Customer Reviews

JLA, Vol. 1

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

One day, early in 1996, Grant Morrison wondered if DC would like to relaunch the Justice League. The sales of the Justice League have fallen off. The League was now populated with second and third tier characters in the DCU. Mr. Morrison's plans were simple. He wanted the A list League. When people think of the Justice League, he said in interviews, they think of DC's big guns, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and of course, J'onn J'onz, the Martian Manhunter. That's what he wanted to do. He wanted to do big, epic superhero stories. DC aquiesced. Morrison once said that had he asked DC the next day, they probably would have rejected it.

It's a good thing DC said yes. Because Morrison's relaunch, titled "JLA" would turn out to be DC's biggest selling title of the 1990's hands down. And, true to Morrison's word, he DID pull out the stops. In the first four issues alone, the League tangled with the Hyperclan, an intergalactic superteam (with [shock!] nefarious plans for Earth). Then the JLA would accept a prospective new heroine Tomorrow Woman and prevent a mutiny in heaven and face their old foe, the Key.

The art by Howard Porter, John Dell and others was terrific. But the standout was Morrison. I vividly recall finishing issue #2 when the Hyperclan seemingly vanquished the JLA and I was floored. I couldn't wait for issue #3! Mr. Morrison knows how to write a cliff hanger. Not only that, he knows the JLA's core characters so well that nothing seems forced. His stories move along with the force of a runaway locomotive. This is popcorn reading at it's absolute best.

This is a must own if you're a fan of the JLA or any of the core characters. A comics classic. 5 Stars.

The JLA Deluxe editions collects Grant Morrison's vision of what the Justice League is all about; quite simply put:

The seven greatest heroes of the DC Comic Universe (Aquaman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Superman, and Wonder Woman) uniting to solve that universe's greatest problems.

The real selling point to the Deluxe editions is that Grant Morrison's well crafted, title redefining tales are beautifully reproduces in large (11.25" x 7.5"), hardbound, dust jacketed, and glossy papered collections; each weighing in at over 250 pages. Each volume is a handsome edition to any library or bookshelf display.

This is the volume that began it all and helped established the JLA as one of DC's must read titles! This hardcover collects issues JLA #01-09 and SECRET FILES AND ORIGINS #01 which contain the story arcs New World Order and American Dreams (previously available as JLA (Book 1): New World Order and JLA (Book 2): American Dreams). In these tales the JLA is formed in response to an Alien group of super beings promising mankind a cure to all of it woes. The adventures continue when THE SEVEN encounter divine forces in a tale about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. From there the JLA face the Key (reinvisioned) via a cleverly told tale that weaves pieces of several pre-crisis elsewhere stories into one encounter. The SECRET FILES AND ORIGINS #01 has a very interesting tale in which the JLA (with help from the Specter) use their wits instead of their super powers to save the day.

If you love JLA as THE CLASSIC SEVEN and you love Grant Morrison's writing then this is a MUST HAVE for your library. For those who are not familiar with the Justice League then this volume is an excellent place to begin your journey.

How in the world did it take me so long to read this? It's absolutely brilliant. The Zauriel story is good (and epic), the Tomorrow Woman story is outrageous and probably a lot more hilarious than intended, and the Hyperclan stuff is great. The only miss is the origin story ("Star Seed"), which is forgettable at best. And Morrison's take on Batman is inspired.

But the real gem is Imaginary Stories/Elseworlds. The Key is a ridiculous villain and Morrison plays him to the hilt. The alternate realities are genius (Wonder Woman as an Indiana Jones pastiche fighting Nazi zombies? More please!), and Connor Hawke trying to use his father's idiotic trick arrows to take down an army of robots is even better.

This is Morrison firing on all cylinders. The only thing I can liken it to is the old Fantastic Four stuff after Kirby really hit his stride, with nutty mind-blowing images of alien craziness and everyone sort of crackling and emoting right off the page. It's epic and grand and cranks the endorphins right up to 11. This is exactly why comics exist.

I've never been much of a comic book guy until I recently discovered Grant Morrison the comic legend. And all I have to say is that he has a very poetic and detailed sense of fantastically extreme imagination. But within reason too. Reading this work you can say that this man knows his stuff and anything he touches becomes poetic gold. If you like this graphic novel Get JLA, Vol. 2 (Deluxe Edition) with this purchase it won't do you wrong or harm to get it because you will want it and it will save you money with shipping. And then read Grant Morrisons stuff on Batman and Sonand Final Crisis.

In the mid-90's, DC's flagship Justice League title was floundering in terms of sales and quality. Enter Grant Morrison, the inventive and innovative writer best known for his defining runs on Animal Man, The Invisibles, and Doom Patrol, and he would be responsible for making the Justice League relevant once again. JLA features Morrison re-shaping the Justice League to include DC's big guns once again: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lantern Kyle Rayner (John Stewart would come a little later), and Aquaman. Through this team, Morrison would craft fun yet surprisingly intelligent stories that illustrated everything a major superhero comic book should be. This first deluxe hardcover volume of Morrison's run on JLA collects the tales of the JLA's struggle against the Hyperclan and The Key, as well as their first encounter with the enigmatic Tomorrow Woman. Almost as prolific as Morrison's writing on the title is the artwork of Howard Porter, who simply put was born to pencil these characters. All in all, Grant Morrison's run on JLA was everything a superhero title should be, and now is your chance to either check it out for the first time, or re-experience it all over again.

So did I. After reading All-Star Superman and some of his Vertigo titles, JLA seemed like a fun place to continue. This Deluxe hardcover contains JLA #'s 1-9, and JLA Secret Files #1 which is a full-sized prequel issue that I assume was a one-shot. It is co-written by Mark Millar.

If you would rather have these issues in a softcover paperback issues 1-4 are avaiable as JLA: New World Order and 5-9 as JLA: American Dreams. I do not know if Secret Files #1 is included in either of those collections. I will say that each of those books is a tiny, flimsy little trade and considering that this hardcover is available from Amazon for the about the same price as the two of those combined I recommend going with this one.

In regards to the content, I felt the first story arc from issues one through four deserved two or three stars. If you have a strong connection to these characters you might think more highly of it but I know little about them and came on board strictly because of Morrison. Just to be objective I must say I never would have guessed those four issues were penned by Morrison had his name not been on the cover. In my opinion they lacked the flair, witty dialogue, and overall brilliance we have all come to expect from the master. **begin edit** It's now a few months later and I just reread the opening story arc. It was way better the second time! **end edit** Just when I began to regret this purchase issue five came along and the Grant I know began to shine through. Books six and seven were very good, and the Elseworld tales from issues eight and nine were fantastic. The Secret Origins one-shot which concludes the collection was also good.

I think if you really like the Justice League you will very much enjoy this collection. If you are signing up for Morrison, the first four issues may leave you somewhat flat but by the end I think you will come around. I look forward to purchasing volume 2.

I found this JLA Deluxe Edition as a great product to buy because of the format and the stories that it contains.

*New World Order
*American Dreams

I forgot completely how fun these sotries were. There's no deep story nor dialoges but straight old fashion fun. Plus, Batman rules!. The fact that it also contain an extra story such as JLA Secret Origins, make it eve sweeter.

Hope DC keeps launching products like these. Two thums up!.

This is my first dedicated entry into the world of Grant Morrison. After much hullaballoo about Mr. Morrison--a documentary, frequent interviews, and seemingly voracious fans--I decided to give this iteration of the Justice League a try.

The stories are entertaining and the art, although certainly stylistic of the nineties--long hair on Supes!--, is quite good.

But, why are the stories so truncated? There is no room to breath between scenarios and action sequences. Bam, Superman has been fooled by a faux shard of Kryptonite--oh, no!--and the negative placebo effect is slowly killing him, but now, due to linear-story conveniences, he's figured it out and ...
Boom, aliens are invading the Earth. Epic right? Everyone on Earth quickly take to the streets and light your Bic lighters or burn a scrap of paper. Next panel: the invasion is over, let's go home ...
Crash, a new superhero has joined the team, but who is she and where did she come from? Who knows and why would anyone--Batman? J'onn?--ask questions? Heroes die, but hardly a tear is shed before moving on. This is less tragic than you think considering that almost no time was spent developing their characteristics.

It all feels so disjointed.

I suppose juggling these heroes was difficult considering that Morrison had to remain within the parameters of each individual hero's personal title. If Superman is "dead" in his series, then the alternate Superman of the day simply takes his place in this series--no questions asked.

Was I entertained? Sure, but I expected something more.

Perhaps things will begin to pick up with the additional volumes?

I believe I've found what I've been looking for in the Walking Dead Compendium, Lone Wolf and Cub series, some of the more recent X-Men cross-over volumes such as Second Coming or Joss Whedon's Astonishing. Time will tell if I return to the rushed halls of the league.

And, so it goes.

I have JLA vol 1, 3 and 4. Grant Morrison has always been hit or miss with me but most of JLA vol 1 didn't impress me. The first story is the best by far. Its a great story with a great twist (at least it was for me).

My major issue with this book though is the art. I cannot stand Porter. I am of the type that has difficulty seeing past the art in a comic. It can be a fantastic story but if the art sucks I have trouble. Conversely if the art is great, it can help save a story.

Porter's art is just not good. His characters are constantly changing shape, they look super cartoon and he cannot get angles right. It looks like was trying to copy people like Joe Madureira but doing a terrible job.

If art is important for you in comics, see if you can find samples from this before you decide to buy it.

The stories range from 4 stars to 3 stars. Nothing ground breaking but some entertaining stuff.

One of the best reboots of a title in a long time. Grant Morrison is in top form here and Howard Porter shows he was born to draw these characters.