Justice League of America #44

Just this one review tonight. I really don't even have a reason for not doing any other reviews besides the old tried and true, “I don't wanna!” excuse. Needless to say, with an introduction like that, don't expect this to be a very competent post! Alright, before I half-ass this review, I wanted to let you guys know that I'll be introducing a new weekly feature to this blog tomorrow, Flashback Friday... Or at least that's what I'm calling it for now, until something better gets into my oh so tired head. Yes my friends, Flashback Friday, where I chronicle all of the back issues I've read during the course of the week and then type up a sentence or two for each of them. By my last count, I've read 12 issues(besides the new comics I've been reading and reviewing), and I'm sure before I go to sleep tonight I'll have added a few more comics to that pile. Anyway, since tomorrow is going to be the debut of this whole Flashback Friday thing, I'll definitely be looking forward to any comments/critiques about it. OK, that's tomorrow, let's get back to tonight.

Justice League of America #44: Writer: James Robinson. Pencils: Mark Bagley.
Last Issue: 7 1/2 out of 10.

Review: We start things up with the sad remnants of the once proud Justice League(Batman, Donna Troy, Congorilla and the blue Starman)undergoing a training session in the hologram producing Kitchen, which is pretty much the JLA's answer to the X-Men's Danger Room. While training, a huge green meteorite smashes through the Watchtower and sends the four Justice Leaguers careening into space. Congorilla manages to snag Bats, while Starman saves Donna from the cold vacuum of space. After getting back inside, the Leaguers follow the trajectory of the meteorite and watch as it crash lands in Germany. When the JLA arrive at the location of the crash site, they find Etrigan(!!!)the Demon, who declares that the glowing green rock is his. I'll tell ya right now, the appearance of Etrigan just added an extra 1/2 to whatever score I was going to give this issue! Anyway, the JLA launches into an attack against Etrigan, who more then holds his own, before the JLAers finally put their training to use and resort to teamwork to force Etrigan to turn back to his human alter-ego, Jason Blood. While that is going on, the Justice Society of America is dealing with an emergency of their own, the fact that Alan Scott has slipped into a coma(which is better then being dead like he is in the JSA book I guess), and that his powers have gone out of control. While Dr. Midnite and Mr. Terrific try to figure out what to do to help Alan out, Sebastian Faust, the apparent son of the c-list villain Felix Faust, appears on the scene and warns the JSA that Alan's current condition is one of the harbingers telling of the end of the world. Back in Germany, Jason Blood explains that he doesn't know why Etrigan was drawn to the meteorite, but that Etrigan was almost obsessed with possessing the green meteor. After Jason finishes up his story, the JLAers let him leave, and Congorilla and Donna decide to break the meteor open to see just what was inside and why Etrigan was so drawn to it. This issue comes to an end with the meteor cracking open to reveal an unconscious Jade inside!?!

What I Thought: Well that was a rather strange ending... First things first, I liked this comic a lot. I'm a big fan of Etrigan, and he was at his rhyming best in this issue. If I could rhyme like that, I'll tell you right now, all I'd do is speak in rhymes! Hmm, with that said, it's probably for the best that I can't rhyme like Etrigan... Anyway, this comic was fun and fast moving, with a good interesting story, good art and good dialogue, the comic book hat trick! However, I definitely DIDN'T like the way James kind of thumbed his nose at the events currently going on in the JSA comic book. For those who don't know, in the JSA comic, Alan Scott has been killed by the Forth Reich, while Obsidian has been captured by the Nazis. At the end of the last JSA issue, the rest of the team was rounded up, de-powered and captured... In this comic, Alan Scott is most definitely NOT dead, Obsidian isn't a prisoner of the Reich, and two JSAers actually go so far as to say something along the lines of, “After what happened with the Forth Reich, we can't lose Alan again.” Gee whiz James, thanks for spoiling the ending of the Forth Reich story for me! Granted, I sure as hell didn't expect Alan to remain dead or anything, but I would have liked to have read the end of the JSA storyline in the JSA comic, NOT in the JLA comic... Besides that, the rest of this comic was REALLY good, and if you aren't following the JSA book, and as such wouldn't be annoyed by the major spoilerage, I'd wholeheartedly recommend this comic.

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.Not only is he beating up one of my hated talking monkeys, he's rhyming while he does it! Etrigan, you RULE!!!