JLA #107

November 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Maintenance Day (Syndicate Rules Part One)

The Justice League is taking a day for general maintenance, unaware of a growing threat from another world.

Writer: Kurt Busiek
Pencils: Ron Garney
Inks: Dan Green
Colors: David Baron
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Art: Ron Garney
Publisher: DC Comics

I’m a little biased here, I’ll admit that up front. New writer Kurt Busiek is one of my favorite scribes working in comics today, and moreso, this is a title in serious need of improvement. The book hasn’t been good on a consistent basis since Mark Waid’s all-too-short tenure ended nearly 40 issues ago.

As the issue opens, the JLA is basically spending the day doing preventative maintenance. Several of them are keeping their eyes on the Cosmic Egg that contains a new universe ready to hatch. (This egg, of course, was a leftover from Busiek’s JLA/Avengers crossover, although he has to be careful never to mention any copyrighted properties of that other publisher by name.) As they do that, Martian Manhunter and The Flash do their regular sweep of various contacts around the globe, making sure no crisis demand their attention, and pay a visit to an old menace they have in containment.

Right off the bat Busiek is doing one of the things I think he, along with writers like Waid and Geoff Johns, do incredibly well. He picks up on the history of the League, tapping into old stories to create the new. Some readers may find things a bit daunting, but the particular threat that occupies our two heroes this issue (although not the main threat of this story arc) is one even I was unfamiliar with, but Busiek gives us everything we need to know to comprehend the story.

Ron Garney’s art is usually very good, but it appears somewhat unfinished here. Just as the last six issues, released biweekly, looked as though he rather raced through them, so did this first issue with his new writer. There’s nothing really bad about the artwork, but it’s not as strong as anyone who has seen his Captain America run knows he’s capable of. It’s possible he just needs time to rest and then get back onto a normal monthly schedule.

After a truly abysmal last story arc (which, admittedly, started with a strong first issue then spiraled into cliché and tedium), this issue is a breath of fresh air. Busiek has said he wants to join the small club of writers who has had long tenures writing both the Justice League and the Avengers. Hopefully this issue is just the start of great things to come.

Rating: 7/10

JLA #103

August 7, 2004

Quick Rating: Below Average
Title: Emerald Warrior (Pain of the Gods Part Three)

Green Lantern’s failure threatens to send him over the edge… again!

Writer: Chuck Austen
Pencils: Ron Garney
Colors: David Baron
Letters: Jared Fletcher
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Art: Ron Garney
Publisher: DC Comics

In case you’ve missed JLA #101-103, allow me to sum them up for you: Hero fails to save somebody. Hero overreacts as though this has never happened before. Hero’s teammates remind him that he can’t save everyone. Repeat. Same thing three times in a row, it’s just a different member of the Justice League each time.

This time it’s Green Lantern’s turn. When he hears cries for help from two different directions and can only go in one, he has to live with the consequences of what happens to the situation he had to turn away from. The problem is… it’s all been done before. Last issue. And the issue before. And hundreds of times before that. John Stewart is someone who has had to deal with the guilt of an entire planet being destroyed because he was too cocky to take his job seriously. Are we really supposed to accept he’s going to go off the deep end because he’s forced to choose who to save while being as responsible as any hero possibly could?

And he doesn’t just go off the deep end, he goes nuts, and almost causes another tragedy in the process. He’s been in the superhero game too long to behave like this. One could almost accept this storyline with a brand-new character (it would still be a cliché, but at least it would be more in-character), but not with someone who’s been fighting the good fight and dealt with as much as John.

Even Ron Garney, who is a fine artist in his own right, isn’t quite up to speed in this issue. His pencils took a bit rushed, and I’m forced to wonder how long he had to put out the six parts of this bi-weekly storyline. (Apparently, waiting an entire month for each issue would have been a disaster because we may have forgotten we’ve already read that story.)

Considering how surprisingly good the first issue of this story arc was, this has rapidly become a major disappointment, and next issue’s installment, featuring the Martian Manhunter, doesn’t give me a lot of reason to believe it will be much better.

But at least there was no burning building in this one.

Rating: 4/10

JLA #102

July 25, 2004

Quick Rating: Average
Title: Scarlet Speedster (Pain of the Gods Part Two)

When the Flash isn’t fast enough, will he be able to go back and outrace his mistakes?

Writer: Chuck Austen
Art: Ron Garney
Colors: David Baron
Letters: Pat Brosseau
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Art: Ron Garney
Publisher: DC Comics

As surprised as I was to enjoy the first chapter of Austen’s “Pain of the Gods” storyline, I was equally disappointed in this second installment. Is it because it’s bad? No. In fact, I rather liked this issue the first time I read it. When it was called JLA #101.

Let’s recap. Last issue, Superman failed to save a would-be superhero from a burning building, had a personal crisis of conscience and then, with the help of his fellow Justice Leaguers, came to a state of resolution. This issue, the Flash fails to save some children from a burning build – oh, but I don’t want to spoil it.

It seems that this will be the pattern of this storyline. The hero will suffer some sort of failure (if there are any more burning buildings I’m officially going to give up), have an overdramatic reaction to it, and then find some sort of closure. I could be wrong, I suppose. Could be next issue, with Green Lantern, will be completely different. I hope it is, in fact.

This issue didn’t work as well as the last either. Superman may not be used to watching hero wannabes die on their first mission, but Flash was been doing this way too long to be this broken up by not saving people, even children. Would he take it hard? Sure. But would he go off the deep end like he does in this issue? He’s been doing it too long.

Ron Garney fortunately, continues to impress on the artwork. He draws a really great Flash, with nice speed effects. David Baron does a really good job with the fire scene, as well. I’m glad to know that Garney will be staying on when Kurt Busiek takes over as the regular writer in a few months.

It could be worse, I’ll admit, but this issue’s big sin isn’t poor quality, it’s repetition. Which is a pretty big problem in its own right.

Rating: 5/10

JLA #101

July 13, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Man of Steel (Pain of the Gods Part One)

A new hero arrives on the scene… but are good intentions enough?

Writer: Chuck Austen
Art: Ron Garney
Colors: David Baron
Letters: Bat Brosseau
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Art: Ron Garney & David Baron
Publisher: DC Comics

No, your eyes do not deceive you, I’ve actually given this book a good rating, because frankly, it actually deserves it. Chuck Austen is the next writer to tackle the “rotating creative team challenge” of JLA with his “Pain of the Gods” story arc, six issues, each focusing on a different member of the Justice League, and Superman is up first.

Responding to a routine call at a burning building, Superman zips into the inferno to find a new superhero trying to help. But sometimes, superpowers and a good heart simply aren’t enough.

This Superman is bold and compassionate, not displaying any of the bravado or cockiness that has characterized Austen’s Action Comics run this far. This is Superman, simply put, the way he should be written. If I didn’t know better I’d never believe the two titles were done by the same writer. Except for an overly-dramatic temper tantrum at the end, this book handles big blue very well. If Austen wrote Superman this way in Action Comics, I would be far more charitable towards the title. He even ends with a nice little hint of where the story is going, which is actually a pretty good idea.

Ron Garney is at the top of his game this issue. I’ve been a fan of his since his Captain America days, and while he’s had his ups and downs since then, this is definitely an up. He nails Superman, which isn’t easy to do since so much of the issue takes place at night, in the dark. Superman is an inherently bright character, and it takes a skilled hand to make him look right while he’s in the shadows. Garney does it.

It seems a little superfluous to do a series of spotlight stories in the team book of a bunch of characters who have their own solo titles already, but for a start, this wasn’t bad. I may go so far as to say it’s the best Chuck Austen comic I’ve ever read. It’s certainly a step up from the mess of Joe Kelly’s last year on the title or the abysmal Peppy the Alien arc, although it hasn’t quite matched the very good run that other former X-Men creative team did for six issues. (Some people didn’t like the Claremont/Byrne run. I did.)

But overall, it was a solid issue. Trust me, friends, no one is more surprised than I am that I’m going to give this issue of JLA a thumbs up.

Rating: 7/10

Superman: Our Worlds at War-The Complete Collection TPB

April 17, 2011

Title: Our Worlds at War

Writers: Jeph Loeb, Joe Casey, Mark Schultz, Joe Kelly, Peter David, Phil Jimenez, Todd DeZago
Pencils: Phil Jimenez, Mike Wieringo, Doug Mahnke, Ed McGuinness, Pascual Ferry, Carlo Barberi, Kano, Todd Nauck, Mark Buckingham, Duncan Rouleau, Yvel Guichet, Bill Sienkiewicz, Ron Garney, Leonard Kirk
Inks: Marlo Alquiza, Andy Lanning, Jose Marzan Jr., Cam Smith, Keith Champagne, Tom Nguyen, Juan Vlasco, Wayne Faucher, Walden Wong, Duncan Rouleau, Mark Morales, Lary Stucker, Bill Sienkiewicz, Dexter Vines, Robin Riggs
Colorist: Wildstorm FX, Patricia Mulvihill, Jason Wright, Zylonol Studios, Tanya Horie, Richard Horie, Tom McCraw, Rob Schwager, Gene D’Angelo
Letterer: Richard Starkings, Comicraft, Ken Lopez, Janice Chiang, Bill Oakley
Cover: Ed McGuinness
Editors: Eddie Berganza, Mike McAvennie, Bob Joy       
Publisher: DC Comics

Comic book crossovers have been a staple of the form since the 1980s, and there have been more misses than hits. Sometimes, though, time passes and you forget how good a particular storyline was. That’s the case for me with the 2001 crossover Our Worlds at War.

In this storyline Imperiex, an alien Superman had fought some months before, was making Earth the target of his latest assault. It turns out Superman hadn’t fought the real Imperiex, but rather a “probe” sent out by a much more powerful biend, who had the intention of destroying Earth in part of an ongoing quest to wipe out… well… the universe. Superman, the Justice League, and pretty much every other hero on the planet assembled to go to war against the forces of Imperiex, and to do so they had to make some strange allies… Lex Luthor, then-President of the United States, and the dark god himself, Darkseid.

Although this book is labeled The Complete Collection, that isn’t strictly true. There are several crossover chapters and specials that were released in 2001 that aren’t part of this already-hefty omnibus. This book does collect all of the pieces vital to the main story, including the chapters of the assorted Superman titles, Wonder Woman’s book, those starring the members of Young Justice, and a few more for good measure. Not every chapter is that great, but a lot of them are. The story packs a surprising emotional punch, as we see Superman and his allies run ragged fighting a foe more powerful than they’ve ever fought before. Granted, that’s the tagline for virtually every crossover that’s published, but this time we really feel the stress, the strain they have to go under. We see heroes brought to the breaking point and several significant, meaningful deaths. (Unfortunately, virtually all of those deaths have been reversed in the decade since this story first saw publication, but it’s unfair to hold that against this volume, I think.)

The book does lean heavily on characters that were important to the Superman mythos at the time, such as Strange Visitor, who more recent readers won’t recognize at all. The changes that Steel goes through, as well, make for a strange little time capsule, and Supergirl is virtually unrecognizable from the current version. But the story as a whole is still engaging, exciting, and powerful. I’m really glad I picked up this monster omnibus and read this story again.

Rating: 8/10

For the record, this book collects the following individual issues: Action Comics #780-782, Adventures of Superman #593-595, Impulse #77, JLA: Our Worlds at War #1, Superboy (1994 Series) #91, Supergirl (1996 Series) #59, Superman (1987 Series) #171-173, Superman: The Man of Steel #115-117, Wonder Woman (1987 Series) #172-173, World’s Finest: Our Worlds at War #1, and Young Justice (1998 Series) #36.

JLA #100

June 29, 2004

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Elitism

The Elite is back… and the world is theirs!

Writer: Joe Kelly
Pencils: Doug Mahnke
Inks: Tom Nguyen
Colors: David Baron
Letters: Ken Lopez
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Art: Doug Mahnke, Tom Nguyen & David Baron
Publisher: DC Comics

Okay, credit where credit is due – I was fully prepared for Joe Kelly’s origin story of the new “Justice League Elite” to go in one direction that I was prepared to thoroughly dislike, and he didn’t. He actually came up with a fairly reasonable origin story for the new team, an explanation of how it could get Justice League sanctioning and a decent launching point for the miniseries.

The Elite, a team of bloodthirsty anti-heroes, is re-formed by Vera Black (sister of their deceased former leader), with an ultimatum – the governments of the world must turn power over to them, because clearly, humans aren’t fit to govern themselves. This, naturally, sends the Justice League to the battlefield for a brutal fight sequence that turns out to be much more than it seems.

Kelly seems to want this new Justice League Elite to be a conspiracy theory superhero story, but the conspiracy he sets up in this issue is really trite and the conclusion of it is naïve at best, unrealistic at worst, and hard to swallow in any case.

Doug Manhke’s artwork is fine, and well-suited to the sort of story Kelly is telling here. He does good action, and the literally gargantuan battle scene that climaxes the issue looks extremely well-done… it’s the story itself that falls flat.

In truth, I’m probably being more charitable to this issue than I should be, but that’s because I expected it to be much worse than it actually was. It’s still not a great JLA story, not one that justifies placement in the 100th issue of this title. All these years later, I can’t help but look back at the first issue of Grant Morrison’s JLA where he brought the title back to its roots… brought in the “Magnificent Seven…” gave us good old-fashioned superhero action and showed why these characters are worthy of being known as the greatest superheroes not just in this world, but in any world.

Then I see this issue, which postulates that the JLA is out of date and old fashioned and not good enough, and it makes me think two things:

1. This is the same guy who wrote the brilliant “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way?” in Action Comics #775?

2. (Sigh.) How the mighty (no, that’s the Avengers) – how the magnificent have fallen.

Rating: 6/10

JLA #93

February 23, 2004

Quick Rating: Poor
Title: Soul Survivor (Extinction Part Three)

Peppy wants to destroy the world, so let’s talk to him!

Writer: Dennis O’Neil
Art: Tan Eng Huat
Colors: David Baron
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Art: Doug Mahnke & Tom Ngyuen
Publisher: DC Comics

Remember when Dennis O’Neil wrote poignant comics? Remember when his stories were smart and thought-provoking? If you want to continue treasuring those days, avoid this issue.

Over the last two issue the Justice League met an alien called Peppy (I’m not making this up) who arrived to rescue an endangered silver-masked monkey and, failing that, destroy the world. The Justice League, of course, is out to stop him, but it isn’t easy to find a shapeshifter among six billion people.

Aside from the clichéd plot, this story is dragged down with poor pacing. Single panels with three-word lines, lines stretched out over two panels or scenes over and over again… it’s like reading a comic book written by William Shatner.

As if that weren’t bad enough, just when the story seems like it’s gotten as trite as possible O’Neil gets on his soapbox and starts to preach, preach, preach! People are terrible! Everything is bad in the world! Only this poor lonely alien who wants to kill all of humanity can recognize that! Even if the Justice League were simplistic enough to accept this creed, forgiveness comes way too quickly and the ending comes way too easily.

The artwork is no great shakes either – every panel is sketchy and every character is ugly. Plastic Man is not only superfluous in this issue, he’s annoying too, and for a character that great, that’s seriously bad writing and art.

There were a couple of good points in this issue, which gives it the point and a half it gets. First, O’Neil does do very good characterization of Superman (at least, when he’s not at his pulpit). He comes across as strong, confident, decisive and a real leader. Also, Eng does a clever effect on The Flash for his super-speed scenes – almost like a television screen blanking out.

But those two bits aren’t enough to save an issue that is seriously played out. Next month the much-ballyhooed story arc by Chris Claremont and John Byrne begins, and even if you’re the sort of reader who thinks those two legends of the form are past their prime, even at they’re worst they’re a lot better than what we got this month.

Rating: 3/10

JLA #92

January 27, 2004

Quick Rating: Average
Title: The Lesson (Extinction Part Two)

When the alien Peppy finds his mission on Earth had failed before he arrived, will the Justice League be able to show him Earth is worth saving?

Writer: Dennis O’Neil
Art: Tan Eng Huat
Colors: David Baron
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Art: Doug Mahnke & Tom Ngyuen
Publisher: DC Comics

Last issue, an alien called Peppy came to Earth to find a silver-masked monkey, only to arrive just in time to see the last member of that species die. This issue, the Justice League learns what made that monkey so important. Meanwhile, fandom let out a collective yawn.

It’s sad to say this about a writer with such a varied and impressive career as Dennis O’Neil, but this arc is really just sort of humdrum. Been there. Done that. An alien comes to Earth to protect and endangered species and make all us humans feel bad about ourselves. It’s just not anything new, and after a seriously lackluster JLA title for the last year or two, that’s what this book needs.

That’s not to say that there’s really anything wrong with this book — for the most part it’s okay, and in fact, this story would be much more entertaining if it were printed as a silver age pastiche rather than an in-continuity story arc. He does good characterization on Superman, on Batman (a character he edited for many years) and his characterization on Plastic Man is almost too good (yes, he’s a wacky character, but in this title he doesn’t have to have a sight gag and a one liner in every panel he appears in).

The alien character really isn’t that interesting either. On top of a really bad name (Peppy?), if he’s telling the truth about his mission, that flatly contradicts one of the most important parts of Green Lantern continuity of the 80s — one would think Jon Stewart, who was present for those events, would make mention of it.

Huat’s artwork just isn’t working for me, and it may be because he’s either inking it himself or because it’s being colored straight from the pencils, I can’t tell which. In either case, he needs a good inker to work with. His storytelling and formatting is fine, but things look sketchy and unfinished. Sometimes his faces remind me of Joe Staton and sometimes his layout reminds me of Leinil Yu, and in both cases he comes up wanting compared to those great artists.

As I said, JLA has been a lackluster title for a long time, way too long, and this arc really isn’t changing that (although, to its credit, it does not suffer from a lot of the problems that marked the run of the previous creative team). With the new rotating creative team format, it is to be expected that some arcs will be better than others. Editor Mike Carlin should have started that format with a home run story arc, though, and at best, he’s given us a ground-rule double.

Rating: 5/10

Avengers/JLA #4

April 4, 2004

Review by: Blake M. Petit & Mike D’Alfonso
Quick Rating: Excellent/Excellent
Title: The Brave and the Bold

With Krona amassing enough power to destroy two worlds, the Avengers and the Justice League face off with a legion of villains to save all creation.

Writer: Kurt Busiek
Art: George Perez
Colors: Tom Smith
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Tom Brevoort, Dan Raspler & Mike Carlin
Cover Art: George Perez
Publisher: Marvel Comics & DC Comics

The Avengers and the Justice League have one chance to take down the mad Guardian Krona. Through sifting timestreams and an army of foes, the heroes never yield. Reviewers Blake Petit and Mike D’Alfonso give you their impressions of the final chapter of this crossover event.

MIKE: Well ladies and gents, we have the grand finale of the DC/Marvel intercompany crossover, starring the premiere teams of both universes respectively and I think that after a few months delay, it was well worth the wait.

BLAKE: More than worth it, I’d say. Busiek and Perez have woven an incredible story that really lives up to the 20 years it took to get on the page.

MIKE: I have to hand it to Kurt Busiek, he certainly did his homework when it came to researching the history of the principal cast in this story. When I read issue number three a few months back, he touched base on the pivotal moments of all the main characters. I was almost afraid that Busiek would never be able to top it. It would seem my fears have disappeared, when the book further delves into the heart of the conflict both between the two teams and the crisis that is presented before them.

BLAKE: In fact, if there’s any strike against this issue, it’s that it may be TOO continuity heavy. With timeline shifts hitting the heroes, changing out players and turning heroes into different incarnations of themselves, people without an in-depth knowledge of the teams may be at a loss Still, since these crossovers are done mainly for the die-hard fans, that shouldn’t be too big an obstacle.

MIKE: I would have to agree with you on that, but I think that it is somewhat insignificant in the grand scheme of things. For example: Captain America and Superman are seen as revered iconic figures in both their universes respectively. The only difference is that Captain America has years of experience both as a hero and a soldier. He has guided men of humanistic and godlike qualities alike, without very much hesitation.

BLAKE: Oh, of course. In fact, I thought one of the best things about this issue is how Busiek didn’t shy away from crowning certain heroes the best in certain things. Superman immediately defers to Captain America as the leader, Cap recognizes Superman as being the most powerful. A lot of crossovers dance around that sort of thing for fear of alienating some fans, but Busiek took it head on and settled the debates.

MIKE: I really don’t know if anybody has noticed this but, the current title holders of the Green Lantern and Flash legacies did not appear for most of this crossover. I really think that the inclusion of Barry Allen (Flash II) and Hal Jordan (Green Lantern II) was only because they were supposed to be in the original crossover that was supposed to be released over 20 years ago.

BLAKE: Well, no, Kyle Rayner and Wally West were featured in the first two issues. I think the reason Busiek brought in Hal and Barry once the timelines started to fall apart was because — regardless of your opinions of the current GL and Flashes, Hal and Barry in their primes were easily the most heroic.

MIKE: Well that’s true. I have to admit that I did like the shared moments between all the heroes before the final battle actually begun. This was around the time they realized that separate tragedies have befallen each of them in their personal lives. Out of all the people who had not taken to the sudden impact, Vision seemed to emote a lot of turmoil. Considering that he is an android, it is very ironic that anything that could be viewed as a cold calculating machine would seem more human than his contemporaries (Well he does have the brain engrams of Wonder Man).

BLAKE: Not to mention the impact on Hal and Barry, both of whom knew full well that in saving the universe they were condeming themselves to death and, in Hal’s case, madness. I thought Busiek handled the scenes with those two especially well.

MIKE: In the respect of Barry Allen, there were some scenes in this book that is very reminicent of his final fate in the Crisis maxi series.

BLAKE: Which, of course, George Perez also got to draw, giving the book some poetic symmetry.

MIKE: I really think that George Perez is the undisputed king when it comes to cramming as many characters in a single book as possible. If I’m not mistaken, just about every person that has been affiliated with both teams make an appearance in this book.

BLAKE: Well, he did get literally every character in the team’s histories onto the cover of issue #3 — no one else could do that. I think that may have been one of the reasons they went with the shifting timelines as well — to make sure they could represent as many characters as possible. And Perez did them all beautifully, even the dreaded Electric Blue Superman.

MIKE: Perez could have also taken the easy way out by presenting just the prominant members of each team and leave the obscure characters out of it all together. Fans of Perez know that he would go 120% to please the masses. With any character both popular and obscure, Perez has captured the visual aspect of each character from various timepoints, with very sharp accuracy. I really thought it was a kick to see the Great Lakes Avengers and Animal Man.

BLAKE: And here I thought I was the only one who remembered the Great Lakes Avengers.

One can’t discount the contributions of Tom Smith on colors either. Perez’s artwork is beautiful, but without great colors to pull the images off the page, it wouldn’t have mattered. A lesser colorist would have muddied this book up. Smith stepped up and made it beautiful.

MIKE: These fine collaborators, as well as the technology to enhance the richness of the art clearly defines the magnitude of what is to be expected of a mini series of this caliber. Anything less would have been a sheer blow to both companies if it went south. I had the utmost confidence that all would go well and I think it did.

BLAKE: This is a book that has suffered from 20 years of hype. I know there are people who were disappointed in it — I honestly believe that in most of those cases it was because they had built it up in their minds to be something it could never possibly have lived up to. People who wanted a fun story featuring lots of heroes, lots of action and great characterization and artwork couldn’t be disappointed.

MIKE: I think that you could use movies as an analogy in this instance. If the advertising over-emphasizes the product that a movie studio is trying to sell, it could be a hit or miss no matter what. I think that if it was announced in another fashion rather than plastering it throughout both publishers and comic guides alike, we would here a different tune.

BLAKE: I think that’s a problem with comics in general these days, actually, but that’s another topic entirely.

MIKE: Well all in all, I think that people want a general consensus of how I felt about this issue as well as the overall mini. I would honestly say that it has filled my expectations as both a fan, and an avid reader of various forms of sequential literature. I admit that there were times where I thought that Busiek and Perez would muck up the characterization and visuals of the numerous characters that appeared. However I think that these two individuals pulled together a story that is valid and not a throw away story just to rake in some extra dollars.

BLAKE: I couldn’t agree more. For a book so long in the making, this miniseries delivered for me, and I’ll put it on my shelf right next to the Crisis itself.

Blake’s Rating: 10/10

Mike’s Rating: 10/10

JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice

July 30, 2005

JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice (DC Comics)
by David Goyer, Geoff Johns & Carlos Pacheco

For superhero neophytes, here it is in a nutshell — the JSA were the first superhero team ever. These days it is comprised of elder statesmen like the original Flash, Green Lantern and Wildcat guiding younger second-generation heroes like the new Star-Spangled Kid and Mr. Terrific. The JLA made up of the current superhero top dogs, featuring Superman, Batman, the current Flash and GL and the like. In this tale the two teams gather for what they hope will become a Thanksgiving tradition, only to have their celebration thrown into turmoil when members of the two teams are possessed by the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man. (You’ve heard of `em, right? Sloth, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Pride, Envy and Greed?) The possessed members dispatch their teammates and go on a rampage, leaving the others to try to free themselves, save their friends and find out who’s behind this madness.

While a knowledge of DC Comics continuity helps, it is by no means a necessity to read this book. Goyer and Johns have written brilliant interpretations of the JSA for years now, and in this book they prove they can handle the JLA as well. Not only that, they can balance the two teams, giving each hero his or her moment in the sun, and utilize and develop not one, but three villains (not counting the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man) in a story worthy of the best these teams have to offer.

The artwork by Carlos Pacheco is brilliant. Superman looks strong, Captain Marvel looks innocent, every hero and heroine is perfect, and the double-page spread near the climax of the reunited heroes storming into battle is something I’d frame and hang on any wall.

This book is the best these heroes have been treated in years. Here’s hoping Goyer, Johns and Pacheco grace us with another one soon.

Rating: 9/10