Identity Crisis TPB Review
Let me begin with the one statement: Sometimes a book comes out that starts something bigger. It gets the ball rolling so that more ideas begin to flow, and new, bigger, and better stories are conceived because of it. Avengers: Disassembled was that story for Marvel. It gave Marvel the courage to think bigger. That led to House of M, which in turn has led to Civil War, which kind of leads to World War Hulk. Identity Crisis was that book for DC. I’ve read where Identity Crisis wasn’t initially part of the “Infinite Crisis Plans.” I don’t believe that for a second. It puts the DC universe in a position where Infinite Crisis was necessary, where Superman of earth 2 needed to break out of his paradise. None of the stories I mentioned previously were perfect, but they sure are the defining stories (thus far) of this generation of comics. Brad Meltzer crafted a thrilling murder mystery with the JLA. Now, murder mysteries and the JLA don’t seem like they would go together, but Meltzer proves that thought process wrong. He starts off by making you care about the person who ends up biting the dust. In one issue, he really makes you sad to see this really minor character go. The murder of Sue “Elongated Man’s wife” Diby throws the super hero community into a panic. One of their own had been taken, right under their noses.
As soon as the funeral is over, the search is on. That’s when Meltzer digs into his bag of tricks, and reveals a secret from the past of the JLA which really hits the reader hard. The JLA had pretty much lobotomized Dr. Light into forgetting their identities, and his rape of Sue Dibny. From this reveal, and through the rest of the series (except the ending), readers are given what I consider the definitive JLA story. Action, adventure, mystery…..it’s all there. This might have been one of the best mini series ever had the ending not been a bit off. When everything is revealed to us, it turns out that Jean Loring, the ex wife of the Atom, killed Sue Dibny, in hopes that her ex husband would come back to her. That’s when things kind of go south.
It was one of those reveals that does surprise you, but not in the right ways. I had the idea that it would be a villain, or one of the Justice Leaguers. That certainly would have been a better pay off than Jean Loring. The story was very well executed until the ending. Every great story needs to have a great beginning, middle, and end, and this stories ending just didn’t stand out in comparison to the rest of the series.
The art for this mini series was brought to us by Rags Morales (read the interview that Mr. Morales did with the Comic Corner here). The first six issues were a dream, because Meltzer’s story was flowing, and Morales’s art was shining, and everything seemed to be perfect. Morales’s art continued to shine, unlike the story. He has the uncanny ability to portray the big action sequences, as well as the smaller character moments. All the characters seem to have classical looks to them, but Morales avoids making them look cheesy. Another great thing about his art is that some of his best work isn’t the big flashy splash pages, but the actual sequential art. My point is that Morales will never be confused with an artist who can only do pin ups.
So, in summary, Morales’s art was excellent throughout the story. Even with a sub par ending, this mini series deserves a place on any comic book fans bookshelf. Meltzer found a way to weave a story that involves the JLA’s past, and move the DC universe forward. There is no denying that without this series, many of the good stories coming from DC at this time wouldn’t have happened. So, the story might not be perfect, but it still is an enjoyable read, and a JLA fan could do a lot worse.
Grade: 7/10
Review by Christopher Hoerdemann |
