Customer Reviews

Crisis on Multiple Earths - Volume 5

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I transitioned from Harvey and Disney comics to DC's superheroes, one of the first stories I read was a JLA/JSA crossover. Maybe that's why I have such a soft spot for these stories. The three featured in this volume are slightly uneven but all have their pluses and minuses.

The first features the two teams' dinner party interrupted by 5 of DC's historical characters (including Jonah Hex, Enemy Ace, and the Viking Prince) being used as pawns of the Lord of Time in his attempt to stop his temporal computer that has evolved out of his control. The story is a bit convoluted and the inclusion of five characters largely unfamiliar to many readers even of that time doesn't help. This is probably the weakest in this volume and I remember I wasn't too crazy about it when I was 11 either.

The second is a murder mystery. Mr. Terrific of the JSA joins the teams for their meeting because he is on the trail of an old enemy. He ends up the victim of murder and it's up to Batman and the Huntress to find the killer. Better than the previous story but not great, and feels a little more intimate than the "fate of the world is at stake" stories usually presented.

The third has the teams drafted by the New Gods of New Genesis needing their help in defeating a resurrected Darkseid. This three-parter is easily the best of the three but also bittersweet. Longtime JLA artist Dick Dillin passed away after completing the first part, but was replaced by fan favorite George Perez.

The best parts of these stories are the interactions between members of the two teams. The first story didn't have much beyond the Batman and the Huntress. While the two Flashes are like a hero and fan, and the two Green Lanterns like brothers, Huntress sees her father's Earth-1 counterpart almost as a father figure or an "uncle" as she calls him. Batman, meanwhile, sees what he could have if he allowed himself to marry and have a family. The scene in the second story where Huntress tells Batman of her father's recent death is touching (as far as I know the two Batmen never met) and the best in the whole volume.

Overall, I highly recommend this to any fan of the Justice League, Justice Society, or DC comics in general.

To give you an idea of the improved writing of the book in this collection, I must mention another, the tpb "Justice League Hereby Elects," which is filled with goofy, unreadable stories, cheesy dialogue, and flat characters. By comparison,the majority of stories in this collection are great. I haven't read the 1st story arc with the Time Lord, but the "Murderer Among Us" story from JLA 171-172 lent a somber tone to a usually goofball book. The dialogue and characterizations were very good, and I especially liked Mr. Terrific's feeling obsolete compared to the younger, more powerful heroes; it brought more depth to the storyline.

The second story arc finds the JSA/JLA teaming up with New Gods Orion, Mr. Miracle, and Barda in an attempt to stop the resurrection of Darkseid by villains Shade, Fiddler, and Icicle. I thought it was an edge-of-your seat crossover on par with The Avenger's Kree/Skrull war, and I wish it would get more attention, being the first time superheroes outside of Superman battled Darkseid. I especially liked the teaming of Mr. Miracle and Batman, the two greatest escape artists in the DC Universe. There's also some great character moments, like the immature Firestorm telling Prof Stein to stop being a backseat driver, and touching moments like Barda, Superman, and Wonder Woman finding an underground resistance composed of children. I'd like to hear what others think of this story specifically.

All in all some very solid reads.

great book for those wanting to collect jla/jsa stories on the cheap. hopefully dc will keep running them until all the team ups are reprinted

The fifth volume of CRISIS ON MULTIPLE EARTHS once again showcases the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths crossovers with the Justice League of America and their Golden Age counterparts, the Justice Society of "Earth-2". As the stories get closer to the present day, they prove to be slightly less "hokey" and a little more interpersonal than earlier stories which didn't much concern themselves with character development. About the only downside to the volume is the story with the New Gods, where Darkseid just doesn't quite come across as the cosmic-level threat he is best known as. The book features a cover by George Perez, who seems to live for doing crowd scenes, which is not to be missed. Overall, for anyone who enjoys the classic adventures of the DC Universe, this volume is a superb addition to their library! - Here's hoping for a Volume 6, which should just about bring us to "the" Crisis.

Back before the JSA revival became one of the hottest things since sliced bread we young comic book fans had to be content with the annual teaming of the JLA and JSA teams in the Justice League of America comic book. Always a pleasure to see the teams interact and see different pairings of individual heroes working together instead of the expected pairings you saw all the time in JLA.

I'm specifically reviewing the stories collected in this volume, however. The other volumes contain seminal stories like the intro of Earth-3's Crime Syndicate of America; the triple teaming of the JLA, JSA, and Legion of Super-Heroes; and just about the entire history of Black Canary and Red Tornado! By the time of the tales in this volume many possibilities had already been mined. It is a credit to Gerry Conway and the other creators that they didn't just retell the same stories again. Instead we get a tale pairing the two teams with DC's "western heroes" contingent, the death (a real one that has even stood true until today!) of Mr. Terrific, and (most importantly) a teaming with The New Gods.

The JLA/JSA/New Gods team-up is the reason you want this book. Not only does it contain those characters, it also includes the Injustice Society (or at least the core of it) AND THE ART IS BY GEORGE PEREZ! (Most of it, anyway.) The art lends the tale a dynamism that elevates the already elevated story. And this particular team-up stretched over three issues instead of the normal two.

I'm giving this four stars because of page count. Volumes 1 and 2 were 208 pages each. Succeeding volumes have lesser page counts (170-190 range). It would be nice to have seen the next JLA/JSA team-up (again with Perez art) included in this book. Maybe that tale is the "hook" for the next volume!

Are the tales as historically important as the early JLA/JSA tales? No. OTOH, they are exercises which reach deeply into DC's rich well of characters and they are from a time when comic book writing really began to actually be good writing as opposed to "comic book writing."

And there is George Perez art!