I Reads You Review: SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #1

SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

WRITER: Scott Snyder
PENCILS: Jim Lee, Dustin Nguyen
INKS: Scott Williams
COLORS: Alex Sinclair, John Kalisz
LETTERS: Sal Cipriano
COVER: Jim Lee and Scott Williams with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVERS: Jim Lee, Bruce Timm, Dave Johnson, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Neal Adams, Jerry Ordway, Dan Jurgens, Lee Bermejo, Brett Booth
40pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (August 2013)

Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Last year, DC Comics unleashed a new ongoing Superman comic book series to coincide with the release of Man of Steel, the 2013 relaunch of the Superman film franchise.  Superman Unchained is from burning-hot writer Scott Snyder and superstar-for-over-two-decades artist Jim Lee with his longtime inker, Scott Williams.

Superman Unchained #1 (“The Leap”) opens with a brief (kind of) prologue that takes place in Nagasaki, Japan on April 9th, 1945.  We move to the present (which seems like a near-future) and find Superman trying to stop a space station called the Lighthouse from causing an epic catastrophe when it crashes to Earth.

Superman has suspects for the Lighthouse event, which include Lex Luthor (on his way to prison) and a cyber terrorist group known as Ascension.  The Man of Steel is probably wrong on his suspects, and there is a lot that he doesn’t know.  But Superman doesn’t know what he doesn’t know.

Superman Unchained #1 is one busy comic book.  Scott Snyder, obviously in love with his dialogue, packs this first issue with so much talk and exposition.  This first issue is like a box of “Raisin Bran” (or one of its knock-offs) infested with raisins – just too much of a good thing.  The story is a slick piece of sci-fi-lite, complete with digital displays and shiny tech.  The story, however, doesn’t really get hot until the last page of “The Leap.”  Of note, there is also a two-page epilogue drawn by Dustin Nguyen.

Speaking of busy, that’s Jim Lee’s pencils.  Lee draws so much anemic line work and so many scritchy-scratch lines that we should be thankful for Scott Williams ability to rein in Lee’s excesses and eccentricities.  As usual, Alex Sinclair’s colors turn the art into comic book eye candy.  I have to admit that I’ll be back for future issues.

B

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder #2

ALL STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER #2
DC COMICS – @DCComics

WRITER: Frank Miller
PENCILS: Jim Lee
INKS: Scott Williams
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Jared K. Fletcher
40pp, Color, $2.99 U.S., $4.00 CAN (November 2005)

Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger

Recently I started reading All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder, again.  Written by Frank Miller and drawn by Jim Lee, All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder was the first series in DC Comics’ then new “All Star” imprint.  This publishing initiative would offer comic book miniseries produced by writers and artists who were renowned in the American comic book industry.  The Batman All-Star title was shortly followed by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All Star Superman.

I can’t remember how much or if I liked All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder #1, but I did enjoy it after recently reading it again.  How did I feel about All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder #2?  I certainly remember my feelings because I have written proof.  Here is my review of it for the Comic Book Bin, back in 2005:

What can I say? All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder is a bigger over-hyped bomb than Batman: Hush, and Jim Lee’s art was better. Honestly, I don’t think that many people expected this title to be great, but buying it has to be a necessity to so many super hero comic buyers precisely because of the reason for the hype – Frank Miller and Jim Lee.

The problem is Frank Miller. He stated in one the of interviews he gave concerning ASBARTBW that this title was taking place in the Batman “universe” he created for The Dark Knight Returns. However, this title lacks the explosive, in-your-face drama of DKR or the wacky, cartoonish violence that made The Dark Knight Strikes Again fun to read. This Batman doesn’t seem at all like any Batman ever portrayed in a DC comic. He rambles and his violence seems joystick directed. In fact, I would say that if a Batman like this exists anywhere, it’s probably in one of those unproduced screenplays Warner Bros. has commissioned over the years while they developed various Batman feature films. Miller even makes Alfred the butler a former military special operative. Whatever.

Having a bad script could have reduced Jim Lee to being an unimaginative art robot. But all his drafting skills are on display; the man can draw to the point of impressing the viewer. Lee struggles to make good compositions out of this mess, and for the most part he succeeds. If there is any fun in this, it’s seeing this virtuoso pianist turn a lame symphony into easy listening eye candy.

C+

Wow!  I really hated on Miller, and, as usual, I completely hung on Jim Lee’s jockstrap.  So I recently read All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder #2 again, and I certainly liked it more than I did the first time.

Miller’s script is certainly over-the-top, but this time, I think that there are only a few pages that come across as tedious.  I think Miller has always seen Batman as being similar to Clint Eastwood’s screen persona, especially Eastwood as “Dirty” Harry Callahan.  That has never been more obvious than in All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder, and this time it works for me, for the most part.

The last three or four pages are basically a two-man play featuring Batman and a grieving Dick Grayson.  Miller handles this with a mixture of pathos and humor that belie this series’ general acerbic tone.  I think Miller is having fun with “his Batman,” while lampooning his audience’s expectations or demands that he give them a proper sequel to Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

As for Jim Lee’s art, produced with Scott Williams (inks) and Alex Sinclair (colors):  I’m starting to think that All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder is Lee’s best work.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder #1

ALL STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER #1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

WRITER: Frank Miller
PENCILS: Jim Lee
INKS: Scott Williams
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Jared K. Fletcher
36pp, Color, $2.99 U.S., $4.00 CAN (September 2005)

I only read a few issues of All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder, but I have been thinking about it, on and off, for the last year or so.  Why?  It’s best not to dig too deep.

Thanks to Mile High Comics’ constant stream of deep-discount sales, I was able to get another copy of All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder #1.  [I don’t know what happened to the first copy I had.].  I can’t remember how much or if I liked it the first time I read it back in 2005.  I do remember not liking issue #2.  This time, however, I really enjoyed reading #1.

As you may remember, All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder, written by Frank Miller and drawn by Jim Lee, was the first series to be launched in 2005 under DC Comics’ then new “All Star” imprint.  This imprint was to feature comic book miniseries produced by writers and artists who were renowned in the American comic book industry.  Each series would feature stories that take place outside DC Universe continuity and would also retell the history (in part) of a prominent DC Universe character, while being set in its own continuity and in a separate universe  [Yes, I know; this is all fan jargon].

All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder #1 opens with a splash page of young Dick Grayson of the circus acrobatic team, The Flying Graysons.  Then, the story moves to the swanky Gotham City apartment of intrepid, sex-pot reporter, Vicki Vale.  Alfred Pennyworth calls to inform her that she has a date with millionaire Bruce Wayne.  Wayne takes Vale to the circus, and she wonders why Wayne admits to keeping an “eye’ on young Dick.  It culminates in a double homicide and an extended action scene involving a car chase and The Batman.

Frank Miller has apparently described All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder as being set in the same universe as his Bat-magnum opus, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.  Actually, Miller’s dialogue reads like something he wrote for Sin City – tongue-in-cheek and sharp-edged.  I see characters in this series as dark, arrogant and/or supremely confident – depending on how I interpret a scene.  Once again, this is more Sin City than Batman.

The joy of All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder #1 is Jim Lee’s pencil art.  With Scott Williams’s dexterous yet precise inks and Alex Sinclair’s gleaming, neon-like colors, Lee is doing his version of Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley’s art for Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

Lee began cleaning up his compositions of inconsequential crosshatching and other extraneous line work beginning with his twelve-issue run on Batman (entitled “Hush”) back in 2002.  He began to focus more on page design and the graphic design within each panel.  The result was better looking art.

Here, Lee captures the stylish sensibilities of early Batman comic books, a mixture of newspaper comic strip art and pulp fiction illustration, with art deco flourishes.  Lee seems to be having fun with All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder #1, and I’m having fun reading it.  I look forward to reading #2, again.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: JUSTICE LEAGUE #7

JUSTICE LEAGUE #7
DC COMICS – @DCComics

WRITER: Geoff Johns
PENCILS: Gene Ha
COLORS: Art Lyon
LETTERS: Patrick Brosseau
COVER: Jim Lee and Scott Williams, with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVER: Gary Frank with Brad Anderson
40pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.

Rated “T” for Teen

“The Villain’s Journey” Prologue

Why am I just reviewing the seventh issue Justice League now? This month will see the eleventh issue published since #7 first appeared. Well, the reason is a compilation of excuses: infrequent trips to a not-near-enough local comic book shop (LCS), finances, time, acquisition, etc. You might add that I was reluctant to read an issue of The New 52 Justice League that Jim Lee did not draw. That’s a shame because this issue’s artist, Gene Ha, delivers some nice looking pages.

Justice League #7 opens in present day Baltimore, Maryland. An army biological warfare specialist named Dr. Samuel Street was exposed to the “Spore” virus. Now, Street is a villain called “Spore,” and he creates “Seeds,” which are mindless flesh-eating creatures that he can control telepathically. Plus, Street/Spore is holding his ex-wife hostage. Enter the Justice League: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Flash, and Cyborg.

This story has a second focus, Colonel Steve Trevor. Wonder Woman’s would-be lover, Trevor is head of A.R.G.U.S. – Advanced Research Group Uniting Super Humans. A.R.G.U.S. is both a support group for the Justice League and an intermediary between the League and the U.S. government. Now, Trevor faces a Congressional debriefing, and these members of Congress want answers.

I think this issue stands out because of the focus on Steve Trevor. Writer Geoff Johns gives us the same action and squabbling that he has written into the Justice League since the series’ re-launched back in 2011. Johns gets personal with Trevor, showing both the man of action and the man who is a good boss and a lovesick puppy. Gene Ha is the right artist for Trevor’s story, and he certainly does some good action scenes for the League. Still, Ha’s subtle touch in drawing faces better serves this character focus on Steve Trevor.

Justice League #7 has a back-up feature. Once again, DC Comics is trying to do something with Shazam-Captain Marvel. This time with Johns and artist Gary Frank, and perhaps I can say that maybe it works a little better than the previous efforts over the last 30 years. But in the long term, dark Captain Marvel just won’t work. There is something inherent in the character that suggests light-hearted fantasy. DC and its writers just don’t seem to have the imagination, with a few exceptions, to do anything really interesting with this character.

B+

[Justice League currently includes a Shazam back-up story by Geoff Johns (writer), Gary Frank (artist), Brad Anderson (colors), and Nick J. Napolitano (letters).]

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

I Reads You Review: THE TOWER CHRONICLES: GestHawk, Volume 1

THE TOWER CHRONICLES: GEISTHAWK, VOLUME 1
LEGENDARY COMICS

CREATORS: Thomas Tull and Matt Wagner
WRITER: Matt Wagner
PENCILS: Simon Bisley
INKS: Rodney Ramos
COLORS: Ryan Brown
LETTERS: Sean Konot
COVER: Jim Lee and Scott Williams with Alex Sinclair
ISBN: 978-1-937278-02-1; paperback (October 2012)
72pp, Color, $7.99 U.S., $9.99 CAN

Legendary Comics is a division of the American film production company, Legendary Pictures, Inc. Legendary Pictures has co-produced such hit films as 300 (based on the Frank Miller graphic novel) and Christopher Nolan’s three Batman films. Having dealt with movies based on comic books, Legendary Pictures founder and CEO, Thomas Tull, has decided to get directly into the creation and publication of comic books.

Tull joined American comic book legend, Matt Wagner (Grendel, Mage), to create a new series of graphic novels, The Tower Chronicles. A proposed trilogy, The Tower Chronicles will see each of its three books serialized in four parts (volumes or issues). The first book/trilogy is The Tower Chronicles: GeistHawk, written by Wagner and drawn by Simon Bisley, himself a legend for his work on Lobo for DC Comics.

The Tower Chronicles: GeistHawk, Volume 1 introduces John Tower, a supernatural bounty hunter. Tower will travel the world and go to its darkest recesses to find and destroy some of the most unfathomable monstrosities and creatures. But John doesn’t work for free. Prospective clients must go through Tower’s lawyer, Romulus Barnes, and they must be able to pay Tower’s considerable fees.

One of his newest clients is Agent Alicia Hardwicke of the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit. With nothing else working, Hardwicke turns to Tower to help her capture a serial killer called the “Piranha Killer.” However, this murderer is not a serial killer, and Agent Hardwicke does not believe in Tower’s world of supernatural creatures. Where do they go from there?

The Tower Chronicles and its lead character, John Tower, are like a blending of Marvel Comics’ character, Blade; the New Line Cinema film series starring Blade; and the character Harry Dresden from author Jim Butcher supernatural detective book series, The Dresden Files. And that’s not a bad thing, because this first volume of The Tower Chronicles is well produced with a well-executed story.

Matt Wagner’s story is expectedly secretive about John Tower’s past, but he tells a fast-paced story full of exciting action-fantasy violence that simply drags the reader along – if he or she likes this kind of genre. The characters are familiar types from various genres and mass entertainments: pulp crime, TV female law enforcement officers, vampire lit, etc., but Wagner punches them up with snappy banter and effective dialogue.

What really makes this stand out is Simon Bisley’s pencil art. As inked by Rodney Ramos and colored by Ryan Brown, Bisley’s compositions are offbeat, which makes the graphical storytelling here different from any other urban fantasy or monster hunter comic books. You can be forgiven for mistaking the Bisley-Ramos union for its resemblance to the work of Paul Gulacy, who would be good for the series should Bisley be unable to continue. For added measure, the team of Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair provide the cover for The Tower Chronicles: GeistHawk, Volume 1, and a good cover it is.

I enjoyed The Tower Chronicles: GeistHawk, Volume 1 enough to want to seek out the rest of the series, some of which has already been released. If you’re missing a good Blade comic book, certainly try this more-than-adequate substitute.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

-----------------------------------------

Albert Avilla Reviews: Justice League #12

Justice League #12
DC Comics

Reviewed by Albert Avilla

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Jim Lee, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, David Finch
Inks: Scott Williams, Sandra Hope, Jonathan Glapion, Mark Irwin, Matthew Banning, Rob Hunter, Joe Weems, Alex Garner, Trevor Scott

The Graves storyline comes to a conclusion. We learn that the spirits of the League's loved ones are really spiritual parasites called Pretas, and with their help, Graves starts to take the League down. Steve Trevor frees himself despite being on the edge of death to help the most powerful heroes on Earth. Once Trevor shows up the League realizes that they are not fighting the spirits of their loved ones. The League uses teamwork to defeat Graves; they are becoming the team that we expected.

This is a very eventful story. Green Lantern decides to quit the team as a sacrifice to protect the team's image. It is a sign of the times when you risk your life to save the world, and you have to consider how you are perceived by others while doing it. Green Lantern plays it off like it’s not a major concern, but we know how important the League is to him.

The major bombshell dropped on us is The Kiss. I glad the cover wasn't just sales hype. Superman kisses Wonder Woman in a moment of shared loneliness and understanding of how much they have in common. There will be debate about who kissed whom, but that is not the purpose of this review. Is it a moment of weakness or the beginning of the affair that will rock comicdom? I hope it is not a hook up; I couldn't live with the drama of Wonder Woman being Superman's baby mama. They are both young people, and everyone should have that passionate relationship that burns hot and quickly. It would be shocking if this actually leads to something meaningful. There is definitely story potential here. The New 52, what are you going to do? Blow the roof off the mother or shoot blanks?

All that needs to be said about the art is Jim Lee.

I rate Justice League #12 Buy Your Own Copy.

I Reads You Review: JUSTICE LEAGUE #6

"The Jim Lee Project"
JUSTICE LEAGUE #6
DC COMICS

WRITER: Geoff Johns
PENCILS: Jim Lee
INKS: Scott Williams with Sandra Hope, Batt, and Mark Irwin
COLORS: Alex Sinclair with Tony Avina and Hi-Fi
LETTERS: Patrick Brosseau
COVER: Jim Lee and Scott Williams, with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVER: Ivan Reis and Joe Prado with Rod Reis
40pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.

So two months after I read the fifth issue, I finally read Justice League #6 (entitled “Part Six” or Justice League Part Six”). This new Justice League comic book series, launched the last week of August 2011, is essentially the flagship title of “The New 52,” DC Comics’ re-launch of its superhero comic book line, which also began the last week of August 2011.

As the issue begins, seven superheroes: Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and Cyborg, who are not part of a team and who are not all friends, have gathered to stop an alien invasion of Earth. Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and Cyborg, in a united front, try to takedown the leader of this invasion, Darkseid. Meanwhile, on Darkseid’s world, Batman attempts to rescue Superman, who is being tortured by Desaad.

For this opening story arc of the new Justice League, writer Geoff John’s offers what is simply just one big battle that allows him to introduce his new version of the Justice League team lineup. It’s a fairly good story, but, it is also really a single-issue (at most, two-issue) story stretched to six issues i.e. trade paperback size.

To be honest with you, dear reader, I am following this series for Jim Lee’s art. When I review issues not drawn by Lee, you better believe that I got those as freebies. Back to Lee’s art: what glorious art it is! Lee summons his inner Jack Kirby by delivering pencil art full of super powers on display and super-beings in motion. Lee brings out the Kirby bat on such delicious splash pages and spreads as the one featuring Wonder Woman stabbing Darkseid in the eye, Superman flying into Darkseid’s midsection, and the Cyborg boom tube explosion. Ahhh, I think I need a cigarette.

A-

There is a Pandora back-up by Geoff Johns (writer), Carlos D’Anda (artist), Gabe Eltaeb (colors), and Sal Cipriano (letters).

I Reads You Review: JUSTICE LEAGUE #5

JUSTICE LEAGUE #5
DC COMICS

WRITER: Geoff Johns
PENCILS: Jim Lee
INKS: Scott Williams
COLORS: Alex Sinclair with Gabe Eltaeb
LETTERS: Patrick Brosseau
COVER: Jim Lee and Scott Williams, with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVER: Eric Basaldua with Nei Ruffino
40pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.

The subject of this comic book review is Justice League, the flagship title of “The New 52,” DC Comics’ re-launch of its superhero comic book line, which began August 2011. As I’ve done in previous reviews of this new Justice League series, I come in praise of it.

In the previous issue, Darkseid was revealed as the villain behind the worldwide invasion of earth by alien/extra-dimensional forces. As Justice League #5 (“Part Five”) opens, Superman and Flash are taking their shots at Darkseid – to no avail. Batman and Green Lantern agree to a truce in their petty rivalry as The Dark Knight hatches a plan for a rescue mission. Meanwhile, Green Lantern leads the charge of the heroes still standing.

As I learn to enjoy Geoff Johns, at least while I’m reading Justice League, I also realize that he has stretched this story beyond reason. After five issues, Johns has written what would have been about a single issue’s worth of story for Stan Lee back in the 1960s. Of course, Lee’s frequent collaborator, artist Jack Kirby, would have squeezed the action into smaller panels than the ones drawn by Johns’ Justice League collaborator, artist Jim Lee.

Honestly, I would not still be reading this if not for Jim Lee. (I love you, Jim Lee!) As long as he is drawing it, I’m down. Well, I didn’t read his Superman arc with writer Brian Azzarello, because reading it bored me severely.

For extras, there are two pages of Wonder Woman sketches by Cliff Chiang, two of Aquaman by Ivan Reis, and two pages of Cyborg by Jim Lee. There is also a two-page sneak peek of Suicide Squad #6-7, with art by Clayton Henry.

B+

I Reads You Review: JUSTICE LEAGUE #4

JUSTICE LEAGUE #4
DC COMICS

WRITER: Geoff Johns
PENCILS: Jim Lee
INKS: Scott Williams
COLORS: Alex Sinclair with Gabe Eltaeb
LETTERS: Patrick Brosseau
COVER: Jim Lee and Scott Williams, with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVER: Andy Kubert with Alex Sinclair
40pp, Color, $3.99/$4.99 (combo pack) U.S.

I consider Justice League to be the flagship title of “The New 52,” DC Comics’ re-launch of its superhero comic book line. And what a flagship it is – all big and shiny and full of pretty art and big action scenes. As I’ve written in previous reviews, Justice League may be mediocre for all I know, but I’m too in love with this series to think of it as anything other than fantastic.

Justice League #4 (“Part Four”) opens in the Red Room at S.T.A.R. Labs in Detroit, as Victor Stone emerges from his Promethium transformation. Shocked at what he’s become, Victor is about to discover just how transformed he is. In the wake of his sudden appearance, Aquaman must prove his mettle to some among the small gathering of superheroes: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Flash. Now, the adversary behind the inter-dimensional/alien invasion of Earth will be revealed.

It has been three months since I read the third issue of Justice League, which was a good thing. I needed to take a step back. The plan was to come back with the ability to take a critical look at this series. To hell with that! I love this new Justice League.

I was not a fan of Geoff Johns because I had read next to nothing of his work prior to this Justice League series, but I like what he is doing here. He has created an engaging dynamic between the characters, mixing rivalry, jealousy, and heroism into a pleasing character ensemble.

But let’s get serious. This is the Jim Lee show, with his able assistants, inker Scott Williams and colorist Alex Sinclair, also shining in their skill sets. I think action movies have influenced Lee’s storytelling as much as any comic book writer, artist, or writer/artist. Practically every page, even the ones with multiple panels, features one big panel that creates a sense of scale for the reader. It is as if Lee wants to remind us that this isn’t just another superhero fight; this is a Bruckheimer/Bay movie.

Williams’ macho inking makes the art seem real, but not photo-real, by depicting detail in everything from Steve Trevor’s uniform and gear to Victor Stone’s new body. Alex Sinclair’s colors shimmer, pop off the pages, and sometimes surprisingly, subtly create mood. Yes, I was right last year. This is good.

For extras, there are two pages of Flashes sketches by Francis Manapul and a (faux) dossier on S.T.A.R. Laboratories employees.

A

The New 52 Review: JUSTICE LEAGUE #3

"Here Comes Wonder Woman"

JUSTICE LEAGUE #3
DC COMICS

WRITER: Geoff Johns
PENCILS: Jim Lee
INKS: Scott Williams
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Patrick Brosseau
COVER: Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVER: Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion with FCO Plascencia
40pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.

November is the third month of “The New 52,” DC Comics’ re-launch of its superhero comic book line. I want to offer thanksgiving for the re-launch’s most popular title, Justice League #3, written by Geoff Johns, penciled by Jim Lee, inked by Scott Williams, and colored by Alex Sinclair. Yes, I am still loving this new Justice League. What can I say? I am an easy mark for anything drawn by Jim Lee – even if the overall comic book is lousy, which this Justice League is not.

Maybe, it is mediocre for all I know, but I would still love it.

Justice League #3 (“Part Three”) brings Wonder Woman into the story. Feeling imprisoned at the Pentagon, she goes out into the public, which fears her. Her outing puts her right square in the middle of an invasion of otherworldly monsters that is plaguing the planet. Is she enough to help the overwhelmed team of Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and Flash turn the tide? And a new hero enters the story.

Meanwhile, at S.T.A.R. Labs in Detroit, Silas Stone injects his son, Victor, with alien technology to save his life. Whatever else it may do to him, this technology is giving Victor a unique perspective of the invasion.

I’d normally be pissed off that this story is being stretched out over several issues (probably six), but Geoff Johns is packing so much action fudge into each page that I hardly notice that, so far, $11.97 plus tax gets me only half a story. Of course, Lee, Williams, and Sinclair continue to turn out pretty pictures that make excellent comics. For extras, there are two pages of Green Lantern sketches by Cully Hammer.

A

The New 52 Review: JUSTICE LEAGUE #2

"Superman-handled"

JUSTICE LEAGUE #2
DC COMICS

WRITER: Geoff Johns
PENCILS: Jim Lee
INKS: Scott Williams
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Patrick Brosseau
COVER: Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVER: Ivan Reis, Andy Lanning, and Rod Reis
40pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.

DC Comics re-launched its superhero comic book line with 52 #1 issues – “The New 52,” back in September. The first new #1 was Justice League #1, written by Geoff Johns, penciled by Jim Lee, and inked by Scott Williams. Now that the introductions to the new JL have been made, it is time for the long haul. Is this series good?

Justice League #2 (“Part Two”) brings together the first members of what will become the world’s greatest super team, but this is an inauspicious beginning. Batman and Green Lantern made a mistake in the way they approached Superman in order to question him. Now, Superman is stomping their asses into the ground, and Flash comes to the rescue, but will he fare better? Meanwhile, S.T.A.R. Labs scientist, Silas Stone, and his son, Victor, find their family feud interrupted by an invasion.

I didn’t expect much of Justice League #1, but was pleasantly surprised. Suddenly, I had bigger expectations for #2, which I am happy to say were exceeded. Up to this point, I have been unimpressed with Geoff Johns, but he writes a Justice League that is funny, lively, energetic and fast paced. The characters work purely as superheroes; John’s focus seems to be to make them heroes – men of action rather than men of psychoanalysis. [Oh, I’m so dark and moody because my parents were shot right in front of me, I got a Jheri curl, and went to the Far East to learn magical kung fu.]

As for the art, I think this is the best work that Jim Lee has done, both in terms of being eye-candy and storytelling, since the 1990s. Scott William’s precision inking and Alex Sinclair’s gleaming colors make it even better. For me, at least, The New 52 is about superhero comic books that are fun to read, and Justice League exemplifies that.

A

The New 52 Review: ACTION COMICS #1

ACTION COMICS #1
DC COMICS

WRITER: Grant Morrison
PENICLS: Rags Morales
INKS: Rick Bryant
COLORS: Brad Anderson
LETTERS: Patrick Brosseau
COVER: Rags Morales with Brad Anderson (Variant cover by Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair)
40pp, Color, $3.99

Launched in 1938, Action Comics was published by Detective Comics, Inc., the company that would eventually become DC Comics. Action Comics #1 (cover dated June 1938) was the comic book that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character. As part of DC Comics’ re-launch of its superhero comics line, we have a new #1 issue of Action Comics, and like the 1938 first issue, this one introduces Superman – a somewhat new Superman.

Action Comics #1 (“Versus the City of Tomorrow”) presents a young Superman. Written by Grant Morrison, Superman comes across as a trust-busting, New Deal populist willing to put his boot up the asses of rich-bitch bad guys. In fact, this Superman actually wears work boots and also blue jeans; he is a wavy-haired, Errol Flynn-as-Robin Hood, boyish Man of Steel. Pencil artist Rags Morales draws him as a farm boy dynamo who leaps, levitates, and slams into big things in such a naturalistic way.

Clark Kent, on the other hand, is Clark. He is the kind of big, tall, strong-looking guy who is as average as a glass of water. Actually, this is a good move on Morrison’s part because no other characters in the story could believe that a guy like this Clark is that strapping Superman fellow.

This issue’s story involves a poncy, privileged, rich boy-type Lex Luthor helping the U.S. military capture Superman, who (believe it or not) is public enemy number one. Of course, no one suspects that Luthor has his own plans to take into consideration and he does not care about collateral damage.

I like Grant Morrison’s retro-30s meets futurism take on Superman and his world. Rags Morales compositions are vibrant in terms of movement and staging of action in the panels, and his figure drawing is dynamic – praise Burne Hogarth. They have Action Comics off to a fine start.

A-

August 31st
FLASHPOINT #5
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/flashpoint-5.html
JUSTICE LEAGUE #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/justice-league-1.html

September 7th
DETECTIVE COMICS #1 2.99
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/detective-comics-1-2011.html

The New 52 Review: JUSTICE LEAGUE #1

JUSTICE LEAGUE #1
DC COMICS

WRITER: Geoff Johns
PENCILS: Jim Lee
INKS: Scott Williams
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Patrick Brosseau
COVER: Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVER: David Finch, Richard Friend, and Peter Steigerwald
40pp, Color, $3.99

DC Comics’ premiere superhero team, the Justice League of America, first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #28 (cover dated February/March 1960). The League’s original lineup of superheroes was Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter. The League got its own title, Justice League of America in 1960. Over time, that series was re-launched as Justice League (1987), JLA (1996-cover dated 1997), and Justice League of America (Vol. 2, 2006), among various other miniseries, specials, alternate versions, etc.

Now, DC Comics is re-launching its superhero comic book line with 52 #1 issues – “The New 52,” and the first new #1 is Justice League, written by Geoff Johns, penciled by Jim Lee, and inked by Scott Williams. This new League has a starting lineup: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Aquaman, and Cyborg (originally of The New Teen Titans). Additional members will include The Atom, Hawkman, and Deadman, among others.

Justice League #1 opens five years prior to whatever is the current time in the DC Universe. Batman is caught between a vicious alien creature that he is chasing across the rooftops of Gotham City and helicopter-borne members of the Gotham City Police Department that want to put a cap in his ass. Just when it seems that Batman is in trouble, Green Lantern arrives. Now, Batman has an unwanted partner as he tries to unravel a mystery that seems to originate from outer space.

I didn’t expect much of Justice League #1, but I’m pleasantly surprised. It’s not great, but it is a very good read. The art by Jim Lee and his longtime collaborator, Scott Williams, features some impressive compositions and designs… of course, though Lee’s figure drawing is below his recent work. Between the coated paper stock used to print this book and Alex Sinclair’s succulent and gleaming coloring, there was a glare off this comic that tried to blind me.

Seriously though, I like this. Batman is Batman. With Green Lantern, Geoff Johns seems to be channeling Robert Downey, Jr.’s Tony Stark and Kanye West. I haven’t read a Justice League comic book in the last five or six years, and this is a great issue to welcome me back.

B+


FLASHPOINT #5: http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/flashpoint-5.html