Mild Mannered Reviews - JLA Comics

JLA #48

JLA #48

Scheduled to arrive in stores: October 25, 2000

Cover date: December 2000

Writer: Mark Waid
Penciller: Bryan Hitch and J.H. Williams
Inker: Paul Neary and Mick Gray

Queen of Fables (Part Two): "Truth is Stranger"

Reviewed by: Neal Bailey (baileyn@cc.wwu.edu)


Batman examines the storybook that started the whole fairy-tale mess, and the city is still a mess.

The league, sans Plastic Man and Manhunter, stands above Wonder Woman, asleep in glass, wondering what to do. They decide a kiss from a prince will do. Aquaman, once a prince, does the honor. Wonder Woman awakens.

Martian Manhunter plunges towards the witch's oven as Plastic Man looks on in horror.

A lasso pulls back the witch, and Manhunter is spared. Wonder Woman has arrived.

The league has no idea what to do. Batman shows up, opens the book, and the league is sucked in.

They are in new outfits, in a feudal land. Superman complains that he hates magic.

An old archer approaches Wonder Woman and lauds her as Snow White. He then offers to explain the situation.

Meanwhile, the evil queen decimates the Amazon museum, mocking its qualities. She kills some cops with her minions.

The old man with the league explains that this current state of affairs in the city is how it always was, before the queen was defeated by strong magicians. She was entombed in the book, and the book was locked. The world went on and remade itself as though she had never existed. Now that she's been let out of the book, the world has been placed into chaos again. The queen is drawing the power from every story in existence, thus the dissolving of all popular culture.

The league thanks the man and leaves the book.

Demons swoop in for the kill, and the league pauses and examines them in horror. The book ends.

3Story - 3: Last issue it was original, now it's kind of dragging. It seems that this issue could have wrapped things up. But I don't know. What really bugged me was the fact that Batman is doing exactly what he would have done were he still in the league. Popping up with information when information is prudent, and helping as he can, for he lacks superhuman strength. He hasn't left the league at all, and I hope that this is acknowledged in the next issue and he is reinstated, otherwise I'm going to eat me a JLA review sandwich with mustard and sardines.

4Art - 4: Normally, books that switch artists halfway through bug me, but I didn't notice this time until I started to write the credits for this review, thanks to the change being neatly tucked into the entrance and exit from the book. Nice job. Minus one for splashes that were unnecessary...Wonder Woman's I WANT YOU FOR THE JLA moment, especially. Read it. You'll understand. But only minus one, because the issue was otherwise spectacular.

3Cover Art - 3: OHHHHHHM. Maybe we can channel our energy and heal her. Blah. Nice looking, but weird. It seems like the JLA's just being a bunch of perverts wishing that the glass wasn't where it is. Also, Manhunter and ole Plasty were nowhere near Wonder Woman while she lay in slumber. Little things, but they distracted me from the cover. I like the reflections, though. Nicely done.


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2000

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