DC COMICS
WRITER: Dwayne McDuffie
ARTISTS: Ed BeneS, Sandra Hope
COVER: Ian Churchill, Norm Rapmund

The Injustice League has captured most of the active members of the Justice League and now, Superman and Black Lightning launch a desperate attack on the villains' lair to free their comrades.

Thankfully, despite the cover, this issue does not feature prolonged scenes of superheroes being tortured-- although we do get a little of that along with some, uh.... provocative scenes of superwomen in bondage. Despite all the action, this issue isn't particularly exciting. The heroes take too much time talking instead of acting and the villains are willing to let their opponents come to them instead of hunting them down. We do get some good characterization with Superman and Black Lightning facing down Lex Luthor but the rest of the League and most of the villains don't even get a single line. This story could have been plotted more tightly.

The art is eye-catching-- not just for the cheesecake that Benes specializes in, but for the sense of menace that he gives the villains. On the other hand, most of the panels have very little background and there is an over-reliance on huge close-ups to show the characters' emotions. It gives the impression that the whole story is taking place in a small office. This comic needs a grand stage for a truly grand battle. Since it lacks that, it only gets three stars out of five. And that is pretty generous in itself.