Alex Ross and Jim Kreuger had one heck of a task on their hands when they took on this project. Choosing to use a cast of hundreds for the mini-epic, they have worked hard to capture DC's classic characters while also trying to provide a fresh perspective on the (Superman-led) Justice League and their role in the world. But have the co-writers and artists pulled it off? Well, although the self-contained 12-issue series is quite conventional in some ways (a team of heroes takes on a team of villians who aim to re-form the world in their image), they certainly manage to carve out a hope-filled tale amidst all the spectacular action. I particularly liked how the main characters each reveal how they feel about their own personal crises at some point along the journey. Particularly well-developed is Hal Jordan, the impressive and original Green Lantern hero, whose “character moments” really connected with me.
It is true that some of the bigger themes get lost in amongst the interactions of heroes and villains (I felt issue 9 struggled to provide new plot developments or interesting writing – but somewhere towards the end it picks up again). Ross and Krueger do succeed in raising some interesting questions, however, such as the dilemma of how a powerful force like the League should change the world, or best serve humanity, and the question of how to achieve freedom for people without sacrificing peace and without enforcing strict controls. For more of the most spectacular artwork in comics you will ever see, you must check out Alex Ross' Marvels miniseries, in which he introduces us to all the biggest events in the early Marvel stories through the eyes of a reporter – and we join him as he is caught up in and enthralled with this breaking-in of the fantastic and the monstrous into his very real world of profits and headlines – an incredible story.
No comments:
Post a Comment