JLA (1997-2006) Vol. 9

I purchased volume 9 of this series of JLA deluxe TPBs to complete the collection. My goal when I started was to have the entire series of JLA comic books in TPB, and thanks to this series I have been able to do that. This was my first time reading JLA in its entirety. In my opinion, the first few volumes have the best stories, and I think many people may choose just to collect Volume. 1-4 to collect the entire Grant Morrison run on the book. I would recommend continuing to Volume 6. After that, I do not think you need to have volumes 7-9 unless you are like me, and just want to complete the series.If you are like me you care a lot about how the books look when standing on your shelf. The first three volumes feature a side image that form together to display the cover to JLA issue #1. After that the next books feature, Superman(4), Wonder Woman(5), and Batman(6) on the side binding respectively. I was hoping the next few books would feature the other JLA members, but they did not. Instead 7 & 8 both feature Superman, and oddly, Volume 9 features Zatanna (a character who is not present through most of the series, and only has any significance in one story arc). Volume 9 does not blend as well with the other books when standing on the shelf. It is the largest book in the series, and on the bottom of the binding it has the new DC logo stamp, instead of the solid blue bottom with the words "DC comics." All the other elements of the binding are similar to the previous books.Story-wise, this volume is rather weak. The first arc is "Syndicate Rules" which features the Crime Syndicate, and is tied to the JLA: Crisis on Earth 2 story. The second arc is "Crisis of Conscience" which is connected to Brad Meltzer's "Identity Crisis." The final part of the book is "Requiem for a League" and offers the conclusion to the series. It focuses a lot on Green Arrow, a character who scarcely appeared in any other volume of the series. It also feels connected to something called OMAC, a connection to another DC comics event at the time. Overall, the book offers the remainder of the JLA series, but these stories all feel like they are dependent on other stories not collected here. It does not feel self contained, and it does not feel very much like the JLA stories in previous volumes.If you are reading JLA for the story, you don't need to read past Mark Waid's run on the book. If you want to collect the entire series, you will have to pick this up too. Just be warned, it is not much to read by itself, and this book stands out a bit from others in the collection. I am glad I am done with this series, and even though it has a rather weak conclusion, in general this series is worth the read.

If nothing else, "JLA Vol. 9" delivers a big bang for the bucks.This final collection of the series writer Grant Morrison relaunched in 1996 includes issues #107-#125-its final 19 issues-as well as "JLA Secret Files 2004," for a total of 20 individual issues. DC Comics has collected so many issues into one edition because the series' final two storyarcs, "Crisis of Conscience" and "World Without a Justice League," form a bridge between bestselling author Brad Meltzer's "Identity Crisis" and "Infinite Crisis," the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" sequel which rebooted the DC Universe's history to fix a half-century's worth of contradictory character developments.Before that, the collection leads off with "Syndicate Rules," a nine-issue story featuring another incursion by the Crime Syndicate of America, the Justice Leaguers' evil counterparts from another dimension. But chaos across Earth forces heroes and villains into an uneasy alliance against a greater threat: the Weaponers of Quard.The artwork by penciller Ron Garney and inker Dan Green delivers the requisite treat for the eyes, but it services a Kurt Busiek story which didn't do much for me. Crime Syndicate-JLA clashes have become the easy card for Justice League writers to play, much as Mirror Universe stories are for "Star Trek" franchise writers.In addition, these stories invariably highlight the soap opera tension among Ultraman, Owlman, and Superwoman-the Crime Syndicate analogues to Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman-arising from Superwoman's cheating on husband Ultraman with Owlman, which just as invariably leads to Superwoman-Owlman bedroom scenes that challenge artists to depict as much nudity as possible without actually showing the Naughty Bits. Of course, Ultraman knows he's being cuckolded, and does nothing about it because if he did, writers couldn't write any more "Evil Trinity" scenes in order to remind us that Crime Syndicate members are indeed rotten to the core, and thus reinforce the nobility of our "Good Trinity."If I never again see the Crime Syndicate, it will be too soon for me.After defeating the Syndicate, the League falls due not to external threats, but to distrust from within after Batman learns the truth behind the JLA's darkest secret-that they used Zatanna's magic to wipe the minds of members of the Secret Society of Super-Villains who had learned the Leaguers' civilian identities. Co-writers Geoff Johns and Allan Heinberg do fine work picking up where Meltzer left off and running the Leaguers through an emotional wringer, having them question the line between heroism and vigilantism while worrying about their loved ones-whose lives are threatened by the revenge-seeking Society-and trying to repair the damage caused by the secrets they've kept. They're ably supported by Chris Batista's pencils and Mark Farmer's inks, which keep the flavor of Rags' Morales "Identity Crisis" artwork without lapsing into blatant imitation.Johns and Heinberg end their run with a literal big bang, in the form of the JLA's Watchtower exploding, and leave writer Bob Harras to drive the final nail into the coffin of this League in "World Without a Justice League," as the distrust caused by not only the mind-wiping, but also Batman's secret dossiers on League members, tear the remaining team members apart after Superman, Wonder Woman and Zatanna leave. While they try to recruit new members-notably, Batman's ex-protege Nightwing-they're also trying to stop longtime adversary The Key as well as the escaped Seven Deadly Sins of Mankind. While I appreciate Harras' attempt to balance the epic-scale heroics of a typical Justice League story with the more intimate tale of the League's self-destruction, this story would've worked better for me if Harras had the League focused solely on the internal conflicts threatening them, which he depicts through the Dark Knight's efforts to disband the League, and the Emerald Archer's efforts to keep it together. Tom Derenick's artwork strikes a nice balance between Batista's realism and Garney's more cartoony stylings. His Batman is a particularly effective melding of Neal Adams' version and the version seen in "Batman: The Animated Series."This isn't ideal for those who have just seen the "Justice League" film in theatres. But it's recommended for those completing a set of the other collected editions in the "JLA" series or those who want this volume to bridge collections of "Identity Crisis" and "Infinite Crisis."

Good book

Great run!

This large Justice League collection has highs and lows to say the least. The story with the ramifications of Identity Crisis is far and away the best. The story needed to be told and was full of raw emotions and some great moments with many characters, especially Zatanna. Johns and Heinberg delivered a solid story. The Earth 2/Qwardian war, written by Kurt Busiek, was a severe letdown. Busiek's JLA was fine but there was so much involving the Qwardians from Earth 2 that were hard to care about. His pseudo science made no sense when the two universes were involved. The final arc, involving The Key was also pretty rough. Bob Harras tries to up the ante with a lesser known villain while adding the existing Identity Crisis fallout but it was a big miss. The art was really good across the board. Overall, a collection worth reading due to the art and the JLA internal drama.

The Earth has survived catastrophe after catastrophe, from alien invasions to the sun dying, but it has never reached a turning point quite like this, & neither has the JLA. Whilw no one knows the Infinte Crisis that is coming , the members of the JLA can feel it, and it's starting to wear on their already- Fractured nerves.

everything good here - speedy delivery , good packaging etc - Thanks

Run que leva até a Crise de Identidade e Crise Infinita! Mais uma visão do Sindicato do Crime

Fabulous stories and fantastic arts! Excellent graphic novell!