My Wife Enjoyed Predators And Prey Quite A Bit More Than I Did!

The Good: Great sense of continuity, Decent character development, Decent plot development
The Bad: More fractured than other "episodes," Binding (seriously!), Some of the artwork
The Basics: Funny, quirky and generally well-illustrated, Predators And Prey tells more fractured stories as the eighth season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer progresses.

Almost two years ago, for our six month anniversary with my wife, an avid fan of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, one of the gifts I purchased for her was the Buffy The Vampire Slayer graphic novel, (volume 5) Predators And Prey. This morning, I finally had the opportunity (while my store's software was down) to read it. After my wife raved about it for a week (she peeked inside and found herself reading the entire thing in a single sitting), I think I was expecting more. Still, I did enjoy this volume, but not as much as I had hoped to.

For those who do not understand the concept of Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Eight, it is pretty simple. Continuing the story of Buffy The Vampire Slayer (reviewed here!), from where the television series ended up, Buffy and her friends have relocated to Scotland with an army of Slayers and they have been training in order to take on the legions of vampires still roaming the world. This is happening at the same time as the fifth season of Angel and Predators And Prey is intended to be the fifth episode of the season. It also is a real mucking up of the sense of the Buffyverse and there are several chunks of the story where tension is lost simply because of how Angel developed.

For starters, one of the problems with Predators And Prey is that it is less of an "episode" than it is a collection of vignettes. The five comic books that are compiled into this trade paperback anthology are only loosely connected and they do not tell a single story over the course of the book. Instead, while the first "chapter" of Predators And Prey sets off an important event, the subsequent bits have that only peripherally as a factor of the events of those stories.

"Harmonic Divergence" is a simple and direct story which puts Harmony into the eighth season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. She starts her own reality show called "Harmony Bites" where she does her ditzy thing and sires people at parties (starting with Andy Dick in an alley) and MTV films her. The show is floundering until a new Slayer who has left a gang and is not eager to join the Slayer Army tries to stake Harmony on television. This has the effect of vilifying the Slayers and making vampires into a cool status symbol.

The problems with "Harmonic Divergence" are mostly in the continuity of the "episode." The incident makes Harmony an instant celebrity and while it is easy enough to believe that she would fall from grace quick enough to end up at Wolfram & Hart for the fifth season of Angel, it does not track that she would be able to do so without any consequences or mention. Fitting Harmony into Buffy is cute and has a very classic Buffy feel to it, especially with Harmony's little monologues, but it mucks up the timeline of the Buffyverse or makes it harder to accept Harmony in Angel. Most fans, no doubt, will let the comic book be forgotten before the more inarguably cannon episodes of Angel that would have followed this.

The second story, "Swell" is pretty wonderful. While the U.S. deals with Harmony as a celebrity and vampires as a status symbol, Satsu deals with the resulting merchandise in Tokyo. Kennedy arrives to help Satsu and give her a performance evaluation and the two lesbian Slayers commiserate on their place in the grand order. They uncover a plot from a demon army that takes over a factory of stuffed animal vampire kitties and they are forced to destroy it lest an army of puppet humans be used against Buffy and the Slayers in Scotland.

"Swell" is good, save the lack of consequence. While Satsu is reasonably disappointed that Buffy has not fallen in love with her following their night of lovemaking, when Satsu is used by one of the stuffed creatures, she suffers no real ill effects and while Buffy The Vampire Slayer is usually quite good at killing off its peripheral characters and I'm in no hurry to see Satsu bite the dust, the failure of her to truly suffer from her ordeal when others are pictured as desiccated zombies is disappointing. Also, this issue suffers from some pretty lame artwork, most notably on page 32 where Georges Jeanty makes thumbnail sketches of some of the characters and most of them are just unrecognizable.

Predators And Prey almost ties up a weird tacked-on subplot begun at the very end of one of the prior episodes. Buffy and Andrew go in search of Simone. Andrew, it seems, has good intel on the location of Simone's lieutenant as a ragna spider demon has trapped her. Buffy and Andrew go to rescue her, but are ambushed by Simone, who makes off with the Ragna and Andrew and Buffy track her and her cadre to an island they have taken over, expelling the natives from. As Buffy fights to regain control of the rogue cell, Andrew admits that he genetically engineered the demon to try to contribute to the team and this makes him a target for Simone and her entire team.

Predators And Prey is the big continuity nightmare in the eighth season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. First, Andrew mentions seeing Angel recently. That's fine; he did. But Andrew sees Angel in the twentieth episode of Angel Season Five. This is Episode five of the same (temporally) season. He also mentions Spike being alive and looking good to Buffy. This garners no reaction whatsoever from Buffy. While years and years have passed here in reality for the readers and writers in the Buffyverse, only a few months have passed since Sunnydale bit the dust with Spike in it. That Buffy would not even say anything learning that he is once again alive and well (and corporeal) is troubling. Otherwise, the issue works well as Buffy actually becomes more adult and helps to define what the Slayers are trying to do and how Andrew is actually a part of that now.

"Safe" picks up the Faith and Giles storyline begun in No Future For You. With Slayers being vilified worldwide, the Slayer Army is losing girls and one of the places they are losing them to is a sanctuary in Hanselstadt. Faith, after rescuing a Slayer named Courtney, and Giles head to Hanselstadt. Once there, they find the place a ghost town without any children and Giles is reunited with the only other (known) surviving Watcher, Duncan. Duncan explains the situation in Hanselstadt as Faith and Courtney walk into a pretty obvious trap.

As is frequently the case in the Buffyverse, things are not quite what they seem in Hanselstadt and Faith and Giles realize this pretty quickly. As a result, this becomes more of a character study and it is a welcome one for fans of Giles and Faith. This is well-illustrated, makes decent callbacks and progresses both characters and the story forward. Faith and Giles are recognizable in every panel and the creature that shows up uses the medium quite well as well. The whole "chapter" looks quite cool.

The trade paperback anthology concludes with "Living Doll," which rather abruptly ends the Dawn subplot of the Season Eight stories. Dawn, once again transformed, finds herself in the forest near the castle at the mercy of a dollmaker. A tiny porcelain doll, she tries to organize the other dolls into an army to escape or overthrow the dollmaker, but they will have none of that. This forces Buffy to actually look in on her little sister and she and the team investigate exactly what happened to Dawn. This leads Andrew to meet with the Thricewise and doll Dawn to finally make peace with him.

"Living Doll" is a mix of good artwork and bad - the fact that Andrew and the Thricewise look virtually identical is disturbing - but it is creative and it restores Dawn to a human form that most fans will appreciate. As well, it has a decent sense of character development to it. Beyond that, the story seems rather abrupt and like a placeholder.

The trade paperback anthology comes with a cover gallery from the issues as they were originally released. This makes it a "no loss" experience for those buying the trade paperback anthologies as opposed to collecting the actual comic books. The gallery and the Harmony pages at the back are quite cool.

Ultimately, though Predators And Prey seems like it is trying to speed up the concept of the eighth season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and while I enjoyed it and enthusiastically recommend it (especially to fans of Buffy The Vampire Slayer), it has little enduring value outside that group of already-established fans. Fortunately, there is a sense of movement and it does make the reader wonder what is coming next!

For the other volumes in Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Eight, please check out my reviews of:
The Long Way Home
No Future For You
Wolves At The Gate
Time Of Your Life

6.5/10

For other book reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Serenity: Better Days And Other Stories Combines The Lackluster With The New To Enhance The Permanent Library Of Serenity Fans!

The Good: Decent sense of character voices, Moments of story
The Bad: The artwork, Very simple stories, No huge character development moments
The Basics: Milking Serenity fans with another hardcover comic book anthology, Dark Horse presents the underwhelming Better Days And Other Stories.


For those who might not follow my many, many reviews, I am a fan of the Firefly/Serenity franchise. It's a clever concept that has been fairly well-executed both in film and in book form. Still, it is trying to become a property that can be merchandised and Joss Whedon and his licensees are still trying to figure out how to make it more profitable. Apparently having undersold their anthology Better Days (reviewed here), this month Dark Horse has released Better Days And Other Stories. The anthology is the original Better Days mini-series - with Adam Baldwin's foreword from the original anthology - along with three standalone stories. I've reviewed Better Days pretty extensively on its own, so this review will focus on the stories unique to this anthology.

Having read the hardcover anthology, I like the principle of what Joss Whedon and Dark Horse is doing better than the execution. I like the idea of Dark Horse assembling their one-shot comics (many of which are harder to find) for their readers and putting them in an elegant hardcover volume for their permanent library. I just wish the stories inside were better and, especially, featured better artwork. At least, unlike Better Days the "Other Stories" feel more in tune with the universe Joss Whedon created, without relying on strange advanced technology not seen in the show. In that way, picking up this volume offers readers the nostalgia quality they are no doubt looking from from a book based upon the series that has been off the air almost a decade.

"The Other Half" by Jim Krueger is a remarkably simple story. As the Serenity crew tries to get their valuable cargo to a rendezvous with a buyer, they fight off an attack. Inside the transport, though, River has a chance to read the mind of the person being transported and she makes a judgment based on what she finds in his head. Only a few pages long, the story has a decent sense of mood and pacing, but it is pretty much a one-note story with a ridiculously simple concept. Readers know that River can read minds and that the Alliance is hostile to traders like those aboard the Serenity. So, the idea that one might be laying a trap for them is pretty obvious. That Mal would use River to suss that out makes the story exceptionally low on the "repeatability" factor for reading the volume.

"Downtime" is a similarly simple story with even less going for it. While the Serenity is blanketed with snow and forced to stay grounded, the crew mills about. Wash and Zoe use the time to get intimate (possibly setting up the final story in the anthology), Jayne gets treated for an STD and while everyone else reconvenes to give Jayne a hard time, River goes for a walk in the snow and takes out "snow men." This is another ridiculously simple vignette that trades on the idea that River can read minds and has the ability to kick some serious ass. Unfortunately, readers get this already. We've seen Serenity and her confronting Book is no big revelation for those who have read The Shepherd's Tale. Worse than that, the artwork by Chris Samnee is decidedly subpar. For example when River goes out into the snow the artwork is so vague that it lacks recognizable form for the characters.

The book closes out with "Float Out," a one shot by Patton Oswalt. Following the events of Serenity, three former associates of Wash's sit around and tell stories of his terrible sense of humor and amazing piloting abilities. The stories, from before Wash joined Serenity, has the intrepid pilot flying the Meltaway and other ships to earn his living. The story goes for the big reveal which is of little surprise - or at least none to me as Alan Tudyk and I discussed the plotline that had been intended to be explored had Firefly had a second season. Again, the artwork is particularly bad, though this time the blame goes to Patric Reynolds. I cited page 109 as having artwork that had a particularly crappy rendition of Wash.

Ultimately, it is a wash for me. The book was worth one read, but I couldn't muster up the desire to keep it in my permanent library. I'm one who has been excited about watching the set yet again, introducing my wife to it and even reading Those Left Behind again. But this didn't have much in the way of character development, the stories were hardly essential and the artwork - outside the extensive cover galleries - was hardly extraordinary. Fans might do better to wait to buy this when the hardcover goes on sale right before the inevitable softcover release.

For other Serenity or Firefly works, please check out my reviews of:
Firefly - The Complete Series
Serenity
Serenity Those Left Behind By Joss Whedon
The Shepherd's Tale By Zack Whedon

5/10

For other book reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Second-string Heroes Rise To The Occasion In Justice Volume 2!

The Good: Amazing artwork, Good story development, Decent character work, Handy character descriptions
The Bad: A few "missing scenes," Incomplete story
The Basics: A very cool graphic novel, Justice Volume 2 is a tough middle act and does not stand on its own, despite having amazing artwork!


Middle acts are often the toughest to stand on their own. In fact, in contemporary media, only The Empire Strikes Back (click here for my review of that!) stands out as a perfect middle act that might actually be better than the episodes which surround it. As I make it through the three volume Justice series, I find myself thinking of that. "Volume 2" had a lot of pressure to perform given the near-perfection of Justice Volume 1 (click here for that review). And, for the most part, "Volume 2" holds up.

Justice Volume 2 is a trade paperback anthology that collects issues five through eight of the limited edition series. As a result of nothing more than DC Comics not wanting to present the full version of the story in one nice, simple anthology right after the limited series was finished, they made a middle-ground presentation, which was to make three smaller anthologies. This is especially annoying now, as there is a full version of Justice available.

Picking up where "Volume 1" left off, Chapter 5 opens with a second string member of the Justice League of America realizing that the main team has been taken out and working to find them. Martian Manhunter overcomes the brainwashing he was subjected to in order to escape the undersea prison. As Superman nears death, he is rescued by Captain Marvel as Lex Luthor and Brainiac bring forth the promised cities for the people they have healed. With all of the rest of the main Justice League heroes incapacitated, Captain Marvel takes Superman to the last safe place on Earth; the Batcave.

In Chapter 6, Captain Marvel aids the infected Superman in ridding his body of the parasites he saw in Batman by throwing the superhero into the sun. After an attempt on the Atom's life, Martian Manhunter regroups the surviving heroes while Hal Jordan slowly goes crazy in his exile. As Luthor, Brainiac and Gorilla Grodd adapt to the survival of the super heroes by calling in more villains, Wonder Woman, seriously wounded, enters the Batcave, which has been taken over by Poison Ivy. But Ivy isn't the worst of Wonder Woman's problems, as Batman turns on her.

Chapter 7 opens with Martian Manhunter and Zatanna finally rescuing Aquaman, while Brainiac and Luthor initiate their insurance plan: capturing the loved ones of the principle members of the Justice League! With Batman under her control, Wonder Woman journeys to Superman's Fortress Of Solitude. Hawkman and Hawkgirl make an astonishing discovery about what Brainiac's endgame appears to be while Captain Marvel and Superman figure out a way to finally stop the Flash! But even as Superman arrives to take charge of the League, there is a betrayal in Atlantis that continues the menace to the heroes.

Finally, in Chapter 8, Superman deduces who is behind the plot to incapacitate all of the superheroes while the Flash captures Captain Cold to find out more about the alliance between the super villains. While the scientific team learns all that they can about the parasites being used against the superheroes, the Phantom Stranger locates Hal Jordan and helps him return to the Justice League. But even as the Green Lantern eradicates the parasites in Batman, virtually every ally or family member to the Justice League is captured by Brainiac's forces.

Justice Volume 2 is burdened by being a middle act and as such, there are a few moments that feel like filler between the setup and the conclusion. So, for example, on page 117, Plastic Man and Ralph (I don't know his superhero identity, but he stretches like Plastic Man) have a confrontation about how there can't be two stretchy people in the League and that it's time for Plastic Man to leave. This has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the book and if it is an example of a fan-desired confrontation, then it's lost on the non-fans, like me. As well, while Volume 2 closes with character sketches of some of the more important heroes and villains who might not have been fleshed out in Volume 1 for readers, they are missing key characters from Volume 2 which would be a lot of help to non-fans. So, for example, Zatanna (sorry, can't tell you who she is, she pops up and one assumes people are supposed to know who she is, but after reading the book all I know is that she has limited magical abilities) and a whole team that helps put Red Tornado back together again and save Aquaman's life are not detailed. While Captain Marvel is pretty easy to intuit (he turns from a boy to a superhero each time he says "Shazam!"), others are less so.

"Volume 2" of Justice also seems to have some storytelling gaps. Take, for example, pages 88 and 89 where allies of Captain Marvel encounter Black Adam (another villain). The setting and characters come out of nowhere and it serves only to confuse readers for a few moments.

What Justice continues otherwise is amazing artwork which has to be seen to be believed. Far from being the typical comic book, the art was created first as pencil sketches by Doug Braithwaite and then was painted by Alex Ross. The result is a book that is a beautiful gallery of actual paintings; the backgrounds are lush and realistic, the characters are dynamic and three-dimensional. The artwork helps tell the story and most of the time, it is obvious where the action is occurring just by the coloring. So, for example, when Hal Jordan enters his ring to survive as energy, the colors in his in-ring realm are all muted and shifted toward the yellow/green part of the spectrum. Through most of the book, the sense of movement is clear and the artwork is nothing short of astonishing.

What this second volume of Justice lacks is any real character development. With the heroes on the defensive, the supervillains begin to revert more and more to their tendencies toward backstabbing. While the Joker makes a brief appearance, this is more of a plot-based story where the heroes are struggling to catch up. The exception to this, which is actually quite wonderful, is Hal Jordan's parts. Jordan begins to go crazy and without the authors making it explicit, it is quite clear as he gets more and more inside his own mind.

This is not a comic book for children, though, which makes sense when one considers that panels include such things as the Atom being smothered graphically with a pillow and Wonder Woman being mauled by a bloodied Cheetah. Even Poison Ivy is rendered in rather artful adult terms and this helps the book and the menace it references gain credibility.

Ultimately, this is an awesome story and my inability to recommend it comes for a very simple reason: there is a complete anthology of this graphic novel (reviewed here!) and readers would do better to pick that up and get the whole story. Getting only "Volume 2" of "Justice" is just going to leave the reader clamoring for more and having to buy something else!

For other trade paperback anthologies, please check out my reviews of:
Absolute Kingdom Come
Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps
The OMAC Project

7/10

For other book reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.




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Justice Volume One Starts High, But Is A Tough Sell On Its Own!

The Good: Amazing artwork, Good story, Cool concept, Helpful appendices.
The Bad: It's only the first four chapters . . .
The Basics: While Volume 1 of Justice tells an awesome story, the standalone volume is not worth it; buy the full book!


I cannot recall the last time I was as excited about starting to read a graphic novel series as I was about Justice. I saw one volume of Justice years ago when I was in a comic book store in New York City and I was impressed by the artwork. The concept of the book also impressed me as it had the villains in the DC universe banding together and I thought that sounded pretty cool. So, when I finished reading Kingdom Come (click here for that review!) and discovered how much I enjoyed that and that Justice was written by the same guy, I decided I had to pick it up and see if it held up.

Unfortunately for me, my local library could only get Justice in in the three separate volumes it was anthologized in. So, I was a little peeved that I had to wait a few extra days to get started because the second two volumes arrived before volume one. Even so, it was worth the wait. Justice Volume 1 arrived for me and I read it ridiculously quickly. And now that I'm finished, it's torture for me to write this review instead of going onto the next volume (yet, I insist upon it so that I do not get the characters and story mixed up).

Justice Volume 1 is a collection of the first four (of twelve) Justice comic books. Justice was a limited series released in 2005/6 which was telling one long story independent of other DC stories at the time. The story was written by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger with artwork by Doug Braithwaite and Alex Ross. The artwork follows the trend of Kingdom Come with Braithwaite providing pencil sketches, which Ross then painted over. Thus, each and every panel is a beautiful painting and the artwork for this story is like a journey through a beautiful and surreal art gallery.

After an introduction to the main characters from the Justice League Of America, Justice Volume 1 opens with the first chapter. In Chapter 1, missiles are descending on cities all over the world and as humanity is obliterated, the super heroes attempt to save people. Superman rescues Lois Lane, but watches in horror as he cannot move fast enough to save children, a falling man, and ultimately all of Metropolis. The Flash saves Central City, but none of its people and almost immediately thereafter, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, and Hawkman and Hawkgirl fall amidst the barrage of worldwide explosions. With Aquaman lost as the seas boil, Green Arrow and Black Canary are killed and Batman leads children into the Batcave moments before the world is destroyed outright. Only Superman and Atom survive and as Superman floats off into space in shock, four villains (Edward Nigma, Priscilla Rich, Black Manta and the Toymaker) awake from having the same nightmare. As Aquaman leaves his wife and son to deal with a problem under the sea, a villain with a freeze ray creates a giant block of ice in the middle of the desert. Investigating a disturbance under the sea, Aquaman is captured by Black Manta who has a small army of sharks willing to aid him!

In Chapter 2, Edward Nigma steals the database from Wayne Industries which details all of the identities of the super heroes on the Justice League. Chased by Batman, the Riddler manages to escape with the disc, while egging Batman on. Superman sends Martian Manhunter looking for Aquaman as Batman corners the Riddler and the Flash makes a profound discovery; a lush garden oasis in the middle of the dessert . . . created by Cold and Poison Ivy!

With Brainiac torturing Aquaman, Chapter 3 begins with the ominous reality that the superheroes might actually be defeated. This becomes even more clear when Martian Manhunter descends to Brainiac's lair in search of Aquaman, but finds himself trapped in a vision of being burned alive. Just as Priscilla Rich transforms into the Cheetah, news reports come in that hardened criminal masterminds seem to be suddenly helping people all over the world. Just as Aquaman gives his Justice League companions in the Watchtower a means to find him, the Red Tornado tears himself apart, which allows Gorilla Grodd the ability to learn all of the Justice League's secrets!

The final chapter of the book is a remarkably simple and direct scene. As Lex Luthor, Black Manta, Poison Ivy and Edward Nigma reveal their plan to save the people of the world by directly intervening on humanity's behalf, the Flash is trapped in a race with himself, Sinestro launches Hal Jordan into the deepest reaches of space, Scarecrow takes out Oliver and Dinah and Cheetah attacks Wonder Woman. With the Toyman incapacitating Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Superman is held at bay by four villains whose might prevents him from stopping the villains from offering humanity paradise on Earth!

Justice is extraordinarily well-written in its first volume and it is a fast, compelling read. For those who are not into DC comics (and, traditionally, I have not been, but this is my Wonder Woman year, so I seem to keep getting sidetracked by awesome peripheral stories and Justice certainly qualifies!), there is an exceptionally handy guide at the back of Volume 1 which has the basic story behind each main hero and villain in Justice. So, for example, readers who have never heard of Black Manta, Martian Manhunter, Gorilla Grodd, or Metallo may get a primer on the essential characters before beginning reading the book.

The story itself, though, is clearly intended for an adult audience. From the artwork which includes such things as a sniper shooting one of the heroes to a very graphic battle which leaves Wonder Woman mauled and a story that is actually keeping me guessing, this is not for lightweights. Edward Nigma, true to his character, is leaving clues for Batman and, truth be told, I don't get where he's going with them yet and that makes me happy; it's been a long time since a mystery actually engaged me.

That said, the premise continues strong in its execution as it does in the idea. The speech in chapter four is riveting and the idea that Luthor and others might work together to advance humanity makes everything entirely plausible.

Having, since I began this review and now, finished reading Volume 2 and starting Volume 3 of Justice, I have come to two conclusions. The first is that it is a mild form of entertainment torture to break the series into three volumes. Shame on DC for doing that! The second is that because a full omnibus version of Justice exists (click here for my review of that!), I will not be recommending this book. For sure, anyone who likes a great story will enjoy Justice Volume 1 as it is compelling, adult and interesting, as well as one of the finest examples of what may be done in the graphic novel medium. And because of that, this book can be passed by; go for the full story instead!

For other graphic novels, please check out my reviews of:
Crisis On Infinite Earths
Blackest Night
Lost Girls

8/10

For other book reviews, please visit my index page!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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Possibly The Greatest Superhero Graphic Novel Of All: Justice Edges Out "Kingdom Come!"

The Good: Great story, Wonderful artwork, Lush deluxe presentation, Good character work
The Bad: Expensive
The Basics: Visually impressive, telling a compelling story of two powerful groups of characters, Justice is arguably the best graphic novel set in the DC Universe as well as an amazing read!


Shortly before I had the three Justice volumes sent to my local library for me to enjoy, my wife and I were in a local comic book shop and I found myself looking at the beautiful slipcase-ensconced graphic novels intended for one's permanent library. There, I saw a $60.00 Star Wars comic book presentation, V For Vendetta, the deluxe clothbound Watchmen,
Justice is a DC Universe standalone graphic novel. It was originally presented in twelve special issues as a limited release comic book and then anthologized as three volumes with four chapters each. The Absolute Justice presentation represents the first time the book is assembled in its proper form as a single graphic novel and wow! It's about time. Separate from every other crossover and main storyline for the DC universe heroes and villains, Justice is a compelling story intended for adults who like a great superhero tale.

The Earth is destroyed in a full-out nuclear assault which destroys every major city and then the world, leaving only Superman alive and the Atom alive in a super-subatomic existence. This vision is shared in the dreams of the villains Captain Cold, Priscilla Rich (Cheetah), Black Manta, the Toymaker, and Edward Nigma (the Riddler). Facing the real possibility of human extinction and the end of the world, the villains realize that the superheroes cannot save Earth or even themselves. So, in a bold act, Nigma, Jonathan Crane (Scarecrow), Poison Ivy, Captain Cold, and Lex Luthor end world hunger, cure the diseased and heal those suffering from all manner of infirmities. Then, Luthor announces to the world what the former villains have done, while others incapacitate the rest of the first-string members of the Justice League Of America.

With the superheroes absent, the world turns to the former supervillains and Lex Luthor and Brainiac welcome humanity to floating cities they have constructed to save humanity and allow humanity to grow. But as Martian Manhunter recovers from the mental assault which incapacitated him and he leads some of the secondary members of the Justice League on a mission to find Aquaman, he learns that the conspiracy among the villains is much deeper than the altruistic act it appears to be. And even as every friend, ally and minor superhero that could help the Justice League is taken from them, the heroes work to turn the tide and re-establish the League from its ashes!

For chapter-by-chapter plot layouts, please check out my reviews of:
Justice Volume 1
Justice Volume 2
Justice Volume 3

Justice is an exceptional work on many levels and it is certainly intended for adults only. Filled with graphic violence and lush images that are often sensual in their depiction, Justice is an adult work more than a simple superhero story. Indeed, two things stand out in the content of the work that make it far more adult than the average comic book.

The first is a sense of philosophy. Justice dares to ask the question which no child's drama ever would: what if being saved by heroes makes humanity intellectually lazy and dependent? What if, instead of being forced to grapple with real problems like crime and global warming, the idea that a vigilante or powerful alien will save everyone has made humanity unchallenged and unassuming? The nightmare which opens Justice illustrates in a compelling and terrifying way that no amount of superheroes can be everywhere at once. With that realization, even villains wake up to realize that there's no point in being the ruler of a burning ember. In this regard, Lex Luthor's agenda, to preserve humanity to survive such an Armageddon and to force humans to grow by extinguishing the superhuman influence makes a lot of sense.

The second aspect of Justice that works in its favor is the psychology. Villains are not monolithic characters and while it might take a while for Justice to illustrate it, each of them has their own motivation and convictions that seem noble or worthwhile to a target demographic. This comes in late in the novel as the heroes work to rescue humans from the cities Brainiac has built. Black Manta, who seems like a hyperbole of a Black Panther, has populated his city with blacks, likely the descendants of oppressed peoples from around the world. Cheetah has created her city as a grassland and Poison Ivy's is the perfect greenhouse. And while some of the saviors of humanity need to be disposed of through aggression, more often than not, the solutions come from conversing and compelling the villains to see the errors of their ways.

Justice is filled with a very wide array of DC Universe characters, from the almost universally-recognizable Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman, to the more obscure Plastic Man, Zatanna, and Captain Marvel. Similarly, the villains range from Lex Luthor and Edward Nigma (Riddler) who many fans of pop culture in general will recognize to the less recognizable Captain Cold, Sinestro and Parasite. Fortunately, writers John Krueger and Alex Ross make context entirely clear for the powers and limitations of each character. In the Absolute Justice, character sketches for the heroes and villains are included and it's recommended to check that out first to give readers unfamiliar with the DC universe a fair primer on the material.

As for the artwork, Justice is a triumph of the medium. Penciled by Doug Braithewaite, each page of Justice is a painting. Alex Ross painted over Braithewaite's drawings, making each one a near-photographic image of the virtual world of the DC Earth, much like what was done with Kingdom Come (click here for that review!) and JLA: Secret Origins (click here for that review). Every page comes alive with a realism not frequently seen in comic books and the amazing aspect is that the painting quality is consistent page by page, character by character. Whether it is a beautiful underseascape with Aquaman riding to meet a threat to his kingdom or the plucky Zatanna asphyxiating in space or Cheetah slashing with cursed claws at Wonder Woman, this is an exceptional volume of visual artwork!

In the "Absolute" presentation of Justice, the oversized volume comes in a cloth slipcase. In addition to a new, premium art cover by Alex Ross, there is an art gallery featuring original concept sketches and paintings as well as notes on producing the series. These are a nice bonus and they enhance the already awesome deluxe presentation of Justice.

For anyone who likes a great hero story, Justice is it and this is truly the ultimate way to get it. And for those who have ever wondered what the hype is about graphic novels, splurge on this to see why literate adults will occasionally pick up a book with pictures. Start with this one; there's no point in beginning with a lesser volume!

For other graphic novels, please check out my reviews of:
Wonder Woman: Gods And Mortals
Batman: Knightfall Volume Two: Who Rules The Night
Green Lantern: Agent Orange

10/10

For other book reviews, please visit my index page!

© 2011, 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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