2018.038 Justice League Task Force Vol 1: The Purification Plague

Justice League Task Force Vol 1: The Purification Plague
Written By: David Michelinie, Chuck Dixon, Dennis O'Neal, Peter David, Jeph Loeb, Michael Jan Friedman
Illustrated by: Sal Velluto, Gabriel Morrissette, Greg LaRocque, Jeff Albrecht, Dick Giordano, Aaron McClellan, Kevin Conrad, Robert Jones
DC Comics

163 Aquaman: The Atlantis Chronicles Deluxe Edition

I love this Deluxe Edition series DC has been doing.  I love that the books are just slightly oversized (because grandpa here doesn't always have to wear his glasses to read them!).  The artwork seems to pop better on the slightly bigger pages.

I haven't read this since it was first published.  I'll admit I remember none of it.  A lot of books I haven't read in years come back to me upon a re-read, but not this.  So, for all intents and purposes, it was brand new to me.  I was torn about how excited I was to read it.  I was excited to reacquaint myself with the back story of Atlantis, but I was dreading it because it was written by Peter David.  I don't care much for his writing style.  Quite frankly, he's obnoxious and he's his biggest fan and it comes out in his writing.

But not here.  Here he shows that he can actually write if he strips away his asshole veneer.  I really enjoyed what I read.  Sure, the book still has some issues, but they're issues I can deal with.  The part that I find the most glaring is how lop sided the book feels.  It's a seven part series.  He spent the first five parts telling the story of Orin and Shalako and their extended, multi generational family.  Then we fast forward for the last two issues into other eras.  It's almost like it was supposed to be a 12 issue series that got cut back after he already had most of the first arc written.

He does a great job explaining things that needed explaining.  We now know why some Atlanteans look like normal humans and why some look like mermen and mermaids.  We know how they survived the sinking of Atlantis.  We know how they learned how to breathe underwater.  And where the telepathy with sealife came from.

All in all, it's a great series.  I highly recommend this book

Aquaman: The Atlantis Chronicles Deluxe Edition

Writer: Peter David

Artist: Esteban Maroco

DC Comics

044 Supergirl Book 2

And here's where the problem for me begins.  I've been a lifelong fan of Supergirl.  I've been with her through thick and thin, so even a Peter David written Supergirl wasn't going to keep me away.  I'm just not a big fan of David's "look at how fucking clever I am" writing style.  It's grating.  It's annoying.  He's not a terrible plotter, but his scripting, to me, is awful.

The first volume of this series was actually kind of refreshing to me considering the writer.  Peter David was given Supergirl and like every writer who has come along since Crisis on Infinite Earths, he set up the series to try to bring Supergirl back to her pre-Crisis status quo, or at least as close to it as allowable.  He took the then current Supergirl (aka Matrix) and melded her with earth girl Linda Danvers.  Suddenly, for the first time since Crisis, we have Linda Danvers aka Supergirl.  The first volume wasn't bad.

Now we come to volume two, where Peter David really starts to drive home the religious through lines.  Linda's mother is all God-Squad.  There's a boy running around who looks like the 7th Doctor but who is God.  Linda becomes an Earth Angel.  This is where he really starts to lose me.  I don't think this angle works.  I find myself rolling my eyes more and more with each page I read.

But it's Supergirl and I love Supergirl.

Supergirl Book 2

Writer: Peter David, Darren Vincenzo, Tom Peyer, Chuck Dixon

Artist: Leonard Kirk, Greg Land, Anthony Castrillo, Cam Smith, Prentis Rollins, Chuck Drost, Doug Hazlewood, Jordi Ensign

DC Comics