JLA Vol. 1: New World Order 
asked by aries on November 23, 2006 11:56 PM
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"JLA: New World Order" reprints issues 1 to 4 of DC Comics' monthly JLA series. For those who might be new to comics, the Justice League of America has been published in one form or another since 1960, and was usually composed of the best and brightest of DC's superhero stars. Pick up most any issue of the old "Justice League of America" comic, at least from its first two decades of publication, and you could expect to find some combination of DC's most recognizable characters -- Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern -- plus a few of the tried-and-true second-stringers (Firestorm, Red Tornado, Zatanna, et al.) taking on some mind-boggling menace to time, space, and the American way that no single hero could stand against.
That was how it was, that was how it should be, and that is how Grant Morrison made it again, only smarter, snazzier, and more mind-bogglingly menacing than before. You see, from the mid-1980s on, many of DC's writers and editors developed a parochial, territorial view toward the company's top tier of characters, which cut them out of JLA membership: "Batman fights street crime, not starfish-shaped aliens, so he can't be in the JLA," or, "Nobody knows how to write Wonder Woman but me, so she can't be in the JLA," were actual policies governing which heroes could appear in which books, believe it or not. By 1983, Aquaman (!!!) was the biggest star in the JLA line-up. One of the "big guns" might stop by as a guest star for a few issues, but that was about it. Sales plummeted. No one seemed to wonder why. It just somehow became a fact of life that the freakin' JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA was perennially a third-rate title.
In 1996, however, the Justice League's savior arrived in the form of Scottish writer Grant Morrison. Previously known for writing "mature" (i.e., artsy and pretentious) comics such as "Doom Patrol" and "Arkham Asylum," Grant stepped into mainstream superheroics with a bang by reuniting the original seven JLA members, pitting them against a big league outer-space menace (this story's villains, the Orwellian would-be superheroes known as the Hyperclan), and letting the story roll with the speed of a cosmic treadmill. The readers responded deservedly with dollops of their hard-earned cash and made JLA one of comics' flagship titles.
"JLA: New World Order" is quite possibly a Justice League fan's ultimate story. It has all the best features of a smart sci-fi action movie (think "Terminator" or "Aliens"), stars the World's Greatest Super-Heroes, and was written under grey, Scottish skies by a writer who publicly condones the use of psychedelic drugs. I would not be able to praise it enough, but for two things: artist Howard Porter renders his figures somewhat stiffly (though he has improved with time) and writer Morrison can never think of anything cool for Wonder Woman to do -- almost a case of criminal neglect in my opinion. Nevertheless, "New World Order" gives a spark to DC's characters and a frenetic style to superhero action that has not been seen in comics since the 1960s. I recommend this to all superhero fans WITHOUT RESERVATION.
That was how it was, that was how it should be, and that is how Grant Morrison made it again, only smarter, snazzier, and more mind-bogglingly menacing than before. You see, from the mid-1980s on, many of DC's writers and editors developed a parochial, territorial view toward the company's top tier of characters, which cut them out of JLA membership: "Batman fights street crime, not starfish-shaped aliens, so he can't be in the JLA," or, "Nobody knows how to write Wonder Woman but me, so she can't be in the JLA," were actual policies governing which heroes could appear in which books, believe it or not. By 1983, Aquaman (!!!) was the biggest star in the JLA line-up. One of the "big guns" might stop by as a guest star for a few issues, but that was about it. Sales plummeted. No one seemed to wonder why. It just somehow became a fact of life that the freakin' JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA was perennially a third-rate title.
In 1996, however, the Justice League's savior arrived in the form of Scottish writer Grant Morrison. Previously known for writing "mature" (i.e., artsy and pretentious) comics such as "Doom Patrol" and "Arkham Asylum," Grant stepped into mainstream superheroics with a bang by reuniting the original seven JLA members, pitting them against a big league outer-space menace (this story's villains, the Orwellian would-be superheroes known as the Hyperclan), and letting the story roll with the speed of a cosmic treadmill. The readers responded deservedly with dollops of their hard-earned cash and made JLA one of comics' flagship titles.
"JLA: New World Order" is quite possibly a Justice League fan's ultimate story. It has all the best features of a smart sci-fi action movie (think "Terminator" or "Aliens"), stars the World's Greatest Super-Heroes, and was written under grey, Scottish skies by a writer who publicly condones the use of psychedelic drugs. I would not be able to praise it enough, but for two things: artist Howard Porter renders his figures somewhat stiffly (though he has improved with time) and writer Morrison can never think of anything cool for Wonder Woman to do -- almost a case of criminal neglect in my opinion. Nevertheless, "New World Order" gives a spark to DC's characters and a frenetic style to superhero action that has not been seen in comics since the 1960s. I recommend this to all superhero fans WITHOUT RESERVATION.
reviewed by goonball on November 28, 2006 4:10 PM
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This was an excellent begining for what has gone to be, in my opnion, the best comic on the market today. After all these years the book continues to be awesome( with the exception of the Tenth Circle). This was truly a great sign of things to come.
reviewed by redsink on November 28, 2006 7:47 PM