Another interesting topic by JLA
580055
I want to thank Harlequin Teen for providing me with a copy of this book to read and give an honest review. Receiving this book for free has in no way altered my opinion or review.

I have been a fan of Armentrout for a long time. And she doesn't disappoint with her poignant stories. There's always something so real about her characters and their situations. Which is what draws me to read them. So this book was no exception.

Armentrout hits on a topic I haven't read about before: Foster children. I don't know much about this topic, so it was interesting to watch the story unfold and learn a bit.

I enjoyed Mallory's character. I like that she comes out of her shell during the entirety of the book. She really learns who she is and how to handle herself. And she goes from stomping pad to a young woman who is not afraid to stand up for herself and her wants. The growth was really fascinating.

Rider is, of course, a swoon worthy male lead. The background he has with Mallory helps to solidify his feelings for her. They have been through so much together it is no surprise they have such a solid connection. Of course he has his own secrets which mallory believes she understands, even if she's wrong.

I did have a bit of a hard time connecting with the characters. I believe it was because I just don't understand this type of situation. I've never been exposed to it. I needed a bit more information on the system than I was given.

I liked the relationship between Mallory and Carl and Rosa. It was nice to see Mallory in this safe environment after learning about her past. The same can be said for Rider. However, his situation is a bit more complicated (and I don't want to spoil things).

The pacing in this book was slower than I would have anticipated. I was waiting for a bit more action to happen. At the same time, I understand why it didn't. It certainly wasn't a book for such things. It was more about the emotions of the characters and how they grow and change and relate to one another. It's about the heartbreak they endure and their ability to survive and move on from situations that threaten to destroy them.

Armentrout has managed to write a unique story with characters who are full of heartbreak and damage. If you're a fan of Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles, then you will enjoy the story that has been crafted in The Problem With Forever.
4305822
Spoiler-free

Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman continue their epic saga. There are a lot of cool and potent ladies in this one: Scarlet Witch, Spider-woman, Brunnhilda/Valkyrie, Hildegarde, Sif, Captain Marvel, Black Widow, (Angela), Karnilla, Freyja, and of course, the lady who would be Thor vs the Destroyer is a great issue with a lot packed into it, during these deconstructed times (oh and there's also the Odinson and Odin himself). On top of that we get the return of an old foe!

Too bad Secret Wars has to disrupt this great title. I still don't know how Fury whispering something into Thor's ear can cause him to be unworthy, and a talking hammer?? Given those oddities, this run of 8 issues was as good as the rest of Aaron's run on the title. The reveal is well-done and powerfully written/drawn. Recommended!
1608
As Tornado's Path, this one I read it a year ago in digital.  Why I purchase it now on trade?.  I don't know.  I don't regret it though.  Both books are a pretty good package.  Is a very good run what they got here.

The story is a good one.  Legion on Superheroes guys are in present time for certain mission, but they must deceive Superman and the rest of the JLA and JSA to do it so.  The writing might get a little messy in some parts but is just a little critic.  I liked the Lightning Saga as a whole.

There's other stories as "Monitor duty" and the one with Red Arrow and Vixen, but the last one is a GREAT way to finish it: "JLA: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow".  Is just a pretty story and have some future events on the DC Universe involving the Trinity.  Besides this you get the cover gallery, which is fantastic too.

I liked the book, and for the Amazon price is just a must have.

Mind you... this have direct contact with Countdown to Final Crisis :)
3635559
A good addition to the Civil War arc. I liked seeing Wolverine hunt down Nitro and find out more about the Stamford explosion. My only complaint involved the interactions with Namor. He was never really my favorite. It was still a great story!
820051
This is the last part of the Grant Morrison Run of JLA with the Maggedon storyline.  You have the new Injustice Gang tied in with Matheson and it wraps up the build up Morrison out until the story since the Rock of Ages arc in JLA Volume 1.  Then you have Mark Asia's Tower of Babel story arc which is probably one of my favorites from Waid.  If you have the first three volumes, you need to get this to round out the Morrison run.
3856992
Back before the JSA revival became one of the hottest things since sliced bread we young comic book fans had to be content with the annual teaming of the JLA and JSA teams in the Justice League of America comic book. Always a pleasure to see the teams interact and see different pairings of individual heroes working together instead of the expected pairings you saw all the time in JLA.

I'm specifically reviewing the stories collected in this volume, however. The other volumes contain seminal stories like the intro of Earth-3's Crime Syndicate of America; the triple teaming of the JLA, JSA, and Legion of Super-Heroes; and just about the entire history of Black Canary and Red Tornado! By the time of the tales in this volume many possibilities had already been mined. It is a credit to Gerry Conway and the other creators that they didn't just retell the same stories again. Instead we get a tale pairing the two teams with DC's "western heroes" contingent, the death (a real one that has even stood true until today!) of Mr. Terrific, and (most importantly) a teaming with The New Gods.

The JLA/JSA/New Gods team-up is the reason you want this book. Not only does it contain those characters, it also includes the Injustice Society (or at least the core of it) AND THE ART IS BY GEORGE PEREZ! (Most of it, anyway.) The art lends the tale a dynamism that elevates the already elevated story. And this particular team-up stretched over three issues instead of the normal two.

I'm giving this four stars because of page count. Volumes 1 and 2 were 208 pages each. Succeeding volumes have lesser page counts (170-190 range). It would be nice to have seen the next JLA/JSA team-up (again with Perez art) included in this book. Maybe that tale is the "hook" for the next volume!

Are the tales as historically important as the early JLA/JSA tales? No. OTOH, they are exercises which reach deeply into DC's rich well of characters and they are from a time when comic book writing really began to actually be good writing as opposed to "comic book writing."

And there is George Perez art!
4087881
Enjoyable, but not as good as the Moore or Millar runs.

I liked this volume, though I'm not completely sure why Swamp Thing talks differently than normal. I like the build up for the villain, the Seeder, so it'll be interesting to see what happens with him next volume. This book has a strong sense of tone. It seems to be a pretty fun book that feels very much like a book set in the DC universe while still having a little bit of a campy horror feel.

I think the biggest problem with this book is that it relies to much on guest stars. Superman and Scarecrow show up in the first two issues, and John Constantine shows up for a two parter. I'd love to see John Constantine brought back as a supporting cast member for Swamp Thing, but it feels like they used him as a crutch in this volume.

The issue about Anton Arcane is pretty interesting and I really like the art in it.

The art in this book goes from great to goofy. I think there are three different people who handled the pencils and inking.

The page layouts seem like they would fit right in with the Moore run, so that's kind of cool.

Overall, good stuff, but not amazing. I liked this, but I wouldn't include it on a "best comics ever made" kind of list. Still good though.
2738634
This was a good movie, although I thought it was extremely violent (I know that the Flashpoint altered reality was violent, though). But I don't think this would appropriate for children under 13. As much as I love the JLA, and want kids to be fans, this isn't one for them... this is for adults and older teens.
4299788
Brian Michael Bendis once again dives into the super-hero teen drama of the Ultimate Spider-Man and all his friends.  Here we are shown some really interesting ideas about how Spider-Man should fit into the Ultimate world as a whole.  There is also great scenes with Mysterio and Black Cat.  I'm not sure where that's going but its really interesting.  All that said, all this is pushed aside by the never ending teenage drama with Peter.  I understand that is a huge draw for many people here but Spider-Man needs to be active in this book more often.  The dialogue is great but it needs to be reigned in at times.  On the art side there were a handful of different artists here and overall it was just okay.  I still miss the stability of Mark Bagley and can't wait until he is back on the book.  Overall, a good book that was a little slow.
2022775
This is some of the best Justice League ever.  This is such a treat to have available.  Its to bad that more of the run is in trade form.  Awesome, simply awesome!
1870375
It's fun to see my favorite Heroes - Space Ghost and the Herculods back in action once again.  Although I don't understand where Space Ghost got the super strength and less beam powers is beyond me.  Still it's a fun video.
3123614
Well - thanks to DC comics & Amazon, here we go with an pretty good and popular comic collection from the eighties - justice league international! guest starring the redone (by george perez) wonder woman!! earth is invaded by Lord Manga Khan and he has taken mister miracle!! its JLI to the rescue led by Big Barda, martian manhunter, rocket red (he gets a more powerful suit!)and a new member - green lantern Gnort??? meanwhile, back on earth Batman takes blue beetle, booster gold and new members fire & ice on a deep cover mission in bialya and get caught! can captain atom show up in time to save them from the queen bee and wandjina? we get our guy gardner back (yay!!) thanks to another new member - lobo? then the entire league (minus captain atom on monitor duty on earth) shows up with new members hawkman & hawkwoman for an all out fight on apokolips! then earth is under attack again from an bigger invasion and our defense is up to - not a new member but - oberon???? Great fun - the artwork is good but suffers due to kevin maguire not doing as many pages ( a plus - he does the great parts!)but you need this book to keep up the pace with vol 4 and soon vol 5!!
4446376
Pretty cool story in which Hal Jordan is framed for murder on international borders.  The world is seeying him as a menace.  On top of that someone has put a price on his head.  Whom?.  You'll find out here.

In that same arc we can see Sinestro Corps recruiting.  Check ou the interesting choices they made.  Priceless!!!.

There's a second arc in which the power of the Star Saphire and a little bit of the Guardians past is seen.  Very informative!.  This not only help To the Sinestro Corps arc but maybe even Blackest Night.

For the price I paid, this is easy 4 stars.  Good content, great fun and reasonable price.
1580400
Oa is a strange place, particularly when the Guardians have a plan they would prefer not to have to execute.  Hal Jordan is not part of this plan.  He reacts as you would expect.  This is a really good issue, and it paves the way for what should be a very interesting next several issues.
2498342
This is the third DC Universe movie with the JLA, although it's a little different from the original plot as it breaks down the separate members of the League while uniting them in a common story. Loosely based on the Tower Of Babel story arc from the comics, Doom brings together the age-old tradition of "superheroes vs. supervillains". It was written by the late Dwayne McDuffie, who adapted it from the Tower Of Babel story arc from JLA comics.

 After stopping the Royal Flush Gang from using some fancy new phasing technology to rob a jewelry vault, the Justice League are targeted by a collected group of their personal enemies going by the handle, the Legion of Doom. Immortal formal caveman Vandal Savage organizes several supervillains to take down the JLA using plans heisted from Batman which were designed to neutralize members of the League. Each of the bad guys corner the heroes in their own way. Bane buries Batman with his parents, Mirror Master places an unshakable bomb on Flash, Cheetah tricks Wonder Woman into thinking everyone is her and attacking them, Star Sapphire uses fear toxin to scare Green Lantern into quitting, Martian Manhunter is set on fire by his evil twin, and Metallo shoots Superman with a Kryptonite bullet. Savage sets all this up to get the League out of the way so he can implement his master plan of using a nuke to send a giant solar flare which would kill half of the world's population, afterwards he and the Legion would take over what's left. Batman manages to free himself though, since his original plans didn't include subduing himself, and with Cyborg help the rest of the League from their own personal traps. They then reconvene to hear out Batman's reasons for creating scenarios for subduing them, but pull their act together to locate Savage's lair. After a classic heroes/villians battle, Savage's rocket does make it to the sun, so the League uses the special phasing technology Savage had made to protect themselves from the solar flare to make the entire planet temporarily intangible, making it safe for the flare to pass through the Earth. In the end, Cyborg is inducted into the League, but Batman decides to leave knowing his techniques weren't accepted by the other members.

Justice League: Doom is a splendid mix of the original comic book story, and merging it with a new plot. The original comic one had Ra's Al Ghul acting on his own as the main villain with the League of Assassins, and no other supervillains or Legion of Doom, and using Batman's plans to keep the League out his hair while he tried taking over the world. Dwayne McDuffie expanded on it by keeping the League down to its core members, while adding Cyborg probably because DC Comics was pushing to have him in the group to make them look more diverse. Young Justice animator Lauren Montgomery directed this, and her more realistic style stands out quite well. The vocal casting is great, with most of the Justice League animated series actors returning, except Tim Daly as Superman, Michael Rosenbaum playing the Barry Allen Flash, and Nathan Fillion reprising Green Lantern from the previous GL animated movie. It's a good enough stand-alone film that you can enjoy without having to see any of the other DC Universe flicks, and a decent foundation for a possible live-action Justice League movie.
2168224
Bitter Sweet Love was a great introduction to JLA's world of gargoyles and demons. I loved Jas and Dez's story and wish we got a little more of it. Layla and Zayne were incredibly cute, and it just makes you so interested in their story. Absolutely great writing, and I wouldn't expect anything else from JLA. This is a must read along with the other two books, they will leave you craving Every Last Breath.
3737572
This version of the origin of the JLA is very entertaining however I felt it was too short a volume and the epilogue left you hanging so that you would buy more JLA comics. Finally they pad the volume with variant covers and drawings at the end. This is the reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. However, if you're a Justice League fan or a fan of DC's new 52 you will definitely want this one. I got this for $2.99 when Amazon had it's daily deals. I don't see me paying $9.99 for the kindle edition or $16.99 for the paperback edition. I feel it was worth the $2.99 but not more than that.