Sam Liu is an American animation producer, director, storyboard artist and character designer. He is best known for directing animated superhero films at both Marvel Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation.
Sam attended the University of California, Santa Cruz for fine art then went on to Art Center College of Design as an illustration major. While at UCSC he illustrated for the first Cyberpunk RPG from R. Talsorian Games.
Liu's first job was in comic books, penciling for Image Comics. In 1996, he moved to animation, directing Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles and Godzilla: The Series for Sony Animation. He later went to Sony Computer Entertainment of America to design characters for PlayStation, then came back to animation, winning a Daytime Emmy Award for his work on The Batman series in 2006. [1] He was a sequence director for The Batman vs Dracula .
He has since worked on many animated films for Marvel Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, including All-Star Superman , Superman/Batman: Public Enemies , Hulk Vs , Planet Hulk , Thor: Son of Asgard , and co-directing with Lauren Montgomery on Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and Batman: Year One . [2] Liu was also the primary character designer for Superman/Batman: Apocalypse . In 2010, Liu moved back to television, directing Green Lantern: The Animated Series with Bruce Timm, and Beware the Batman with Glen Murakami. [3]
He then directed the animated film Justice League: Gods and Monsters , its companion series Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles written by Bruce Timm, the animated film Justice League vs. Teen Titans , [4] Justice League vs. the Fatal Five , the animated adaptation of Batman: The Killing Joke , [5] the animated films Teen Titans: The Judas Contract and Batman and Harley Quinn , the animated adaptation of Gotham by Gaslight , and the animated film Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay .
Along with Jake Castorena, Liu co-directed the first-installment animated adaptation of The Death of Superman . Liu then directed the sequel animated adaptation Reign of the Supermen and the animated film Justice League vs. the Fatal Five . He then co-directed Wonder Woman: Bloodlines with Justin Copeland which came with the DC Showcase: Death short which he solo produced and directed. He then directed the standalone film Superman: Red Son , which he also co-produced. Most recently, he directed and co-produced another standalone film, Batman: Soul of the Dragon .
The Justice League are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #28. The team was conceived by writer Gardner Fox as a revival of the Justice Society of America, a similar team from DC Comics from the 1940s which had been pulled out of print due to a decline in sales.
A superhero film is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature action, adventure, fantasy, or science fiction elements. The first film of a particular character often focuses on the hero's origin story. The first film also frequently introduces the hero's nemesis.
Bruce Walter Timm is an American artist, animator, writer, and producer. He has contributed to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995) and the subsequent DC Animated Universe (DCAU), for which Timm created most of the character designs. Timm and Paul Dini co-created the characters Harley Quinn and Terry McGinnis.
The DC Animated Universe is a name used to refer to the shared universe centered on a group of animated television series based on DC Comics and produced by Warner Bros. Animation; it began with Batman: The Animated Series in 1992 and ended with Justice League Unlimited in 2006. Some parts of the associated media franchise including animated feature films and shorts, comic books, video games and other multimedia adaptations are also included in the continuity.
Paul McClaran Dini is an American screenwriter and comic creator. He has been a producer and writer for several Warner Bros. Animation/DC Comics animated series, most notably Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995), and the subsequent DC Animated Universe. Dini and Bruce Timm co-created the characters Harley Quinn and Terry McGinnis.
The American comic book character Superman has appeared in many types of media. Since his first comic book appearance in 1938, Superman has appeared in radio, television, movies, and video games each on multiple occasions, and his name, symbol, and image have appeared on products and merchandise.
Glen Murakami is an American animator, director and producer best known for his work on Batman Beyond, Teen Titans, Teen Titans Go!, Ben 10: Alien Force and Ben 10: Ultimate Alien. Murakami co-created, produced, and developed the 2003 TV series Teen Titans.
Teen Titans: The Judas Contract is a 2017 American animated superhero film directed by Sam Liu from a screenplay by Ernie Altbacker based on The Judas Contract by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. It is the 28th film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies, the ninth film of the DC Animated Movie Universe and the sequel to Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016). The film features the voices of Christina Ricci, Taissa Farmiga, Miguel Ferrer, Stuart Allan, Brandon Soo Hoo, Jake T. Austin, Kari Wahlgren, Sean Maher, Gregg Henry, and Meg Foster. It was Ferrer's final film role before his death in January 2017 from heart failure and complications of throat cancer.
The DC Universe Animated Original Movies are a series of American direct-to-video superhero animated films based on the DC Comics characters and stories. From 2007 to 2022, films were produced primarily by Warner Bros. Animation, but will fall under DC Studios Animation. Many films are usually stand-alone projects that are either adaptations of popular works or original stories. From 2013 to 2020, the DC Animated Movie Universe was a subset of this series featuring several movies that took place in a shared universe, influenced predominantly by The New 52. They are usually made for an older audience compared to that of the DC animated universe and other projects, and also featuring DCAU alumni such as Bruce Timm, who mainly served as executive producer or as producer until Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, before returning for Justice League: Gods and Monsters.
Lauren Eve Montgomery is an American storyboard artist, director, character designer, producer and writer.
Since her debut in All Star Comics #8, Diana Prince/Wonder Woman has appeared in a number of formats besides comic books. Genres include animated television shows, direct-to-DVD animated films, video games, the 1970s live action television series, Wonder Woman, the 2014 CGI theatrical releases of, The Lego Movie and The Lego Batman Movie, and the live-action DCEU films, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Wonder Woman (2017), Justice League (2017), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), and Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021). She is also slated to appear in future DCEU films such as Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) and The Flash (2023).
DC Nation Shorts are animated shorts featuring characters from DC Comics that aired in a series on Cartoon Network on Saturdays at 10/9c.
Jay Oliva is an American storyboard artist, film producer and animated film director working at Los Angeles-based animation studio Lex+Otis.
Justice League: Gods and Monsters is a 2015 American animated superhero film and the 23rd film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies. It features an alternate universe version of the DC Comics superhero team the Justice League. It was released as a download on July 21, 2015, and released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 28.
Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles is a 2015 animated superhero web series featuring Justice League characters from DC Comics. It first aired on June 8, 2015, on Machinima, a multi-channel network, and was developed by DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation, and Blue Ribbon Content. The series serves as a companion to the animated film Justice League: Gods and Monsters. The first season consisted of three episodes and concluded on June 12, 2015.
Justice League vs. Teen Titans is a 2016 American animated superhero film directed by Sam Liu from a screenplay by Alan Burnett and Bryan Q. Miller. It is the 25th film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies and the seventh film in the DC Animated Movie Universe. The film features the voices of Jon Bernthal, Taissa Farmiga, and Jason O'Mara.
The DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films, produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment and distributed by Warner Home Video. The films are part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line, based on the comic books published by DC Comics, and feature plot elements inspired by The New 52 continuity. The continuity, established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters, was introduced in Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, which was released in 2013. Sequels to The Flashpoint Paradox, Son of Batman, and Justice League Dark co-exist with this continuity. The franchise has received positive reviews for its themes and creative direction, and has obtained high sales. As of 2020, sixteen films have been distributed. Justice League Dark: Apokolips War marks the final film of this specific line. DC Showcase short Constantine: The House of Mystery was released in May 2022 which is a narrative sequel to Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.