I've been a fan of Mark Bagley's since his first run on Spider-Man. He's the quintessential superhero artist, in my eyes. Modern-era costumes, Golden Age-era costumes, even future costumes from Kingdom Come - - he makes them all fit together and look so cool, with angles and poses that are so dynamic, every single time. He gets the chance to do a lot more splash pages than usual in this issue and it was so great to his talent shine with such blockbuster scope. I especially liked the double spread of Power Girl torpedoing through the JSA's jet. Now, that was in your face! Robinson knows how to work with an artist - - how to make the dialogue set the context well enough that even when he steps back for some wordless panels, his authorial voice is still felt. I was glad to see the sometimes-byzantine continuity surrounding the Starheart get straightened out here for a surprise ending that brings this all closer to Kingdom Come. I wonder where this will go?
The Bad
The tricky thing about having Batman on any incarnation of the JLA is that it's never really been too natural to Bats' character to be a team player. I think Morrison's take for his JLA run was the best in that his Batman always kept his cards close to his chest and only really seemed to work with the JLA when it was absolutely necessary. Even though this is probably supposed to be Dick Grayson (I think, at least. Sometimes you need a chart to keep up with all these mantle passing), I still found Batman to be little too... eager, here.
The Verdict - 4/5
Robinson's return to DC has been fantastic. Whenever I see his name on a cover, I know I'll be getting a superhero book that's a cut above the rest. He does a great job of honoring and integrating DC's complex past into his stories, but in a way that moves them forward rather than bogging them down. And what else can I say about Bagley? He's excellent here, as he's always been.
I can only say that Robinson SUCKS. His lackluster run on the superman title and his pointless 12-parter "World of new Krypton" arc is further proof of that. He doesn't really seem to get DC. He's all about the cliff-hangers and nothing about actually delivering.
I see Robinson's name on a cover, and RUN away from the book. But hey, that's just me!
In response to the "Bad" section, well that's pretty much Dick Grayson's character. That has always been the huge difference between Dick and Bruce: Dick doesn't have that paranoia and works much better with others. This difference was emphasized in Infinite Crisis and Bruce himself has stated that Dick's ability to keep up relations with teammates and be generally affable is a huge advantage. So what Robinson has done here is completely consistent with Dick Grayson's character...it's just not what we're accustomed to seeing from Batman lol. I would actually add this to the "good" column if I were doing my own review and praise Robinson for highlighting a major difference between the two Batmen.
" I can only say that Robinson SUCKS. His lackluster run on the superman title and his pointless 12-parter "World of new Krypton" arc is further proof of that. He doesn't really seem to get DC. He's all about the cliff-hangers and nothing about actually delivering. I see Robinson's name on a cover, and RUN away from the book. But hey, that's just me! "
I have to disagree with that. Robinson's work has always interested me. New Krypton was not only a good mini-series (personal opinion here) it led to more great stuff. I'm the exact opposite of you I guess, if I see Robinson's name on a cover it's a definite pick up for me!
I also have to agree with Zack and what he said in the review: Robinson really trusts his artists and I feel like his stories are extremely well described to the people he works with. He always seem to get so much story in a page with no dialogue (although we gotta give credits to the artist for that as well)
" In response to the "Bad" section, well that's pretty much Dick Grayson's character. That has always been the huge difference between Dick and Bruce: Dick doesn't have that paranoia and works much better with others. This difference was emphasized in Infinite Crisis and Bruce himself has stated that Dick's ability to keep up relations with teammates and be generally affable is a huge advantage. So what Robinson has done here is completely consistent with Dick Grayson's character...it's just not what we're accustomed to seeing from Batman lol. I would actually add this to the "good" column if I were doing my own review and praise Robinson for highlighting a major difference between the two Batmen. "
I agree wholeheartedly. I've been following the "bat family" since the battle for the cowl and this Batman is Grayson through and through.
I have really been really enjoying this new JLA espesially the last two issues where we see Bill (Congorilla) and Mik (Starman) join Dick (Batman) and Donna (Troy) as the core team. This issue was good but I have to admit it seemed a bit too muddled to me. Powergirl's inclusion particularly seemed a little forced. And the reason for her being there? A stretch. This issue did what it set out to do though, which was introduce the key elements of the upcoming arch that will run through JLA and JSA for 5 issues. Namely the Starheart and the Original Green Lantern. I'll be very interested to see what happens in this upcoming arch and will be continuing to read this series. This was a solid introduction to the coming arch but not one of the finest issues. I'd say 3.5 a little above average of an issue of this type but nothing special.
This issue gave me what I wanted and expected and that was jade back and better than ever. I cant wait to check out the next issue for the Alan Scott arc with more sexy jade.
" I can only say that Robinson SUCKS. His lackluster run on the superman title and his pointless 12-parter "World of new Krypton" arc is further proof of that. He doesn't really seem to get DC. He's all about the cliff-hangers and nothing about actually delivering. I see Robinson's name on a cover, and RUN away from the book. But hey, that's just me! "
i have to agree. This issue wasnt good at all. i was let down. I loved the cliffhanger but the rest of the issue wasnt that good. And i had really high expectations for this book. Even the art wasnt that great. It felt like generic DC formula. I wont run because it IS brightest day, so im hoping for the best on issues to come.
I liked the issue, but felt like I was reading JSA with all those JSA characters, not that it mattered to much but I would've liked to see a litle more of how the characters interact with each other int this roster with Donna and Dick and all the others
I'm a bit surprised by some of the comments, I thought this was a GREAT issue-I really enjoyed the art, I liked the idea of Dick Grayson working well with all the others and the book had PLENTY of action along with a good story. I would give this issue a VERY solid 4.5/5 heck maybe a straight 5/5 I didn't see any bad parts of this comic.
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