JLA: Syndicate Rules (Book 17) [Paperback]

Kurt Busiek (Author)

Book Description

Series: JLA (DC Comics)

They may be the World's Greatest Heroes - Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman and the Flash - but painful experience has taught them what it means to fail...When Superman's actions cause the death of a rookie superhero, his grief and anger force each member of the Justice League to examine their darkest hour: the time when their world-shattering power just wasn't enough! From Flash touched by tragedy in a burning tenement block, to Wonder Woman facing the prospect of death, JLA: Pain of the Gods exposes the human side of superheroes - as never before!

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

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bob Harras is a former editor at Marvel Comics, and has written Avengers, Breach, Namor the Sub-Mariner and many more titles. Tom Derenick has worked on a host of titles including Cable, Nightside, Superman, Wolverine/Captain America and X-Men. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (October 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401204775
• ISBN-13: 978-1401204778
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.5 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,159,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Jla: Pain for the Reader, December 18, 2005

By 

Cotton Top "Katy" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jla (Paperback)

What's even more dangerous to Superman than kryptonite? Or more deadly than fire to the Martian Manhunter? How about lousy artwork and weak writing.

I think the attempt here was to humanize DC Comic's greatest heroes. But this has been do so much better so many times before. And it was done without having our heroes act so out-of-character. Don't believe me? Check out the scene where Diana gets back to headquarters after nearly being killed. Did GL or Flash or even Manhunter act like any kind of friend? Especially after all they had been through as a team?

And the artwork? Don't get me started. Go back to JLA issue one and look at what beauty is.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite an interesting take on superheroes, April 18, 2005

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: JLA: Pain of the Gods (JLA (DC Comics)) (Paperback)

In the Five For Fighting song, Superman explains that it is not easy being him, and this book lets you know that, in spades. Having such great powers, the Justice League of America can do such great things, but even they are not omnipotent, and when they fail they carry the pain of that failure in an equally large way. This is a series of stories on failure, on what that failure means to the JLA.

This graphic novel is a reprint of JLA #101-106, in book form, and marks quite a departure. The characters in this graphic novel are still larger than life, but this book focuses on them failing, and the pain that that can cause them. It's quite an interesting take on superheroes.

Overall, I found this to be a great book, and I loved its unique take. If you are interested in expanding your view of superheroes, the get this book, it's great!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Uneventful End to a Great Run, December 29, 2009

By 

Simon (Brampton, ON) - See all my reviews

This review is from: JLA Vol. 19: World Without a Justice League (Paperback)

This volume collects issues #120-125 of the JLA series, and is also the final volume in the run of Justice League comics started by Grant Morrison in JLA (Book 1): New World Order. The league has dissolved following the events of Identity Crisis (DC Comics) and JLA: Crisis of Conscience (Identity Crisis) (Countdown to Infinite Crisis). As Green Arrow struggles to pull together a new alliance of heroes, one of the league's earliest foes returns more dangerous than ever.

This is a perfectly enjoyable story, but in hindsight it's not one that needs to be told. Everything that needed to be said about the League's breakup was already covered in "Crisis of Conscience," so this arc really doesn't do much except re-tread the hurt feelings and bickering from past issues. I suspect the only reason JLA was even extended to these last 6 issues was so DC would have something to fill in the publishing schedule until the Justice League was relaunched with Justice League of America, Vol. 1: The Tornado's Path. Writer Bob Harras does the best he can with the material, and the narrative flows pretty well. This is pretty impressive considering the middle sections of the story seem to exist purely to tie into the events of Infinite Crisis. The OMACs from The OMAC Project (Countdown to Infinite Crisis) appear, and Donna Troy drops by to randomly yank a few characters off into space to face the threat from The Rann-Thanagar War (Countdown to Infinite Crisis). Even the real bad guy of this story is tied to the fallout from Day of Vengeance (Countdown to Infinite Crisis). As you may realize by now, this was one of DC's more "involved" tie-in crossover epics, and a lot of the story is pretty much an aside to the real action that is happening elsewhere.

Which is too bad, because the 90s JLA was a great comic that had a mostly solid run, and it deserved better than to fizzle out like this at the end. One or two issues of memorial would've seemed appropriate, six is overkill. Worth a look if you're into the Infinite Crisis saga or if you've bought all the other JLA volumes and just want to round out the set. Otherwise this is pretty skippable for the casual reader.