Customer Reviews

JLA: Salvation Run

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

 

 

On rare occasions, a comic story has the opportunity to transcend the normal parameters of its simpler and lighter format to explore more thoughtful terrain. When this happens, a work of exceptional quality can be produced, thereby elevating the genre into more cerebral realms. What is required is vision and scope beyond that normally employed with superhero fare, but when less is striven for, a missed opportunity results. With the premise of a group of callous, calculating and resolute villains being covertly teleported to an uninhabited planet for the purpose of forming their own society, a possibility to explore substantial subjects such as sociology, anthropology, history, political science, and religion presents itself. Some of these topics are briefly touched upon, revealing how provocative their further examination could have been. Instead we mostly bear witness to a series of silly and redundant infighting, a scenario much too reminiscent of the concurrent and equally lackluster Countdown Arena. Along with the misplaced prominence on pointless bickering, additional problems arise whenever you bring a large cast of characters into the mix. The loss of individual personalities and their unique appeal and identity occurs, with much of their posing and blustering blending into one homogenized and cliched voice. Some interesting angles are delved into, most specifically the contrasting of Luthor's rational methodology versus the Joker's nihilistic mania for leadership of Hell planet. All this for the perverse privilege of seeing what survival stance espoused by which crooked candidate will be nominated, an interesting and certainly apropos analogy in this current election year. Of course on this primordial campaign trail, it may come down to survival of the fittest, not issues and answers. Concerning the larger picture, even the much anticipated revelation of the behind the scenes adversary and their shrouded motivation lacks credibility and is ultimately a letdown, as was the anticlimactic ending, regrettably resigning a story that should have been a major player in the current affairs of the DCU as merely a minor footnote. While this type of tale may be entertaining on an undemanding escapist level, so much more could have been attained, with the final outcome being a disappointing example of settling for less instead of striving for more.

The story had potential. Villains who cause too many problems on Earth are sent to another planet to live out their lives (shades of Lord of the Flies or Space Seed if you like Star Trek). But it did not hold up. Why was Catwoman there (no powers, doesn't kill, just steals)? If she belonged there then everyone in a prison belongs there. Speaking of which, the original purpose were for these villains who kept causing major problems for the world to be sent here.

Shouldn't that really just include those with powers or mastermind type criminals? Besides Catwoman, why would Two-Face be there or just about any Batman-villain except Joker who does kill many people.

Then there were the villains who held their own even though they had no powers. Bane and Deadshot for example. Would they really be able to stand up to villains who take on heroes with more powers? Yes I know Batman does it, but these are villains, not heroes.

On the plus side, I think both Joker and Luthor were handled well in the story. I liked the narration and the discussed as well.

Overall, I would have preferred the story to be outside of normal continuity so the writers could have done whatever they wanted with the characters.

As it stands, an OK read if you borrow it, but not worth buying.

This sooooo didn't sound like my cup of tea, and as a result, I put off ordering this graphic novel for more than two years. But eventually I broke down and ordered it for my collection, and was pleasantly surprised. I don't generally like villains, except for what they contribute to a great story. So what happens when you take ALL villains, with only the slightest appearance of a super hero, and ship them off to a prison planet? (Takron Galtos this is NOT! LOL) The basic premise is that the recent rash of wide spread evil committed by super villains has left those in charge just completely fed up. The result is to round them up in stages and ship them across the galaxy to a true hell hole of a planet. (There's a delightful twist, but I can't go into details without spoiling it.) Almost the entirety of the graphic novel takes place revolving around the villains as they try to survive the planet, and each other. It's unclear why Catwoman is there, but she is, and that leads to some surprising moments with the ONLY hero to be in the picture, which is one of the big guns of the Justice League. (Again, can't go into more details without spoiling it.) All in all it's an intriguing social experiment, and there's a LOT of the different loyalties within the villain dynamic butting heads and fighting to be in charge. Sturges clearly has a delightful time writing Luthor and Joker, and I was surprised to find myself reading through the whole thing in one sitting. Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'll ever be able to completely go all Dark Side and Lord of the Flies, but for what it was (Which is an above average, enjoyable story.), it just worked. I really enjoyed it, and I think if you give it a chance, you won't be disappointed either.
Thanks for your time folks.
Sincerely, R.A. McDowell

Fed up with a revolving-door prison system that routinely releases dangerous criminals, the U.S. government decides to exile dozens of meta-human convicts to a distant planet named "Salvation" where they will be permanently kept out of circulation. Touted as a paradise, the first batch of exiles quickly discovers that they've been sent to a nightmare world where everything seems determined to kill them. Can these rugged individualists co-operate well enough to survive? Or will they find each other even more dangerous than the natives? Lex Luthor, The Joker, Gorilla Grodd, Catwoman, Captain Cold, Deadshot, Vandal Savage, etc... lead a cast of DC's most notorious villains. Almost no appearances from the JLA, however.

I thought the art was very cool - the alien landscape was nicely rendered, and there were plenty of splash pages depicting dozens of notable baddies. And I have no argument with the cast of characters, which despite the shortage of heroes, was very impressive. But the story really didn't live to the possibilities inherent in the original setup. These characters in this environment could have taken us into some really dark territory - "Lord of the Flies" or even "Heart of Darkness" stuff. Instead the story goes in a direction that was perhaps less predictable, but ultimately nowhere near as meaningful. And not to sound ghoulish, but given the plot, it seemed hard to believe there weren't more deaths. But although a great deal more might have been done with this idea, it was still a modestly entertaining adventure. Each chapter seemed very short, but at least that kept the plot (such as it was) moving along. Nothing very special, though. Warning to newbies: a moderate degree of familiarity with the characters involved is pretty much required or the story would make very little sense and fall awfully flat. Three and half stars.

What happens when you throw all of DC's villains together on one planet? Nothing. At least nothing in this trade by creators I usually enjoy. The premise sounded interesting but the results were convoluted and meaningless. It was so much overkill and nothing ended up meaning anything. The art was to undetailed and that was probably due to the unneeded use of so many characters. Disappointing to say the least! F!

Short and to the point: A bunch of DC villains marooned on a planet to fend for themselves. This premise is SO good it's hard to imagine anyone messing it up. The very capable Mathew Sturges and Bill Willingham certainly do not. The "JLA" in the title seems only to be there for branding purposes, as very few (if any) heroes appear in the book. It's just a bunch of bad guys, and gals on the cosmic equivalent to a dangerous desert island. I loved it and by the end I was rooting for the arch enemies, and shouting "up yours!" to the decent and good people of Earth. A fan of Villains United (Countdown to Infinite Crisis), or Secret Six: Six Degrees of Devastation might very well enjoy this book.

Someone has found a solution to the super-villain problem - exile to the beautiful planet of Salvation, where the super-villains can build a new society, one to their liking. But, Salvation isn't all that it's cracked up to be. It seems that someone has turned the idyllic world in a murderous training ground, where the villains need to use all of their power and cunning just to stay alive! But, these guys and galls never did go in for The Common Good and all that sort of thing. Things are about to get ugly...and uglier still.

Overall, I found this to be an interesting story. I always did have a weak spot for evil versus evil stories, and this one pits some of the best against each other. Now, it is true that with so many characters placed into the story, too many are reduced to a mere cameo appearance. But, that said, I did find this to be a very entertaining story. It's survival of the fittest, or should I say "baddest"? Who do you think is going to win?