Monday, August 19, 2013

Justice League of America #7

This issue of Justice League of America provides a textbook example of how tricky it is to have a crossover between more than one team comic.

The problem that arises is that the story gets so overcrowded with heroes that the story gets squeezed out of the picture.

That's the reason why the traditional method for crossovers was to break the teams up into smaller groups - then they'd gather together at the end for the big finale.

None of which is to say this is a bad comic. It moves the story along, though it does little to resolve the mystery at its heart - what caused Superman to (apparently) kill another hero?

So the teams are running around, checking out leads - and they finally get a clue about their true opponent.

The art is tremendous, as Doug Mahnke creates yet another issue filled with outstanding art and terrific character designs - he's one of DC's best right now.

But the credits box is as crowded as the comic, with two writers, five inkers and three colorists.

It's fun to squeeze a pile of heroes into one story, but it takes precision and clarity to make it work, and this issue doesn't quite succeed - though it makes a valiant effort.

We'll see how the last two issues in this event fare.

Grade: B+

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

No comments: