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Mild Mannered Reviews - JLA Comics

Justice League of America #30

Justice League of America #30

Scheduled to arrive in stores: February 18, 2009

Cover date: April 2009

"Welcome to Sundown Town" - Chapter 3: "New Moon Rising"

Writter: Dwayne McDuffie
Penciller: Jose Luis
Inker: JP Meyer

"Origins and Omens"

Writter: Len Wein
Penciller: Marco Rudy
Inker: Federico Dallocchio

Michael Bailey Reviewed by: Michael Bailey

Click to enlarge



"New Moon Rising"

The Shadow Thief attacks the Justice League and the Shadow Cabinet on the Watchtower with shadow versions of the heroes. Back on Earth Rocket arrives at Dr. Light's house and after a bit of tough guy back and forth Dr. Light comes out in her new uniform to defuse the situation. They rush to the Watchtower where Dr. Light uses her abilities to eradicate the shadow constructs. The threat seems neutralized but the Thief's final gambit comes into play. The shadow of the moon becomes solid and heads straight for Earth. Superman saves the day but the Shadow Cabinet leaves with what they came for. At the Shadowspire, somewhere in the Himalayas, Icon discusses his treachery with Dharma, who informs Icon that he will do much worse before all is said and done.

"Origins and Omens"

Scar, a former Guardian of the Universe, watches as Red Arrow and Hawkgirl fight the Fadeaway Man. The young lovers argue after defeating the villain and Arrow storms off. Scar continues to read from her book as images of the future appear revealing much conflict in the Justice League's future.

3Story "New Moon Rising" - 3: This book continues to frustrate me.

I've been trying to remain positive about it. I really have. I want to like the books I read and I want to like the Justice League because it is one of my favorite teams. I know I have been a broken record about the fact that DC seems to be using this title as a springboard for other storylines but the fact of the matter is that is what JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA has become.

This story was better than others and from what it looks like at the least the seeds planted in "New Moon Rising" will bear fruit later down the line, but getting this book month after month has become something of a chore. I want to read about the Justice League. I want to see a writer take the team in a direction and stick to it. I don't think that is too much to ask.

The main reason I am so disappointed at the moment is that the ending to "New Moon Rising" was fairly underwhelming. Yeah there was a fight. Yeah Dr. Light got a new costume and a place on the team apparently. The thing is that this entire story was all set up. There wasn't a satisfying ending. This felt like the first chapter of an overall story, which apparently it is but that's not the point. To me each story should be satisfying on its own. I know that we live in a day and age where arcs are collected nanoseconds after they finish and I'm cool with that. The thing I still want some sense that the story has ended even if sub-plots and such are going to continue on and I didn't get that here.

Also, and I realize this might bring up the debate from my last review, I have issues with how powerful Superman was portrayed, but that's me. It has nothing to do with Dwayne as a writer.

Still this issue wasn't poorly written. In places it was downright entertaining. I liked the banter between the Shadow Cabinet and the League. I liked the manly man talk between Hawkman and Hardware. I know there is one guy sitting out there reading this review right now that is on Cloud Nine because of Dr. Light's return and I'm pretty psyched about it too. The thing is the good did not outweigh the bad this time around.

And I hate feeling that way.

4Art - 4: Jose Luis continued to do a solid job of keeping the art consistent with the look Benes established while still showing a good sense of his own style. The storytelling was strong as well and the art made the story go down a little smoother.

Oh, and I know this is another broken record but please, for the love of all that is good and pure, I implore the colorist to stop putting so much blue in the grays of Batman's costume. It looks terrible.

Then again that won't be problem for a while I guess.

3Story "Origins and Omens" - 3: There isn't a whole lot to say about this. The love triangle between Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Red Arrow was interesting but I hope it plays out soon because I don't know how much this sub-plot has in the way of legs. The preview of "what is to come" looks promising and maybe this series will get that direction I was whining about before.

3Art - 3: I'm pretty lukewarm on the art in this section. It wasn't bad but it didn't get me all fired up either. It served its purpose and the characters looked good, so while I have no complaints there isn't anything that stands out for me either.

5Cover Art - 5: This was a fantastic cover. Seriously. It had a creepy vibe to it that I really dug. This was the one aspect of the issue that I had absolutely no complaints about.


Mild Mannered Reviews

2009

Note: Month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.

January 2009

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