Green Lantern Arrives On Cartoon Network, with DC Nation Scheduled for 2012



Last weekend, Cartoon Network aired the one-hour premiere of Green Lantern: The Animated Series, the new CGI cartoon that's devoted to DC's top space cop. This series stands out for two reasons: It's the first DC cartoon series that's completely CGI, and it's the first DC TV series in a long time that doesn't directly involve Superman, Batman, or one of their supporting characters (such as Robin). Even though the box office performance of the live-action Green Lantern movie from last summer didn't live up to Time-Warner's expectations, it's nice to see that they're still willing to invest time and money into Green Lantern, with the hopes that they'll do the same for other DC characters.

For a first episode, the premiere of Green Lantern was fun to watch. It involved Hal Jordan and his ally Kilowog traveling to a remote area of space where Green Lanterns are being killed off by an unknown assailant. From what I could determine from the premiere's pacing, it consisted of two parts of a multi-episode story. Since the Green Lantern's narrative world consists of multiple planets and aliens, I think it's a smart move for this series to have multi-episode story arcs, even though it will inevitably invite some comparisons to Cartoon Network’s other multi-episode space adventure CGI cartoon series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Nevertheless, with DC animation vet Bruce Timm serving as executive producer, I have high hopes for what the new Green Lantern series can contribute to expanding the DC universe outside of its comic book base.

The Green Lantern's premiere was peppered with ads for something called DC Nation, which promises to begin airing on Cartoon Network in 2012. The ads gave some idea of what DC Nation is supposed to provide, including video shorts that feature DC characters and news pertaining to the DC universe that will air during episodes of Green Lantern, Young Justice, and Beware The Batman, another CGI DC cartoon series that's scheduled to premiere in 2013. According to the Deadline Hollywood site, DC Nation will be a "multi-platform, branded block of original programming and exclusive content based on the DC Comics library of legendary character properties, DC Nation is developed in partnership with Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment. The all-new venture will harness the publishing, theatrical and television assets together for one powerful on-air block on Cartoon Network with exclusive online content."

Will DC's efforts to build a new generation of fans though its efforts on Cartoon Network prove to be as successful as Marvel's recent build-up to the upcoming multi-superhero Avengers movie? Stay tuned to find out--same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.


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