Credits: Grant Morrison (w); Howard Porter (a); John Dell (i)
Collects JLA #1 to #4
It was the summer of 1997 and I was losing interest in comic books. I was regularly collecting the Batman titles, the Superman titles were not my cup of tea at the time (Joe Kelly would come along and change that for me) and Byrne was not doing it for me on Wonder Woman. Then I walked into the Comix Shoppe in Swansea one sunny Saturday afternoon and all that changed.
On the shelf, for a paltry £5.00, was the JLA: New World Order TPB (trade paperback for those not in the know). Now whilst I had been exposed the Justice League of America before I was never really taken with the line up of B to Z listers that populated the League. But on the cover of this TPB was the "Big Seven": Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter. This iteration of the League was different, it captured my interest. So I plunked down my money and purchased the book. Smart move on my part.
A group of galactic super-powered beings, the Hyperclan, have come to Earth and have pledged to heal the world and prevent the catastrophes that have affected their worlds. The populace accept them but the superhuman community are reluctant, with Superman being vocal of their displays of power. The "new" JLA soon discover that the Hyperclan are using mind control and head out to stop them from conquering Earth. The JLA are captured by the Hyperclan and are to be executed on TV. However, the Hyperclan have left Batman for dead. Big mistake.
Compared to the rest of Grant Morrison's run on the JLA this arc was fairly straight forward superhero fare. It does set out how Morrison was going to treat the characters and how he was going treat the title: big end of the world threats that needed the Worlds Greatest Superheroes.
Despite having limited exposure to Green Lantern, Flash and Aquaman this was the story and the comic that really introduced me to the characters. It is JLA that started my love of Kyle Rayner (Hal Jordan had never really interested me). Sadly, despite the fact that I enjoyed his character in JLA, it could never really ignite any real interest in the Flash for me (I think it's the power set). Superman became cooler again, whilst Batman somehow became even cooler. It was also the JLA that allowed me to love Wonder Woman again (Greg Rucka was still awhile away at this point).
On the art side Howard Porter and John Dell managed to keep up with the large, cinematic idea's that Morrison was putting forward. Also introducing me to "Kirby dots" in the process. There were points that I found the facial features a bit off. However, the layouts were fantastic and their figures heroic.
JLA: New World Order reintroduced a love of comics in my life and showed me the possibilities of story telling in the medium. For me this was the Justice League as it should be.
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