I ♥ the 90s (comics), #2: Grant Morrison's JLA

Back in the 80s and early 90s, everyone loved British writers, mostly thanks to the creative and commercial successes of Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman. Writers like Mark Millar, Peter Milligan and Warren Ellis started getting higher profile gigs with the big publishing companies. DC, in particular, was very good at taking chances on these weird new writers.

Grant Morrison was one of these weirdos, and he was Scottish if you can imagine. They tested him on Animal Man, which was excellent, but relatively small fry, and also Doom Patrol, which I think was for people who are smarter than me. He was known then (and still now) as someone who writes outside the box. Outside the box and down the street and round the bend. So I imagine that getting him on board to relaunch one of, if not the, biggest franchises that DC publishes, was seen as something as a risky move.

But it was, as I'm sure you've guessed because you're very intelligent and handsome, a risk that paid off, big time.

Firstly, Morrison took what was then seen as a pretty big leap, and he started his run by only letting people on his team if they were already super popular. There was, I'm sure, outcry when Metamorpho and, erm, Fire were ousted in favour of Superman and Wonder Woman, but... it was a stupid outcry. Look at that first cover. How badass is that?! If you ignore Superman's hair, of course, which is still unforgivable. Super-Mullet go! Anyway, yes, Morrison began his run with what became known as the Big 7. That's Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter. And in the first storyline, he showed that the most dangerous of them all, was the unpowered Batman. 

Like we didn't already know, pfft! (Awesome.)

Morrison knew what his audience wanted. There were all the big plots and neat ideas of his usual work, but less of the obscure storytelling and breaking the fourth wall. It was just great big balls-to-the-wall superhero adventure, with threats that could really challenge this team of near-gods.

What would happen, for instance, if Batman were evil? That would be Prometheus, who very nearly takes the whole league down. And what about if the Martian Manhunter's people were alive and evil? Big-time destruction. And what if God were angry?

Not long into his run, Morrison started to introduce more characters. Tons of them. JLA became a veritable army, and introduced some brilliant new(ish) characters. There's Huntress and Catwoman, and Connor Hawke (the new Green Arrow), and Zauriel, Steel, Oracle, Big Barda (best superhero name ever) and Orion. He even made Plastic Man kind of cool. And the whole thing became bigger and bigger and totally, don't hate me, epic.

It was slightly affected by the excesses of 90s comicdom, unfortunately. Remember when Superman died? You do. And do you remember when he was instantly revived in this weird blue, electric form? Probably not. Well he's all blue and electricity-y for a large part of Morrison's run, which is rubbish. And when he's not, he has Super-Mullet. Thinking about it, Superman was the real victim of 90s excess...


I just loved this run. It was like watching a really well-produced, big-budget, intelligent blockbuster (like, say, the recent Star Trek film), for forty issues. And what could be better than that*?

*to a very specific kind of person

Rhys Recommends... Top 5 non-traditional superhero comics

I say 'non-traditional' because I couldn't think of a more succint way of saying, 'not Marvel or DC, but maybe a bit DC, but not within their main universe, if you get me?' Essentially, these are the superhero comics that weren't created by Stan Lee or Bob Kane, which largely stand alone in their own universe.

I will count down, in order to create an air of excitement.

(Notable exclusions include: The Authority, which I loved in its early days but have found progressively more irritating as years have gone by and, I believe, they're now folding it in to the main DC Universe anyway; Welcome to Tranquility is generally well-written and endearing, but has never quite grabbed me enough to keep me hooked, but I do admire Gail Simone; finally, there's The Intimates, which was just got a bit too trippy by the end. All worth a read though!

So... now to the Top 5!)

 5. Invincible 

Invincible is the ongoing story of a teenager who finds out that his dad is the world's premier superhero (basically a Superman equivalent), but then discovers that said dad is actually an evil alien, infiltrating humanity in order to prepare for a full-on invasion for his people. So it's basically all about the lead character (Invincible), coming to terms with that, and becoming a hero in his own right.

It's very traditional in its storytelling, and art style, but quite current in voice, and has some interestign things to say. I slightly dropped off from reading it recently, and am a few trades behind, but I always enjoy it when I do eventually get round to reading it.

Recommended for: anyone who's got an interest in superheroes but is intimidated by Marvel and DC continuity. Also, teenagers.

4. The Boys 

The Boys is just bad-ass. It's by Garth Ennis who brought us Preacher, The Magnificent Kev, and some classic issues of the Punisher. Its audience is its title, but all the ridiculous violence and knob-jokes aside, it can be a pretty intelligent read, and is almost always engaging. The main characters, even the everyman Wee Hughie (whose look is based on Simon Pegg), can be unlikeable bastards, and some awful things do happen in it but... it's just so entertaining, and carried off with such confidence, that it's hard not to find the book charming anyway.

Recommended for: Blokes, largely, but ones with brains. Men who read Viz or FHM would probably love this.

3. Astro City

I once went for dinner with Kurt Busiek, don't you know. I didn't tell him how much I loved Astro City, but I wish I had.

These books are set in a city full of superheroes, and are largely told by normal people living there who witness these gods among men. It's largely an examination into how the existence of superheroes would actually affect the world around it, and it runs the gamut from wide-eyed wonder to the huge insiginificance one would feel being surrounded by these gods.

It's all told in a very personal way, in a very Busiek-like voice, and with solid, traditional art, I can't imagine anyone not being charmed by these stories.

Recommended for: readers of all ages, I think. Maybe someone who's read a few superhero comics before, and isn't so interested in the action, as that is not the focus in these comics, on the whole.

2. Ex Machina

Brian Vaughan must get really tired of this comparison but I think this is a pretty apt description... it's The West Wing meets superhero comics!

Ex Machina is the story of a man who is the world's only superhero, who can speak to machines after a freak accident, who becomes the mayor of New York. The comic follows him as he's just been elected, as he tries to stay out of the superheroics.

In the exact same way that you couldn't imagine finding a TV show about the workings of a political office interesting but in the end found it fascinating, BKV turns the everyday political intrigue of the NY mayoral office every bit as exciting as the superheroic bits. The art is incredible and manages a trick that I've never seen before: it's lifelike, while remaining full of life and atmosphere. I can't recommend this series highly enough, and in any other list would have been number one.

Recommended for: everyone.

1. Top Ten

Oh Alan Moore. You have written some excellent comics, and if I think about Watchmen, Swamp Thing and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and I'd allowed it, this top five might have mostly featured you. But this comic series, which is comprised of two 6-issue trades, one spin-off mini (Smax) and one original graphic novel (Top Ten: The Forty-Niners), is my favourite of the lot.

It's the story of a rookie cop starting out on her first day as a member of the Top Ten, a police precinct, in a world of superheroes. Which doesn't sound that brilliant but it just is! 

It's maybe not as earth-shatteringly beautiful or profound as some of Alan Moore's work, but it has to be the most entertaining, and the one with arguably the most heart.

I could read and re-read these books forever, they are so dense with smart artistic nuggets, character moments, and gripping cases. I want to read them all again right now, in fact!

Recomended for: all human beings with souls.