World Famous Comics: Exterminators (Justice League of America)
Exterminators (Justice League of America)
By: Christopher Golden Publisher: Pocket Star Average Rating: Binding: Mass Market Paperback Label: Pocket Star Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 352 Publication Date: June 29, 2004
Superman. Batman. Wonder Woman. The Flash. Green Lantern.
They are the world's greatest super heroes, _ghting endlessly against corruption and injustice. Each of them is a formidable opponent of evil, but banded together their powers are unmatched. Ever ready, they stand united as the --
JUSTICE LEAGUE of AMERICA
When a mass outbreak of super-powered individuals threatens the world, the JLA determines that latent metahuman abilities are being triggered by an alien contagion, one that's spreading throughout Earth as it transforms its hosts into monstrous engines of destruction. Racing to contain the infection, the world's greatest super heroes link the parasitic plague to an alien invasion from the team's earliest days and make a horrifying discovery: the JLA itself is responsible for the imminent disaster they now face.
Super Reader The culmination of the Justice League of America series finally brings us to the mega-teamup novel. For some reason, ordinary people around the globe are being given super powers.
Finally, the JLA realise that there is an alien influence, and what is happening may be because of a very bad mistake they made in the past.
It takes a friendship made by The Flash and Green Lantern over a beer or two with one of the new metahumans to help resolve this crisis.
Good escapist fun, but nothing spectacular about this book This book is actually decently well written (probably owing in part to the fact that Christopher Golden is actually a legitimate author in his own right rather than a comic book writer who is trying his hand on a novel). The plot is a bit ridiculous, but what do you expect from a book like this?
The story takes a couple twists along the way, but the basic premise is that 10 years ago there was a mysterious rainfall in the U.K. which caused several people to first develop super powers, and later mutate into giant monsters.
Since American comic books tend to be rather American centric, it is a nice change of pace to have a bunch of British characters popping up in the story. (When you think about it, it is kind of strange that in the world of comics almost all the beings with super powers tend to be located in the U.S of A.) Although it would be interesting to run this book by a British friend to see what they think of it. At times I wondered if the colloquial Britishisms used in this book weren't a bit forced. The literary equivalent of Hollywood's bad fake accents perhaps.
("Look mate, give it up already. You tried the bloody shotgun, you silly git. You think a blade's gonna do any more damage than that?" Graff spat, and then laughed, more than a little lunacy in his voice. "Which one are you? Where's your costume?" Bryan shrugged. "Don't need one. Not a soddin' superhero, am I?")
The character of Ian Partington, ordinary Brit who develops super powers, and then quickly becomes best friends with everyone in the Justice League, makes me wonder if this book would be classified under what the fans call a "Mary-Sue" story. But it never quite reaches the level of obnoxious.
For the most part this book focuses on the main Justice League characters. (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash). In the 3rd act some of the lesser known superheros of the DC Universe make a brief appearance (the Justice Society, the Justice league Reserves, the Titans) but 90% of this book is just the standard JLA.
I enjoy these comic book novels as a light guilty pleasure, but I think if they are going to succeed as an industry, DC is going to have to cater more to the hard core fan base, and publish books about the more minor characters in the DC universe, or explore themes that haven't been done to death a million times before. To be fair I think they have been moving more in that direction recently. (This book is already a couple years old.) But too many parts of this book was based on comic book cliches for my taste. I mean, how often do we have to be told that Batman is a moody guy who slips in and out of shadows, or that Wonder Woman is a dazzling amazon beauty?
Pure Narrative JLA Ever wondered what the JLA would be like without the art? This book gives you the chance to experience it. Mr. Golden does a very laudable job of rendering these icons in prose and conveying their actions blow by blow to the reader.
The work touches upon many different characters throughout the DCU and gives you some truly interesting and enjoyable insights into the minds of many of the JLA's core members. I can honestly say that it enriched my concept and understanding of the JLA and it's members.
Christopher Golden is "Golden" I really enjoyed this novel. It has an imaginative storyline, and it is very well-written. I've read many JLA and other superhero novels and have to say this is one of my favs. Christopher Golden put to work not only the core members of the league but many reserve members(and even the JSA and the Teen Titans) as well which added a lot of substance to the story. The characterization is on target. Even if just a small part of the story, I especially liked the inclusion of everyday "normalcy" with Clark and Lois and Wally and Linda.
Mature Ensemble Piece The 4th book in the JLA series is the first that focuses on the core members as a group rather than highlighting one member. As well we see the extended JLA family and other DC heroes called in when things get to be too much for the core five members to handle on their own.
The effective use of the ensemble cast alone makes it a good work. Enhancing it further is the maturity of the themes. We get some looks differing philosophies of the JLA members in regards to acceptable treatment of villains. We get to see the JLA work under duress, not finding an optimal solution, not liking that the solution is not optimal but doing what needs to be done at the time.
At the end of the day the world is saved, but it is not joyous. The League wonders about their methods and second guesses themselves seriously. This fact and the character interactions of the heroes and the newly blossoming meta-humans make this work more mature and better than the previous novels in the series.
Not necessarily a fun read, but it is a good one with things to think about.
Anything Goes Trivia
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Trevor
