New Comics, JLA

New comic!

Criminal Sanity 4

Still liking this “Silence of the Lambs by way of Gotham City” mashup.  The serial killer is suitably creepy, Harleen hasn’t gone off the deep end, and the art by Mico Suayan is dark and lovely, reminding me a lot of Lee Bermejo.  I have no idea if this is a miniseries or an ongoing, either one would be fine by me for now.

JLA: Foreign Bodies

Not as fun as I remember.  The JLA swap bodies with each other, and it’s a lot more run-of-the-mill than a prestige format issue should be.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

JLA: Superpower

This is more like it.  At first glance, it’s a standard hero-of-the-month issue - A new superhero shows up out of nowhere, somehow manages to join the team with their amazing competency, then dies because of some twist, invariably leaving the team to silently contemplate the life lesson they’ve been taught at the end of the issue.  (JLA 5 and the Pain of the Gods arc coming up later this entry, for two recent examples.)

But this story stands out above the rest.  Perhaps it’s due to the longer issue length - With more pages to work with, writer John Arcudi can devote more time to Mark Antaeus’ backstory and situation.  It makes him a more sympathetic character, so his fall from grace packs more emotional resonance.  

Nitpick: Not a fan of how Green Lantern is reduced to the wisecracking role of court jester/malcontent who turns out to be right.  It doesn’t fit his personality.

This comic is a lot like the Arsenal Special - A competent creative team that manages to punch above their weight class to create something that really stands out.  Kudos to Arcudi, artist Scot Eaton, and the rest.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

JLA: Earth 2

Grant Morrison does his best work with Frank Quitely - All-Star Superman, Multiversity, WE3, X-Men, and this.  Or is it that Quitely’s art is so darn good that it hides the fact that Morrison isn’t nearly as good as advertised?  Is Morrison merely riding some beautifully illustrated coattails?  

He’s somewhere in between, I think.  Talented artists are required to properly convey Morrison’s crazy ideas.  They bring some semblance of order to plots that can bounce all over the place.  Porter couldn’t do it in JLA.  Quitely does a much better job of it here.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

JLA 42

Dan Curtis Johnson writes a fun inventory issue about the bacterial civilizations that live inside the human body.  Wonderfully drawn by Mark Pajarillo (my love for his work is really unreasonable), this story throws in a Superman origin parallel that succeeds beyond what I would have thought possible.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

JLA 43-46

Mark Waid starts as the regular writer with the famous (at least, I think it’s famous) Tower of Babel arc.  This is the one where Ra’s al Ghul uses Batman’s contingency plans against the JLA.  JLA gets pissed off that Batman had been dreaming up ways to defeat them without their knowledge, and kick him off the team.  

It’s a great idea that I’m surprised no one thought of before, but come on - Has the JLA not met Batman?  Did they really not think he’d have “Break glass in case of emergency” fire axes for all of them?

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

JLA 47-58

The rest of Waid’s run.  Bryan Hitch hilariously comes on as the “regular” penciller, and lasts all of one issue before the backup artist reinforcements show up.  I don’t think he draws more than six issues before departing.

Waid’s stories are unmemorabley entertaining.  He does pull of one ballsy, only-in-comics moment that had me lolling: In a last ditch effort to defeat the White Martians, the JLA trap them on the moon and then DRAG THE MOON INTO EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE.  It’s effing insane and should be eye-rollingly bad.  But Waid and artist Mike S Miller totally sell it in glorious fashion.

Waaatt.

Nice try by Waid to explain away the physics.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

JLA 59

A Last Laugh tie in.  Sucks.

Regret buying:Yes

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Boring (Cutting)

JLA 60

Plastic Man tells the story of how Santa Claus is a member of the JLA.  Not the trainwreck I thought it would be when I started reading it.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Didn’t suck

JLA 61

Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke take over.  This is where I stopped getting JLA regularly, though it’s not like they do a bad job.  

Really like the dress in panel 7.  Simple and elegant.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

JLA 90

Bruce Wayne and Diana explore whether or not they would work as a couple.  I think Joe Kelly had been building up to this for a while.  It’s not as far fetched as it seems on first glance, and the alternate futures Kelly posits here make me want to see it happen.  

Of course, it doesn’t.  But I liked the deep dive.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

JLA 101-106

For all the crap Chuck Austen takes for his writing, I really like this six issue arc he did for JLA.  Basically, each issue focuses on a JLA member dealing with failure in a more human way than usual - each one is actually traumatized by tragic events that they would normally shrug off in other stories.  

It’s surprisingly well done, and Ron Garney does a wonderful job of accentuating the isolation and pain these usually god-like heroes feel.

Garney nails the splash pages.

Great contrast between Wonder Woman and the mundanity of sitting exhausted in the kitchen after a rough day.

Slight deduction on the dismount, as each of the issues end on some variation of, “Suck it up, eventually it’ll stop hurting so much.  In the meantime, your friends are here to get you through it.”  A little more variety and nuance would have been nice.

Still, it’s an arc that I’ve never forgotten (for positive reasons), which is a lot more than I can say for the majority of this JLA run.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

JLA 107-108

Kurt Busiek starts a Crime Syndicate of America arc with Ron Garney.  I tried a couple issues because of Busiek’s name, but past and present me both got bored with it.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Didn’t suck

JLA Classified 1-3

Grant Morrision returns to the JLA with an okay story that’s boosted up by Ed McGuinness’ excellent art.

Haha, her braid needs its own harness.

Fearsome Batman shot, obviously reminding me of...

...Classic.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

JLA Classified 8

A continuation of Formerly Known As the Justice League.  Still lots of fun, but I only have one issue of the 6-part arc.  (I probably got it for free at some point.)  Perhaps I’ll pick up the others, this is a hoot.

Love love love the joy Kevin Maguire imbues in that pose.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

New Comics, Injustice, JLA

New comics!

Fire Power: Prelude

Fire Power 1

Robert Kirkman and Chris Samnee headlining a martial arts comic is definitely enough to pique my interest, and they do not disappoint.  I’m all in on this gorgeously drawn tale populated by a cast of memorable characters.  Unorthodox but smart decision to start with a prequel TPB to set up the Free Comic Book Day first issue.  The hefty trade gives Kirkman and Samnee the space to draw out the time Owen spends training in the monastery, and it’s time well spent.  It develops the relationships between the characters and immerses the reader into the rich mythology that the creators have built.  Can’t wait to read more.

Immortal Hulk 1-5

I bought the first trade after seeing this on a number of best-of-the-year lists.  Meh.  I read a lot about how writer Al Ewing ramped up the horror aspect of the character, but all I get is another take on the duality of Banner and the Hulk, with some mystical Green Door retcon to link all of Banner’s deaths over the years.  Cutting before I even do a reread.

Injustice 3-12

Injustice Annual 1

Finally got the first collection after I reread the first two issues a couple of weeks ago.  The continuation doesn’t disappoint, as expected.  As he demonstrates later with DCeased, Tom Taylor really knows how to write an Elseworlds with stakes that pack an emotional punch.  

At the same time, this is enough to whet my appetite on this title; I’m not really feeling the motivation to read any more of this right now, at least at full price.  But if I ever see this on sale, I’ll most likely pick it up.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty Good

Prometheus 1

JLA 16-20, 22-41

I’ve finished reading the Grant Morrison JLA, and it really doesn’t hold up well.  A quick recap of the issues that he wrote:

1-4: The White Martian arc.  Still lots of fun, a solid story with a single focal point.  (Nice.  Keeping)

5: Filler story w/ Tomorrow Woman.  (Fine, keeping)

6-7: Intro of Zauriel.  (Fine, keeping)

8-9: Connor Hawke vs the Key.  Awesome Oscar Jimenez art.  (Nice, keeping)

10-15: Rock of Ages.  Horrible, no good, very bad.  (Hated, cutting)

16, 17, Prometheus 1: I really like the character of Prometheus, Morrison writes a nifty origin story about this dark mirror to Bruce Wayne.  And I dig the costume.  (Nice, keeping)

20: Loathsome part one about an insane Adam Strange.  Past me didn’t even get part two.  (Hated, cutting)

22-23: Starro and the Sandman.  I can’t believe Vertigo let DC have Daniel for this piece of trash.  (Stupid, cutting)

24-26: The Ultramarines.  Morrison’s last good arc.  It helps that Mark Pajarillo shows up for the last issue.  He’s so much better than Howard Porter, and pulls off some legit goosebumpy scenes.  (Pretty good, keeping)

Says so much about both Superman and how people see him.

28-31: Crisis Times Five.  Genie nonsense.  Morrison keeps trying to pull off these mystical/cosmic storylines and utterly fails.  He’s got Warren Ellis’ penchant for out-there ideas, but lacks his ability to weave them into coherent stories.  (Stupid, cutting)

34, 36-41: World War III.  A follow up to Rock of Ages, and just as bad.  Half of the League deals w/ Luthor and his Injustice Gang, while the rest are off on some bullshit cosmic misadventure.  It ends with a gag-worthy “the whole world gets powers and fights alongside the JLA” treacly climax.  (Stupid, cutting)

Recap of the guest-written issues:

18-19: Mark Waid plays fast and loose with the theories of quantum entanglement, but it makes for a fun story.  (Nice, keeping)

27: Mark Millar with a cute Amazo story that contains a nifty little twist that makes no sense but is fun and clever enough that I’ll allow it.  (Pretty good, keeping)

32: Devin Grayson tries to explain why the JLA’s unable to do more to help Gotham during No Man’s Land.  It’s a stretch that barely works, but I appreciate the effort.  A nice emotional moment at the end as well.  (Nice, keeping)

33: Waid returns for another issue, and Mark Pajarillo continues to make me wonder why he’s the fill in artist and not the main one.  It looks like he left comics to join the video game industry.  Fair enough, but I still wish he’d done more stuff. (Nice, keeping)

There's some Charest and Lee in there, but it's uniquely Pajarillo.

35: Not even Pajarillo can save this Day of Judgment (does anyone remember that event?  I’d completely forgotten it.) tie in, written by JM DeMatteis.  (Boring, cutting)

So to summarize:

Morrison issues: Keeping 15, cutting 20.

Guest written issues: Keeping 5, cutting 1.

Why did I remember Morrison’s run as a good one again?

By the way, my ranking scale of bad to worse, since I used it so much here:

Didn’t suck, Boring, Stupid, Disliked, Hated, Trainwreck Bad.

It’s not a strict scale. 

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)