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Mild Mannered Reviews - JLA Comics

JLA #93

Scheduled to arrive in stores: February 25, 2004

Cover date: April 2004

Writer: Denny O'Neil
Penciller: Tan Eng Haut
Inker: Tan Eng Haut

Extinction Part 3: "Soul Survivor"

Reviewed by: John-Paul Zito

Peppy has gone missing from his JLA tour guides and they are frantically trying to find him. After and exhaustive search and a meeting in the watch tower Batman picks up the alien's signal from a set of bat-signals he slipped into Peppy's earth clothes that were provided by the JLA. It appears Peppy has climbed a mountain top directly beneath his space ship in orbit.

The ship opens up a worm hole that carries forth a barrage of asteroids directed at earth with the intention of totally annihilating the human species. GL and Superman leap into action destroy the giant space rocks and board Peppy's ship. They steer the ship away from Peppy's direct influence.

Meanwhile on the ground the rest of the JLA confront Peppy about why he's done what he's done. He confesses that his religion has steered him wrong and he's not sure what to believe or what to do next, and the only reason he came to earth in the first place is because he is the last of his kind. He had hoped to find a home among the silver masked monkeys but now that they are extinct as well he is lost.

The JLA sympathize with Peppy's plight and allow him to return to his ship and leave this galaxy. However, when Peppy gets aboard his ship he initiates a self-destruct sequence, destroying himself and his ship. The JLA are shocked and saddened. Only Superman understands the pain of being alone in the universe.

Story - 3: The end was a bit of a let down for me. It felt a bit rushed and certain elements, like Peppy being the last of his kind, appeared tacked on. While we all sympathize with Peppy that doesn't erase his mistakes, and the JLA seem to too easily get over it, especially Batman who was suspicious enough to put tracers on the alien to begin with. The time captions that constantly explain the progression of time became increasingly distracting in this issue and only ever hold weight when they're used to show how fast the flash is.

Over all it was a well done arc. I enjoyed the character interaction and the premise. I think the best compliment I can give is to say that as a JLA reader and enthusiast I would welcome the chance to read another Justice League story by Denny.

Art - 4: I got a couple of e-mails from people saying I was off the money on my assessment of Tan's art during his run on JLA. Instead of responding to them all individually I figure I'll just explain myself here. When evaluating art I judge on how it serves the story. That is to say I'm more concerned with how the sequential movement of the "frames" work than whether I enjoy the artist's style. Not that that isn't a factor, style has to suit the story and the characters and most of all it has to be clean and decipherable. But I try to remain objective about style, I'm not looking to homogenize the comic book industry and only give positive reviews to artists who draw in a more realistic style like I prefer.

Based on those criteria I think Tan did a good job and maybe his kinetic characters aren't suited for a full time place on JLA, that doesn't take away from the quality of his work.

Cover Art - 3: Eh. Pretty average. The Jack Kirby tech design at the top of the watch tower window is neat though.

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