The Super Hero Squad Show Wows ‘Em!
(Click to see trailer!)
The audience at San Diego Comic-Con roared with cheers and laughter at “The Super Hero Squad Show’s” panel and signing on July 25th. Marvel icon Stan Lee, Co-Executive Producer and the voice of Super Hero City’s Mayor, was in attendance along with another Co-Executive Producer, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada.
The panel audience thrilled to see their fave characters from throughout the Marvel Universe brought together in one action-packed show. The superstar cast list was also a hit, including Mark Hamill (”Star Wars”) as the Red Skull, Robert Englund (”A Nightmare on Elm Street”) as Dormammu, Tricia Helfer (”Battlestar Galactica”) as Sif, Lena Headey (”Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”) as the Black Widow, George Takei (”Star Trek”) as Galactus, Adrian Pasdar (”Heroes”) as Hawkeye, Taye Diggs (”Private Practice”) as the Black Panther and James Marsters (”Buffy”) as Mr. Fantastic.
Key cast members performed a Comic-Con exclusive skit with the likes of Tom Kenny (”Spongebob”), Steve Blum (”Wolverine and the X-Men“) and Charlie Adler (”Cow & Chicken”, “Transformers” features) taking part. The skit told the story of Doom’s attack on Comic-Con 40 in search of his own convention-exclusive My Little Pony. Extended clips from two episodes were also previewed to a hysterical and enthusiastic crowd.
A variety of Super Hero Squad merchandise spin-offs are planned, including a video game from THQ (October 20 release), expansion of the Hasbro toy line, and a major fastfood partnership.
“The talent that has signed on truly speaks to the strength of the Marvel brand as well as the uniqueness of this series,” said Eric Rollman, Marvel’s President of Animation. He continued, “This is the first time Marvel has produced an action-comedy show and the reaction from both broadcasters and celebrity talent indicates we have something very special in the making.”
“The Super Hero Squad Show” premieres with a four-episode marathon on Cartoon Network on September 19.
SDCC ‘08 - ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ Review
By Steve Ekstrom
Buzz up!
The best way to sum this cartoon is up is to go ahead and get this off of my chest:
Wolverine and The X-Men is astonishingly uncanny; it’s so good at handling all the best aspects of all the iterations of the X-Men over a number of mediums that I was left adjective-less and awestruck after the screening at Comic-Con on Saturday night.
Hype for this project has been strong but I had a feeling, based on seeing the trailer several months ago, this project was a winner. The opening title sequence is minimal and well constructed—with a couple of clever cameos and the threat of the Sentinels, who closely resemble the Marvel Legends Sentinel toy from a couple of years back. The X-Men are dynamic and in the intro—they’re a team of bad-asses—being the best at what they do.
Wolverine, who is the central figure in this contemporary update, may have a bit more face time than the rest of the characters in this project since he’s got the top-billing; but it really doesn’t seem that way at all once the X-Men start to return to the mansion after mysteriously disbanding. The first five to ten minutes of the first episode was an X-continuity freak’s fantasy—displaying a number of prominent characters who had been frequenting the mansion before the mysterious event that cost the team both Professor X and Jean Grey.
Without spoiling too much, the three episode pilot had all the trappings of the comic book—you could feel each episode channeling the breadth and depth of the Claremont-era stories (and more) without all the weight of a 40 year old comic books’ weight in continuity. Fans of the X-Men: Evolution cartoon could easily connect with the visual style of this far edgier series; and average, casually connected fans, who attached to these characters via the movie franchise or a comic book here and a cartoon there, would find these episodes accessible and dynamic—there is something there for everyone. Big Kudos to the on-hand directors and writers, Steven E. Gordon, Boyd Kirkland, Greg Johnson and Craig Kyle for interpreting the source material; they have crafted this project so well that children and their adult-fan parents can watch these cartoons together.
The show easily recognizes and understands the key elements that thematically drive the X-Men: driving melodrama, issues of race, strong characterization, and intense action. Once I had gotten over how good the cartoon was on the surface, I started noticing other really impressive internal aspects of the show—particularly the voice talent; Steven Blum (Wolverine), Fred Tatasciore (Beast) and Tom Kane (Magneto) were easily the standouts—but by and large the voices of the characters were spot-on. The design elements of the show—the look of most of the characters and their costume designs closely followed the visual continuity of the comic book line—and, at times, updated themselves to indicate a passage of time during the episodes. For example, Rogue, during the introductory episode, sported more of a green and black “Claremont/Romita-era” look from the late ‘80s; whereas, one year later, she wears the green and yellow “Jim Lee” design introduced in X-Men #1 in 1991—and some characters like Angel and Magneto bore their trademark, iconic costumes with slight updated changes to match the other characters.
Marvel Comics has done it again—harnessing lightning in a bottle—not only on the silver screen, but, on the small screen as well with this amazingly faithful adaptation to the X-Men. There’s something here for everyone—whether you like watching Wolverine beat the crap out of everybody; you enjoy well-written, compelling cartoons, or you like finding scores of characters making cameos from the extended mythos of one of Marvel’s most venerated titles. These first episodes, acting as the pilot, will begin airing on BBC 2 in the UK in August—look for this series to begin in the US in the Spring of 2009 on Nick Toons—trust me when I say that this show is so good that it is well worth the wait.
PARENTING.COM WOLVERINE INTERVIEW 2009
Do you have two different voices: superhero voice and regular, Steve Blum voice?
Heh heh! – Hopefully I still have my own voice in there somewhere! I do a lot of different voices, so sometimes I’m not sure what the “real” one is anymore. Kind of like having a circus in my head and needing to let the clowns out once in a while so they don’t tear down the tent. Wolverine is definitely deeper and angrier than my normal manner of communication. I’m actually a nice guy. No, really!
Do you ever use the superhero voice on kids to freak them out?
Not so much – the only kids I can freak out with my voice are the young ones – and that’s just cruel. Out of context, most people just think I’m a dork if I do crazy voices in public. At conventions – they love it – the weirder and scarier, the better.
What kind of superhero is Wolverine for kids? Why do they like him? (Can you talk about Wolverine a little bit?)
As a kid, I loved the idea of a superhero who didn’t fly, and though he had some extraordinary abilities, wasn’t the “hands on the hips,” impossibly virtuous superhero that just couldn’t exist in this world. (And of course, what kid wouldn’t want Adamantium claws!) He’s flawed. He’s got issues. I think it’s been relatively rare for American animation to depict the real and painful circumstances that can mold a life. I was raised to push down all of that stuff and pretend like everything was perfect. I think everyone wants to feel like they belong. Wolverine would never want to be a role model, but in a weird way, was one of the best for me.
As I got older, and especially as a teenager, I realized that I resonated with Logan’s anti-establishment mentality. He’s not afraid to be honest about his fears, his anger, his resentments - human emotions that we all deal with in our own earthly experience. I’m also drawn to the irony of a man who can heal from any physical injury, yet, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, he’s a lost soul trying to find purpose and some sense of peace. Odd for a feral beast-of-a-guy with huge claws!
Do you ever feel like you are Wolverine, or do you feel pretty separated from him as a character?
Wow what a question, bub! Other than the lost soul part, not really. I think I’d be committed to some sort of asylum if I truly believed I had an indestructible skeleton. The characters that I voice all represent pieces of me - sometimes in unexpected ways! They cause me to learn something new about myself almost daily. I’m certainly no superhero, but working with so many personalities has given me some interesting perspective on the world.
What do you and Wolverine have in common? How are you different? (Other than the obvious reasons.)
I definitely share his quest for peace and purpose. I try to do the right thing, I do speak out if I see injustice, and I’m not afraid to deal with real issues. I love nature and go crazy if I’m not outdoors regularly.
Overall, my outlook on life is a lot more positive than Wolvie’s though. I laugh a lot and find humor in pretty much anything – something that’s a bit rare for the ole’ Canucklehead. I have a lousy memory, but it’s still better than his after he had his mind wiped.
In Wolverine And The X-Men: Heroes Return Trilogy, Wolverine reunites the broken heroes formerly known as the X-Men to prevent the world’s destruction and save the future. Do you think he could solve the financial crisis or bring peace to the Middle East?
Hmm… would he get help from Professor X? I think Beast would have to take the lead on diplomacy and finance, but as a small player on a big team and as long as he had a little supervision, Logan could definitely be an “encouraging influence.” Kinda glad we’ve got Obama on the job for now – I like his brand of superhero.
Do you have to psyche yourself up before doing the voice for Wolverine?
I never studied method acting, so that’s not really part of my process. Wolverine is as organic a character for me as it gets. If I “psyche myself up” or analyze a character too much, I lose the essence. Gotta go in cold and bold, baby!
Does being the voice of Wolverine give you more confidence or attitude in real life?
Maybe at Anime and Sci-fi conventions. Get a lot of love and respect there.
I don’t know, maybe. It’s absolutely fulfilled a dream, so I suppose the sense of accomplishment is there. Oddly though, it just causes me to keep looking forward to what’s next. Wolverine has been a part of my life through some of the biggest changes in my life, so I can’t say if voicing him was an active ingredient in the change, or simply a catalyst. Either way, I’m grateful. I’d like to hope I’m not as cranky as he is.
What’s your job like?
I’ve had a LOT of jobs in my life and this is by far “the best there is at what I’ve done!” I love going to work! I get to be somebody different every day - sometimes several times a day! I spend way too much time in the car getting from studio to studio, but other than that, pretty darn fun! Auditioning is probably what I do most. I have a home studio, so it’s gotten easier, but for me, the audition is the job. Getting paid for the actual work is the bonus. I hate the paperwork, and sometimes the politics, but getting to work with some of the funniest, most talented people in the world never gets old. Oh yeah – and I like not having to worry about how I look!
Do you do any other voices?
I have to to earn a living! I did a session on a video game a few days ago where I voiced 10 different characters in four hours.
What superpowers do you have? (Are you a dad? Do you have any dad superpowers?) What superpowers do you wish you had?
I think patience is a superpower – and a positive attitude in a negative world!! Still workin’ on both. Yup, I’m a dad. I don’t think I’ve got any superpowers there, but I sure enjoy it. I’ve got boys, so maybe potty humor is my superpower. We’ve kinda developed that into an art form. I’ve learned a lot from my kids. Great constant reminders of what’s truly important. They really help keep me grounded.
Flying would be cool. And superhuman strength would be helpful for household projects. And a memory. Sure would like one of those. My girlfriend would think me a lot more super if I could remember our conversations. I’m sorry, what were we talking about?
Thanks for watching, Bubs and Bubbettes! Snikt!!
Steve
