Part of what made fans love DC's old animated efforts was the fact that they always strived to emulate the source material both visually and narratively - at least in the case of adaptations based on certain comic book storylines. Darwyn Cooke's New Frontier comes to mind as a brilliant page to screen transition, as his distinct and iconic pencils are brought to life in the silver age's onscreen rebirth. Other animated features such as The Dark Knight Returns, All Star Superman, and Batman: Year One all emulated their respective artists very truthfully, in turn benefiting the films stylistically and visually. These unique and varied styles were abandoned with 2012's Flashpoint Paradox, with every subsequent adaptation following suite with the rather garish look chosen to portray DC's crop of characters. Their misshapen proportions rekindle nightmares of the infamous redesigns of the 90s, and nothing feels quite as clean as older animated features did, nor quite as charming.
Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.
