Back when I was a kid (a long time ago now), I got into some of the things you read about: comics, baseball cards, the real G.I Joes (ones with hair and representing America) and more. I was asked the other day what video games I played. I kinda laughed because I remember that in the early days, prior to video games, I even had an early Pong and Atari game board. For me a good time was getting a comic down at the grocery store, a bottle of pop, drinking the pop, reading the comic, saving the pop lid and if I was really lucky, I would be able to save enough pop bottle caps to go to a Saturday matinee at the Majestic in Downtown Johnson City. Now those were the days.

Some things have changed since I was a child; I certainly can't trade in pop bottle caps to get into a movie, and G.I Joe stands for everything but what the character was created for. Another change is the role of comics. I still love the books; I love the art, storylines, and many of the characters. I still have many, if not most of my comics from the time I was a kid; I think they may be worth a small fortune, but recently, especially within the DC realm, comics have been making more appearances in animated movies. As a critic of this process, I didn't know what I would think as I decided to purchase and watch one of the new releases to DVD animated movies by the DC Universe. When I saw the special edition on sale at Target, especially for the low price, I decided to give it a shot. I wanted to see if there were any similarities between the new line DVD movies and the old-school comic-book editions.

First I have to make mention of the packaging of this product. I seldom take the time to spend the extra money for the extra DVD that is sometimes included in the packaging, but with the low price of this particular product, I took that splurge, and let me tell you, it was well worth the extra few dollars to get the 2 disc version of this movie. The Special Features disc in my opinion is worth the price of the entire package. Throw in the special features on the feature disc, the downloadable version of the movie, and it was well worth the approximate $20. You can find a version for around $10, but I would recommend get the 2 disc version. The packaging, art work, and interviews, and additional features on the additional disc are well worth it. I am a geek when it comes to special features and on this point, I have to say, I haven't been this pleased in a very long time.

Now as to the feature Superman/Batman: Public Enemies; I have to say, one of the things DC is doing that I love is a retelling of story, with respect for the history of the characters. We see a quality story being told not just in a way older teens or young adults will enjoy, but in a way that will entertain and challenge the adult audience. Public Enemies teams up two of the classiest comic book heroes of all times, and DC seems to nail the characters down to a T.

The opening scenes of the movie start off in a way that would cause one to think if a fan of the characters at all. Imagine a world with super heroes, especially Superman and Batman where society has been duped to the point they elect Lex Luthor as President of the United States. Then imagine the safety of the planet is on the line. What would happen if a politician put his ego, his self-absorbed desires at a place of priority over the safety of the world? Imagine this egotistical President was able to bring some of the good guys over to his side, and they felt a responsibility to serve him because he is the President of the United States. Imagine that scenario and you have a good idea of where Superman/Batman: Public Enemies goes.

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