JLA/Avengers (DC and Marvel Comics) | Kurt Busiek

JLA/Avengers (DC and Marvel Comics) | Kurt Busiek | The art really sells this one.

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JLA/Avengers (DC a...

	JLA/Avengers (DC and Marvel Comics) Kurt Busiek DC Comics, 2008 - 208 pages average customer review:based on 17 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The most powerful characters in two universes collide as DC's premier super-heroes meet Marvel's. Collected in a gorgeous two-volume oversized slipcased hardcover is perhaps the most eagerly anticipated and memorable crossover of all time, as the Justice League of America unites with The Avengers. Superman, Batman, and the other members of the JLA join forces with Captain America, Iron Man, and the many other Avengers to fight a threat so immense it threatens two entire dimensions. The second hardcover in this deluxe set features art and articles chronicling this historic crossover--which has been over twenty years in the making.

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Absolutely Breathtaking.

Absolutely breathtaking. It's been years since I've bought a comic book but debates with co-workers over DC and Marvel hero battles prompted me to do a little research. After reading numerous fanboy rants on several sites, I decided to check out some crossover action firsthand. I purchased DC Versus Marvel Comics and decided to grab JLA/Avengers at the last minute. I can't put this comic down. I've been away for a long time but George Perez is still amazing. I used to love his artwork in The New Teen Titans series and some of them pop up in this book. In fact, there are countless cameos by many of DC and Marvel's finest and I love it. Let's get back to the artwork though. I start reading and I end up flicking pages and salivating over GP's renditions. Tom Smith's inks are on point as well. This may be the greatest comic in my collection and it more than makes up for many books that I've lost or were destroyed. This one goes in plastic as soon as I finish it but that may take some time. I just can't put this baby down.

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The art really sells this one.

A lifetime in the making, this was the dream project for George Perez - one of comics' giants. JLA/Avengers is bound to disappoint someone - Kurt Busiek is not my favorite writer and Perez is popular but still a polarizing artist. If the dialogue is often overwrought, it hits the nail on the head when the timelines start to shift and we start to see the different eras intersect like only a fanboy could dream of. Perez is known for giant spreads and this large format hardcover really lets that work shine. Not all of the pencils for the characters work (the She-Hulk's facial features in particular wash out noticeably) but taken as a whole, this is a must-have for die-hard fans of either/both teams. (It would however, be nice if Marvel & DC would put out an AFFORDABLE softcover trade now that they've made their money. It's cheaper to buy up the original miniseries than to get this edition!)

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Fun, Yet Frustrating

The book starts off well enough, but by the end it dissolves into the kind of visual muck you might find in a "Where's Waldo" book. But let's start with the good. There haven't been many crossovers between DC and Marvel, and those that have come before Busiek's story have usually been of very questionable quality (I'm looking at you, DC Versus Marvel Comics). Busiek is a decent writer--probably one of the best B-List writers in superhero comics today--and during the first two and a half issues he manages to keep a pretty solid handle on the narrative.

The first two issues notify the reader that villains from the opposing universes are crossing over and causing trouble in their respectively alien worlds. Here is also set up what will be a short-lived quest narrative that sends the DC and Marvel heroes on a hunt for a dozen or so macguffins, during which the heroes (who have met many times in the aforementioned crossovers but seem to have forgotten this) get into brawls about who takes better care of their earth, who is more respected by non-powered civilians, and whose mother is ugliest. Superman and Captain America act like jerks for no good reason (though I recall it is explained by something concerning cosmological differences), and the JLA and Avengers simply go out of their way to find fault with the other party. Are they this rude when visiting superheroes on other planets in their own universes?

Issue three is the "mash-up" chapter, imagining what the DC and Marvel histories might have been like if they had enjoyed decades of regular and entertaining crossovers, rather than crossovers that were spotty and soul-deadening. At least, this is the first half of the issue. The last half is sparked by even more extreme rudeness from Superman and Captain America, leading to a realization that their universes were never meant to be this close together because of an inherent incompatibility. Insert meta-commentary here. Then the heroes are led to a moral dilemma which isn't really a moral dilemma (split the universes or be annihilated, which would you choose?), and is actually an excuse to have a multi-page spread of panels depicting the least enjoyable story lines from both publishers over the last few decades.

Issue four, by all rights, should have been the ultimate cosmic climax of any superhero narrative. Here we have the two greatest superhero teams from the two greatest comic publishers, fighting the villain who pridefully caused the greatest destruction ever in the DC universe, in his citadel built on the bones of one of the greatest Marvel villains. Instead we are treated with an all-out brawl featuring a constantly shifting cast of heroes against an bizarre cast of lesser villains. Don't these villains wish to prevent their own annihilation? I guess not. The big villain is defeated in a disappointing occurrence that can only be likened to a child demolishing a skyscraper with a pebble.

Parts of the story are thoroughly entertaining: the imagined history of team-ups, a bit of the commentary by the heroes about the opposing earths, Krona's wager, Metron's interference, the delicious art by George Perez. These things keep my review at three stars.

Still, the deficits are galling. Why is Krona still drawn like a blue pudgy man? Why do the heroes need to hate each other at the start and then switch to brown-nosed fawning at the end? Why is Krona's ultimate cosmic weapon so easily destroyed? Why did every single member of the JLA and Avengers have to make an appearance, including multiple versions of the same character, when sticking to just the "present" versions would have made for a more readable and enjoyable story? Still, kudos to Busiek for remembering that The Phantom Stranger was once a JLA member.

All in all, it's a fun read, but probably not worth paying full price to read.

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Graphic SF Reader

The Justice League and the Avengers in one of those inter company crossover things that everybody had wanted to see for a long time, it seems. Lots of chasing around the cosmos for very bits and pieces to ultimately stop a big bad guy from doing very bad things. There is also a question of power levels at work, here.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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