Comic Statues & Busts: Justice League of America from DC Figures

A new era begins for the JLA as a one-time member falls before he can warn the team of looming peril — while what's left of the JLA journeys to the heart of their past to decide if the team has any future at all.
 
Also in this volume, the BLACKEST NIGHT darkens the skies over the Justice League. Can the team get it together in time to survive the return of the undead Dr. Light?
 
And then, the team regroups with a new roster that will transcend time and space! Make way for the World's Greatest Heroes: Batman, Green Lantern, The Atom, Green Arrow, Donna Troy, The Guardian, Cyborg, Mon-El, Starfire, Dr. Light and even Congorilla. 

Full disclosure: I am a Marvel reader. While I have started to get into DC comics, I am not as familiar with the characters, the plot lines, the (convoluted, frequently retconned) continuity as some. As such, judge my review accordingly.

I picked up The Tornado's Path because I read Meltzer's Identity Crisis and, despite some glaring plot holes, rather enjoyed it. I expected to enjoy this collection as well, in spite of the fact that I had no familiarity with the central character, Red Tornado. Perhaps the problem lies there, that without knowing the Red Tornado's full background, I can't fully appreciate his desire to "become a real live boy" as the introduction by Damon Lindelof (who?) so eloquently puts it. That said, the danger with trade paper backs is that, at least in some sense, they must be evaluated from cover to cover, not whats been covered before. In spite of Lindelof's claim that Red Tornado "rocks", I could not bring myself to care. Why? The character simply does not have (or Meltzer failed to convey) any real depth. His central motivation is to be real, to smell, taste, and touch, and that's fine, I can understand that, but outside that motivation (and a two-dimensional sobbing wife and hopeful child family structure), there is nothing.

Which is not to say Meltzer is incapable of conveying relationships with depth and a touch of humor. The interactions between Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman as they try to decide who is in or out of the new Justice League draws on old story lines and character developments, giving you a feel for how far these characters go back. In addition, I enjoyed the interactions between Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Arsenal and Black Canary. Again, you get a feel for how long these characters have been together.

The central story line is all right. It did not captivate me like Identity Crisis, nor did it touch me in the same way. Not every story must be ground breaking and emotionally jarring, but I think Meltzer relied too heavily on this super powered Pinocchio theme without giving us any reason to care whether the Red Tornado is a man, a machine, or a bucket of bolts (beyond characters bursting into tears for no apparent reason).

Now: the art. The art is not terrible, but it's terribly distracting. I get that appreciation for art is subjective, that some people may enjoy, for example, John Romita Jr.'s distinct style while others (myself) absolutely abhor it, I also get that not everyone can be a Steve McNiven or an Ivan Reis. Finally, I get that (male) super heroes are supposed to be muscular, at the peak of human fitness--but I was under the impression that we left the ridiculously muscled steroid drones in the 90's where they belonged. Every character, *every character* From Deadman to Batman to Red Tornado to Superman has the same hyper masculine physique with the same bulging neck muscles (check the title page if you don't believe me). I have (virtually) no issue with the idea that comics represent an idealized form of man, an aesthetic that is hardly achievable in reality, but when everyone, even Speedy, cuts the same figure as Superman, I cry foul. For the most part, all the women look the same as Diana who is supposed to be a six feet tall Amazon warrior. Compare that with 5'7" Dinah, not that you'd be able to tell the difference by looking at them. They all appear to have identical breast sizes, even, so that the only real difference is hairstyle and costume choice.

In order for a comic to work, both the writer and the artist have to delivering roughly the same level of talent in their respective tasks. Meltzer is a better than average writer who was paired with an artist whose work is soulless and distracting. He is not the worst artist out there, I would not avoid picking up a comic that he drew for in the same way that I will avoid anything and everything Greg Land and Rob Liefeld, but he is a definite under performer in my book.

In conclusion, this trade paperback is not a complete waste of money. If you want to read about the reformation of the Justice League then you will not be disappointed (though that is a definite subplot to Red Tornado's story). If, however, you were looking for something on par with Identity Crisis, you may be disappointed.

If you want dynamic super hero stories, look into Geoff Johns' work on Green Lantern and the Green Lantern Corps. He *usually* is paired with artists that range from decent to fantastic. Or, if you're not afraid of taking a dip into the other pool, check out the Ed Brubaker Daredevil run.

After recently getting back into comics after 15 years, a good friend of mine told me to check out DC comics and some of the Justice League stories. Back in the day, I was a strictly Marvel person, but I decided to give DC a shot. Justice League of America: Tornado's Path was a very interesting and well written story. Coming into this story, I had previously read Final Crisis, so I had some background on some of the characters. Tornado's Path mainly deals with Justice League core (Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman) looking to reform and get the Justice League of America back up and running. I enjoyed the process they used to vote on and describe the superheroes under consideration. Along with this story, this book also focused on the Red Tornado and his path to closure with his family. I didn't know much about the Red Tornado, but I finished this book having gained much more knowledge and insight into the Red Tornado. I'm not a comic guru, so I won't embarrass myself and go into detail and analysis about this story, but I defiantly enjoyed reading it. I would defiantly recommend this story to Justice League fans and look forward to exploring the DC universe more indepth.

A compilation of several JLA issues from a few years back. Excellent artwork, and plenty of well-choreographed action. But what makes this story stand out from others is the running side-plot showing Superman, the Batman and Wonder Woman sitting around a table and debating as to who will be the new Justice League members. It's a detail which readers of this sort of story seldom get to see depicted in this sort of depth and, as handled here, it actually forms the more entertaining aspect of the novel.

Metzger's storyline has multiple subplots, but the overall theme is the evolution of both hero and villain; in this case, Red Tornado (John Smith) and Amazo. While in the astral plane, Tornado is aided by Deadman into inhabiting a fully human cloned body. However, this decision proves to be fateful. While Tornado loves feeling human again, his android body and Vixen's totem are stolen by mercenaries working for Professor Ivo.

Meanwhile, Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman meet in the "Lounge" to vote on new members of the JLA. Each is debated on with Power Girl receiving an invitation to join and Nightwing, Flash, and Supergirl being rejected. The verbal sparring between the three DC titans is amusing.

Meanwhile, Black Canary, Red Arrow (formerly Arsenal) and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) track down Tornado's android body and find Professor Ivo with hundreds of Tornado clones and Solomon Grundy. Vixen, in Hub City ostensibly to meet The Question for a date, finds two villains who steal her Tantu totem.

Tornado follows them and Grundy isolates him from the JLA, who battle Amazo after he attacks Tornado's wife Kathy in their home. Meltzer's story moves along rapidly and the hero(ine) of the day proves to be Vixen, who literally punches a hole through Amazo at the conclusion of the battle. Vixen, Red Arrow, Hawkgirl, and Black Lightning are voted into the JLA.

"Justice League Of America: The Tornado's Path"
by Brad Melzer & Ed Benes
(DC Comics, 2007)
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Just glancing at the artwork, I thought I wasn't gonna like it: I'm so *not* into the overly-stylized, hyper-realistic, fine-line muscle-and-sinew fetishism that has dominated much of mainstream comicbook art since the late 1980s... But I was looking for something good and superhero-y to take my mind off the troubles of the world, and I figured, what the heck, I'll give this a shot, even with the fanboy-ish artwork.

Boy, am I glad I did.

This was a fun story arc, which harkened back to the early-1970s era of the JLA that I grew up with (indeed, issue #105, which also centered on Red Tornado, was one of the first comics I ever bought...) The story starts with the big three -- Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman -- who have convened a secret meeting to put the recently dissolved JLA back together, and while they are figuring out who to invite to join, all kind of weird stuff is going on with the Tornado. What follows is a pretty action-packed, often somewhat gruesome and intense story, one that brings the League back in its full glory. Great version of uber-baddie Solomon Grundy, too, and some good stuff with Batman. If you're looking for a good, old-school superhero story, give this book a shot... it's worth it! (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain book reviews)

Doctor Light is missing, and her former Justice League teammates intend to find the man responsible and make him pay. But before they do that, they'll have to get past his Shadow Cabinet of powerful superbeings who have sworn to "Save humanity from itself." Milestone Comics characters Icon and Hardware make their first modern DC Universe appearance, and it's not clear whose side they're on!

This is Volume 6 of the post-Infinite Crisis Justice League of America series, preceded by:

Vol. 1 - The Tornado's Path
Vol. 2 - The Lightning Saga
Vol. 3 - The Injustice League
Vol. 4 - Sanctuary
Vol. 5 - Second Coming

As the cover and title might imply, this installment of the series reintroduced characters from the Milestone Comics universe into the mainstream DC universe. [Anyone who is unfamiliar with these characters (as I was) might find the Wikipedia article helpful:[...]] A secret organization known as the Shadow Cabinet comes into conflict with the Justice League when they attempt to steal the remains of Dr. Arthur Light, a recently deceased super-villain (see "Final Crisis"). Battle is done, followed by the usual combining of the two teams' forces against a greater threat. Afterwards, the Justice League suffers from internal strife as Green Lantern Hal Jordan, unimpressed by the current League's accomplishments and Black Canary's leadership, leaves the team to form his own group with longtime friend Green Arrow (see Justice League: Cry for Justice). The League's membership plummets due to this and other uncontrollable factors (again, see Final Crisis), until there are only five active members left when a new threat emerges, resulting from their confrontation with the Shadow Cabinet.

Dwayen McDuffie is the writer throughout, and his characterizations of the many heroes that are involved in this tale are spot on. McDuffie was one of the founders and head writers of Milestone Comics when they were being published, so his credibility and qualifications for writing the Milestone characters are without question. The work of several different artists bring the story to life, with Ed Benes making his final contribution to the series in the first chapter of this volume.

The only downside of this book is the fact that so much homework needs to be done to understand what's happening. The first five volumes of the series should be read, of course, to understand the various subplots that unfold around the main conflict. In additon, Final Crisis and the first issue/chapter of Justice League: Cry for Justice should be read before the interlude, "Crisis of Confidence," since events in the those books greatly affect what happens thereafter.

Characters appearing in this volume:

Batman (Bruce Wayne)
Black Canary (Dinah Lance)
Black Lightning (Jefferson Pierce)
Doctor Light (Kimiyo Hoshi)
Firestorm (Jason Rusch)
The Flash (Wally West)
Green Arrow (Oliver Queen)
Green Lantern 2814.1 (Hal Jordan)
Green Lantern 2814.2 (John Stewart)
Hawkgirl (Kendra Saunders)
Hawkman (Carter Hall)
Paladin (alt. Bruce Wayne)
Red Arrow (Roy Harper)
Superman (Clark Kent/Kal-El)
Vixen (Mari Jiwe McCabe)
Wonder Woman (Diana of Themyscira)
Zatanna

Blitzen (Valerie Kameya)
Dharma (Harry Chawney)
Donner (Gerri Brauer)
Gloria Mundi
Hardware (Curtis Metcalf)
Icon (Augustus Freeman)
Iota (Isadora Wellington-Smythe)
Iron Butterfly (Kahina Eskandari)
Payback(Kevin Franklin)
Rocket (Raquel Ervine)
Starlight (Stella Maxwell)
Twilight

Shadow Thief (Carl Sands)
Starbreaker

Cameo Appearances:
Animal Man (Buddy Baker)
Oracle (Barbara Gordon)

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl ? they have all used their unique powers to fight evil across the galaxy. These 7 super heroes unite to become the Justice League. These 26 adventures feature battles with favorite villains like Lex Luthor, Vandal Savage and sorceress Morgan Le Fey. Acts of justice include saving Aquaman from a coup and clearing Green Lantern's name in a charge of genocide. From the smash hit TV series, these triumphant tales of teamwork will enthrall and inspire!

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:The Enemy Below, Pt.2 Audio Commentary: Audio Commentary with Bruce Timm- Producer, James Tucker- Producer, Glenn Murakami- Producer, Rich Fogel- Producer & Dan Riba- Director
Interviews:- Inside Justice League: A private panel discussion takes place between Bruce Timm and his team of creators about Justice League with some special surprises - The Look of The League: Bruce Timm explains character design of Justice League
Storyboards:Storyboards: The Blueprint For Justice: The creative team of Justice League discuss storyboarding process
Audio Commentary:Legends, Pt.2 Audio Commentary: Audio Commentary with Bruce Timm- Producer, James Tucker- Producer, Glenn Murakami- Producer, Rich Fogel- Producer & Dan Riba- Director
Audio Commentary:The Savage Time, Pt.2 Audio Commentary- Audio Commentary with Bruce Timm- Producer, James Tucker- Producer, Glenn Murakami- Producer, Rich Fogel- Producer & Dan Riba- Director
Other:Justice League: The First Mission: Watch this exciting "Never Seen Before" promo which helped Justice League leap into action

Kevin Conroy (BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES) returns for another series with Bruce W. Timm, Paul Dini, James Tucker and others. Also starring Michael Rosenbaum (SMALLVILLE, URBAN LEGEND), George Newbern, Phil LaMarr, Susan Eisenberg, Carl Lumbly and Maria Canals.

SECRET ORIGINS PART 1: Batman and Superman discover an alien conspiracy in Gotham City that soon spreads to the world.

SECRET ORIGINS PART 2: Batman and Superman enlist help from J'onn J'onnz and other superheroes to stop the invasion.

SECRET ORIGINS PART 3: The superheroes make a shocking discovery with one of the Senators that supposedly survived an alien experience.

IN BLACKEST NIGHT PART 1: Green Lantern is accused of destroying a local planet.

IN BLACKEST NIGHT PART 2: The Flash proves Green Lantern is innocent and discovers the real culprit.

THE ENEMY BELOW PART 1: Aquaman visits the surface.

THE ENEMY BELOW PART 2: Aquaman and the Justice League battle Aquaman's corrupt brother.

INJUSTICE FOR ALL PART 1: Lex Luthor discovers he has cancer and as a last deed, he recruits The Ultra Humanite, Shade, CopperHead, Star Sapphire, Solomon Grundy, Cheetah and The Joker (voiced again by Luke Skywalker himself; Mark Hamill).

INJUSTICE FOR ALL PART 2: The Joker and Lex Luthor argue over what should be the death of the Justice League.

PARADISE LOST PART 1: Felix Faust (voiced by Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund) attacks Wonder Woman's home island.

PARADISE LOST PART 2: The Justice League find the rest of the fragments that Faust in search of and try to stop him.

WAR WORLD PART 1: Superman battles Mongul and Dragga on a distant planet.

WAR WORLD PART 2: After the battle, Dragga teams up with Superman to take down Mongul.

THE BRAVE & THE BOLD PART 1: The Flash is framed for a crime he didn't commit and discovers a mad Gorilla Grodd (voiced by Powers Boothe) has a plan of his own.

THE BRAVE & THE BOLD PART 2: The Justice League team back together to stop Gorilla Grodd.

FURY PART 1: A young woman, claiming she is a real Amazon recruits the super villains in order to take down the Justice League.

FURY PART 2: After poisoning half of America's men, the rogue Amazon and the female super villains attempt to take down Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl.

LEGENDS PART 1: After a battle with Lex Luthor, The Flash, Green Lantern, J'onn J'onnz and Hawkgirl get transported into a comic book world with Green Lantern's idolized superheroes.

LEGENDS PART 2: After taking down corny super villains in the comic book world, Green Lantern makes a shocking discovery on the Justice Guild.

A KNIGHT WITH SHADOWS PART 1: Morgan Le Fey and Mordred try to take down the Justice League. Guest starring Michael Gough (Alfred from BATMAN (1989), BATMAN RETURNS, BATMAN: FOREVER and BATMAN & ROBIN).

A KNIGHT WITH SHADOWS PART 2: Etrigen helps the Justice League take down Morgan Le Fey and Mordred.

METAMORPHASIS PART 1: Rex Mason gets transformed by a mysterious chemical after meeting up with his pal, John Stewart aka Green Lantern. Guest starring Danica McKellar (THE WONDER YEARS, INSPECTOR MOM, HACK!).

METAMORPHASIS PART 2: After believing his fiances is cheating on him, Rex Mason tries to take down Green Lantern while Rex's father in-law is planning an evil scheme involving killing Rex.

SAVAGE TIME PART 1: The Justice League get transported back to WWII to meet up with Vandal Savage (voiced by Phil Morris).

SAVAGE TIME PART 2: Wonder Woman falls for a fighter pilot.

SAVAGE TIME PART 3: The Justice League try to figure out how to change back history so that WE won WWII.

Infinity out of infinity out of infinity out of infinity star rating, baby!

This t.v series has helped me get hooked on superheroes. The story lines are interesting enough for adults to enjoy and the yet fun enough for kids. I used these episodes of Season One in my junior English classes to teach the conventions of the short story and heroic archetypes. My 13 year-old students loved learning through heroics. You don't have to be a 'comic geek' to recognize who these characters are and there is no need to know their histories because everything the show needs you to know is clearly explained within story contexts. I found that this is what is lacking with the Justice League Unlimited episodes, they move into more specialized characters without providing any information and within the half hour episodes it is easy to get lost - not so with Justice League Season 1&2. Most episodes are two parters which really allows for a story and its characters to develop. I wish this show was still on television, it's good clean, classic fun!

Some of these heroes have been around since before most of use were born, no matter how old we are. Therefore if you aren't familiar with the characters of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (etc.) you either didn't like comic books much as a kid, or you were exclusively a Marvel fan. LOL

This series is a visual delight on blu ray. The stories are interesting to fans of all ages. My wife and I enjoy them, our son and daughter-in-law enjoy them, and our grand-daughter enjoys them. To find entertainment like that to apply to one sitting of three generations is priceless.

The stories themselves are quite captivating, and when they come as a series of connected episodes, you'll have a hard time breaking in the middle of the sequence. There are quite a variety of superheroes spread amongst the episodes, and although you'll see the "name" heroes most often, there are always some interesting minor heroes sprinkled in ... either in combination with the big names, or sometimes featured in their own stories. You'll also find that not all of the heroes "get along". Rivalries and disputes are common, and add even more depth to the episodes.

If you were/are a DC Comics fan, or wish to become one, you can buy this set of Blu ray discs with confidence.

If you're a DC comics fan, this updated version of Superfriends does not disappoint. I like how they took characters and plots from the original Superfriends series and updated them in this new version. Definitely recommend. Great introduction season.

In a nut shell this is a well animated series. It is fun seeing all the superheros on screen together. The biggest problem with the set is the writers basically made SUPERMAN who is the strongest member of the UNIT the weakest. It actually became annoying to see SUPERMAN being easily defeated and dang near every epidsode. I mean too make this mistake over an entire season somehow made it way less enjoyable.In the extras the creators openly admit this flaw. But for me as I watched the epidsodes .....I started to roll my eyes as SUPERMAN who has virtually no weaknesses , get Zapped with little efort in almost every story. After awhile it annoyed me. Again the animation is great. But this season missed the mark as it could of been alot better.