Comics: JLA Classified 1-3

I don't buy many individual issues of comics these days - I don't feel like I get enough story for my $3 to make buying individual issues worth it [1]. I generally stick to trade paperbacks or checking things out at the library before I buy them to make sure that what I'm buying is worth owning.

There are always exceptions though. There are certain creators who have proven to me that their stories will be worth looking at on a monthly basis. I also look over reviews on the Internet to find quality opinions on the books that are out on the newsstands (check out the sidebar for some of these review sites). I don't always AGREE with the reviewers I read, but I have come to appreciate their judgment.

Grant Morrison definitely fits into the first category. He's a writer that generally understands what I want from a single-issue superhero comic book. He has a reputation for filling his books full of weird ideas (which is true, and I love the weird ideas), but he also crams his superhero books so full of action and story that I never feel cheated out of my $3.

Which is a roundabout way of saying that I have been picking up Grant Morrison's JLA: Classified story arc. Since the final issue of this arc came out this week, I thought I'd give my thoughts on the arc as a whole, since even though each issue really is worth reading on its own, its really worth commenting on the whole arc.

For those who missed it, a slightly spoiler-ish summary of the story as a whole:

Summary
Issue 1 starts the story out with a bang, and really sets the tone for the entire arc. Morrison drops us right into the story, where the International Ultramarine Corps are attempting to rescue the African city of Kinshasa from a takeover attempt by Super-Gorilla Grodd. It quickly becomes obvious that the Ultramarines are out of their league with Grodd, and the first chapter ends with most of the Ultramarines captured and one of them escaping to get help from the Justice league only to find out that most of the League is currently MIA.

Issue 2 catches us up to what the League is doing as Batman attempts to take on Gorilla Grodd and his group of mind-controlled Ultramarines. Meanwhile, the remaining free Ultramarine attempts to contact the Justice League to get them back from their "off-universe" mission to save the Earth from Grodd and his new cosmic ally - Neb-Uh-Loh. Chapter two ends with Batman facing certain death and the Justice League successfully returning from their off-universe mission.

Issue 3 is the final chapter of the arc. The Justice League faces off against the Ultramarines and Grodd in a large-scale "battle-royale." This being a Justice League comic, it really isn't a spoiler to say that the Justice League kicks the mind-controlled Ultramarines and Grodd's tails into the ground and save the day. The League then gets to deal with the punishment of Grodd, his gorilla henchmen, and the final fate of the International Ultramarine Corps.

Commentary
WARNING: This commentary will contain SPOILERS. You have been warned!

If my write-up above makes the whole thing sound like standard super-hero fare, well it is. This is about a group of superheroes triumphing in the face of adversity. Its about evil supervillains plotting nasty things both for the world and for the heroes. Its a visceral, all-out action, superhero story that keeps you on the edge of your seat and makes you want to come back and find out "what happens next!"

Now, I'm not going to say that the story doesn't have flaws. The fast-pace of the story and the fairly dense layout makes it sometimes a little confusing to tell what is going on from panel to panel. For some reason I didn't realize until the final issue that Grodd was not the only gorilla in the Ultramarine's flying fortress.

The action sequences in the third chapter also have a definite "Morrison" feel to them. Most of Morrison's super-hero work has the property that when the all-out action fight sequence between heroes and villains comes, the heroes are going to win, so get it over with quickly and get to the aftermath. The heroes do some clever things to take out the Ultramarines and get to Grodd in this chapter, but there really isn't any tension. You KNOW they're going to win and there are very few sequences where Morrison has them even fail to take out a single opponent quickly. In fact, only the Martian Manhunter (DC's perpetual JLA whipping boy [2]) loses against his initial opponent and fails to take out anyone, really. All of the other Leaguers quickly take out their opponents and move us quickly to the end of the story.

And, for those who feel that "characterization is king" in stories, well, you may feel like something is missing here. This is not a character piece - it is an all-out action plot-fest. There's nothing wrong with the way any of the characters are presented - despite references to Batman's "sci-fi closet" [3] none of them feel like they're being written "out of character" - but there really isn't much depth to their presentation. Morrison writes these DC "big gun" characters as icons. They don't just have powers that put them beyond normal people, their "moral compass" is also superior to that of normal people. Morrison's take on these characters makes it hard to really "get into their heads" and see them as people.

But, that's not really a flaw if that is what the writer is attempting, and I believe that in this case it is. Morrison's take on the League seems to be that they ARE the "icons" - they are superhuman in both power and morality and that is what separates them from the villains that they fight. Taken in that light, Superman's "lecture" to the Ultramarines before consigning them to their fate makes much more sense. Morrison is speaking through Superman, saying that a world like the DC Universe doesn't need to have heroes like the Ultramarines because its moral compass SHOULDN'T be as complex as that of the "real world". The League's world is one where good triumphs over evil because its the type of fictional universe where "GOOD TRIUMPHS OVER EVIL" is a universal law.

Meanwhile, the infant universe of QWEWQ is a different sort of fictional universe - a world where good and evil are more intertwined and shades of grey exist instead of clearly defined borders. In chapter two, the members of the League are obviously uncomfortable in QWEWQ because of how creepy the world feels to them. People are still people, still capable of both good and evil, but there is no assurance that good will win, making it a dark and creepy place for the League.

Morrison has explored this before with the League. In some ways it is similar to the work he did on "Earth 2", where the League visited a world where the universal law was "EVIL TRIUMPHS OVER GOOD". Much of Morrison's other work has dealt with fictional universes and their impact on each other and on the real world (see Animal Man, Invisibles, Flex Mentallo, and even the first story arc of his Doom Patrol run for other examples), so its not suprising to see this theme come up again here.

And, reading the story at this level, it brings up another interesting thought. Neb-Uh-Loh was revealed in the last issue to be the infant universe of QWEWQ grown up and having traveled backwards in time to assault the DC Universe. He comes to bring the "end of the world" and he talks about "his people" and his "queen of terror". At the micro-level, I think this is Morrison setting up his "Seven Soldiers" run that will be coming in 2005. The hints of the Nebula-Man/Seven Soldiers connection are too much to overlook.

However, at a larger level, it is interesting to see that Morrison is kind of suggesting that the more "realistic" fictional universe of QWEWQ is trying to destroy the more fantastic DC universe. Is this unconscious or conscious commentary on Morrison's part about the take of a more "grim-and-gritty" approach to superheroics trying to destroy the fantastic world of the more traditional superheroes, or am I reading too much into this? I try not to read too much metaphor or meaning into things, but Morrison makes it hard not to.

Regardless, despite a somewhat weaker finish, the story as a whole works. Even without the level of "meta-commentary" this is a fun, action-adventure superhero fest. I highly recommend this entire arc to anyone who enjoys old-style superhero smash-em-ups.

[1] I know, I'm killing the industry. All by myself. I'll deal with it. I'm also a grad student on an extremely limited budget with an incredibly understanding wife. I don't make the kind of money I did when my comic-buying habit was at it most extreme, and I have a lot more that my money needs to be spent on now than I did then. My roughly 10 to 20 dollars per month on comics is my budget for the foreseeable future.

[2] J'Onn is my favorite DC superhero. Why is it that NO ONE lets him have his due? Even Morrison who writes these heroes as "the best of the best" seems to consign J'Onn to be the one who screws up.

[3] I know people complained about this, but I loved it. Morrison writes one of the best versions of Batman, in my opinion, and I'd love to see him take a stab at the All-Star version once Miller and Lee are done with their run and he and Quitely are done with their Superman run.

Updates!

Well, that figures. Christmas break was a whirlwind of activity instead of the relaxing time I expected. I spent most of the break juggling family time with school work, so the experiment in blogging over the break was a bust and I didn't get any real time to post things. Then, classes have kept me busy for the last four weeks, to the point that I again haven't had any time to add any entries.

But, I have some time today, and I feel like broadcasting some thoughts about some comics that I've recently read, so today I'm going to do some comics blogging. Woo-hoo! Hopefully I can be a little more frequent with my updates here in the near future.

Creepiest Ad Ever

I don't know if they show these ads outside of Ohio, but I just saw another example of what I consider the "Creepiest Ad Ever" on TV. Its an ad for a mortgage company called "King Capital." Its typical of its kind of ad in that it has a smarmy looking guy (who is probably Mr. King) in a tux shilling how great his mortgage company is. That's not the creepy part.

The creepy part is that he has his kid (also in a tux) on his lap. And the kid doesn't just sit there and look cute - oh no - the kid has a speaking role. Specificially, the kid talks with his father's voice and continues the smarmy spiel that the dad gives on low interest rates. The creepy part is the way that they superimpose the dad's mouth over the kid's face. It looks eerie. And on the new one they just showed the kid looks like he needs a shave (the kid is probably 2 years old tops). They should have filmed the ad earlier in the day, I suppose. And at the end of the ad the kid sings with dad's voice "You're the King at King Capital." Just so strange.

Anyway, these ads get my "Creepiest Ad Ever" award because its just so creepy to see someone using his kid as a ventriloquist dummy. I mean, if you want a dummy make one out of wood like people have been doing since vaudville. Don't dress your kid up in a tux and make him spout lines about low interest rates in your creepy voice. That's just wrong - totally, totally wrong. And it in no way makes me want to see how low your interest rates are, just for the record.

Campaign Journal - Setting

The characters are all natives of the island of Aeru - a large island roughly the size of Great Britain. Until a few decades ago, most of Aeru was ruled by the Archduke, a man appointed by the Emperor of mainland nation of Theria to govern the island nation. A little over twenty years ago the Archduke died without an heir. With the death of the Archduke, various warlords and minor nobles each tried to lay claim to the Archduke's title, and the island fell into chaos for decades.

In recent years, a level of peace has descended over Aeru. The petty warlords and minor nobles have each achieved a level of control over their lands, but none has the strength to push his advantage and take control of the whole isle. In addition, representatives of the Emperor have begun to insist that the island work out its problems and maintain the Emperor's tribute - or else.

Much of Aeru is uncivilized "frontier." Many bordertowns sit at the edges of what can loosely be called "civilization" in Aeru. These towns generally rely on self-sustaining agriculture, although at one time most towns were set up to be either mining or lumber towns, supplying the fruits of their labors as tribute to the Empire. Over the last few decades, more and more of these towns have turned to subsistence farming as the roads to the port cities have become more dangerous and lawless.

The world of Aeru is slightly different from most D&D campaign worlds. Elves, dwarves, gnomes and many other non-human races are legends from ancient history. Some are still born with traces of "fae-blood" in them, throwbacks to an ancient race known in legends as the Fae. These throwbacks are called "faeborn" and are often looked at with fear, contempt, and occasionally envy by their human brothers and sisters.

The goblin races are among those who share the world with humans. On Aeru, tribes of goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears live at the fringes of human civilization. Usually goblins stay separate from human society, at least on Aeru. Occasionally, however, children of goblins and humans are born. These fearsome looking men are known as "goblinspawn" by their human brothers and sisters. Goblinspawn often have no place in either human or goblin society, usually becoming nomads and adventurers out of necessity rather than design.

Religion on Aeru is also different from most D&D campaign worlds. The major religions of Aeru are druidic in origin. Different Orders of druids revere different aspects of nature in their own ways. The people of Aeru also tend to follow druidic teachings, especially in the bordertowns near the frontier. Here, the only religion that people are exposed to are the teachings of the Druidic Orders. In addition, the druids often use their divine powers to assist the communities that they tend to by helping with mundane tasks like pest control and ensuring that crops get enough water.

As an outgrowth of the Druidic Orders, a number of Monastic Orders also dot the landscape of Aeru. These monastaries house men and women who have decided to take the life of quiet contemplation instead of the more active role that the Druidic Orders take. Although the Monastic Orders grew out of the Druidic Orders on Aeru, some Monastic Orders are so different from their founding druidic principles that outsiders often do not notice the connections. Other Monastic Orders maintain strong ties to their druidic roots, with both monks and druids becoming members.

The other major religion of Aeru is the Church of Theria - technically the only legal religion on the island. When Theria conquered Aeru millenia ago, the Empire impose its Church on the people. The original religions of Aeru were persecuted out of existence, with the remnants of the old priesthoods slowly turning into the Druidic Orders of today. The Church of Theria is a "monotheistic" religion that demands that the faithful worship only one god - the Emperor of Theria. The Church insists that the Emperor is the God-Emperor of Theria, and all other gods are merely demons pretending to be gods. Indeed, over the last thousand years most of the ancient gods of Aeru have been completely forgotten.

Our story begins in the bordertown of Gerald's Haven. This community is a typical bordertown on the Aeru frontier. The town is the size of a small village, with maybe fifty residents in town and a handful of farmers in the surrounding area. The town itself is protected by a large wooden stockade and by a militia of the local able-bodied men and women. These protections are primarily there to guard the town from raids by the local goblin tribes.

Recently, the raids by local humanoid tribes have stepped up in frequency and ferocity. In the month before the campaign began, the humanoids raided the village and kidnapped six members of the community. Two weeks before the beginning of the campaign, a group of experienced villagers undertook a raid on the humanoid stronghold near town, the Demontooth Citadel. As the campaign begins, the villagers are realizing that their loved ones and the rescuers may not be coming back. It becomes obvious that it is up to our heroes to do something about it.

End of the Quarter

Well, that's over with. I took my last two finals today and now I'm totally wiped out. Its been about six years since I last took a final and I'd forgotten how intense the week of testing could be. I'm ready to relax for a few weeks now - good thing Winter Break starts now, I guess.

Of course, I won't be just slacking off and relaxing over break. In addition to the travels to visit the family and the work around the house that I've put off over the last 11 weeks, I've got reading to do for the research I'm doing next quarter. It looks like interesting stuff, but I need to make sure I don't go overboard and that I get some relaxation in along with the reading and running around.

And, I'm hoping to get some serious updates to my sites in place over the next few weeks. We've got plans for at least two (maybe three) D&D sessions over the next couple of weeks and I can't wait! As the kids say "WOOT!"

My Brain Hurts

Ow. I feel like I've been going non-stop all day, but I only had one final today. I imagine I'll be totally exhausted on Thursday when I have two. Its been so long since I last had a finals week (6 years!) that I'd forgotten how intense they can get.

Back to the books.

Arrested Development

Just watched the latest episode of Arrested Development, and I have to say that I love this show. I started watching it last season and it quickly became a "must watch" show for me. The characters are so bizarre and the writing on this show is hilarious. It really is one of the shows that I look forward to every week.

Tonight's episode was really funny, as the family finds out that their father was killed in Mexico and plan his wake. Okay, as I type this I realize that it doesn't SOUND funny, but trust me - it was. No matter how dark the situation gets, the way this disfunctional family operates makes the whole thing funny.

Anyway, I like spotting hidden touches in the shows I watch, and this episode was a trip. My favorite "bit" was the way they played the Charlie Brown Christmas theme when a character was sad - the character would walk around all hunch-shouldered with the weight of the world on his back. Absolutely hilarious in action, but the funny "bit" was when I noticed it the first time, George Michael, the son of the main character, was walking by a doghouse that had a dog sleeping on top of it. It was pretty quick and you might not have noticed it if your attention wandered, but it was funny.

Anyway, that's it for now. I spent most of the day studying for my first final on Monday, so not much time for other things today. I'm hoping to do another Campaign Journal entry later this week.