Justice, Volume 2

This volume is the third in the Justice trilogy written by Jim Krueger and illustrated by Alex Ross and Doug Braithwaite. It picks up right where volume 2 left off with the good guys and the bad guys priming their forces for the final showdown and I have gotta say that it does not dissapoint. Going into the story, the readers (for the most part) know how the story will end...the good guys will undoubtedly win and kick the bad guys' collective butt. But knowing that fact doesn't detract from the story and half the fun of the story is seeing the heroes get to that point. The highlights in this book (in my humble opinion, of course) are the awesome fight scenes. In the first opening chapter, you have Captain Marvel has going up against Black Adam and a brain-washed duo of Mary Marvel and Capt. Marvel Jr. Capt. Marvel tries to pull his punches and the emotion he feels for his family clearly shows through. Thanks to Ross and Braitwaite, saying "Shazam" never looked so good. Another highlight in the fight scene between a very gruesome looking Wonder Womand and Cheetah. There are many more fight scenes, rescue attempts, double crosses, near fatalities but thanks to our intrepid heroes, they do not come to fruition. I have said it in my reviews of the previous volumes and I will say it again, this is one of the best told JLA stories in recent years and will be enjoyed by fans of both Silver Age and Modern Age comics. And finally, for those who are still doubting the awesomeness of this comics, I have 2 words: "Vampire Joker". 'Nuff said.

I am not embarrassed in the least to acknowledge that I did not give Justice: Volume I a rave review. I enjoyed it, but I frankly claimed it was more of the same and didn't break any new ground in terms of originality. Let me be the first to admit that Justice: Volume II more than exceeded my expectations. Everything that I didn't like about the first volume has evaporated with the second. In this volume, we finally see the heroes being treated as interestingly as the villains, and we finally get to see them taking some action and proving why they are CONSIDERED heroes in the first place. And best of all? We finally get to see the heroes interact in this volume. And interact they do! It's obvious Alex Ross, one of the plotters and cover artist and general superstar, has an affinity for the silver age mythos of the DC Universe, and he's doing his best to intersperse them throughout this entire storyline. We've got some wonderful dialogue between characters we love to see talking with each other, though we normally wouldn't think of them being in the same room. And, what really rocked me hard, Aquaman is presented as a man who actually COULD be a king of seventy-five percent of the earth. Okay, so this volume is far and away better than the first, which makes total sense considering it's the second installment of a three-volume storyline. The art is very attractive, the plot is interesting, the dialogue is entertaining, but if you're a DC Geek like me, the sheer number of characters intermingling is a joy. ~Scott William Foley, author of Souls Triumphant

I'm a huge fan of Alex Ross, but I felt the illustrations in Volume 1 were somewhat - I don't have another term for it - muddied. Volume 2 is back to what I expect when I see an Alex Ross book: amazing depictions of old friends (I've been reading comics just about since the beginning of the Silver Age). Volume 2 has all the visual twists, surprises, and delights I had expected from the beginning. Sigh. Now he's just made waiting for Vol. 3 all that more painful!

This book collects the #5-8 of the ongoing Jusitce maxi-series written by Jim krueger (Earth X) and illustrated by Doug Braithwaite and Alex Ross. The story picks up immediately after volume one of Justice where the JLA is systemetically being taken apart. The heroes begin to somewhat regain their footing but the battle is far from over. We find out that there is even a bigger play on hand than what appears. Batman is being mind-controlled, so are several members of the JLA. But thorugh the intervention of second tier or reserve JLA members such as Captain Marvel, the heroes narrowly escape the clutches of the Legion of Doom. And speaking of Captain Marvel, he has a prominent presence in this book. His powers and representation here is very similar to that in another story, Kingdom Come (which should come as no surprise). But not soon have the heroes regained their composure do they find out that their loved ones, i.e. Aquaman's son have been kidnapped. The battle lines have been drawn and the JLA and Legion of Doom are ready to go at it, which one can assume will take place in the next volume...and I for one can't wait. The art team continues their excellent work. I love the scenes where Captain Marvel swoops in to save Superman and with the ease he disposes of Bizzaro, Metallo, Parasite and Grundy. Since, Parasite took Superman's strength, he also gained his weaknesses and Capt. Marvel exploits that by ripping out Metallo's kryptonite heart and using it against Parasite...awesome. I also liked the little banter that Superman had with Capt. Marvel after they recues the Flash whose own metabolism is killing him. Superman: Do you have any money on you? Capt. Marvel: Billy has maybe ten bucks, why? Supes: Barry has to eat. An there's an all-you-can-eat buffet about 50 miles from here. It's $5.99. I hate asking...but my wallet got burned up when you threw me into the sun. Capt.: This is going to be unfair to the buffet, isn't it? Like I said, the writing is great. As a bonus feature of sorts, the book features an intro by Doug Braithwaite which was very poignant. He writes about how he read the JLA as a kid and has the same enthusiasm as he pencils Justice. There is also more files of of profiles presented for heoroes and villains from Batman's computer. You also get a look at several pencilled pages. In case it didn't coem through, I love this book. The way the story is written is vintage Superfriends type cartoon which has been matured to certain extent. It's an excellent read and I am very enthusiactic to see how it will end. So, do yourself a favor and pick this up. You won't regret it.

disagree with earlier reviewer who said the continuation from first book was weak.think it is a good lead onto the final one - just wish I had that to read now - imagine those who have been reading it in comic from & have been having to wait over a space of 2 years for the series to start - finish! I always reread the last trade paperback in a series before reading the new one I just bought for best continuity. everyone goes on about how great Alex Ross work here is so I won't other than to say it works great over the penciller's work. The story is terffic and shows the JLA in arguably the worst predicament in their career. can't wait for the third & final volume to come out when the League will no doubt inevitably triumph & the bad guys get their come uppance!