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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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Enter the Bat - Maybe? a Review of Earth 2 volume 3 - Battle Cry

   

Cover of Earth 2 volume 3 TPB - Battle Cry


Review:

Is James Robinson's Earth 2 tapestry a complex weaving of plot threads? or a frayed and tangled mess? Volume 2 suffered from an ever-widening scope of Earth 2 stories competing for attention, and likewise this collection has so many scattered plotlines and characters doing their own independent things that it feels too big for a single series. Either Earth 2 needs a second series to give the characters more room to breathe, or Robinson needs to tighten his focus. As it stands, they compete and crowd each other out, and the rich characterizations of the earliest issues get compressed into disconnected vignettes.

Including sightings of a mysterious, reborn Batman. Hawkgirl has a brief conversation with him. Mister Miracle and Barda hunt for him. But despite his prominent place on the cover, these tiny glimpses are all that get fit into these 160 pages.

Still, Robinson has so many clever ideas, and they are so beautifully brought to life in Nicola Scott's images, that the series merits sticking around a little longer.

Nicola Scott is an amazing comic artist. She shows mastery of her craft page after page. All elements work together: from layouts to structure to innovative perspective shifts, her visuals have always been and remain the strongest point of this series. Jay Garrick's growing maturity is as evident in the art as the narrative. Ditto for Alan Scott's intensity, and Khalid / Doctor Fate's ongoing mental health struggles. These are challenging character traits to illustrate, stretching beyond the brawn and beauty stereotypes of the superhero genre. Yet they are as superbly handled by Scott as the epic battles of armies and Wonders.

As with all my previous Earth 2 reviews, this scores 3 capes out of 5 for its mix of astounding visuals and confusing, over-extended narrative.

Description:

The wonders of Earth 2, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Flash, Atom Smasher, The Sandman, Mr. Terrific and Dr. Fate, take on the forces of Steppenwolf and the Hunger Dogs of Apokolips when all hope is lost. Now a new Batman enters the fray, but is he enough to turn the tide and prevent Darkseid from taking control of Earth 2?

Acclaimed creative team James Robinson (STARMAN) and Nicola Scott (SUPERMAN) enlist the heroes of an alternate Earth in their greatest battle yet in EARTH 2: WAR!

Collects: Earth 2 (New 52) #13-16 plus #15.1 and Annual #1

Authors: James Robinson
Artists: Nicola Scott & Trevor Scott
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Oct. 14 2014
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 978-1401249380
Pages: 160 pages



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