JLA:The Ultimate Guide to the Justice League of America [Hardcover]

Scott Beatty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2002 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

For the last 40 years, DC Comics' Justice League of America has united the most powerful superheroes -- Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman, and Green Lantern -- against some of the most diabolical villains in comic book history. The Ultimate Visual Guide tells the history of the Justice League of America; their epic battles against awesome adversaries such as The White Martians, The Key, and Megaddon; and includes specially commissioned, spectacularly detailed artwork revealing JLA's brand-new headquarters on the moon, Wonder Woman's island home, Aquaman's undersea base, and more.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up-Batman and Superman may already be the subjects of "Ultimate Guides," but their inclusion here won't stop this wonderfully inviting volume from flying off the shelf faster than a speeding bullet. It chronicles the JLA, a superheroic team that has included Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and many others throughout its colorful past. Readers with an appetite for trivia will find plenty to chew on here, whether it's Plastic Man's real name (Eel O'Brian), Wonder Woman's first appearance (1941), or the color of Aquaman's eyes (sea blue, of course). With over 40 years of outrageous story lines and hundreds of episodes to cover, Beatty does a commendable job of transforming a tremendous amount of information into a cohesive work. Created in the signature DK style, the text appears in bold spreads, each with an introduction, several items of note, and plenty of dramatic, colorful images, including some that were specially commissioned for this publication. The book opens with a "biographical" chapter on the JLA's current members, followed by sections on their allies, enemies, and legacy. The inclusion of an encyclopedic time line of important events will please longtime fans. With interest in comic books and recent film and television spin-offs at a high, expect a demand of heroic proportions.
Douglas P. Davey, Guelph Public Library, Ontario, Canada
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Scott Beatty earned his Master of Arts degree in fiction writing at Iowa State University. A former English teacher, radio personality, and magazine editor, Beatty is also the author of DK's Batman: The Ultimate Guide to the Dark Knight.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN; 1st edition (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789488930
• ISBN-13: 978-0789488930
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 10.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #599,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lacking, January 7, 2003

By 

Ian M. Enriquez "Counselor and lover of life" (San Francisco, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: JLA:The Ultimate Guide to the Justice League of America (Hardcover)

When I first received the book, I was stunned to see how thin it was compared to the X-Men version (almost twice the size). That was already a bad sign. This book is devoted to the current incarnation of the Justice League. There is a two page spread that mention the several past incarnations, but nothing more. It is a shame that the Justice League history was treated with such unimportance. No in-depth coverage of the beginnings of the league, the tragic era (with Steel, Vibe, Vixen, and Gypsy), and Justice International (with my faves Blue Beetle and Booster Gold). They could have easily taken the time and effort to present a more comprehensive history. At least feature a few more characters prominently like the Red Tornado and Black Canary instead of giving them corner blurbs. In scanning the book, there is even text missing from one of the pages.

Despite the huge disappointment on my part, I still give the book 3 stars. It still has the brilliant presentation and younger readers will be less affected by the lack of history and acknowledgement of the previous leagues. I just don't understand why this book got only half the attention in comparison to the X-Men when it could have easily been filled out more. I would be interested in seeing a revision some day that gives the Justice League the attention they deserve.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DK's Justice League., November 1, 2002

By 

J. Smith "JThree" (Williston, North Dakota United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: JLA:The Ultimate Guide to the Justice League of America (Hardcover)

The latest in DK's series in looking at DC's superheroes and by Mr. Beatty. The first two being last year's Batman and this year's Superman.

The work that goes into these books is phenomenol, and the effort really shows. It'a a fun read, and full of facts from the forty some years of Justice League history. The maps on the JLA watchtower and various sites are incredible, and the imagination of those who work those sites out are astonishing.

One thing that is a challenge to Mr. Beatty is DC's "revisionism" of its own history. So the good author has to try to keep current with the what's going on now, and sort of put the discontinued history on the back burner. Which is sort of a shame, because the pre-Crisis Universe had some good stories and characters that we haven't got the time to focus one.

The last six pages which gives the run down on ALL the Justice League history is the best part for me, because it goes despite the revisionism. For me the ORIGINAl Justice League will always be Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter. Not the revised Black Canary filling in for Wonder Woman.

It's little things like this which makes it harder for authors such as Mr. Beatty to work on doing "histories" as opposed to the Marvel Group which hasn't done such rewritings.

I still would have like some photos from the Justice League Incarnations from the various television shows and such. This is knitpicking on my part.

It's a good read, and a good run down on the group.

Hopefully Mr. Beatty can continue on in the series, and do a few more.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An incredible guide for the Grant Morrison JLA, June 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: JLA:The Ultimate Guide to the Justice League of America (Hardcover)

This guide follows the rest of the Ultimate Guide/Visual Dictionary series of books by DK, with the emphasis on the current JLA envisioned by Grant Morrison.

Full of pictures, and "popup video" style tidbits about the characters, it is a quick, easy to absorb gallery of characters used in the JLA comic book series by DC.

What it lacks is the comprehensive info for the Justice League of America and its other incarnations, but then again, it was listed as JLA: the Ultimate Guide. Because of that it's great for what it's worth. The timeline does make a nice attempt to mention all of its past incarnations.

One thing... it keeps mentioning Triumph, but it didn't really show who this traitorous character is or looks like.