The Sensational Cat-Man

As an infant, David Merryweather was the sole survivor of an accident in the jungle, and he was taken in and raised by a tiger. When he grew and returned home to America, he became a detective by day, and superhero by night. In this pilot episode, "A Diamond in the Scruff," socialite Ellie Mae Williams hires him to track down her stolen diamond.

This is part of Austin McConnell's "Superzeroes" universe, which features reboots of forgotten comic book characters that have lapsed into public domain. And I gotta say, the Superzeroes are way more entertaining than the assembly-line crap that's being churned out of Hollywood these days. No agendas or overly convoluted plots, just old-fashioned entertainment.

Cat-Man's story evokes 1940s detective/superhero comics and radio dramas. It's undeniably cheesy, but it's played completely straight. Visually, it's an homage to Filmation's 1960s/70s superhero cartoons, with limited animation -- and I'm not knocking that, because it's aesthetically very pleasing. Animator Ian Wilkins went so far as intentionally include mistakes and recycle a few shots to mimic the shows of the era. Keep an eye on Wilkins, this guy's got genuine talent.

Nobody's reinventing the wheel here, but that's kind of the point. If you're into old-school detective/superhero stories, you'll probably find this as delightful as I did. Here's hoping they make some more episodes.