Customer Reviews

Justice League: I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League

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

 

 

While I did not read its predacessor "formally the justice league" I had no trouble following the joke behind this. Like most comics I enjoy this book contains characters that are under used and under appreciated on the whole, and they are funny. I am disappointed only by the fact that three of the main characters in this, Sue Dinby, Blue Beetle, and Max Lord are all now dead. And others have gone into space (Guy), joined the justice League (power girl), gone a little crazy (Elongated man), or have devolved into the most hateable super hero ever (Booster Gold).
This is the last time any of these characters will be able to be funny, and that is a little disappointing. I want there to be more to this series. Discovering this comic was like discovering an old television series that was canceled before its time, you watch the episodes, you like them and then your left wanting more.

I'm a big Keith Giffen fan and in a previous review of Formerly Known as the Justice League I gave it five stars. I Can't Believe it's not the Justice League picks right up where Formerly left off with the Super Buddies hurling rapid fire insults at each other. There are two new additions to the team including Power Girl and Guy Gardner. After reading `I Can't Believe' I FINALLY understand Guy Gardner. I always disliked the character with his ever changing powers and belligerent attitude. In `I Can't Believe' he is written as a complete and total jerk and I love it. I think it says a lot about the skill of the writers here that they were capable of making me enjoy one of my least favorite characters in DC comics.

Power Girl is an interesting subject. Originally created as a typical angry grrrrrrrl, her creators gave her perhaps the largest breasts in the DC universe and a strategically placed oval to display them. No one has ever explored the psychology behind a strong female character wearing a costume designed to maximize the display of her breasts. Of course when you get down to it her attitude and attire were created by Gerry Conway which makes one wonder what fantasies Mr. Conway was expressing. Power Girl is a good addition to the team but not nearly as fun as Gardner.

If I had a complaint about this book it would be the endless bickering among the characters. Guy bickers with Power Girl, Sue bickers with Max, Booster Gold bickers with Blue Beetle and on and one. I know this is the main joke of the series, to see established characters fighting like children, but it grew old after awhile. About halfway though the book I was ready for the witty insults to end so we could move on to the next joke.

These semi-parody JLA books are a blast to read and so far both books have been stellar although a bit repetitive. Next on my list is Justice League International.

After reading Formerly Known as the Justice League I was expecting something as refreshingly funny and original in this but was disappointed. It is funny (at times) but not nearly as funny as it could have been. Not bad for a final outing since the events in Infitine Crisis really played havoc with these characters. Guess we will never get to hear another BWAHHAHAHAHAH in a comic again for some time. Sad.

I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League is yet another in the series of somewhat comic adventures of the Justice League of America, as told by Giffen and DeMatteis. After the very popular series many years ago they came up with a couple of miniseries, this being the second, and maybe not quite as good as the first.

I picked up this book and "Formerly Known as the Justice League" at the same time.

"Formerly Known as the Justice League" was a hoot and had a ton of great humor and character interaction.

Unfortunately, "I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League" can't quite match it's predecessor. The humor feels a little forced and there are a lot of non-funny moments in the book. The character interaction is just not quite as good the the previous book. The story was not particularly interesting and hard to follow.

One can only go to the well so many times and perhaps this was one of those times. It's a shame because several of the characters in the book met their demise recently in several of DC's lead in series leading up to the "Infinite Crisis" mini-series.

It's not likely this particular version of the "Justice League" will make an appearance again with many key characters having gone on to comic book heaven. It's a shame they didn't get a chance to exit with a better book than this.

The idea behind this graphic novel is appealing. Take some of the more obscure heroes of DC comics, put them together in a team, have them bicker with each other while stumbling through their adventures. It could've been great. Instead, it's just so-so.

My biggest problem here is with the characters. They don't have personalities. With the exception of Mary Marvel (naive) and Guy Gardner (arrogant), no one else seems to have any character whatsoever. Instead, they spend most their time delivering Grade B sitcom lines that are not only not funny, but sound hollow and uninspired. When characters become mouthpieces for the writer's "clever" dialogue, I get bored very quickly.

I guess I was disappointed because I actually like these heroes. They may not get the spotlight, but they deserve better treatment. Blue Beetle in particular gets underused, having absolutely no depth whatsoever.

The art was cool though.