JLA: Heaven's Ladder

Rating:
Summary: Too Long, Too Confusing
Review: I had such high hopes for this one. JLA Heaven's Ladder is about the JLA stopping a dying race of aliens from destroying Earth and other planets while on their way out. The aliens see themselves as superior beings and earthlings as insignificant, the same way that we look at insects. The concepts sounds interesting, but the execution falls of the mark completely. The art is really nice and the oversized format allows it to really shine, but the plot is just too complicated and long. There are no breaks for the readers to stop at, which is also frustrating. I found myself not caring what happens about half way through and it was a struggle to complete it. For the record, let me state that Mark Waid is one of the best comic writers out there, especially for superheros (for a really good Mark Waid JLA story, check out Tower of Babel), but he loses it here.

Rating:
Summary: Very impressive.
Review: I have to take issue with those who would decry this book. I think it's truely a noteworthy addition to the JLA of today. I, for one, LOVE the depth and imagination that is going into today's comics. The Watchtower Era JLA is the pinicle of said depth. Just when I think they've pushed the philosophical and metaphysical boundaries to their limit, they push harder. This book, while not perfict (It doesn't quite fit on my shelf, for one) is a great example of the writing that has made this title what it is today. Much like The Matrix raised my expectations of special effects and Sci-Fi, so does today's JLA raise my expectations of a good comic book. Heaven's Ladder is a great book, with a lot of depth, good art work, and wonderful character interactions. This book really leaves you feeling good.

Rating:
Summary: A good book
Review: I thought this was one of the best JLA stories I have ever read. The writing by Mark Waid is excellant. The sheer size of this of the story(figuratively and literally) is beyond imagination. The JLA encounters a universe size threat and comes through it smiling. What isn't commen in a Morrison JLA story is philosophy, which waid does hecka good. this is a really great book

Rating:
Summary: Confusing, but Fun!
Review: In this somewhat disapointing book, the JLA encounters an alien race that has been around since the Big Bang. This ancient race of beings is rapidly dying out. With no concept of the after-life, the aliens set about capturing planets from their orbit in order to find the best concept of a "heaven" or comparable plane of existense. Bottom Line: The JLA has to stop these beings from stealing planets but also help them construct their own version of heaven. The action gets rather boring at times, but the artwork (by artists Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary)is BEAUTIFUL!

Rating:
Summary: Very Strange
Review: Strange story of the JLA fighting a race of beings who want to get to heaven, or some such junk as only DC can do it.

Rating:
Summary: Where do Gods go when they die?
Review: This is the question that begins the book. A race of superhuman and superintelligent beings have arrived and have captured earth along with a bunch of other universes to form a bead of universes. This entire race is about to die in a few days but since they are like most races, they do not know abour life after death. Therefore, they decide to abduct different planets in order to pry into the different belief systems and using that data construct a makeshift ladder to heaven. And they acquire this data by placing a disguised agent admist each population. And like any advanced society, there is dissension, and there is another group of these superbeings who feel that being so superior, they should not be delving into the lower populace. That's the story in a nutshell but I am leaving out details and the ending...as if the readers can't figure it out. Anyways, the story is truly unique and I for one enjoyed it. There is action but there is also a little hint of philosophy thrown in by Mark Waid, which is that irrgardless of the caliber of advancements, every culture has a common struggle with the afterlife...if there is one. It was a nice change of pace from typical JLA stories, eventhough in some degrees it did encompass typical JLA elements (i.e. dying races, abducted planets, aliens, earth-saving, etc.)

The art on this book is beautiful and flawless and is accentuated by the oversized format. Some of the splash-pages (very large splash-pages in this case) are worthy of being made into posters. All in all, it is an excellent read and worth getting. Highly recommended.