Avatar: The Last Airbender Tops List of TV's Best Toons

When it comes to animated fare, there are many choices. Not enough if you ask me, but then again I'm practically a cartoon character myself. As such, I feel obligated to make this list, a compilation of toons deemed worthy...and not so much. Hopefully this introduces you to the show of your dreams.

The Best

Avatar: The Last Airbender

No longer the best kept secret on television, and now in it's third season, "Fire", Avatar: The Last Airbender continues to impress critics and seasoned connoisseurs alike. Take a trip over to the Nicktoons section of Toonzone.net's forums and you're likely to be blown away by the level of discussion regarding this show. The fans over at TV.com are no slouches either. Avatar = serious business. The plot, seemingly your typical kids save the world theme, avoids comparison the hard way: by blowing anything remotely similar out of the water with top-notch writing, multi-layered characters (particularly the ever-brooding Prince Zuko), action, humor, and artwork that is at times breathtaking. "The Puppetmaster", an episode of this season that is garnering rave reviews, is an excellent example of this. This fan can only the hope the gravy train runs all the way to the end of the line. (Nicktoons)

The Rest

2. Justice League Unlimited. Anyone that likes comics and superheroes can enjoy the adventures of the Justice League. The stories are pretty mature, often moving, sometimes even socially aware. The action is great, and best of all you get to see many DC heroes in action that don't get much mainstream airtime, like Green Arrow and Captain Marvel, the world's strongest mortal. It's a refreshing change from just Superman or just Batman, even though sometimes I miss seeing Bats take on groups of thugs at once. Now, he's more of an investigator or analyst, in lieu of high-powered villians that could lay waste to him in seconds. As a result of the higher stakes, every episode seems more epic than a thirty-minute show should allow, but somehow it always works. You can still catch episodes on Boomerang Network at 11:00 EST.