Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Howard Porter
Due to my new comics not arriving I went looking for something small to read and remembered that I had another two volumes from this series to read. Grant Morrison is one of my favourite writers, but unfortunately the first volume was slightly disappointing, and I hope the remainder of his run on this series proves otherwise.
Plot
The Justice League of America are opening up their ranks, and Professor Ivo, and T.O. Morrow take advantage of this by placing their android, Tomorrow Woman in the League. Also former angel Zauriel brings problems to the League, and Green Arrow's (Connor Hawke) initiation doesn't go to plan when The Key hatches his plan.
Review
This book had three stories in it, with the second setting up the third, so my review will talk about all of them. Overall the book was very good, but it still wasn't at the level I expected, and so far this series hasn't been one of Morrison's best. I have to admit however that after reading his brilliant Batman run, as well as his All Star Superman series, I have amounted high expectation towards any of his other work, and I shouldn't really, as not everything a writer writes will be outstanding. It wasn't all bad though, as I really enjoyed the second part of the story, seeing that as the best part of the book. The last part was also very interesting, but a little out of the ordinary, and the first part was too short for me to get into. Overall Morrison has done a very good job on this book, and although it's slightly inconsistent it shows creativity, something that you always see in Morrison's work, and I expect the rest of his run, or at least some of it to be brilliant.
As I said in my review for the last volume, I'm not overly familiar with Howard Porter artwork, but for some reason I prefer it this time round. It may just be that I've gotten used to it, but his art is much better in this volume, and it suits the story much more this time round. I do however think that there are still the odd panels that feel a bit awkward, and unappealing but overall it is much better. The art is still has a very dynamic, and bold feel to it, and it also continues to give a dramatic tone, but it's taken away some of the things I disliked, and made it overall more appealing. I especially liked how he drew Superman this time round, and I think that Superman's change to the all blue suit gave Porter more flexibility in his art. There was also from Oscar Jimenez in the last couple of issues, and although I preferred Porter's art this time round I preferred Jimenez' overall. It was much more realistic, and the style of art I prefer to see in artists. Like Porter's art it was also very dynamic, and full of detail. Overall there isn't much between Porter, and Jimenez' art, but it's just the style of Jimenez' that wins over for me.
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| Metamorpho's Funeral |
The first volume saw the death of Metamorpho, and this one fittingly starts with his funeral. As I said in my review for volume one, I don't really know much about Metamorpho, so I wasn't upset at the character dying, but that didn't stop me from liking this sequence. I always like funeral sequences, as whether they're good, or bad, they're nearly always interesting, or exciting. The most recent funeral that I enjoyed was Professor X's in Uncanny Avengers #1, and although I was slightly upset at his passing, the funeral was still interesting. This funeral was actually one of my favourites, and for one key reason, that it talked about superhero's never staying dead. Death was even a common thing back when this story was released, and Morrison's dialogue, with the priest talking about superhero's never staying dead is exactly how it is. That's the reason I mainly hate comic book deaths, and that's why I liked the mention.
As I said earlier Superman is now in his blue and white containment suit which prevents his new electricity-based abilities from dispersing. Besides knowing the fact that he was in this suit, which was meant as a throwback to '63 Superman Red/Superman Blue comic, I don't know much about this time in Superman's life. I do however remember that it caused some friction in fans, but having not been a comic book collector back then it didn't really bother me. I personally think that it's a good thing for this series, as it makes you question if this is the real Superman. Having not read about Superman at the time I don't know what happens with the blue suit, apart from the fact it gets dropped, but I got the feeling that certain League members questioned this.
The rest of the first issue is about Professor Ivo, and T.O. Morrow creating an android to infiltrate the JLA. Although this was an interesting issue it didn't really have much appeal to me. I did however like that it showed the development of an A.I. machine, but besides that the one shot nature of the story didn't affect the book much. I may have enjoyed the story more if I picked it up at the time, but whilst reading it in this book it felt like filler. It was however a slightly interesting story, but nothing special.
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| Zauriel's Problem |
The next story did however intrigue me. The next story dealt with a former angel named Zauriel who had been granted mortality, but was still being hunted by another angel named Asmodel. I found this story much interesting, as the character of Zauriel was interesting. I also liked the idea of angels causing that much damage over each other, and that human life doesn't hold as high a value to them as you'd think. I also loved how the story developed, and that it was full of action. I may have preferred this sheerly because of it lasting more than one issue, but I felt that it had more time to develop, which heightened my interest, and enjoyment. I also felt that this showed the JLA as a team more than either of the other stories, which I prefer in a team book. It was also interesting seeing the JLA in a position where they're not at full strength.
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| Elseworlds |
The final story had an Elseworlds feel to it, with one of the issues actually being titled that. This was probably the most different type of story to feature in this book. Following straight after the Zauriel story the JLA are attacked by the Key, and the possible new member Green Arrow is the only one that can save them. Now I'm not that familiar with the Elseworlds style of stories, but I have read a couple, and they're basically like Marvel's What If...? series, changing certain aspects of the characters history. Where this one's different however is that it's only an hallucination, and not real, whereas the normal Elseworlds stories are in different universes. I found this probably the most interesting story, but I preferred the Zauriel story cause it was also full of action, and excitement. I also enjoyed seeing some of the changes, but the main thing I liked about the story was that Connor was left to save them. What a better way to join the team than to help save them, and with the overall theme of the book being new recruits it was nice to actually see one become a member.
Final Verdict
This was a very good book, but due to having three stories in it, it was slightly inconsistent. All the stories were however interesting, it was just that some were more exciting, and overall entertaining than others. I would however still recommend this book, as it was very unique and interesting, and like most of Morrison's stories full of imagination.
Rating: 4/5
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Howard Porter
I have had this book along with the following two volumes (American Dreams, and Rock of Ages) sitting on my bookshelf, and haven't gotten round to reading them. I made a point of putting it in my graphic novel pile, and seems it's only four issues long I decided to read it before Superman: For Tomorrow, which was what I originally planned on reading next, but as I said this is only four issues long, whereas that is twelve.
Plot
A group of aliens collectively named Hyperclan have arrived on earth. Their goal is to change earth for the better, as they believe that it's inhabitants will destroy the planet, similar to what the inhabitants of their own planet did. The Justice League of America however see more than meets the eye, and believe that Hyperclan have bad intentions.
Review
This was a good book, but not quite as good as I'd have expected. I've been a fan of Grant Morrison for some time now, and have enjoyed most of his work, but mainly his run on Batman. His Action Comics run also started good, but has went a bit inconsistent of recently, and his All Star Superman series was also brilliant, so I always expect big things from him. Although I expected the same here, it was actually a very decent story to start a series, but still nothing brilliant. The story overall was a bit slow, but I kind of expect that from opening stories, but due to that it just felt a bit dull. It did however pick up pace in the last issue, and a half, and was very exciting after that. The thing I liked most about Morrison's writing on this book was the interaction between the characters, but I'll talk more about that a little later. I do however think that the rest of Morrison's run on JLA will be brilliant, as this story did get very good, but just a little too late.
I'm not too familiar with Howard Porter's work so didn't know what to expect. Although it's far from the best artwork that I've seen, it was still good, and suited the story. To be honest it's the colouring by Pat Garrahy that I don't like in the artwork. To be fair I'm not a huge fan of colouring pre-2000. This is probably due to getting into comics after then, with lovely, realistic colours, but I can't quite enjoy the artwork as much. Besides that Porter's art is very good, and I love the dynamic feel it has. I also love how it's very bold at times, and that it feels very dramatic, and exciting. He also does a great job at action sequences, as they look amazing, and very spontaneous. I do however thing that the way he draws the characters is a bit too rough for my liking, but I have seen much worse artwork in the past.
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| Hyperclan |
I'll move onto talking about the Hyperclan. The Hyperclan are a group of aliens that have arrived on earth, and have persuaded everyone (bar the JLA) that they are here to help. It is soon realized however that the JLA is right, and that these aliens aren't her with good intentions. Hyperclan weren't the best villain team that I've ever seen, and I won't be desperate to see them again (don't think they actually appear in anything after this), but they were interesting to a certain point, and different. I did however like that Morrison wrote these characters in a way that you want to hate the, or at least I hope that was his plan. They are very dislikeable characters, and although I personally like a villain you can actually like as a character, it's nice when there're ones you totally despise, as you should hate a good villain (at least sometimes). Without spoiling anything, I did however like the twist to these characters, and found their true goal interesting.
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| JLA |
Now I'll move onto the JLA line-up. There were a few characters at the start of the book that I wasn't too familiar with, but I assumed they were minor League members (Metamorpho for one). Anyway, the main team consists of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash (Wally West), Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter. As some of you may know I'm not the biggest fan of Martian Manhunter (I hope to become one with the current Justice League of America series), but he's been a part of the JLA for so long, being a part of every team up until this point, so he does kind of deserve the place. Besides that I was very happy with the line-up, as besides being a big fan of Batman, I also love all the other characters. It's also nice to see Kyle, and especially Wally (as he's not in the New 52 DC Universe). It was also nice to see the other two part of DC's big three Superman, and Wonder Woman, to be honest a JLA team ain't the same without them three (other part being Batman). I think Morrison did a great job with this team, and although due to (most of) them already being a team it shouldn't have taken as much time to introduce them.
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| Wally and Kyle |
The interaction between Wally, and Kyle was probably the funniest thing in this story. It's no secret that Wally was friends with former Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, so it was natural for there to be some tension between himself, and his replacement. I also liked that Kyle was trying to fit in, seeing himself as not in the same "League" as the rest of the members (skill wise). Overall the interaction between all the members were brilliant, but besides this the other interaction that caught my interest was when Wonder Woman wen't to recruit Aquaman. I loved that Aquaman had the attitude that he no longer wants to be a team player, and is looking after himself, and the ocean. I also have to say that before the New 52 I wasn't a Aquaman fan, but now that I am I can enjoy the character in series like this a lot more, and Morrison actually did a good job of writing him anyway.
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| Batman to the Rescue |
It always appears that Batman can find a way to win no mater what the circumstances. This story appears to be no different. Whilst trying to take the JLA out they believe they've killed Batman, but the ever tactical Dark Knight wasn't dead yet. In fact after the other JLA members were captured, or waylaid, Batman used his best friend, the shadows, and appeared to know Hyperclans secret. This is when the story really started to get interesting, as before that it was a bit dull, and it looked like a one sided fight. What I also liked about this is that the Hyperclan overlooked Batman, seeing him as nothing more than a human, with no superpowers, so he was no threat. Whereas if they actually knew anything about Batman they'd know that wasn't the case. Although he's not got superpowers, he has got a lot of skills, and is a master tactician, able to beat bigger opponents if needs be, and I was happy that this story showed that.
The fight between Hyperclan, and the JLA was awesome. If Batman's rescue was the most interesting thing in the book, the fight was the most exciting. It was marvelous, and Porter did a brilliant job on the artwork. I loved that it showed the potential of every member, giving each the opportunity to show of. It was however a shame that this was too little, too late, as the last third of the book was tremendous, but the rest was nothing more than mediocre. Hopefully this is only a taste of things to come, and that the rest of Morrison's run is better.
Final Verdict
This book had the potential to be phenomenal, but besides the last third of the book, it was generally mediocre. I would however still recommend it, as the last third was brilliant, and it was a fun read, but hopefully the other volumes are better.
Rating: 4/5
