The Justice League of America series was established as a showcase for the art and story by Bryan Hitch.
But instead of the continuation of the story he's telling, this month we get a fill-in issue!
When I saw it at the comics shop I thought I had picked up the wrong issue. This issue barely contains any JLA at all - it's all about the Martian Manhunter tracking down a killer alien.
Rather than guiding us to picking up the new comic series featuring that character, this issue should convince anyone to stay far away.
DC long ago ruined J'onn J'onzz as a character, changing him from the powerful, good-hearted founding member of the JLA and making him a grim, relentless engine of destruction who looks and acts strangely - they apparently don't want you to sympathize with him or, you know, actually like him.
Here he fights a brutal alien who tears flesh and splashes blood around in a fashion that should warm the heart of any horror fan - but the violence will leave many superhero fans (like me) cold, and it's definitely not an issue for kids.
The art is good (bloodletting aside), but the story is weak, even for a fill-in issue.
My advice: if you don't have Bryan Hitch work to publish, then don't print the next issue until you do.
Grade: D+
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5 comments:
D+ was too kind. Absolute BS.
You're probably right, but I was always a Manhunter fan, so it got a slight dispensation for that.
I have a confession to make. I didn't realize this was a filler issue until I read your post. When it showed up in my hold file at my LCS, I told the owner to put it back, thinking it was some JLA spin-off I don't normally read. Oops!
Sounds like it was a waste of 4 bucks anyway. I'll be back next month.
--Bret
I did the same thing, Bret. I picked it up, thought "this isn't Hitch" and put it back, then picked it up again and looked at the logo, then put it back - I finally compared it to earlier issues to confirm that it was the fifth issue in the series. I bought it mostly out of curiosity - I was sorry I did.
Ha! I did the digital version of that. I thought I accidently purchased a pre-New 52 JLA--double checking the logo, the issue number, etc... LOL
Hopefully, Hitch will bring in MM and Shazam in the Rao story line, now?
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