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Robinson is just so much better than this, I don't know what he could've been thinking.

Well, I'm at least glad to see that Robinson is apparently ignoring that stupid Remender arc on All-New Atom and still using Ryan Choi.

I flipped through it but didn't read it, but I kind of wish I had, because it seems so, as you put it, "actively bad." Does Ray Palmer really torture Killer Moth in the exact same way that his ex-wife killed Sue Dibny? That would be awesome.

I saw the previous previews of the book and the scripting was cringeworthy, even for a Didio DC comic, where purple prose is the norm.

I only had one issue with your review:

I’m certainly not a fan of the first-person narrative caption, but these are the absolute worst I’ve ever seen, a ludicrous parody of the dueling captions in something like Superman/Batman

I haven't read the book but there is no way in hell it can be worse than the Superman/Batman dueling captions. I believe it's bad, but how can you parody something that is already the worst parody of itself.

"He's a hero. I'm Ray Palmer. Welcome to pain."

Ha ha ha!

God, that is hilarious.

And awful.

Hilariously awful.

Strangely enough, this review made me want to read the book. It sounds bad enough to intrigue me.

I haven't read the book but I assume that the blue Starman you're mentioning is Mikaal Tomas. He was a big character in Robinson's Starman run.

Didn't Iron Man make the same exact speech saying, "why are we avenging when we should be attacking," in the last issue of West Coast Avengers? I may be mis-remembering because I don't have the issue handy. That's when the book was re-titled "Force Works" to show the teams new, more proactive stance. Am I totally off on this?

Dammit!!! I ordered this book in advance 'cause of the pretty pictures and Captain Marvel Jr.; and now you tell me that all I'm going to get is a bunch of superheroes crying for 22 pages?!?!?

Damn, Damn, DAMN!!!

I should've known something was wrong when I read the 5 page preview and noticed that Hal Jordan was lecturing Superman on the meaning of "justice". That is... without anyone whispering: "Is Hal kidding, or is he turning into effing Parallax, again?"

I mean, seriously... the last time he said something like this, I went "Hal Good" and the Superheroes of the comics world went "Hal BAD, Kyle Good!" Now it's the opposite!

I bet this is how it feels to live in Bizarro World (...or work for Jon Stewart, take your pick!)

RE: Bwhig - Yup, exactly that. I'm guessing it wasn't DC's plan to do their version of Force Works? Because uh-oh, that's what happened...

But wait a minute...Mr. Reed, have you read Robinson's "Starman", and if so, were you a fan and if so/not, does this mean this "Justice League" book is just some really shoddy work from an otherwise-amazing writer? If that's the case, that's really too bad...

I picked-up Vol. 1 of the Starman Omnibus, and blew through it in way less time than I thought, only because I enjoyed it so much. Would suck to see such a talent put to waste...

I have not read Starman, but after years of hearing its praises sung, I have been nothing but disappointed by everything I've read of Robinson's.

Sounds like the success of All-Star Batman and Robin is causing it to rub off on other books.

Revenge is a more personal version of retribution or retributive justice, which fits very well into definiton #5 above. (Punishing according to just deserts, rather than for utilitarian purposes, is normally associated with retributive justice.)

The Wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retributive_justice) isn't particularly good, but it's good enough.

RE: Bwhig – Yup, exactly that. I’m guessing it wasn’t DC’s plan to do their version of Force Works? Because uh-oh, that’s what happened…

Seems to fit the rumors that DC's launching a second Justice League book by Johns and Jim Lee, featuring the big league players, to accompany Robinson and Bagley's run that spins out of Cry for Justice.

So, yeah, Avengers and West Coast Avengers/Force Works redux. Only with one coming out every six months and the other every week.

Woo.

Eh, I'm not as down on the issue as y'all. I can buy Ray Palmer's attitude getting hardened, for instance, and Hal's speech at the opening is exactly what the heroes should be saying after Final Crisis in some ways. Why the Hell haven't they tried to dissassemble the gang that killed J'onn, almost killed Lois, and so forth?

As to the heroes calling their enemies "villains"...that's justa lame complaint after 45+ years of proudly self-described "Masters of Evil" and "Injustice Gangs" and, lest we forget, the organization Hal wants to go after, the Secret Society of Super-Villains.

"I have not read Starman, but after years of hearing its praises sung, I have been nothing but disappointed by everything I’ve read of Robinson’s."

Then don't even consider so much as glancing at anything else of his until you give the first trade of Starman a try. Seriously.

Whoa, what are the chances of two consecutive posts whose authors' avatars' names are 70s Defenders characters! (I'm relatively new to this blog and to the back issues of Defenders, so the chances might be greater than I thought, but still!)

I have not read Starman, but after years of hearing its praises sung, I have been nothing but disappointed by everything I’ve read of Robinson’s.

I feel exactly the same way.

Wow, a version of an existing superhero team that, unlike that old-fashioned fuddy-duddy original, is PRO-ACTIVE and GOES AFTER BAD GUYS FIRST.

I look forward to picking up the first issue of X-Factor. I mean X-Force. I mean Justice League: Cry for Justice.

I still don't understand the five-star review.

I will be buying issue #2, though, because this comic is the most quotable of the year!

Well, isn't PRO-ACTIVE an oxymoron when it comes to the legal system?

I mean, you either capture a villain for something they did. Or you prevent them from doing something by gathering enough evidence (usually undercover work) of their intent to carryout an action (i.e. do something).

Everything else is harassment at best.

If Hal Jordan is going out looking for the Secret Society of Villains (all wanted fellons) and the Justice League doesn't want to do anything; it's bad writing. The Justice League being lacy is just bad writing. Superman not wanting to capture Lex Luthor (...ever!) is bad writing.

On the other hand, if Hal Jordan is going to start being PRO-ACTIVE by "water-boarding" criminals in order to prevent crimes & obtain confessions (and DC is going to celebrate this) ...well, that's just bad on another level!

I read it this morning and quite liked it. Plus, it has Mikaal, who's, like, blue and all.

I don't necessarily see it as "active" vs. "reactive," but more like a perfectly reasonable division of resources. The JLA generally operates to stop threats when they reach planetary-threat levels. Hals' not so much saying he wants to bust the Society up before they do anything wrong, but rather that stopping the lower-end super-crime by those villains -- the conspiracies, the targeting of superheroes, the organizing, the tech robberies and so forth -- is a better way of doing things.

Think of Superman's usual role and Hal's original concept as "space policeman" and it makes sense; that's why Hal invokes his GLC duties at the start of his speech. Superman's idea of justice is that you make an inspirational example and, as Grant Morrison had it in JLA #1, catch the human race when it falls. Hal's notion of justice is closer to what the word means in a justice system, in law enforcement.

That said, the overwrought dialogue -- "Revenge!" Really? -- and the 24-esque torture scenes can go away as soon as possible. Do that, and make the book a demonstration of two kinds of justice, an abstract and lofty one and a procedural and more pragmatic one, and this could be a very good direction.

Keep turning into the grim angst-fest with "necessary brutality" it is, however, and I'll drop the book so fast it'll make Galileo rethink gravity.

"Force Works" "X-Factor"

Silly Marvel Zombies. Don't you know?

Cry for Justice is going to relaunch that bastion of the 1990's DC Universe, "Extreme Justice".

Not that I've read this issue except for the parts in this review, but those words sound extremely silly coming from a guy wearing a domino mask, with what could be eyes filled with a burning need for justice covered by pupil-less white sections. That's partially the writing, but also the realistic digital painting applied to a costume designed for simpler Silver Age art styles.

Having everyone scream "Justice!" or "I Want Justice!" was pretty funny. I'm sure issue 2 will have Freddy Freeman crying over Mary Marvel, Supergirl goinmg on about her dead father, and Batwoman yelling about... I don't know, maybe Batman.

In defense of James Robinson: I haven't seen "Leave It to Chance" or "The Golden Age" mentioned yet; those two comics worth reading. They are charming, fully-realized, entertaining, and drawn by Paul Smith. His "Cable" and "Wildcats" stories weren't bad, but he didn't get the chance to go anywhere with them. I like his work on "Superman."

"Cry for Justice" is pretty indefensible, though.

Either James Robinson is an extremely uneven writer or I'm an extremely uneven critic. I loved Leave It to Chance and his Legends of the Dark Knight story, "Blades" (with art by Tim Sale), and as Mike Loughlin mentions, "The Golden Age" was very good. I read Starman for a good number of issues (somewhere between the first one-and-a-half to two years) until I finally felt it was just too precious and smug (the portrayal of the Shade in particular). Other work of his hasn't done much for me - including "Cry for Justice."

By the way, have you all forgotten that Robinson wrote the screenplay to "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen"?

The most annoying thing about the whole 'it's really about vengeance' aspect, for me, is exactly what Mike Laughlin mentions - Hal's annoyed because J'onn and the Bat are dead*; Ray, Congorilla, and Mikaal are all pissed because people (and animals) close to them are dead... I'm going to spend the next month annoyed about the thought they're going to pull that crap on Freddy and Kate. (And Kara's JUST stopped rabbitting on about Zor-El in Supergirl and New Krypton...I dread her starting again in C4J.) Also...killing Beast was just gratuitous after whacking all the gorillas. I just pray there's a new Beast (B'wana, Freedom, or adjectiveless) in the near future.

* Oh, and Hal, making that argument to Clark, while Ollie, Wally (probably, but the argument applies to ALL the Flashes), Diana, the Hawks, Plas, and Red Tornado are in the room? It...tends not to have much impact.

I'm not sure Robinson's writing's ever been the same since Archie Goodwin died. Even the post-Goodwin issues of Starman feel looser and more meandering than the Golden Age and the Goodwin-edited issues of Starman did.

Oh heck, I liked it. The art is gorgeous, and the dialogue is so...over the top, that it's hilarious. Plus, I can hardly wait to have Hal try and hit on Batwoman when she shows up. So, I'm sticking with this, and I'll probably enjoy every issue.

"I read Starman for a good number of issues (somewhere between the first one-and-a-half to two years) until I finally felt it was just too precious and smug (the portrayal of the Shade in particular)."

Agree, agree, agree. Starman was so fresh when it started that it was easy to overlook Robinson's flaws, but I found the book to be more and more grating as time passed. I think I jumped off with the issue where Robinson has Batman talking about Woody Allen movies. Why? Because in James Robinson's world, everyone has to have a favorite Woody Allen movie. Every character has the same voice; much like a certain other Secret- Invading Marvel writer, he's very much a one-trick pony. It's a pretty good trick, but it wears after a while.

Well, I guess Robinson's Starman has finally reached its backlash stage. After years of everyone singing its praises, now we get the people saying that it's overrated after all. It happens with everything I guess.

I agree with those that said that Starman could be a little self-important at times, but there's no denying that it's one of the best superhero runs ever. After Jack went into space, the book seemed to gain a huge momentum all the way to the end. I loved every issue of that period.

Oh come on, Ken, lighten up. "Crimes and Misdemeanors." Bruce was making a funny.

@The Dude: I can't speak for anyone else, but as I said, I stopped reading Starman less than two years into the run. So no "backlash" from me - I'm merely reporting an opinion that I arrived at years ago and which is relevant to the current discussion. Somewhere on line in the archives of rec.arts.comics (or whatever that Usenet group was (is?) called) is an opinion I voiced, under my real name, about the annoying characteristics of the Shade at the time of his mini-series.

Batman wouldn't like Crimes and Misdemeanors because of the ending. I think he'd be more of a Manhattan Murder Mystery man, or perhaps Play It Again, Sam.

I always figured Batman would prefer Take the Money and Run of all Allen's films.

Naw- Batman liked Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex But Was Afraid to Ask, but he couldn't admit it because he's The Batman.

I have not read Starman, but after years of hearing its praises sung, I have been nothing but disappointed by everything I’ve read of Robinson’s.

Well, there's a reason Starman's the one everyone has been telling you to read, and not any of his other books.

I'm sure the books bad, but the 'never having encountered the blue starman' before part almost makes anything else irrelevant.

Save your pennies!

Complaining that they are saying Justice while actually chasing Vengeance is stupid because that is likely the point.

That doesn't make the writing in this comic any better, though.

Every couple of years, they trot out the pro-active superhero theme. X-Force, Outsiders, Justice League Elite, etc. After an initial story arc (usually begun in-progress), of the heroes taking the fight to the bad guys, it always devolves back to standard super hero stuff.

Why? Because the nature of super heroes is to be reactive. Also drama pretty much demands that you show the bad guy to be bad before the heroes show up to punch him in the face. Also, because certain villains are proprietary to their hero's solo books, the "pro-active" team inconceivably ignores the likes of Lex Luthor, The Joker, etc. and settles for lesser bad guys.

I remember back to the first issue of the Mark Shaw version of Manhunter. Since he was a bounty hunter, not a hero, they initially show him catching The Penguin while in the bathtub. A nice bit of planning that makes a great deal of sense. However, since it's also boring, he never shows that level of planning again. The same holds true for the pro-active team. If a guy like Ray Palmer wants revenge, why not shrink down and take a dip in Chronos' soda, let him swallow you, and then enlarge while inside the guy. Problem solved, right?

I hear Batman's also a fan of Allen's Sleeper, but only because it gave him the idea to make villains watch Howard Cosell clips until they broke down.

I have not read Starman, but after years of hearing its praises sung, I have been nothing but disappointed by everything I’ve read of Robinson’s.

Bill, STARMAN was very good and fresh for its time. It is important to note a couple things about it.

First, Robinson had the luxury of creating a brand new version of a character that had not been used much for years. Nearly everything about Jack Knight and his Opal City came from Robinson and Tony Harris, which is completely different than what DC is asking him to do with CRY FOR JUSTICE.

Second, Robinson had a great collaborator in Harris during the first half of the series. Some writers are just better working with certain artists and vice versa. Robinson working with Harris, or Paul Smith, is a must read. I think that he would work well with Gary Frank, since he has the same type of clean line. Mark Bagley might be a great fit on JLofA. However, his scripts can seem very static in the wrong hands.

I cannot believe that I am the first person to mention this, but doesn't this remind anyone else of the "Green Lantern Theory of Geo-Politics" first described by Matt Yglesias? It has great potential as a spring-board for GL comics. So, the idea of using Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen as metaphors for the two sides of the circa '04 debate over the Global War on Terror strikes me as a good one. The problem appears to be in the execution.

If I had to list the five most tired, hackneyed comic book devices of the last 25 years, then I would be forced to use this comic as an example for at least three. As everyone has pointed out, the idea of eXtreme superhero teams was played out over a decade ago. The idea of turning a middle-of-the-road silver ager like Ray Palmer into the The Punisher with a little caption box is equally played out.

But worst of all is the whole revolving door of death as motivator for REVENGE. Seriously, both Hal and Ollie were dead and returned to life in the very recent past. Their mutual friend Barry Allen is just back from the grave. Ray Palmer has been presumed dead and turned up a couple times. There is just no way that any of them would have this much of reaction to the apparent deaths of J'onn J'onzz, or Bruce Wayne. For members of the JLofA, dying is akin to breaking up with a girlfriend to real people. Sure, it isn't great, but pretty much everyone goes through it at least once.

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