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JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES #1
"Disarmed"
Recommended (8/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Ty Templeton
Pencils: Min S. Ku
Inks: Dan Davis
Colors: John Kalisz & Heroic Age
Letters: Kurt Hathaway
Editor: Dan Raspler
Price: $1.99 US/$3.25 CAN |
To say that I'm anticipating the new Justice League cartoon is to undersell it by a wide margin. Ever since Batman: The Animated Series, a new DC-based animated series has meant the creation of some fantastic animated entertainment as well as top-notch comic-book tie-ins, and Justice League Adventures holds up the same high standards established by the Batman and Superman Adventures books. Templeton, a veteran of the Batman Adventures series, turns in a
great story that plays up the alien bad guy tendencies of League foes,
establishes the various characters and features a few twists and turns as well.
Meanwhile, Ku and Davis serve up solid animated style artwork
to accompany the story.
As with the Batman and Superman cartoons, I expect Bruce Timm and company to blend the best of the Silver Age and modern interpretations of the characters into a new and sparkling toy. Templeton and company have certainly done that in the first issue of Justice League Adventures, launching into "widescreen"
style danger but with a Silver Age tinge. The alien peace corps member is the
perfect harbinger of trouble or the gravity bomb are perfect elements for the
League of old, while the execution of the gravity bomb's effects are suitably
modern.
Though I suspect most of
those reading this book will be quite familiar with the characters, either from
comics knowledge or from having watched the show, that doesn't mean the creative
team should give introductions a pass. Templeton does a very nice job of
introducing the various characters, especially establishing the newer takes on
characters like Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. There are also some nice subtle bits
with the Flash, whose arrogance and showiness comes through, or Martian
Manhunter, whose alien nature is reinforced by his formal methods of speaking.
On top of the action plot,
Templeton includes a character story with a young hero-worshipping girl and her
father. It's a nice subplot that ties into the main story and provides a solid
ending that echoes off the failure of the alien threat.
While I expected something
good from Templeton, I wasn't as sure what to expect from Min S. Ku, and I was
pleased by what I got. Though not as distinctive as the work of Tim Levins, Mike
Parobeck and Ty Templeton (to name three standout artists from the Adventures
line), he does capture the animated style very well, and his storytelling is
very clear and strong.
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