JLA Vol 1 New World Order

OK people today's review is for the First volume of the Morrison JLA run "New World Order"

This book is Written By the Sober Grant Morrison and drawn by Howard Porter.

The art is great but a little early 90's. That makes sense being that this is when this book came out (well 1997 but its still the 90's right). All the superheroes are a little bulky and muscular and everything is a little over the top.  That being said it is still very pretty to look at and it is done better then some that were famous for this style did it.

The writing is a little different then the Morrison then I'm used to. Very straight forward.  Not anything like Animal man or definitely nothing like the Invisibles (but i don't think my brain can take another invisibles).  But man can Morrison right superheroes.  His batman is great and his Martian Manhunter is amazing (and i hate the martian manhunter so that is saying something).  The only thing that killed this volume for me was the version of supes being used and this is more art then writing. Whoever decided to give superman a mullet should be shot.

This story centers around the formation of the new Justice league and there first mission together.  A new superhero group is on earth and is giving the people what they want; death to super villains. Supes tries to explain that death is not always the way to do things but the human culture doesn't want to hear it.  We learn more and more about the back history of these new "hero's" and what they really are (how's that for not spilling the beans on anything.) The beauty of Morrison's writing is that he gets who is who in the group and you can tell it by the first four issue arc.  He has Batman as the brains and he is the one who first figures out who everyone is.  you can tell by this initial story the love that Grant has for this character.

If you like the JLA then i would definitely suggest giving the Morrison run a whirl. If you are a Morrison fan then this may not be for you. like said before this is not Morrison's normal writing style and it straightforwardness may be a little of putting.  I find that after reading a lot on his stuff, when you are reading him, you are constantly trying to find the meaning behind things.  There is no meaning behind this stuff.  Just a good old fashioned superhero story.  Morrison for beginners is what I like to call it and I found it fantastic.

Talk to y'all later,

TJ

The Invisibles Vol 1

The next review for my marathon of getting back on track is The Invisibles Vol 1 Say you want a Revolution

This Book is written by Grant Morrison and Pencilled by Steve Yeowell and Jill Thompson

The art is there. You know when you look at a Vertigo book you are expecting a different type of art then you would expect from a DC Proper book (or any superhero book). Well that is what you get with this book. It isn't the greatest but there are some panels that look very good. It is what it is standard Vertigo Art.

The writing.... well where do i start. Grant Morrison has either the greatest drug dealer on the face of the Earth or he makes his own acid in his bathtub. Either way i need to find out why this motherfucker is not sharing. For the things that come out of this mans head to be from a clean a sober gentlemen ... well then the mental institution must have a standing reservation. Wow what a fucking tangent. Back to the writing, It is great. As far out as this thing is i finished it in two days because it was paced that well.

Now the story. Again where do i start. Have you seen the Matrix. Well the Wachowski Brothers (they are still brothers right) should be paying Morrison something because they stole there premise from the beginning of this book. This book follows a Juvenile Delinquent who get put in the a Detention center. This Detention center is something out of Clockwork orange where they are more interested reprogramming then just helping. Now hold on to your seats because here is where it starts getting really fucked up. it seems that the head of this hall is in league with the evil spirits in the world. The Kid gets out and encounters a homeless man which leads him down into a abandoned subway tunnel. he introduces him to smoke a blue mold on the wall where the kid starts to see the true nature of the world (sound Familier) and learns that he is being recruited into a covert organization called the invisibles that is trying to get rid of this evil. He accepts after much questioning and the first mission they go on is to time travel out of a windmill to renaissance France to recruit the Marquis De Sade. I really do not want to go into much more but I will let you know that there are people in gas masks involved that eat human entrails and the decapitated head of John the Baptist (no i am not kidding).

I have already bought the next trade and cannot wait to read all of them

TJ