JLA: The Deluxe Edition, Vol. 3

JLA: The Deluxe Edition

by Grant Morrison, Howard Porter (Illustrator), John Dell (Illustrator)

Grant Morrison's incredible run on JLA continues in this new hardcover.

First, the JLA's very first foe, Starro the Conqueror, returns in a new guise as the Star Conquerer! The JLA is powerless to awaken a slumbering world trapped in the endless nightmares caused by the menace formerly known as Starro. But help arrives in the form of an unexpected Daniel, The Lord of Dreams, from the pages of THE SANDMAN. And in the tale "Crisis Times Five," the Justice League of America meets the Justice Society of America as only Grant Morrison can write it!

When Earth is threatened by beings of seemingly unlimited power -- beings reminiscent of the genies, and fairies of ancient myth -- members of both the JLA and the JSA rush to answer a challenge that may be beyond their power.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Batman, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

256 pages, Hardcover

First published December 14, 2012

About the author

Grant Morrison has been working with DC Comics for twenty five years, after beginning their American comics career with acclaimed runs on ANIMAL MAN and DOOM PATROL. Since then they have written such best-selling series as JLA, BATMAN and New X-Men, as well as such creator-owned works as THE INVISIBLES, SEAGUY, THE FILTH, WE3 and JOE THE BARBARIAN. In addition to expanding the DC Universe through titles ranging from the Eisner Award-winning SEVEN SOLDIERS and ALL-STAR SUPERMAN to the reality-shattering epic of FINAL CRISIS, they have also reinvented the worlds of the Dark Knight Detective in BATMAN AND ROBIN and BATMAN, INCORPORATED and the Man of Steel in The New 52 ACTION COMICS.

In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as good as when the issues first came out. Mark Waid and Grant Morrison craft interesting stories featuring Starro and a JLA / JSA teamup.

[Sean Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinda wanna get one o' them Starros on my face.

[Nicolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Morrison train just kept on chugging on; his writing on the JLA made it DC's default event book, nothing ever too small happened which was just par for the course for DC's biggest book with its biggest guns.

[John Elbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Balls to wall Morrison zanniness, with a dash of the wild by Waid. Primetime JLA cover to cover!

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

JLA continues to be fun action packed adventure. This is Mark Waid and Grant Morrison going back and forth with a few interesting stories.

Mark Waid's one is basically Justice league members begin to dissapear one by one and the heroes have to work together to stop it. Kind of a cool idea though felt abit to neat by the end of it all. Then got Grant who's writing a solid story about Superman and co going into the Dream world with Sandman while dealing with issues outside with Batman. Then we have a really weird story at the end with gods verse humans. Kind of pointless Morrison overwritten stuff I'm NOT a fan of.

But overall 3/4ths of this is really fun. I'm more excited to move away from Morrison's run TBH and see what Waid and the rest bring to the JLA mythos for me. A 3.5 out of 5 for this one.

[Joni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tercer volumen de JLA. Los primeros dos números están escritos por Waid y arte de Porter y Dell. Una curiosa historia sobre un científico que logra dominar el mundo de las probabilidades y es capaz de controlar las más extrañas coincidencias. Descabellado pero no está mal.
Los siguientes dos también escritos por Waid pero dibujados por un tal Arnie Jorgensen que es realmente un espanto protagonizado por Adam Strange. Algo confusa y aburrida, no aporta mucho.
Para la vuelta del equipo creativo titular encabezado por Morrison, el regreso de Starro el conquistador siendo ni más ni menos que Morfeo, Sandman quien de aviso y ayuda para vencerlo. El arco siguiente de tres números uno de los mejores de los últimos tiempos, los Ultramarines donde Morrison retoma subplots y direcciona nuevos. Extrañamente el tercer número dibuja Pajarillo que sin ser bueno es al menos una bocanada de aire fresco de los horrendos bosquejos de Porter. Le sigue un unitario aún con el mismo dibujante pero esta vez con Mark Millar en el guión. Una historia muy menor con Amazo de resolución infantil. Muy flojo. Los últimos cuatro números del tomo son con otro buen arco, Crisis times five con la presencia de Captain Marvel y los entes de la quinta dimensión. En resumen tres buenas historias y muy malos rellenos, el arte nunca es bueno salvo por el colorista. Merecería estar unos escalones encima con estas salvedades. Una pena que estén presentes esos rellenos y no la historia de DC One Million que sucede entre estos arcos.

[B. P. Rinehart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent volume of this book. IT has that trademark Grant Morrison-style: fantastical weirdness meets tight storytelling and great love for keeping the whole history of the team on the table. The debate on how much of continuity should be used is a moot one for Morrison: all of it counts! And in the hands of a capable writer, complete continuity can be masterfully handled. With this in mind, the book delivers.

My favorite story in this volume is the first one "IT". This story is a team-up between Neil Gaiman's TheSandman and the Justice League to fight the JLA's first villain: Starro the Conqueror. Of one important note: for the two previous volumes, Wonder Woman's mom, Queen Hippolyta, has been filing-in for her daughter Diana and doing a decent job. Diana comes back for a little bit of this book, but the last story sees Hippolyta come back with her old team the Justice Society (the WWII-era JLA). The other stories are very well done and do not become boring or dull. Morrison's run is really earning its acclaim as the best run on the Justice League ever. I am surprised that no one has thought of making a movie based on these stories.

[Aildiin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has been the worse so far and I had to force myself to finish it. Huge disappointment after the second volume.
The stories are way too crazy and the art is becoming too complacent.

[Malum · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of the stories were a lot of fun in this volume. Morrison has a way of making these JLA books feel classic and new (well, new for the 90s at least) at the same time. Plus, superman finally gets rid of his electric powers and awful blue form and goes back to classic Supes in the middle of this run. If that's not worth 5 stars nothing is.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty fun mixed bag. Some good and some fun. Only a bit of filler and wishing the Amazo story was more than one issue. It's end was a bit to convenient.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

most of this was a re-read. Some fun parts but mostly average.

[William Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grant Morrison finally gets his sea legs and bearings straight around this time on JLA. The stories are so densely packed, there's absolutely no time to breathe, but that's the great part here- there's no down time. Unlike previous volumes, Morrison slows down the manic pace (even though it still runs frantically in full ADHD mode 90% of the time) and makes for better story-telling with a less fractured and more linear book. What makes his run on this book so fantastic is that he ramps everything up to 11. There isn't a single non-essential issue. We aren't subjected to a month where he suffered writer's block or wanted to write a tribute or memorial or reflective episode in the lives of any of the members. For once, I'm all for the manic pacing.

However, the greatest part of his JLA is his cast. Having said that, it's also the weakest part of his writing. The addition of Huntress is a great way to include another female without making that female the Black Canary. Plastic Man is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I don't know why every incarnation of the JL doesn't have O'Brien on it. And Martian Manhunter... Wait, where the hell did J'onn go? One minute there, gone the next. And there's our big problem. Every two issues there are new members coming on and old ones dropping out. The book could have been perfect with a fully developed full-time cast. But it's a revolving door.

[sixthreezy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the writing of Grant Morrison is usually brilliant, I find myself struggling to keep it all straight. Morrison's writing is epic, in the sense that no one thing is left out. These JLA comics throw everything except the kitchen sink at you, and it's tough to sort it all out. I would assume that whatever drugs Morrison is using while writing, probably help to decipher the story here but I'm not all too sure that I should need that to understand this work. This volume in particular, more so than any I've read so far, really make me feel inferior as a comic book reader. There are so many characters, and so many dimensions to go along with that, that I find myself feeling like a novice reader. The art is great, and the story is there, but so often I come to the end of these JLA issues and while I'm lost for 20 pages, the last few in the issue always seem to sum things up so basically that I can kind of grasp what is going on. It's all here, but it takes some serious attention and thinking to get it all together in your own mind. I'd give this four stars easily, if I knew what the hell was going on most of the time.

[Elinor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Les premières issues étaient vraiment sympas ! celles écrites par Mark Waid... J'aime assez moyennement celles de Grant Morrison. Je lirai le volume 4 pour Tower of Babel et ensuite je ne sais pas si je continuerai la série des JLA, à voir, même si j'ai l'impression qu'on approche de la fin du run de Grant Morrison.

[RG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the best collection so far. Maybe it was because Waid was a part of the writing team. Also Morrisons arcs didnt seem to be as over the top.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just hit after hit. Maybe the best adaptation of silver-age wackiness into the modern age?

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Consistently interesting JLA stories- fighting huge monsters, creatures from beyond realms and such. Morrison is an amazing writer but none of these stories were favorites of mine- I think Morrison does better with less world altering stakes-smaller and weirder stories are their best!

[Fred Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

What can I say about this collection of Grant Morrison JLA stories? Weird? I think that's the most compelling word that comes to mind. This third volume of stories from Morrison's JLA run was just that, weird. From what I've read about Morrison this was the kind of storytelling that marks most of his work. That's fine, I was just lost the majority of the way through. The previous collections I was able to follow along and ate up very quickly. However, I struggled through this one. Is it possible because I was reading this in the midst of grading senior essays for school that made this hard for me to focus? Possibly, but I love reading things that work on multiple levels, where one can read it for purely entertainment value, but there is a deeper context lying underneath the surface level. With that being said, I've made my judgment for sake of GoodReads, but I'll probably pick this up again once I have less distractions.

[Rory Wilding · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mighty fine series from three distinct writers (Grant Morrison, Mark Waid and Mark Millar) telling such grand stories about a never-ending expansion of DC's flagship superhero team. However it is the story arcs by Morrison that brings out the best and indeed the strangest for the team such as a team-up with Daniel Hall AKA The Sandman which leads to a battle with Starro, as well as a four-part installment about both the JLA and the JSA (Justice Society of America) on a war with the 5th Dimension. Granted there is a lot to take in, but if you've enough mental energy, you will be impressed by this continuation of Morrison's legendary run.

[Will Robinson Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid. With the big two not producing top-quality work currently, a comic-book fan could get on their soap box and complain about the lack of good superhero storytelling. But thank God there are still over 60 years of great comic runs to still go back and read. Many of the best runs in comics I still have yet to read. One such run is the fan favorite Grant Morrison's run on the Justice League. I have already read much of the earlier issues and in this volume, we are covering issues 18-31. It is worth noting that Morrison is joined by two other powerhouses in superhero storytelling Mark Millar & Mark Waid. Morrison carries the main narrative throughout the series but Waid's & Millar's stories were welcomed addition. The artwork by Howard Porter is some of the best in superhero comics but the fill-in artists did an okay job here as well. What you have right here is quite simply one of the best superhero team series in comics. Now it's time to discuss the GOOD, the BAD, and the ugly for this collection.

The GOOD:
Every tale in this series is fast pace and the stories are easy to follow. There is none of that drawn-out 5-7 issues before we get to the meat & potatoes of the story that you find in comics today. I also like that we get to spend tie with more of the other leaguers not just your standard Batman, Superman or Wonder Woman being the main focus. We explore the other facets of the DC universe with supernatural characters like the angel Zauriel, or powerhouse demigods like Big Barba & Orion. There is even a great two-part story featuring Adam Strange in this book. The adventures here are so great that it was hard for me to pick a favorite. Finally, I thought that each plot presented here offered a great threat that would justify the need for all of these costume heroes to team up. There are a lot of heroes that make an appearance in this book. The fact that Morrison, Millar & Waid were able to keep each character with their correct voice & personality is a testament to their talent.

The BAD:
This would be an almost perfect collection except I did have a few things that I wanted to gripe about. First, If you're looking for a straight-through line in these issues you're going to be disappointed. I could tell that Morrison is building towards something but he only hints at the big threat with a few breadcrumbs sprinkled here and there in his stories. Even when the name "Magedon" is mentioned as a new reader I felt like I was missing something. I am a Grant Morrison fan but sometimes his quirkiness and strange ideas get in the way at times of a book that should just be Superheroes punching bad guys and saving the universe. The final five issues for the story arc "Crisis of Five" was a little hard to follow and there is a lot going on. I mean we are introduced to the 5th-dimensional imps, we have an ex-justice leaguer getting a genie, a kid who has an energy imp within a pen and Shazam aka Captain Marvel shows up. Don't get me wrong the story was not bad but it kept tossing in the concept after concept. Not a great story for a new reader to jump into.

The Ugly:
When Howard Porter is on art the book looks great and is consistent, when he is not the art style change was jolting. This is one of the weaknesses of American comics because with Japanese manga the art is almost always one single artist's job. There are just a few times when a few characters don't look like themselves.

In conclusion, I enjoyed my overall experience in the third volume of JLA. The Starro the Conqueror tale was my favorite especially because of the clever way Morrison included the Sandman in the story. It really worked as a JL threat and a great critique of the importance of superheroes as dream fulfillment in literature. I also loved the first story by Mark Waid in which Barbara Gordan aka Oracle had to a critical decision that directly affected her relationship with Bruce Wayne aka Batman. This was a solid read and I am looking forward to the next volume.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's very impressive that Morrison continues to come up with such gigantic obstacles for the JLA that all manage to feel fresh and new each time. Somehow, this time around, he also feels significantly more accessible than he even has in the previous two volumes, which were by no means full-blown Morrison insanity.

Everything about this is intended to be entertaining above all else. Yes, the grandiose ideas are also a nice added bonus, but mostly this is just excellent superhero team writing. Every member of the JLA is always given a very specific obstacle they have to overcome themselves that is suited to their particular abilities or, more often, personality. This is something that really sets Morrison's work apart from some other great team-based writers. Rather than just throwing things at each hero that align perfectly with their power set, he digs deeper, finding ways that the heroes proclivities are more suited for their individual hurdles. Superman often needs to inspire or rise above violence. Wonder Woman often needs to be kind. Batman's unorthodox subterfuge comes in handy. Green Lantern's creativity. These are the tools Morrison allows the heroes to wield, and it just makes you care way more about them than "Superman can punch hard."

In any case, I'm sad there's only one more volume of Morrison's JLA for me to read. It's been a real blast so far, and I'm looking forward to more.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Every so often, mostly in the wintertime, I get an urge to read some comics! It always takes me back to my earliest interest in reading. I hated anything assigned to me for a book report, but loved the adventures of Spider-man, Batman, Superman, etc. Although I stopped reading a long time ago, I had read the earlier JLA stories that are a part of this run previously, so I picked up the deluxe editions of book s 3 and 4 from the library.
After finishing book three I'm feeling...okay. The problem with coming back to something you previously loved is that it's hard (maybe impossible) to get that feeling back. Maybe it was just this volume, but I largely found the stories bland and repetitive, even though the have DC's biggest comic stars spotlighted in them. Each issue or story-line was like a disaster movie, a lot of sizzle and very little steak (story). I guess I generally lean towards stories that tell more about the characters that these types of books. My favorites were not just the villains Spider-man fought, but also the stories of his supporting cast.
I'm certainly planning to read the other volume I picked up, along with the others I grabbed, but I hope there's more to be found from JLA in the next volume. Still trying to scratch that comics-itch...

[Joshua Adam Bain · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 ⭐

So far this is the weakest volume in Morrison's run. Not to say it's bad at all, it just didn't grab me like the previous 2.

The first storyline with Starro I enjoyed quite a bit, as I am quite a big Sandman fan. I was just disappointed it was over so soon.

Then the second big arc was the 5th dimension story, which was a bit longer at 4 issues. It was fun, but it didn't leave me fully satisfied. The build up was better than the climax I think. I'm a fan of the 5th dimension characters and Morrison seems to write them well. I just don't think this was one of the stronger times for me personally.

Aside from these 2 arcs there are mostly one shot stories not written by Morrison. And tbh I kind of skim read most of these except for the Adam Strange one, which I enjoyed. Although I thought it was humourous how the guest artist drew everyone as drooling idiots. Seriously Orion is like a dog with rabies with how much shits coming out his mouth. And it was all the time too! Nevertheless the story kept me entertained.

Onward to the last volume!

[Nate]

Mark Waid opens this book with two stories, one about the JLA at the whims of a probability-enhancing scientist, and the other about Adam Strange enslaving the team on Rann. Then Morrison comes back for arcs featuring Starro, Daniel Hall, the Ultramarine Corps, and fifth dimensional beings attacking the JLA and JSA. In other words, this is ridiculously fun stuff, and exactly what a JLA book should be. One thing Morrison does so well with this series is balance plot, ideas, and character. Every character that comes on page he’s able to grasp perfectly it seems, and use them in ways that are both meaningful and fun. Unlike DC One Million, which is excluded from this collection and takes place between issues 23 and 24, these stories don’t rely on copious exposition. It does help if you know DC history (especially the Silver Age), but otherwise the stories are well-written and - I can’t reiterate this enough - an absolute blast.

[James De Leon · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this volume:
- Pre Jarro strikes
- we get some shenanigans from the future that make no sense if you haven’t read (or aren’t interested in reading) DC 1 Million
- a shaggy man makes an entrance (this was okay)
- and then we spend some time with Triumph (yawn) and some folks from the 5th dimension.



Morrison’s writing is unnecessarily bloated here, but I guess that’s his style. He can’t help it - his knowledge of the DC Universe is too vast. I should know by now. Sometimes it works great (e.g., Animal Man, Batman and Robin) and sometimes it just doesn’t as much (e.g., Batman, this run). But I ended up enjoying this volume more than the first 2.

The art is starting to resemble more “modern” art styles that I enjoy. The team up with the JSA was fun (reading that next, I think).

Overall, 7/10 for both story and art.

[Michael Emond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always say there's great Morrison and there's too crazy to follow Morrison. His JLA run was the great, creative Morrison who managed to channel that energy into some brilliant stories. the weak point of this run is Grant doesn't do characterization or personal moments (i.e. he doesn't flesh out the characters) and the art is pretty average. But all of Morrison's stories are so much fun and so well developed I still consider this one of the best JLA runs I have read. The return of the Shaggy Man? I love it! Morrison is one of those writers who can call back to old villains and put a wonderful new spin on them.
Now this collection also has Mark Millar and Mark Waid stories and for some reason they aren't listed. Their stories are good but not Grant Morrison good.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's funny — when I read these as they were coming out, I had it firmly ensconced in my brain that this was the MORRISON RUN of JLA, with assists by Waid. Even the back cover blurb reinforces that. But revisiting them now, it's clear that the Waid-written stories held up the best of anything in here. Not that I didn't always appreciate Waid's writing, but I can't believe I didn't notice that he is the far superior writer in this collection. He's a master of the sort of story where the reader is instantly made aware that something is not as it should be, and then bringing them along on a very satisfying mystery adventure.

Also, I'm still annoyed with Morrison for putting Dream from Sandman in JLA. It was a dumb idea then, and it only looks worse in retrospect.

[Stavros Blackmore · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, the cringe was strong with this one! "I have an electromagnetic gun, Batman, which will blah blah blah, etc". There's simply too much talking where there shouldn't be, e.g. during fight sequences. The dialogue in general seemed to have come from a decade far far away, too much explaining, too much bravado.

The action was dense, keeping the reader constantly on high alert, but most panels were stuffed with dialogue which made the stories hard to follow. It looks like Grant Morrison tried to compress complex ideas and storylines into a few pages. On the other hand, most of them have silly and quick resolutions, the prime example being the one with Amazo. Also, the TPB lacks certain tie-ins that could have saved us so much confusion regarding, for instance, how did Diana die and when and how she came back.

Bottom line, I'm probably gonna dump this series after "The Tower of Babel". I can't say I enjoy Morrison's writing and I think many JL fans will agree with me when I say that when compared to more contemporary runs of our favourite superhero team up (all hail the New 52 run), Morrison's JLA definitely falls short.

[Nathan Trieu · Rating 4 out of 5]

(8/10): JLA continues to be very middling so far. The highlights of this volume are the Luck arc, the Adam Strange arc, and the Starro arc-- two of which are written by Mark Waid who delivers a very refreshing streamlined structure to the series. The rest of the Grant Morrison arcs seem to be very flashy and to hold creative ideas, but still feel hollow to read with little substance going on for me emotionally.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, Morrison has some good bits here and there but this largely feels like rehashes of stuff we've either seen a million times (Starro, although the dream angle with an appearance by Daniel/Dream is a nice touch) or stuff that will be rehashed in a better form later (the fifth dimension "genies").