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JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES #2
"More Human Than Human"
Mildly Recommended (5/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Paul Storrie
Pencils: Craig Rousseau
Inks: Wayne Faucher
Colors: John Kalisz & Heroic Age
Letters: Kurt Hathaway
Editor: Dan Raspler
Price: $1.99 US/$3.25 CAN |
Now that the
cartoon is out, and somewhat disappointing, I find my enthusiasm for the
comic-book tie-in fading, but not so much that I didn't want to at least check
out this second issue. The story, as with many of the "animated" book tales,
feels a little rushed, and having seven main characters rather than one or two
makes it all the more difficult to avoid that. In addition, the book so far
lacks in strong characters, both hero and villain, which is probably down to the
weak basis they've gotten from the cartoon, but ultimately becomes a flaw in the
comic as well. However, while the book is uneven throughout, Storrie almost
pulls it out with a strong (if borderline sappy) ending.
The story is sort of all over
the map, a little unsure of what it wants to accomplish. It begins as an
intriguing mystery, but the mystery is quickly dropped for a slugfest, which is
itself quickly dropped for a story about the bickering that comes from a new
team. Storrie is trying to pack in too many elements here, and none of them
really get the time they deserve. Just as my interest was piqued by part of the
story, it had switched into being something else.
It doesn't help that the bulk
of the issue belongs to the least interesting part, the slugfest, or that the
villains the Justice League are facing are remarkably generic. Worshipping chaos
is a bit of a cheat motivation, as it gives the characters reason to act
randomly and thus makes them a lot easier to write. Giving the bad guys magical
powers also leaves the writer free from developing any kind of consistent
powers, since magic generally will allow a villain to do whatever they want. The
result, combined with a thoroughly uninspired visual design by Rousseau, is a
band of very dull villains.
The dull villains might not be as much of a problem if the characters of the Justice League were better developed. Unfortunately, Storrie is working with the cardboard characters that we've gotten in the Justice League animated series,
and none of them have much character yet. This shows in their interactions, and
even in the personality conflicts that show up in the tail end of the story, as
each character is defined pretty much by a single attribute. The
characterization makes them easy access for younger readers, but I suspect even
younger readers will find these bland versions of DC's big guns a little
uninteresting.
Rousseau and Faucher have never been a favorite art team of mine, whether it was their work on Impulse or Batman Beyond,
and their work here doesn't really change my mind. In fairness, their work is
reasonably solid, but it lacks much in the way of excitement or visual flair,
and when paired with a somewhat dull batch of characters, that level of artwork
seems lacking as well.
However, for all my problems
with script and art, Storrie did grab me with the final few pages. It's an
emotional cheat, sure, tugging at the heart strings of the readers like a
Claymation Christmas special, but it worked for me, and spoke more directly to
what the characters are fighting for than any of the previous pages.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
