August 28, 2009

Four Pictures by Emily Carr by Nicolas Debon


Four Pictures By Emily Carr

By Nicolas Debon

A Groundwood Book,

Toronto and Berkeley, 2007

A beautiful graphic biography, aimed at readers 8 and up, about one of my favorite artists, Emily Carr. Nicolas Debon traces Carr's life through her paintings. The drawings and text lovingly depict the artist, the places and times she lived in.

Emily Carr was an extraordinarily gifted artist and she is all the more remarkable for being one of the very few women painters of her time. In the face of many challenges she pursued her own vision, basing her work on her great sense of curiosity and respect for the world surrounding her rather than on what was fashionable among artists of the period. From Nicolas Debon's introduction.

Choosing four paintings done at different times in Carr's life Debon draws four brief chapters that illustrate Emily's determination and character. He even uses bits of her paintings as background and places her within them. Four Pictures is a beautiful use of the graphic medium and an affectionate tribute to a strong and gifted artist.

August 26, 2009

JLA: Justice for all

By Morrison, Porter, Pajarillo, Millar

This trade collects JLA 24-33, about a year's worth of stories. To me, this is a fairly average collection; nothing spectacular but not bad, either.

First there is the story about the Ultramarine Corps where some of the military bigwigs have become distrustful of JLA and they want their own super humans. Of course, that story never ends well unless it's the origin story of the main team of the book. Then JLA gets a hot tip from T. O. Morrow that Professor Ivo is going to use Amazo to break himself out of prison. Then JLA and JSA team up against the threat of genies from the fifth dimension fighting each other on Earth. At the same time a forgotten founding member of JLA is getting his revenge. Finally, there’s a two-part tie-in to Batman's No-Man's Land story.

The first story is perhaps the most average of them. Someone steals the Shaggy Man from the undersea containment where JLA has placed him. At the same time General Eiling is introducing a new, military-controlled super force of four super powered soldiers who will be USA’s own line of defense. Eiling also implies that he doesn’t trust JLA. A bit later, JLA is lured into a trap where the super soldiers and the army attack JLA. Meanwhile, Batman and Huntress are investigating the disappearance of the Shaggy Man. There’s also foreshadowning when the Source warns the New Gods that Maggedon is coming.

The first story felt more like a Marvel story than DC. To me, one of the biggest differences between the two universes is how the general public sees super heroes. In Marvel, it’s ridiculously easy to turn the public opinion against any super group. X-Men are already reviled but Avengers have also suffered their share of mistrust. Perhaps the Fantastic Four are the least mistrusted super heroes in Marvel universe and even they have had their times. However, JLA and JSA have pretty much always enjoyed the trust of the people, Superman especially. In this story, there’s a scene where the normal army is attacking JLA! To me this feel likes the army attacking the police. Not bloody likely. However, some of the soldiers resist the attack order and after Superman talks to them, they pretty much cave in. So, not a complete Marvel-moment.

I was intrigued by the city-state Superbia and the implications it had, but apparently it was destroyed quickly in a later story. Bummer.

The two-issue story about Amazo was pretty much a long fight with lots of brief guests, including the Atom.

The JLA and JSA team-up was the longest story and I liked it the most. The 5th dimensional beings are always entertaining although they tend to be so powerful that the endings are usually cheesy but this ending was a bit better than most. Here we have a man who used to be one of the JLA’s founding members: Triumph. However, he was lost in time and nobody remembers him. He’s bitter about that. He managed to get his hands on the 5th dimensional imp Lkz who gives him his powers back. Then he sends Lkz on a rampage at Central City so that he can save the city when things are most desperate. When JLA is on Earth fighting the genie, he walks into the Moon base with two mind-controlled JLA members Gypsy and Ray.

However, a kid named Jakeem Thunder also possesses one of the genies. He doesn’t understand the being and is reluctant to use him, though. Jakeem lives in Central City and soon the very powerful genies are tearing the city apart in their fighting. Meanwhile Captain Marvel is searching for a way to stop the genies. Zauriel knows that the Spectre has been imprisoned and he and Sentinel are trying to free the Spectre.

The story has a lot of different plotlines which I enjoyed. The Spectre plot gave a nice moral dilemma to the characters.

Again, the JLA had only one female member and this time it was Huntress. I like Huntress and think that she worked very well in Birds of Prey. However, I fear that here she’s badly outclassed. Since Batman wasn’t in this story, Huntress was the only member without powers at all. JSA had Hippolyta who was also the token female character in that team.

The last two-parted was also a pretty weak effort. I haven't read No Man's Land but I've heard of it. This story felt like an excuse to readers who were wondering why JLA wasn’t doing anything. Batman should have been resentful about that.

August 23, 2009

BATMAN: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CAPED CRUSADER?


Over two decades ago, when DC was preparing the end the original run of Superman comics and re-launch the series beginning with a new #1 issue, legendary comic writer Alan Moore was approached to write the “wrap-up” of the series. That two-part comic, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW? has become one of the most well-loved and well-known Superman comics ever published. Though considered by many as non-canonical, that story did bring an end to the Silver Age of Superman, much to the chagrin of comic fans around the world. Now fast forward two decades. Instead of Superman, DC decided to “kill” it’s other tent pole superhero, Batman. Seeming to have died towards the end of the “Final Crisis” series, DC approached Neil Gaiman to write a story to sum up the life and legend of Batman. Using Moore’s famous story as inspiration, Gaiman wrote BATMAN: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CAPED CRUSADER?

Now, I have to admit, I never liked Batman as much as I liked Superman and the Green Lantern. For many, Batman is a character they love because Gotham City is more like the real world than Metropolis and Batman is just an ordinary human with no super abilities. It’s for those very reasons, that I like Batman a little less that the Man of Steel or Hal Jordan. Superheroes should be super. That’s what makes them different. Still, even though he’s not my favorite, I still like Batman and do find him the most relatable of the major DC heroes. In WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CAPED CRUSADER? Bruce Wayne cannot be seen by people, but it becomes clear to him he is at his own funeral. Friends, comrades, and enemies all appear for the service. One by one they get up to tell their own stories about Batman & Bruce Wayne. None of the stories are the same. It’s not possible for most of these stories to be true. In fact, problem none of them actually happen. Yet, each of them provides a glimpse into the Caped Crusader and how he was viewed by allies, foes, and readers alike through a long and storied history.

For Batman fans, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CAPED CRUSADER? is a love letter. It’s filled with allusions to famous Batman battles, minor villains, and other Batman minutia that Batman fans or other comic book geeks will enjoy discovering. The artwork by Andy Kubert is gorgeous. It captures the essence of Batman; the shadowing of a dark and dreary world ripped from crime stories and film noir, yet touched and lighted by the elegance of the glow like that from the screen of an old cinema showing a classic Hollywood movie. It is danger seeped in nostalgia, longing, and lost innocence.

Despite the original idea and the beautiful artwork, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CAPED CRUSADER? is not a story that will appeal to many people. It’s very much tied into what is currently happening in the DC universe, e.g. the events of FINAL CRISIS and the current BLACKEST NIGHT storyline. Therefore, those who just have a general knowledge of Batman and the DC universe might be confused. Also, the story has a rather ambiguous ending. No one is for sure what is going to happen with Batman, but unlike the Silver Age Superman stories that came to an end with WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW?, WHATEVE HAPPENED TO THE CAPED CRUSADER? is not the final Batman story.

Included with this Deluxe edition, are three other Batman comic Gaiman wrote: a Black and White story (where DC characters interact in the green room before appearing in their panels); a Poison Ivy story; and a Joker story.

August 21, 2009

Review: Fables #12: The Dark Ages

Title: Fables #12: The Dark Ages
Author: Bill Willingham
Illustrators: Mark Buckingham, Peter Gross, Andrew Pepoy, Michael Allred, David Hahn
Genre: Graphic Novel, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Published: August 2009
Collects Issues: 76 - 82
Pages: 192
Rating: 9 / 10
Challenges: Graphic Novels Challenge, A to Z Reading Challenge
Awards: Fables has won 12 Eisner Awards so far

Synopsis (from the back cover):
The great war between Fabletown and the mighty empire of the Adversary is over, and the victorious free Fables have brought their defeated enemy back from the Homelands to join them in exile. Their celebrations, however, are destined to be short-lived. As it turns out, not even beloved storybook heroes can escape the law of unintended consequences. In the post-war chaos of the Adversary's former realm, a terrible force is about to be unleashed - an evil that threatens not just Fabletown but the entire mundane world.
My review: I was a bit worried about how Willingham et al would keep the Fables story going after ending the big bad war in War and Pieces. My fears turned out to be completely unjustified, as this was an amazing (albeit sad) book and perfectly set up the next great arc in the Fables saga.

Fair warning: SPOILERS to follow. I'll try not to give away the big ones, though.

The book opens with Geppetto being escorted around Fabletown by Pinocchio, who's trying to get him adjusted to life after ruling the Empire. Not everyone is happy with the newest Fabletown resident, but I thought it was interesting to hear Geppetto's side of the story. He believed he was acting for the greater good, so sacrificing a few thousand lives was worth it, because in the long run he saved billions, or so he claims... Now that the Fables have taken him out of power, he believes the other worlds will suffer even more.

Geppetto's warnings seem to have merit, though, as back in a recently-freed-from-the-Emperor-land a pair of marauders unknowingly release a very powerful new enemy. This new adversary wants revenge on the Fables for taking away his magic and using it themselves, and he means business. The Fables are forced to evacuate The Woodland and move upstate to the Farm after the magic spells holding their community together begin to crumble. Baba Yaga comes back, and although she didn't get to do much in this book I'm curious to see what havoc she'll wreck in the next one. Even Frau Totenkinder is scared!

The main purpose of this book seemed to be setting up the new big bad and the next event in the Fables series: The Great Fables Crossover (with Jack of Fables, an offshoot of this series that I also really enjoy). The other big part of the story was the death of a character (one of my personal favorites) that brought up questions of what happens to the Fables when they die. We've seen some come back (there are always three little pigs, for example, and Snow White managed to survive a gunshot to the head), so I'm hoping this character will reappear at some point, too. But it was still an emotional arc and really made me question just how great a surgeon Dr. Swineheart is. He seemed like a bit of a pompous jerk, actually, but that could've just been me projecting because of the way he was treating said beloved character.

There was also a smaller mini-story that dealt with Mowgli returning to a jungle world with Bigby's brothers that was a bit more light-hearted and I nice diversion from the darkness in the rest of the book. Oh, and Flycatcher's back! That was one of my grumbles with volume 11, so it was nice to have him back...even if he is still clueless about his relationship with Red Riding Hood.

Also posted at casual dread.

August 19, 2009

Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry


Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry

Metropolitan Books, New York, 2008

A graphic novel that is rich and dark like the finest chocolate.

A story starring the sad-faced detective Fernandez Britten as the "The Heartbreaker", a dectective famed for finding out what you didn't really want to know about those you love.

britten and brulightly 002

Britten and his diminutive partner, Brulightly, take on the mysterious death of Bernie Kudos. Is his death a suicide or a murder? Lovely Charlotte Maughton wants to find out the truth about the death of her fiancee. As Britten digs deeper he uncovers blackmail and revenge and the startling possibility that to do the right thing one may need to be remain silent.

Beautifully drawn, with subtle washes of color, this book is a stunning first effort. I want to see more from Hannah Berry.


August 17, 2009

JLA: Strength in Numbers

Or rather the Finnish edition which consists of JLA 16-21 and New Year’s Evil: Prometheus. The US trade seems to also contain JLA 22 and 23. The preview at DC's site seems to have a few pages out of them.

The Finnish edition has three stories: one about Prometheus’s quest to destroy JLA, then Julian September and his successful attempt to alter the probabilities of the universe, and lastly Adam Strange kidnaps the JLA and forces them to work for him.

The trade starts with Prometheus who is telling his origin story to Retro, an ordinary man who has won a day as member of the JLA. The issue is really an info-dumb about Prometheus but to me, at least, it was rather entertaining. At the end of the issue, Prometheus kills the poor Retro and disguises himself to look like Retro. That’s a fine way to get himself into the Watchtower and to take on the whole JLA.

The JLA team itself has grown: in addition to the core team (where Diana’s mother Hippolyta is Wonder Woman) they now have Huntress, Zauriel, Steel, and Plastic Man. Later, Oracle is also revealed to be part of the team. I’m not at all familiar with Steel but since JLA isn’t about characterization, that doesn’t really matter.

A group of almost hundred reporters have been invited to the Moon Watchtower to see the next incarnation of JLA. Lois and Clark are among them and J’onn uses his powers to disguise himself as Clark while Superman welcomes the reporters to the Moon. Prometheus as Retro is also teleported to the Moon and he starts this campaign against the JLA with downloading the schematics of the base and cutting off the JLA’s air supply. Impressive!

I enjoyed the first story quite a lot. Prometheus is very much an over-the-top comic book villain and he was used very well this time. The combination of reporters and superheroes has always tickled my funny bone for some reason and sure enough, the reporters ask laughable questions ("Any advice for menopausal women, Hippolyta?" add an eye rolling smiley here.) They are also a nice, innocent crowd to threaten.

The second story wasn’t quite as enjoyable but still quite good. JLA gets (whether they want them or not) new additions Big Barda and Orion. Since I like established couples, Mr. Miracle and Big Barda are some of my favorites. However, Barda by herself is very impressive, too. Here, she's used a bit too much as a peacemaker between Orion and, well, other people.

The story itself is about vanishing people and odd coincidences that start to crop up with alarming frequency. Aquaman, Huntress, and Steel are the first ones to disappear and others follow. Similarly, seven air planes are in trouble at the same time and in close proximity to each other. Seven independent super villains decide to kidnap the president of USA at the same time. The JLA must try to quickly find out what is going on.

It also contains possibly one of the most chilling pages ever: Batman is just about to explain what is going on and how it can be fixed, when he vanishes. It also shows clearly, how dependent JLA is on Batman's brains and detective skills.

I thought the remaining JLA was a rather arbitrary group and I was a bit disappointed that the first members to vanish were pretty much the newest ones. What's the point of adding them if you aren't going to use them?

But otherwise the story was pretty entertaining.

The third story felt almost like filler. But I'm not familiar with Adam Strange; in fact this the first time I've seen him. He does seem like an interesting character and I think that he has interesting parallels to John Carter of Barsoom. (From another planet, rises to a hero, and marries a princess.) However, the story wasn't enough to become familiar with him.

Here, he has used his Zeta-beam to bring the JLA to Rann. He and the En'Taran slavemasters use collars to keep the JLAers in line and force them to work rebuilding the Rann world in honor of Adam's wife's retun to it. The problem is that she's been dead for a few years and Adam is insane.

Orion was in a fine form here; frothing at the mouth and raging all the while. :)

Overall, the trade has classic JLA action even though it's not exactly the best.

My blog: http://mervih.wordpress.com/

Fables v6. 7. & 8 - Bill Willingham


After beating back the Adversary, Boy Blue disappears on his own mission back to the Homelands in search of the real Red Riding Hood, his true love. He has taken along some of Fabletown's most magical objects to help him which is just as well in the long run. He fights his way through the back passages and tunnels right to the Adversary and we finally learn their identity.

Jack also has his own adventure. He has also left Fabletown but has journeyed into the Muncy world to make his living. He has also stolen from the Fables, but he is putting it to a very different use. His aim is to make himself the most well known Fable stopping him from being killed. Turns out though that he isn't as hard to find as he thought he was...

This was so much fun. I won't spoil who the Adversary is but I was a little dissapointed when I got to the big reveal. I need to get back to the Jack of Fables series now I am up to date with Jack's story.


The Fable universe is extended with the addition of the Fables from the Arabian worlds. They are living in Bagdad and Sinbad with an array of slaves and advisors comes to meet with the major of Fabletown to see about the two cultures combining their strengths after the Adversary has turned his attention to them. They have brought a genie with them, a piece of ancient and powerful Fable magic which could be deemed an act of war. Luckily Fabletown has their own witch in residence, Frau Totenkinder.

After the main series of comics there is also The Ballad of Rodney and Jane. They are both wooden people, Rodey is in the Adversary's army and Jane is a nurse. They meet and quickly fall in love, but have some problems with kissing and certain anatomical issues so they petition to be made human ("meat"). Making their dreams come true comes at a price.

I loved the Ballad at the end and am looking forward to reading more about Rodney and Jane who I am sure will pop up in future installments. It was also good to get some new Fable characters and it's good to have a scary Fable on the side of good!


Mowgli is off looking for the missing Bigby Wolf in a bid to free Baghera from a cage on the Farm. The problem is Bigby is excellent at hiding himself when he doesn't want to be found and now is definitely one of those times. A wild goose chase ensues leading Mogwli through Russian when he realises the reason the lead goes cold. Bigby is not being recognised by humans because he is using his other allies, the wolves. Luckily for Mowgli he was raised by wolves and knows their language and their ways.

There is a mission for Bigby that involves Jacl's beanstalk beans. Wolves are not natural climbers, but he has a mission that needs him to go into the Cloud Kingdoms to pull a massive hit and run on the Adversary. He is just the man/wolf for the job and if he suceeds in his mission he will be able to be reuinted with Snow and his children.

My favourite in the series so far as it has some great closure. Bigby and Snow are two of my favourite characters and it was great to advance their story so much. I can't wait to see what trouble their brood get into and I hope Rose Red has a greater part to play in later stories.

August 10, 2009

JLA: Rock of Ages

Darkseid is!

JLA issues 10-15.

This one of my favorite JLA albums: cosmic stuff, alternate futures, Darkseid, Lex Luthor leading the Injustice Gang. What more can you want from a simple super hero comic?

The all-male JLA is investigating attacks which are done by hard light constructs about themselves. The man behind the constructs is, of course, Luthor who has brought together a big team of super villains to beat the JLA; Joker, Mirror Master, Circe, and a few others I’m not familiar with. Luthor also controls the mind of an alien and makes the alien work for him.

While the team’s heavy hitters are dealing with that problem, New Gods’ Metron appears to Aquaman, Green Lantern, and the Flash. Metron tells them that they have to find the Philosopher’s Stone which is also called the Rock of Ages. If they don’t, Darkseid will destroy all life from the universe. Somewhat reluctantly, the trio agrees and Metron sends them to other realities. Unfortunately, they don’t quite succeed. After an arduous search, they are thrown 15 years into the future and into their future bodies on Earth which Darkseid has conquered. A few heroes and heroines are still alive and the trio tries to convince them that they need to get to Darkseid’s time machine and reverse everything that has happened.

In the future, only Aquaman is somewhat his old self; Flash doesn’t have any powers anymore, and the Green Lantern was captured and brainwashed in to one of Darkseid’s zombie soldiers. So, it’s a good thing that they get help from the heroes still left: the Atom, Wonder Woman, reprogrammed Amazo, elderly Green Arrow, a female Aztec, and Silver.

I really enjoyed all the alternate universes; the Wonder World at the end of existence where the greatest heroes of all time are waiting for the final battle and of course oppressed Earth. The future Wonder Woman was very impressive.

I also enjoyed the sequence where J’onn and Superman are trapped into hard light construct and the only way for them to get out of it is for J’onn to start thinking like Joker who designed the trap.

The plot does have some holes in it, though. For example, if the trio left Earth 15 years ago, why are their older selfs there? I also felt that Luthor wasn’t using the Stone much. The rest of the Injustice Gang was also pretty useless. The hard light constructs of JLA were there just for some gratuitous super brawling. But I like the rest of it so much that I’m willing to overlook those.

All in all, a very enjoyable cosmic romp!

August 8, 2009

Billy Blaster Easy Reader Graphic Novels

Billy Blaster: Ice Caves of Pluto by David Orme, illustrated by Peter Richardson, 33pgs, RL: 1.1 ~ My reluctant reader just finished this easy reader graphic novel and to date he hasn't met a Stone Arch book he didn't like. This one is very easy to read and he flew through it. A wonderful, fun science-fiction story Billy and his complaining cohort, Wu Hoo, land on Pluto and find friends buried in the ice below the surface. Billy comes to their rescue only to need Wu Hoo to come to his rescue at the end. Great big, bold, almost (but not quite) anime-like illustrations. Ds loved it and I agree. Good quality plot for the limited number of pages and Wu Hoo's dry sense of humour is a laugh. This series will appeal to boys especially.



Billy Blaster: Mind Thief by David Orme, illustrated by Peter Richardson, 33pgs, RL: 2.1 ~ Billy Blaster, superhero, and his trusty but sarcastic sidekick, Wu Hoo are back in full form with this science fiction caper. The evil Wizard of Edo is capturing the minds of intelligent men right out of their bodies and as Billy and Wu Hoo fight this evil they each become next on the list. Wonderful comic book superhero story, especially aimed at boys. The story contains a detailed quality plot that my 9 yo ds was eager to continue reading. This set of graphic novels doesn't intimidate him at all, even though as a struggling reader he needs some help at this reading level. Drawings are a fun not-quite-anime style and Billy's friend Wu Hoo is a laugh with his sarcastic (I'd rather be anywhere but here) humour.


There are already many books out in this series, too many to list but plenty to keep a boy reading for quite some time.

August 5, 2009

Robot Dreams By Sara Varon


Robot Dreams by Sara Varon

First Second, New York & London, 2007

Another wonderful book published by First Second, this wordless graphic novel is all about friendship, loss and redemption. Robot Dreams is beautifully colored in soft muted tones.

We follow this story through a year, watching the seasons change month to month. It starts with Dog putting together a "build it yourself" robot. They watch movies, eat popcorn and spend time together. Due to a foolish mistake they become separated. We follow both their thoughts and dreams through the round of the year and finally to a bittersweet resolution. This is a lovely tale.

August 2, 2009

JLA: American Dreams

By Morrison, Porter, Dell
JLA issues 5-9

For some reason, the Finnish super hero comics have always focused on Marvel and specifically on Spider-Man and X-Men. From the DC side, we got a Superman comic which ran a while a couple of different times. The latest was during Byrne’s relaunch. Batman has appeared as a second hero in the Superman comics and a while with his own run. But usually we get at most a couple of DC special a year. Now even these seem to have stopped.

JLA ran four issues in 2001. However, each issue was as thick as an American trade paperback. I’ve got all four Finnish issues but I can’t just find the first one right now. This second Finnish edition includes the American Dreams trade and a couple of stories highlighting the Green Lantern and the Martian Manhunter who aren't known pretty much at all here.

Anyway, this trade feels to me like three separate stories rather than one coherent story arch. Granted, there are a few hints in the Zauriel story about the Key story.

The first story is about the Woman of Tomorrow, an android who was built by two evil geniuses to destroy JLA. During her brief time in the team she learns to value friendship and freedom. In the story, the JLA are hunting down a sphere called If which is wrecking havoc around the US.

I rather enjoyed the different characters which were introduced in the recruitment drive at the start. Although, I’m a bit puzzled by the whole “discrimination” accusations. Sure, they’re discriminating; they must only accept members that can be expected to *survive*. Perhaps law firms are also discriminating for only wanting to hire lawyers?

I’d classify this as a “nice” story; rather predictable one-shot with a character which is never seen again. Even though as an android she might even be logically resurrected.

The second story is the one I enjoyed the most: Heaven’s war against Zauriel the angel. Zauriel falls (or is thrown? We never know) from Heaven into the San Francisco Bay. In his wake follows couple of angels who have been sent to erase Zauriel from the Book (the Earth). JLA can’t allow that to happen, of course. And later, the angels’ boss shows up.

Meanwhile, Neron in Hell gives a couple of creatures (demons?) a chance to take the Moon out of its orbit. They gleefully do just so.

I really enjoyed the international feel of the JLA and the multiple threats. I also enjoy the camaraderie between Flash and Green Lantern. Although, after all the hype Asmodel was a bit of a let-down. I was a bit amused how Green Lantern couldn’t believe that Zauriel is a “real” angel. On the other hand, this revelation didn’t make any of the JLA to do any soul searching. None also had any qualms about fighting angels. But as far as I understand, none of the JLAers are particularly religious. Except for Diana.

I was a bit surprised how ordinary Zauriel appeared. He used idioms and was quite mouthy. Not at all how I would have thought an angel to behave.

The third story deals with Key and his ambition to rule the world with his brains. I’m not familiar with Key but apparently he’s an old opponent. Perhaps that’s why he takes over the Moon Base so quickly that we aren’t even shown how he did it. He has captured the JLA and keeps them unconscious. He injects into them a virus that makes them all dream about being in an alternate world. The twist is that Key *knows* that the JLA is going to figure out what’s going on and wake up. He going to use the brain energy produced by waking up and use it to his own nefarious purposes.

However, JLA’s possible newest member, the new Green Arrow, has teleported to the base and found out Key’s plans, much to the surprise of both of them. Key manages to shoot Arrow’s, er, arrows and after that Key pretty much ignores him. GA is, however, quite resourceful although I was surprised that he didn’t find any other weapons on the moon than his dad’s old trick arrows.

I rather enjoyed the alternate universes here, especially Superman’s and Batman’s.

American Dreams is a pretty standard JLA romp without much cosmic action or surprises.