Customer Reviews

New World Order (JLA (Sagebrush))

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

For several years, DC Comics allowed one of their most venerable and hallowed team books to languish. JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, the last comic to tell the stories of DC's premiere super team, had become populated by castoffs, also-rans and never-will super heroes who would do much better sitting in the back issue bins than they would on the racks posing as Earth's mightiest defenders.

Now, in JLA, DC has brought back the core seven: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter. Most of whom comprised the original Justice League way back in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #28 in the early Silver Age of Comics.

Avant-garde comics writer, Grant Morrison takes the helm in this new JLA series and begins his run of wild, over-the-top, blockbuster epics featuring DC's mightiest. I don't want to spoil the secrets of this first tale, but suffice it to say there are some great twists and turns in the story. Morrison draws the reader in by pitting our heroes against a menace that seemingly can't be beaten because the public at large doesn't WANT them to!

Anyone who's ever wanted to fly like Superman, worn a bath towel around his neck to play Batman or loved the DC heroes in any way shape or form will love this book. Morrison has an uncanny ability to pull the reader's strings with these characters. You find yourself rooting for them uncontrollably as they face down a menace that only THEY can see and understand even in the face of widespread disdain by the public. They're heroes because they choose to be. Not because of the fame or fortune, but because it's in their very being.

Howard Porter, while not my favorite artist by any stretch of the imagination, is good at visually telling Morrison's epic story and great at conveying the personalities of each and every JLAer. If you missed out on this series when it came out, here's a cheap way to get the back issues (they're getting more expensive by the day!) and read one heckuva terrific comic story.

"JLA: New World Order" reprints issues 1 to 4 of DC Comics' monthly JLA series. For those who might be new to comics, the Justice League of America has been published in one form or another since 1960, and was usually composed of the best and brightest of DC's superhero stars. Pick up most any issue of the old "Justice League of America" comic, at least from its first two decades of publication, and you could expect to find some combination of DC's most recognizable characters -- Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern -- plus a few of the tried-and-true second-stringers (Firestorm, Red Tornado, Zatanna, et al.) taking on some mind-boggling menace to time, space, and the American way that no single hero could stand against.

That was how it was, that was how it should be, and that is how Grant Morrison made it again, only smarter, snazzier, and more mind-bogglingly menacing than before. You see, from the mid-1980s on, many of DC's writers and editors developed a parochial, territorial view toward the company's top tier of characters, which cut them out of JLA membership: "Batman fights street crime, not starfish-shaped aliens, so he can't be in the JLA," or, "Nobody knows how to write Wonder Woman but me, so she can't be in the JLA," were actual policies governing which heroes could appear in which books, believe it or not. By 1983, Aquaman (!!!) was the biggest star in the JLA line-up. One of the "big guns" might stop by as a guest star for a few issues, but that was about it. Sales plummeted. No one seemed to wonder why. It just somehow became a fact of life that the freakin' JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA was perennially a third-rate title.

In 1996, however, the Justice League's savior arrived in the form of Scottish writer Grant Morrison. Previously known for writing "mature" (i.e., artsy and pretentious) comics such as "Doom Patrol" and "Arkham Asylum," Grant stepped into mainstream superheroics with a bang by reuniting the original seven JLA members, pitting them against a big league outer-space menace (this story's villains, the Orwellian would-be superheroes known as the Hyperclan), and letting the story roll with the speed of a cosmic treadmill. The readers responded deservedly with dollops of their hard-earned cash and made JLA one of comics' flagship titles.

"JLA: New World Order" is quite possibly a Justice League fan's ultimate story. It has all the best features of a smart sci-fi action movie (think "Terminator" or "Aliens"), stars the World's Greatest Super-Heroes, and was written under grey, Scottish skies by a writer who publicly condones the use of psychedelic drugs. I would not be able to praise it enough, but for two things: artist Howard Porter renders his figures somewhat stiffly (though he has improved with time) and writer Morrison can never think of anything cool for Wonder Woman to do -- almost a case of criminal neglect in my opinion. Nevertheless, "New World Order" gives a spark to DC's characters and a frenetic style to superhero action that has not been seen in comics since the 1960s. I recommend this to all superhero fans WITHOUT RESERVATION.

The magnificent seven: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern, united again to face the dangers too big for one sole superhero to fight.

Before this story arc, it's pretty safe to say that the Justice League was in the dumps. Far from its glorious days of yesteryear, it had divided into things like Justice League Task Force and Justice League Europe, stripped of most, if not all its cool characters. None of the heavyweights were on the team until Grant Morrizon decided to inject new life into the series.
They restarted it and this is the first arc.
This is what defines the Justice League nowadays: world threatening danger, each bigger than the last, all put down by the world's mightiest superheros.

The first time I read this, it blew my mind. It deals with the appearance of several alien superbeings of incredible goodness, who seem to surpass even our own heroes. But it doesn't take long to see that they are in fact staging an alien invasion. Once again, the heroes band together to form a new league: The Justice League America, JLA.

There are limitless nuances to the characters, and this is where I fell in love with Batman. This is truly a guy who could take out Superman.

The first in a great series. Don't miss it.

Grant Morrison's "New World Order" revives the Justice League of America with style, wit, and lots of eye-popping action (the latter courtesy of some outstanding artwork by artist Howard Porter). When the mysterious Hyperclan, a team of nomadic superhumans who evidently want nothing more nor less than to turn earth into a Utopia, touch down over the White House only DC's greatest superheroes have a chance when they step out of line. Morrison's script does a lot with limited space, and with a few deft touches turn some of the comics world's most polished icons into flesh-and-blood super *people*. These are DC's big-leaguers: Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Flash, Martian Manhunter, and Aquaman, and they are indeed the JLA as it was always meant to be. Having said that, the Justice Society of America actually came first and by all rights might even be more powerful than the JLA, but it is indeed the JLA that has been DC's standard-bearer since the Silver Age. And stories like "New World Order"--adventure, excitement, great interraction between disparate but unified heroes, and a world to save--are why.

There's a reason why the JLA is the best super-team book of all-time: the icons. Only the JLA lives up to its name of being the 'world's greatest super-heroes'. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are recognizable names world-wide with over six decades of history. The Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and even the Martian Manhunter have huge followings of their own and have been around almost as long. The individual status of these heroes is unparalleled and was best described by new GL, Kyle Raynor's comment that fighting side-by-side with the other JLA'ers is 'like playing with the Beatles'.

After years of a somewhat successful run with a campy Justice League with second-rate characters, the JLA became a serious and respected book again with this relaunch. Although others will find fault with the art and the storyline, it delivers what it's intended to do: present a world-wide threat that only the combined might of the world's greatest super-heroes can defeat.

In this initial story arc from JLA #1-5, the threat is a group of aliens with powers that rival the JLA. While the story is itself plays out well, the interaction between the iconic heroes is what makes this book great as this what has been sorely missed over the past few years. Grant Morrison does a great job of representing what makes each character unique and bringing it to the team concept. An excellent read for any JLA fan!

Storytelling at its best....almost. The part where Flash kicks Zon's butt is amazing, as is Batman's single-handed whipping of the Hyperclan's members. However, some parts of the story are sketchy and vague. eg, there is no real body to the capture of the Flash and GL by the Hyperclan....it just happens.

All in all though, this is a good book and definitely worth the read. My only complaint is that Superman spends pretty much the entire story whining...and most of the cool stuff is reserved for Batman.

Nevertheless, pick it up if you can.

I was, of course, apprehensive when I heard that Invisibles and Animal Man writer Grant Morrison was taking the reigns of JLA, and re-creating the team utilizing D.C.'s big 7 heroes: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and the Manhunter From Mars.

But, I was more than pleasantly surprised by the first four issues of this title, now re-packaged in this great TPB. The team dynamics, and how the characters interact are great, but the action-packed story, and incredible plot developments are what make this story the best of the series so far. Finally, the JLA have surpassed all of their incarnations from its first in the 60s to the SuperFriends, to the lackluster Justice League America and Justice League Europe books.

Highly Recommended

First off, I've never been much of a super-team fan. Chalk it up to the Superfriends, the old Fantastic Four cartoons. I always thought that the entire team scenerio seriously limited character development and intensity. They all had near identical personalities and you always knew that the heores were gonna come out on top no matter what. And after beating all the villains they would stand around in poses saying something corny. I harbored the same feelings regarding the JLA reincarnation that was headed by Grant Morrison, Howard porter and John Dell.
Was I wrong.
The new JLA had everything that the old super-teams didn't have. Character development, near end-of-the world situtations and they didn't really get along with each other. New World Order is the story that set the entire wheel in motion to the rebirth of one of the greatest superhero teams in comics. The story begins with the arrival of a fleet of aliens calling themselves the Hypercla. They all have superpowers that are equal to or rival those of the JLA's and they manage to sway the public in their favor in a few days. They are hell bent on taking down the league and manage to capture everyone except the Batman. Morrison shows that even without any superpowers Batman is one of the most formidable opponents for any super-being any day of the week. He alone takes out 2/3 of the Hyperclan by himself by exploiting their secret identity. I won't post any spoilers regarding the ending because it's well worth reading it and figuring it out yourself. And regarding character development, there is a lot of that in this book also. Superman is the poster boy for the JLA, the martian manhunter is uneasy in the team and even at one point betrays them to the hyperclan. And Batman doesn't seem to like anybody. He is shown as a guy who without any super-powers has got the largest ego in the JLA. That's the way the Batman should always be written.
I highly recommend this. And FYI, this arc was recently picked by Wizard to be the cream of the crop w/ respect to JLA stories. Get this book, you will not be disappointed.

I first read this back when Morrison's JLA era debuted in Sept. 1996. This trade encompasses issues 1-4 of Morrison's first JLA story arc. Without spoiling the ending, the Earth is visited by a group of superhumans who call themselves the Hyperclan. They want to solve the Earth's problems and bring humanity a "new golden age". The problem is that they are not what they seem and they want the JLA out of the picture.
I recently purchased this trade and read it again. The story flows much better when all four parts are read in one sitting. Critics say this is not one of Morrison's best storylines but I think it is highly underrated. In the past, the JLA were nothing but a bunch of gags and overused jokes. Reader ship was sinking before DC announced Morrison would be taking over. Morrison not only made the JLA a title to be taken seriously but second tier characters such as Aquaman and Wonder Woman are given solid roles.
This trade may be cheap but you get more than your money's worth.

After years of teams filled with B-League Justice Leaguers this book returns the heavy hitters to the Justice League of America. While the Blue Beetle and Booster Gold were great Justice Leaguers they just don't compare to a League full of the likes of Superman, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Green Lantern and Batman. This book reprints the first four issues of the new JLA series as the League goes to battle the Hyperclan. Truly an exciting story and it defines the direction of the New League. Definitely recomended to fans of all the heros listed above and any superheroes ever. Great Story and Great Art.