New Comics, Justice, JLA

New comic!

DCeased: Dead Planet 1

I don’t care if it’s a regular series or a string of minis - As long as Tom Taylor writes DCeased, I’m going to keep reading.  This is a great reintroduction to Jon/Damian/et al after the end of the original series.  I’d forgotten how shocking Taylor can make each major death, even with this being an Elseworlds story.  

Really hoping that DCeased: Hope at World’s End comes out in trade sometime soon.  (Stupid DC Digital first.)

Justice 1-12

Alex Ross is the first and only reason I bought this series.  It goes without saying that the art is phenomenal (I presume it’s Ross painting over Doug Braithwaite’s layouts) - It’s like reading a Kingdom Come prequel.  

I love Ross's Diana.

So much power.  Lovely detail in her musculature.

Great pose on Shayera

Identity Crisis ruins any poignancy in this scene.

I like this angle.

Looks so good.

It’s too bad that Mark Waid’s not writing it, because Ross and story partner Jim Krueger do not have the chops to successfully pull the story off.  It’s got something to do with all the supervillains changing the world for the better in ways that the heroes are reluctant to, and there’s a lot of fighting.  The potential is there for an engaging story, but it somehow falls flat.

This would be a Really Good if I were grading on art alone, but the writing drags it down a ton.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

JLA Secret Files and Origins 1

A prequel to JLA 1, showing how this iteration originally came together.  (It has to do with Starro.)  It’s fine, with a nice little zinger from Batman:

Total bromance.

George Perez with the insane pinup.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

JLA: Paradise Lost 1-3

A miniseries centered around Zauriel.  Perfectly entertaining, but nothing standout.  It also introduces the ass ugly Zauriel armor.  I far prefer his original design.

Nice.

Not.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

JLA 1-15

The start of the Grant Morrison run that redefined Batman as the most powerful hero in the DCverse.  (To be clear, I’m not opposed to it.  I like that he’s smart and crafty enough to defeat anyone and everyone, including Superman.)

The first arc with the White Martians still reads well.  It crackles with energy and fun, and the Batman showcase continues to entertain me 23 years later.

Credit to Porter, he does a pretty sweet job with the scene.

It’s too bad that things degenerate surprisingly quickly - Morrison’s writing hasn’t aged well for me.  He’s trying so hard to prove that he’s clever, throwing out phrases like “this is the first corporate takeover of the JLA!”  It sounds intriguing, but really doesn’t make any sense and ends up being kind of lame.  (The Rock of Ages arc really, really sucks.)

Combined with Howard Porter’s art (he’s got amazing passion in his work and exciting ideas, but lacks the technical ability to pull it off.  A lot of his pages are plain ugly, especially the faces), the whole package ends up completely overhyped in my head - It’s not nearly as good as I remember it.  Either that or present day me’s tastes have wildly shifted from college me’s.  

This scene doesn't inspire nearly as much awe as it should.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes.  (No for 10-15)

Rating: Nice (1-4, 8-9), Fine (5-7), Hated (10-15)