Justice League of America: The Nail: The Complete Collection

Justice League of America: The Nail #1-2

by Alan Davis

Imagine a world without the Man of Steel. Welcome to the alternate history of Justice League of America: The Nail: The Complete Collection.

Formed by the World's Greatest Heroes, the Justice League of America stands tall as the mightiest group of protectors Earth has to offer. Since the group's founding, one hero above all others has stood as their inspiration, guiding light and moral center: Superman.

In a fascinating alternate-reality story of tiny accidents that cascade into cataclysmic disasters, writer/artist Alan Davis creates a world that never knew a Superman, and a Justice League that is about to face its greatest test of might and morality. All because of something as simple as a nail.

Collects JLA: The Nail #1-3 and JLA: Another Nail #1-3.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Comic Book, Fiction

312 pages, Paperback

First published May 23, 2017

About the author

Alan Davis is an English writer and artist of comic books, known for his work on titles such as Captain Britain, The Uncanny X-Men, ClanDestine, Excalibur, JLA: The Nail and JLA: Another Nail and others.

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Justice League: The Nail
One of the best Elseworlds stories out there. It's a simple premise. What if Ma and Pa Kent had a nail in their tire and didn't see Kal-El's ship crash? The Silver Age unfolds completely different without the presence of Superman. Lex Luthor is now the fascist mayor of Metropolis. The world is filled with hatred towards metahumans and aliens. Alan Davis comes up with some great world building. His art is fantastic. I like that he wanted to draw all the Silver Age heroes and keeps most of their costumes the same. You get to see him revisit characters like Batman and the Outsiders as well. He last drew those characters in the mid 80's. His art has such a clean, classic style that is perfect for this book.


Justice League: Another Nail
Alan Davis tries to recreate the format of the original series in this sequel. There's another unnamed big bad, this one of a more cosmic nature. The story flits back and forth between too many different characters, making it hard to follow. There's not a solid narrative throughout and it shows. Visually though the book is stunning. Davis has a classic approach to the characters that I love. While drawing them in their Silver Age looks, he still manages to make them look new and original. Worth reading just for the art.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Combines two connected Elseworlds stories from the late 90s, both based on the premise that Kal-El hadn't been found by the Kents. The first is by far the better of the two. The story is clearer, more streamlined, and there are some good twists. The second, on the other hand, feels like Davis didn't really know what to do, so he just threw ideas (and characters, so many characters) at the wall until they stuck.

Here's a pet peeve: for whatever reason, there are absolutely no issue breaks in this collection. No covers, no titles when a new issue began, nothing. I find this annoying in general, but it's even worse when there's no break between the two miniseries.

[Donovan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Retitled: Everything Sucks Without Superman

A “What If?” tale of conspiratorial fascism where propaganda rules and bad things happen to good people. Also Darkseid.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Convoluted

Crisp, colourful art, but a convoluted what-if story that only works if you're invested in another riff on the DC Universe becoming...the DC Universe.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

The JLA and DC have always had a great history of Elseworlds stories. Here, Alan Davis gets to play with the entire DC Universe. He basically plays the angle of what happens when one small things happens that affects everything. The book is basically one giant story but the first/original story is hands down the better of the two. A great mystery and what if. Davis' art is fantastic! The decisions make sense and the repercussions are all handled well. The second book isn't as well done. Here it seems like Davis was just having fun throwing in as many ideas as possible. The mystery and payoff aren't nearly as good as the original story. Overall, the book is good but could have been great if halved.

[Nate]

Collects The Nail and Another Nail Elseworlds stories by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer. The Nail has a simple premise: what if Jon and Martha Kent’s truck got a flat tire on the day Kal-El landed on Earth, causing them not to find him? I was thinking this would be a “Superman is important” story, and it sort of is, but the twist at the end bafflingly invalidates the message Davis tries to get across. Also, there’s an unnecessary amount of characters here. Davis’ Silver/Bronze Age fanboyism was let loose to include every character from those eras. The result is a lot of scenes that don’t really need to be there.

Another Nail is worse. It’s less a story than an excuse to cram every DC character into its pages, logic be damned. Seriously, everyone shows up. This is essentially a big Crisis event, and like those, it’s a mess. I think the premise of these stories - The Nail, at least - is compelling, but Davis wastes any promise on overstuffing to a ridiculous degree. If he were to focus on core JLA members instead of forcing every damn character into the book this could have been better.

[Cristhian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una de las mejores historias jamás escritas para la Liga de la Justicia

[Adamsloj · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nail / Gwóźdź – Wydestylowany fun

Jak wyglądałby świat bez Supermana? Co gdyby w oponę Kentów, gdy mieli znaleźć statek kosmiczny Kal Ela, wbił się GWÓŹDŹ? „Amerykańska Liga Sprawiedliwości JLA: Gwóźdź” zabiera nas w podróż do srebrnej ery komiksów, ale z dziurą w środku. Mimo tego pełny akcji, wolt i postaci komiks wydaje się dla każdego. A Alan Davis dzieli się z nami jednym – dobrą zabawą.

„JLA: Gwóźdź” teoretycznie ma wydanie po polsku, jednak jego znalezienie w tej wersji było trudne, więc ostatecznie przeczytałem go po angielsku. Na pewno warto zobaczyć pierwszą stronę dla premise, kadrowania i kreski:



Z braku gwoździa
but zgubiono,
z braku buta
konia zgubiono,
z braku konia
rycerza stracono,
z braku rycerza
bitwę przegrano.
Tak to królestwo upadło,
wszystko z braku gwoździa.

George Herbert, Jacula Prudentum 1651, (wszystkie tłumaczenia własne z komiksu)

Trochę przypomina to teksty o zgubieniu długopisu w szkole, ale brak Supermana zostaje bardzo znamiennie zaznaczony brakiem w centrum okładki (w angielskim oryginale) i wbitym gwoździem. Te zmiany nie ograniczają się tylko do tych wizualnych. Metropolis bez swojego obrońcy musiało poradzić sobie samemu – z Lexem Luthorem wprowadzającym państwo policyjne.

Widać to na splashu zaraz za pierwszą stroną. Jedną trzecią kadru zajmują wyeksponowani policjanci, a w tle można zobaczyć jeszcze sterowiec albo napis „Aliens Out” (Kosmici wypad). A to wszystko w wcale-nie-NY Metropolis, gdy na burmistrza ponownie zostaje wybrany Luthor.



Ten strach przed metaludźmi nie jest ograniczony do jednego miasta. Batman bez Supermana nie otwiera się bardziej i jest swoją mroczniejszą wersją. Przez co otoczony aurą tajemniczości powstaje wokół niego masa teorii spiskowych – że jest demonem albo kosmitą. Ten mrok nie pozwala mu być też liderem tytułowej Amerykańskiej Ligi Sprawiedliwości.

Kolejnym kandydatem na lidera JLA w tym świecie bez personifikacji nadziei mogłaby być Wonder Woman – trzecia z trójcy DC. Niestety jako typowe serce drużyny w świecie bez nadziei nie ma dla niej miejsca. Mogłaby naprawdę zastąpić Supermana, ale wtedy nie pasowałoby to do prowadzonej narracji. Przez to nasza Amazonka niestety tam, gdzie najczęściej – na szary koniec zainteresowań scenarzysty.

Ostatecznie liderem tutejszego JLA składającego się jeszcze z Marsjanina Łowcy, Aquamana, Hawkgirl, Flasha i Atoma, liderem zostaje Zielona Latarnia. Nasz kosmiczny policjant stara się, jak może, rozwiązać potencjalny spisek, ale niestety nie ma siły przebicia.

Każdy z wymienionych bohaterów dostaje swój wątek i zadanie. Każde z nich ma coś ciekawego do zrobienia (poza Wonder Woman). Każde z nich odkrywa poszczególne elementy układanki, a ich wątek zdobi splash punktu kulminacyjnego. Jednym z najlepszych jest ten z Hawkgirl:



W związku ze strachem przed metaludźmi powstają teorie spiskowe, że wszyscy są kosmitami. Tutaj bezpośrednio dostają pozaziemscy członkowie Ligii – Marsjanin i Thanagarka (Hawkgirl). Ale nie tylko oni przecież są obcy. Aquaman jest monarchą obcego gatunku. Zielona Latarnia agentem obcych. Inność można znaleźć w każdym, o ile się chce.

Jednak to pierwsza dwójka z różnych powodów decyduje się na wycofanie przy tej narastającej atmosferze. Ich łuk postaci jest niezwykle satysfakcjonujący i pokazuje różne elementy bycia bohaterem – bez względu na to czy w prawdziwym życiu, czy na kartach komiksu. Czasem pomoc innym jest tym, co się zwyczajnie powinno. Innym razem po prostu trzeba pomóc przyjacielowi w obliczu zła. Nigdy nie wiadomo, kiedy będzie miało się okazje na coś dobrego.

Mimo tych poważnych tematów, wielu wątków i jeszcze więcej postaci – akcja płynie wartko. W tej komplikacji brak znajomości niszowych postaci z DC absolutnie nie przeszkadza, bo gdy wpadnie się w ten ciąg akcji po prostu się płynie. Jak określił te elementy i ograniczenie tekstu Alan Davis w liście z The Complete Editon: „GWÓŹDŹ jest eksperymentem w dostępności, szczególnie dla ludzi, którzy zazwyczaj nie czytają komiksów”.

W tym ograniczeniu słów dialogi są ograniczone do minimum, ale jednocześnie bardzo treściwe. Wszystkie dialogi, ale także język ciała, mówią, kim jest dana postać. Tę dynamikę, świetne tempo i czytelność komiksu podkreśla ograniczenie do minimum małych kadrów.

Te małe kadry nigdy nie są te małe kwadratowe, a ich samo ułożenie nie jest statyczne (zobacz pierwszą stronę). Często też tworzone są one przez kadrowanie większej ilustracji. Obok siebie stoi np. 3 bohaterów i każdy coś mówi, ale aby podkreślić kolejność wypowiedzi i tempo – oddziela się ich krawędziami kadrów. Pozwala to na zachowanie większych obrazów, lepszej czytelności, a ostatecznie stabilnego tempa.

W tym dynamizmie i wielowątkowości „Amerykańska Liga Sprawiedliwości JLA: Gwóźdź” przypomina mi „Fantastyczną Czwórkę” Jonathan Hickmana – gdyby była bardziej nastawiona na akcję, miała więcej postaci i była zwyczajnie lepiej napisana. Ostatecznie, mimo tych analiz, głębokich wątków ten komiks był „próbą przywrócenia poczucia radości z komiksów, które czytałem jako dziecko, a przede wszystkim dostępności”.

Nawiązuje tutaj do początku, gdy wspominał, jak czytał losowe komiks. I każdy pojedynczy zeszyt był zamkniętą historią, którą dało się zrozumieć bez żadnych kontinuów albo prac domowych. Komiksy chyba zaczęły bardziej iść w kierunku ciągłości po „Kryzysie na Nieskończonych Ziemiach” (1985/6).

Podobnie było z serialami, które pierwotnie przez swoją proceduralną strukturę, dało się często oglądać w dowolnej kolejności. My zaś kojarzymy odrabianie pracy domowej z MCU. Na szczęście ten komiks w swoich założeniach ucieka od tych problemów i stara się być zwyczajnie ekstraktem z czystej radości, gdy sięgało się po zdobyty komiks, albo jak akurat leciał odcinek w telewizji. Dziś z tą dowolnością już nie jest tak kolorowo.

Dlatego uważam, że naprawdę warto sięgnąć po „Amerykańską Ligę Sprawiedliwości JLA: Gwóźdź”, bo stworzone z pasji i dziecięcej radości arcydzieło. Jak sam autor zauważył – nie musi się każdemu spodobać – ale warto podawać go dalej i nieść dobrą nowinę.

Another Nail / Kolejny Gwóźdź – Typowa tajemnica

„Amerykańska Liga Sprawiedliwości JLA: Kolejny Gwóźdź” kontynuuje dobrą passę „Gwoździa”. Minął rok od ujawnienia się światu Supermana i wydaje się, że wcześniejsze problemy zanikają. Dziś problemem jest pracoholizm Supermana, trauma Batmana, umierający Oliwer Quinn i dziwna przepowiednia Darkside’a.

Kontynuacja zachowuje wiele zalet pierwszej części, choć schemat jest praktycznie ten sam. Mamy wiele wątków i jeszcze więcej bohaterów, a działanie każdego składa się na ostateczne rozwiązanie łamigłówki. Chyba największą wadą tym razem jest to, że nie mamy zielonego pojęcia, co się dzieje. W „JLA: Gwóźdź” dostawaliśmy okruszki, czerwone śledzie i dawało się skonstruować jakąś teorie. Niestety w „JLA: Kolejnym…” dostajemy wrażenie chaosu.

Mnie to nie przeszkadzało, ale rozumiem, jeśli komuś się to nie spodoba. Wartka akcja, a także wątki Batmana i Zielonej Strzały (Oliwera) były wisienkami na tym pełnym nadzienia torcie. Jeśli komuś nie spodobało się potraktowanie tych postaci w poprzednim komiksie, może tym razem odbiór się poprawi.

Z kolei wątek Supermana został poprowadzony mocno klasycznie. Nie było w nim nic nowego i był trochę cukierkowaty. Jednak w Elsewordzie spodziewałbym się więcej zmian. Naprawiająca się linia czasu, tak że mamy wszystko jak w srebrnej erze komiksów, poza wydarzeniami z poprzedniego tomu, wydaje mi się zbyt mało angażująca.

Na przykład ciekawym byłaby zmiana dynamiki przez romans Lois i Hala Jordana (Zielonej Latarni). Były tego możliwości tym i w poprzednim tomie (byli w tym samym pomieszczeniu!) i otworzyłoby to Klarka (sic!) w Doomsday’owej fryzurze na nowe możliwości, oraz nieoczywiste ścieżki.

Ciekawym nowym wątkiem jest ten bardziej kosmiczny skupiony wokół Big Bardy i Mistera Miracle. Ich interakcje i romans, a także ciekawe zastosowanie technologii Zielonych Latarni niezwykle ubogaciło ten komiks. Tak bardzo, że z niecierpliwością czekam na zapowiedziany w nowym DC pod Jamesam Gunnem serial animowany pt. „Mister Miracle”. Nie wiem jednak, czy wytrzymam i nie przeczytam wcześniej czegoś o nich.

Jeśli chodzi o stronę graficzną, to nic nie zmieniło się chyba względem poprzedniego tomu. Dla przykładowych kadrów można przeszukać internet lub moją recenzję „Gwoździa”.

Zatem, jeśli kogoś nie zmęczyło tempo, może nadgonić kolejny komiks od Alana Davisa. W końcu minęło tylko ponad 20 lat. Kiedyś musi nadejść ten czas, by przeczytać „JLA: Kolejny Gwóźdź”. Teoretycznie nawet w myśl autora – można go czytać bez znajomości oryginalnego „Gwoździa”!

[Charline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this alternate universe! I heard good things about it and it did not disappoint. A good read, a good story wrapped in a cool volume =)

[Max Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's something to be said for the consistency of creative vision and in this case it produces marvelous results. Alan Davis is both penciller and writer on the book and I'm guessing this adds a lot. His art is reminiscent simultaneously of Graham Nolan and Norm Breyfogle. While visually its more like Nolan's art, the high dynamicity of it reminds of Breyfogle. As a footnote, here's another creator from the British scene that started his work on 2000 AD series which I have yet to read.



This book is split into two distinct parts, the Nail and Another Nail. They are separate stories with the same characters. What would happen if the Kent family did not discover Superman's ship back then? Well, then we wouldn't have Superman, of course. And without him as a symbol, the world is not so keen on trusting the Justice League. Lex Luthor is now the highly popular mayor of Metropolis and is eyeing the presidency, Green Arrow is a bitter cripple due to the tragic events of the past and someone is methodically eliminating the villains one by one in the background. Early on in the story Batman's life is brutally changed by the Joker and half of the book he spends in an almost catatonic state. The narrative threads are many and they weave into a cohesive whole and then into the satisfying conclusion perfectly unlike the Zero Hour book I've read just recently. In fact, I cannot help but constantly draw parallels to it and other "Crisis" events. But more on that later.



The second book has Superman take up his mantle and Justice League is whole once more. First it describes the events of New Gods/Apokolips war and then moves on to the mysterious energy loss in Oan central battery. Other disturbances occur with some supposedly good heroes behaving very weirdly while multiple investigations proceed in parallel until the culprit is revealed. It all ends very dramatically as expected. This book is an Elseworlds title and marketed as that but is an example of a perfectly executed Crisis event. Dramatic cosmic-level developments, lots of characters each having a place in the story, great art, everything is in place here. I was reminded of Zero Hour and 52 as examples of how everything is so similar and is done so badly. On the other hand I recalled Infinite Crisis event where Geoff Johns also did an amazing job, though parts of it had to be offloaded to supplemental books.



Interestingly enough, though this world has some notable differences from the canon, it all seems very comfortably familiar. Almost every character has the classic design (maybe apart from Catwoman), looks and behaves like they should so in a way Another Nail could be an actual event book and you might not even notice the difference. All in all, both of the books are incredible and Alan Davis is now high on top of my comic book authors/artists list.

[Tacitus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considered one of the best JLA runs, I found it to be a very talky series which is oddly not broken up by issue covers in this collection. This is an expansive, decompressed story that felt like a Crisis or similar big crossover event. Indeed, as we find out in the second half, the entire multiverse is at stake, and only one person can save it.

While the action is good, and despite its grandiosity, nothing happens that is either memorable or significant to the DC universe. As Elseworlds stories go, it doesn’t even feel that creative in terms of its setting, which is much like the main DC universe but with a few key twists.

The superheroes initially are in a world where Lex Luthor is the mayor of Metropolis, and metahumans are targeted by the media and hate groups. This, it turns out, is just part of a plan for the story’s villain to finally achieve the power and recognition they have always craved and felt to always have deserved.

Thematically, at times it reminded me of Kingdom Come, in that they both reflect a restoration of comic book heroism in the 1990s after the 1980s series deconstructed them. The comic book industry itself almost went full Krypton with major events like the Marvel bankruptcy and retailer collapse in this decade. No wonder, then, that some creators looked backward, to the Silver Age, to what was and what might have been in some alternate timeline.

Like that book, this series includes what seems to be the entire DC pantheon. As befitting this Elseworld exploration, characters are maimed or die, reflecting (ironically) an aspect of the Modern Age, grimdark aesthetic. Thankfully, it’s an Elseworlds tale, so we know they’ll come back.

While the paneling is free form, and there are lots of dialogue bubbles, the layouts are generally rectangular and clear. The illustrations also capture the narrative well, and the coloring is vibrant in this trade paperback edition. The single-page illustrations are especially striking, even beautiful.

That the creative team got the basics right is all for the better, because there is a lot going on. It is probably one of the more complicated plots I have read, spanning from Oa to Earth to Apokolips, involving multiple villains and heroes. Someone is framing the supes to look like villains, turning humanity against them, while also methodically killing true villains, though the reason for the latter is less clear.

At its heart, this story envisions a world without Superman, who for some reason represents everything good and pure about comic book superheroes. In this way, I was also reminded of The Death of Superman, which came before this. That series has come to represent many of the industry’s worst publishing decisions and excesses, but thematically it is a reaction against the grimdark creative of the time. It’s only when Superman is gone that we realize how much we needed him, and maybe how much we took him for granted when he was here.

The reason for his exclusion in this series seems less purposeful because it is not central to the plot. The heroes don’t know Superman could exist, so there is no quest to bring him back.

Rest assured, though: there is a Kal-El, he just grew up on a different farm — but thankfully, not a Soviet commune. As with The Death of Superman, we’re reminded here that even if someone can capture Superman’s DNA, something more essential can’t be copied — his heart and humanity. His values are just as important as his powers to what makes this man super. Without them, those duplicates are hollow.

I just wish this were told in a better story, as how this all of the superheroic drama finds its way to Clark for the climactic resolution really seems like happenstance. While there is no section break in this collection to them off, the second half does not have much energy behind it, continuing some of the plot threads from the first half but without really resolving them.

Or, more to the point, because it is an Elseworlds story, none of it really felt like it mattered. A hero makes a comeback and gets redemption, committing a self-sacrifice to save the multiverse, which a strange entity is causing to collapse upon itself. So, the entire story arc does come full circle.

However, none of this felt earned by the hero, who was not working toward this outcome across the issues. Rather, it felt forced to this conclusion by the creators, in a major use of deus ex machina. Sure, a reader may have not seen this ending coming, but these kinds of surprise endings don’t yield good narrative drama or resolutions.

I was also left with the feeling that superhero comics may be better served by taking the genre forward, as I don’t think this one does. I had once thought that alternate universe stories could do that, bringing freshness and innovation to the medium, but given how so many of these stories look backwards, as this one does, I am now not so sure.

If, however, Elseworlds stories are just good stories and that (good storytelling) is its own end — and the limit of readers’ expectations for superhero comics — then the genre may be just in a self-replicating machine, endlessly reproducing its own tropes, albeit occasionally in a different garb.

Put a hammer-and-sickle on Clark’s chest, or Batman in Victorian England, or make a sidekick the mastermind; whatever. It may look different, and the audience may think it’s innovative, but it’s fundamentally the same kind of story. Readers probably want it that way, even though it may not be what they, or the art form, truly need.

[Lindsey.parks · Rating 3 out of 5]

The amish will probably never complain about representation in media.

[Bill Riggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A return to what made comics fun and enjoyable. We need more like this.

[Matthew Kresal · Rating 3 out of 5]

DC's Elseworlds tales have offered numerous doorways into how the characters and universe of DC could have been different. From a steampunk Batman to Superman landing behind the Iron Curtain, not to mention numerous Justice Leagues, they've offered up a range of storytelling options. Writer and artist Alan Davis took on the Elseworlds idea with his miniseries The Nail and its sequel Another Nail offer up an intriguing premise of their own. Namely, what if there wasn't a Superman, thanks to the Kents getting a flat tire and not finding an infant Kal-El crash-landed in a field?

It's an intriguing premise that Davis beautifully brings to life visually with a mix of Silver Age flare and more modern sensibilities. Indeed, The Nail and its sequel are nothing short of visual triumphs. As pieces of storytelling, though, they are less successful. The Nail itself is a good story with an engaging plot and neat twists, even if the eventual villain's plan makes not a lick of sense given everything they've been up to throughout the issues leading up to the big climax.

Another Nail is far messier as a story. Crossing numerous planets and realms, it's far too grand in scale with so many characters that it feels more like an excuse for Davis to write and draw the characters he so clearly loves without good reason. Indeed, if there's a coherent plot to it, I couldn't find one. Again, it's a visual feast, but one lacking a proper narrative to afford it the power that Davis so clearly wanted it to have as a sequel.

A nit-pick noted by at least one other reviewer, and one limited to the edition I read collecting the two: the lack of breaks. Even between the two different miniseries, everything ran as one long, flowing narrative. Which, I suppose, it is in a way, but it makes for a less than pleasant reading experience. Not to mention it being a weird choice given the passage of time between the original and the sequel.

The Nail is an intriguing, if not an especially well-executed, Elseworlds tale. One so clearly born out of a love for the Silver Age comics, if with some light effort to approach them with more modern sensibilities. The Nail and its sequel are fun reads, especially for the artwork, but by no means one of the great Elseworlds tales.

[James De Leon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for Elseworlds stories, but this...this wasn't it. This deluxe includes 'The Nail' and 'Another Nail'.


In 'The Nail', a flat tire prevents Ma and Pa Kent from getting to Kal-El's ship when it crashes. This means that Superman doesn't debut as early as he originally did, Lex Luthor becomes the mayor of Metropolis, and metahumans and aliens are almost as hated in the world as the X-Men. We get some other stories involving Jimmy Olsen, Batman, Green Arrow, and the Green Lantern Corps.

Now, here's the thing....eventually, Kal-El surfaces and things sort of move along fairly nicely. One could argue that the only thing of mayor consequence was the delay of Superman's debut...That being said, 'The Nail' at least has a decent narrative. This all goes out the window in the follow up :'Another Nail'. In the continuation, we sort of move from convoluted twist to twist. In the end, Davis resorts to the tired 'the multiverse is collapsing/ending' plot, which felt underwhelming. I think there were plenty of other stories that 'Another Nail' could have explored instead.

One thing I did like in 'Another Nail' involved the ending for Green Arrow. It was actually nice and the least boring aspect of the second book.

Lastly, it is worth mentioning that this deluxe is pretty crappy when it comes to presentation. 'The Nail' just ends and in the next page 'Another Nail' simply starts. There's no actual break between the two stories, which is odd, DC.

Overall, a 6/10 for the story and an 8/10 for the art.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Nail was good. It was a LOT but it was good. Then Another Nail came around (part 2. Which you might not have noticed we’ll get to that later). And Another Nail (btw great name) was a chore to get through.

While The Nail presented an interesting “what if” in what if superman wasn’t a part of the team? Because when he’s around, everything is easy and boring and what’s why I don’t like JL stories. So I thought this would be different. And it was until it wasn’t.

Superman shows up at the end and in typical fashion solves everyone’s problems. And Another Nail was even worse. The story was so convoluted and confusing I’m not even sure I know what it was about. But it just throws everything at the wall and nothing sticks. The Batman stuff is actually interesting but it’s always a page, maybe two, then it cuts away to something else less interesting and that’s it.

As mentioned above, you might not have noticed that it was a two part story. That’s because they just keep going. They never stop to tell you when an issue has ended or another had began and so I don’t even know when I finished The Nail ended and Another Nail began leaving it a blurry mess of painful reading.

So all in all, don’t buy this, buy The Nail on its own and don’t look back

[Julián "Mystletain" Rodríguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

El Clavo es una historia simple pero competente donde vemos un mundo en el que los kent no encuentran a superman cuando era un bebe. Sin volarme la cabeza si que consigue tener el gancho suficiente para no querer despegar la cabeza de él. La mayor pega es que el comic acaba con una llegada al status quo habitual del universo dc salvo por algún detalle, y creo que es por esto que Otro Clavo se siente una secuela tan olvidable.

Otro Clavo acaba siendo un macro evento tipico superheroico que por culpa de lo anterior no destaca en mucho, de hecho hasta deshacen un par de cosas interesantes como el Oliver Queen roto para darle una "redención", que tendría algo de peso si se hubieran enfocado algo mas en el personaje pero se acaba sintiendo algo vago. En resumen, lo unico que tenemos es un desfile de personajes de los 60/70 sin mucho interesante que aportar.

Si eres fan de DC ambas son lecturas entretenidas, pero solo destaco la primera por tener algo mas de original

[Phillip · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, tight story. It's nice to read a Superman story with a twist that isn't "Superman, BUT EVIL!!!"

Like the writer, I do agree it could have either been shorter, or longer. I like the first part more, and the second half took me much longer to read than a comic typically does. I understand the desire to show Supes learning the hero ropes as an adult than a child, but I didn't think it was necessary.

Still good, still worth reading! It was fun to read the Silver-age incarnations of the DC canon, as I haven't had much interaction with them.

[Matt Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm…very much a book of two halves, the first volume ‘The Nail’ is by far and away the better story, while ‘Another Nail’ is unfortunately a bit of a mess, with an odd mish-mash of plotting and far too many threads that don’t really come together in any satisfactory way.

Alan Davis’ art though is absolutely beautiful throughout and fits this loving, nostalgic interpretation of these characters perfectly so…while the story is a bit lacking..this is a book that is very much worth it for the art alone

[Jody Banman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I always wanted to read this as a kid, when it first came out. The art looked fantastic and it seemed to feature every possible character from the pre-crisis DC universe. The art is excellent, though somewhat derivative, but the writing lacks nuance and is on a par with the writing of the era it emulates, which is to say not very good. It's basically like a 1980's Justice League story with better artwork.

[Lucas Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, this is really good. I mean, i've read the FF story by Davis a while ago and really liked, and this was just the same.

It's a massive story, with a whole bunch of characters, for all the DC's teams, and a nice plot that connects all of them in the end.

The drawing is beautiful and my favorite part: the second best character of all saves the day in the end.

[Ryan Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun Elseworlds story that has some fun with the established DC pantheon without straying too far from the mainstream continuity. I feel like Davis could have been a little bolder in terms of putting his own spin on the characters but overall it's a satisfying adventure. I hope we get a Final Nail at some point.

[Sean O · Rating 4 out of 5]

DC in the Silver Age dealing with “what would happen if Superman didn’t exist?”

Great art (on par with George Perez) and 101 cameos. There’s an epic fight that happens on the Spectre’s enormous knee. The Metal Men, Doom Patrol, and the Crime Syndicate of America make appearances. It’s a rollercoaster ride that doesn’t really make a ton of sense, but it’s really fun.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an intriguing pitch but it runs out of steam when it turns out that there is Superman anyway. Then, it kind of feels like the whole thing was pointless.

See also The Plot Against America.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

5* for the first part, 3* for the second.
Never read "Another Nail" before and didnt feel it as strong as the original, but the original may have had a nostalgia boost.

Collection is nice, but couldve done with something dividing the two stories, a title page or similar.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 for The Nail 3 for Another Nail. Loved the style here and the stories were good enough. Another was a big step down for me, very jumpy story with too many subplots happening. I like the idea of Final Nail to wrap things up but who knows what that may have been like.

[Scott wachter · Rating 4 out of 5]

the nail is great.

another nail is just more after that...for some reason. yeah.

[Dhilon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5*

[Mohammad Aboomar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very forgettable.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. First half better than second.

Giant amoeba-thing sucking up the DC life force? Saw that in Star Trek.