Superman/Batman: Public Enemies on DVD September 29

 Superman/Batman: Public Enemies comes to DVD

The remark undoubtedly came from the guy wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the emblem of the hero whose exploits just entertained—or not—for the past 85 – 110 minutes. Any fanboy can easily rattle off a specific storyline or milestone issue from the funny pages that they want to see brought to life on celluloid instead of the pick-and-choose elements, or sometimes horrifying re-imaginings, that the filmmakers settle on.

Very rarely does Hollywood live up to the average comic nerd’s standards of perfect page to screen translation. For every Sin City there is The Punisher. For every 300 there is… well, whatever that was that Fox tried to pass off as two Fantastic Four movies.

But, for all of those comic book fanatics that would have rather seen “Kraven’s Last Hunt” than the guy from "That 70’s Show" as Venom, or “Born Again” instead of Ben Affleck doing backflips off of a see-saw, there is a light on the horizon illuminating a paradise called Direct-to-Video.

The good folks of Warner Brothers have pulled out all of the stops in recent years to bring stunning animated films of their DC Comics properties directly to DVD and Blu-ray. Along with their wonderfully executed, accessible origin stories such as Wonder Woman and Green Lantern: First Flight, the studio has responded to the fanboys’ lament by producing faithful adaptations of beloved storylines, starting with Superman: Doomsday and then raising the bar with Justice League: The New Frontier.

“New Frontier” blew fans away not only because it stayed true to its seminal graphic novel origins, but in that it utilized the animation medium’s full potential by maintaining the look of writer and artist Darwyn Cooke’s signature artwork, something no live action film could ever do.

Producer Bruce Timm looks to continue this trend and up the ante again on September 29, 2009 when Warner Brothers releases Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.

This adaptation of the young, yet already classic, storyline by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Ed McGuinness looks to keep fanboys searching for their socks for weeks after viewing because they are going to get rocked off. Again, the bold and distinctive artwork of McGuinness is brought to life in a way that only animation could do. And, for those who simultaneously laughed and cried every time Christian Bale opened his mouth while wearing the cape and cowl, acting chores for the Dark Knight in this film go to veteran voice actor Kevin Conroy, who nerds will tell you is the only true Batman. “Superman: The Animated Series” alum Tim Daly again lends his vocal chords to the Man of Steel.

This one might even please the most jaded of fanboys.

Check out the trailer: