One of the first comic books I ever bought was an issue of Justice League of America in the late 1970s, in which the team took on a villainess called the Satin Satan (I didn't know how to pronounce either word in her name at the time). The team dynamics, variety of colorful characters and sense of adventure and peril really drew me into the story and into the genre in general. This fill-in issue of JLA does the same, but it lacks the more modern sensibility regarding characterization, and therefore reminds me of that JLofA comic from my youth.
On an other-dimensional alien world long ago, a scientist harnessed the power of a black hole for an unusual but innocent purpose: limitless computer memory storage capacity. But it began to absorb more than raw data, but memory as well, and the result was destruction on a planetary level. Now, the device has wound its way through the cosmos to our dimension, and crash-lands on the Moon, where a couple of Justice Leaguers quickly discover -- to their peril -- the selective effect it has on one's memories.
I didn't much care for Darryl Banks's pencils on last week's JLA/Spectre: Soul War #1. It wasn't his strongest effort, but this fill-in issue shows more of what he's really capable of. The sci-fi elements are stunning, and he conveys how the characters feel quite well too. The carefree banter that Green Lantern and the Atom share shows on their faces, and the Batman's intensity is plain to see as well. Baron's colors really bring out the cosmic and immense nature of the threat to life.
Veitch's script is rather simple in tone when it comes to characterization. There are no conflicts among new members, no personal issues that need to be dealt with outside of or within the context of the greater conflict. That makes sense, given that this is a fill-in issue, but it gives the impression that this is little more than an ordinary super-hero story.
What helps to set it apart a little, though, is the novelty of the threat with which the JLA must contend. The notion of a black hole being used for computer storage is a notion worthy of Grant Morrison or Warren Ellis, who have brought new, inventive and chaotic energy to the super-hero genre in recent years. That idea -- combined with the nostalgia factor referred to above -- was enough to bring a smile to my face and get my turning page after page.
