I'm not usually one to post something like this, but here's something I enjoy a lot and think other comic fans might love as well. I'm making no money from any of these, so check them out if you want or 
don't; it's just here in case you're interested.Several years ago, DC put out a series of novels about the Justice League of America. The covers were done by Alex Ross, and each story either highlighted a member or the whole team. They weren't necessarily all hits by any means, but it was a nice project. Well, Graphic Audio has purchased the rights to turn those novels (and a few other DC books) into audio plays. I don't mean a reading of the novel, but a full-cast reproduction of the story itself! Think of this as an old-time radio show done in surround-sound with a big
budget.I have a 45 minute commute to work each way, so
things like this really make the drive less boring. They even have the entire Infinite Crisis and 52 storylines in 12-hour dramatizations (though the stories are trimmed somewhat for obvious reasons). I love how otherwise-obscure characters like Plastic Man, The Question, Booster Gold, and Blue Beetle even get the full treatment in their guest shots in particular titles.You can choose to download them individually, or purchase them as a CD for $20 or MP3-CD for $13 each. With the exception of Infinite Crisis and 52, the stories run about 6 hours each, so it pretty much stays consistent with what you'd pay for a regular audiobook title.
Again, I know
this isn't for everyone, but these really are high quality and pretty faithful to the comic characters. If you find yourself with more time to listen than to read during the day, this is a great way to go. They have a few titles still coming up, so it looks like they're going to keep this going for a while. You can listen to an audio sample on each page, so don't just take my word for it...see what you think.Back to comic complaints in our next posting!
I just finished "Stop Motion" as a matter of fact, and I have to say it was one of the best Flash stories I've "read" in a long time. It really stretches Wally's powers while still finding a way to remain true to the comic books. The ending was a little plot twist I didn't see coming (thought I had it figured out...I was wrong). There were a couple of parts where it seemed to drag as the villain's powers were explained in extreme depth (think 10 minutes), but for the most part it was perfect. The JLA story was great too.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how the original novel compares to this (I didn't read it, just heard this), but this was a good story to me. I know they took a few liberties with the JLA story to characterize it better (I read that one before I knew about these), but it stayed fairly close to the story. A lot more talking going on, but the actors were good and kept it interesting.
ReplyDeleteCool! I'd always been curious about those JLA novels, and I didn't know that Graphic Audio had adapted them!
ReplyDeleteI would assume that they aren't full dramatizations, though. I checked out the Infinite Crisis one a year ago and, while it had great production quality, I was a bit disappointed that the bulk of it was still just a narrator reading the text of the book. I was hoping for a more immersive experience, like the Knightfall and Superman Lives audio dramas produced by Dirk Maggs for the BBC.
If you enjoy what Graphic Audio is doing, you have GOT to check those two out (if you haven't already).