Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Justice League

Why is KK's neck so thin? He looks like a bobble-head...

ok, so really -- when's pre-boot WILDFIRE gonna show up? Cuz you know they're doing all this just to bring him back!!

I finnally cracked my non-comics coworker. She's been walking to the Comic shop with me for months and this week decided to buy some. One of the ones she picked up was JLA 6 because I showed her the scenes with Vixen. It was really interesting to see her view point as someone without any emotional attatchments to the characters. My husband was appaulaed at how poor Tornado suffered, I admired his courage and willpower, but my friend just went on about how cool it was when he snapped Grundy in half. I was also surprised at how much of the story she was able to grasp with pretty much no knowledge of the DCU and jumping in in the middle of the arc.

Anyone catch the JLA origin in "52"? Looks like they finally came to a meeting place between the original origin with Wonder Woman and the post-Crisis "Year One" origin with Black Canary -- they were *both* founders! the "core team" was the team in the Y1 mini, with the Big3 being there for the formation, but were part-timers until later.

Personally, I'm very comfortable with that.

I just finished reading JLA #11. I'm stunned. It is the most powerful comic book reading experience I've had in years. Sorry Meltzer critics. You no longer have a leg to stand on.

Oh god! MY LEGS!!!

It was a very good issue.

Jerry, I've been loving the JLA and can't wait to read this!

I'm sure we can find you some legs from an old Red Tornado body, Drake.

Jorge, I think you'll like it.

I don't doubt Meltzer's ability to craft an emotional plot and even good dialogue within that plot.

I have a serious question about his pacing and action scenes. This was a nice issue though.

Just read it and it was nice. I actually felt I was stuck in there and couldn't breathe.

Interesting tidbit about Vixen's powers, btw.

Ok, I just read it.

It read to me like one of those throw-away filler issues. I didn't like it. The drama didn't draw me in, I never really felt their peril because I knew they were going to be ok by the end, I didn't even understand how they kept breaking through the hole then plugging it up (how many of those gummy arrows did he have?), or how he plugged the hole but the chord was still free enough to be pulled, or how he was even able to reach the hole that Vixen escaped through since he was pinned and he could barely rach her to hand her the arrow in the first place etc...

I have nothing against the notion of doing an issue like this, but I didn't think it was done very well.

And HOW is Vixen getting away with being in the JLA for two months without anyone saying anything about her not having her powers?? (or an altered form of) Two months seems way too long. It already seems like this team hasn't really done all that much since getting together, but to say that it's been two months makes it worse. Roy says Marie is in the JLA because "she's a fighter" - does that mean the rest of the team is just ok with some majorly depowered team member and keeps her around cuz they like her spunk? This is the *JLA*, not X-Factor. I dunno ... it all rubs me the wrong way...

Sorry you didn't like it, Drake. The drama did draw me in, and I felt their peril to the point where my own claustropobic impulses started to kick in while reading it. Comics are going through a period where one of the major critcisms is that death is all too common, used for shock value, and has little meaning because of frequent reversals. I was reading comic books back when deaths were infrequent and you typically knew the characters would survive. It doesn't weaken the story for me that I knew they would survive. It was conveyed very strongly that they felt they weren't going to survive, and I felt their fear. That's a sign of strong writing for me. If the writer can get me out of my own head, and into the head of a character, then he or she has succeeded.

The concept of "fill in" versus "self contained" is also important. Continuing stories are the norm these days, and monthly comics are frequently written with the knowledge that the story will appear in a collected edition. This story felt like it was written for the format in which it appeared, and easily stands on its own. I liked that. While not Benes, the artist used had a style that was a good match for the story being told. A DC editor asked recently, in a DC Nation column, for fan input on how to handle production delays and whether we would be satisfied with fill in artists during multiple part stories. This issue was a good example of how such delays can be prevented, and how self contained stories can be used to keep a monthly on schedule. I can't dismiss it as "just a fill in".

How has Vixen gotten by for the last two months? By lying to her teammates and leeching their powers. Too often comic book heores trade unrealistic banter and put downs in the middle of dire circumstances. I liked the way Roy and Mari dealt with this reveal and quickly moved into problem solving mode. There will be consequences, but this wasn't the time to worry about it.

I liked the failed attempts at gaining freedom. They drew the drama out. I also liked the twist ending. Clever. I didn't see it coming at all.

I liked the relevance of the story. We are a nation at war. Super Hero comics don't invite much relevance these days, because their powers would quickly resolve the problems of the real world. So we get multiverses, reality tinkering, omnipotent wizards, and aliens. Nothing wrong with that. However, it is nice to get a change of pace. Real bombs and terrorist attacks cause buildings to collapse. The Sago mine distaster is still fresh enough that the horror of being buried alive resonates.

Finally, I really enjoyed the use of the medium. There is great potential for art in graphic storytelling that is seldom relaized. It won't be realized it creators don't experiment and play around a bit. The mood, the color, the unique use of panels and darkness, and finally having to turn the book sideways and upside down as the twist is revealed added to the confusion. Again, allowing the reader to get into the characters' head and feel the same confusion they were feeling.

As we have our fan boy and fan girl discussions about what we like and don't like, what we want to see and don't want to see, the phrase, "I want to see good writing", is frequently used. In my opinion, this was good writing and should be recognized.

Merged Jerry's thread about JLA #11 into the regular JLA thread.

I agree with you completely, Jerry. By the time I got to the last panel, I had been holding my breath for last three pages.

These are two characters that I barely know, but I cared about their survival, and actually thought one or both might die.

The situation could easily have been portrayed in a way that exploited the tragedy of people trapped in the Pentagon or WTC in 2001, but it wasn't.

There certainly were aspects of the story that required you to suspend your belief in physics for a moment, but it's a comic book that features a woman who absorbs animal powers; you open the cover with a certain amount of suspended belief.

My favorite comic of the week.

JLA #12....bleh!

Has naything actually happened in this series since it's launch? Doesn't really feel like it after 12 issues. I sure hope things change dramatically with the arrival of the new creative team or this version of the JLA may well have the shortest run ever.

In a kind of strange way, I'm enjoying the relative quiet pace of the JLA/JSA series as a countermeasure to the overcrowded dumping ground of 52 and Countdown.

But, I'd rather see this idea of a weekly crossover backbone for the DCU dropped and good story telling return to the individual titles. I guess that's kind of quaint, outdated notion.

I guess the renovations are necessary since we last saw it crumbling into the Potomac --

I like issue #12. It's one of those behind the scenes issues. Monitor duty, them changing shifts. I love that kind of stuff.

Not sure how I feel about the Roy/Kendra stuff. But it is Kendra not Shiera. In the last issue of Hawkgirl Shiera's soul left Kendra's body I believe. As long it's Kendra sleeping with Roy I'm fine. Hawkman might still kick his ass.

And it was mentioned Kendra's daughter is dead. She gave her up for adoption. Did Meltzer mess up or Kendra is hiding the fact she has a daughter so her enemies won't go after her?

I wonder how many of the loose ends get resolved. Mari's power loss, Brion's power problems, Red Tornado's isolation, and I guess the relationship between Roy & Kendra (which I didn't like)

Well it's Mari's new powers. And the Deathstroke/Geo Force subplot sounds pretty cool.

Hate, hate, hate the Roy/Kendra pairing!!

I think Roy has bedded more superheroines & villainesses than any other DC hero. I guess they are saying the apple doesn't fall far from the tree???

Wasn't a bad issue. Wasn't a great issue.

Unless I'm missing something, that can't really be Arthur with J'Onn near the end of the issue, though.

Looking forward to seeing what McDuffie brings to the table.

Outdoor Miner, I am confused about the Aquaman thing as well. I think it's one of those Crisis things.

So, is Karate Kid going to be in The Justice League or not? If not I drop the title. If so I keep. Anyone know?

No idea.

I believe McDuffie has talked about an addition or two to the lineup but nothing definite yet.

If that's what is keeping you on the book, probably best to save your money until we know for sure.