Justice League questions

[HILD]

I was going to try and start reading Justice League where is a good starting point in the most recent series.  After watching the Justice League cartoon I am always interested in actually reading the comics. 

[murs47]

I'd suggest Brad Meltzer's run. It's the first two arcs of the latest volume. First one is "The Tornado's Path" and the seconds is "The Lightning Sage." After that it's a new writer with a story called "The Injustice League" which i thought was a pretty good. After that though, I just don't know. From what I hear, it's fallen pretty hard since then.

[Jakew]

I just started reading the Grant Morrison run ... it's okay so far.

[daglob]

 

Why not start with Showcase Presents The Justice League #1?

Yeah, yeah, I know, some people don't like the old stuff. Still, if you know what you are getting to when you start reading them...

[DrMike2000]

I'd recommend Grant Morrison's run as a good jumping on point - pick up the trades and have a look.

He takes the big seven (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and J'onn Jon'zz) and set out to write "biblical" scale stories for them, in other words see them facing massive scale threats. He had a good handle on each of these characters, especially Superman and Batman. Familiar characters like Luthor and the Joker appear with their own special spin from him.

There's plenty of references for you if you like the DC Universe already - if you don't, you wont be confused.

Morrison is often accused of being hard to read or difficult, and often he is, but this is not the case here. His JLA work was straight superhero fiction with the dials turned up to 11.

[HILD]

Thank you I will start with TPB of Grant Morrisons work since it really does sound very interesting. 

[Silver Shocker]

I've got a question for those who can answer: what did everybody think Joe Kelly JLA storyline "The Obsidion Age"? Because I'd been considering giving Kelly's run a try, and picked up the first trade but didn't really care for it. So I was wondering if his other arcs were better.

[marhawkman]

Obsidian age was confusing. too much new "history" to be easy to understand.

[BentonGrey]

Morrison's JLA work is pretty solid, and most of the stuff I didn't care for in it wasn't his fault, but was the result of bad continuity that he didn't really have the power to fix or ignore.  There are some very good stories in that batch, as well as some that are mediocre, but there aren't any that are really just bad. 

I know you asked for modern stuff, but if you have any interest in older stories, I'd recommend the 70's JLA book.  The Satellite era League is about the closest that comics have come to what I'm looking for.  In fact, going by Aquaman and a few other books, it seems like the 70's had a lot of good stories.

I haven't read all of Obisidan Age, but I do know that it had some pretty terrible consequences for Aquaman....so I'd give it a big point deduction for that.

[daglob]

While I'm a sucker for the silver age stuff, Benton is right. The '70s JLA did have some good stories. The comics were mature without taking themselves too seriously, or degenerating into slapstick.

[BentonGrey]

While I'm a sucker for the silver age stuff, Benton is right. The '70s JLA did have some good stories. The comics were mature without taking themselves too seriously, or degenerating into slapstick.

Precisely.  They were mature in a more accurate sense, meaning (for the most part) more complex and compelling stories without the "mature" elements of excessive sex and violence.  Well written modern stories are still generally better as far as story depth goes, but some of the 70's tales are quite good.

[marhawkman]

I haven't read all of Obisidan Age, but I do know that it had some pretty terrible consequences for Aquaman....so I'd give it a big point deduction for that.

IIRC they demolished Atlantis two or three times.