Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

JLA # 110

By Koppy McFad
January 23, 2005 - 13:48

The Crime Syndicate of Amerika, the evil counterparts of the Justice League attempt to impersonate our heroes, only to discover that being a JLAer is a lot harder than they imagined. The story cleverly shows how the villains simply do not 'get' what it is to be a good guy and the mistakes they make are both entertaining and disturbing. At the same time, the story is still moving too slowly, the real League appears just for a few pages and they don't even play an important role in their own comic. In fact, they seem oblivious to the fact that bad guys are impersonating them in public. Busiek seems so enamoured with the Crime Syndicate that he can't bear to turn his attention away from them, even for a moment. And yet the Syndicate are mainly just a bunch of bullies looking for new worlds to conquer. So far, the most interesting character in this convoluted saga is the Qwardian usurper Roval. At least he has an agenda, is showing some real courage and is fighting for something larger than himself. Garney and Green deliver some straightforward, action-packed art that tells a complicated story well but they haven't really had a chance to strut their stuff since nothing major has happened in the story yet. By the way, I notice that this comic still has a Comic's Code stamp, even if it contains implied sex and scenes of horribly roasted corpses. In contrast, a comic like PLASTIC MAN, which is being marketed to kids, does not have the Code stamp. Strange days indeed.

Last Updated: November 29, 2025 - 16:51