Books : Justice, Vol. 2

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- One of the best Alex Ross comics ever
Jim Krueger and Alex Ross have set the bar extremly high for all other comic writers.

Rating:

- Alex Ross' harrowing superhero tale continues
The second collected volume of the three volume Justice, orchestrated by artist extraordinaire Alex Ross, finds the Justice League in shambles. With various members under the mind control of the Legion of Doom, along with others left as shells of the heroes they usually are, none other than Captain Marvel swoops in to save Superman and the rest of the League as the two sides prepare themselves for a climactic showdown with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Like the first TPB of Justice, this comic reminds us that superhero stories were once supposed to be fun and showcased what the word "hero" really meant. Originally conceived as a strike back to the dark tone of DC's mega events Identity Crisis and Infinite Crisis, Ross and his Earth X partner Jim Kreuger go to great lengths as well to make the use of the Elongated Man, who was the unfortunate focal point of Identity Crisis, and everything works out pretty well. Dougie Brathwaite's pencils embelished by Ross' paints are still striking as well, and by the time you reach the end of this volume, you'll be left salivating to see how it all ends.

Rating:

- More please....(mild spoilers)
This book collects the #5-8 of the ongoing Jusitce maxi-series written by Jim krueger (Earth X) and illustrated by Doug Braithwaite and Alex Ross.

The story picks up immediately after volume one of Justice where the JLA is systemetically being taken apart. The heroes begin to somewhat regain their footing but the battle is far from over. We find out that there is even a bigger play on hand than what appears. Batman is being mind-controlled, so are several members of the JLA. But thorugh the intervention of second tier or reserve JLA members such as Captain Marvel, the heroes narrowly escape the clutches of the Legion of Doom. And speaking of Captain Marvel, he has a prominent presence in this book. His powers and representation here is very similar to that in another story, Kingdom Come (which should come as no surprise). But not soon have the heroes regained their composure do they find out that their loved ones, i.e. Aquaman's son have been kidnapped. The battle lines have been drawn and the JLA and Legion of Doom are ready to go at it, which one can assume will take place in the next volume...and I for one can't wait.

The art team continues their excellent work. I love the scenes where Captain Marvel swoops in to save Superman and with the ease he disposes of Bizzaro, Metallo, Parasite and Grundy. Since, Parasite took Superman's strength, he also gained his weaknesses and Capt. Marvel exploits that by ripping out Metallo's kryptonite heart and using it against Parasite...awesome. I also liked the little banter that Superman had with Capt. Marvel after they recues the Flash whose own metabolism is killing him.

Superman: Do you have any money on you?

Capt. Marvel: Billy has maybe ten bucks, why?

Supes: Barry has to eat. An there's an all-you-can-eat buffet about 50 miles from here. It's $5.99. I hate asking...but my wallet got burned up when you threw me into the sun.

Capt.: This is going to be unfair to the buffet, isn't it?

Like I said, the writing is great.

As a bonus feature of sorts, the book features an intro by Doug Braithwaite which was very poignant. He writes about how he read the JLA as a kid and has the same enthusiasm as he pencils Justice. There is also more files of of profiles presented for heoroes and villains from Batman's computer. You also get a look at several pencilled pages.

In case it didn't coem through, I love this book. The way the story is written is vintage Superfriends type cartoon which has been matured to certain extent. It's an excellent read and I am very enthusiactic to see how it will end. So, do yourself a favor and pick this up. You won't regret it.

Rating:

- part 2 of a great trilogy!
disagree with earlier reviewer who said the continuation from first book was weak.think it is a good lead onto the final one - just wish I had that to read now - imagine those who have been reading it in comic from & have been having to wait over a space of 2 years for the series to start - finish! I always reread the last trade paperback in a series before reading the new one I just bought for best continuity.

everyone goes on about how great Alex Ross work here is so I won't other than to say it works great over the penciller's work. The story is terffic and shows the JLA in arguably the worst predicament in their career.

can't wait for the third & final volume to come out when the League will no doubt inevitably triumph & the bad guys get their come uppance!

Rating:

- Middle sister of a great trilogy
This is a hard book to review since it's part 2 of a trilogy that isn't finished. It was a bit of a disapointment since they cliff hangers set up in volume 1 amount to little and the build up for the third act is slow. Obviously essential if you're reading the series but not as good as the first volume.

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