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Mild Mannered Reviews - Justice League Adventures

Justice League Adventures #29

Scheduled to arrive in stores: March 3, 2004

Cover date: May 2004

Writer: Matt Howarth
Penciller: Aluir Amancio
Inker: Rob Leigh

"The Simultaneous Effect"

Japan has suddenly appeared on top the american city, Seattle - overlapping its contents and even the citizens, leaving them trapped in walls and suchlike. Green Lantern, Superman and Batman rush to the rescue, evacuating the city as more and more of Japan appears and merges with Seattle.

Batman wonders how it is that the basic laws of physics are being broken when he discovers a fracture in reality. Impetuously he walks straight into it and appears in... Tokyo!

Wonder Woman, Manhunter, Hawkgirl and a non-wisecracking Flash are surprised to find the Dark Knight in Japan but continue to work on separating people from the buildings and evacuating the citizens, Batman tells them that a fracture in space links the two cities and for some reason they are merging with each other and promptly jumps back into the fracture expecting to arrive back in Seattle - he does not.

The merging suddenly comes to a halt and the entire league converge in Japan, minus the Batman. Unfortunately despite their best efforts they cannot find the fracture Batman jumped into and worse yet their mission is interrupted by yet another crisis. This time Japan is merging with Africa. The League set about capturing stray animals as Wonder Woman leaps into the fracture to rescue Batman.

In a strange 'zone' Wonder Woman discovers Batman has been taken prisoner on a giant machine. A scrawny little man named Doctor Double X is behind everything and Wonder Woman confronts him unfortunately an energy double of Doctor Double X appears and begins a battle with the Amazon.

Doctor Double X lets slip that he is trapped in this 'zone' he calls Dimension X. The cause of his imprisonment and the problems on Earth are from what they are all standing on - a broken teleporter.

Doctor Double X and Double X flee back to Earth through the fracture leaving Batman and Wonder Woman behind. The two heroes realize they must stop the machine in order to stop all the problems and stumble upon the machines creator, Professor Ryko.

Ryko explains that his machine was an experiment and that Doctor Double X had forced him to use it before it was tested. The outcome was their imprisonment in this 'interface zone' or dimension X.

Doctor Double X panicked and forced Ryko to keep reactivating the machine in hopes it would send them home - it didn't instead it began teleporting cities and superimposing them on top of existing ones.

The three of them try to override what the villain has done with little success. They can't turn it off and the evil Doctor had in a panic, set the power to maximum - soon the entire world would fold onto itself.

The League on Earth are dealing with just that!

Wonder Woman relocates the fracture and pulls Doctor Double X and Double X back in the zone just as Green Lantern tears a fracture in space and finds the zone.

Batman warns the League not to enter and throws Ryko and Doctor Double X out of the zone and into their custody. Batman then explains that Ryko set the machine to overload and that they were all getting out before the zones doorway implodes.

Double X tries to stop the machine as Wonder Woman and Batman leap out and the doorway closes behind them leaving the energy villain trapped.

Doctor Double X swears revenge which Batman laughs off and Ryko worries about continuing his work. Batman, who it seems has always followed Ryko's work reminds him that science is a tool and not to abandon his vision to benefit mankind because of fear that evildoers would abuse it.

Wonder Woman agrees and adds that he will just have to be cautious from now on.

The League smiles and leap skyward in triumph.

The End.

Story - 2: I have to say something - with the animated style titles there were always readers that dismissed them as babyish (as others do to the entire medium that is comics) I in the past disagreed totally, Batman Adventures and Superman Adventures even the others that followed all had strong adult writing in many of their issues and its writing throughout their respective runs, even writing issues stronger then some of the shows episodes - Justice League Adventures however is not the case, I am finding it to follow a path completely opposite to the show. Case in point: Cities merging with each other, occupying the same physical space? Interesting idea, sadly the rest of the issue didn't really grab me.

Now, Aquaman cutting his hand off in an episode and GL torturing himself over an apparent genocide - both happen in the show, but month after month we are offered up below average stories in this book.

Perhaps I am wrong and would gladly appreciate reader feedback but it just seems that it this title is very poorly undertaken. A little back story on Double X and Doctor Double X wouldn't have gone amiss and what has happened to the merged cities and the people strapped in walls? - as far as I remember Bats, Ryko and Wonder Woman set the machine to explode without reversing anything!!

Art - 3: I was always in two minds over Aluir Amancio's art back in Superman Adventures, in this issue that is again the case. In some panels his art looks stunning and in others it looks awkward. The uber bland coloring did absolutely nothing to help matters however as the issue progresses both art and coloring come into their own.

Cover Art - 4: Weaker than last issue and sadly very bland looking - considering the potential on the story inside. The characters however look just like their models from the show which should always be applauded and is the only reason for a high rating.