Post by TheQuestion on Oct 10, 2006 17:33:10 GMT -5
From Comic Book Resources:
"JAMES TUCKER GRABS A FLIGHT RING TO MAKE "LEGION OF SUPER HEROES" SOAR
by Arune Singh, Staff Writer
Posted: October 6, 2006
There are few superhero teams with as loyal, dedicated, and perhaps as obsessive a fanbase as that of the Legion Of Superheroes. The superteam made its debut way back in 1958, encountering a young Clark Kent in the pages of "Adventure Comics" #247, and were a group of teens from the future, meant to make just this single appearance. But in a very real case of "Because You Demanded It!", the Legion soon returned and eventually starred in their very own comic book series, leading to their continued popularity to this day. With this in mind, it's surprising that the Legion has never really been portrayed in other media, besides a few appearances here and there, the team has found a way to remain a staple of DC Comics' publishing line, but not a part of their multimedia efforts. That all changed a few weeks ago on September 23rd, when "Legion Of Super Heroes" debuted in the Kids WB! animation block on the new CW network, receiving loads of acclaim from critics and comic book fans alike. The premise is simple: the Legion is a group of super powered teens from the future who travel back in time to bring a young Clark Kent to help them fight super powered enemies. Why a young Kent and not the one who has already adopted the mantle of Superman? That's just one of the series' intriguing subplots.
One of the keys to the Saturday morning series' success has been producer James Tucker, whose name may not be familiar to you, but whose work is most definitely etched in your memory. In fact, looking at James Tucker's resume, it seems he just may be the ideal candidate for a superteam as unique and diverse as the Legion. Tucker began his animation career working on such shows as "Tazmania," "Tiny Toons," and "Animaniacs." Soon he joined Bruce Timm on the acclaimed "Superman: The Animated Series" as a character designer. Moving onto "Batman Beyond," Tucker's hard work and dedication earned him the position of storyboard artist and then director of the show. He co-produced the first season of "Justice League" and he's been a producer since then. CBR News caught up with Tucker and spoke about Legion, a show near and dear to his heart.
Before we jump into the show, it'd be egregious if we overlooked the near universal positive fan response to "Legion Of Super Heroes." It's not often that the myriad of comic book fans online seem to agree on anything and the, well, "legion" of fans rallying to support the show has been a nice surprise for Tucker. "Having worked most of my animation career on the DCUA shows, I wasn't expecting the fan reaction to be so positive," Tucker told CBR News. "I was thoroughly prepared to stay away from the message boards for the duration of the series, but I couldn't help myself and peeked the Sunday after the premiere. One of the most gratifying things about the positive response has been the amount of parents who say they are enjoying the show with their kids. 'Legion' is the perfect property to do a light-hearted, child friendly take on and I'm glad we didn't over think the premise or mess around with the formula too much."
The Legion is hardly the first DC Comics superhero team to appear on television. A live action "Justice League" pilot was produced by CBS; the Justice League appeared in their own animated series; "Teen Titans" was a wildly popular animated series that continues to boast a solid fan base; and a version of the Justice League is expected to appear on "Smallville." However, as any Legion fan will attest to, the super powered crime fighting teens from the future aren't your average heroes. Tucker has his own opinion, and said, "I think it's the fact that this is a group made up of the best of the best. Not anyone can be a Legionnaire. In the comics in particular, it was a grueling process just to be accepted. So in that way it's probably the only book that mirrors what it feels like to be in high school, on the cusp of adulthood and striving to be the best, and fit in with your peers. Oh, and also all the crushing that goes on between the members really echoes the feelings of being teenagers. Titans, on the other hand, originally, was about sidekicks who formed their own group to get out the shadows of their mentors. That has more to do with parent/child relations. I suppose Legion is the idealized version of teenhood in a structured high school setting, which is something that was a particularly good fit for the kind of show KidsWB has wanted for a while."
"
For the complete article go here:
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"JAMES TUCKER GRABS A FLIGHT RING TO MAKE "LEGION OF SUPER HEROES" SOAR
by Arune Singh, Staff Writer
Posted: October 6, 2006
There are few superhero teams with as loyal, dedicated, and perhaps as obsessive a fanbase as that of the Legion Of Superheroes. The superteam made its debut way back in 1958, encountering a young Clark Kent in the pages of "Adventure Comics" #247, and were a group of teens from the future, meant to make just this single appearance. But in a very real case of "Because You Demanded It!", the Legion soon returned and eventually starred in their very own comic book series, leading to their continued popularity to this day. With this in mind, it's surprising that the Legion has never really been portrayed in other media, besides a few appearances here and there, the team has found a way to remain a staple of DC Comics' publishing line, but not a part of their multimedia efforts. That all changed a few weeks ago on September 23rd, when "Legion Of Super Heroes" debuted in the Kids WB! animation block on the new CW network, receiving loads of acclaim from critics and comic book fans alike. The premise is simple: the Legion is a group of super powered teens from the future who travel back in time to bring a young Clark Kent to help them fight super powered enemies. Why a young Kent and not the one who has already adopted the mantle of Superman? That's just one of the series' intriguing subplots.
One of the keys to the Saturday morning series' success has been producer James Tucker, whose name may not be familiar to you, but whose work is most definitely etched in your memory. In fact, looking at James Tucker's resume, it seems he just may be the ideal candidate for a superteam as unique and diverse as the Legion. Tucker began his animation career working on such shows as "Tazmania," "Tiny Toons," and "Animaniacs." Soon he joined Bruce Timm on the acclaimed "Superman: The Animated Series" as a character designer. Moving onto "Batman Beyond," Tucker's hard work and dedication earned him the position of storyboard artist and then director of the show. He co-produced the first season of "Justice League" and he's been a producer since then. CBR News caught up with Tucker and spoke about Legion, a show near and dear to his heart.
Before we jump into the show, it'd be egregious if we overlooked the near universal positive fan response to "Legion Of Super Heroes." It's not often that the myriad of comic book fans online seem to agree on anything and the, well, "legion" of fans rallying to support the show has been a nice surprise for Tucker. "Having worked most of my animation career on the DCUA shows, I wasn't expecting the fan reaction to be so positive," Tucker told CBR News. "I was thoroughly prepared to stay away from the message boards for the duration of the series, but I couldn't help myself and peeked the Sunday after the premiere. One of the most gratifying things about the positive response has been the amount of parents who say they are enjoying the show with their kids. 'Legion' is the perfect property to do a light-hearted, child friendly take on and I'm glad we didn't over think the premise or mess around with the formula too much."
The Legion is hardly the first DC Comics superhero team to appear on television. A live action "Justice League" pilot was produced by CBS; the Justice League appeared in their own animated series; "Teen Titans" was a wildly popular animated series that continues to boast a solid fan base; and a version of the Justice League is expected to appear on "Smallville." However, as any Legion fan will attest to, the super powered crime fighting teens from the future aren't your average heroes. Tucker has his own opinion, and said, "I think it's the fact that this is a group made up of the best of the best. Not anyone can be a Legionnaire. In the comics in particular, it was a grueling process just to be accepted. So in that way it's probably the only book that mirrors what it feels like to be in high school, on the cusp of adulthood and striving to be the best, and fit in with your peers. Oh, and also all the crushing that goes on between the members really echoes the feelings of being teenagers. Titans, on the other hand, originally, was about sidekicks who formed their own group to get out the shadows of their mentors. That has more to do with parent/child relations. I suppose Legion is the idealized version of teenhood in a structured high school setting, which is something that was a particularly good fit for the kind of show KidsWB has wanted for a while."
"
For the complete article go here:
CLICK ME!