Man I love this series. Brad Meltzer and Ed Benes are just masters of their crafts. And I really love seeing Ed doing all these Legionnaires. I always liked the JLA / JSA team-ups. But, more often than not, they seemed to be forced. Just because it was a year later, they had to get together, and they each had to have an issue that crossed over in to the other. Whether the current storyline in either book supported it or not. Sometimes, though I loathe to admit it, they really were pretty lame. But this one . . . this one seems like a natural reaction to the current chain of events. And bringing the Legion in to the whole thing, was just brilliant. We start out this issue with Starman, Wildfire, Dreamgirl and Karate Kid having all come out of their apparently self induced comas. Sort of. Or maybe it's all part of a master plan by Brainiac 5. I guess that's what we're here to find out. This issue they bring Timber Wolf and Dawnstar in to the mix. And as was noted last issue, as they bring each Legionnaire back to reality, they each seem to have a missing piece of the puzzle. But there's only one more. They said there were 7 of them here. So I guess whoever we find next issue, is going to hold the final piece. The thing I really like about Brad's writing isn't just the action. He writes great action scenes. But it's not all action and fisticuffs. There's also a ton of interaction between the characters. Little quips and jabs here and there. Unspoken glances between the characters that know each other, and interesting questions between the ones that don't. And it all seems natural, and unforced. As if he just walked in to a room full of people and started writing down notes about their conversations and interactions. When Wildcat, Vixen, Flash and Green Lantern visit Gorilla City Wildcat says, "He's a talking ape?". To which Vixen replys, "You're a talking cat. Show respect." Or when Batman is talking to Karate Kid and makes an observation about each of their situations, "Whoever put you in those personal hells . . . . Dr. Destiny gets your Dreamer . . . Wildfire gets shut off . . . you being forced to rely on a weapon . . . . when the knife digs that deep . . . it's usually coming from someone right behind you." And we also find out that Per Degaton, the Ultra-Humanite and Despero have something to do with all this. But we really just see a glimpse of them. No idea what they're up to yet. Now add to all that 2 fantastic covers, 1 by Michael Turner and 1 by Phil Jiminez, and you definitely get your money's worth. This, and the JSA series, are both going to be instant classics. You better get them why you can. And so far there's been an amazing variant cover to every issue. It's the 1 in 25 thing, so it's worth the money. For the picture too.
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