Thursday, February 20, 2014

Justice League #28

   I admit it, I love the Metal Men - I have since I discovered their adventures shortly after their first appearance in the '60s.

   Here was an odd collection of robots with human-like personalities, able to shape their bodies into almost any shape, each using the qualities of the metal they're named after - and each one completely expendable.

   You never knew which character - if any - would survive to the final page. The adventures were often silly, but had a lot of heart - and were very entertaining.

   So this issue of Justice League (which has almost no actual Justice League content, thanks to the ongoing Forever Evil story), gives us the origin of the "New 52" version of the team.

   The art, of course, is tremendous. I love Ivan Reis' work (with inks by Joe Prado and Scott Hanna), with modified, expressive designs for the team, which manages to improve the originals (mostly - I'm not crazy about Gold's new face) while still retaining some of the original look.

   Writer Geoff Johns also deserves credit for crafting personalities for the team that work in a modern setting - but manage some surprises along the way, including a great jab at the usual robot personalities we see in comics (he had me going for a minute there).

   So don't buy this issue expecting to see the usual lineup - Cyborg is the only JL hero in evidence - but you will find a fun adventure with the Metal Men!

   Nothing wrong with that!

Grade: A-

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