Cover to Cover pt2: "Excuse me, Wally, as I consult my magic bracelets."

Aaaaaand we're back with part 2. You can catch up here at part 1, in which we review Ultimate Spider-Man 121 and Scooby-Doo 131.

Today, Justice League of America #20 and Hack/Slash #11 are up on the review block.

Justice League of America #20
by Dwayne McDuffie and Ethan van Sciver


I haven't read any of the previous 19 issues, but from what I've heard, they've been exploitative art-wise and shallowly tied-in writing-wise.

This one is neither, but I still feel underwhelmed. Wonder Woman's all, "Hey Flash, ever since you became a family man, you haven't given the JLA too much attention," and then Flash is all, "Aw man, Wonder Woman. I'll do patrol duty next week then." And then they beat up the Queen Bee.

That's really the issue, and I feel kind of underwhelmed here. There's no real impetus for the Flash to make the decision that he does, and the superhero fare here is really, really standard, with alarmingly low levels of characterization.

I regret jumping onto JLA with this issue, and I don't think next issue will be better, because Benes returns on art.

Just so I don't leave you sour though, here's a great series of panels:Artist Mr. Van Sciver is amazing though, in the storytelling and the panelling and the expressions.

"Excuse me, Wally, as I consult my magic bracelets and communicate with the JLA." Hah!


Hack/Slash #11
by Tim Seeley and Emily Stone

That is such a nice cover. You may recognize its artist, Jamie McKelvie, the guy who did Suburban Glamour!

A lot goes on in this issue, but that's by no means a bad thing.

Cassie continues looking for her father, until a dog from Hell starts looking for his master, who is Elvis.

Let's get some backstory here: in Hack/Slash Elvis sold his soul to Hell for immortality. He also has to sacrifice some virgins now and then to keep his talent. This story was one of the first arcs in Hack/Slash, and yes, it was awesome.

Elvis was about to sacrifice Cassie and a stripper named Georgia to a bunch of tentacle-raping gods, until through some quick measures, Elvis himself ended up getting tentacle raped.

It's hilarious.

So Elvis had a dog for a pet in Hell, and the pet is now on Earth looking for him:

"I will save you master! I will not let these Earth ones keep you trapped on that fuzzy plate!"

Ah, it's comforting to see Hack/Slash back to humor, but it's also interesting to see how the writing has evolved. It's much smarter here, because the slasher villain here is actually sympathetic, and Cassie lets him do his murderous thing. I feel an experimental vibe going on with the writer here, and it'll be interesting to see how Cassie gets fleshed out further, in terms of her father, her sexuality, and so on.

I can say without sarcasm that this issue may very well be the best of the series so far.