JLA: Rules of Engagement (Vol. 13) [Paperback]

Joe Kelly (Author), Rick Veitch (Author)

Book Description

Series: JLA (DC Comics Numbered)

They are not just a team, they are the team - Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and many more standing shoulder to shoulder in the ranks of the ultimate earth-shattering mega team - the Justice League of America! When a UFO lands on the Moon, the JLA heads off to investigate, only to discover the ship contains a black hole that bends memory, leaving members of the League with no idea of who they are! More worryingly, they can no longer control their awesome powers! All this and much, much more crammed into the latest JLA graphic novel that follows on directly from the hugely-successful JLA: The Obsidian Age series!

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joe Kelly is one of comics' most prolific writers, with highly acclaimed runs on Daredevil, Deadpool and X-Men to his credit. Doug Mahnke has pencilled Superman: Man of Steel and Alfens: Stronghold. He now the regular artist on JLA. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401202152
• ISBN-13: 978-1401202156
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.3 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #646,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars you can dig through it for some gems, September 17, 2004

By 

Ted Blanton (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: JLA: Rules of Engagement (Vol. 13) (Paperback)

This is the thirteenth volume of JLA reprints, containing issues 77-82 of the series. The first story is a one-off by Rick Veitch, while the main content is two short arcs by Joe Kelly, "Rules of Engagement" and "The White Rage."

Veitch's story is entertaining and inventive, as the League encounters a memory-draining device. Kudos to Veitch for putting superheroes in a situation where intelligence and creativity save the day rather than an all-out battle.

The merits of "Rules of Engagement" lie in the League's ethical debates over intervening in an interstellar conflict in which neither side appears especially noble. I'm probably not the only one who thinks the militant "Paciforce" is an indictment of Bush-43's foreign policy, but the parallels with Earth politics are not childishly handled here: the race the Paciforce is out to conquer is governed by a classic JLA villain, so the League is reluctant to take sides. The real star is artist Doug Mahnke, though: his heroes are noble and statuesque, his very Mediterranean-looking Wonder Woman above all. The scenes where the League just stands around talking are every bit as visually exciting as the story's space battles.

"The White Rage"--making up half the book, unfortunately--is where I get totally lost. Kelly's new character "Faith" has a past so mysterious that the more gets revealed about her, the more convoluted and confusing her story seems. Faith's ex-employer, a CIA type named Manson, keeps company with neo-Nazis, a woman in S&M gear, and a floating, disembodied mouth. Who they are and why they do what they do Kelly never makes clear. It comes off as weird, but not the sort of brilliant madness associated with former JLA scribe Grant Morrison. It's just jumbled nonsense posing as originality and profundity.

My verdict: skip this trade paperback unless you're a completist. It is by far the weakest collection of JLA stories since the new series began in 1997, but Doug Mahnke fans should pick up the single issues 78 & 79 to admire the art.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Filler material, July 22, 2004

By 

the Pepe - See all my reviews

This review is from: JLA: Rules of Engagement (Vol. 13) (Paperback)

The issues this collects of JLA are not their best. The art is great, as is the coloring. However, story-wise, this is not the JLA at their best. It is a transitional period setting up things to come, not meant to be an epic storyline. Buy it if you need to complete a collection, but not as a good read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A real disappointment, May 3, 2005

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: JLA: Rules of Engagement (Vol. 13) (Paperback)

This graphic novel is really three stories in one. The first is Stardust Memories, and pits the heroes of the Justice League against an inter-galactic probe that has dedicated itself to studying the universe and destroying it. This is a good, solid super-hero short story that was quite fun to read. (4 stars)

The second story is Rules of Engagement, in which the Justice League travels light-years to a distant world, where they hope to stop a war of aggression. The story is somewhat interesting, but the fact that the characters are supers does not affect the story too much. This is more or less a science-fiction story. (3 stars)

The third story is The White Rage, and pits a group of white-racist metahumans against the Justice League. The story is far too preachy and, what is worse, the illustration work is inferior to the excellent work done on the other two stories in the book. (1 star)

Overall, I found this book to be a real disappointment. The stories do not seem to have any connection to each other, which gives the book a disjointed feel. And worse, none of the stories really succeeded in grabbing my attention, so I never engaged with them. I did not like this book and do not recommend it.