Justice has been a big hit with the Revolution. I love Jim Krueger’s writing. He usually delivers a great story. And the Revolution is a big fan of Alex Ross’ artwork. I fully expect Justice #6 to be a great read. Let’s hit the review.
Creative Team
Writers: Jim Krueger & Alex Ross
Artists: Alex Ross & Jim Braithwaite
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10.
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10.
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10.
Synopsis: This issue starts with Captain Marvel throwing Superman into the sun hoping that this will burn out the bugs inside of him that are going to take over Superman’s mind.
We then cut to Jean Loring (before she became a murdering psychotic bitch) with the Atom (the real one: Ray Palmer) at the hospital. Jean leaves Ray as the nurse comes in to check on him. The nurse turns out to be Giganta who tries to kill Ray. Ray shrinks down to a subatomic size and jumps inside of Giganta’s eye. Ray then takes out Giganta. (Way to go Ray!)
We then cut to Hal Jordan lost in an uncharted space void outside the knowledge of the Guardians. Hal asks the ring how long he can live if he transforms himself into electronic impulses and lives inside his power ring. The ring says Hal could live that way indefinitely. However, if anyone would take possession of the Ring then Hal would be lost forever. Hal decides to enter the power ring.
We shift to Martian Manhunter, Hawkman and Hawkwoman arrive at the Toyman’s hideout. Martian Manhunter goes on to somewhere else and Hawkman and Hawkwoman go to take out the Toyman. The Hawks agree to rendezvous with Martian Manhunter at the Fortress of Solitude.
We the cut to Brainiac and Lex Luthor discussing the fact that Captain Marvel was an unforeseen involvement and how Superman may or may not be dead. All they know is that Grodd cannot sense him.
We then shift to Vicki Vale doing a news report about the super villains becoming the world’s greatest benefactors. They have been curing diseases, healing the blind and lame and brining happiness to those depressed. The people that are cured are then offered a chance to life in the new cities that Lex and Brainiac have created. We see Joker disguised as an old man sneaking in to one of these floating new cities.
We then shift back to space and see Superman come rocketing out of the sun. Captain Marvel catches him.
We then hop over to Wonder Woman in the Batcave. Poison Ivy has taken control of the Batcave and has both Alfred and Batman as hostages.
We then cut to Hawkman and Hawkwoman engaging the toy army of the Toyman. They smash through Toyman’s army and stumble across a room where and realize that they are in a factory. And this factory is building Brainiacs.
We shift to Captain Marvel and Superman heading to the JLA satellite just as it explodes. They search through the wreckage to see if the Red Tornado survived the explosion. (Man, it just isn’t a big JLA story until they kill Red Tornado, huh? There are some things you can always count on: Death, Taxes and the Red Tornado being killed in any big mini-series.)
We hop back to the Batcave. Wonder Woman frees Batman and he suddenly attacks her. Wonder Woman wraps her golden lasso around Batman and its magical powers prevent the critters inside of Batman from controlling his mind. Batman then takes out Poison Ivy with one punch. Batman tells Wonder Woman that he must keep the golden lasso on him to keep his mind from being controlled by whatever is inside him.
We then slip on over to Ferris Aircraft where John Stewart asks Karen if they have seen Hal lately. They say no that he has been gone for a day.
We then cut to Hal Jordan inside of his power ring. He has the ring construct a city and people in order to keep him sane.
We then shift to Dr. Magnus’ lab where Zatanna (top hat and stockings) asks if he has been able to save Red Tornado. The Metal Men (Yay! I love these guys! It is great to see them.) all nervously wait outside the lab and hope that Red Tornado can be saved. Dr. Magnus says that Red Tornado’s wounds are self-inflicted. Red Tornado then talks and says “Aquaman. I found Aquaman. He’s commanding the fish to show us where he is. He’s in Argentina.” (Argentina who, by the way, looks fantastic in the World Cup).
We then get a big splash shot of Barry Allen racing across the globe saying “I… can’t… stop…” End of issue.
Comments:
The Good: Justice #6 was a pretty good issue. There are two main reasons why I love Justice. First, I am a huge fan of Alex Ross. I could stare at his art for hours. Second, I LOVE reading stories about the JLA from when I was a kid. To me, this is the REAL JLA. You have the real Atom, Ray Palmer. The real Wonder Woman, Diana. The real Flash, Barry Allen. The real Aquaman, Arthur Curry. Not the fake one. And not that squid headed freak. Plus, you have the real Hawkman in Carter Hall and you don’t have that lousy Hawkgirl. No, you get the real Shiera as Hawkwoman. These are the characters that I love and it is an absolute blast to see them together and in action. That is one great thing about Alex Ross. You know if Ross is doing a DC comic that you probably are going to get all those sweet Silver Age characters.
I am enjoying Krueger’s storyline in Justice. This issue was pretty entertaining. I liked see Ray Palmer take out Giganta. It is great to see Ray kicking butt.
I really liked the plotline with Hal Jordan. I thought it was pretty neat to have him transformed into a series of electronic impulses and put inside of his power ring. And to see Hal have the ring create a city full of people to keep him sane was cool. I am interested to see how John Stewart is going to be able to find Hal and save him.
I thought the factory making Brainiacs was an interesting little surprise. I am very curious to see where Krueger goes with this plotline.
It was great to see the Metal Men. They are such cool characters. I also like how Iron said “Thank Magnus that Zatanna was able to get Red Tornado from the satellite in time.” After all, Magnus is God to the Metal Men. That was a nice touch by Krueger. And that is one great thing about Krueger. He has excellent attention to detail. And unlike some writers (cough, Daniel Way, cough) Krueger diligently researches the history of the characters that he writes. This really shows in his stories.
I have always liked Krueger’s writing and I think he is doing a nice job on Justice. I love how the Legion of Doom is being hailed as the Earth’s greatest benefactors. This storyline does make the reader wonder why the JLA don’t use their combined powers to heal people the way the Legion of Doom has. The JLA are modern day gods. They could do so much for the world, but they don’t. The JLA are more like the lazy and self-indulgent Greek and Roman gods. Well, maybe that is a bit harsh, but it seems like they could use their powers to do more than beat up bad guys or have adventures in space.
Krueger has introduced several interesting plotlines. Each time he resolves one, he slips a new plotline into the story. I think the pacing is pretty good. And Krueger serves up some good dialogue. He has a great feel for each character. Justice has done an excellent job giving these older characters plenty of character development.
I simply love Alex Ross’s artwork, so I am biased in this area. I think that Justice #6 is a phenomenal book to look at. Ross’ art has so much passion and intensity that it really boosts Krueger’s all ready entertaining story. Ross’s artwork brings these characters alive like no other artist can. The page layouts are interesting and vary from page to page making this comic look very dynamic.
There are several panels that are just amazing. The two page splash shot of Superman rocketing out of the sun with flames all around him is just incredible. Gorgeous. You can feel the intensity and pain etched on Superman’s face. I also liked Green Lantern’s ethereal green city full of phantom people that disappear once Hal stops looking at them or tries to touch them.
The Bad: The only complaint I would have with Justice #6 is that it was just a little choppy. There were so many scene breaks back and forth and not all of them were terribly smooth. It really broke up the flow of the story.
Overall: Justice #6 was a good issue. This mini-series has been very well done. Krueger is writing a great story and Ross is delivering his usual impressive artwork. I feel that Justice is flying under the radar a bit due to the fact that Infinite Crisis, 52, the One Year Later storylines, the new Wonder Woman, the new Flash and Civil War have been gobbling up all the headlines.
But, here is the real kicker. With the possible exception of 52 and Civil War, I think that Justice is a better written and better drawn comic book than all of the aforementioned titles that are getting all the attention.
I would recommend Justice. It is definitely worth the money. The only people that probably wouldn’t enjoy this title would be people who don’t dig the silver age characters and people who simply don’t like Alex Ross’s art. If you don’t fall into one of those two categories then give Justice a try.