Ultramarine Corps

Any Morrison is good Morrison and any problems I had with his previous JLA work had more to do with the sometimes awkward and usually overblown artwork. McGuiness is a perfect partner in crime for this story, however, as his tight, expressive linework really sings. It's a neat little superhero tale on its own, but, in the broader context, is an important prequel to Grant's "Seven Soldiers of Victory." There were a number of puzzling questions in my mind after I finished SSoV and this mini cleared several of them up nicely.

First off, JLA, as written by Grant Morrison, is THE superhero comic of all time. Exciting, reinvigorating, packed full of details and characterization! Ah, such characterization! And history, too! By history, I mean, JUSTICE LEAGUE history. Grant's run on JLA was a heartfelt love letter to all incarnations of the JLA, especially the Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman-led JLA. His run on this comic was the inspiration for The AUTHORITY (and no doubt influenced ULTIMATES as well as Jeph Loebs' run on Superman/Batman) ; widescreen, epic superhero extravaganzas of pure imagination and fun. I can understand where some may be disappointed by the story featured in ULTRAMARINE CORPS, but in order to fully appreciate its many details, plot points, characters and events, one truly must be versed in Morrison's JLA run as well as his SEVEN SOLDIERS mega-meta-event, and even his current BATMAN run. This is not some marketing ploy hatched to sell comics; it's simply great storytelling of the truly EPIC quality and stature. One of the best aspects of Grant's work is that he always gives stuff to chew and mull over; his comics are never of the disposable, throwaway and forget about type. The more times you read them, the more you glean from them. Talk about your value for money! Taking stock of the ULTRAMARINE CORPS, the infant universe of QWEWQ -- Grant first made mention of this back in issue 12 of JLA, Part 3 of the ROCK OF AGES arc; when Mote says to Green Lantern: "YOU SHOULD TAKE TIME TO SEE AND REMEMBER THESE WONDERS..." that's not an aside, that's foreshadowing at it's most subtle and skillful -- any aspiring writers would be wise to study Morrison's work for how to lay out a story in the long term and plant seeds that come to perfect fruition in due time. Now, QWEWQ gives birth to NEH-BUH-LOH, one of the prime villains of SEVEN SOLDIERS. The Ultramarine Corps were introduced in the EXECUTIVE ACTION arc from JLA #s 24-26. Superbia, the floating city, was introduced right at the end of that arc, and, until Morrison wrote the ULTRAMARINE CORPS arc, I longed to see what he could/would do with such a great concept (which is, no doubt, a nod to Jack Kirby's SUPERTOWN, only with a more "AUTHORITY-esque/Post-WATCHMEN" spin put on it. The characters of Knight and Squire have also returned recently in the pages of Morrison's BATMAN -- the CLUB OF HEROES arc so exquisitely drawn by JH Williams III. I find it interesting and a little frustrating to read reviews of this arc that dismiss it as weak or under-developed and it really is an indication of readers' inability/unwillingness to share in Morrison's vision. I can tell that Morrison is having a blast playing in the DC-verse, where he feels truly at home. Who else but Morrison would equip Batman with such diverse and kooky stuff such as: a Dalek, the head of the IRON GIANT and the claw of the Robot from LOST IN SPACE? What? You didn't see that? It's all on display in Bats' "sci-fi closet" -- "DON'T TELL MY