Justice, Vol. 1 [Hardcover]

Alex Ross (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 2006

Award-winning painter Alex Ross has stunned fans time andagain with his painted artwork. Now he turns his attention to the JusticeLeague of America.The greatest criminal masterminds of our time have joined forces and seemto be achieving more good than the JLA ever could. Discover what theirultimate goal really is and whether the heroes will be able to stop theirevil plans.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Justice is DC's current "event" comic. It brings together the line's biggest superheroes and is even more of an event because superstar artist Alex Ross (see Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross, 2003) developed the story line and applies his ultrarealistic painting techniques to Doug Braithwaite's pencil drawings. Lex Luthor, the Riddler, and other villains share vivid dreams of Earth's destruction, which Superman, Batman, and the rest of the Justice League are helpless to prevent. To keep their vision from becoming reality, the fiends join forces to vanquish the heroes, in the belief that relying on supersaviors makes humanity vulnerable to apocalyptic events. Ross, a comics nostalgic, uses 1970s versions of the characters instead of their current incarnations, and that makes Justice accessible even for those who no longer closely follow DC comic books. The art isn't quite as effective as unalloyed Ross, for Braithwaite's more comics-traditional, stylized anatomy conflicts with Ross' lush naturalism. Still, Ross predominates, which will please the many fans who turn anything he touches into a best-seller. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (September 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401209696
• ISBN-13: 978-1401209698
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #450,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, DC Universe-Wide, Epic Tale, May 13, 2007

By 

Stephen B. O'Blenis (Nova Scotia, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Justice, Vol. 1 (Hardcover)

Reprinting the first four issues of the 12-part "Justice" limited series, plus bonus pages, "Justice Volume 1" is the beginning of one of the great epics in JLA history, set fairly early in the team's history, and involving reams of outstanding classic DC Universe characters. I'll admit I'm not exactly sure when - or even if - this fits into continuity; I decided from the beginning to take this as a stand-alone story, one of those 'may be continuity/may be Elseworlds' tales that DC occasionally comes up with.

Horrible dreams of global destruction are occuring to several characters - but not to the characters one would expect to be so deeply troubled by them, but to the kind of people who are usually Plotting the mayhem. People like Lex Luthor. And Luthor decides to take action, aligning himself with an array of other unlikely champions - Black Manta, Gorilla Grodd, etc. Luthor presents to a host of the world's supervillains the same case he's preparing to bring directly before the people of the world: if there are these godlike beings like the Justice League looking after things, why is there still poverty and starvation in the world? Why is there government oppression all over the globe? Why is there disease? Why do wars still rage? Logically they should be able to bring an end to it all, so goes Luthor's arguement. But they don't. Or won't. Such an omission invalidates any right on the part of the 'superheroes' to your trust, Luthor maintains. Don't trust them; trust Us. Join us, and we'll bring you utopia.

The thing is, this time, how can Luthor be countered? The efforts of the planet's superhuman defenders against the kind of miseries and injustices Luthor outlines have been tackled from time to time, but rarely. I've always assumed that the ongoing battle on these fronts takes a larger slice of the superheroes's efforts than we're being shown, and that efforts to eradicate these ills are counterbalanced by other larger-than-life circumstances (or to put it another way, every time Superman delivers enough food to a drought-stricken region of Africa, an Imperiex clone or something devastates another large area, making it a constant game of catch-up). But that is just an assumption, and to the general populace of the DC Universe Earth, wouldn't it look like the League and its allies are willing to defend the planet from monsters and hostile aliens, but perfectly willing to let the other parts of the picture slide? ARE they willing? Is Lex right this time? COULD a concerted effort by the superheroes have made much more of a difference on these fronts? When Luthor and his allies begin to make that difference themselves, it begins to look uncomfortably plausible.

Meanwhile, in the midst of all this, Luthor co-ordinates a huge coalition of some of DC's biggest and baddest to make synchronized strikes against the superheroes around the globe. And what is behind the dreams in the first place? Are larger forces at work, pulling strings? Where, exactly, Do the superheoes draw the line between what's saving people and what's controlling them? And is that line justified? It's a book of questions, that's for sure.

Everything about the saga excels. The sheer volume of players involved - Superman, Batman, Solomon Grundy, Poison Ivy, Red Tornado, Wonder Woman, Grodd, Aquaman, Luthor, Flash, numerous others...and other characters who aren't in play Yet but whose appearances are foreshadowed in the cover art. The innovative ways we're seeing characters use their powers. The gorgeous art in every panel. The flawless dialogue. I could go on.

The bonus pages here that weren't in the original issues consist (in addition to some preliminary artwork) of profiles and portraits of a number of major characters, in the words of Superman and Batman themselves. Superman provides brief intros to a number of core League members. Just a few words on each are remarkably insightful on both the subject and on the mind of Superman himself. Batman, being the cheerful, happy-go-lucky optimist we all love, naturally delves right into the twisted psyches of some of Earth's foremost villains. But, all sarcasm aside, these files provide a glimpse of surprising compassion for some of the worst of the worst; a side of the Bat that sometimes gets lost beneath the ominous exterior. Batman also covers a couple of heroes for good measure, and again there's as much insight into the profiler as the profiled.

"Justice Volume 1" begins what's looking to be one of the best DCU-wide sagas since...well, ever. High praise indeed, but well earned. The "Justice" series is an essential for any DC fan.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Old school JLA meets new age JLA, October 21, 2006

By 

R. SHARIFF "rayhans1282" (Jamaica, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Justice, Vol. 1 (Hardcover)

This book collects the first 4 issues of the bi-monthly JLA series written by Jim Kruger (Earth X) and Alex Ross (Kingdom Comea) and art by Alex Ross and Doug Braithwaits.

The story begins with a handful of super-villains experiencing a collective nightmare of the world coming to an end and the JLA being powerless to stop it or save anyone. They villains then embark on a mission to put the JLA out of their commission and appoint themselves as the true guardians of mankind. Sounds like an often used old school JLA adventure, right? But it really isn't. Although the plot may at face value seem like run-of-the-mill, the story however is deeper and much more layered. The JLA has rarely expereinced this level of peril and the villains have rarely seemed this ruthless and committed to their goals. The gem in the story is that villains can organize just as well as the heroes and can save the world. The villains think they are the heroes in this case. While it seems that it is a villains vs. heroes story, there is this ominous sense that they are merely players and something much larger than either is at foot. The book ends with the JLA being taken out of commission and Lex Luthor and his allies declaring themselves the new guardians of humanity and condemning the JLA for their inactions.

Now, let's talk about the art. It's pencilled by Doug Braithwaite but painted over by Alex Ross. I don't know how but the pencils and the colors enmesh perfectly and the art entirely seems done by Alex Ross (although in some cases Braithwaite's presence is felt). The bottom line is that the art is drop dead gorgeous. It also carries a dark tone and perfectly suits the story since, I have yet to see the JLA taken apart like this.

As for the extras, you get profiles of heroes and villains which are supposedly files in Batman's computer. You also get numerous pencilled pages by Doug Braitwaithe. It also features an intro by Jim Krueger.

I would like to address the quality of the collection brought up by another reviewer. Yes, the papers are pretty thin and can be easily crumpled. But DC hardcovers characteristically seems to suffer from this (i.e. Batman Broken City HC). But it is prices lower than Marvel hardcovers so, it's still a great buy.

Go on, click "add to shopping cart" and enjoy a great story with beautiful art.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Alex Ross answers the "mega event" comics with a real superhero tale, April 29, 2007

By 

N. Durham "Big Evil" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Justice, Vol. 1 (Hardcover)

Alex Ross is a reknowned comic book artist, and he made his displeasure with DC's mega event comics (Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis) pretty well known. With Justice, Ross helps weave a story with his Earth X partner Jim Kreuger which showcases the Justice League in their silver age days, but with a modern edge. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Flash (Barry Allen), Martian Manhunter, Aquaman; they're all here, and they're all caught in an insiduous plot by Lex Luthor and a lineup of top villains. Though it's only the first chapter in a larger series, Justice displays much of what made the super hero comics of the silver age so great in the first place. His paints are spectacular as usual, but are confined by the pencils of Dougie Brathwaite. While Brathwaite is a solid penciler in his own right, the book would have been better off if Ross was responsible for all the art himself, but alas, he is a busy man, and what we get here is quite good enough. Justice isn't prolific, and it doesn't try to be either, it only does what Ross intended it to do: produce a great super hero story. All in all, if you've been more jaded as usual towards the "big events" in mainstream comics these days, give Justice a look.