JLA: The Obsidian Age, Book One

Rating:
Summary: Confusing as all get out --but still good,
Review: Obsidian Age parts one and two are where the JLA finally becomes the X-men. Number one, there's plenty of dyin'; A straight up X-move if there ever was one. Secondly, the plot involves time travel. Third, the plot is so obtuse and confusing, it takes 3 or 4 good reads to truly encapsulate it all. There you go - X-Nirvana has been reached. Obsidian Age is really two stories in one: The JLA (Supes, Bats, WW, Flash) go looking for Aquaman in the past--he disappeared during the Imperiex storyline. (I know, I know...the first inclination would be to say, "let his fish... stay lost" That's why we're not in the JLA). In the meantime, Batman, ever prepared, sets a time release signal to assemble a new JLA in case the old guard isn't back by a certain time. This new team consists of Nightwing, Atom, Green Arrow, Hawkgirl and others. Of the two stories the main one involves several time-travel paradoxes and lotsa stuff that'll make you go 'OH NO WAY!' The second one gives you action and stuff but doesnt' really explore the characters of this new group. Still, if you like the JLA epics that've been delivered thus far by Morrison and Waid, this one fits in pretty well.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best JLA stories...honest!!!
Review: Okay, first off, I was skeptical about a whole epic story centered around Aquaman who is (in my opinion) not the most interesting JLA character. But I picked up the book anyways, since I enjoy the work of Joe Kelly.
First things first: the plot. Two mysterious travellers (one a shaman Indian and the other an Aztec warrior) have come to destroy the JLA and save the world. Their coming is seen by Green Lantern who is plagued with images of the entire roster of JLA dying in battle. Anyways, the JLA kick the collective butts of these warriors and sends them packing back to their time. But in order to escape, they invoke magic from the past and resurrect Atlantis from the depths of the sea. But the new Atlantis is in ruins and a message of SOS is inscribed by Aquaman (who was thought dead but is stuck in the past). The JLA decides to help their ally and open a portal and travel back to the past. There's just one problem, they don't know how to get back and nobody knows where they are. Before going, Batman senses danger and puts a back-up JLA team in effect (always the thinker) headed by Nightwing and is made up of members from the JSA and others :). I won't say who they are but they are colorful characters. The new JLA goes into action to solve the world's problems in the present while the Old JLA is trying to save Aquaman and Atlantis. And if all that isn't enought, the JLA in ancient times is also facing another league called, the ANCIENTS.

Okay, I'll admit that this is not the easiest plot to understand but it's worth reading. The story is very well-written. Joe Kelly correctly captures the personalities of each members and makes the interactions between them very readable. This book is highly recommended and I really really enjoyed it. I would also recommend getting part two of the Obsidian Age. Trust me, after reading Part I, you'll kick yourself for not getting Part II.

And finally, the art is also pretty good. The art is divided up between two artists. One artist renders the artwork to the New JLA in the modern times and another renders the artwork for the JLA in ancient times. For my money, I like the work of Doug Mahnke who does the ancient JLA portions.

Rating:
Summary: a real superhero epic, by far Kelly's best JLA story
Review: The Obsidian Age Book One reprints the JLA comic issues 66-71. It's the longest JLA story yet, and continues in JLA: The Obsidian Age Book Two (reprints issues 72-76). They are volumes 11 and 12, respectively, of the JLA reprint collections.

During the events of "Superman: Our Worlds at War" (available in trade paperback, but not necessary reading to enjoy this story) Aquaman and the people of Atlantis went missing in the timestream. Picking up where that story leaves off, the JLA discovers that Aquaman and his people are stranded 3000 years in the past. Superman and crew head back into the past to rescue their missing teammate.

At this point, the story path splits in two, with alternating chapters chronicling the adventures of the main team in the distant past, while a replacement League in the present struggles to keep things together here and now. Yes, it's long and has a huge cast, but it's not as confusing as many reviewers claim. Time travel stories always make little sense under scrutiny, but that doesn't stop us from enjoying "Back to the Future" or "The Terminator."

The real treat here is seeing writer Joe Kelly superbly filling the shoes left by Grant Morrison after his magnificent run on this title. Morrison honed this style of breakneck storytelling which pitted the heroes against bizarre menaces so fast that the reader had to stop and catch his breath. Kelly moves things along more slowly, but seems to channel Morrison's originality with the concepts he brings to the story. The most striking element is the JLA's antagonists in the past, the League of Ancients. These are the guardians of the Earth of 1000 BC, and include such visually and conceptually exciting characters as a gold-armored, blood-drinking Mayan warrior and an Old Testament-quoting alien.

Of course this has to be a two-part review for a two-volume story, and so it continues under Obsidian Age Book Two.



Rating:
Summary: Kelly and Mahnke are superb
Review: The obsidian age was a long, epic story that reads much better in collected form that it's orriginal serial format. Though not Kelly's best work, it is still an excellent example of how a modern comic can be intelligent and new, and yet still use the stable of characters created fifty plus years ago. The concept of super heroes travelling back in time seems very far fetched, but Joe Kelly weaves the technology and magic together well and uses many familiar characters from the DC universe to facilitate his points. Mahnke's artwork fits very well with this story. it accentuates the mythical and magical properties of the characters as well as humanizing them. I enjoyed this storyline, but i would not recomend it for new readers or those who are not familiar with the JLA.