The Deal: DC’s bi-weekly series about the team formerly known as Justice League International continues. This issue, Batman gets in on the act and Magog rears his horned head — perhaps as a harbinger for impending doom.
The Bad: I’ve got a question: Does Alex Ross own a secret video of Dan Didio dry-humping a goat or something? Because, I’m totally confused why every writer at DC wants to inject the artist’s version of the future — the one he drew in the acclaimed limited series Kingdom Come — into every damned comic book series at the company. This issue is the latest manifestation of the Ross-ification of DC … and at this point, it’s just stupid folks. What the hell does anti-hero/villain Maxwell Lord have to do with Magog and the whole Kingdom Come version of the DC Universe? Answer: Nothing. But that didn’t stop writer Judd Winick from forcing the story line into the book. When will the editorial minds at DC accept the fact that Magog is a boring character, and only a small cadre of readers actually care about the alternate future outlined in Kingdom Come? I mean, I read the series years ago, and I don’t even remember what exactly happened. All that said, I’m not digging where this book’s story line is going. Not only is this Kingdom Come stuff not working, but the series — which is about a bunch of B-list heroes searching for a B-list villain — is just uninteresting in general. I’m not in love with the art here either; it’s not awful, but I’ve seen better pages from Joe Bennett.
The Good: The nostalgia factor is the main reason to read this title. I loved the old Justice League International comic from back in the day, but the nostalgia is running dry. We saw glimpses of other JLI members — Batman and Power Girl — this issue; more guest appearances like that would help the series. Another idea: How about more sub-plots?
The Verdict: I’m about ready to drop this book.
Quick Hits
Fantastic Four No. 583: I’m so happy that the art team on this series has stabilized. Steve Epting’s pencils make writer Jonathan Hickman’s crazy ideas feel solid and real. The Verdict: It’s a great time to jump on the book. So, jump.
Reviewed materials provided by Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find: www.heroesonline.com.
This article appears in Sep 28 – Oct 4, 2010.
