Although Superman and Captain Marvel/Shazam! share the cover art and title of the dvd it does not focus solely on those iconic DC characters. Instead the Warner Brothers/DC disc is a show case of four animated shorts. Besides Superman/Shizam: Return of Black Adam the dvd includes shorts featuring The Spectre, written by Steve Niles, The Green Arrow, and Jonah Hex.
Overall, the animation, voice acting and production values are the high quality that I've come to expect from the WB/DC dvds. Each story could easily be extended into feature length, but at roughly 20-24 minutes a piece they do a good job with their brief tales. Whether you're a diehard fan or a casual viewer there's something to be enjoyed in each story.
The first short features the origin of Captain Marvel, and although it has the standard epic fights of most Super Man stories which border on absurdity what saves the story is the dilema Captain Marvel faces between revenge and justice. Given it's brevity the story can't go in deep as a feature film would, but it does raise an interesting point. I think could've spent more time tossing each other into the sides of skyscrappers and more time dealing with the moral issue at hand, but what do you expect from capes and tights? Overall, it was a good origin story and well voice acted and animate. Score: 3 out of 5 skulls.
The second short features The Spectre and is written by Steve Niles. The feel of this short is a lot darker both visually and storywise then the previous one. They even go so far as to add dust spots and other blemishes to the animation to give it a grittier/older feel which is fairly effective. I also felt that the chose of sound track gave it an older/grittier atmosphere. The story movies quickly, a movie mogul is killed by former partners jealous of him and then the suspects are systematically killed in gruesome fashion. Unlike your traditional superhero stories The Spectre has a supernatural horror element to it, and is a bit more graphic in terms of violence - at least for most DC animation. The story is tightly written and despite the shortness of it, the story is interesting and it does a good job at introducing the viewer to The Spectre. Out of all the shorts on this dvd I think this could easily be expanded to something longer. Score: 4 out of 5 skulls.
Next up is a story featuring The Green Arrow. Honestly, I'm not too familiar with him, but after watching his story I ended up liking him. I'm not hardcore about tights and capes any more in comics, but he was entertaining. The story is very well written with fast paced action and an intriguing storyline. It begins with Green Arrow showing up at a local airport to pick up his girl while debating whether or not he should propose to her and let her know who he feels. Luckily, the soap opera stuff gets put to the side for the moment when he spies an enemy at the airport as well. Soon after he discovers a member of a royal family is arriving at the airport. An assassination attempt occurs and Green Arrow steps in to aide the princess. What I liked is that the story unfolded along side the action yet there was no extended monologues or heart felt confessions. It was brief and concise dialogue which revealed the reason for the assassination attempt and a bit more about each character. Since I'm not familiar with the Green Arrow the arrival of some apparent enemies later on didn't phase me much, but I'm guessing if you're a fan of Green Arrow it could be an 'oh shit' moment. Although short this story was intense and held my attention the entire time. Defintely one of those 'edge of your seat' stories which could've easily been expanded into something longer. Score: 4 out 5.
The final short on the dvd is one about Jonah Hex. I like Jonah Hex a lot. Probably because I live out West and have an interest in the ''wild'' West and supernatural elements as well. Plus, Jonah is a great loner/anti-hero. Compared to the other stories in this collection, Jonah's is fairly simple and seems to go by quickly. It revolves around a tavern in which a 'lady of the night' coerces men into her bed only to pull a devious 'trick' on them. All is well for her and her thugs until Jonah shows up looking for one of her 'johns'. The story is resovled quickly, but I loved the poetic justice at the end. The use of colors that are almost entirely sepia tone and the fonts in the opening credits do a great job at creating the Western feel. Compared to the other stories on the dvd, this one is the most 'mature'. There's some lightly sexuality and morbid stuff. Nothing hardcore, but it does have a harder edge then the other stories which is something I enjoyed. Score: 4 out 5
After watching this I felt that it was a great showcase for DC Comics' various characters that the hardcore fan and the casual audience can enjoy. I watched it online courtesy of Netflix on my PC, but it is also available on dvd and Blu-ray. From what I can tell neither have any elaborate special features or extras, but this doesn't lessen the entertainment value for me.
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