by Don MacPherson

JLA #61 Mildly Recommended (6/10) DC Comics "Two-Minute Warning" Writer: Joe Kelly Pencils: Doug Mahnke Inks: Tom Nguyen Colors: David Baron Letters: Ken Lopez Editor: Dan Raspler "The Power Principle" Writer: Kurt Busiek Pencils: Tom Grummett Inks: Wade Von Grawbadger Colors: Alex Sinclair Letters: Comicraft Editor: Peter Tomasi Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN Warning: Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke, both creators on the Superman titles, begin their run on JLA with this issue. Kelly turns in an inventive plot and some sharp dialogue, though I kept waiting for the human side of the characters to shine through. Mahnke's weird, organic style suits the apocalyptic tone of the title quite well, and it makes for a nice change of pace. Gargantuan monsters of myth are rising from their eternal slumbers to wage war, making things a mite uncomfortable for us mere mortals caught in the wake of their destruction. The Justice League responds, and they discover that an archenemy of one of their members is to blame. But it isn't in keeping with his regular M.O., so what's really going on? Mahnke conveys the alien and disturbing nature of the creatures that threaten to bring about the end of the world with seeming ease, but more importantly, he depicts the bizarre nature of key members of the team -- namely the Martian Manhunter and Plastic Man -- as well. The artist captures the larger-than-life feel of the characters and the nature of this book perfectly. The crisp and humorous dialogue that caught people's attention during Kelly's run on Marvel's Deadpool is still in action here, albeit considerably toned down. He also holds up the JLA tradition of traditional super-hero storytelling with a more modern, intelligent twist. What the script lacks, though, is something to which the reader can relate. The character interaction and emotion isn't all that down-to-earth at any point. I understand that the appeal of this book has been its "widescreen" action and ideas, but it's also been tempered with humanity as well. Principle: Kurt Busiek and Tom Grummett strut their stuff for potential new readers, showcasing their upcoming new series, The Power Company, in this special preview. Though we've seen plot elements like these before, I remain nevertheless intrigued by the concept of a corporately sponsored super-hero team, mainly because I have faith in and enjoy Busiek's plotting and scripting track record. A band of terrorists kidnap a group of executives at a remote corporate retreat, and the metahuman agents of the Power Company are called in to save the day. As we watch them deal with the invaders, one from among the heroes' number has second thoughts about this new direction in her life. Though Busiek gets a little heavy with the exposition, he offers up an accessible script that convinces the reader of something of a shared history with these characters. Their personalities, even in this short story, do come through, and I'm intrigued. Grummett's art is sharp, though I expected his more cartoony style to be somewhat subdued given that Wade Von Grawbadger is inking his pencils here. Grummett's designs are as strong as ever, and Sinclair's crisp colors, while bringing the action to life, don't intrude on the story. Overall, this is a helluva nice package for such a low cover price, and I'm surprised DC isn't making a bigger deal about it. Sure, it's no 10-Cent Adventure, but two complete super-hero stories -- decently written and illustrated -- for a regular comic-book cover price is nothing to sneeze at. And though the stories didn't connect for me as much as I'd hoped, they do show a lot of promise for future issues of this series and The Power Company. Email Don MacPherson comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.