Justice, Vol. 1
Justiceis DC's current "event" comic. It brings together the line's biggest superheroes and is even more of an event because superstar artist Alex Ross (seeMythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross, 2003) developed the story line and applies his ultrarealistic painting techniques to Doug Braithwaite's pencil drawings. Lex Luthor, the Riddler, and other villains share vivid dreams of Earth's destruction, which Superman, Batman, and the rest of the Justice League are helpless to prevent. To keep their vision from becoming reality, the fiends join forces to vanquish the heroes, in the belief that relying on supersaviors makes humanity vulnerable to apocalyptic events. Ross, a comics nostalgic, uses 1970s versions of the characters instead of their current incarnations, and that makesJusticeaccessible even for those who no longer closely follow DC comic books. The art isn't quite as effective as unalloyed Ross, for Braithwaite's more comics-traditional, stylized anatomy conflicts with Ross' lush naturalism. Still, Ross predominates, which will please the many fans who turn anything he touches into a best-seller.Gordon FlaggCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved