JLA #91

December 26, 2003

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: The Coming (Extinction Part One)

An alien creature comes to the JLA Watchtower to find something unique to planet Earth.

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

With this issue, JLA begins its new status quo as a book with rotating creative teams, and the first of these teams includes one of the revolutionary writers of the 70s taking the Justice League and telling what he’s most famous for – a “relevant” story. An alien spacecraft comes into Earth orbit, accompanied by a meteor shower that does damage to the Watchtower and sends Plastic Man into a panic until help can arrive. (He gets the best line in the issue here, calling for help from “One of you super-guys who can do more than stretch…”)

Predictably, the alien seems benign when actually recovered, and is only interested in studying a species of mammal indigenous to Earth, but near extinction. Always helpful, the JLA agrees to help the alien find the species he seeks… but will they arrive in time?

For a writer as revolutionary as O’Neil once was, this is just an “okay” issue. Granted, it’s a step up from the severely lackluster JLA we’ve been treated to for the past year or so, but it’s not really anything special. O’Neill has a pretty good handle on most of the characters, but some of Green Lantern’s dialogue seems too flippant – almost as though he wrote it as Kyle Rayner but the penciler drew him in as Jon Stewart – and the team as a whole seems a tad naive. Okay, granted, two of their members are aliens, but don’t you think they would have learned to be a bit more skeptical by this point?

Tan Eng Huat’s artwork, like the writing, is okay. His backgrounds are solid, and he does some imaginative stuff with Plastic Man, but most of the other characters seem sketchy and unfinished. I can’t tell by looking if this book was inked or colored straight from the pencils, but either way, a good inker could have greatly improved the artwork.

This is a decent start for the next chapter of the Justice League, but it’s not spectacular, and that’s what this title needs right now. Hopefully, for the rest of this arc, O’Neil will deliver.

Rating: 6/10

JLA/Avengers #3

November 30, 2003

Blake M. Petit & Mike D’Alfonso
Quick Rating: Very Good; Great
Title: Strange Adventures

The Justice League and the Avengers face a shared history that never happened, and must sacrifice it to save both worlds.

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

The Avengers and the Justice League find themselves lost in a history they share, a trap laid by the mad Guardian Krona. The only way to save both universes may cost them the worlds they share. Reviewers Blake Petit and Mike D’Alfonso give you their impressions of the penultimate chapter of the crossover years in the making.

MIKE: Well the big theme of this issue is confusion. In the aftermath of last issues events, both the DC and Marvel Universe have merged into a singular entity, but this brings about a great catastrophe that stands to destroy this unified universe.

BLAKE I don’t think that’s quite what what happened, actually. The universes didn’t merge, the timelines did, making Marvel and the DCU take the place of Earth-1 and Earth-2 of the Pre-Crisis DC Universe.

MIKE: This is looked upon as a grand experiments of Krona, for this is the way he can study the effects of creating the “Big Bang” if he were to manufacture a universe in his own way by destroying both the Marvel and DC Universe.

BLAKE: I love how Busiek is playing up existing continuity to create this crossover. This is exactly the sort of scheme Krona has employed since his creation — the difference, of course, is that he now imperils two universes instead of just his own.

MIKE: I agree. I think that Busiek had set it up in such a way that even if the two Universes didn’t co-exist, there is some backstory that make it seem as though the two teams had a history together. With the inconsistencies felt between Captain America and Superman, things start to unravel that may endanger both Universes anyways.

BLAKE: Busiek, of course, also finally explains the somewhat erratic behavor Cap and Superman have displayed in the first three parts of this title.

I really liked this issue because it had the feel of the classic, Pre-Crisis Justice League/Justice Society team-ups. People who aren’t as familiar with those as I am may have trouble getting the homage, however.

MIKE: This issue also brings back two original JLA members Barry Allan and Hal Jordan (Flash II and Green Lantern II) back from the dead, which made for another interesting twist.

Yes, it makes you wonder exactly how the presence of the Avengers in this timeline kept them alive.

Most of the issue takes place over several bounces in time, showing the teams interacting at several points in their history, giving Perez a chance to draw lots of old costumes and several members who are long dead.

MIKE: Since we’re on the topic of Perez, I would have to say my favorite part of the book was when both the JLA and the Avengers had discovered that everything that they thought had transpired in their lives were all false. This revelation ironically was made possible by the Grandmaster.

BLAKE: Ah, you mean the sequence where the heroes are surrounded in, for lack of a better term, a “time storm?” This was a very good bit — although this was one of the few spots that wasn’t 100 percent Perez. There were lots of panels from classic Avengers and JLA comics (as well as some less-than-classic periods many readers would rather forget).

MIKE: Nonetheless, this moment really captured the horror most or all of them felt when they realized that some had either sacrificed themselves for the greater good or have lost loved ones to a terrible tragedy. It especially hit The Flash, Green Lantern, and Scarlet Witch the hardest.

BLAKE: These, of course, were the characters who have suffered the most turmoil with the least recovery, so it was a natural characterization for them.

The only downside to this issue is that it doesn’t advance the narrative much. It’s a lot of fun to play with the new shared timeline, but with the exception of a new resolve, the heroes don’t move forward much in this issue. That resolve, however, has pretty bad implications for the people on the receiving end of the thunder these two teams are about to call down.

MIKE: The aftermath of this event may bring dire implications to the situation rather than resolve it. Though on a predictable premise we know that everything will be resolved in the end, I’m anxious to see what will come next.

BLAKE: Absolutely. This issue was great to bring everything together, resolve all the overriding questions, and point the heroes towards a slam-bang finish.

MIKE: One great aspect of George Perez’s art is that he brings such a dedication to these characters in both the costume and visual traits that make them easily recognizable. The action sequences that he has choreographed in this series is the best work I’ve seen from him in both the Crisis maxi series and New Teen Titans.

BLAKE: And nobody draws a lot of characters like Perez. Just look at the cover (I urge all the readers to click on the cover to see a full version, no thumbnail will do it justice) — there are characters as obscure as Silverclaw, Whizzer, the Wonder Twins, Bloodwynd, and some so obscure even I don’t recognize them!

And that’s just the cover. The interior is even better.

MIKE: The one pardon my expression “chilling”, aspect of the tale was when the book focused on the dilapidated city of Metropolis when a rag-tag group of Avengers and JLA members are on the lookout for some DC villains. It really shows the magnitude of damage that these villains can inflict on a city street if they were to truly work as a cohesive coalition. I really think that this is also another objective brought together in this book.

BLAKE: It does go to show the implications of having characters this powerful exist in your world. Of course, Perez depicts this snow-covered scene perfectly, and the muted colors Tom Smith uses makes it even better.

MIKE: Which goes to show the readers why Perez held on to this particular colorist for a number of years. My favorite part of Tom Smith’s work would have to be the dimensional realm that the heroes journey through with the Phantom Stranger in search of the Grandmaster. Smith definitely shows in his work that when these heroes enter this realm, it defies the logic of the known universe.

BLAKE: It’s always interesting to see the “negative” versions of superhero costumes, and this book does it much better than the same trick in Earth X or any of its sequels. Plus, kudos to Busiek for fitting the Phantom Stranger in. He’s a great character who’s never gotten enough use.

Overall, this was a good issue, although I didn’t like it quite as much as the last two just because I thought it felt a bit padded. I’m looking forward to a great finish.

MIKE: Though I liked the concept of these two characters sharing a “cohesive” universe together as well a shared history, there were some aspects of the written aspect of the book that I felt was a bit rushed. This brought about a certain dissatisfaction to me as a reader where I expected just a little more from the story.

However, George Perez has really met my full expectations of this book on a visual basis. He has brought together a plethora of images together both with the action sequences and the characters that inhabit the book. Tom Smith has also made Perez’s work an even greater delight with the scenes depicted in the Metropolis segment as well as the Phantom Stranger segment. I really can’t wait for the final issue.

Blake’s Rating: 8/10

Mike’s Rating: 9/10

JLA #90

November 23, 2003

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Perchance…

Wonder Woman accepts a Martian dream-treatment to explore the possibilities of her feelings for Batman.

Writer: Joe Kelly
Pencils: Chriscross
Inks: Tom Nguyen
Colors: Chris Sotomayor
Letters: Nick Napolitano
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Art: Doug Mahnke, Tom Nguyen & David Baron
Publisher: DC Comics

This issue finally comes back and addresses the ill-conceived Batman/Wonder Woman romance that’s been hovering around this title since the “Obsidian Age” storyline. With the help of the Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman immerses herself in the Transconsciousness Articulator, a Martian invention that allows her to explore multiple dream-worlds where she and Batman act upon the kiss they shared to help her determine whether to pursue the relationship. (Incidentally, for someone who was teleported to Earth from his home planet accidentally, J’onn J’onzz seems to have an awful lot of Martian technology lying around doesn’t he?)

The dream sequences are probably the strongest point of this issue – it’s interesting to see an eternally-young Wonder Woman at the side of an aging Batman, or seeing Diana don a Batwoman costume to fight along his side, or seeing a future where their disappointment at a turn in their life is mitigated by what has happened to Gotham City as a result of their union. Chriscross, always a solid artist, does some good work here, and the alternate costumes he designs for our star-crossed lovers in their various forms are a lot of fun (not that I would advocate making major changes to these two costumes permanently, of course). Sotomayor is one of those colorists who really makes artwork stand out, with the glow effect on Wonder Woman’s lasso and the energy effect from Green Lantern’s ring.

This is one of the better issues of Kelly’s run on this title, when you dismiss how tired an idea he starts with. He does a decent job from a bad starting place, and he tells a mostly entertaining story with a highly predictable conclusion. This book is best for people who enjoy alternate universe/what if sorts of universes, because that is where most of the enjoyment herein lies.

Rating: 6/10

JLA-Z #3

November 23, 2003

Quick Rating: Below Average

Profiles and pin-ups of JLA members, friends and enemies from the Martian Manhunter to Zatanna.

Writer: Mike McAvenie
Aritsts: Too numerous to list
Colors: Tom McCraw & Wildstorm FX
Editor: Ivan Cohen & Stephen Wacker
Cover Art: Phil Jimenez & Hi-Fi
Publisher: DC Comics

As a huge fan of the old Who’s Who and Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe volumes, I was very excited when DC announced they were putting out this three-issue series as a companion piece to JLA/Avengers. My excitement is probably also the reason for my disappointment in this slim volume that’s mostly pin-up and short on information.

It’s a book of profile pages, which is exactly what I wanted, but each profile has less information than even your average Secret Files profile. How do you condense Superman’s history to one paragraph? I understand the need for brevity, but if this is meant as a primer for people reading the crossover that don’t understand the history and dynamics of the JLA, this book could have done much better. Why waste space on superfluous villains like the Weapons Master and the Royal Flush Gang? Why include a page on the Teen Titans? Even if you accept them as the next generation of heroes, as the JLA’s “farm team” if you will, why is the illustration of the Marv Wolfman/George Perez era of the team, with a little inset of the original team and nothing of the current Titans? And for Heaven’s sake, why does Hal Jordan get three profiles in this series – one as Green Lantern, one as Parallax and one as The Spectre?

The best, and almost only, reason to get this book is some of the artwork. As unnecessary as the Teen Titans profile is, Phil Jimenez does a great pin-up of the team (as well as a very nice triptych cover that I’d like to see a poster of). The same goes for Jerry Ordway’s imagining of the Weaponers of Qward. Other high points are a sneak preview of Jim Lee’s Superman, Jon Bogdanove returning to a character he co-created (and one of my favorites), Steel, Todd Nauck on the Red Tornado and Y: The Last Man’s Pia Guerra drawing Zatanna.

If you’re into this sort of book for the artwork, then it’s worth getting. If you’re hoping to pick up new information about DC’s greatest heroes, you’d be better off just asking a friend who already reads the book.

Rating: 4/10

Avengers/JLA #3

October 27, 2003

Dual Review By: Mike D’Alfonso & Blake Petit
Quick Rating: Great, Great
Story Title: Book Two: A Contest of Champions

JLA versus The Avengers – ‘Nuff Said!

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

With the fate of two universes in peril as a result of a cosmic gamble between Krona and the Grandmaster, The Avengers and the JLA are purposely drawn into battle amongst themselves to satisfy their whims. With both Universes at risk, will both teams realize what’s at risk? Reviewers Mike D’Alfonso and Blake Petit give their two cents on what they thought about the book.

BLAKE: Busiek and Perez’s epic crossover continues, and they’ve managed to completely shift the focus of the book from the first issue, while still throwing in all the fight scenes fans have been salivating for.

MIKE: To some extent, it is good to change the dynamic of power of some of the core participants such as The Flash and the Scarlet Witch. When The Flash enters the Marvel Universe, he loses his connection to the “Speed Force”, while Scarlet Witch’s “Hex” increases to godlike proportions in the DC Universe.

BLAKE: Which helped to balance things a bit — Quicksilver actually has a fighting chance against The Flash in his own universe, while the Scarlet Witch can hold her own against DC’s magical giants.

The Flash’s characterization in this issue also speaks to the strength of Busiek’s writing — it was spot-on. Almost all of them were, actually.

MIKE: Busiek’s interpretation sort of reminds me of how Mark Waid portrayed the character back when he wrote the character. It almost seems flawless.

BLAKE: Their styles are quite similar, you’re right.

Yet another reason I’d like to see Busiek writing some of the DC icons on a regular basis.

MIKE: Another point that needs mentioning is the focal point to this debacle. I think the whole cosmic melee scenario has been used a lot of late as the main catalyst to any conflict. It seems a little played out.

BLAKE: Perhaps, but with an event of this scale, something of such danger that you need both the Avengers and the Justice League, a cosmic-level threat is really the only thing big enough. Otherwise it would just seem like overkill.

MIKE: I suppose that is true in some instances, but I just don’t really like the scavenger hunt angle that much.

BLAKE: I can understand that, but I think this issue proves that the scavenger hunt is just a small part of the story. There’s a lot more going on, which boils down to a couple of great villains.

I must confess, I’m really glad to see Krona, one of my favorite old-school Green Lantern villains, getting used to such a great end in this book.

MIKE: In a way that is most appropriate considering the fact that he almost destroyed the DC Universe.

Grandmaster works as a great antagonist as well, and it’s kind of ironic that he acts as a protagonist as well.

BLAKE: That’s true — much of the action comes down to him.

Of course, there are a lot of good character moments as well — the scene with Captain America in the Bat Cave, for instance. Busiek draws on the parallel pasts of the characters to show how these heroes, even though they are a world a part, are in many ways bonded.

MIKE: Their methods of fighting crime may differ from one another; however, they both want to assure that they can safeguard mankind in anyway they can.

The parallel is similar to Superman and Batman.

BLAKE: Naturally, it is the two most clear-headed members of the teams that realize this while the others deliver the slugfests that so many of us paid the admission for.

MIKE: Which brings us to the art aspect of the book.

BLAKE: Yes — Perez, as we’ve said before, is the perfect choice to draw all of these characters, but he also draws some spectacular fight sequences as well, tracing locales all over both universes and nearly every living hero that’s ever been a member of either team.

Including three Fantastic Four members — a nice nod from Busiek.

MIKE: Well they were part of the team in one form or another over the years.

BLAKE: Except for the Human Torch.

Energy effects, magic, reflective surfaces, a beautiful fight in the rain — Perez gets to draw more varied kinds of scenes than I think I’ve ever seen in a single comic before.

MIKE: Yeah I would have to agree. Bar none he is quite adept to using visual effects to enhance the quality of any book he is involved in.

The one background that totally blew me away was the Grandmaster’s headquarters. This would totally give the readers an idea of what is at stake for the two teams.

BLAKE: Indeed — it makes you wonder exactly what his scheme is and how long he’s been scheming it. I think I even saw a few Vertigo artifacts in there.

MIKE: The one disturbing visual that stood in my mind was the “Infinity Gauntlet” in the hands of Darkseid. I truly believe that if he held on to it long enough and came over to the Marvel Universe, he would do what Thanos could not: destroy the entire galaxy and remake it in his image.

BLAKE: That was absolutely chilling. Even the Marvel characters recognized it — Hawkeye had a great line there.

And of course, the cosmic battle across the last few pages nearly seared the pages with the amount of energy Perez was throwing around. The scope of the threat is really made clear in this book.

MIKE: It just goes to show you that he is not limited by the restrictions that hinder a lot of artists in this field. Perez shows the readers that such restrictions should not hinder any artist at their chosen craft.

BLAKE: Yeah — there is no doubt that this is an artist who is deservedly an inspiration towards the current generation.

He’s been doing it longer than most people still in the game, and he’s still better than most of them too.

MIKE: All in all, the event that every fan has dreamed of is made into reality. With heart stopping action and superbly written dialogue and characterization, Avengers/JLA has everything in this book that people will not soon forget. However, as I’ve said before, the whole cosmic angle is good catalyst, but it has been too much of a theme for most of the books that are written today.

BLAKE: I think the cosmic angle is a necessary evil, and I think the strengths more than make up for it.

Mike’s Rating: 8/10

Blake’s Rating: 8/10

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

JLA #89

October 25, 2003

Quick Rating: Average
Title: Trial By Fire Conclusion

The Justice League makes a last stand against the incendiary monster that was once their teammate, the Martian Manhunter.

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

I have not been an enormous fan of Kelly’s run on this title, and this issue reflects exactly why. He often brings good ideas to the table, such as the Martian Manhunter attempting to overcome his weakness to flame only to unleash a far more dangerous threat, but then the climax seems to fall short. The ending of this storyline is similar to a hundred other “psychic battle,” “man against self” conclusions we’ve seen before.

One of the few things I did like about this storyline, the good use of Plastic Man, also fell flat in the end. In previous issues, Batman built up Plas as the only one who could stop Fernus, but in the end it’s hard to tell what he brought to the table that was really so unique. Not to say he wasn’t valuable, but there are a dozen other JLA-affiliated metas who could have done the same thing.

I liked Nguyen’s artwork back in his Superman: The Man of Steel days, and he still does a good job here, but there’s really nothing that stands out.

I’m looking forward to a few months down the road, when this title will (for at least two years according to editor Mike Carlin) switch to a rotating creative arc structure. True, books like that are often hit and miss, but somehow I prefer that to a book that’s so consistently average.

Rating: 5/10

(2010 note: As it turned out, the “rotating creative arc” didn’t do much for this book either.)