JLA/Avengers #1

September 15, 2003

Dual Review by Mike D’Alphonso & Blake M. Petit
Quick Rating: Excellent, Excellent
Story Title: Book One: A Journey Into Mystery

The event of the century is finally here!

Written by: Kurt Busiek
Art by: George Perez
Colored by: Tom Smith
Lettered by: Comicraft
Editors: Tom Brevoort, Dan Raspler, and Mike Carlin
Publisher: Marvel & DC Comics

The two big comic publishers (Marvel and DC Comics) collaborate to bring us a story of two premiere super hero teams (The Avengers and the JLA). Both the DC and the Marvel universe face a threat that would put both of their worlds in peril. Will both of these teams be able to cooperate with each other to combat this menace, or will there be some misunderstanding that will lead to a battle amongst each other? This is what Mike and Blake had to say about the book.

Mike: Well this is a book that is literally 20 years in the making, and I must say that it was well worth the wait.

Blake: I totally agree. I’m sure there will be some folks complaining about it, but that’ll be because they don’t appreciate it as a first chapter and expected to have their brains melting out of their ears in delight by page 15.

Mike: George Perez still has the magic touch when it comes to integrating literally 100 people in a two-page spread. At first I thought that his art was going to overshadow Kurt Busiek’s storytelling, but they seem to complement each other quite well.

Blake: Perez still can’t be topped for multi-character epics, but what really impressed me about the book was the way Busiek approached the combination of the universes.

Rather than attempting to blend them, he’s taken the inherent differences in the Marvel and DC worlds and used them as his major source of conflict. It’s a great approach.

Mike: I would have to agree on all accounts. It would’ve made for bad storytelling if they were able to seamlessly integrate themselves into each other universes. Conflict is always key to the success of any story.

Blake: Way too often in these crossovers, it seems that the writers try to gloss over things that don’t quite click. Busiek went completely the opposite way — he uses the social and even scientific differences as the best toys in the playground.

Mike: The best example of how different each universe is was when the Flash crossed over into the Marvel Universe. In the DC Universe, heroes with extraordinary powers are seamlessly integrated into the world populace without any hesitation. In the Marvel Universe however the opposite occurs. As soon as a mutant walks down a suburban neighborhood, that very same person is a victim of a mob scene.

Blake: Even though I read several titles from both universes each week, I must say, I’ve never really stopped to consider the sharp contrast between them until now.

Although you’ve got to wonder if the Avengers would feel the same way if they’d wound up in Gotham City instead of Metropolis.

Mike: Gotham City is the closest equivalent to New York City in the DC Universe. Whereas if you put them in Metropolis, their reaction to what they had seen was quite natural. In the eyes of the Avengers, the superhero community is worshipped like gods.

They are looked upon as dictators of their earth.

Blake: Which of course, doesn’t sit well with Captain America any more than things like the Genoshan genocide sit with Superman. All of a sudden, we’ve got a legitimate reason for the requisite hero-versus-hero battle that doesn’t seem contrived and doesn’t fall back on mind control.

Mike: If you look closely, their natural disgust of their universes are greatly intensified by outside forces that brought these two teams together. Even the respective teammates of Superman and Captain America acknowledge this behavior.

Blake: Oh, absolutely. There’s a much grander scheme

In fact, that may be the only strike the book has against it — this is NOT a comic book for the new reader. Every page is dripping with continuity. Heck, even I didn’t recognize some of the “objects of power” until the heroes quite obligingly did a role call for us.

All in all, this book feels like what DC Vs. Marvel SHOULD have been — a mixing of the two most popular universes in comics with a focus on the biggest, brightest heroes both worlds have to offer.

Mike: In the past twenty years or so, we’ve seen inter-company crossovers by the two publishers, and they’ve mostly met with luke warm results. I think with this mini series, we’ll see more successful crossovers in other companies. I’m eagerly awaiting number two when it comes out next month.

Blake: Absolutely. For once, a crossover actually feels “special” again, and I for one think it’s about time.

Mike’s Rating: 10/10

Blake’s Rating: 10/10