Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Comic Books >

I can't believe it's the Justice League

14:47 / 17.02.05

I'm waiting for the first tale in this anthology to be collected before buying it but this...I couldn't wait for this. It's already been delayed by twelve months thanks to Identity Crisis.

But now it's here. Forgot about it completely and was so surprised to see it in Manc today. Couldn't resist it's siren call.

I don't want to go into too much detail but I was chickling long after I'd finished reading it. The only thing that's made me laugh this much in ages is the third season of 'Curb your enthusiasm' and this was probably more fun due to it being...and I hate htis expression with a passion...but more joy core than I can't believe it's not Seinfeld. Wonderful book. It might not convert anyone to it's charms but if you're already a fan it's unmissable. So don't miss it.

14:52 / 17.02.05

Can't wait to read this -- the first series was aces and damn funny.

Jake, Colossus of Clout

18:54 / 17.02.05

I got this yesterday and it's great. I won't ruin it for those who have yet to partake, but there's great jokes and a surprise appearance at the end that will make old JLI fans very happy. This series and its predecessor are the only books (or movies or TV shows or people) I've experienced lately that make me actually laugh out loud, not just smile. They need to make this an ongoing series.

19:46 / 17.02.05

You know...I'm not too sure about that. I loved this isse, and the last run, and I'm genuinely fond of the characters. But monthly? Nah. Regular miniseries, maybe a six parter a year or a four parter and a special or something like that seems a better way to go.

If there's a third series it'll be interesting to see how things turn out. They've lost a central character and rumours have it that another one is going the same way. A third run would have heavy continuity baggage to deal with and the tone would by necessity have to be different. On a cheerful note I think there's an old favourite going to be back by the end of this run...

Jake, Colossus of Clout

22:37 / 17.02.05

Well, Sue Dibny is dead in regular continuity and that doesn't seem to bother DeMatteis, Giffen and MacGuire, so even if the rumors about bumping off Beetle are true, that wouldn't mean the lineup on their book would have to reflect that. DC could slap an Elseworlds logo on it to appease all the really anal fans if they got uppity about the creative team, I don't know, disrespecting the groundbreaking changes Brad Meltzer made in his landmark Identity Crisis miniseries, or something. I'm hoping that will be forgotten about sooner rather than later.

I personally would rather read this book than anything related to cape rape, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that. The first series sold well, as I recall, and I wouldn't be surprised if this one does even better. There's a market for this book, and DC would be wise to exploit it if the creators are willing.

I just think this book is very unique and refreshing. It's the only genuinely fun (and funny) superhero book being published right now, and I'd love to have a fresh issue every month.

10:23 / 18.02.05

I enjoyed this, as I did the recent mini-series from the same folks.

I didn’t read Identity Crisis, as it didn’t sound like it was my kinda thing, but I did derive enormous pleasure from the various online speculations about it - that it was all orchestrated by the ghost of Jason Todd, or a slipper infected with the Clench virus, or whatever. I gather the end was pretty mundane in comparison with some of the wild imaginings.

Anyway, easy to ignore continuity ramifications of that series I’ve never read, and so it had no effect on my reading of this first part. Liked in particular the Booster-Beetle banter about Gladys, and Mary Marvel on caffeine. And I find the pacing on pages such as the multi-panel one with Fire on the phone works for me better than the multi-speech-balloon ones in, say, Bendis-written comics. I think it’s because the additional panels allow for ‘changes in facial expression’ to be depicted, if you see what I mean.

12:22 / 18.02.05

i didn't get this because superheroes should be violent, not humorous.

but crazy props for dxb for the topic summary on this thread, best in a long time.

12:52 / 18.02.05

this was great -- although the "Dick Hertz" joke is as old as the hills, they could have not stooped to that. But much else was terrific, especially L-Ron going "TILT!" to express his surprise and shock on the cover. (Also loved the mention of Giffen's beloved Ambush Bug on the cover.)

09:15 / 19.02.05

i didn't get this because superheroes should be violent, not humorous.

You're so weird.

21:46 / 19.02.05

Hmmm. And no-one spotted the *ahem* deliberate misatek in the thread title. Which is good, makes me feel less stupid for cocking it up.

21:46 / 19.02.05

Hmmm. And no-one spotted the *ahem* deliberate misatek in the thread title. Which is good, makes me feel less stupid for cocking it up.

Haus of Mystery

23:50 / 19.02.05

And there's two more! I do worry a bit with this that Giffendematteis are trading on past glories rather than creating anything specifically new. Mind you they both seem to find it hard to get an ongoing series to last. 'Reign of the Zodiac' anyone? I dunno though. It's nice to have them back really.

15:08 / 09.03.05

Re-reading this, I found it to be not quite as funny as each issue of the first miniseries was...but that shot of Guy Gardner greeting his old friends with "Hello, you pathetic losers!!" was golden.

I love it when Mary Marvel talks about Tawky Tawny the Tiger. You can't miss whenever you talk about the Marvel Tiger.

17:05 / 09.03.05

I think that it's just the familiarity of the characters 'coming home' as it were, rather than them doing anything new. Yeah, it'd be great to explore new grounds or something, but I feel as though BB and BG, and Fire have been in stasus since the end of Breakdowns (Dan Jurgan's JLA was terrible in my mind, and the whole Booster dying, Booster being kept alive by his robot suit crap was just that). All we need now is Skeet's to return and it'll all be fine, just fine.

18:39 / 09.03.05

I love it when Mary Marvel talks about Tawky Tawny the Tiger. You can't miss whenever you talk about the Marvel Tiger.

not sure if you know this buuuuuut...
Tawky Tawny the Tiger was an old Faucet City character.

One of the most popular “cartoony” elements of the series was introduced in 1947. In “The Talking Tiger,” Captain Marvel readers met Mr. Tawny, a talking tiger who grows tired of the jungle and stows away on a boat to America to see what civilization is like.

from the above link.

22:04 / 10.03.05

Ahh, just got this. I had forgotten how much I missed this. Formerly Known was really good, and this looks to be on par with, or possibly better than that. I got a few good chortles out of it. I remember the original Giffen/DeMatteis run so fondly that I get some kind of utter fanboy glee out of this book. I should probably submit to forty lashes for admitting fanboy tendencies, but I can't help it. It's got Elongated Man and L-Ron in it, for pete's sake!

06:42 / 16.03.05

Here be preview pages for next issue;

Yada yada yada

06:47 / 16.03.05

Und 'ere are a couple of covers for later issues for ya...

"one punch!"

"up from the depths, twenty stories high..."

12:15 / 16.03.05

I love it. It's like Vehicle Voltron. Everything from this "era" of the JLA/I/E/U is so insular. Even the font changes. I wish I was buying it.

16:39 / 16.03.05

Mary Marvel becomes even MORE EEEEVIL than in the first series, where she was mind-controlled to become a killing machine! Fun!

And a Godzilla-size rampaging G'nort is even better.

Bring. It. On.

20:45 / 16.03.05

But Godzilla was *thirty* stories high, wasn't he?

Loved that show... Ahh, memories.

21:24 / 16.03.05

was it thirty? I had muddy hearing as a kid, so most of the time theme tunes didn't mean anything to me...

I can still sing the theme to TMNT though.

From reading about the issues...

S

P

O

I

L

E

R

S

The superbuddies find themselve in an alternative world - that Mary is the Ultimates Mary Marvel, as it were.

21:45 / 16.03.05

Why is there always a connection made in comics between bondage-wear and evilness? What is it about that aspect of sexuality, which is just as healthy as any other kind of sexuality, that is associated with EVIL? It's the whole desireable slut thing isn't it? Oh, dear...

I like my girlfriend to dress up as a schoolgirl and fuck me with a blue tiger-striped dildo while I'm harnessed face-down on our bed, but I don't think that makes me eeeeeevilllll....

m.

22:03 / 16.03.05

Evil, no.

Wicked, yes...

15:15 / 28.03.05

The 2nd issue of this was just ehhh, I felt...not as many truly laugh out loud moments in this one, more like a few snickers and lots of smiles, but many of the gags here weren't all that funny, I felt.

16:22 / 28.03.05

Although those covers bode well for the rest of the series...

13:18 / 12.07.05

Well, this miniseries within a series has come and gone and it was pretty fun. Sad to contrast Max Lord, Blue Beetle, & Booster Gold with all the Countdown stuff... still, there some truly funny bits in here from Giffen, DeMatteis, Maguire, et. al.

"Put that thing away, you're SCARING me!"

"What? It's my trademark! I always wiggle my extra-stretchy nose when there's a mystery! Everyone finds it endearing!"

"EVERYONE...?"

"Well, most everyone..."

"MOST...?"

"Well, once I got a letter from one fan who said she..."

"Enough!! I don't want to hear it!"

18:51 / 12.07.05

It was quite sad to see it end. The problem was that if felt limited, that the characters weren't going to grow in anyway, it was just a means to tell a story within 6 issues, but it was great fun. Blue Beetle was great, although the Booster Gold stuff got a bit tired, it was nice to imply that he and Fire were going to get it on though. And, yeah, Wolfy, I agree about seeing these characters like this and then in ID Crisis was odd.

21:59 / 18.04.08

What really annoys me still is the mistake in the title...

But hey! G'nort and Ice action figure! In my birthday week! Woo and Hoo!