I loved Alan Davis's original JLA: The Nail limited series. The story boasted an epic feel and a strong air of mystery, but more importantly, it was a visual treat, a colorful celebration of the diverse lineup of fantastic figures who populate the DC Universe. Things aren't as strong the second time around, though, as Davis fails to capture the same sort of energy and enthusiasm that made the first series such a delight. Part of the problem with my appreciation of this first issue is a personal bias against Jack Kirby's Fourth World characters, but there's more to it than that as well. The conflict here strikes me as being too cosmic, and a grounded quality, key to bringing these god-like characters down to earth, is lacking.
New Genesis and Apokalips find themselves at war with one another once again, and the conflict is proving to be so cataclysmic that it's threatening the well-being of other worlds in the cosmos. The Guardians of the Universe dispatch their Green Lantern Corps to save lives, but ultimately, the ring-wielding heroes are drawn into the fray as well, siding with the benevolent gods of New Genesis. In the aftermath of the war a year later, light years away on Earth, it becomes apparent that the newest member of the Justice League of America, Superman, has been targeted by a mysterious figure employing super-villains to do his bidding.
Part of the appeal of the first series was the small touches of newness Davis brought to familiar characters in terms of design. That's not the case here. There's little in the way of altered designs here, and most of what we do find are carryovers from the first series. I've never been wild about the New Gods either -- either visually or conceptually -- though the armor Darkseid wears is definitely in keeping with Kirby's style and does its job: it makes the villain more intimidating in appearance. I also enjoyed the amalgam of Green Lantern elements in new designs of two of the New Gods.
The most interesting aspect of the book is the notion of Superman as the rookie among super-heroes. His awkwardness and reluctance to spring into action are such foreign ideas when it comes to this character that it humanizes the archetypal superhuman. Furthermore, the notion that one of his colleagues might resent him, might miss the adolation and limelight, is a character flaw that's just as grounding.
The two biggest problems this script has are inaccessibility and distance. The cosmic nature of the plot in the first half of the book is overwhelming, and there doesn't seem to be a stake in it for the reader. There's little focus on character in the midst of this war in deep space so the reader doesn't connect with it, doesn't get involved in it. On top of that, Davis seems to assume his audience is limited to those who read The Nail, and he seems to assume that those of us who read it several years ago would still be up on those events. To be fair, he provides a little exposition, but not enough.
