Animated……….. again…. they are arguing about the lack of sales of last years sales of DC´s animated proyects but they are the only ones to blame! they have mad tons of material regading Superman and Batman, why isnt there a Wonder Woman Animated Series? and why do we ALWAYS have to put up to JLA proyects? they seem to forget that there is a certain team that casualy is the first team yn comic book history called JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA who by the way has NEVER benn animated in any way, shape, or form,, and the y say they are hand picking “the best stories in DC´s history” right? so where is “THE POWER OF SHAZAM” by Jerry Ordway anmated? or AQUAMAN tide and tide? and if they are sooooooooooo worry about sales and will stay with the BIG two why not make a DECENT versionof the death of Superman or NiGHTFALL

i would like DC to reconsider their animated policies because its always cool to se comics getting anmated but please!!! RESEARCH and develop classic proyects!!!

ASS was simply ASS. It’s not the greatest Superman story ever. Death and Return of Superman was way better, and not so emotionally crippled as ASS was. Maybe McDuffie can make an actual all-ages Superman tale instead of a WTF story that leaves everyone baffled.

“It’s not the greatest Superman story ever. Death and Return of Superman was way better”

But, see, that’s an opinion and everyone’s got their own. Personally, I thought the whole Death and Return of Supes was just a lot of hype and marketing (remember the black bagged copies of the “death issue”?).

All Star Supes isn’t my favorite story ever, but I think it was pretty damned good. Certainly one of the better story arcs I’ve read since coming back to comics about four years ago or so.

That may not be saying a whole lot, as I don’t read many titles now (I really preferred the late 80′s/early 90s on the whole), but if there was a lot of hype surrounding the release of All Star, I missed it. I just saw issue #1 on the shelf of my LCS, picked it up, and really liked what I read. I didn’t even know it was non-continuity or anything like that.

Like I said in an earlier post, I don’t know that it’s one of the all-time greats or not, but it’s one of the more enjoyable comic reads I’ve had. Certainly a breath of fresh air from what DC’s usually churning out these days.

I just don’t think it’s going to make a particularly satisfying movie.

I’d add that if MacLachlan is unavailable, Rob Lowe could pull off the zen deadpan quality.

I will gladly do the voice for Superman. Why does it have to be a star? I’ve done radio work and different voices. Sign me up DC/WB!

DC as some others have earlier posted you need to make Kingdom Come and Red Son into an animated feature film. There are so many great stories out there that can be made into films and would attract a whole new audience to comics seeing these movies and then wanting more and thus running to the LCS to start grabbine issues up.

Does anyone remember how awe inspiring the end of the JLU animated was? Not based on an existing story though.

We don’t need to base the animated stuff on ANY comic. Throw in an odd reference for fun sometimes but there’s nothing wrong with telling an original story.

I can’t help wondering if the tieing of stories to comics is a way to get people to check out the comics (always a hoped for by product of course!) but by doing so closely seems lazy and unessential.

To clairfy, I meant Luthor’s act at the end of JLU is what saved the world and everyone on it, including the heroes. I just didn’t understand why, in the final episode, it wasn’t the heroes saving the day.

I thought Superman’s punch was awesome, but just once I wanted Supes to show just how powerful he is and put someone like Dakrseid down on pure strength alone. Supes just seemed, well, non-Super so much of the time on those shows.

I’ll second All-Star Superman as (possibly?) the greatest superhero story ever written. But a straight cinematic adaptation just wouldn’t work. Everything that makes the comic great can only be fully realized in the comic medium. An 80-90 minute feature is largely unfilmable, even in animation form. I think the best way to go would be to make 12 separate stand-alone films based on each issue of the comic. Each short doesn’t have to be long (10-12 minutes tops) and it should be modeled after those classic fleischer cartoons. In addition, an episodic structure would be a great way to to convey the relatively large-scale of time (one year) that’s depicts the final year of superman’s life (maybe each episode takes place every month or two, framed by a specific holiday?). In this way you can capture all that is great about the comic without sacrificing great chunks of the story in the pursuit of fitting the narrative into a (cliched) 3-part cinematic arc.

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