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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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How Many Pencils? Earth 2 Society volume 3 - A Whole New World

   

cover of Earth 2 Society volume 3


Review:

Turnover in a book's creators often feels like a portent of doom - when a series starts jumping from one set of hands to another almost every issue,, the lack of coherence and focus can hasten its collapse, already under way.

This collection fortunately has a stable hand at the keyboard, with Dan Abnett crafting a new and growing challenge that is actively subverting the already unstable structures and institutions of this new Earth 2 society. Increasingly the Ultra-Humanite emerges from the shadows as the brain behind much of the recent turmoil.

However, the art chores seem like a hot potato that no one wants to hold onto long. This is a relatively short collection - four issues and an annual - yet it has 8 different artists handling the pencils and inks. The growing inconsistencies in its visuals mar Abnett's tales. From facial distortions to exaggerated forms, the flow of the narrative across the page is frequently interrupted by a sloppy panel here or a figure there who looks rushed and slapped together.

The end of Alan Scott's great sacrifice - walking away from being Green Lantern to allow the ring to power the planet - comes as no surprise. Despite his best intentions, he is out-foxed by the Ultra-Humanite. As mind-control takes over Green Lantern, it sets up one of the finest sequences of the whole series: Red Arrow facing down the mind-controlled Green Lantern with his godlike powers. Nothing but a bow, some arrows, and a spine-full of courage. In the end, it's the man that matters most.

Also not to be missed is the Annual and its reflections on heroism, family, duty, legacy and more. It's a beautiful parallel tale of Dick Grayson being talked out of retirement as Batman by his lost-and-now-found son John. All mixed together with flashbacks of Huntress going into hand to hand combat with one of Ultra-Humanite's most powerful children.

Some strong stories, gripping tension, and frequent visual letdowns. It's a mixed bag that scores 3 / 5.


Description:

For the first time since their planet was destroyed, the citizens of Earth-2 finally see a path forward. But for some Wonders, it’s not enough. Not when there’s a chance to bring back what they’ve all lost: Earth itself. Fury, the daughter of Wonder Woman, has arrived with an Amazonian artifact called the Pandora Casket, which possesses the power to recreate the Earth that they’ve lost…or destroy the new one that they’re creating.

But the choice of whether or not to use the Pandora Casket might not lie with the Wonders. The Ultra-Humanite wants to create the world in his own image, and he’s engineered an army to take the artifact for him. These super-powered Humanites are strong enough to take on the Wonders

Collects: EARTH 2: SOCIETY #13-16 and EARTH 2: SOCIETY ANNUAL #1

Authors: Dan Abnett
Artists: Angel Hernandez, Federico Dallocchio
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: April 11 2017
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 978-1401267971
Pages: 136 pages


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