Static Shock - It's All Over For Static! The 4th (and Final) Season is Announced for DVD MOD release from the Warner Archives Collection is coming in April
Posted by David Lambert	3/26/2018
Static Shock's fourth and final season cements Static's arrival as an A-list super hero, thanks to a Bat-charged flash-forward that sees Static (voiced by Phil Lamarr) bounce from the present-era Bruce Wayne/Batman (voiced by Kevin Conroy) to Batman Beyond's Terry McGinnis (voiced by Will Friedle) and a glimpse at his own future self. After confronting the future's incarnation of Kobra (voiced by Lance Henriksen), Virgil returns to Dakota City in the present, where he and Gear (voiced by Jason Marsden) tackle faux Bang Baby wannabe hero She-Bang, and assist African hero Anansi and try to take down Static's idol, Green Lantern (also voiced by Lamarr). It all comes to a head when a cure is discovered for the Bang Babies...a cure that threatens Gear's and Static's abilities as well! This collection also includes the Justice League Unlimited two-part episode "Once and Future Thing," which follows up on elements from Static Shock's time-bending season opener. This past weekend (March 23-25) in Anaheim, California, the Warner Archive was present at the WonderCon 2018 Anaheim Comic-Con. While they were there, it was announced (including on the WBshop.com online studio store; see button link below) that the animated epic's final episodes are coming to DVD this April 24th as an MOD (manufacture on demand) release of Static Shock - The Complete 4th Season. As you see in the studio description quoted above, this DVD set includes cross-over episodes into the worlds of Batman Beyond (coming into this show for the season premiere) and Justice League Unlimited (exporting elements of this show over to JLU as part of a two-part story which aired almost a year after Static Shock's finale). These are a pair of fan favorites, naturally! Priced at $24.99 SRP for 13 episodes and the two-part bonus story from Justice League Unlimited, you can pre-order it right away from WBshop or you can check back on that Amazon link we provide: the big "A" isn't taking pre-orders just yet, but they're expected to activate that very soon. Here's a look at the front of the packaging:

Static Shock - Official Press Release for Tomorrow's DVDs of 'The Complete 3rd Season' MOD release available on January 30th from Warner Archive Collection
Posted by David Lambert	1/29/2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WARNER ARCHIVE COLLECTION BRINGS ANOTHER BELOVED SUPER HERO TO DVD STATIC SHOCK: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON COMING JANUARY 30, 2018 TO DVD STATIC VOICE PHIL LAMARR RECALLS A MEMORABLE THIRD SEASON OF THE POPULAR ANIMATED SERIES BURBANK, CA - Warner Archive Collection (WAC), a champion of classic super hero animation, next brings Static Shock: The Complete Third Season to DVD with a special two-disc package that will be available starting January 30, 2018. Phil LaMarr, the enthusiastic voice of lead character Virgil Hawkins and his super hero persona Static, has many fond memories of the important third season of the popular animated TV series, which saw integral changes and important guest appearances for Static Shock. In Static Shock's fateful third season, the character shifted to an impressive, tricked-out new costume, and his partner-in-crime-fighting Richie developed powers of his own as he became the super hero Gear. The African-American super hero took an enlightening trip to his Africa, shared an episode with Superman, and combined forces with the Justice League. "In the third season, everything sort of got spruced up," recalls LaMarr, known far and wide for his voice performances in Samurai Jack, Futurama and Family Guy, and his live-action roles for MADtv and Pulp Fiction. "The writing was just as good as ever, but they really raised the stakes. Static's costume went from homemade to a legitimate super hero costume, Richie became his own super hero in Gear, and that meant there was less sitting back at headquarters - we started going on a lot more duo-action adventures." LaMarr and Jason Marsden, the voice of Richie/Gear, had already developed a strong camaraderie working closely together on the Disney animated series, The Weekenders. Their on-screen/in-booth rapport in Static Shock was a natural extension of their "real life" relationship. "Static Shock provided a second opportunity to play partners and best friends - which was great because we were already good friends," LaMarr says. "Our friendship on the show was authentic. And there's nothing better than getting paid every week to work with your friend." LaMarr says he truly coveted the role of Static - a super hero who spoke to his personal aspirations and cultural upbringing. "As a comic book guy, Static was a dream come true - a character who really felt real to me," LaMarr says. "I always thought Static would be what I would be if I got powers as a teenager. I loved Spidey and Bats, but I never wanted to be them. There are tortured souls, and everything they do is informed by that guilt. For Static, the worst problem was having to do homework. "Moreover, it was so great to finally have a black super hero who didn't have 'black' in his name. I could relate to him. Here's a kid who is smart, who's trying to do the right thing, dealing with relatable problems whether it was family or school or friendships. Despite that fact that it was a cartoon that revolved around super heroes, it felt real to me." Static Shock: The Complete Third Season featured numerous guest performances from actors as acclaimed and diverse as four-time Emmy Award winner Alfre Woodard (Miss Evers' Boys, Desperate Housewives, Hill Street Blues), Emmy Award winner Roscoe Lee Browne (Logan's Run, The Cowboys), Brock Peters (To Kill A Mockingbird, Soylent Green), Golden Globe winner Terence Stamp (Billy Budd, Superman), three-time Emmy Award winner Jean Smart (24, Garden State), Bud Cort (Harold & Maude, M*A*S*H), Dennis Haysbert (24, Major League), Golden Globe winner Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Michael Jai White (Black Dynamite, The Dark Knight), T'Keyah Crystal Keymah (In Living Color, That's So Raven), Danica McKeller (The Wonder Years), Phil Morris (Smallville), Charles Rocket (Moonlighting), Sean Patrick Thomas (The District), Kimberly Brooks (Mass Effect), Bumper Robinson (The Game), David Faustino (Married With Children), Nicolette Sheridan (Desperate Housewives), David Arquette (Cougar Town), Tia Texada (Third Watch) and rapper Romeo Miller. Also performing guest roles during Static Shock: The Complete Third Season are the voices of Warner Bros. Animation's core group of DC Super Heroes, including actors from Batman: The Animated Series (Kevin Conroy, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Arleen Sorkin, Robert Hastings) and Justice League/Justice League Unlimited (George Newbern, Carl Lumbly, Maria Canals Barrera, Michael Rosenbaum), as well as Phil LaMarr himself as the voice of Green Lantern/John Stewart. "The crossover episodes with the Justice League were so much fun for me - it was great to feel like Static Shock was part of the legacy of the super hero entertainment that I grew up watching and reading," LaMarr says. "Associating Static with Justice League sort of legitimized our little show, putting Static on the same level as supers like Batman, Green Lantern and all the rest. Plus getting to act again alongside my Justice League acting pals - Maria Canals Barrera, Susan Eisenberg, Carl Lumbly, Michael Rosenbaum, George Newbern, Kevin Conroy - was a blast, especially because now they were coming to MY house. It was actually a little weird because we were sitting in the same chairs as we always did when recording Justice League - but now I had more lines. Of course, I had two different characters - Static and Green Lantern John Stewart." LaMarr said the dual role - which put him in the unusual position of recording two characters talking to each other - was the first time he encountered that situation in his career. "I thought the writers wrote those scenes as a challenge for me," LaMarr recalls. "At least they didn't have them singing harmony or something crazy like that!" Static Shock: The Complete Third Season features an all-star lineup of writers behind the scripts: Paul Dini, Dwayne McDuffie, Len Uhley, Ernie Altbacker, John Semper, Courtney Lilly and Adam Beechen. For the Static-Superman team-up episode entitled "Toys in the Hood," Semper crafted a story that was written by Academy Award winner John Ridley (12 Years a Slave). An episode entitled "Static in Africa" saw the Hawkins family on vacation in Ghana, where Static teams with a legendary African folk hero to combat a group of bandits. The episode was particularly important to LaMarr. "Static in Africa was a blast for so many reasons," LaMarr recalls. "It was a thrill to work for the first time with Michael Jai White and Roscoe Lee Browne, as well as my Justice League castmate Carl Lumbly. Carl and Roscoe are guys whose work I'd seen growing up, and to share a studio with them was fantastic. "Moreover, it was really cool to be able to explore our roots in a Saturday morning cartoon. I had never seen contemporary Africa on Saturday morning - an Africa that was not unlike our own world. We have super heroes, they have super heroes. Africa wasn't showed as exotica - it was a world where people like us live. And to me, that was a great part of Static Shock. It wasn't about that Static was black; but he was black. His life, his world - those were real. And that kind of normalization is what's key to true diversity." The Static Shock: The Complete Third Season two-disc set includes the following animated episodes: Disc One Hard As Nails Gear Static in Africa Shebang The Usual Suspect A League Of Their Own, Part 1 A League Of Their Own, Part 2 Showtime Romeo in the Mix Disc Two Toys In The Hood The Parent Trap Flashback Blast From The Past Disc Two also includes the Superman: The Animated Series episode entitled "Obsession" (Season 3, Episode 4), which ultimately served as a prequel to the Static Shock episode, "Toys in the Hood" and spotlighted the first meeting of Superman and Static, featuring the voices of Tim Daly (Superman), Nancy Travis (Darci Mason), Bud Cort (The Toyman) and Joely Fisher (Lana Lang). Warner Archive Collection (WAC) continues to serve as host to some of the most beloved films, television series and animated entertainment in history - and many are now available on Blu-ray. WAC's canon runs the gamut from restored and remastered Blu-ray classics such as The Americanization of Emily, The Big Sleep, The Great Race, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Victor/Victoria and Yankee Doodle Dandy to adored TV offerings such as Longmire (on Blu-ray), Alice and Family Matters (on DVD) to feature-length animated films, including the recent Blu-ray release of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, to animated TV series headed by recent Blu-ray releases such as Justice League Unlimited, Teen Titans, Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Young Justice, as well as a wealth of classic animated series on DVD including dozens of Hanna-Barbera classics. WAC offerings can be found via wb.com/warnerarchive and your favorite online retailer.

Static Shock - 'The Complete 3rd Season' is Coming to DVD In Just a Few Weeks! Warner Archives to release this MOD item at the end of this month
Posted by David Lambert	1/08/2018
In early 2017, the Warner Archive Collection released the first season, and then the second season, on DVD. Fans have been waiting for the rest of the year for info about the third season, which included several big changes to the animated program: opening, theme song, Static's suit, and a new hero in town. This season look for the show to have a few crossovers with other programs in the DC animated universe, too! And now Amazon's CreateSpace MOD (manufacture on demand) program has begun accepting pre-order for Static Shock - The Complete 3rd Season on DVD (see button link below). The title will ship on January 30th, and is priced at $24.99 SRP. Our thanks to longtime reader (and good friend!) Wesley Mead for tipping us off about it. Here's a look at the cover art:

Static Shock - Electrifying News! DVDs Scheduled for 'The Complete 2nd Season' The Warner Archive will send these into action before the end of May!
Posted by David Lambert	4/20/2017
Static Shock's second season comes supercharged with new, dangerous metahuman menaces, an array of special guest stars, and more of its unique mix of high adventure and social drama. The stakes are higher as Static gets drafted into "The Big Leagues" when the dynamic duo - Batman and Robin - travel to Dakota in search of The Joker (Mark Hamill). "Uncle J" to the metahumans, The Joker is wreaking his own special brand of "hilarious" havoc on the citizens of Dakota, giving Static (Phil LaMarr) the opportunity of a lifetime - to team up with his favorite super hero! Other superstar surprises this season include Static stints from none other than hoop hall-of-famer Shaquille O'Neal (Steel, 1997) and the Backstreet Boys' A.J. McLean, on hand to lend some music-career advice to Rubberband Man. Things get a little more serious in the special episode entitled "Jimmy," which addresses the issue of gun violence in school. A month ago we brought you the great news of extras for the long-awaiting Complete 1st Season, and that Warner would continue moving forward with The Complete 2nd Season DVDs as well. Now we've got some electrifying news for you: May 23rd will see the MOD (manufacture on demand) release of the Warner Archive's Static Shock - The Complete 2nd Season! It will be a 2-disc set, priced at $24.99 SRP, and you can pre-order it right away from the studio's WBshop online store (see button link immediately below). Here's a look at the front package art of this second season (out of four seasons in all):

Static Shock - '1st Season' DVD Extras! '2nd Season' is In-the-Works! The Warner Archive releases 'The Complete 1st Season' DVDs next week
Posted by David Lambert	3/20/2017
We told you at the end of last month that the Warner Archive Collection is preparing a March 28th MOD release of Static Shock - The Complete 1st Season on DVD! That's just a week from tomorrow, and you'll be able to get this 13-episode set on 2 discs, with these special features (same as on the old Vol. 1: The New Kid release): Map of Dakota Static's Gadgets Front Page Bios Static Shock: Bad Guy Beatdown ...plus English subtitles included on the episodes. How do I know? Well, Warner already sent me a press copy! ;) But the really incredible news to share with our readers today is that the studio won't be stopping there! The Warner Archive Collection has informed us that they will be distributing Static Shock - The Complete 2nd Season as well, and soon, too! They're not ready yet with a date, or pricing, or details or package art. But in this business, fans sometimes don't want to buy a first season set, without knowing that more is going to follow. So today we're here to tell you that the folks at Warner seem committed to Static Shock DVDs. As a reminder, there were four seasons in all: 13 episodes in the first, 11 in the second, 15 in the third, and 13 episodes again in the fourth and last season. While we cannot "guarantee" you that the entire run of the show will get produced, the usual process here is that if the fans buy it, then the studio will make more. Simple, isn't it? In case you haven't pre-orders your copy of the first season yet, here's the button links and a look (again) at the package art:

Static Shock - Warner Archives Announces DVDs for 'The Complete 1st Season' The entire first season, with all 13 episodes, is coming as an MOD title
Posted by David Lambert	2/27/2017
Meet Virgil Hawkins, a mild-mannered teen in the wrong place at the wrong time when a chemical explosion rocks the streets of Dakota City - changing him from supergeek to super-hero. Based on the Milestone/DC Comics property, this animated series about the adventures of the first African-American teenage superhero follows quick-witted Virgil, who finds himself imbued with electromagnetic superpowers after being exposed to a mutagenic gas. Taking on the guise of Static, an urban hero of his own creation, he must learn to control his powers, figure out how to patrol the skies at night and still make it home in time to study for school. Virgil's greatest discovery becomes the real "charge" he gets out of helping people and making a positive difference as a super-hero in his community. The series confronts real problems and issues faced by today's kids, including peer pressure, gangs and growing up in an ethnically diverse urban neighborhood. In 2004, stores received a Warner DVD release titled, "Static Shock - Vol 1: The New Kid"...a single-disc, 6-episode package. The item is long out of print, and fans have been longing for more from the show. Putting aside a pair of crossovers with Justice League Unlimited, the Static Shock animated series ran for 4 seasons and 52 episodes...and the first season alone clocked in at 13 episodes. Now the Warner Archive has announced that on March 28th they will release Static Shock - The Complete 1st Season on DVD. Our thanks to reader Jackson Burnett for the heads-up. This new manufacture on demand title will cost $24.99 SRP, and cover art is below (you'll notice it's the same key artwork as the old "Vol. 1" release!). Amazon's CreateSpace MOD program has a listing for the title, but they aren't taking pre-orders as of this writing. On the other hand, you can pre-order it from Warner's own WBshop.com online store right now, using this button link: