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Of Embassies and Origins - Justice League International Part 2 (Eaglemoss Collection v77)

  Review: Since we are doing a series of reviews focusing on Booster Gold over his nearly 40-year history, we include this one as a collection of some of his earliest appearances, dating to late 1987. That places the original publish date of these tales while his original solo series was still going strong.  This book is a beautiful, glossy hard-cover with smooth and heavy-stock paper inside, although the sometimes-low print reproduction quality leads to blurred and hard to read word balloons on occasion. It is also a rare book here in North America, as Eaglemoss Collections targeted UK fans with this series. At this point in the history of the 1987-rebooted Justice League, they have gained official United Nations recognition and sanction. To ensure their reach truly is global, they rebrand as Justice League International (as does the title of the series!) and they open new headquarters buildings around the world: New York, Paris and Moscow are included here. As this is a product of 19
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Grey vs Green - Review of Earth 2 Volume 1: The Gathering

Cover of Earth 2 Volume 1 - The Gathering TPB collection

Review:

It has long been a well-worn trope of comics that, just because a hero or villain dies, it does not mean they're gone for good. Sometimes, publishers make a huge promotional event, as if to say "No, no! this time we mean it!" Other times they treat the moment with an elevated level of dignity and care. See Crisis on Infinite Earths, and the deaths of Supergirl and Flash. Or Batman's 1988 Death in the Family arc about Joker killing Robin, followed by the Death of Superman in 1992 with all the attendant media coverage. Marvel Comics takes turns, too, for example with the death of the Human Torch in 2011.

So, when the Earth 2 series starts by killing off Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman within 7 pages of each other in issue #2, the surprise is muted, and the emotional possibilities neutered by the very narrative setup. But this time it's not about shocking the readers, or mourning and memories, or cloning and magical resurrections. It is an intentional setup of a very different heroic landscape. The world sees not a single "Wonder" for five whole years following their sacrificial deaths.

That is, not until the sudden emergence of Flash, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern and the Atom. We wind up with a cleverly rebooted Justice Society, a reimagining of heroes with roots tracing back to the Golden Age of superhero comics. This book collects the earliest issues of a series rewriting familiar heroes in a new universe, and much is teased but saved for later.

They are sparked to life by a variety of forces, just in time to battle the entropic decay of The Grey and its champion, Grundy. He seeks out all life, to destroy it, and specifically challenges and summons the "Green Knight" champion of Earth's life force. With Green Lantern's power coming from the force of life of the whole planet, this is not your magical or Oa/Guardians-powered Lantern. No mantra, no recharging.

Adding political layers to the story is a world-spanning yet somewhat secretive organization, for whom the Atom and Sandman work, and who seek to control the world and especially the Wonders.

Nicola Scott's combat scenes are vivid and engrossing, and her renditions of decay are by turns gruesome and bland. She handles the wide diversity in characters well, and the subtle colorings of the Green embraced by the Grey are perfect!

This is a promising beginning to familiar but new heroes and the universe they inhabit. Definitely worth picking up future volumes.

Description:

A New York Times Bestseller!

Earth's greatest heroes have defeated grave threats from Apokolips, but not at a grave price. Left in their stead is a group of young, untrained hereoes who pick up the pieces in the dusty aftermath. The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and the Atom are humanity's nascent guardians, but not the ones we've all known and revered. These are different heroes, in a strange and foreign world with dangerous new villains. This is Earth 2.

Award-winning writer James Robinson (STARMAN, JUSTICE LEAGUE) joins forces with artist Nicola Scott (SUPERMAN, TEEN TITANS) to remiagine the classic Justice Society of America for DC COMICS--THE NEW 52 universe--and sometimes in controversial, unconventional fashion. Don't miss one of the most talked about graphic novels in recent memory!

Collects: 

Authors: James Robinson
Artists: Nicola Scott
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Oct. 8 2013
Parental Rating: 
ISBN-10: 1401242812
ISBN-13: 978-1401242817
Language: English
Pages: 160 pages


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