Writer/Producer Joshua Fine Shares His Thoughts On DC Entertainment Cartoon Shows
Writer/Producer Josh Fine, whose recent work includes the acclaimed The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, took a few moments from his busy schedule to discuss his thoughts on DC Entertainment’s slate of animated shows starring DC Comics characters. Please note these questions were answered after Fine left the position of Marvel Animation Director of Development last month.
The World’s Finest: What DC Comics-based cartoons are you watching right now?
Josh Fine: I’m following Young Justice right now, which has been a fun show. I’m a fan of Greg Weisman’s shows, having worked with him on The Spectacular Spider-Man a few years back. I also love Phil Baroussas character designs. He did an incredible job for us on Planet Hulk and the upcoming Thor: Tales of Asgard which releases in a month. It’s cool to see his takes on this other universes characters.
I’ve also been taking some time to catch up on episodes of Justice League / Justice League Unlimited that I missed.
WF: Would you ever consider working on a DC comics-based cartoon project? Any favorite characters in particular?
JF: Yes, I definitely would. Many have heard that I recently left Marvel to focus on forwarding my career as a writer, so I don’t think this is taboo for me to say anymore. I grew up reading equal parts Spider-Man, X-Men, and Batman comics, and the X-Men and Batman animated series of the nineties were instrumental in turning me into a fan of both comics in general and the Marvel and DC pantheons respectively. My favorite DC character is probably Robin. I always really liked the idea of a kid who had been trained by Batman, this brilliant detective and master martial artist. A kid who’s thrust into the same crazy world of Gotham City, but is more vulnerable, less prepared, and in a lot of ways more human than the Dark Knight himself.
WF: How do you think DC Comics-based cartoons differ from Marvel? How does The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes differ from, say, Justice League?
JF: I’m not sure that there’s a fundamental difference that you can really point to outside of the characters. I think most of the shows that Marvel has made recently are very different even from one another, and the same could be said for DC’s recent work. The main difference comes from the type of characters that you find in each. DC was really built on an idea of dream-fulfillment, how cool would it be to have all of these abilities? All of these resources? To be able to face down impossible odds by yourself? On the Marvel side of things, the Universe was founded on the human struggles of the characters. Sure Spidey has amazing abilities, but with that power comes extraordinary responsibility. It means that its hard to be Peter Parker you’re always going to be late for that date, you’re always going be just barely scraping by financially. I think there’s a human element in Marvel’s characters that you can really relate to on a human level. Where DC is sort of the guys that you aspire to become.
WF: Is there room for both DC Comics and Marvel cartoons, both on the comic shelves and on DVD shelves?
JF: No. One must die.
The great thing about being a fan of comics and cartoons and Super Heroes is that there’s no reason why you cant just enjoy both. It’s like I quite enjoy Pizza. But I also love Ice Cream. It would kind of suck if I had to pick one of the other. I’d much rather eat both. Preferably in quick succession.
Fine is Supervising Producer for The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, which recently had its first thirteen episodes released to DVD through Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. The latest series from Marvel Animation airs regularly on Disney XD. More details on this series can be found at the The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes micro-site at Marvel Animation Age.
Stay tuned for further updates here soon at The World’s Finest, including updates on Young Justice and Batman: The Brave and The Bold.
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