I Read: Justice League - New Frontier

I Read: Justice League - New Frontier

So the pattern of this reading list will typically go like this: Book, Book, Comic, Book, Book, Comic, ETC.  So, the first comic I am reading on this literary quest is Darwyn Cooke's Justice League: The New Frontier.  For my illustration this time, I decided against trying to emulate Cooke's gorgeous style.  I would just look stupid if I tried, though the finished product looks stupid any. I've often said that its easier to point out what you don't like about something than what you do like about it. With that in mind, I'll try to get specific about how I feel about this one, as there is so much to like.

Justice League: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke

Illustration: Superman & Wonder Woman Vs a Dinosaur 
This graphic novel is a great example of why comics that are written and drawn by the same person will always have a leg up on those that don't if the artist is the writer, they know how to pace and set up a story to best tell it visually, while still making great use of text.  Writer/artists are excellent at their craft, and this is a great example of it.
The story involves a rich balance of mystery, wonder, action, and introspection.  It's political without an agenda, fun without being frivolous, and compelling without being an emotional strain.  The story exists within the 1940s and 50s, and serves as an example of what made the silver age such a refreshing era in comics.  (The golden age being when comics first appeared and gained popularity, and the stories were at their crudest but still of weight and importance to those who read them.  The silver age was a late 50s through the 70s revival and reinvention of the superhero after a period of stagnation and even attack that left the industry on the verge of extinction. But enough about comics history.)

Cooke finds a definitive voice for each of the many characters that populate this adventurous world. And he incorporates so man heroes and groups into one story, its amazing that it isn't a big mess of a cast with no voice or perspective coming through. I understand and can follow the personal dilemmas of Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern as I do of any of the others.  They each have a narrative, and they find solutions and lessons in themselves and each other.
The story is expertly told with the pictures and dialogue working in synthesis or juxtaposition to show how this large story plays out. One of my favorite sequences involves the martian attempting to learn about human culture through the television.  He morphs into the icons he sees and emulates them, but he ponders on how much he does not understand about it.
Talking about a comic is hard when not everyone has a frame of reference to connect to. Its a visual medium, and at least half of the storytelling is done visually.  So to get specific points across about why it works or is good would require a great deal of description, or visual aids.  Rather than reproduce half the novel here in text or low-quality images here, I just recommend you reading it.  You will enjoy it.