Rating: 
Summary: MARK WAID TAKES OVER THE JLA
Review: Divided We Fall, the most recent collection to anthologize Mark Waid's run on the book, proves that he's more than up to the task of taking over for Grant Morrison. Following the events of his previous collection, Tower of Babel, Divided steadily builds on themes of distrust, betrayal and the division between a hero and his or her secret identity. In Babel, you may recall, the members of the Justice League were shocked to discover that Batman had secretly been compiling data on his teammates, including information on how to neutralize them should they ever become a threat due to mind control or other reasons. (Readers recognizing similarities to Waid's JLA: Year One miniseries will be relieved to know that this storyline is no mere rehash of that tale.) They learn this in the most alarming way, when Batman's cataloged methods are employed by his longtime foe Ra's Al Ghul. It's not giving too much away to say that heroes eventually overcome their individual adversities, and find themselves shocked and deeply divided over the issue of what to do about Batman, who is voted out of the league. As Divided begins, the seeds of dissent are sprouting into full-blown alienation and antipathy. Batman's stubbornly Machiavellian method of helping the team defeat the Queen of Fables (the wicked Queen of Snow White come back to real life) only undermines those tensions. A subsequent battle against the reality-warping Dr. Destiny further erodes the team's trust, even as Superman takes comfort in the fact that the members' subconscious selves, not yet hardened against one another, eventually act as a unit to save the day. At this point, the DCU's most popular duo, Superman and Batman, reluctantly agree that the only way to restore the Leaguers' faith in each other is for Batman to take the drastic, trusting step of revealing his alter ego. Superman also decides to reveal his other self, and the assembled members (most of them, anyway) follow suit. It's at this pivotal moment that the League finds itself "divided" yet again, as all but Wonder Woman and Aquaman find themselves facing their alter egos. In effect, most of the heroes have been somehow split in two. It's in this final arc of Divided that Waid masterfully asserts himself as a gifted storyteller and strategist in his own right, as both the alter egos and the heroes from whom they've split begin to feel the detrimental effects of the separation. The artwork teams on display here each do a more than capable job of investing Waid's story with the requisite grandeur and grittiness. While the Morrison-era dynamic duo of penciler Howard Porter and inker John Dell is still missed, the overall quality of the art remains high. Particular praise must go to the Queen of Fables arc, in which we're treated to some of the most beautiful depictions of Wonder Woman yet committed to paper.
Rating:
Summary: Great Character Study, If a Little Confoozin'
Review: Half of this book follows the aftermath of Tower of Babel
(wherein Batman 'betrays' the rest of the League) and the other half deals with one component of that 'betrayal'; the necessity of harboring a 'secret identity'.
After expelling Batman via a 4-3 vote, the JLA finds itself split like Repubs and Democrats; mistrust and petty sniping abound. Finally Supes and Bats have a heart-to-heart that is one of the best stories featuring these two together that has ever been done. If Frank Miller's "Return of the Dark Knight" was about the abject difference between these two, JLA #50 points out the similarities. From there we go to another storyline, where the membership is split up again, although in a totally different way. I won't give away details, suffice it to say it's an Alan Moore-esque study into the inner stress having a "secret identity" can create. It's gets a little complicated and overwrought, but hell, the entire JLA series from ish #1 to The Obsidian Age has been complicated and overwrought, so what the hey. A necessary companion piece to Tower of Babel.
Rating: 
Summary: Best yet? Maybe!
Review: I laughed more in this tpb than I did in any other JLA books to date. The artist seems to really have the facial expressions down, and they seem to fit what the character would actually look like under difficult, embarrassing situations. But what I liked most about this book was the fact that I was able to see interesting things that I hadn't imagined possible in JLA. For instance, Wonder Woman gets a romantic kiss from a team member (I'm not telling, go get the book...), Superman gets flustered, Batman gets his tail whipped by a team member (you'll never guess), most of the team gets to be normal, and finally, Plastic Man gets some character development. About Plastic Man, I'd have to say that this book rescued him in my eyes. He was really starting to get on my nerves as the comedian all the time. Hopefully, some of the maturity will stick with him. The stories are interesting enough, but the main storyline is the whole batman-kicked-out-of-the-league-how-does-he-get-back-in... Anyway, excellent book. I highly recomend it for any fans of JLA!
Rating:
Summary: Best yet? Maybe!
Review: I laughed more in this tpb than I did in any other JLA books to date. The artist seems to really have the facial expressions down, and they seem to fit what the character would actually look like under difficult, embarrassing situations. But what I liked most about this book was the fact that I was able to see interesting things that I hadn't imagined possible in JLA. For instance, Wonder Woman gets a romantic kiss from a team member (I'm not telling, go get the book...), Superman gets flustered, Batman gets his tail whipped by a team member (you'll never guess), most of the team gets to be normal, and finally, Plastic Man gets some character development. About Plastic Man, I'd have to say that this book rescued him in my eyes. He was really starting to get on my nerves as the comedian all the time. Hopefully, some of the maturity will stick with him. The stories are interesting enough, but the main storyline is the whole batman-kicked-out-of-the-league-how-does-he-get-back-in... Anyway, excellent book. I highly recomend it for any fans of JLA!
Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed this one alot
Review: I liked the story line of this book. We all wonder what if you met your alter ego? It catches the flavor of what happens when there is a break up or split. It is worth the price
Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed this one alot
Review: I liked the story line of this book. We all wonder what if you met your alter ego? It catches the flavor of what happens when there is a break up or split. It is worth the price
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding stuff
Review: I loved this book.
JLA is one of my favorite superhero books and Mark Waid did not disappoint as the replacement to Grant Morrison. In "Divided We Fall", we get to see how they fix the whole fiasco of Batman and the consequences of what the JLA went through in Tower of Babel.
It turns out that the leaguers were far more deeply affected than anyone could have guessed, and it is resolved here. If I'm being cryptic, it's only because I can't give away the end of the previous book. That'd be cheating! This book also shows some strong character development for many of the leaguers, and some very welcome mature focus on Plastic Man.
United we stand. You don't buy this book, we fall.
Rating:
Summary: Fairy Tales and Wish Fulfillment
Review: The newest gathering together of JLA adventures into one volume (Divided We Fall) is a tight package brought to us by Mard Waid and a number of pencillers. There are three major conflicts with the connecting thread the sub-storyline of the Batman being accepted back into the JLA after his removal (including some nice scenes with his old friend, Superman). The wonderful use of fairy tales and the treat of seeing the heroes split apart from their secret identities give this volume its best moments to begin and end the book respectively. The themes of fantasy and wish fulfillment are exploited with great skill in each of the stories. Plastic Man is still an awkard fit in the League but the last story does at least provide a little emotional depth to his character. It would be nice to have his skills and abilities being used more fully, in addition to his (at times forced) comic relief. All in all, a good volume and more fine work from Mark Waid, who still manages to squeeze a little more juice from these (rather tired, at times) icons.
Rating:
Summary: Fairy Tales and Wish Fulfillment
Review: The newest gathering together of JLA adventures into one volume (Divided We Fall) is a tight package brought to us by Mard Waid and a number of pencillers. There are three major conflicts with the connecting thread the sub-storyline of the Batman being accepted back into the JLA after his removal (including some nice scenes with his old friend, Superman). The wonderful use of fairy tales and the treat of seeing the heroes split apart from their secret identities give this volume its best moments to begin and end the book respectively. The themes of fantasy and wish fulfillment are exploited with great skill in each of the stories. Plastic Man is still an awkard fit in the League but the last story does at least provide a little emotional depth to his character. It would be nice to have his skills and abilities being used more fully, in addition to his (at times forced) comic relief. All in all, a good volume and more fine work from Mark Waid, who still manages to squeeze a little more juice from these (rather tired, at times) icons.
Rating:
Summary: Mark Waid does it again
Review: The second collection from Mark Waid's run on JLA continues to improve upon the mess Grant Morrison made of the series. As in "JLA: Tower of Babel", these stories focus on both the individual and the team. Waid brings a human interest to the JLA, whereas Grant Morrison just brought action and chaos. Through Waid, we get to know the characters (Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Plastic Man and Martian Manhunter) both inside and out. No more are the massive team-ups from Morrison's run. These stories are tight and stream-lined. They're more about friendship than saving the world.
|
