Justice League of America by Brad Meltzer (Review)

Brad Meltzer is a great writer, both in the Comic Book Industry and in Fiction Novels. He offers a great blend of emotions with action and plots that bring out the best and worst in his characters and captures your imagination. The only criticism from me about Meltzer's writing is he doesn't write enough.....we haven't seen his work in comics since he left the Justice League of America at issue #12. I would love to see him come back and work on some more JLA, or Flash, Superman/Batman, etc.....really, I'd buy whatever he decided he wanted to write.....the following are his three volumes of the Justice League of America.

The Green Arrow Series (Review)

Citizen's Grade: Impressive.

Some of you not familiar with comics, or the Green Arrow character, may ask yourselves....what is so appealing about an angry liberal running around rooftops in Robin Hood tights shooting arrows at villains? Well, Oliver Queen (a.k.a., Green Arrow) is like most men in the world today. Really? Yes! He is an expert at one thing, and a complete failure at almost everything else. Pessimistic? No, just "keeping it real".

Oliver Queen was a billionaire playboy, hopping from yacht to yacht, and woman to woman when the ship he was on crashed on a deserted island (or so he thought). To survive, he had to become an expert using the only hunting weapon available to him, a makeshift bow. Honing his skills on the island, after being rescued he returned to Star City and became the Green Arrow (read Green Arrow: Year One for the entire story).

Top 5 Graphic Novels

This list was extremely difficult to come up with. I wish I could just do a top 100 list….but that would be a lot of typing, and probably get a little boring. I made the list by deciding which five graphic novels I would grab & say belonged to someone else if the IRS took everything I owned.

1. Green Lantern: Rebirth. Written by Geoff Johns, artwork by Ethan Van Sciver. This collection re-introduces Hal Jordan as Green Lantern. I would have bought this on John’s name alone, but also just for the artwork by Van Sciver! A must-read if you’re new to comics or the Green Lantern character.

2. Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. Written by Jeff Loeb, artwork by Ed McGuinness. The saying goes, “The book is always better than the movie”, and if you liked the DVD S/B: Public Enemies, than you’ll love the book! Loeb tells the story from both Superman’s & Batman’s perspective, and McGuinness’s artwork is top notch! A great read if you don’t collect Supes or Bats monthlies but want to know more about the characters.

3. Planet Hulk. Written by Greg Pak, artwork by various. Soon to be released on DVD, Planet Hulk is a great, original story about the Hulk! Marooned on a distant planet, forced to be a gladiator, the great rebel leader the Green Scar shows the Hulk; not as a mindless monster, but as a calculating and fearless rebel leader. Pak solidified my respect with this collected volume.

4. Identity Crisis. Written by Brad Meltzer, artwork by Rags Morales. This event has me wishing that Meltzer and Morales did more work together! A very mature story involving the violation of one of the Justice League’s wives, a rush to judgement, the death that ensues, and the crumbling of trust and respect among the heroes involved. I actually cried when Batman & Robin are rushing to try and save Robin’s father. This volume brought me back into collecting comics!

5. Superman: Red Son. Written by Mark Millar, artwork by various. Millar tells a wonderfully original story of Superman’s life. Crash landing in the Ukraine instead of Kansas, raised with the ideals of a communist utopia rather than the American Way, protector of the Proletariat! The artwork is fantastic and the Hammer & Sickle replacing the “S” on his chest makes you want to join the communist party.

Special Mentions go to Green Arrow: Quiver (Kevin Smith/Phil Hester), Superman/Batman: Supergirl (Loeb/Michael Turner), & Hip Flask: Unnatural Selection (Richard Starkings & Casey/Ladronn).