Justice League: A League of One

by Christopher Moeller

An ancient evil awakens, one so long forgotten by the modern world that even the Justice League of America is unprepared to meet it. When a prophecy foretells their deaths at the claws of the last dragon on Earth, Wonder Woman must tear apart the League she loves in order to save them. But will that be enough to thwart fate?

A shipwrecked alien on the JLA Watchtower lands the Justice League in the middle of a generations-long war between two civilizations. But the motives of both sides are shrouded in secrets, and when the League attempts to learn the truth, they instead uncover a danger that threatens to unmake reality itself!

Written and painted by master storyteller and artist CHRISTOPHER MOELLER, JLA: A LEAGUE OF ONE and JLA CLASSIFIED: COLD STEEL—collected together for the first time—reveal never-before-seen sides of the legendary Justice League of America, all presented in Moeller’s extraordinary artwork.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Fiction, Wonder Woman, Fantasy

225 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 27, 2015

About the author

Christopher Moeller is an American writer and painter, specializing in fully painted graphic novels. Moeller's signature creation is the Iron Empires science-fiction universe, comprising three main fully painted graphic novels Faith Conquers, Sheva's War and Void. In 2006, an Iron Empires role-playing game was published, called Burning Empires.

His professional debut was in 1991, writing and painting Innovation Comic's Rocketman: King of the Rocketmen. This was followed by a run on the adaptation of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, also from Innovation, for which he provided artwork and a number of cover illustrations.

Moeller moved to Dark Horse Comics in 1994, writing and painting the first of his Iron Empires graphic novels, Faith Conquers, as well as the short story "The Passage" in Dark Horse Presents #79-81. He illustrated Andrew Vachss' short story "Treatment", included in Vachss' 2002 graphics-adapted collection Hard Looks. He also illustrated covers for both James Bond and Star Wars, as well as an extended series of covers for the Vertigo monthly title Lucifer.

In 1998, Moeller wrote and painted his second Iron Empires graphic novel, Sheva's War, for the short-lived Science Fiction imprint of DC Comics, Helix. That was followed by a run of covers for DC's Batman monthly comic book Shadow of the Bat. In 2000, he wrote and painted the graphic novel JLA: A League of One and followed with JLA Classified: Cold Steel in 2005. In 2013, Moeller successfully crowdfunded the publication of Iron Empires: Void, his third graphic novel in the series.

He currently lives in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two tales in this graphic novel.

Wonder Woman beats down everyone in the JLA because a prophecy predicts that when they face a dragon everyone else but she will die. Some nice folklore is woven into this one with good artwork.

Then . . .

Wonder Woman and the JLA help aliens warring with one another and not sharing the entire truth. A fairly good rationale for why the JLA have to wear giant robotic suits. I was tempted to get the next tale after this one but never bothered after seeing the low reviews.

MY GRADE: B.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Umm this was a mixed bag not gonna lie, like I love the first story but the second story was a hard slog to go through.

So the first story opens up with Diana learning from the Oracle of Delphi about the rise of an anncient dragon Drakul Karfang and how the JLA will rise to fight it but will eventually perish or die by its hand and so to protect her friends Diana must fight the JLA to a standstill and that leads to some great fights and particularly Batman and what she does with Superman and how she makes him busy and well the big fight with the Dragon and sure it tries to manipulate and confuse her or burns her, but we get some amazing moments wherein she emerges like a true champion to knock down the dragon and save the world and that was such a good story as she is a league of one and defeats the enemy and a happy and forgiving JLA by the end. That last panel in the end was everything! 4.5/5 stars to this story.

The second story is about this alien named Tsaru Kar who comes to the JLA for help on her planet Penumbra as its under threat by some alien beings called "Voruk" and they have been fighting her species the "Ghoji" for quite some time so she needs their help and they go there to help them and then we have them get battle mech suits to fight these aliens and like deal with the surface of the planet and all, and that was the only good part because else the story is such a slog to read through. Too much exposition and I couldn't care less for either of the aliens and in the end they unite together to take down the common enemy: God of storms/Infinity coil, honestly by the end I was too tired to even care what it was. 2/5 for this one.

But yeah a mixed bag of stories and the first one is awesome showing Diana fighting a dragon and emerging victorious and showing a league of one truly and awesome moments for the JLA and the other a failed attempt at a sci-fi story but seeing the JLA getting mechs was kinda cool!

[Earnest · Rating 5 out of 5]

This edition contains two Justice League stories by Christopher Moeller.

The first tale, which the book takes its name from, Justice League: A League of One, has Wonder Woman taking the lead. When she learns of the prophecy involving the fate of the Justice League, she takes it upon herself to prevent it at the cost of her own life. What defines this story is the characterization of Wonder Woman. Moeller for me perfectly captures an aspect of her that made her DC's premier female superhero. Selfless,Loyal, Truth seeking and a powerful warrior. Another thing is that though using mythology ostensibly from the Middle Ages, it fits perfectly with her own mythology taken from the Greeks.I liketo read read stories that puts Wonder Woman in a fantasy setting. Though I admit there are times when other writers does not pull it off as well as Moeller in this one. The 'ancient world meet the modern world' story does not comes across as cliched or forced.

The second story, JLA CLASSIFIED: COLD STEEL, has a more sci-fi bent to it. This time, each member of the JLA has equal screen time. There's that subplot about Green Lantern not as well developed as I would like it to be. Two alien civilizations at war with each other and the Justice League takes part in the side that they think is the good side(of course, Batman doesn't easily buy into their story). Though not as well-written as the first and the revelation at the end left me a bit confused, it features one of the coolest things ever portrayed in comics; i.e. mecha versions of the Justice League. It would have also benefitted from having more world-building put into it.

Through it all, I thought that Moeller has a great grasp on the dramatic; the first story reads like classical tragedy while the second is space opera. I'm also a fan of his painted artwork, it adapts quite naturally to the comic medium.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars only because the second two stories in the kindle edition are meh. But the cover story, Wonder Woman vs a dragon rocks! It is so completely awesome. I loved it. Wonder Woman at her best.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonder Woman is often at her best in a team book, and this is no exception. The Oracle at Delphi prophecies that an ancient dragon will rise and kill the entire Justice League even as they manage to stop it. Such predictions always come true. So Wonder Woman arranges to be the only member of the Justice League when the dragon rises. It's a classic tale of heroism, with excellent dramatic tension built from the conflict between the heroes without any artifice or blatant emotional manipulation. If one must have heroes fighting heroes, this is absolutely the way to do it.

The second half of this book, also beautifully painted by Moeller, is nearly as good. It's a space opera featuring the Justice League flying giant robots which look exactly like them and are inspired by their powers.

I highly recommend this trade for fans of Wonder Woman and the Justice League in general.

[Ernest · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a fair attempt to have a solo Wonder Woman story, albeit a bit strangely titled with it Justice League – why not just a Wonder Woman title with the other character appearing? Wonder Woman battles an ancient dragon in a story that combines modern superheroes with ancient fantasy and questions about fate. The interactions between Wonder Woman and the other characters really showcase her character well, yet I thought the art was inconsistent with some panels done really well and others feeling distinctly static and flat.

There was also a second, more science-fiction story that had as its height mechanised versions of the Justice League, something fun enough I guess but one that has only limited interest outside its visual appeal.

[Maged Raafat · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars , Christopher Moeller is proably one of the best artists to draw wonder woman. He gives her this divine persona which is great. It's not like any other regular comic book art. It's like watching portraits depicting the JL as divine beings. The story itself was nice, not super-interesting .. just nice. I loved how he used physical bodies to represent Good or evil (wonderwoman representing the good ofcourse). The story is a mixture of biblical metaphors and greek mythology which i always find very interesting. I recommend this book to any WonderWoman fan out there.

[Jesse A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite sure about this one. The art was ok. Grew on me some. The title story was interesting but kinda had a quick sitcom resolution. The 2nd story was JLA: Pacific Rim. IDK.

[Shawna Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't gotten to the second half of the book with the crashed alien ship and the giant JLA robots but I doubt I'll review that part anyway so let me focus on the titular story.

Justice League: A League of One aka WHINER WOMAN!

The plot: Dragon wakes up, Oracle says JLA will face it but die in the process, WW knows that the JLA is an ideal not individuals so she knocks out her friends to be the "JLA" by herself and take on the suicide mission alone, (slight spoiler) BS where "death" means a need for CPR. Oh and there are Dryads...for no apparent reason beyond giving WW someone to talk to.

So I picked up this book because it was on a watchmojo list for top 10 WW stories and I really like WW but I did not like this. Yes, it does explore Diana's character. Beneath the truth, beyond the warrior is a loving heart willing to shoulder the burden of all the world to protect those she loves. A pure, honest desire to do whatever it takes to keep others safe...and CONSTANTLY complain while doing it. Yes, I get it, she's so into truth that she doesn't even tell little white lies and betraying her friends must suck but she's not killing them. At worst she's worrying and annoying them. Stop being so damn melodramatic. She actually has a panel reminiscent of Furiosa from Mad Max Fury Road where she falls to her knees and cries "oh why me" to the Gods. Except in this case I just imagine them rolling their eyes and saying "quit your complaining." Yes, facing death is horrible, but she only mildly regrets that because her work as an emissary for peace will be left undone. No she's crying because of the betrayal and even the JLA doesn't REALLY care. Only Superman seems mildly hurt by it.

To compare and contrast: In Gotham Sirens Harley and Ivy literally torture Catwoman for information without a second thought and she forgive them because they make her breakfast. No fuss, no muss. Terrible thing to do but its the sort of thing that happens all the time so they laugh it off. Here WW basically lets hundreds of people get killed by the dragon because she's busy moping about lying to her friends. That's not the hardened warrior (she literally turns into an armor clad monster for a moment when the dragon semi-corrupts her) who ends wars with wisdom, compassion and tactical prowess. That's WW acting exactly like the feint hearted women she hates to see in movies.

All that said Batman giving an anti-feminist rant about blaming others for your problems and Superman falling for the "hey, look over there" trick was pretty funny.

I mean, if you don't know WW, give this a read but this is certainly NOT her best outing. The WW of Greg Rucka's run or the Circle would look at this incarnation and be offended.

[The Sapphic Nerd · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is separated into 2 parts: "A League of One" and "Cold Steel".

A League of One: This is the one where Wonder Woman takes down the entire Justice League to keep them out of harm's way so she can defeat a dragon (prophesied to destroy them all) by herself (apparently she's the only one who can do it and she has to do it alone or the others will die).

The dragon stuff is “meh”. The writing feels awkward and boring and I ended up skimming over it to get to the butt-kicking parts.

I get that the JLA doesn't expect one of their leaders to turn on them so Wonder Woman has a starting advantage in a fight, however, the ease with which she defeats everyone is ridiculous. Juxtaposed against her immediate forfeit to Superman with "I knew I couldn't actually beat you in combat" AFTER literally kicking his ass across the desert... I was shaking my head and wrinkling my nose.

Oh, and of course at the end you find out Wonder Woman and Superman are romantically involved. *biggest eye roll* Yeah. Uh huh. What is with people and putting them together??? Stop it. Just. Stop. There's no chemistry there! It's OKAY to have a male and female character just be friends. The male characters also feel too self-righteous, usually putting Wonder Woman down or somehow attempting to guide her back into her "place". It feels wrong. They’re a team and as one of the leaders, you’d think they’d treat her more as an equal and less like they’re lecturing to a child.

Cold Steel: Where the JLA get to customize and pilot their own super-powered mechs to defend one alien race from another.

It sounds cool, but in execution it’s also a bit of a bore. With all the information coming at you and the lack of organization, it’s hard to understand what’s really going on, even when everything’s been revealed and resolved. I still don’t get it.

Overall: This was originally published in 2000? Even for 17 years ago, the writing style drains the plot of excitement. The painted art style doesn’t help. It isn’t focused enough. Whatever ideas the writer is trying to get across… it’s not happening successfully. For me anyway.

[Nate]

One good story, one bad story, spectacular art.

In “A League of One,” Wonder Woman receives a prophecy that she and the JLA will die in their next fight with a centuries-old, recently awakened dragon. She incapacitates her teammates so she may face the dragon alone. Barring the abrupt ending, this is a very solid Wonder Woman story. She, of course, fits well in a fantasy setting like this.

I nearly fell asleep reading “Cold Steel.” The first issue is basically exposition and the second issue is all fighting, and not at all exciting. Just another by-the-numbers JLA story. But that art looks gorgeous.

[FantasyBookNerd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have recently entered the world of comics again and wanted to read some Justice League. I enjoyed this book. The artwork is gorgeous in it but there is a definite split in the stories. The first one with Wonder Woman is really good. The second - meh. It was okay.
Definitely a book of two halves!

[{erika} · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best parts about this? Diana as a mermaid briefly. But honestly the first story with Diana and the dragon. How she does everything to keep the others out of the fight and the great use of mythology is fun. The second story is a sci-fi justification for having mecha robot versions of the JLA introduced tbh but fun for some even if there isn't enough time or world building.

[Book Magpie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh..... loved the first story (can’t help loving anything with dragons😌) but hated the second. The art was absolutely stunning throughout though so I’ll be keeping an eye on future works by this artist.

[James De Leon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was definitely a mixed bag. I liked the art; you can tell that it took time and effort to accomplish something like this. I appreciate it. The story is also fairly good.


But my score comes from the disconnect between the roles established earlier in the story and its resolution. It seemed to me that the author either forgot about the rules he established in the story or he wrote himself into a corner that he couldn’t get out of. The ending, and giving Diana the win based on her specific traits, felt like a cop out.

Overall, 6/10. I think this had the potential to be a pretty good WW story, but it lacked conviction.

[Charline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two stories are told in this volume. The first story was the one that interested me at first, and I liked it! A very nice Wonder Woman centric JLA story, compelling and beautifully drawn.
The second story is less to my liking, but I admit I'm not the public for it. Mechas don't inspire me that much x)
But! There are space fish in it, and that's great in itself! xD
All in all, a nice JL volume!

[Thubelihle Zondi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellently Underwhelmed

The first book is great. It's the book I thought I was buying, so I'll review score it based on that only. The second book is confusing and too complicated.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 really. Wonder Woman vs. dragon = great / superfiends - power-rangers = no thanks

[Cem Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Batman fight was awesome

[Shawn DaRosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

What if wonder woman had to fight her friends to protect them? A good one-off tale from the JLA Grant Morrison era! Nice read

[alejandro galvez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent read.

Very beautiful book. The stories were decent. A very unique book. Wish we could get more of these weird one-off stories once in a while. I liked it.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully written and beautifully drawn book by Christopher Moeller who takes credit for both. It comprises of two stories that take the Justice League away from their usual gang-up-to-fight-mega-villain fare and transplants them in a fantasy story and a sci-fi adventure. The first book was the better of the two for me that features Wonder Woman going it alone against a dragon that is bigger and meaner than anything Tolkien ever imagined. This is a brilliantly written tale that borders on literature that shows Wonder Woman the way she should be; smart, compassionate, diplomatic, decisive and tough as nails. This is a WW who has been sorely missing from the JL series as of late and is much missed. Also the fantasy element is strong in this story involving a pair of nymphs, a bunch of gnomes and even Knights fighting dragons. It works wonderfully well under the pen of the writer and is accented by his excellent artwork.

The second story is a sci-fi adventure that places the Justice League in Mech-suits and though this is an original idea it doesn't work as well as the first. The story is more frenetic than the first and it uses alien/sci-fi talk too much to make it an enjoyable read. Also the ending left me a little baffled and it seemed as if the writer ran out of pages which is a criticism that could be applied to the story especially after the excellence of the first book. The artwork again is a pleasure to see and every inch of the page is used to it's fullest. There is no single image I can recall that was forgettable or left me asking questions.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of Wonder Woman action. However, I do wish she didn't have to fight mythical beasts, gods, monsters all the time. And can superheroes get second opinions before they rush off into a fight they hadn't gathered enough intel on? Just wondering.

I haven't gotten around to reading the second story (I will very shortly), but I can appreciate the attention given to Wonder Woman and how she was allowed to show more sides of what makes her who she is. You know she'll always strive for truth, to seek it out in others but also herself. She won't continue to use brute strength if there is a more compassionate option. Does it leave her being naive at times, yes, but she quickly figures out how to turn what could be perceived as a weakness in herself into a tactical advantage in disarming a foe. For example, when she tricked the dragon into revealing where her lair was. And of course any interaction she has with Batman but especially Superman has my utmost attention.

Some the art was really beautiful but there were some iffy moments. Besides that, the first story is probably one of my top ten faves when it comes to Wonder Woman.

[Tyler Zamora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first storyline in this collection. A League of One really gives Wonder Woman a chance to shine. She has to betray her own sense of honor and truth in order to protect her fellow league members. I did think it was pretty cut throat how she handled everyone, but it was effective and believable in getting the league out of her way. Martian Man hunter’s defeat seemed especially harsh, given that he has a fear of fire. I loved how the story brought in elements of dragons and elves. It made for a really fun read. The second storyline Cold Steel just didn’t do anything for me. I didn’t care about the mission and the Justice League didn’t seem to care too much either. It looked like a cheap tactic to get Justice League transformers (which was really cool), but why does Aquaman get the weird snake creature? It didn’t make sense to me. It did show the camaraderie between the league members though, which I did like. Overall it’s worth the read and a fun time.

[Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonder Woman is a great character but all the stories that I have read so far, except for one have been weak. I was waiting for a story of hers that would blow my mind. And this was it! Her best story ever as many people consider it to be.
If you are a Wonder Woman fan, you have to read this book. She protects every single member of Justice League alone and also manages to fight a dragon in this comic. Loved her scenes with Batman a lot. Her fight with Batman and Superman was the most amazing part of this book. Highly recommend it to WW and fantasy lovers.
This book had a bonus story about some aliens who seek help from Justice League but I didn't find it interesting.
Also this was my first JLA comic and my introduction to Aquaman, Green Lantern (haven't seen his movie) and Martian.

[Will Robinson Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a pleasant surprise to read an old DC comic universe story. The stories are a pleasure to look at with Christopher Meoller's exquisite oil painting style. The first story of the book is really good. It reminds me of the JLA:tower of Babel story in a way. Basically Wonder Woman discovers a prophecy that foretells the death of the Justice League by a beastly powerful dragon. So wonder woman out of character has to defeat the justice league to protect them from this dreadful prophecy. The last story of this collection is a basic alien world war story.

[Krystl Louwagie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some really nice art, but not so much faces-the gestures and full body images were very nice and felt unique. Felt a little too old school comic bookey in some spots-ones liners that just weren't funny or entertaining. But a few interesting concepts thrown here or there, especially on the "villains". Liked the sci-fi and fantasy elements. Not a lot of characterization on the part of the heroes, I'd like to see more of that-there's almost just too many of them to be able to focus on well. Batman is definitely still my favorite.

[Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I only read the first story, but it was so0o0o0 good.

I loved the color palate; the golds and the reds. It was very "old Gods" and I think helped to lend itself to the story being told. I think Wonder Woman handled her plight with the grace and the vigor befitting an Amazon. I do, however, think that she could have easily kicked Superman's ass and just wanted to spare him the fight.

I only didn't read the second story because the first one was so good, and I just wanted to bask in it a little more.

4/5

[Reinier · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first story, "A League of One", pits the JLA against a centuries old dragon who was awakened to continue her reign of destruction and revenge. Beautifully told and drawn, what rises above both, though, is the ideal the story conveys: a woman's strength, compassion, purity, and love for family conquers the mightiest of oppressors and the powers of deceit. Must-read for JLA and Wonder Woman fans, or if you have children you are trying to raise up with the right values.

[Hillary · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are two stories in this volume, and the first is truly one the greatest Wonder Woman stories I have read yet!! I love how she is characterized, routinely subjecting herself to the lasso of truth, and how her warrior's heart is strong, true, and not weakened by her quest for peace. The art is beautiful!! 5 stars

The second story is like JLA meets Transformers meets Power Rangers meets Alien and it was fun and beautifully rendered but not quite as stunning as the first. 3 stars