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

Did you forget the JLE fiasco in Starman?

Though I haven't read his first issue of JLA proper yet, I am in complete agreement with you on the quality of Robinson's recent DCU out-put Stealth. The man needs an intervention or something to find out what's happened to his writing.

My dis-satisfaction with him (and what's going on in some other DCU titles - like all those crappy R.E.B.E.L.S. developments) has brought me close to quitting the DCU a couple of times too. But then I remember how good some of the other books out there are and I hold on.

I'm not surprised you weren't able to do the same though because, no offense, but you've obviously just been buying the crappy titles. ;-) Cry For Justice and Power Girl? Those are two of the worst-reviewed books in all of comics!

Instead of going cold-turkey on all of the modern day DCU why don't you shift your attention to some of its better books, like -

Brave & Bold (absolutely wonderful character pieces since JMS took over)
Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps (the best this almost always good franchise has ever, ever been)
Detective Comics (great new character and art to die for)
Superman: Secret Origin (Geoff Johns and Gary Frank proving why they're as regarded as they are and a Legion appearance too)
The Great Ten (going out on a limb with this one since it hasn't started yet but these seem like fresh and exciting new characters to me and from the preview, McDaniel's art looks better than it ever has before)

Hope that helps.
DCU Counsellor Blacula

Don't even get me started

Little known recent crime against the DCU by Robinson
Agent Liberty, a character Dan Jurgens spent a considerable amount of time creating and developing during his time on the Superman titles and then JLA, killed off in a casual manner to further the initial storyline of Robinson's current Superman plot. He basically stood around for three issues and then had his brain heat-visioned out. Now, Robinson introduces a female Agent Liberty--who has yet to even speak, she just stands there in the background. Yup. Have DC Comics really gotten this bad? For the most part, yes.

(PS - Blacula is right about Brave & Bold, I highly recommnend it!)

I know you mean well, Blacula, but I just cannot continue to support the DCU when it's lost its way so badly. The last time I really and truly enjoyed something from DC was The Sinestro Corps War more than two years ago, and even then it was the exception, not the rule. The only way I can do my part so that DiDio finally gets thrown out on his ass is to buy nothing from the DCU (which means I've had a change of heart about Adventure Comics and decided to Byrne-steal Levitz's Legion until DiDio's gone.) At least I can continue to buy Vertigo books with a clear conscience, since that's Karen Berger's turf.

Jurgens should get to take Jack Knight for an issue or two of "Booster Gold" and beat the crap out of him or kill his son or give him herpes or something. For someone who's *SO* protective of his character, Robinson has shown little respect to other people's creations.

I've now reached the point where I actively want Didio fired.

I've never wanted people fired before ever in my life. That ranks Didio up there with Ken Lewis and George W Bush for me.

In other news, the 80-page annual that just came out was actually pretty fun! A stand-alone issue that isn't the most Earth-shattering thing ever, it has a plethora of heroes teaming up in the old Garnder Fox way throughout time with some cool scenes. I'm glad I gave it a shot given my current distaste for the JLA at DC these days.

IIRC, the team-ups were: GL (Hal) & Red Arrow with Cinnamen; GL (John) & Vixen with Shining Knight; Black Canary and Zatanna with Crimson Avenger; Green Arrow and Firestorm with the Bride of Frankenstein; Steel & Wonder Woman with Black Pirate; and Superman & Dr. Light with a new character. It worked so well, it reminds me that any JLA line-up could be great if the stories are great.

I thought the 80-page special was just okay. It was too much of a re-hash of Len Wein & Dick Dillin's Seven Soldiers of Victory/JLA/JSA arc from the early 1970s. Still, compared to the monthly book...

Yeah, probably the positive reaction to it was grounded in the horribly negative reactin I've felt for all things JLA (other than Wein's brief story). I thought it was a pretty solid, entertaining read and a good mix of characters.

My favorite segment by far was the John Stewart/Vixen one set in Medieval England.

Me too! Vixen totally rocked here.

I also liked the Crimson Avenger / Black Canary / Zatanna sequence, and for some reason the Wonder Woman / Steel / Black Pirate sequence. Those were cool, though the fact that they were relatively quick was good too (whereas, I could have read another 20 pages of the Vixen / John / Shining Knight sequence).

The only one that left me 'meh' was the Hal / Roy sequence. The Cinnamen / Roy kiss was pretty cringe-worthy.

^^^ I really wanted to get that issue but it was going for more than $10 at my shop here in Australia! That is crossing a line for me.

Y'know, I read Robinson & Bagley's debut issue a few days ago, and I didn't think it was bad at all. It wasn't perfect, but you can see how he's planting a seed for a storyline that is apparently going to become bigger and bigger in the DCU after Blackest Night from hints in interviews I've read. No, that doesn't automatically mean it's going to be good in and of itself, but it DOES show there's a PLAN, which is something JLA's been lacking for a long time almost ever since Morrison left. That means the stories here have the potential to matter like they haven't, again, since the Morrison years. I, for one, am all FOR that!

The story basically addresses this with the characters themselves wondering if the JLA matters any more, much as the fan has been for a while. That's a meta-textual element that is a cue for the reader that the problem is recognized and is being worked on. Plus, the heavy-handed dialogue that's marred Cry for Justice is much-improved here. (I cringe with how the terms "villain" and "justice!" are being bandied about there.)

So there's hope, and I'm gonna give this team a fair shake to make a little magic happen. And if Robinson's smart, he'll work Mera into the lineup we've already been spoiled as a late addition, hot on the heels of her star-making turn in BN!

(Plus, Robinson's been quoted as saying Blue Jay ain't dead!)

I enjoyed the JLA Blackest Night tie-in. I liked seeing a particular segment of League history overtly featured (note: I typed 'a' not 'this'). I'd like to see more of this, not just related to the oft-discounted Detroit era.

I liked the Zatanna/Zatarra scenes. They were a surprise, as I hadn't read any spoiler or solicit about his appearance.

I like how the more recent BN issues (at least the tie-ins) have featured several pages of opening narration as the deceased's memory is downloaded into the black rings. I connect much more strongly to these moments than all the leering, decayed zombie thingies with Nekron's personality and hard-to-decipher costume choices that get the covers and, apparently, delight the fans. If I'd known that *all* the zombies spoke with one voice, I wouldn't have been as entertained by the initial appearance of the Dibney's in BN #1.

I have to admit to not being to thrilled with the new JLA under Robinson and Bagley so far. Robinson is dragging out the make-do league even longer than anyone wanted, and Bagley's art...needed a cleaner inker. The faces are still a touch to cartoony for my tastes.

But, I'm loving Z and Vixen so far.

Plas I can completely do without.

Reddy...this version isn't doing much for me.

I finally got around to reading the second part of the BN tie-in since my enthusiasm for it was so low after part one. I think the second part was a big improvement over the first but the issues still weren't anything that great. I can't really recommend anyone buy them in good conscience.

On the one hand, there were some really great Vixen and Gypsy scenes with the undead Vibe and Steel, and those really worked for me. Both Vixen and Gypsy had some great sequences were they used their powers and intelligence.

On the other hand, the Dr. Light vs. Dr. Light stuff was yet another lame attempt to incorporate Dr. Light into the DCU mega-events because as a rapist he's so terrifying. And like most others, it was pretty boring and ineffective. I really like the heroic Dr. Light but I can't really say I enjoyed the sequence (not because of any potential rape sequences, since he was a corpse, but because Dr. Light the villain just plain sucks these days). I do like the mention of her children though and hope Robinson keeps some degree of focus on them in her future stories since its a little mentioned fact in her appearances.

The prior issue's Zatarra / Zatanna stuff IMO was played out and has already been done to death in the past. I feel like I've read that sequence before with her in like three places.

All around, I thought this tie-in wasn't terrible but mediocre at best. Still, a step up for Robinson so far from his other JLA stories.

Just read JLA 40 (referenced in Cobie's above post) and was underwhelmed. Really, it seemed BLs Vibe and Steel were mostly just really annoying. Yeah, both Gypsy and Vixen do have issues and those do go all the way back to their beginnings--but it seemed the BLs were really more about pissing off and demeaning them more than anything. Playing off their guilt over what happened to their teammates would've seemed more natural.Vibe's speech patterns were just annoying (though unfortunately accurate).

And then, there's rapist Doctor Light. *groan* Did Robinson really have to play that up so much? It's really just sickening, and I really regret that my son got ahold of that and read it before I did. He's really gotten in to Blackest Night and reads all the tie-ins I buy. Hopefully, he had no clue what that dialogue was all about.

I hope next issue starts to show the potential of what Robinson's planning, or I won't be buying this much longer. There's apparently a master plan here. We need to be shown something when the new lineup debuts next month--really fast!

Gotta say, I've followed every incarnation of the league since the satelite era in the mid 70's. After the last three or four years, I'm having a lot more fun collecting issues from before I ever started reading. Just got the one where the original Nekron showed up and fought the league. Wonder Woman returned, only to "die" as the cover said with Hawkman holding a "dead" diana.

Couple of weeks ago, I got the issue where an alien race kidnaps superman to save them from Despero, and convinces superman that some actors they are using is the justice league. This was back when supergirl wore hotpants and was...well...hot.

So, Donna's gone and rounded up her ole Titans gang to form the new JLA. There were so many things I could comment on this issue, but all that stays with me is the image of Donna's boobs practically busting out of her costume! (bad pun intended)

I don't understand Diana's need to push Donna into the league when she herself is staying out of it.

I can understand Diana thinking that it'd be good for Donna at this time in her life and deciding to step back so that Donna get out from her shadow. I know it mainly fits in line with the advancement of the "mini-Trinity" (with Dick and Mon) more than anything else though.

Robinson at last begins assembling the team that will make up his League and its an improvement over the last few issues. But really, it still isn't up to snuff.

Of course, whether its unfair or not, I can't get the awful Cry for Justice series out of my head, which still hasn't ended (and the spoilers on how it ends make it look like it'll be even worse than we imagined). Robinson has to actually be better than everyone else to make up for that; so far he hasn't even been "good".

so....who's gonna be in the titans?

personally i always liked the idea of the titans graduating and taking over, maybe one at a time like roy, is more realistic, but i wouldn't think it wouldn't happen for a while...or in soem drastic incident where all the originals were outta commission (rather than just not feeling like it)

(why dont they just change the title of jla to titans!!)

what is the problem with supes, batman, wonder etc....being the justice league?

i mean wolverine is in like 6 or 7 books in the marvel u.

and btw i've always thought kimiyo could hand dr.light his butt. without the whole i love my children bit.

i just hope we dont get many more book full of characters whining that they dont want to be in the league.

Is the JLA still crying for justice?

No actually, they've started crying "LEAGUE!!" instead. (I think in the third part of Robinson's trilogy, they'll be crying for america...)

League together, that would be... more fitting... all those Titans in the JLA - kind of logical step, if the old heroes would have gone away... but they haven't...

Anyway Starfire won't stay for long, cause she has already <span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">been announced as the next REBELS addition... probably to boost sales there.</span></span>

But as long as all those Titans are running around in JLA I will give this book a chance (already quit it twice since #1... third time a charm...)