Very brief review/comment on JLA #20- SPOILERS

[CBikle]

Mod: I didn't see another thread on this issue; if there is, feel free to merge one with the other.

Synopsis: Flash and Wonder Woman put out a big fire, before dealing with the latest plan of Queen Bee. Along the way there is interesting interaction between the two characters, but it felt too much like a Flash story with WW as a guest star.

Also, too much of the book was spent on the fire (8 out of 22 pages, when it really only needed 4 , maybe 5).

The Queen Bee/HIVE plot was pretty good, but would have been better with more pages which would have allowed more characterization for Queen Bee and a less abrupt and anticlimactic ending.

Not a great issue, but I'm cutting McDuffie some slack on this; there was some stuff I liked and I suspect that this story/arc was adversely affected by all the "moving parts" related to Final Crisis.

[Xero]

Thank you for the Bizarro World review.

This was the best issue of the Flash since Wally West's return and a damned good re-introduction to the JLA. And as usual Dwayne hits us with the science (in the form of Flash Facts) right out of the gate. You can always count on Dwayne McDuffie and Warren Ellis to get the science right.

[Johnny_Luck]

but honestly do we really need an issue thats main focus is pretty much just the flash and WW, I don't think so.

[CBikle]

Thank you for the Bizarro World review.

You're quite welcome, skippy

This was the best issue of the Flash since Wally West's return and a damned good re-introduction to the JLA.

Nope, you're wrong, this issue doesn't reintroduce us to the JLA; Dwayne gave us a better than OK Flash story with guest-appearances by WW and Black Lightning.

And as usual Dwayne hits us with the science (in the form of Flash Facts) right out of the gate. You can always count on Dwayne McDuffie and Warren Ellis to get the science right.

Maybe he got the science right, but this particular story is otherwise flawed (something Ellis does too, more often than not).

Again, there was stuff I liked, but not a big fan of the fire taking up as many pages as it did. Just felt like padding.

[Jack Tango]

Nope, you're wrong, this issue doesn't reintroduce us to the JLA; Dwayne gave us a better than OK Flash story with guest-appearances by WW and Black Lightning.

Just wanted to clarify, xero said -- perhaps not as clearly as he could have -- that the story reintroduces FLASH to the JLA - as that's what Wonder Woman is there to talk to him about. We're not reintroduced to the JLA itself, just the Flash being part of the team.

Anyway, carry on!

[Bored at 3:00AM]

This read like a fill-in issue for FLASH, not something that should be appearing in one of DC's flagship books. Van Scriver's art was nice though, but nothing spectacular.

I'll give JLA one more issue to get it's act together or I'm gone. I'll just wait a few months and swtich over to James Robinson's Justice League book instead.

[Mr.EZ]

Thank you Dwayne McDuffie! Because of your crap writing, I get to save money instead of buying a book that would only wind up in the garbage anyway.

[Usernamessd]

Mod: I didn't see another thread on this issue; if there is, feel free to merge one with the other.

Synopsis: Flash and Wonder Woman put out a big fire, before dealing with the latest plan of Queen Bee. Along the way there is interesting interaction between the two characters, but it felt too much like a Flash story with WW as a guest star.

Also, too much of the book was spent on the fire (8 out of 22 pages, when it really only needed 4 , maybe 5).

The Queen Bee/HIVE plot was pretty good, but would have been better with more pages which would have allowed more characterization for Queen Bee and a less abrupt and anticlimactic ending.

Not a great issue, but I'm cutting McDuffie some slack on this; there was some stuff I liked and I suspect that this story/arc was adversely affected by all the "moving parts" related to Final Crisis.

Great issue,Honestly some people :rolleyes:

[Chiroptera]

I loved it. This has been my favorite issue in a long while. Honestly, I think any team book where they DON'T occasionally devote an issue to just a few heroes instead of the whole team is dull.

Sometimes it's fun to just spotlight two or three members of a team and see how they work together.
I thought this was a fun romp where we got to see Flash and WW, two of the closest friends amongst the League, get together and just be super heroes for an evening. Nothing ground breaking or earth shattering, but certainly nothing to be disappointed in.

I liked how quickly they stopped Queen Bee, anti-climactic perhaps, but it's Flash and Wonder Woman. Of all the characters that can be put up against the Queen these are the trump card ones. It was bad luck for her that these two were closest to the scene. Wally is just to fast, and Diana's lasso makes Queen's minions rather useless (as we saw).

The issue is simple, which I suspect will be why alot of people are unhappy with it, but I loved it. It was like the classic comics where the whole story got told in one comic and we got to see some fun heroic adventuring.

[Alex L]

I also dug it.

Like Chiro said (can I call you Chiro?) it was a story that begun, middled, and ended in one comic -- which is a nice break from the multipart 4-part, 6-issue, 12-part storyarcs that you see in so many other books on the shelf.

A one-issue story isn't something that should be done all the time, to be sure, but to have a breath in between story arcs is kind of nice.

This issue at once explains that the Flash is part of the JLA, and also establishes that he may not be there for all their fights. As much as he might want to be there, he is a father now, and his kids come before superheroing.

I can see why some people don't like it, or would consider it filler... but hey, I dug it.

[Hawkman]

I liked it, too, which I didn't expect at all after reading the preview pages a couple of days ago. Started off slowly but ultimately entertained me. I was even happy to see Wally officially back on the team by the end, which was equally unexpected as I'm not much of a Flash fan, anyway. I also felt McDuffie nailed the voices for both of the featured characters, something that past writers of their respective solo titles have often failed to do.

It was nothing deep or complex, but I thought Justice League of America #20 was a good one-shot issue that served the purpose of re-introducing Wally into the League.

[LordAllMighty]

Great issue,Honestly some people :rolleyes:

I agree, it was a good issue.

To each their own, I guess.

The issue is simple, which I suspect will be why alot of people are unhappy with it, but I loved it. It was like the classic comics where the whole story got told in one comic and we got to see some fun heroic adventuring.

From what I read, it's not a lot of people.

[Magneto Rocks]

Count me as both one of the people who thinks this is the best issue of JLA in a while and also the best issue of "Flash" since Guggenheim! I think Flash, moreso than most other solo books, is a book which really needs a strong voice from Wally to keep it going, and McDuffie gave us a GREAT one. After this, I wouldn't mind seeing him take Wally's solo book!

The story was light fluff, but it was an enjoyable oldschool adventure and I enjoyed the tribute to Flash Facts! Combine that with BEAUTIFUL art (That may be the most gorgeous Diana ever) and it was a great issue.

[HaroldAllnut]

but honestly do we really need an issue thats main focus is pretty much just the flash and WW, I don't think so.

I loved it. This has been my favorite issue in a long while. Honestly, I think any team book where they DON'T occasionally devote an issue to just a few heroes instead of the whole team is dull.

Sometimes it's fun to just spotlight two or three members of a team and see how they work together.
I thought this was a fun romp where we got to see Flash and WW, two of the closest friends amongst the League, get together and just be super heroes for an evening. Nothing ground breaking or earth shattering, but certainly nothing to be disappointed in.

I liked how quickly they stopped Queen Bee, anti-climactic perhaps, but it's Flash and Wonder Woman. Of all the characters that can be put up against the Queen these are the trump card ones. It was bad luck for her that these two were closest to the scene. Wally is just to fast, and Diana's lasso makes Queen's minions rather useless (as we saw).

The issue is simple, which I suspect will be why alot of people are unhappy with it, but I loved it. It was like the classic comics where the whole story got told in one comic and we got to see some fun heroic adventuring.

I essentially concur with Chiroptera. Van Sciver's art was gorgeous as usual and I think it's an excellent point to say that team books that only focus on the team as a whole usually end up being either boring or unnecessarily complex. Overall, good issue. I'm picking up the next one as well. McDuffie > Meltzer so far. I'm just a little miffed that they picked such a good guy for the team, only to inundate him with crossovers and events that he has to tie into. This issue was a good example of how he can write done-in-ones with the best of them, Dini included (but Countdown excluded); however, I will not lie. It's not the absolute best issue I've ever read simply because nothing stood out as remarkable. It was solid DC, it was solid Flash, it was solid McDuffie, as far as I'm concerned, but there wasn't anything AMAZING about it.

Still picking up the next issue, though.

I recommend it, overall.

[Binker]

By Nathaniel Ruff (also known as Binker and Nate on many forums)

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #20

Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Art and Cover by Ethan Van Sciver
Edited by Eddie Berganza

PLOT:
The Flash has not been answering his JLA signal, so now he has to answer to Wonder Woman! But first they have to survive an attack by the Queen Bee and her new drones from the H.I.V.E in a story that only superstar artist Ethan Van Sciver (Green Lantern: Rebirth) could bring to life!

REVIEW:
This is it! I'm back with Justice League of America! Ever since Dwayne McDuffie started his run, I've been missing out on the book. But there were reasons: I missed the Wedding Special, thus me reading the Injustice Gang arc was shot down. And it was after #16 that I mainly heard negative comments over McDuffie's run. So that's why, since Brad Meltzer's departure, that I've been missing JLA. But the thing is, and this is for every book, people will always have things to say, both positive and negative. But in the end, there is always going to be a big difference between hearing about it than reading it for yourself. So despite the questioning, I really wanted to return to this series, and #20 felt like a good jumping-on point. I took a gamble, and with #20 becoming my first Dwayne McDuffie JLA issue, let's check it out for myself: Justice League of America #20!

For this issue, it means two things: again, my return to JLA, but it’s also a return to a character since I dropped his book: the Flash. I don't want to get into why I dropped it, so I just won't say anything. Flash is our main character in the book, with Wonder Woman as a supporting character (unless she would be considered a main character as well). The Justice League are not in this issue at all, even though Batman & Superman are referenced. For me at least, because I have missed out on the Flash book since the middle of the "Wild Wests" arc, this issue did provide a catch up on Wally's life since I dropped the book. In a way, with that in mind with the story and the comedy, it was more of a Flash issue than an issue of JLA. It by no means is a bad thing because, again, I missed out on Flash for a while, and I haven't picked up JLA since Meltzer left and Flash (Wally) was the then-newest member in the reformed League. Two birds: one stone.

Also, in terms of McDuffie's writing, I didn't seem to find anything wrong with it. Flash was written right, so was Wonder Woman. The story was very good, and everything was handled well. I didn't know if I was missing anything, or if this was the case of “bad McDuffie writing” I've been hearing to which now I would've had something to say about it. But no, even people before I made this review all agreed that this was very good. So maybe this is an example of McDuffie getting the free reign in storytelling he's wanting to do, because ever since he started all the issues were ties to something: the Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding, Tangent: Superman's Reign, and Salvation Run. Although, we are going to get another tie-in next on the villains central to Final Crisis. But as of this review, that issue seems to be the only tie-in we'll get for a while. And with promises from DC on great JLA stories to come, we'll see.

Overall, my return to JLA, and my first experience with McDuffie's writing were all positive. It was doubled also to include a return, and catch-up, to Flash since I've been missing out on the character since I dropped the book in the middle of the "Wild Wests" arc. McDuffie handled the writing well, something I can now that I've read his work. Now with the two villains from Final Crisis in the next issue, I guess that will be some sort of experience to see how he writes the tie-ins he's been doing technically since he started his run.

RATING: Yay

Next Issue: Meet Libra and Human Flame, the villains from the upcoming Final Crisis!