Mild Mannered Reviews - JLA Comics

JLA #49

JLA #49

Scheduled to arrive in stores: December 20, 2000

Cover date: January 2001

Writer: Mark Waid
Penciller: Bryan Hitch and Javier Saltares
Inker: Paul Neary and Chris Ivy

Queen of Fables (Part Three): "Unhappily Ever After"

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


Panic and pandemonium grips the world, care of the Queen of Fables. The JLA, in their feudal battle garb, make haste in an attempt to quell disturbances. The demons from the end of the last issue swoop in to get the book, a fairy tale tome that can hold the Queen, if she's forced back into it. Flash, realizing that they need the book to defeat her, takes off running with the book.

The rest of the JLA splits off to attack the Queen at Diana's home, where she has remade the dome into a fairy tale castle. The plan is to hit her with Wonder Woman's lasso to cut through her like butter with the truth: reality.

On the way, Plastic man and Aquaman bicker some more about the fate of Batman as a Leaguer.

Wonder Woman attacks, but the Queen launches Paul Bunyan at her. He takes the lasso and snaps it.

Meanwhile, the rest of the League is confronted with their own respective culture's worst fairy tale demons.

Wonder Woman is quickly subdued with spider webs.

Flash flees the demons into a "Lit Mart", to, as he puts it, "play a long shot".

Diana reaches for her lasso, just out of reach. On the floor. On her side.

Get this: In the very next panel on the very next page, she's standing, tied up between two trees, and the lasso is now on the ground next to the Queen.

Regardless, Superman and Plastic Man arrive, with Green Lantern, and they free Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman grabs the lasso, tags the Queen, and commands her to face the truth. Seeing the reality of the world as it is, she is shocked. Seeing her age as reality as well, she turns into an ugly corpse, and the world returns to normal.

Flash arrives, and opens the book he's got to trap the Queen. She is pulled in and trapped.

Flash reveals the book he used, so that there would be no material for the Queen to draw upon and escape: A Tax Code manual.

The League bickers some more about Batman, and the story ends.

2Story - 2: Attention to continuity and character in this issue suffered. First off, the giant demons that splashed threateningly across the last page of the last issue didn't show up until page five, and that's page five not including ads. They are never even dealt with, merely run from. They would have shown up when Flash arrived to bottle up the Queen.

Further, Wonder Woman's lasso may be magical, but so is the Queen. I do believe that such a ploy would end in the fashion it started ending in: The Queen would have snapped the lasso and the matter would be over with.

Also, regarding how Wonder Woman tagged the Queen with the lasso, Superman, Lantern, and Plasty hold her off. The Queen, at least twice, made absolute mincemeat of all three of them, nay, the whole league with her powers before. Holding them off would be simple for her. And cripes, you'd think she'd pull the lasso away from Wonder Woman. I hate stupid baddies.

4Art - 4: I was very impressed, save with the one slip up that I pointed out in continuity brought about with the two-people art team, I'd imagine. Wonder Woman goes from lying to standing.

Also, with regards to continuity, I was looking at the last few issues for reference's sake, and I also noted that these medieval garbs they wore were taken away when they left the book, and then they magically returned. Go figure.

1Cover Art - 1: First off, I hate covers that have nothing to do with the issues they represent. Second off, I hate badly drawn ones. I never saw a single minotaur in all three issues of this arc. Also, the heroes were not in the costumes they wear on the cover once in this issue save when all of the minotaur-esque chaos was destroyed. Go figure.


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Mild Mannered Reviews

2001

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

January 2001

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