Written by James Robinson
Art and cover by Mauro Cascioli
Plot
Congorilla Bill and Starman have now joined the team in the hunt for Prometheus. However, while things are looking up for a team victory, a mysterious phantom player makes his presence known by ripping apart one of the members of the Justice League. We are left with quite the cliffhanger as someone unexpected is now suspect to the mutilation of three League members.
My Thoughts
From issue #1 to #5, I have been perplexed at the contrast of this mini series. I don’t believe I have ever been faced with loving and hating a title so much. First we have incredible artwork that would cause Da Vinci to salivate, but then we have a storyline that rivals Dwayne McDuffie is incomprehensible jargon that would be better served as literature for the deaf!
This issue contains nothing more than heroes standing around arguing about the same old stuff since issue #1…but more of it! Not only that, it seems that characters are leaping back and forth as to what they are and aren’t morally against. Green Arrow is already enlisting help from the current league, who seem perfectly fine with lending their support, and Congorilla seems to be more set on finding Prometheus rather than tending to Red Arrows decapitated arm. Why would these heroes march so blindly forward to fight an enemy they know nothing about?
What I’m confused about the most is why Marvel is found in the room with the scratched and bruised Congorilla and Flash, when Marvel was in the exact same room that Congorilla was in before he (Congorilla) made a mad dash for the scene of the crime! How did Marvel magically beat Congorilla to the room where he is found fighting Supergirl? Plus, since we see the two fighting, why in the world are they found smooching on the front cover?? So many things aren’t tying in and aren’t establishing a good character driven story.
Like I stated above, the art is superb. The full paged painting of Red Arrow is beautiful, however grotesque and terrifying. And Congorilla is an incredible and artistic sight to see in every panel. But I think what will catch most of the male’s eyeballs are the first few panels with Starfire and Donna Troy on page one, not too mention the countless (and maybe even endless) shot of Supergirl's buttock. I guess James Robinson needed to do something to save this utterly ridiculous and worthless storyline.
Overall
This really was a bad issue. Maybe if their had been a little more action, this issue could have been saved. But no, it was filled with a lot of meaningless dialogue where heroes stood around staring at each other in the face. I know Robinson is trying to set up his run on the Justice League, but I wish this set up could have been better than what is being published. I hope the ending to this mini is a doozy, otherwise I will have wasted a ton of money.
1.5 out of 5 stars
Next Issue Coming January 27, 2010
After a shocking loss, Prometheus reveals an even greater threat to the team than they thought possible! How will this new crisis change the face of the DC Universe? Find out in the penultimate chapter of this groundbreaking miniseries event!
Posts
The editors need to be fired for all the mistakes they've allowed in this issue. The artwork in the last few pages is so confusing (as you pointed out) that the ONLY character who makes sense as a suspect on Roy's attack is Hawkman--he's the only person I can't account for after Roy leaves the room.
ReplyDeleteIf it really is Freddy, there's some sloppy editorial work going on. Heck, it even looks like Kara attacked Bill with her vision. And was Wally using Roy's restroom for the main part of the issue? Where does he come from on the last page?
I agree, the title really isn't working too well. that last page seems to come out of nowhere. but I would say it's more Robinsons fault than the editors. he is writing the story after all.
ReplyDelete