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Ross artwork is amazing, the storyline pretty compelling. Definitely worth purchase if you are inclined.
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A perfect installment for any Alex Ross fan, "Justice" promises the incredible layouts and attention to detail that those who follow his work come to expect. There are some comic book artists who I love to see interpret classic comic book characters (Mike Mignola, Guy Davis, Bryan Hitch, to name a few), and Ross is definitely part of that club. His photo-real approach just pops the characters right off the page.
Though the heroes still stick to their iconic costumes (for the most part), Ross has taken a bit more license with the villains. Interestingly enough, most of the core villain group is made of the same characters from the Legion of Doom (from TV's Super Friends), and a number of the characters (like Toyman) are altered to better resemble their cartoon counterparts. Some characters like Metallo, Bizarro, and the Parasite have gotten total makeovers; all of it is good stuff.
While I wasn't sure how a collaberative effort with Doug Braithwait would effect Ross's work, it seems like a perfect marriage. Braithwait's style is a bit rigid and almost seems to be the diametric opposite to Ross's fluid and natural way of painting, but it works. While Braithwait's influence is definitely felt at the very beginning of the book, Ross's touch softens is up more and more as the story progresses.
It is often said that Ross is not a good visual storyteller, and that his sequential work can be confusing. While, I don't disagree, the overall caliber and beauty of his work more than makes up for the few moments the art doesn't perfectly convey a scene. In some cases, Ross's photo-realistic style robs him of the common comic book methods of emphasizing something or making it stand out unrealistically (like drawing a little starburst around it). Existing fans won't be disappointed, and new-comers will see some of his best work.
The story is nothing less than epic. On the surface, the world's worst villains have banded together to take out their greatest foes, so that THEY can save the world (from a apocalyptic prophecy that they all share). Using technology from their various villianous gimmicks, they set out to heal the sick, feed the hungry, and house the homeless. Underneath it all is a spiderweb of plotting, deciet, and betrayal. Each layer of the story that is uncovered, just makes it more and more compelling. Though not really in the main DC continuity, this story is timeless, and distills the true iconic essence of each of the story's characters. Brilliant stuff!
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probably the best jla story to be collected in a long time. the highlight is of course ross's art, which is peerless. whether it's brainiac, or bizarro, or batman, or superman, or solomon grundy, the way ross paints them is the ideal way one imagines these legendary comics figures.
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This book collects the first 4 issues of the bi-monthly JLA series written by Jim Kruger (Earth X) and Alex Ross (Kingdom Comea) and art by Alex Ross and Doug Braithwaits.
The story begins with a handful of super-villains experiencing a collective nightmare of the world coming to an end and the JLA being powerless to stop it or save anyone. They villains then embark on a mission to put the JLA out of their commission and appoint themselves as the true guardians of mankind. Sounds like an often used old school JLA adventure, right? But it really isn't. Although the plot may at face value seem like run-of-the-mill, the story however is deeper and much more layered. The JLA has rarely expereinced this level of peril and the villains have rarely seemed this ruthless and committed to their goals. The gem in the story is that villains can organize just as well as the heroes and can save the world. The villains think they are the heroes in this case. While it seems that it is a villains vs. heroes story, there is this ominous sense that they are merely players and something much larger than either is at foot. The book ends with the JLA being taken out of commission and Lex Luthor and his allies declaring themselves the new guardians of humanity and condemning the JLA for their inactions.
Now, let's talk about the art. It's pencilled by Doug Braithwaite but painted over by Alex Ross. I don't know how but the pencils and the colors enmesh perfectly and the art entirely seems done by Alex Ross (although in some cases Braithwaite's presence is felt). The bottom line is that the art is drop dead gorgeous. It also carries a dark tone and perfectly suits the story since, I have yet to see the JLA taken apart like this.
As for the extras, you get profiles of heroes and villains which are supposedly files in Batman's computer. You also get numerous pencilled pages by Doug Braitwaithe. It also features an intro by Jim Krueger.
I would like to address the quality of the collection brought up by another reviewer. Yes, the papers are pretty thin and can be easily crumpled. But DC hardcovers characteristically seems to suffer from this (i.e. Batman Broken City HC). But it is prices lower than Marvel hardcovers so, it's still a great buy.
Go on, click "add to shopping cart" and enjoy a great story with beautiful art.
Rating:  -
Remembering that this epic adventure series is the first regular series for Alex Ross EVER, combining the books in sets is a good idea, but as one reviewer pointed out, not a deluxe edition: expect those after the full run of the series... if you can wait that long!
Each issue comes out every-other month and that's a killer wait for this slammin' spectacular classic tale of DC's JLA. Fantastic artowk is gilt-edging to a great, great,,great storyline. Ross' use of dramatic lighting and angles have even stepped up his own best shots: this is just magnificent stuff and anyone, comic feeb or not, would have to admit that it hooks you. A GREAT artistic team can construct pages and continuity in such a way that it forces the reader to rething order and in such, lay vulnerable to a new perspective: the mind of the reader can be treated to a new roller coaster ride or an undiscovered gem of a concept if the creatives can do it right: Ross has that mastered, and combined with this dream team of a series, we can only wonder why it isn't on bestseller lists nationwide. Certainly, JUSTICE beats any motion picture SPFX in recent memory, and the material is so classic that it is almost holy.
Buy the book!
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