Justice

Buried in the frenzied action of DC’s latest all-star extravaganza is an interesting question: the members of the Justice League of America may be sworn to do good, but what good have they done for the suffering masses of humanity? At the beginning of this collected maxi-series, while the DC heroes are defeated or on the run, it’s their enemies who are doing good works. Captain Cold brings a mountain of ice to the African desert; the Toyman creates perfect prosthetic limbs for the maimed, etc. All this is part of an evil plot by Luthor and Brainiac that will take the efforts of all available heroes to thwart. Ross’s virtuoso painted art is as impeccable as ever, even if penciler Braithwaite’s layout is crowded by the need to squeeze in the huge cast—both the Elongated Man and Plastic Man, for instance. Meanwhile, Krueger’s script juggles characters and comics lore nimbly to answer that underlying question: by showing how they depend on each other, members of the Justice League offer hope to the rest of us. It adds up to an especially satisfying epic. (Aug.)