Justice League of America #18 - DC

I really like this book. I was worried when Brad Meltzer left, and Dwayne McDuffie came on board . . but . . yes they're different, but . . that's ok. Brad is a brilliant writer, and it would be hard for anyone to step in to his shoes. But really, the only thing that Dwayne is missing is a lot of the dialogue and interaction that Brad scripted between the characters. Not everyone handles character interaction and development the same. To me, that's important. But to others, maybe not so much. They care more about the story and the action. But I'm a people watcher. I can tell more about a person's character by the way the carry themselves, their little quirks or the things that they do. When people speak . . they lie. But body language can't lie. However, in a medium such as this, I can't interpret the same signs and signals because they're manipulated and deliberate. So in this medium, the conversations and the interactions become more important. But again, that's just me. In the back-up story, Dwayne crafts a nice little tale about Red Tornado. Will, Niles, John Henry and Batman are all working together to craft him a new body. But the real trick is going to be when Zatanna moves his soul over in to it. She's warning him about the complications that may arise, and that it may be safer just to stay in the satellite main-frame. For the sake of his family, he won't even consider it. But you just know something's going to go wrong. This tale is pencilled by Jon Boy Meyers. I think he's pretty new to the scene, but the couple times I've seen him, his style has really caught my eye. Also, he's improving quite rapidly. The main story in this book, the JLA vs Suicide Squad, is brought to us by Alan Burnett and Ed Benes. Both these guys are fantastic talents. Basically what happens is, a group of villains, led by Polaris and the Key, have broken in to the Hall of Justice. The League is ready for a throw down, but they've come seeking asylum. They've been watching their friends disappear, being snatched up by the Suicide Squad, and then whisked away to god knows where. They don't want to be next. The League does indeed grant them asylum, but it doesn't make Amanda Waller very happy. But it all may be moot pretty soon, because now, with Jonn Jonzz' help, Batman has learned the exact location of the prison planet. Next issue, they may just have to rescue their worst enemies. The real strength of this book is the characters. The talent . . is just icing on the cake. This was a fantastic book . . and series.