Review: "Justice League of America" #0

POSSIBLY MINOR SPOILERS!!!
POSSIBLY MINOR SPOILERS!!!
POSSIBLY MINOR SPOILERS!!!
POSSIBLY MINOR SPOILERS!!!
POSSIBLY MINOR SPOILERS!!!
POSSIBLY MINOR SPOILERS!!!
POSSIBLY MINOR SPOILERS!!!
POSSIBLY MINOR SPOILERS!!!
POSSIBLY MINOR SPOILERS!!!
POSSIBLY MINOR SPOILERS!!!
POSSIBLY MINOR SPOILERS!!!
POSSIBLY MINOR SPOILERS!!!

Justice League of America #0 (DC Comics) - This issue functions as a prologue to the new series, the latest incarnation of a superhero team that debuted in 1960's The Brave and The Bold #28 and got its own series later that year.

The previous version of the team broke up during the events leading up to the recent Infinite Crisis. Brad Meltzer, a best-selling crime novelist and writer of the controversial comics miniseries Identity Crisis, takes the reins and delivers a good introduction. Titled "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow", Meltzer re-tells key events in the history of the Justice League through the eyes of DC's Big Three -- Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman -- leading up to their decision to re-form the team. Interspersed between the events of yesterday and today are scenes from their potential futures.

Meltzer tries to belt it out of the park and into iconic territory. For the most part, he's right on the mark. He captures the personalities of the three heroes and displays a good understanding of what makes them tick as individuals and as a group. The true test will come when issue #1 hits the stands next month. If Meltzer can build on this issue and sustain the iconic feel, Justice League of America may just become one of the best team books out there, something we haven't been able to say about a JLA title for a long time.

Twenty-three artists contribute to the issue, including Ed Benes and Sandra Hope, who will be the regular series artists. Past JLA artists such as Dick Giordano, George Perez, and Kevin Maguire return to draw the parts of the story set in the eras they worked on the team in. Eric Wight's art in the first four pages are a good imitation of the style of original JLA artist Mike Sekowsky.

This is a great start for the new series.