I figured that the first issue following the big crossover with the JSA would be a good issue to jump in and re-sample Robinson’s JLA. I keep looking for this book to get better because I love the JLA and I want to love this book. But every time I pick it up, it’s more of the same insipid crap.
I’ll give Robinson credit for doing a single-issue story following his multi-issue epic. And I don’t mind at all that the issue is largely a character study of Donna Troy. What I do mind is just how amateurish the execution is.
The issue begins with Kara asking Dick a very loaded question.
My inner 12-year-old giggled. But the scene that followed was just full of icky subtext as the new Batman seemingly hit on Superman’s teenage cousin. The scene ends with Kara wondering aloud very awkwardly what the rest of the League is doing right now. This is done solely for the benefit of setting up a few one-panel updates on the rest of the League.
Just in case you were wondering, Jessie Quick and Hourman were still having a little JLA/JSA cross-over of their own in the form of graphically depicted super hero sex.
Okay, to be fair that is less a depiction of sex than a little post-coital snuggle. Still, that was more of Hourman than I needed to see.
The bulk of the issue follows Donna Troy and Jade as they travel to San Francisco to visit the Teen Titans and answer a call fro Alcatraz. The Bogeyman, apparently a lame Titans villain I had certainly never heard of, wanted to leer at Donna’s chest Hannibal Lechter-style.
(Right now my oldest daughter is going through a Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy phase. So I heard all of the Bogeyman’s dialog in Fred Willard’s voice. In a way, that almost redeemed the issue.)
Donna drops an MF-bomb (like super heroes do), gets indignant and storms out. On the way to Titans Tower she goes on to explain Bogey’s powers in great detail so it will all make sense when we realize that… in a twist that no one (except anyone who has ever read a comic book before) will ever see coming… they never actually left Alcatraz. Instead, that clever Bogey made them think they left so he could make them think they were fighting the Teen Titans instead.
I’m sure the marketing department was glad that Bogey decided to cast an illusion that was easily marketable (JLA vs. Titan!) as opposed to something more effective like burying them alive. What follows is page after page of every character Donna has ever met smacking her silly and calling her “baby”. Robinson pulls out all the cliches, (I mean stops).
Of course Donna’s dead baby is going to show up. You can’t do a Donna Troy story without dead baby these days. DC is preferred super hero universe for fans of dead baby.
Meanwhile, Jade was surrounded by misty images of… I’m not sure who most of those people were. I definitely saw Kyle in there. And he threw out the “cheater” card (oh no he didn’t!). Mostly, they said mean things to her until she cried and the Black Lantern Jade appeared with a fog machine.
Donna “snaps out of it” and starts chiding Bogey for overplaying his hands. The words she uses could be applied to Robinson’s writing as well. ”You pulled out a lot of stops, huh? … Too many and too obvious.” As Donna herself might say since she swear on every other page of this issue, no shit!
Donna finds Jade curled up in the fetal position at Black Lantern Jade’s feet. Bogey looses his lunch for no apparent reason and the Jade is fine.
Next thing you know, Donna and Jade are flying home (without ever paying a visit to their friends at Titans Tower) and discussing photography.
Yep, more insipid crap. But this time with crappy fill-in art. Crap-tastic.
Please fix your flagship book, DC.
Yeah, this book was awful. Everything about the writing from the setup to the dialog was just mind-blowingly amateurish. I mean even the reason they were on Alcatraz and how the bogeyman got to speak to Donna was ridiculous. Epic fail.
I can’t believe this guy wrote Starman.
Also I think it speaks volumes about how bad Bagley’s art has been at DC that I thought this was Bagley and was pleasant surprised at how he had somewhat improved.
I was curious for your take on this issue because you had mentioned not hating Robinson’s JLA. But this issue just felt like Robinson was dashing off to cash a check.
So bad.
The more I think about his treatment of Dobnna, the more I stew.
Yeah, I think this is not really indicative of whats wrong with JLA. For the most part, its just been bland, eh… This was not good in the slightest.
thank youuu!!!
[...] been put through. However, her hard life has spilled well over the line into cliché and as Read/Rant points out that: Of course Donna’s dead baby is going to show up. You can’t do a Donna Troy [...]