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Parallel to that other Grant Morrison thread, here are some thoughts on the comics I've been reading on this re-read.
I used to hate Porter's art but it worked for me this time around. It's ugly as hell but really big and dynamic.
I remember some comics blogger saying that nobody became a comics fan between 1995 and 1999 but late 90s DC is a strong nostalgic hook for me.
It's funny how the old "war between heaven and hell" pitch that used to be taboo at Marvel and DC pre 1985 became gauche from oversaturation by the time the 21st century hit. Morrison's version has weird angels but boring demons.
Being placed in a dream prison is to Morrison's JLA what mind control is to Claremont's X-Men
Along with DC One Million, Rock of Ages is the highlight of the JLA run. Final Crisis is better but I think they enrich one another.
The Prometheus arc is a smaller story than most of this run but feels bigger than stakes of any superhero film I've seen.
I didn't read these JLA stories when they were first published but DC One Million was an event I enjoyed seeing pieces of as a kid (mainly the Superman tie-ins). Read it all about ten years ago. I think it's a contender for best superhero "event" comic.
Daniel shows up in a similar role to Uatu. I hate Sandman but didn't mind the cameo. Can you imagine how obnoxious it'd be if someone like Waid wrote that?
An American general suggests a false flag operation in order to escalate a war on Iraq in this comic from 1998.
I couldn't get into this storyline. Felt less than the sum of it's parts.
I suppose Morrison thought this might be his final DC story at the time. "Give everyone on Earth superpowers" is a hilarious way to break the toys before the next writer shows up.
I'm surprised by how amused I was. Kind of boring when the "superheroes fight then team up" formula kicks in but on either side of that it's a fun time travel story with some wonderfully ugly textures.
This was kind of a stunner. Did Ed McGuinness draw any other good comics? I mostly associate him with some characters and writers I've never cared for. I didn't realize Morrison was already talking about the Club of Heroes at this point.
It's Quitely drawing a wild action comic. I've owned it so long I can't remember how or when I obtained it. Earth 2 Thomas Wayne vowing to build a wall around Gotham is hilarious.
Seaguy reads like a comic about Disney buying Marvel but it came out before that happened. It's a really nasty book.
Morrison feels like the only post Crisis DC writer working in a Bob Haney-esque idiom. Final Crisis is the peak of that manic storytelling energy. Superman Beyond is the best part, especially thanks to Mahnke's art.
I generally think this is a pretty shitty book but I can't help wondering what it'd be like with art by anyone else. The story might have been easier to digest as pulp.
21st century Kubert is bland but competent. There's a very funny approach to Batman in this initial arc that I enjoy, particularly that it opens with Batman ending super crime.
I generally don't care for superhero prose. This doesn't seem terrible but the presentation (the lettering and page design) is quite unpleasant and sours the experience.
The first arc of this run is concerned with, among other things, making peace between the 60s and 70s approaches the Batman. With the second storyline Morrison adds a caricature of post-Crisis grime to the mix, an interesting thread that peaks during RIP.
