Comic books rarely make me cry. This one did bring a few bittersweet tears to my jaded eyes. And it did it by being smart, by sticking with strong characterizations, and by using genuine emotion. It’s one of those comics that does in a few pages what other comics never do.
The critics of the old Giffen Justice League always bring up that the team was played for laughs, when it really wasn’t (usually such critics have never read the series completely). Sure, some of the characterizations were funny, and some of the plots outlandish (but, I mean, you’ve got characters inspired by insects and ones that can burst into green flames, so what’s really outlandish?) but Giffen mixed in a lot of excellent drama along the way. This issue is a lot like those heavier moments. But it starts light and funny, like most of this story arc.
The Superbuddies are still trapped in Hell, with only Power Girl and Guy Gardner standing between them the internal damnation of careers in fast food delivery. As PG and Guy finally find their lost teammates, new wrinkles appear: Ice, the formerly alive JL member, has shown up and Guy and Fire are not willing to let her stay in Hell. There’s also some dialogue that implies Fire was supposed to be the one in Hell, not Ice. Because of the error, a deal is made: Ice can return with them to the land of the living, as long as no one looks to see if she is still walking behind them on their ascent (yep, it’s the Orpheus deal). There’s also a subplot about the Demon getting to keep Mary Marvel, but it appears to just be a red herring and is resolved quickly.
I don’t want to spoil the ending, because it really is sorta perfect, though it takes a while to realize it. You expect certain characters to act certain ways, but they don’t, and you realize that the way they did act IS really how they would act. I’m being a little vague here, but trust me, it’s very very good stuff. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: this comic renews my faith in the medium.
This entry was posted on Friday, May 20th, 2005 at 8:10 pm and is filed under Comic Books, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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