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AVENGERS/JLA #4
(Best of the Week!)
"The Brave... and The Bold"
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Marvel Comics/DC Comics
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Artist: George Perez
Colors: Tom Smith
Letters: Comicraft
Editors: Tom Brevoort, Mike Carlin & Dan Raspler
Price: $5.95 US/$9.25 CAN |
With the fourth issue finally on the stands, Busiek, Perez and company can take a step back, breathe a deep sigh of relief and take pride in a job well done. A project with this much anticipation, this many characters and this much hype could so easily have been disappointing, could even have veered into trainwreck territory, but thanks to Perez's amazing artwork and Busiek's terrific blend of epic crowd scene superheroics and smaller character moments, what we have instead is a fanboy gem for the ages, destined to sit alongside Kingdom Come, Secret Wars and Crisis on Infinite Earths on the superhero fan's bookshelf. So many moments in this issue just warmed my inner fanboy heart, the kid who fell in love with comics over 20 years ago, but what impresses me more is that the story holds together for my more critical, adult self as well.
In many ways, JLA/Avengers fits the standard mode of superhero conflicts, with the misunderstanding, fight and then team up. The good news is, that means this issue is really all about the team up stuff, seeing characters working alongside one another who you really never expected to see together. I absolutely loved the collaboration of the DC and Marvel characters on building a war vessel to take the fight to Krona, and I got a big kick out of the tense relationship between Superman and Captain America turning into the mutual respect we all knew they would eventually have. In addition, Busiek clearly has the same spot for the superhero archers that I do, because Green Arrow and Hawkeye get another couple of fun moments together in this issue as well.
However, the really novel aspect of this fourth issue is that Busiek brings in the villains. Now, instead of just the fun of seeing Superman and Thor battling it out, we get to see a combined Avengers/JLA team battling their way through Parademons, Moloids, AIM troopers and other recognizable cannon fodder. In addition, Busiek and Perez clearly have a blast bringing in the villains of the DC and Marvel universes, from the most recognizable to the most obscure. I don't want to give away one of the most fun moments of the issue for me, but pairing Batman with that particular Captain America foe brought a big old smile to my face.
To be honest, these days I've found that Perez all too often goes a little too crazy with the crowd scenes and the super detail. It can all be a bit overwhelming. With Avengers/JLA #4, however, his style is a perfect fit, and the long wait between issues three and four was well worth it. I loved picking out the various costume changes for the heroes, or spotting my favorite obscure villain in a crowd scene in one of the panels. Perez gives a real feel for the chaos of the battle and teh enormity of the whole story, and he also gives us some very memorable visual moments, from the one depicted on the cover to the first view of Krona's unusual fortress.
Bottom line, if you're at all a fan of the DC or Marvel pantheon of heroes, you shouldn't miss JLA/Avengers. It's that rare event comic that lives up to the hype and delivers not just spectacle and fun but a solid story and gorgeous artwork as well.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
