DC Showcase – Constantine: The House Of Mystery [Review]

DC fans the wait is finally over. This week Warner Bros. and DC treated fans with four new shorts with the release of DC Showcase – Constantine: The House Of Mystery on Digital and Blu-ray. These shorts include Constantine: The House of Mystery, Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, The Losers, and Blue Beetle. Also going into this DC showcase Constantine: The House Of Mystery is the only new short on this DVD. The rest have been released with other animated films. This DC Showcase of shorts gives fans a chance to get stories from characters that really never get featured outside of the comic book world. Thanks to our friends over at Warner Bros. I was able to receive a copy of DC Showcase – Constantine: The House Of Mystery to review.

DC Showcase – Constantine: The House Of Mystery

DC Showcase – Constantine: The House Of Mystery is a series of shorts that talk you all over the DC universe. The first short House of Mystery takes the antihero, John Constantine, through a Twilight Zone / Groundhog Day type story. Following the event of Apokolips War, Constantine finds himself in The House of Mystery or some might call it The House of Misery after they watch the short. As Constantine tries to escape each door he opens takes him to a memory of his life where he ends up getting killed and wakes up to start all over again. Will he ever break this cycle? You will have to watch the short to find out. While it was fun watching his friends and family become murderous demons the end felt rushed and incomplete.

Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth

If you are looking for a story that looks as if it came right off the comic book pages then Kamandi is for you. With an art style taken from the legendary Jack Kirby, Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth takes Kamandi, Prince Tuftan, and Ben Boxer through a series of deadly challenges to find out the secret of The Mighty One. Now, this is not a new short like Constantine. Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth was first released with Justice Society: World War II. While the style of Jack Kirby made this good it just felt like something was missing in the story development that would have made it great.

The Losers

This story may only be 15 minutes long, but The Losers grabs you and holds on through the whole thing. Originally released with Batman: The Long Halloween Part 1, The Losers Captain Storm, Johnny Cloud, “Mile-a-Minute” Jones, rookie Gunner, and Sarge find themselves teamed up with Fan Long of the Chinese Security Agency to save some scientists from an island that is overrun with dinosaurs. Just when they thought the dinosaurs were going to be their biggest problem, another monster was among them the whole time. With a ton of action and an amazing polt, this was probably my favorite out of all the shorts.

Blue Beetle

If you like cheesy theme songs and 1960s-style cartoons then the Blue Beetle short is for you. Blue Beetle first appeared on Batman: The Long Halloween Part 2 DVD. This short teams up Blue Beetle with Captain Atom, The Question, and Nightshade to battle the evil Doctor Spectro. This short could be the feature short if not already released. Also if you are familiar with the characters you will also love the humor.

My Thoughts

As someone who is still kind of new to the DC animated world, I loved these shorts. From the Groundhog Day approach in Constantine: The House Of Mystery to the plot of The Losers I was glued to the TV from the moment the DC Showcase started. These shorts also follow most of the DC animated films with a lot of action, violence, and adult situations.

The cast for all these shorts was also amazing. With voice actors like Matt Ryan (Constantine), Camilla Luddington (Zatanna), Cameron Monaghan (Kamandi), Matt Lanter (Blue Bettle), Ming-Na Wen (Fan Long), Dean Winters (Captain Strom), and so many other talented actors; you can see why all of these shorts were so great.

Now the one issue that could pop up for DC fans is that if you are a fan of the DC animated universe you probably have these shorts already in your collection. As I mention other than Constantine: The House Of Mystery the rest of these shorts came with other DC animated films. Other than that Constantine: The House Of Mystery is a must-watch for any DC fan, and if you have not seen the other shorts you will enjoy them as well. Also if you have already seen the shorts just enjoy them again they are fun.

We Want To Hear From You

What were your thoughts on the DC Showcase – Constantine: The House of Mystery from DC and Warner Bros? What was your favorite short? Also, what is your favorite DC animated film?  That Hashtag Show wants to hear from you!

You can tell us your thoughts by leaving a comment below or hitting me up at starwarsnerd574. You can also join me on the DC Fanatics Facebook page to chat about all things DC. Also, make sure to stay up to date on all comic and collectibles news by following us at ThatHashtagShow.com.

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