I was a comic book fan from a very young age, and I can still remember my mother buying comics for me from the local grocery store (off of that "Hey Kid, Comics!" wire rack). (I remained a fan on-and-off through the mid 90s, until a stint in the comic book industry caused me to burn-out on the medium.) Even at that early age, I was always more attracted to the Marvel Comics titles rather than DC. (I was a sucker for Spider-man from the get-go, so that may have something to do with it.) Yet, as a fan, I was always aware of DC Comics and their characters. One undeniable fact is that DC always had better luck with animated projects, especially the Batman and Superman shows. While Marvel has made some advancements as of late, DC still seems to display a higher-quality product, such as the newly released Justice League: The New Frontier.

Justice League: The New Frontier is based on a comic series by Darwyn Cooke which re-imagines the stories of the Golden Age Justice League members. The story takes place in the mid-1950s. Hal Jordan (voiced by David Boreanaz) is a fighter pilot flying in the final days of the Korean War, when he is shot down. He is eventually rescued and returns to the U.S. to become a test pilot. After liberating some female prisoners during the war, Wonder Woman (voiced by Lucy Lawless) returns to her home island. Superman (voiced by Kyle MacLachlan) also aids in the war, and is taken aback by the brutality which he sees. J'onn J'onzz AKA Martian Manhunter (voiced by Miguel Ferrer) is brought to Earth by an astronomer. He then assumes a human guise and becomes a detective. He meets Batman (voiced by Jeremy Sisto) and they begin to work together. The Flash (voiced by Neil Patrick Harris), who has been busy fighting crime, decides to give it up, as he's concerned for the safety of his girlfriend, Iris West (voiced by Vicki Lewis). Later in the story, Hal Jordan finds a dying alien in the desert, and inherits the power of the Green Lantern.

Meanwhile, weird events are taking place around the globe. Batman and J'onn J'onzz begin to track these incidents and they begin to see a pattern. A being known as The Centre (voiced by Keith David) is gaining power and has plans to annihilate mankind.

Justice League: The New Frontier is an odd movie, as it is both highly detailed and incredibly vague at the same time. Again, this is specifically based on a comic book series, and it includes characters which have been around for decades. And, if you aren't familiar with the characters, or for that matter, this specific The New Frontier story, you may be lost from the outset. The bulk of the movie is made up of small vignettes with each of the characters, and in the third act, they are suddenly together fighting a nebulous villain (which is essentially a flying island). We learn very little about The Centre and it's true purpose (other than wiping out mankind) and powers are never fully explored. And some of the characters are short-changed. Superman and Batman aren't in Justice League: The New Frontier very often. When they are, the movie assumes that you know exactly who they are and doesn't stop to explain anything.

On the other hand, the individual set-pieces with the various super heroes are well-done and nicely capture comic book action. The scene in which The Flash must race through a city defusing bombs is well-done, as is the finale when Green Lantern finally unleashes his powers. The one scene in which Batman is truly allowed to strut his stuff is very dark and cool. The movie captures the essence of the characters and while we may not get a highly-detailed look at all of the heroes, the feel of the movie nicely reflects the characters from the comics. The characters are often dummied-down or made more kiddie-friendly in animation, but the Justice League characters are able to keep their edge.

So, Justice League: The New Frontier is a mixed-bag. Long-time fans of DC Comics and specifically the Justice League comics will surely be delighted by this, and those who enjoyed The New Frontier series will no doubt revel at seeing the book brought to life. However, casual fans, most notably those who are only familiar with the major characters -- Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman -- may be very lost here. The movie actually contains very little narrative story and acts more as a character piece as it examines the various heroes. That aside, even DC fanboys may balk at the third act where The Centre suddenly appears and a huge battle begins. Justice League: The New Frontier has some nice, detailed animation, and it certainly captures a comic-book feel, but the disjointed and minimal style of the movie leaves much to be desired.

(A Note: Justice League: The New Frontier is rated PG-13 and it's definitely not for children, as it quite violent and contains some disturbing images. Within the first 10 minutes, two people are shot at point-blank range in the head.)

Justice League: The New Frontier becomes super friends with DVD courtesy of Warner Home Video. The movie has come to DVD in a single-disc version and a two-disc version. The film has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image is very sharp and clear, as it shows no grain and no defects from the source material. The colors look very good, as the tones range from bright to muted. These colors never bleed into one another and never look oversaturated. I detected some mild video noise at times, but it wasn't distracting. The DVD sports a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which sounds very good. The dialogue is always clear and audible. The stereo effects are good and there are some excellent surround and subwoofer effects during the fight sequences. Anytime that a character flies across screen, the sound fills the speakers.

For the purposes of this review, only the single-disc version was viewed. The single-disc version of Justice League: The New Frontier contains only a few extras. The DVD carries two AUDIO COMMENTARIES. The first features the makers of New Frontier, director David Bullock, executive producer Bruce Timm, writer Stan Berkowitz, voice director Andrea Romano, supervising producer Michael Gogen, and Gregory Novec (sp?) of DC Comics. This is an interesting talk, as the participants give a great deal of information about the movie. They talk about the voice actors, the story, the changes from the comic, and the animation. We get some insight in the amount of work which was done to whittle down a huge story. The second commentary has writer and artist Darwyn Cooke. Cooke focuses mainly on the story, and he compliments the movie on how it was able to adapt his tale. He also points out pieces which are different from the book. The title of the piece "Super Heroes United!: The Complete Justice League History" (41 minutes) is very accurate. Here we learn about the beginnings of the Justice League in comic books and see how it evolved over the years through comics and animation. Each character is profiled and discussed by many major names from DC Comics and for some reason, Stan Lee is here as well. (That man will show up for anything!) The DVD also features a 10-minute look at the upcoming Batman Gotham Knight project which has different animators tackling Batman stories.