World Famous Comics: JLA (Book 1): New World Order
JLA (Book 1): New World Order
By: Grant Morrison Publisher: DC Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: DC Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 96 Publication Date: April 01, 1997 Reading Level: Young Adult Release Date: April 01, 1997
Nothing too special here.. Decent enough artwork but the story was found wanting in my opinion. In truth, I felt that the characters remained a little too flat to make this one interesting. Batman is the surly guy who gets underestimated, Superman is the self-righteous one who is taken down surprisingly easily, Martian Manhunter is of dubious loyalty, and Aquaman is arrogant and out of touch but finally comes around just in the nick of time. I was really hoping for something with a little more depth where I felt that at least one of the memebers of JLA had changed from the beginning of the book. All in all it isn't bad, but it certainly isn't good either.
Pretty Exciting Stuff I quite enjoyed this book a lot. I'm not an avid JLA fan so I would not know a good JLA story from a bad one, but I thought this was pretty suspenseful reading. The heroes all confront various foes which at first seem just invincible and all-powerful. Just when you thought our heroes are finally done for, they find a way to turn the tables. While I do like the suspense each story brings (there are about four or five different stories in this volume) they all suffer from the same storyline, that is, all the villians have their "Kryptonite". It somewhat feels like almost a cop-out when they get defeated because they are afraid of this or that but that is my only rant (or two) for this book. I mean, if it doesn't bother you when you were watching the horror flick, the Blob, eating, devouring, killing only to find it can be killed by the cold, then you should have no problems with these stories. But the reason I did not give it five stars is because the stories are not as "smart" as I wanted them to be and also, I'm not really a big fan of the art. It has a very comic book-like feel with high attention to details resulting in very busy images...yeh, the art is not really my cup of tea.
1990s JLA. It's about what you'd expect Superman has a mullet. Batman has some sort of weird costume/claws thing going on. If you can get past the dated look of the characters the story is... eh, ok. I'm not a huge fan of these paper thin DC trade paperbacks. To me, personally, Marvel usually gives more bang for the buck. If the price were shaved back about $2 off these things I'd give it a better recommendation. Still, for what it is, it's pretty good story-wise.
Likewise, I have always found the DC JLA stories hokier than Marvel's Avenger's stories, but that's just a matter of personal taste. If you're a JLA fan pick it up. If you're a fan of the 1990's era pick it up. If you are into the current scene you'll find these stories lack a lot depth. Oh, and Superman has a mullet.
An average start to an awesome team I love reading about the Justice League. Here we have the original seven teaming up against another super team, who have supposedly come to earth to save it and its people, but the JLA know better. The action picks up on page one and barely gives you a chance to catch your breath. That's cool, it's always a good thing to start off your superhero story with plenty of action, but after a while it just becomes mind numbing and it needs to slow down so that the action has some meaning behind it.
Watching the JLA interact is intereting, as it seems they all are still feeling each other out and don't nesessarily get along or agree on everything, but are all trying to do the right thing. The Hyperclan, who are trying to outdo the JLA as the world's saviors appear quickly and we don't really get to know any of them on an individual basis except the leader.
Batman really gets a chance to shine here as other characters like Aquaman and MM are pushed to the background. Being a Batman fan, this was fine by me, but still, I would love to see more balanced focus later on in this series. And hopefully next time around some more familiar supervillains.
So it didn't exactly start with a whimper, but it also isn't even close to being the best JL story ever either. The artwork is also something that could be improved upon, but we'll see if the artist changes in the future. Also, this is a minor complaint, and maybe its a 90's thing, but what's with all the crazy giant sized sound effects that fill the frames? That gets a bit distracting and annoying. Oh well, I'll continue reading in hopes that it will get better.
Graphic SF Reader The Hyperclan makes an appearance to out-Justice League the JLA. With clever PR and some stunts people start to believe in them.
Batman knows something smells, I mean, a Darknight Detective can spot an invasion plan by shapeshifting superpowered aliens a mile off. He also has mullet-enhanced Superman to help him with the beatdown.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
