Mild Mannered Reviews - JLA Comics
Justice League of America #37
Scheduled to arrive in stores: September 23, 2009Cover date: November 2009
"Royal Pain!" - Chapter Three: "Dead Man's Hand!"
Writer: Len Wein
Penciller: Tom Derenick
Inker: Dan Green, Mario Alquiza, Jonathan Glapion, Rob Hunter and Walden Wong
Reviewed by: Michael Bailey
Roulette and Amos Fortune talk about their "game" momentarily before it continues. Wonder Woman and Red Tornado manage to prevent members of the Royal Flush Gang from robbing the Museum of National History in New York City despite having some bad luck caused by Amos Fortune. Dr. Light and Plastic Man have a similar encounter at Stellar Studios in LA, while Vixen and Firestorm take care of the Gang at the McCormick Place Convention Complex in Chicago, Illinois. Roulette appears to win the game but her victory is cut short when the League bursts in on them. The two manage to escape and the League is forced to fight their minions. Later Roulette meets with the Key to give him the information she has collected on the League while Amos fortune is apparently shot by the wife of one of the dead members of the Royal Flush Gang.
Story - 3: I wasn't completely blown away by this issue but at the same time it was a satisfying conclusion to the story as a whole.
The main problem I had with this issue is the fact that we had three scenes with different characters that were essentially the same. Wonder Woman and Red Tornado fight members of the Royal Flush Gang, have some bad luck and then win the day. Dr. Light and Plastic Man fights members of the Royal Flush Gang have some bad luck and then win the day. Firestorm and Vixen fight members of the Royal Flush Gang, have some bad luck and then win the day. It was very old school and made for a breezy read and was a lot of fun, but it went by really fast and seemed to end the story too quickly.
There were some nice character bits, though. Dr. Light was the best she has been in this title or at the very least the most likable since she is shown to have a heart underneath that cold exterior. Vixen had another, "I'm keeping this League alive!" moment this time with Superman helping via flashback. It felt a little out of place but worked for me nonetheless.
Overall this was a fun story arc and it was nice to see Len Wein back with the League for a few issues. The future of this title holds a lot of promise with the coming of James Robinson next month and the new line-up. I am hoping the book gets back on track because as much as I have been enjoying the stories presented I welcome a somewhat consistent cast.
Art - 3: The art looked a little rushed in this issue. I enjoyed it and it served the story well, but to me the detail we've seen in the past two issues was missing. Still, it was neat to see the different locations (especially Stellar Studios, boo yah for the INFINITY, INC reference) and the art still had the excitement from the past two installments so I have no real complaints here.
Cover Art - 3: The characters look a little funky and I am curious as to why Superman is on the cover since he appeared in a flashback. Other than that, like the art on the inside, I was pleased with the cover and thought it served the story well.
Mild Mannered Reviews
2009
Note: Month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.January 2009
- Action Comics #871
- Superman #682
- Adventure Comics Special Featuring The Guardian #1
- Supergirl #35
- Superman/Batman #54
- Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom #1
- Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom #2
- Trinity #23
- Trinity #24
- Trinity #25
- Trinity #26
- Superman & Batman vs. Vampires & Werewolves #3
- Superman & Batman vs. Vampires & Werewolves #4
- Justice League of America #27
- Justice Society of America Kingdom Come Special: Superman #1
- Justice Society of America Kingdom Come Special: Magog #1
- Justice Society of America Kingdom Come Special: The Kingdom #1
- Justice Society of America #21
- Tangent: Superman's Reign #9
- Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century #20
- Super Friends #9
- Action Comics #872
- Superman #683
- Supergirl #36
- Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom #3
- Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom #4
- Trinity #27
- Trinity #28
- Trinity #29
- Trinity #30
- Trinity #31
- Final Crisis #5
- Final Crisis: Secret Files #1
- Superman & Batman vs. Vampires & Werewolves #5
- Superman & Batman vs. Vampires & Werewolves #6
- Justice League of America #28
- Justice Society of America #22
- Tangent: Superman's Reign #10
- Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade #1
- Super Friends #10
- Action Comics #873
- Superman #684
- Superman/Batman Annual #3
- Supergirl #37
- Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom #5
- Trinity #32
- Trinity #33
- Trinity #34
- Trinity #35
- Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #2
- Final Crisis #6
- Final Crisis #7
- Justice League of America #29
- Tangent: Superman's Reign #11
- Black Lightning: Year One #1
- Black Lightning: Year One #2
- Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade #2
- Super Friends #11
- Action Comics #874
- Superman #685
- Supergirl #38
- Superman/Batman #55
- Adventure Comics #0
- Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #3
- Trinity #36
- Trinity #37
- Trinity #38
- Trinity #39
- Justice League of America #30
- Tangent: Superman's Reign #12
- Black Lightning: Year One #3
- Black Lightning: Year One #4
- Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade #3
- Super Friends #12
- Superman: World of New Krypton #1
- Action Comics #875
- Superman #686
- Supergirl #39
- Superman/Batman #56
- Superman/Batman #57
- Trinity #40
- Trinity #41
- Trinity #42
- Trinity #43
- Justice League of America #31
- Black Lightning: Year One #5
- Black Lightning: Year One #6
- Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade #4
- Super Friends #13
- Superman: World of New Krypton #2
- Action Comics #876
- Superman #687
- Supergirl #40
- Superman/Batman #58
- Superman/Batman #59
- Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #4
- Trinity #44
- Trinity #45
- Trinity #46
- Trinity #47
- Trinity #48
- Justice League of America #32
- Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade #5
- Super Friends #14
- Superman: World of New Krypton #3
- Action Comics #877
- Superman #688
- Supergirl #41
- Superman/Batman #60
- Trinity #49
- Trinity #50
- Trinity #51
- Trinity #52
- Justice League of America #33
- Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade #6
- Super Friends #15
- Superman: World of New Krypton #4
- Action Comics #878
- Action Comics Annual #12
- Superman #689
- Supergirl #42
- Superman/Batman #61
- Justice League of America #34
- Super Friends #16
- Superman: World of New Krypton #5
- Action Comics #879
- Superman #690
- Supergirl #43
- Superman/Batman #62
- Wednesday Comics #1
- Wednesday Comics #2
- Wednesday Comics #3
- Wednesday Comics #4
- Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #5
- Justice League of America #35
- Justice League: Cry For Justice #1
- Super Friends #17
- Superman: World of New Krypton #6
- Action Comics #880
- Superman #691
- Adventure Comics #1
- Superman: Secret Files 2009 #1
- Superman Annual #14
- Supergirl #44
- Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #2
- Superman/Batman #63
- Blackest Night: Superman #1
- Wednesday Comics #5
- Wednesday Comics #6
- Wednesday Comics #7
- Wednesday Comics #8
- Justice League of America #36
- Justice League: Cry For Justice #2
- Super Friends #18
- Superman: Secret Origin #1
- Superman: World of New Krypton #7
- Action Comics #881
- Superman #692
- Supergirl Annual #1
- Supergirl #45
- Adventure Comics #2
- Superman/Batman #64
- Blackest Night: Superman #2
- Wednesday Comics #9
- Wednesday Comics #10
- Wednesday Comics #11
- Wednesday Comics #12
- Justice League of America #37
- Justice League: Cry For Justice #3
- Super Friends #19
- Superman: Secret Origin #2
- Superman: World of New Krypton #8
- Action Comics #882
- Superman #693
- Supergirl #46
- Adventure Comics #3
- Superman/Batman #65
- World's Finest #1
- Blackest Night: Superman #3
- Justice League of America #38
- Justice League: Cry For Justice #4
- Super Friends #20
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Check out the Comic Index Lists for the complete list of Superman-related comics published in 2009.