The Hypothetical Woman

I actually checked this book out at the local Library, even though it didn't look all that great when I was flipping through it... you can't beat free for taking a chance. I actually took it home for a couple reasons: 1) THE CREATIVE TEAM: Gail Simone has a fabulous reputation as a writer (Wonder Woman: Rise of the Olympian, Secret Six: Six Degrees of Devastation, Birds of Prey, Vol. 1: Of Like Minds) and Jose Garcia-Lopez is pretty awesome too (Modern Masters, Vol. 5: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez). I knew them both more by rep than by experience, but the rep was excellent for both... so why not, right? 2) THE CONCEPT: The Justice Leagues overthrows a dictator, only to have him take up refuge in China (who offers him asylum) and launch a multi-pronged assault against the League. His most powerful weapon in his war on the JLA is a woman who can resurrect anyone who dies in her presence as a superhuman, giving him his own anti-Justice League. SOLD! So, I actually read this book in one sitting. Even though it has some messy bits in the writing here and there, fans of the JLA will likely enjoy it. Simone does a great job of pointing out the problems in having a group like the Justice League toppling dictators, and creates a great villain in General Tizuk (the dictator in question)who makes some of the other DC villains look lame with the strength and execution of his nefarious plan. Tizuk exhibits great skill in manipulating world leaders and organizations in his vendetta against the heroes, and stays one step ahead of everyone throughout most of the book. Unlike many JLA writers, Simone manages to move the spotlight from one character (or group of characters) to the next very effectively, and each character represents like a major player (in particular, Wonder Woman is a BEAST in this book). No one on the team comes off as a glorified sidekick, which is good. The art by Garcia-Lopez here is strong, if sometimes unremarkable. There are times when I felt the art didn't quite enhance the writing like it should, but it never took away from the story. The less-than-inspired inks by Klaus Janson and Sean Phillips were not always a good fit for Garcia-Lopez's smooth compositions... He inked himself on the covers, which were all breathtaking. Don't get me wrong, the art is good, but a smoother inker (like Mark Farmer, Kevin Nowlan, or Jesse Delperdang)would have made this book EPIC! Anyways, the crew was mostly successful on "Hypothetical Woman," creating several new characters, and showing that you can do a great, self-contained JLA story without rehashing old villains endlessly! COP IT! holla! -samax GhettoManga Quarterly

When the JLA is called in by the UN to remove a murderous dictator from the helm of his nation, they found themselves bound securely by international laws and rules. However, this man knows how to bend those same rules to suit his own purposes. General Tuzik is going to use the international system to wage a one-man war on the JLA, and he has more than one ace up his sleeve. Can the Justice League survive everything that Tuzik will send against them? Let's hope so! I am a big fan of graphic novels - some are quite excellent, and some are quite bad. Fortunately, this one falls into the former category. This book is crammed full of lots of exciting action, pitting the JLA against numerous opponents, requiring them to use their muscles, their brains and even their hearts to win out. I really enjoyed this book and give it my highest recommendations.