Note: Since this is #1, are we looking forward to more weddings? Are weddings going to be the new events of 2008?
After Brad Meltzer’s run on The Justice League of America, I had planned to drop the series. I really did. I haven’t been impressed by this version of the good ole JLA and Metlzer’s generic take on them. Other than “The Lightning Saga,” his take on the team just wasn’t unique or gripping. The worst crime that it can be accused of is that it was just there; it took up space that other books could have been using. And honestly, when Dwayne McDuffie was announced as Meltzer’s successor, I didn’t understand the joy and elation I heard other comic fans have about the news. Maybe it’s just me but I can’t think of any writing of his that I’ve really connected with. But in the weeks after Justice League of America #12 that I meant to tell my shop to drop the title, I never did so I ended up with Justice League of America Wedding Special #1 in with my comics this week.
First, let’s talk about the artwork. I’ve always been a Mike McKone fan and it’s good to see him back at DC where he’s a better fit as an artist than he was at Marvel. Inked by Andy Lanning, his return to DC is full of solid super-heroics. McKone knows that these characters are heroes out of as well as in costume and he draws them that way. Hal Jordan and Roy Harper are heroes; they’re got super-hero physiques. McKone is also fantastic at subtle body language and facial expressions. Throughout the book, Red Arrow is the guy who’s trying to hang with the big boys the way. Somehow, he never looks completely comfortable whether it’s trying to plan Green Arrow’s bachelor party with Hal Jordan or tagging along with Batman to investigate a crime scene. Personally, I’d vote for McKone to get the job pencilling the regular Justice League story.
I’m kind of stuck trying to figure out where McDuffie is going with this book because it looks like he’s trying to recreate Justice League Unlimited, the animated show he worked on. While mostly cameos, this is the book of 1001 stars, featuring everyone from Guy Gardner to Firestorm to Superman. Almost every DC hero is here, hanging around the JLA headquarters just like they did in the animated show. Even the Teen Titans and JSA are hanging around. A bachelor and bachellorette party is a great way to bring everyone together like this but you have to wonder if this large cast is the direction that McDuffie may go in with this series.
The JLU similarities don’t end there. Mirroring Justice League of America #0, Lex Luthor, Joker and the Cheetah form a new team of supervillains, the Injustice League Unlimited. There it is again– that word “unlimited,” another tie into the animated series. And a giant group of super-villains? Didn’t we see this in the last season of JLU? It was a cool idea then but DC has been hammering this concept for the last couple of years in their comics with first the Secret Society and now a new and improved Injustice League.
While having to tie it into the upcoming super-hero nuptials, McDuffie and McKone provide more of a prologue to McDuffie’s upcoming ran rather than anything significant development. It’s serves the same function as the zero issue did, to establish the characters and their status quo. It’s intriguing and more captivating thatn I thought it could be but, due to its similarities with the cartoon, it also carries a “haven’t we seen this” feeling with it.
Justice League of America Wedding Special #1
“Injustice League”
Written by: Dwayne McDuffie
Pencilled by: Mike McKone
Inked by: Andy Lanning
Colored by: Pete Pantazis
Lettered by: Rob Leigh