Customer Reviews

JLA Vol. 8: Divided We Fall

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This collection follows directly after the Tower of Babel storyline. This follows as the JLA comes to terms with Batman's betrayal and consequent expulsion from the group. The first story involves the Queen of Fables, who have escaped from a book of fairy tales and is suffering from the Snow White's Stepmother Complex and is intent on bringing down Wonder Woman (in her eyes, Snow White). The JLA battle all types of fairy tales monsters and modern horror-flick creatures (Jason and even the Terminator). There's even a scene where the Martian Manhunter is being shoved into a burning oven by a witch a la Hensel and Gretel. Anyways, the JLA overcomes the odds but they are at a major crisis, where those that voted for Batman don't seem to see eye-to-eye w/ those who voted against him. Superman sees this problem and has a conversation w/ Batman where it shows how his betryal has left the JLA vulnerable and uneasy due to the distrust growing between them. To remedy this problem, Batman calls them to the Bat-cave but there's one problem, every single super-hero and their alter-egos have literally split (except for Aquaman and Wonder Woman). The split takes it toll on the JLA, as Mark Waid shows how one cannot co-exist w/out the other. Superman looks more like the Kryptonian ruler he had been forseen to be by his father and Clark Kent is afraid of his own shadow. Batman seems to be simply a machine w/ no personality and Bruce Wayne is a psychotic fop. Anyhow, at the end Plastic Man (actually his alter ego) comes to the rescue and sorts out this entire metaphysical mess. The JLA returns to all its glory with Batman welcomed back into the fold. I really enjoyed this story, it was epic in the sense that it involved the near end of the World but to me it seemed to hinge more on the personal side of the JLA. This contrasts greatly from Grant Morrison's epic tales which involved a cartload of chracters. Mark Waid has hit a homerun wih this story and I would recommend it to all comic book fans.

Half of this book follows the aftermath of Tower of Babel
(wherein Batman 'betrays' the rest of the League) and the other half deals with one component of that 'betrayal'; the necessity of harboring a 'secret identity'.
After expelling Batman via a 4-3 vote, the JLA finds itself split like Repubs and Democrats; mistrust and petty sniping abound. Finally Supes and Bats have a heart-to-heart that is one of the best stories featuring these two together that has ever been done. If Frank Miller's "Return of the Dark Knight" was about the abject difference between these two, JLA #50 points out the similarities. From there we go to another storyline, where the membership is split up again, although in a totally different way. I won't give away details, suffice it to say it's an Alan Moore-esque study into the inner stress having a "secret identity" can create. It's gets a little complicated and overwrought, but hell, the entire JLA series from ish #1 to The Obsidian Age has been complicated and overwrought, so what the hey. A necessary companion piece to Tower of Babel.

The newest gathering together of JLA adventures into one volume (Divided We Fall) is a tight package brought to us by Mard Waid and a number of pencillers. There are three major conflicts with the connecting thread the sub-storyline of the Batman being accepted back into the JLA after his removal (including some nice scenes with his old friend, Superman). The wonderful use of fairy tales and the treat of seeing the heroes split apart from their secret identities give this volume its best moments to begin and end the book respectively. The themes of fantasy and wish fulfillment are exploited with great skill in each of the stories. Plastic Man is still an awkard fit in the League but the last story does at least provide a little emotional depth to his character. It would be nice to have his skills and abilities being used more fully, in addition to his (at times forced) comic relief. All in all, a good volume and more fine work from Mark Waid, who still manages to squeeze a little more juice from these (rather tired, at times) icons.

I laughed more in this tpb than I did in any other JLA books to date. The artist seems to really have the facial expressions down, and they seem to fit what the character would actually look like under difficult, embarrassing situations. But what I liked most about this book was the fact that I was able to see interesting things that I hadn't imagined possible in JLA. For instance, Wonder Woman gets a romantic kiss from a team member (I'm not telling, go get the book...), Superman gets flustered, Batman gets his tail whipped by a team member (you'll never guess), most of the team gets to be normal, and finally, Plastic Man gets some character development. About Plastic Man, I'd have to say that this book rescued him in my eyes. He was really starting to get on my nerves as the comedian all the time. Hopefully, some of the maturity will stick with him. The stories are interesting enough, but the main storyline is the whole batman-kicked-out-of-the-league-how-does-he-get-back-in... Anyway, excellent book. I highly recomend it for any fans of JLA!

These were originally published as JLA #47-#54.

These stories happen right after "Divided We Fall", where Batman gets voted out of the JLA. The remaining JLAers are still dealing with that, when the Queen of Fables is freed from a book and attacks with all manner of fairy tales. With the exception of the very interesting twist of an Aquaman / WonderWoman relationship which continues in this story (see panel 32), and the appearance of Batman and his supposed betrayal of the team, I found this story tedious compared to the others.

The JLAers then start to become divided, with the three that sided with Batman facing off with the three that sided against. Here the story gets going, with the six of them going after Dr. Destiny, who is changing reality, while Superman confronts Batman. Dr. Destiny is seemingly defeated at the same time that Superman and Batman agree there will be no secrets. They call the six other JLAers to Batman's cave, reveal their secret identities, join Batman back to the team....and then meet their alter-egos suited up. Their split-personalities have truly been split!

The ensuing story, with the civilian identities of the JLAers trying to resume normal lives, the superhereo identities of the JLAers battling "fulfillment of wishes" problems full time, with WonderWoman and Aquaman in the middle (they have no secret identities), is one of the best in the series. Both sides, with some exceptions, realize they can't live without their alter-egos, and that the creature "If" has been fulfilling wishes, including theirs to be separated.

The fact that "Eel" O'Brien, Plastic Man's alter-ego who is a former criminal, somewhat reunites the team, is one of the best stories on him in the series.

Fav panel: pg 137, where Kyle Raynor obsessivly covers his walls with JLA cartoons.

I loved this book.
JLA is one of my favorite superhero books and Mark Waid did not disappoint as the replacement to Grant Morrison. In "Divided We Fall", we get to see how they fix the whole fiasco of Batman and the consequences of what the JLA went through in Tower of Babel.
It turns out that the leaguers were far more deeply affected than anyone could have guessed, and it is resolved here.

If I'm being cryptic, it's only because I can't give away the end of the previous book. That'd be cheating!

This book also shows some strong character development for many of the leaguers, and some very welcome mature focus on Plastic Man.
United we stand. You don't buy this book, we fall.

The second collection from Mark Waid's run on JLA continues to improve upon the mess Grant Morrison made of the series. As in "JLA: Tower of Babel", these stories focus on both the individual and the team. Waid brings a human interest to the JLA, whereas Grant Morrison just brought action and chaos. Through Waid, we get to know the characters (Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Plastic Man and Martian Manhunter) both inside and out. No more are the massive team-ups from Morrison's run. These stories are tight and stream-lined. They're more about friendship than saving the world.

This book finally hits its stride with this volume. These are modern classics, truly epic-feeling stories that define favorite characters. It is illuminating to read Tower of Babel, featuring art by Howard Porter, and then Divided We Fall, with art (mostly) by Bryan Hitch. What a difference a great artist can make!

Bryan Hitch is an exceptional artist. Each panel is expressively composed to convey the story and the emotional content. The figures and facial expressions are carefully rendered. When the characters use their powers, you can feel the energy and drama crackle from the pages. The panels featuring "establishing shots" of the watchtower, or Earth seen from the moon, have true grandeur and scale.

Mr. Hitch also possesses a great creative imagination- his interpretations of fictional and mythic creatures, the characters of the "Into the Woods" storyline, are striking and fearsome. When rendering conflict on an earth-shattering, cosmic level, Mr. Hitch effectively conveys the scope and power involved, with dazzling light effects and dynamic compositions.

Certainly, the nuanced writing of Mark Waid also contributes to the refreshing feel of this book. As brilliant as Grant Morrison has shown himself to be, with his work on X-Men, Batman, JLA/Earth2, All-Star Superman, and of course his many works for Vertigo, he made a complete mess of his run on the JLA. He was not getting any help from the straightforward, clunky, even abrasive artwork of Howard Porter, either. I suspect that his writing on JLA might look a bit different if his blitzkrieg, go-for-broke style was tempered by an artist of greater subtlety than Mr. Porter.

This material by Mark Waid is what should really be getting the "Deluxe Edition" reprintings. No doubt the marvelous artwork by Bryan Hitch would look even better on glossy, oversize pages. These are great super-hero comics.

I loved this book. Very satisfactory follow up to volume 7. I don't want to give anything away, go buy this book!

A schism within the JLA sees them without the assistance of Batman. This is a big problem, when the Queen of Fables comes calling and wants to use the League for her own ends, even somewhat literally.

Will Batman come to their aid? Even if he does, there is still the distrust to deal with later, and the vote.