Grant Morrisons JLA run - whats the critical consensus on this?

[TokenBlackGuy]

I just bought the six volumes of his JLA run including the Mark Waid "Tower of Bable" TPB as I heared that was supposed to be very good.

But getting back to Grant- what can I expect of his run on this title? Would appreciate some opinions as I just bought it on a spur of the moment as I saw them for real cheap on amazon marketplace.

[Cayman]

Among the best superhero books ever, and still unequaled.

[rwe1138]

Loved it. Highest recommendation.

Oh, be sure to pick up DC: One Million and JLA: Earth 2 for more Grant/JLA goodness.

[Sean Walsh]

It's what got me more into the DCU, I do believe. That's a good thing.

I was on the fence with DC during the Gerard Jones JLA that preceded Grant, and I was kinda interested but could tell that it wasn't all that great.

Then he comes along (avec Howard Porter) and just blasts the title into an orbit I never knew existed.

So yeah, I liked it. :)

[Expletive Deleted]

Its awesomeness dragged me kicking and screaming into modern DC comics.

[rerun]

It may be more commonplace now, but before he started the JLA consisted of mostly B-list characters. With Morrison's run, he put the Big 3 (and 7 at the forefront). Since then we've become used to this, but this wa sa big deal back then.

However, the stories are not dated and work really well. Morrison was at the top of his game doing superhero fare like this while doing The Invisibles for Vertigo.

I just got JLA Earth 2 on Ebay for $3 so I'm excited to read that.

[Jack Zodiac]

It was a return to the real Justice League cast with nonstop, crazy action that spanned from typical League superheroics to metaphysical craziness to Kirbyesque space saga epic. The art was so-so, but the writing was great.

[Zero Hunter]

Starts out very very strong. Some of the best JLA stuff ever. Then it starts to lose its luster. By the last storyline I personaly thought the book horrible. So i would say the first 3/4 of his run is well worth the money. The last 1/4 not so much.

[StoneGold]

Starts out very very strong. Some of the best JLA stuff ever. Then it starts to lose its luster. By the last storyline I personaly thought the book horrible. So i would say the first 3/4 of his run is well worth the money. The last 1/4 not so much.

Pretty much agree. It's some of the best JLA ever, but overall, it's overrated.

[Calybos]

Like a lot of Morrison's stuff, basically. It starts out with some cool and epic-level ideas, then loses its way and eventually gives up, leaving everything unresolved.

And somebody else has to come in and try to clean up the mess.

[Ilash]

I loved it from beginning to end. It's more action and story driven than many other takes on the League and Morrison's ability to come up with some wonderfully weird and crazy ideas is in full force here. However, while it is driven by story, he does have a perfect handle on most of these characters. No one has written a better Kyle Rayner than the way Morrison wrote him in his run. Also, Superman wrestles an Angel in his run! How cool is that!

[Choppa]

HOw much u pay for all of them?

[Great Muppety Odin]

I thought the membership drive issue was brilliant, but Rock of Ages was a steaming pile of crap.

On the whole, I give it a big thumbs in the middle.

[Brian Cronin]

Morrison's JLA is love.

-Brian

[the Hornet]

I liked it until he expanded the roster to 16 members. At the very least, if he added guys like Zatanna, Red Tornado, Nightwing (why Huntress??) and some classics close to the BIG 7, I would have been happier.

[ultramandingo]

............they shoulda just stoped jla after morrisons run - every thing since then has been the "fat elvis" version , just waiting for it to die on the toilet with its spandex around its ankels.

[Ilash]

I thought the membership drive issue was brilliant, but Rock of Ages was a steaming pile of crap.

On the whole, I give it a big thumbs in the middle.

Rock of Ages was one of my favourite arcs. It was a bit messy but it was messy in a good way.

[Ilash]

............they shoulda just stoped jla after morrisons run - every thing since then has been the "fat elvis" version , just waiting for it to die on the toilet with its spandex around its ankels.

Are you including the new series in this? Either way, I think Mark Waid's run was really good too.

[Tadhg]

World War III fell a bit flat thematically, but other than that, it's probably some of my favorite superheroics. It was definitely the highlight of the DCU

[PanzerMega]

............they shoulda just stoped jla after morrisons run - every thing since then has been the "fat elvis" version , just waiting for it to die on the toilet with its spandex around its ankels.

Other than Waid's run having some good stuff in there, I agree.

JLA should always be that good.

[Karl J Barnes]

Its awesomeness dragged me kicking and screaming into modern DC comics.

Yes,this is true. ED's kicking and screaming almost shattered the internet!

And yes, Grant's JLA turn made me remember why I loved these guys and made Batman even cooler.

[the Hornet]

Yes,this is true. ED's kicking and screaming almost shattered the internet!

And yes, Grant's JLA turn made me remember why I loved these guys and made Batman even cooler.

Until every character took a back seat to Batman under other writers. I think Batman and Wolverine need to disappear for year (if Ed Brubaker can do it with Cap America). Imagine what an event it would be after a year when he returns!

[Astonishing X-Fan]

But Batman just got back after dissapearing for a year!

:p

[Karl J Barnes]

Until every character took a back seat to Batman under other writers. I think Batman and Wolverine need to disappear for year (if Ed Brubaker can do it with Cap America). Imagine what an event it would be after a year when he returns!

Yeah, The Bat-God aspect got a bit tiring,but Morrisson's wrote it so well that I didn't mind. But I agree that I do wish that Batman didn't return to the JLA after "Tower of Babel",until a good long time had passed.

[md62]

It was magic. He captured the personalities of all the characters perfectly & there was always amazing over the top action in every story that had me in awe. I couldn't believe that he could come up with all his ideas.

[berk]

... He captured the personalities of all the characters perfectly ...With the exception, by his own admission IIRC, of Orion.

[Pól Rua]

I really enjoyed the writing, however, I really didn't think Howard Porter's art was up to the task of drawing what Morrison was writing.
Porter is a perfectly serviceable artist, but in many cases, Morrison really needed someone like Quitely, Hitch or Williams, someone capable of drawing the demanding images that the script called.
Most of the stories were pretty darn good, but some of the later stories, especially 'Crisis x5' suffered by not having an artist who was up to the cosmic mind-farnarkling concepts the story dealt with.

Other than that, it's tasty-good.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Like much of Morrison's stuff, the highs are very, very highs and the lows make you wish you were high enough to understand exactly what the hell Morrison is trying to get across. His Superman & Batman are note perfect and Kyle Rayner likely would have been killed off years ago had Morrison not justified his existence as a character in his stories.

For the sheer ammount of imagination, action and unrestrained giddy super-hero fun, Morrison's JLA is amongst the best and sits alongside the very best of the Julie Shwartz era and the goofy warmth and irreverence of the Giffen & DeMatties era.

If you're on a budget, I'd stick to the White Martian arc, the Angel War arc and the Starro arc.

[cactusmaac]

Having Quitely, Hitch or Williams on the book would have meant we'd still be waiting for the run to end.

[TokenBlackGuy]

HOw much u pay for all of them?

cost me £ 35 for the 7 volumes but post and packaging will add £15 on top of that. still, not a bad deal.


appreciate the comments guys. overall feedback seems positive. not so sure about the howard porter art but maybe it will grow on me. anyone knows what he does these days?

[Paul McEnery]

Like a lot of Morrison's stuff, basically. It starts out with some cool and epic-level ideas, then loses its way and eventually gives up, leaving everything unresolved.

And somebody else has to come in and try to clean up the mess.

Oh really.

And building up to

the giant beastie that will destroy everything, and have all the preceding stories lead directly to it, and turn everyone on earth into a superhero because the giant beastie needs all of us to take it down

That's disappointing, is it? And messy?

I'm not seeing it.

[Animation]

I guess I'm in the minority here but I hated the first one so much I couldnt stomach trying the others Morrison wrote.

I buy a lot of trades from my local comic book shop, and so sometimes they just throw in a freebie, especially if the guy there is a fan of something and just wants me to check something out. Anyway, he threw in the first Morrison JLA trade and MAN it was bad. A real stinker. That whole HyperClan thing sucked, and the whole standing shoulder to shoulder lighting fires stuff, give me a break. Hold me down and make me eat instant cheese, why dont you? Ugh. Plus as I recall, Superman had a mullet in that one didnt he?

Maybe it just rubbed me the wrong way, but it scarred me. I've been unable to risk buying any JLA titles, and I want to, but that put me off it. I've been sticking to the other team books.

Lewis

[niall mc cann]

One of my favourite superhero runs ever, from any era, on any title.

Highlights for me? the defeat of the martians in the first arc; first glimpse of the watchtower; superman pushing the moon back into orbit; superman wrestling an angel; Green Arrow vs. The Key; Lex Luthor reveals his Injustice Gang; Flash, GL, Aquaman on Wonderworld; GA and The Atom vs. Darkseid; Batman vs. Prometheus; Oracle, Steel and Plastic Man vs. Prometheus...

I'm only half way through, but i'm gonna stop now, 'cause a list's boring to read.:o But man, what a run... Great stuff.

[niall mc cann]

Like a lot of Morrison's stuff, basically. It starts out with some cool and epic-level ideas, then loses its way and eventually gives up, leaving everything unresolved.

And somebody else has to come in and try to clean up the mess.

I don't understand... what did you feel was unresolved?:confused:

[Karl J Barnes]

cost me £ 35 for the 7 volumes but post and packaging will add £15 on top of that. still, not a bad deal.


appreciate the comments guys. overall feedback seems positive. not so sure about the howard porter art but maybe it will grow on me. anyone knows what he does these days?

Well, here's his official site:http://www.howardporter.com/h..html

[Choppa]

cost me £ 35 for the 7 volumes but post and packaging will add £15 on top of that. still, not a bad deal.


appreciate the comments guys. overall feedback seems positive. not so sure about the howard porter art but maybe it will grow on me. anyone knows what he does these days?

WUt's that in $?

[marshal99]

Morrison's JLA stories are big , plenty of explosions and all that but still feel a bit soulless and empty. It's like cotton candy , looks nice , taste nice but ultimately not filling at all.
He did recaptured the "big guns" feel of the JLA but many of his stories tends to lack a bit of logic and explainations and sometimes can be stupid.

To his credit though , his run is still probably the most successful to date thus far of the JLA franchise since the late 90s.
He made the JLA what it is today with the big guns.

[Shellhead]

Grant Morrison displayed explosive creativity during his JLA run, throwing so many exciting ideas at the readers at such a frantic pace. The characterization is pretty good, too, though a little more exposition would have been helpful during some of the more imaginative moments, because Howard Porter's artwork was just mediocre. JLA: Earth 2 is worth getting, because benefits from better storytelling with the artwork of Frank Quitely.

[Agentum]

His first run was very good but the second was exactly not as good.

But when looking at the other writers stuff he was the best, Waid was no good, stupid magic gadgets for Batman to betray his friends, boring.

JLA was really not that good all in all as a book, besides Morrisons stuff that is better than his New X-men stuff that people is talking so much about.

I prefered JSA overall over JLA for most of the time.

AND Quitley, i don't know, i often have a hard time with parts of his art, the people is often standing around with the exakt same expression on their face, som kind of big lip look, it became highky annoying in New X-men and Authoity for example.
It really looks stupid.

[TokenBlackGuy]

WUt's that in $?

id guess 60 USD? u generally double it for the USD equivalent....

[Ilash]

His first run was very good but the second was exactly not as good.

But when looking at the other writers stuff he was the best, Waid was no good, stupid magic gadgets for Batman to betray his friends, boring.

JLA was really not that good all in all as a book, besides Morrisons stuff that is better than his New X-men stuff that people is talking so much about.

I prefered JSA overall over JLA for most of the time.

AND Quitley, i don't know, i often have a hard time with parts of his art, the people is often standing around with the exakt same expression on their face, som kind of big lip look, it became highky annoying in New X-men and Authoity for example.
It really looks stupid.

Er, what second run?

[itsyaboy]

Morrison's JLA run is great. Everything I ever wanted in a comic. Big action type stories with characters I actually give a damn about. And each one had their moments of badassness....even Aquaman. Minimal downtime and no sissy ass soap opera-ish crap to slow down the story and make it boring (unlike a lot of books today).

Every other writer on JLA since Morrison has pretty much sucked ass (although I thought Tower of Babel was okay). Morrison made those character the Big 7. After he left it felt more like the Big 3 and some other people. And they all follow the same formula. Batman's the smart one, he has to think for everybody and figure out a way out of problems, Superman is the muscle and frontman for the JLA, and everyone else just seems to be there to back up those two.

Ok rant over. Read Morrison's run. "Enjoy yourself" as Rick James would say.

[DaeJi]

Morrison's run on JLA was highly enjoyable, and was a good restart for the whole book.

[Pól Rua]

Having Quitely, Hitch or Williams on the book would have meant we'd still be waiting for the run to end.

And it would've been worth it.

[Pól Rua]

appreciate the comments guys. overall feedback seems positive. not so sure about the howard porter art but maybe it will grow on me. anyone knows what he does these days?

The Porter art isn't BAD per se. It's just not up to the demands the scripts placed on it.
As for what he's doing now, I believe he's currently illustrating 'Trials of Shazam' using a more painterly style, which is quite nice.

[Billage]

Pretty much agree. It's some of the best JLA ever, but overall, it's overrated.

Very much so.This series gets tossed around as being the best ever,but as a someone who picked it up for the first time at my local library just last year,it reads as typical superhero fare with alien menaces,expected action and the banding together of the typical heroes to stop the invasion.

Meltzer's run gets spat on alot,but I personally enjoyed it more.Sure there wasn't much action,but he brought the league together in a new way,took the road less traveled and told a solid story while doing so.

[jam]

I want to stick up for Morrison a little bit here. But I do agree that he started strongly but it seems to me he faded away towards the end.

The first few issues were a real "return to greatness" for the JLA, and showed that Morrison could work in the "real DCU" as opposed to outposts like "Animal Man" (still one of my all-time favourite runs of a comic) and "Doom Patrol" (sorry to say this wasn't to my taste so I didn't follow it ...).

I also felt that Porter did a pretty good job of the material.

I've tried and tried to enjoy "World War III", the final TP of the Morrison run, but once I get past that block-buster beginning in prison, I just don't enjoy it as much as I feel I should. He certainly left at the right time.

[Jack Zodiac]

Meltzer's run gets spat on alot,but I personally enjoyed it more.Sure there wasn't much action,but he brought the league together in a new way,took the road less traveled and told a solid story while doing so.

I'm glad you liked it and all, but that's crap. Meltzer didn't do squat to bring the League together as a team. They all met up by chance, and the team itself is still elitist and clandestine, with Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman secretly judging everyone else in their back room, and others making wildly inappropriate threats towards team mates, or using the computer to stalk a crush. As far as interactions go, this is the saddest League I've ever seen.

Morrison may have made them one hundred percent ivory tower folk (with an actual tower on the moon, removed from mortals), but they were a much better team than any League since his. And he deified them once more. They were a superhero pantheon. Now they're jerks with a big clubhouse loaded with cameras.

[Agentum]

Er, what second run?

Sorry, later arcs i mean, i think he was best in the begining of JLA.
WWIII and those was not as good i think.

But still it was nice, most of the other stuff the other writers did was less than good.

Waids magic story didn't work for me, Batman and his magic items BAH!

[Cardinal!]

Morrison's JLA, along with my curiosity of the "new" electric Superman, were actually what piqued my interest in reading comics regularly back when I was 9 (I was one of those rare late '90s/early '00s kids that read comics). Throughout the first several storylines up through "DC One Million," I loved it as much as you could expect from any ten-year old kid. The biggest heroes, bright explosions, and a new end of the world to be thwarted every couple of months does a lot to impress. After One Million, though, it felt like it lost a lot of its original steam with the Ultramarines story, and by the time World War III got underway, I found that I'd been enjoying the newer JSA and Young Justice titles much, much more, and JLA then started making regular fluctuations in quality in the hands of successive writers (the best it ever got post-Morrison was probably "Tower of Babel" or "The Obsidian Age").

In retrospect, the older stories had their flaws, too, especially if you're a fan of the characters Morrison utilized the least - Wonder Woman, namely... who only really shone during the "Heaven on Earth" story, and after rejoining the team after her death, bearing neither the alpha hero status of Superman nor the obsessive, calculating crimefighter role of Batman, tended to just do a lot of windowdressing. Morrison just always seemed more interested in working with Superman, Batman, J'onn, and Kyle more than anyone else... made even more disappointing after the team upped its membership from 7 to 14.

[jv2k]

I'm glad you liked it and all, but that's crap. Meltzer didn't do squat to bring the League together as a team. They all met up by chance, and the team itself is still elitist and clandestine, with Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman secretly judging everyone else in their back room,
You make it seem like the big three was snickering and talking about the characters behind their back. Diana, Clark, and Batman were without question making a new league and they were trying to decide who they'd want to be on the team. This is the JLA not a kid's soccer game, not just anyone can join and it is reasonable that the big three would got through a list to see who should be invited to join the new team.

The only problem was that after about 6 issues of "Maybe him, mayber her, lets invite them, not him, he's not ready yet, maybe he is ready, I liked her and she has unique powers, this guys great, those guys are property of the JSA and we aren't allowed to touch them, already asked but she said no, he's still content as a titan, blah blah blah!" they decided to just give membership to whoever was around by the end of the first arc making those scenes useless.

[Jack Zodiac]

You make it seem like the big three was snickering and talking about the characters behind their back.

Maybe you read the alternate version that didn't suck, and I got Meltzer's joke scripts, but it looked to me like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were, at first, talking about how the League fell apart because of secrets in the past (which is utter horse !@#$, but it just reinforces Meltzer's stupid ass view of the Justice League and his injection to the mythos in the even more horrible Identity Crisis), then continued to hold secret meetings and collectively judge the rest of their team.