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Mild Mannered Reviews - JLA Comics

Justice League: Cry For Justice #4

Justice League: Cry For Justice #4

Scheduled to arrive in stores: October 7, 2009

Cover date: December 2009

"Cry For Justice: The Fix"

Writter: James Robinson
Penciller: Mauro Cascioli
Inker: Mauro Cascioli

"The Origin of Mikaal Tomas: Starman"

Writter: Len Wein
Penciller: Sergio Carrera
Inker: Sergio Carrera

Michael Bailey Reviewed by: Michael Bailey

Click to enlarge



"The Fix"

Gotham City

With the aid of Shazam the heroes survived the explosion caused by Clayface. They discuss how Prometheus was able to control Clayface to the point of turning him into a suicide bomber and what the villain's ultimate plan is before deciding that questioning one of the villains they have in custody might be the best way to get that information.

San Francisco

Jay Garrick finds Miss Martian moments after she foils a kidnapping plot.

Paris, France

Mikaal prevents Congo Bill from crossing the line and killing his opponent during a battle with Prometheus's people. They question Arak and Penny Dreadful with only Arak willing to tell them what he knows. Penny attacks Arak for this though Mikaal takes her down in short order. While they do get some useful intelligence the trail goes cold.

Metropolis and Charlotte, North Carolina

Jay Garrick tracks down Mon-El before meeting with Hourman and Liberty Belle.

Gotham City

Ollie expresses the misgivings he feels over their recent acts of torture. After a short and sweet confrontation Ollie convinces them that they need to get the rest of the League in on this.

Keystone City

Jay Garrick rests after his marathon run around the country. The Shade appears at his door and after convincing Jay that he means no harm they sit down to discuss what the Shade has come to tell him.

22,300 Miles Above the Earth

The remains of the Justice League inform Hal, Ollie and Ray that they have some explaining to do.

4Story - 4: Here's a quick confession; the main reason I liked this issue so much is because it has a lot of Jay Garrick in it.

Jay Garrick is my favorite Golden Age hero. Well, my favorite Golden Age hero that isn't Superman, but he's not really a Golden Age hero anymore so Jay sits at the top of the heap. I just plain like the guy. Not only is he one of the elder statesman of the DCU but he's also the most normal of them having a wife and a fairly stable home life.

I just like the guy so seeing a lot of him this month made me smile.

The main problem I had with this issue was the fact that we are now four issues in and this story is just crawling along. The pacing of CRY FOR JUSTICE was never brisk but it seems to be walking when at the halfway point it should be going at a full run. While the series is still entertaining and I am enjoying it I am also concerned that when the end comes the story will either close out way too fast or that it won't come to a close at all and spill over into JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA. Maybe it's because these books are four bucks a pop. Maybe I'm just old fashioned. I don't know. I do know that this book is becoming a frustrating read.

Having said that I did think there were some good moments this month. Ollie getting to the point where the torture perpetrated by his friends is at the "all he can stands and he can't stands no more" point was a definite high water mark for the issue because he's right. Hal and Ray have gone too far. I get the feeling that Ollie only came along to support his friend and now that things have gone too far he has to be the one to hit the stop button. The whole thing with the trick arrow was a nice update on an old concept and in all honesty it was the main thing I liked about the issue outside of Jay Garrick.

Despite having some problems with this issue I remain positive about the series as a whole. I am working under the assumption that the story will be good when taken as a whole.

Kind of annoying on a monthly basis, but probably worth it in the end.

I hope.

4Art - 4: The artwork continues to be strong. Mauro has a fantastic style and it nearly makes up for the fact that the story is moving so slow. I have no real complaints for this issue.

"The Origin of Mikaal Thomas"

When the woman he loved was murdered while attempting to warn Earth of his race's impending invasion Mikaal took up her cause and tried to avenge her death. After escaping captivity Mikaal fled to Earth and struggled to find his way in the world. His oldest foe eventually tracks him to Earth and the two battle leaving Mikaal's Sonic Crystal embedded into his chest. Eventually he was drugged and forced to be a side show act for years until Jack Knight found him. Today he fights crime as a would-be super-hero.

4Story - 4: Another solid origin. I especially liked reading Robinson's thoughts on Mikaal as a character. This was definitely the highlight of the issue for me.

4Art - 4: The artwork wasn't spectacular, but it fit the characters. Again, I have no real complaints on the art for these two pages.

4Cover Art - 4: This cover had a nice composition though the orange of the fire made my eyes hurt a bit. Other than that I liked the symmetry of the image and the characters look fantastic.


Mild Mannered Reviews

2009

Note: Month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.

January 2009

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