'Justice League' Score A Superhero Effort

His latest work can be found in the new direct-to-DVD feature "Justice League: The New Frontier," as well as the soundtrack for that film that's now available through Warner Bros. and La-La-Land Records.

"It seems that it's been getting good response, and that's always rewarding," Manthei told SyFy Portal's Michael Hinman during his appearance last week on SyFy Radio. "The goal when you're writing film music is that it works with the picture."

Manthei had his work cut out for him when it came to "The New Frontier" because the DC superheroes like Superman, Flash and The Green Lantern were headed back to the 1950s and 1960s, a time period that has definitely not been explored too much in modern superhero presentations. At the same time, it allowed Manthei to explore a level of music that had yet to be discovered, utilizing many elements of the time period while ensuring the sounds were definitely part of a superhero outing.

"The feature itself spans many years, and I felt very fortunate ... to come up with something more sort of creatively, using musical motifs and structures from the past to come to a new way of utilizing superheroes and coming up with a new voice that would fit the film.

"I felt a sigh of relief. It wasn't like here I had to come up with the 15th Superman theme, which is a very daunting task. So many people have already done it, not to mention the great master John Williams."

Instead, Manthei was able to discover some of the more popular instruments during that time period like flutes, vibraphones, and lower brass elements.

Because of some delays in getting the final reels of the film, Manthei was able to spend a little more time on earlier parts of "The New Frontier," which was especially good since he was being asked to continuously ramp up the music as the film progressed as the climax to the storyline rapidly approached.

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