JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #2: What the...

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jacovny
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JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #2: What the...

Post by jacovny »

Awkward. That's the most appropriate word I can think of to describe this book, which I stopped pre-ordering after the poorly conceived "zero" issue. Having just read issue #2, I have a couple of observations:

Page 3: Why is the same panel used thrice consecutively? The dialogue is already awkward enough -- another forced, out-of-character sniping between Animal Man and Green Arrow. (Lemire clearly wants to establish a personality clash between these characters, but thus it's just conflict for the sake of conflict which seems to come out of nowhere.) But the scene is made all the more strange by the fact that the characters' postures and facial expressions never change for three straight panels. The entire team is looking straight ahead during the exchange, as if posing for a team photo. Was this an oversight, or were Lemire and McKone deliberately doing this as a comedic device? I couldn't decide. It just came across as awkward.

Page 10: Supergirl shows up during the middle of a monster fight on an alien planet. She claims she "heard this thing calling out" from "halfway across the galaxy". An extraordinary feat, since sound doesn't travel through the vacuum of space. (Perhaps some Superman writer has at one time explained how Kryptonians can hear in space and I've missed it.) That Supergirl isn't a Red Lantern brings up timeline questions.

Page 27: The team is attacking an alien space station. Adam Strange has his laser gun drawn. Animal Man is acting like a big ol' kitty-cat again. Martian Manhunter looks like he's just taken a swing at a fastball. And Green Arrow is aiming an arrow... which the artist has neglected to draw. His hand is poised beside his head as if he were MEANT to be holding an arrow, but no arrow, and the bow strings aren't even pulled back. Either it's an Arrow of Invisibility, or his quiver is empty and he's faking it, or it's just a ridiculous oversight. In any case I got a giggle from it.

I'm not sure what to make of this title. It's poorly written, poorly drawn, and seems to be hastily assembled. On the other hand, it's got a sort of throwback Bronze-Age charm with its goofiness. Such as the way the characters constantly address one another by their full superhero names, just in case we've forgotten since the previous panel. Or the way they chatter like 13-year-old girls during fight scenes. If it weren't for the $3.99 price point, there's a chance I'd have picked this up again just for nostalgic value.
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JohnMayo
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Re: JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #2: What the...

Post by JohnMayo »

What about the fact the series started before the title it replaced ended?

The awkwardness you mention isn't your imagination. This is one of those titles are DC that feels like it was created by editorial and given to a creative team to execute.
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fudd71
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Re: JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #2: What the...

Post by fudd71 »

jacovny wrote: Page 27: The team is attacking an alien space station. Adam Strange has his laser gun drawn. Animal Man is acting like a big ol' kitty-cat again. Martian Manhunter looks like he's just taken a swing at a fastball. And Green Arrow is aiming an arrow... which the artist has neglected to draw. His hand is poised beside his head as if he were MEANT to be holding an arrow, but no arrow, and the bow strings aren't even pulled back. Either it's an Arrow of Invisibility, or his quiver is empty and he's faking it, or it's just a ridiculous oversight. In any case I got a giggle from it.
The comment on the arrow I understand, however an argument can be made an arrow was just fired. Just after the an arrow is fired the hand would still be in that location and the bow string would be back in its normal place (still vibrating which could have been illustrated better) if that was the intent of that shot.
jacovny
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Re: JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #2: What the...

Post by jacovny »

fudd71 wrote:
jacovny wrote:

The comment on the arrow I understand, however an argument can be made an arrow was just fired. Just after the an arrow is fired the hand would still be in that location and the bow string would be back in its normal place (still vibrating which could have been illustrated better) if that was the intent of that shot.
Good point Fudd, I can see that being the case, although Arrow's comment: "Put the kid down bug-eyes, or I put YOU down," seems to indicate that he hasn't fired yet. Or perhaps he had just fired a warning shot to punctuate his point.
jacovny
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Re: JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #2: What the...

Post by jacovny »

JohnMayo wrote:What about the fact the series started before the title it replaced ended?
Indeed; when I received the final issue of "Justice League America" last month I had to do a double-take. I had completely forgotten it hadn't wrapped up. DC could have omitted it entirely and I'd not have noticed.
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